Chapter 71 Unbearable... He had told me before...
Yu Kui paused for a few seconds, then looked down at the small wooden box on the ground. It was very small; if it weren't for the earthquake, it would have been almost impossible for it to fall out of the puppet's body.
She stepped forward and picked up the wooden box; its smooth texture seemed to have been polished for a long time.
She remained silent for a moment, held her breath, and opened the box, wondering what was inside—whether Xie Xingzhi had deliberately put it there, or if there was nothing at all.
But the moment the box was actually opened, she froze on the spot—
A ring, shimmering with dazzling light, lay quietly in the red velvet.
The pure silver platinum is free of any impurities, and its gentle halo surrounds the exquisitely cut and intricate diamonds.
It was so dazzling it almost blinded her.
Yu Kui's pupils contracted sharply, her clear black and white eyes reflecting the brilliance of the diamond ring, as she recalled the words she had spoken to Xie Xingzhi—
Have you thought about what kind of life you want to live in the future?
"Make money to buy a house, find someone you like, marry her, and live a good life."
Have you thought about marriage?
"Why can't I think about it? I'm working towards it right now."
Yu Kui's fingertips trembled slightly. She took out the ring, and underneath it seemed to be a small note from her student days, bearing the marks of time. She steadied herself and opened it; on it was written a line of poetry—
"I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the sun."
The strokes are as sharp as silver hooks and as powerful as iron, penetrating the paper with their force.
One can imagine how much effort he put into writing it.
“I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the sun. But the sunlight has made my desolation a newer desolation.”①
Yu Kui stared at the ring, but her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. The settled fate made even her breathing feel difficult.
Xie Xingzhi.
She murmured the name, her mind filled with many questions, yet she remained silent and confused.
What was he thinking when he wrote this poem? And what was he planning to do with this ring?
He knew that there was no possibility between them, so he wanted to test her in this way to see when she would discover that the Little Prince had a ring hidden in his heart that he himself dared not give to her in person.
It was unrequited love, a true feeling he couldn't express.
Yu Kui stared at the ring, remaining motionless for a long time.
The room was filled with smoke and dust until the piercing ring of her cell phone snapped her back to reality.
She blinked, and only after hearing her mother's concerned inquiry on the other end of the phone did she find her voice again, "I'm fine, I'm tidying up the house."
"That's good," Yu's mother breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Your father and I will come to see you this weekend."
"good."
After hanging up the phone, several roommates came to the door and asked her if she needed any help.
"It's alright," Yu Kui said calmly as she placed the ring box under the bedding with her back to them. "You guys go ahead and do your own things. It's too late. You can clean the living room and kitchen tomorrow."
“Then just let us know if you need any help,” Xu Siyue yawned. “Today was truly thrilling.”
Yu Kui nodded and picked up the books and handicrafts scattered on the ground one by one.
She was busy until almost midnight before she finished tidying up the bedroom. After taking a shower, she lay in bed, holding the ring and examining it with intense focus.
She wondered when and where Xie Xingzhi bought it. Did he have that much money back then? How could he afford a diamond ring?
Thinking about this, she couldn't help but laugh.
Only when her eyes were sore did she put the ring back into the little prince's heart, and forcefully seal the wooden board as if it had never fallen out.
This time, she didn't put the Little Prince on the bookshelf, but put him in her suitcase.
After lying back in bed, she tried to fall asleep again, but couldn't. Instead, she kept opening Xie Xingzhi's WeChat, her fingertips swiping across the screen, typing a few words each time and then quickly deleting them. The doubts and confusion in her heart gradually subsided with the passage of time, as if the ripples she saw from the ring were rapidly disappearing.
But has it really disappeared?
Can she really pretend that nothing happened?
Or perhaps she could finally see the truth, reject Xie Xingzhi's unrequited love and persistence, or break free from her constraints and give it a try? Could she cast aside all external interference and believe in love again?
Can she do it?
Treat a relationship with seriousness and focus.
Yu Kui, who had been suffering from insomnia until dawn, received a notification from her company to work remotely, and only then did she and her roommates tidy up the entire house.
During this time, Xie Xingzhi called her, offering to come and help, but Yu Kui gently refused, saying, "We can manage, you should go and take care of things at the company."
Xie Xingzhi was silent for a few seconds, then said, "There are other people at the company."
“But you’re the boss,” Yu Kui said, “Everyone definitely needs you more.”
Xie Xingzhi didn't insist anymore, "Then I'll come pick you up later to go out for dinner."
This time, Yu Kui did not refuse.
In the afternoon, Yu Kui finished her workday remotely, rubbed her dry eyes, and fell asleep on her desk.
It wasn't until Zhang Jing knocked on the door and winked at her, saying someone was looking for her, that she rubbed her sleepy eyes, grabbed her bag, and went to the door.
Xie Xingzhi, dressed casually, stood at the door waiting for her.
Seeing the obvious dark circles under her eyes, he paused for a moment, then whispered, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Yu Kui avoided his gaze and said calmly, "The earthquake came so suddenly, I had a bit of trouble sleeping."
"Then let's not go out to eat," Xie Xingzhi said. "You go back and rest, I'll bring dinner over."
Yu Kui raised her head, looking at his handsome and deep-set eyes, her eyes concealing a deep emotion that even she herself could not truly perceive. "There's no need for such trouble."
"What's the problem?" Xie Xingzhi curled his lips and deliberately said, "What if you bury your face in the bowl while you're eating?"
"How could that be?"
"I'm just worried," he said, taking the bag from Yu Kui's hand. "Going out to dinner with me is less appealing than getting a good night's sleep."
"Would you like to have dinner with me?" Yu Kui looked into his eyes.
Xie Xingzhi suddenly fell silent. In the dimly lit corridor, looking at her fair face, he seemed unable to deny what she had said.
"Then let's go." Yu Kui didn't ask any more questions, nor did she want to.
He simply said, "We'll come back early after we've eaten."
"Okay." Xie Xingzhi followed behind her, watching her back as she didn't turn around. He vaguely sensed a subtle change in her, but couldn't find the real reason.
At the dinner table, Yu Kui ate very little, seemingly burdened by many worries.
"What's wrong?" Xie Xingzhi ladled a bowl of soup for her and asked, "Are you having trouble at work? You can tell me. Even if I can't help you, I can still cheer you up."
Yu Kui shook her head, looked at the steaming soup bowl, and said naturally, "Summer vacation is almost over, and I'm a little anxious."
"What are you anxious about?" Xie Xingzhi asked. "Thinking about graduation?"
“Well,” Yu Kui said, “After I go abroad next year, I will have fewer opportunities to see you all, and I will be a little reluctant to leave you all.”
Xie Xingzhi's upturned lips gradually faded. He looked at Yu Kui's calm and indifferent expression and said with a smile, "What's the big deal? I can go abroad to see you."
He said unhurriedly, "With transportation so convenient now, it's not difficult to meet up if we want to."
“Isn’t it difficult?” Yu Kui looked up. “But for me, it’s too much trouble to come back. I might have to wait until a long holiday or graduation to come back. I’ll be abroad for at least four years.”
She is twenty years old this year. If she continues to intern or work abroad, she will not be able to return to China until she is twenty-five.
"Not long?" Yu Kui sighed, feigning a sigh. "Maybe you'll be married by then."
She said, "Didn't you plan to get married as soon as you started college? By the time I come back from studying abroad, you might even have kids."
She spoke with a smile in her voice, but there was no smile in her eyes.
Xie Xingzhi looked down at her, and after a moment said, "Even if I wanted to get married, it wouldn't be this early. I haven't even won anyone over yet."
"Will she mind?" Yu Kui stared into his eyes. "You come out to dinner with me so late, will she be jealous? Will she think you shouldn't have me as a female friend? Even the most magnanimous person would feel uncomfortable."
“You’re acting strange tonight,” Xie Xingzhi narrowed his eyes and asked sharply, “What happened that made you so worried?”
Yu Kui: "Just asking."
Xie Xingzhi shook his head. "She won't mind."
Yu Kui looked out the window at the bustling traffic and said, "If I were her, I would definitely mind if I knew you had a close male friend."
"What," Xie Xingzhi asked with a smile, "you want to break off our friendship for her sake?"
“Why not?” Yu Kui laughed as well: “That’s the only way to be fair to her.”
Xie Xingzhi was speechless, his eyes filled with helplessness.
“Xie Xingzhi,” Yu Kui looked at him again and said with a smile, “You must live for yourself. In this world, whether it’s your parents, friends, or lover, you are the most important one.”
"Don't persist in things that have no answers, and learn to let go of feelings that are not reciprocated. You need to learn to love yourself properly."
As she spoke, Yu Kui's eyes were gentle and bright, with a hint of moisture in them.
Xie Xingzhi clearly sensed something was wrong, and his brows immediately furrowed: "What's wrong with you?"
Yu Kui shook her head. "I'm already preparing for studying abroad. I want to go to a wider world in the future, and I hope you can meet even better friends."
She thought, how can a planned future change? Who can always interfere with someone else's cause and effect?
Ultimately, she and Xie Xingzhi were just not meant to be.
Was it because he appeared too late, or was the thin veil between them like an insurmountable chasm that neither he nor she could pierce? Once pierced, it would be like a bubble floating in the sky, leaving not even a wisp of smoke behind.
Xie Xingzhi fell silent for a moment before saying in a hoarse voice, "No matter what happens to you, you can tell me, and I will help you solve it."
He looked into her eyes and said, "No one in this world is more important than you."
"I don't necessarily want to get married. Going to university is just about envisioning the future. If it doesn't come true, I won't be sad."
“But you are a very important friend to me,” Xie Xingzhi said. “Even if I am far away in the world, I will visit you often.”
"No matter how far it is, it's not far if I want to go."
Yu Kui lowered her eyelashes, and her hand under the table trembled slightly.
Neon lights flashed outside the window, but she could no longer ignore the sudden acceleration of her heartbeat at a certain moment.
The following year, Yu Kui went abroad to study as promised. Xie Xingzhi kept his word and visited her twice a month, no matter how busy he was with work.
Every time we met, I would either go out to buy her something delicious to cook for her or take her to nearby tourist attractions, allowing her to steal a rare moment of leisure amidst her busy academic life.
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