He grabbed Jiang Ning’s hand and they waved them together.

He repeated the last few words in an incredibly happy tone.

‘Yes, he really had found her.’

‘All those years of caution hadn’t been for nothing, even with a drawer piled high with Love Letters.’

“I understand. I feel the same way you do, which is why I’ve been single all these years too.”

As the two of them spoke, a flock of seabirds circled low in the sky, landing by the reefs and pecking here and there with their hard beaks.

The bright red sun was about to set, its face shyly hidden behind a low hill.

Chen Yuan heard the sound of gulls flapping their wings, glanced back, then turned around again and continued, “But she still couldn’t understand. She probably thought our relationship wouldn’t last very long.”

“Anyone would think that. It’s not her fault,” Jiang Ning said lightly.

“It’s rare to hear you blame anyone, Ningning. You’re so gentle, it makes me want to cry.”

“Don’t you tease me!”

Jiang Ning pinched his face, while her own cheeks grew a little hot.

Their eyes met, and they both broke into laughter.

Jiang Ning hadn’t smiled so brightly in a long time. Her pearly white teeth shone in the sunset, and her nose even crinkled slightly. After a moment, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

She hurriedly tried to wipe them away with her hand, but as soon as she wiped one tear, another trickled from the corner of her eye.

She wiped it again.

But the tears came pouring down—

It was as if they were scrambling over each other, competing to caress her beautiful cheeks.

Chen Yuan watched, stunned. Jiang Ning was already sobbing uncontrollably.

“Have you ever thought about it? That I’ll get… get older faster than you? One day, I won’t be as beautiful as I am now. I’ll… I’ll have so many wrinkles on my face, and I’ll lose my figure. When I’m old… you’ll still be young.”

She covered her tear-streaked face, choking on her sobs.

“I’m not afraid of what other people think, not at all. But I find myself terrified that one day… you’ll resent me for aging so quickly, so fast that I can’t even keep up with how fast you’re growing up.”

…

Chen Yuan was completely dumbfounded. They had been talking just fine, but then Ningning suddenly had an emotional breakdown. He had never seen Ningning be vulnerable before; she had always seemed so gentle and rational.

But today, for some reason, this emotion had come on so fiercely, drowning her rationality in an instant.

And Chen Yuan was at a complete loss, with no idea why.

He kept wiping Jiang Ning’s tears away, comforting her with soft whispers.

Jiang Ning looked at him through a blur of tears, shaking her head and saying, “I’m fine,” but she looked anything but.

「A long, long time passed.」

Her emotions finally subsided a little. Her delicate face was flushed from crying, the rims of her eyes were red, and her lips were as crimson as if stained with blood.

Brushing aside the tear-damp hair at her temples, Jiang Ning whispered, “It’s my fault.”

Her voice was a little hoarse.

“No, you’re not the problem, I…” Chen Yuan wanted to say it was his own fault, but that didn’t seem right either.

Ultimately, it all came down to their age difference.

Although the two of them had never discussed it openly, everyone knew it was an incredibly sharp thorn between them.

In the past, Jiang Ning hadn’t cared about this thorn, because she felt that even if the day she imagined came—the day Chen Yuan chose to leave because of their age gap—she would be able to continue living the life she had planned without hesitation.

Even if she were heartbroken and sad, she could still live a wonderful life.

But now, she wasn’t so sure.

Especially after the incessant calls from Jiang Ruxue, she knew she would have to give up so, so much. She knew that by throwing herself into this romance—one that would be either a great blessing or a great curse—her future could end in utter misery.

‘Only a foolish woman would pin all her love on one person.’

‘She had never considered herself foolish, but reality was forcing her to make a firm choice.’

Chen Yuan had no idea how much Jiang Ning and Jiang Yao had talked that day. They had spent the entire morning in the hotel suite, alternating between daydreaming and feeling sentimental.

Jiang Ning was planning to return to Mingzhu City first. This was her last night here.

Otherwise, there was no telling what that vicious woman at home would do.

If everything went smoothly, she would hurry back to Lanjing as soon as possible.

In the meantime, she could only let Yaoyao keep Chen Yuan company.

To make up for the lost time, Jiang Yao had proposed that once Jiang Ning returned, she would voluntarily yield a portion of her own time… to continue the heart-fluttering game.

It was a rare moment of sisterly harmony, free of arguments and quarrels, a temporary decision to get along peacefully.

After she finished crying, Jiang Ning just kept staring at Chen Yuan, as if to imprint his face deep in her heart so she could recall it on the nights she was without him.

“Alright, look how nervous you are. I’m not crying anymore…” She pressed her lips together, a smile breaking through her tears.

“You scared me to death. I thought something had happened.”

“No,” Jiang Ning shook her head. “What could have happened? It’s just that women tend to be more sensitive, that’s all.”

“I know women are sensitive, but I didn’t expect you to be too.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? I’m gonna hit you!” Jiang Ning raised her hand as if to strike, but she couldn’t bring herself to actually do it.

She simply gave him a look brimming with charm.

‘She knew what Chen Yuan meant. He probably thought someone with her personality wouldn’t be one to cry so easily.’

‘Come to think of it, ever since Chen Yuan came into her life, she’d found herself crying for inexplicable reasons several times.’

The slap she had threatened to deliver ended up turning into a gentle caress. Jiang Ning cupped his face.

“You know, you’re really wonderful… You deserve to be chosen without hesitation.”

Her voice was so quiet, Chen Yuan would have missed it if he hadn’t been listening closely.

It was as if those words weren’t meant for him, but were something Jiang Ning was telling herself.

A moment later, dusk gathered up the last of its glow and night fell, but the streetlights had not yet turned on.

Their faces grew indistinct in the gloom. A passing car switched on its headlights.

The light washed over their faces, throwing them into alternating moments of brightness and shadow, blurring their features.

The evening breeze rustled strands of Jiang Ning’s hair. She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly.

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep