Lu Huaicheng’s sudden confession left Xia Liyang’s mind completely blank. She stared at the man before her, unable to produce a single sound for a long time.

“Of course, being my girlfriend means that I can marry you in the future.” Concerned that his words might not be clear enough, Lu Huaicheng added another explanation.

“…” Xia Liyang moved her lips, feeling somewhat flustered as she clutched her dress.

Although she had questioned whether he had truly moved on when she saw that the apartment on the top floor was almost unchanged, she never expected that he would give up the arranged marriage to offer her a legitimate future.

She previously dared to ask him for this only because she was certain he wouldn’t give it.

Now that he had truly come back to give it to her, she didn’t dare to accept it.

The relationship between them had clearly been one of mutual use.

Even if he had given more genuine feelings than she had, it didn’t change the fact that he saw her merely as a pastime.

Because of this, she had felt justified in treating him as a tool for inspiration.

But now, he had personally removed this factor.

The balance between them, which had always been about not owing each other anything, suddenly lost equilibrium and crashed heavily into her heart.

It pressed down on her, making it hard to breathe and impossible to speak.

Her prolonged silence likely made Lu Huaicheng guess her answer.

He smiled faintly, a hint of bitterness in his voice: “It’s okay, you don’t have to answer me right away. I just wanted to give you an option. It’s getting late, you should go rest.”

“…Um.” Xia Liyang nodded, nearly fleeing as she hurriedly left his side.

Once the door closed behind her, Lu Huaicheng sat down weakly on the sofa, his head hanging down, his face buried in his palms.

He felt he might have acted a bit too hastily.

He had intended to confess after she had developed some feelings for him.

But he simply couldn’t bear to see her living alone in an empty apartment without anyone to keep her company.

Even though he used to do the same, leaving her behind without a word.

He hadn’t even known she suffered from menstrual pain.

Thinking about the pain she had endured alone made his heart ache as if it were being cut with a knife, wishing he could travel back in time to fix things.

He just hoped he still had a chance to make amends.

….

Back at her home, Xia Liyang couldn’t sleep at all that night.

As she watched the dim light of dawn outside, she sighed heavily, got up, opened her laptop, and began to work on her paper.

She urgently needed something to distract her, to help her escape the tangled emotions that she couldn’t sort out inside.

But this distraction was only temporary.

Once she closed her laptop, she would uncontrollably remember Lu Huaicheng’s confession from last night.

Although he said he wasn’t in a hurry for her response, she didn’t want to keep him waiting indefinitely.

And her answer could only be one.

She had deceived him about so many things; how could she agree to be with him?

She didn’t even dare to be friends with him.

Let alone be his girlfriend.

But when she picked up her phone and typed “sorry” in their chat, her fingers hovered in the air, unable to press send.

She didn’t know what she was hesitating about.

Clearly, cutting ties with him as soon as possible was the best choice.

After struggling, Xia Liyang’s rationality finally triumphed over her emotions, and she typed: “I can’t be your girlfriend.”

The moment she clicked send, she felt a significant emptiness in her heart.

To prevent herself from having any lingering attachments, she immediately blacklisted and deleted him from her WeChat.

In this way, he should understand her determination to refuse.

Xia Liyang turned off her phone and sat dazedly on the sofa for a moment.

She felt an inexplicable sting in her nose, and tears streamed down her face all at once.

Strangely, why was she crying?

What was there to cry about?

She had simply turned down his confession.

She had never truly considered being with him in the first place.

Xia Liyang made an effort to sniffle and restrained the tears that kept falling.

She tightly grasped her phone, knowing she wouldn’t receive any more messages from him.

At the same time, in the bedroom on the top floor, 

Lu Huaicheng was tying his shirt collar and glanced at the phone on the bedside table that had lit up.

Seeing Xia Liyang’s name appear on the screen, he paused, then quickly bent down to pick up the phone.

When he saw her rejection message, he wasn’t too surprised.

After all, his current actions were akin to trying to pry open a wall; it wouldn’t be so easy to move.

However, he hadn’t expected that she would also block and delete him on WeChat.

He couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly, unsure whether to praise her for being straightforward or to feel sorry for his own situation.

But he was also prepared for a long-term pursuit; he wouldn’t let her swift rejection cause any changes.

Since she had liked him before, he would always find a way to make her change her mind.

Lu Huaicheng opened his phone calendar and checked; her birthday was approaching.

It would be nice if he could take her to Lianzhou Island again on her birthday.

Maybe it would provide a glimmer of hope for change.

But since she had even deleted him on WeChat, how could she possibly agree to travel with him again?

Moreover, Mr. Xu would probably be with her on her birthday.

Lu Huaicheng’s gaze darkened, and he suddenly thought of someone.

Although the likelihood of getting her help was low, he didn’t want to miss any possible opportunities.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly closed his phone calendar and called Lin Shen: “Do you have Song Jinhe’s contact information?”

“Song Jinhe?” Lin Shen paused, not immediately recalling who he was talking about.

“The friend of Xia Liyang. I accidentally threw out her flowers, and later you helped me buy a new bouquet to send to her school,” Lu Huaicheng reminded him.

“Oh, I remember now; I should have it.” Lin Shen paused, uncertain, and asked, “Mr. Lu, do you need me to contact her for something?”

“Just send me her phone number,” Lu Huaicheng replied briefly.

….

Xia Liyang thought that after cutting off contact with Lu Huaicheng, she would quickly return to her previous calm state.

But unexpectedly, every time she went out, she would often run into him nearby.

The frequency was so high that she couldn’t help but feel this wasn’t coincidence; it was likely he was intentionally creating these encounters.

At first, Xia Liyang felt somewhat awkward and uncomfortable, especially since she had unilaterally rejected and deleted him.

However, Lu Huaicheng’s attitude toward her was no different from before, and he didn’t mention her blocking him on WeChat at all.

He would still chat with her like friends, as if that day’s confession had never happened and her refusal had no effect whatsoever.

Since he didn’t bring it up, she couldn’t address the issue either.

Her already unsettled heart became even more chaotic because of him.

In such a confused and delicate state of mind, Xia Liyang welcomed her 26th birthday.

At the moment midnight arrived, she received birthday wishes from Song Jinhe and Xu Songnian.

And a birthday red envelope from Xia Yanxu.

Yet, what came to her mind was still last year’s birthday on Lianzhou Island—the meticulously decorated birthday room, the birthday song playing at the seaside restaurant, the birthday blessings twinkling in the night sky…

She remembered the courtyard bathed in moonlight.

She remembered Lu Huaicheng’s deep eyes and passionate kisses.

Unable to help herself, Xia Liyang stood up from the sofa, slowly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, pulled back the curtains, and looked out at the familiar riverside villa.

All the lights in the villa had been turned off, leaving only a dark outline.

But the window on the second floor, facing her, lit up with “Happy Birthday” colored lights.

They twinkled and reflected in her gradually moistening eyes.

It turned out he still remembered her birthday.

And in this way, he silently sent her his blessings.

Xia Liyang bit her lip, restraining the impulse to add him back on WeChat, and quickly pulled the curtains shut.

But that string of colorful lights lingered in her mind.

Bright and flickering, impossible to shake off.

….

The next day, while having dinner with Song Jinhe and Xu Songnian to celebrate, Xia Liyang appeared somewhat distracted.

Noticing her unusual state, Xu Songnian couldn’t help but ask if she had encountered any issues lately.

“Ah? Nothing’s wrong.” Xia Liyang came back to herself and smiled vaguely.

“Could it be that Lu Huaicheng is bothering you again…” Xu Songnian questioned suspiciously, furrowing his brows.

“No, what could he bother me about?” Xia Liyang waved her chopsticks dismissively and pretended to casually scoop up a slice of beef from the hot pot.

She didn’t want to bring up Lu Huaicheng again, especially since they had previously had an unpleasant falling out.

Song Jinhe, sitting across from her, moved her lips as if she wanted to say something.

But after hesitating for a moment, she laughed it off and changed the topic.

Until the dinner ended, Song Jinhe wrapped her arm around Xia Liyang’s and said, “Let’s go next door to the bar for a drink! I’ve been busy with work and haven’t had a chance to chat properly with you for a long time.”

“…Okay.” Xia Liyang nodded; she didn’t want to go home so early anyway.

If she went back, it would be easier for her to fall into that strange emotion she couldn’t quite define.

“Girl’s night, right? Then I won’t go and disturb you two,” Xu Songnian said, pulling the corners of his lips in a very tactful farewell.

In the bar next door, after ordering a cocktail, Song Jinhe got straight to the point and asked if she was troubled by Lu Huaicheng.

Having long wanted to find someone suitable to confide in, Xia Liyang immediately opened up and shared everything that had happened recently.

“What do you think I should do? Should I move to get away from him?” Xia Liyang said with a troubled frown as she took a sip from her glass.

Song Jinhe was silent for a moment and looked at her thoughtfully: “Why do you have to get rid of him?”

“Huh?” Xia Liyang was taken aback and replied slowly, “Because he’s making my heart all chaotic, and I can’t concentrate on anything lately.”

“Then why is your heart chaotic?” Song Jinhe asked again.

“Because… I can’t explain it,” Xia Liyang pursed her lips and said. “Maybe it’s because I feel like I’ve deceived his feelings and I feel really guilty about it…”

“Is that really all?” Song Jinhe raised an eyebrow.

“…What else could it be?” Xia Liyang blinked in confusion.

“Of course, it’s because you like him!”

Song Jinhe shook her head helplessly and began to ask guiding questions to make her think.

“Think about it, why are you afraid that he will hate you after knowing the truth? Why are you constantly entangled in thoughts about him? And remember before, when you bowed your head to your dad for his mother’s sake, was it really just out of guilt?”

“…” Xia Liyang opened her mouth to refute her, but found she couldn’t come up with any reasonable argument.

After a long silence, she slowly asked, “Is this feeling… liking someone?”

“I think it is.” Song Jinhe paused and said, “But you can also seek the answer for yourself.”

“How do I seek it…” Xia Liyang looked at her uncertainly.

“You need to learn to face your own heart,” Song Jinhe said, pausing for a moment. “I think you should take another trip to Lianzhou Island to carefully examine your feelings for him.”

“Why go to Lianzhou Island?” Xia Liyang was taken aback.

“Because that’s where you two have had beautiful memories together,” Song Jinhe glanced at her.

“If I go there, won’t my heart be even more chaotic?” Xia Liyang asked in confusion.

“Not necessarily. By confronting it, you might even discover that you’ve already let go,” Song Jinhe paused, “Of course, it’s also possible that you’ll find you can’t let go, but that will help you understand your heart.”

“…” Xia Liyang hesitated, biting her lip.

Actually, Song Jinhe wasn’t wrong; continuing to avoid it wasn’t a solution.

Seeing that Xia Liyang seemed hesitant to make a decision, Song Jinhe straightforwardly said, “Coincidentally, I have a business trip to Lianzhou Island this Thursday. You can come with me.”

“…That soon?” Xia Liyang opened her mouth in surprise.

“What? Do you need to prepare mentally to go to Lianzhou Island?” Song Jinhe chuckled, teasing her, “Then I see you do like him; there’s nothing to be conflicted about.”

“…” Xia Liyang was momentarily speechless and finally nodded, agreeing to the trip to Lianzhou Island.

Since Song Jinhe had to go on a business trip to Beicheng the day before, they agreed to meet at the airport terminal in Lianzhou Island.

However, when Xia Liyang arrived, she dragged her luggage around for a while but didn’t see Song Jinhe.

Strangely, her flight had landed over forty minutes ago; she should have come out by now.

Xia Liyang frowned, preparing to call Song Jinhe when she suddenly received a WeChat message from her.

Song Jinhe: “Sorry Xia Xia, there was a sudden situation at my company, and I have to fly back to Jiangcheng directly.”

Song Jinhe: “But I’ve called a car to take you to the hotel. You’ll see a black Bentley outside the airport; I’ll send you a photo of the license plate.”

…

Alright then.

Xia Liyang sighed helplessly, thinking that whether Song Jinhe came or not wasn’t very important now.

After all, she had to work during the day, and she could only go to the beach to unwind by herself.

Dragging her suitcase, Xia Liyang walked out of the airport terminal and indeed saw a black Bentley.

She checked the license plate, confirming it was correct, and walked over, gently tapping on the driver’s window.

“Could you please open the trunk…”

However, the next moment, as the window rolled down, she saw Lu Huaicheng’s handsome, gentle face.