“Do you still think I’m that dog who used to follow you everywhere?”

“No matter how much you used to beat or scold me, I never fought back. I thought if I treated you sincerely, one day, you’d be moved.”

“But you don’t have a heart, Chen Yang.”

“Do you think I’d make the same mistake twice?”

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent. I was too shocked by Jiang Youqi’s words to respond.

Did Jiang Youqi also get reborn?

But…he doesn’t plan on loving me anymore.

“No, you don’t get to decide that.”

He can’t stop loving me.

I immediately grabbed Jiang Youqi’s head and kissed him.

It was a messy kiss—since I couldn’t see, I could only rely on my mouth.

I kissed and kissed, completely uncoordinated.

Then Jiang Youqi pushed me away.

By now, I understood it all. Jiang Youqi must have also been reborn, though perhaps a few days later than me. Maybe it had just happened recently. His reactions were more intense than ever before.

The newly reborn Jiang Youqi must have first seen me with Xie Yun, and after recalling everything from the past few days, he was certain I was still lying to him—doing everything just to meet Xie Yun.

He hadn’t changed at all.

“Jiang Youqi, are you reborn too?”

He immediately latched onto that key word, staring at me in shock.

“Also? Chen Yang, you…”

“Yes, Jiang Youqi, I came back to love you.”

I owed him so much in my past life. This time, I’ll take the initiative to love him.

Xie Yun? He can stay far away.

Jiang Youqi’s eyes turned red in an instant. He still remembered the agony of his death.

He had died in immense pain, his body crushed in half by a truck, blood splattering everywhere, but he didn’t die immediately.

Jiang Youqi gripped my arm tightly, so hard it hurt.

“Chen Yang… did you die too?”

I couldn’t see the red blood vessels in his eyes, nor the panic and pain there. But his voice told me everything.

I pretended to be nonchalant. “It wasn’t that bad. Everyone dies. I just lived a few days longer than you.”

Bitterness began to swell inside me.

Jiang Youqi didn’t know how badly I had suffered after he died.

I didn’t do what he expected and rush off to find Xie Yun. Instead, I sat by his grave for seven days.

Everyone could bully me after that. Even the maids and servants could step on me. I ate rotten vegetables and wore filthy clothes. After all, the person who loved me and protected me was dead. No one cared anymore.

A month after Jiang Youqi died, I died too—falling down the stairs and slowly dying in excruciating pain.

It’s true what they say: karma comes back to collect.

But there’s no need to tell Jiang Youqi all that. He’s already heartbroken enough.

The man was sobbing uncontrollably.

“Did you receive the ring?” he asked.

“Yes, I kept everything you left me safe.”

I didn’t mention that his jacket had accompanied me through countless lonely nights. Only when I held it close, smelling its familiar scent, could I fall asleep.

“Jiang Youqi, I’m sorry for everything I did wrong in the past. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Could you give me another chance? I promise I’ll cherish you and love you this time.”

I won’t make the same mistake again. After losing him, I finally understood what it meant to miss someone.

Without Jiang Youqi, life had been unbearable.

The nights were far too long, and I kept waiting, waiting for the end.

Finally, because of death, I got to see Jiang Youqi again.

After all the waiting, the clouds parted, and I saw the moonlight—still as clear and bright as ever.

Jiang Youqi still couldn’t fully believe we had both been reborn.

Maybe, more than that, he didn’t want to believe I actually loved him.

Not convinced?

Fine.

I kissed him.

Making up for all the missed moments from before.

“Why is it okay for you to be good to me, but I can’t like you too?”

“Everyone’s allowed to have someone they love, right?”

“Can’t you tell I’ve changed? I really do love you, you big fool.”

“I love you, Jiang Youqi.”

He’d been deceived too many times before, leaving him full of fear.

What could I do?

I’d just tell him I love him a hundred times if that’s what it took.

We had a lifetime ahead. I’d show him little by little.

The path to winning him over was long.

If necessary, I’d keep kissing him.

Until he believed me.

I kissed him softly, then again more deeply.

Since I couldn’t see, the kisses were clumsy, but soon Jiang Youqi took control. His breathing became heavy, loud in my ears.

The body doesn’t lie.

I kept teasing him, drawing out more heat.

“Jiang Youqi, you can do whatever you want.”

“Tonight, and every night after, I’m all yours.”

(Jiang Youqi’s Perspective)

1
I used to like that proud and arrogant little young master.

Even though he probably hated me. After all, in his eyes, I was his mortal enemy.

His gaze always followed Xie Yun.

I knew he liked Xie Yun.

So, when I turned twenty, I voluntarily left and went abroad.

2
When I returned, the little young master had faced many misfortunes. The once beautiful, delicate face was now pitiful. His once-clear, bright eyes had lost their light.

Some dark thoughts started to grow inside me.

A little young master like this—he could finally belong only to me.

But how could I bear to drag him off his pedestal?

He should always remain the same, making people want to offer him the best of everything.

3
I don’t know what happened, but the young master seemed to change suddenly.

He used to treat me like dirt, always bossing me around, drinking only the most expensive water, breaking out in rashes from the slightest irritation in his clothes.

But now, Chen Yang had become gentle. He even called me “big brother.”

I knew—he would never have said that before.

“Jiang Youqi, I love you. I’ll always stay with you.”