Chapter 16

Zhu Xinyue, a former office worker with decent emotional intelligence, had once played the role of a love advisor for her roommate, witnessed the breakups and makeups of several couples, and read countless romance novels about the love-hate dynamics between male and female leads. Yet, when it came to her own situation, she just couldn’t see things clearly.
What did he mean by that?
After returning to the hotel, washing up, and lying in bed, Zhu Xinyue tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Did he not want her to be Ji Qingyuan’s plus-one because of Ji Qingyuan, or because of her?
If analyzed based on the foreshadowing in the novel, where Ji Linyu and Ji Qingyuan were destined to become bitter enemies, then Ji Linyu’s reluctance for her to attend as the daughter of the Zhu Chang Group made perfect sense, he didn’t want Ji Qingyuan to smoothly integrate into this social circle.
Once this assumption was established, everything seemed to fall into place. For instance, many within the circle were unaware that Ji Linyu even had a half-brother. Even Ji Linyu’s close friend, Zhu Shilang, didn’t know Ji Qingyuan was his brother.
The novel primarily focused on the romance between the main characters, leaving the finer details for readers to speculate. Moreover, ever since Zhu Xinyue arrived in this world, she had altered the plot from day one, making everything different from the original story.
Take this instance, for example: in the novel, the original character, after a failed confession, got angry with Ji Qingyuan, argued with her family, threatened to cut ties with the Zhu family, and didn’t attend her parents’ wedding at all.
But…
Zhu Xinyue didn’t want to think of Ji Linyu that way.
In her impression, Ji Linyu represented a sense of security. Whether in the novel or in reality, whenever he appeared, it seemed like there was nothing he couldn’t handle.
As an older brother, how could he not wish the best for his younger brother? After all, they were family.
Zhu Xinyue turned over, facing the direction of the curtains. A sliver of light seeped through the gap where they weren’t fully closed.
It was already dawn outside.
Her phone on the bedside table vibrated.
[Ji Qingyuan: Puppy peeking.jpg]
[Ji Qingyuan: Let me know when you’re awake!]
[Zhu Xinyue: ?]
[Ji Qingyuan: Wanna grab breakfast? *^o^*]
[Zhu Xinyue: Fifteen minutes.]
[Ji Qingyuan: OK!]
Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, Zhu Xinyue got up, changed, and freshened up.
As soon as she opened her door, she saw Ji Qingyuan already dressed and waiting for her in the hallway.
“I forgot to bring a charging adapter. Do you have one?” Zhu Xinyue asked naturally, holding her low-battery phone.
Ji Qingyuan gave her an “I knew it” look, as if he had anticipated she would forget something, and smiled. “You’re still as scatterbrained as ever. Don’t worry, I brought two, just in case you forgot. Do you need it now, or after breakfast?”
Zhu Xinyue glanced at her phone, which had only 5% battery left, and decided to follow him back to his room to charge it there.
Ji Qingyuan swiped his key card and pushed the door open. Noticing Zhu Xinyue still standing at the doorway, he looked at her curiously. “Come on in.”
Zhu Xinyue shook her head and stood at the doorway of the room, handing him her phone.
Ji Qingyuan took her phone, looking down at Zhu Xinyue in front of him. He felt that something had changed in the way they interacted. The joy he had felt earlier from being needed by her suddenly cooled.
He didn’t like change.
Ji Qingyuan took her phone, walked into the room to find a charger for it, and then returned to the doorway.
"...Let’s go."
His tone was dejected, no longer as cheerful as when he had first seen her.
Zhu Xinyue glanced sideways at him. Ji Qingyuan now resembled a neglected puppy, with his ears and tail drooping, making it hard not to feel sorry for him.
But Zhu Xinyue had worked for several years, and her heart had long grown as cold as the air conditioner blowing directly at her desk.
It was still early, and the hallway was empty, with only the two of them in the long corridor.
"Xinyue, did I do something wrong that upset you?" Ji Qingyuan lowered his gaze to look at Zhu Xinyue walking beside him, throwing out a direct question.
Directness was good.
Zhu Xinyue hadn’t dealt with straightforwardness like this in a long time.
"Why do you ask?" So she instinctively went on the defensive.
Ji Qingyuan took a deep breath, withdrew his gaze, and looked ahead at the empty corridor.
"We’ve been in the same class since kindergarten, all the way until high school when classes were split. You’d still bring your mistake notebook to my class for me to help you solve problems. I thought we would always stay this close. Later, I took the art entrance exams and got into film school. We still met up in Nancheng during winter and summer breaks."
Gatherings... actually, it wasn’t just the original host.
Ji Qingyuan had many friends in Nancheng; the original host was just one of his close friends.
Zhu Xinyue lowered her eyes and softly replied, "Mm."
"Do you remember the hotpot place across from the school? After I got into film school, the class monitor and Xiao Nan joked that I’d be a big star soon and would have to dodge paparazzi when hanging out with them. I could sense their polite distance. Even if they didn’t say it outright, I knew they were drawing a line between us.
"When I walked them home, the class monitor told me, 'We’re not from the same world anymore...'"
Ji Qingyuan’s voice was strained, as if he were choking back tears.
Zhu Xinyue understood.
You worry when your friends are struggling, but you also feel uneasy when they succeed.
The older she got, the more she drifted apart from some of her friends.
After graduation, she hadn’t done well for herself. Standing next to friends who had succeeded, the sense of disparity was so bitter it felt like she’d need ten shots of espresso to balance it out, fighting bitterness with bitterness.
The two of them reached the elevator at the end of the hallway, but neither pressed the button.
Zhu Xinyue could feel the gaze of the person beside her, intense, as if she were being roasted over a fire.
Ji Qingyuan: "Xinyue, that day you said I would definitely achieve my dreams, that my path in the entertainment industry would always shine, and that you would support me forever as my number one fan. I believed, one hundred percent, that you meant it."
Zhu Xinyue pressed her lips together, silent, not daring to look up at him.
"I remember you said your parents divorced very early, and whether you were in Nancheng with Aunt Xia or occasionally returned to Qingyang to your dad's place, you never felt a sense of belonging. You said you wanted to have a home of your own. So..." Ji Qingyuan took a key out of his pocket and held it out in front of Zhu Xinyue.
Zhu Xinyue froze for a moment, lifted her head, and stared blankly at Ji Qingyuan.
"This has nothing to do with the Ji family. It's a house I bought myself before I returned to the Ji family. I used the earnings from my first acting role to pay the down payment. The house is in the suburbs of Tianze City, close to the subway." Ji Qingyuan took Zhu Xinyue's hand, pressed the key into her palm, and smiled brightly.
He said, "From now on, when you're in Tianze City, my home is your home."
Gazing into his sincere eyes, Zhu Xinyue's heart raced violently.
She seemed to understand why the original owner had been so devoted to Ji Qingyuan.
He really gives away a house!
Although strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly a gift, more like he was promising her the right to live there, for a little money-grubber like her, who had no house, no car, and still relied on Zhu Shilang's card to get by, the impact was huge!
Seeing the touched look in her eyes, Ji Qingyuan began to feel embarrassed again. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Actually, I didn’t want to bring this up now. It sounds too purposeful, as if I’m only giving you the key so you’ll be my companion. I originally planned to tell you after the house was renovated."
In the novel, Ji Qingyuan had also given the original owner a house. Later, the original owner even argued with Jiang Rui in Ji Qingyuan’s house, it must have been this one.
Zhu Xinyue had never doubted Ji Qingyuan’s friendship with the original owner, or rather, their sibling-like bond.
But...
"Qingyuan, thank you, but I'm sorry." Zhu Xinyue apologized to him, forcing a smile that looked more painful than tears.
It was the first time Ji Qingyuan had seen such an expression on her face, and his mood grew heavy. He knew that whatever she was about to say next, he probably wouldn’t want to hear it.
"I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, even for a moment, that 'I' once had feelings for you." Zhu Xinyue stared at Ji Qingyuan, not wanting to miss any change in his expression.
Ji Qingyuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He wanted to look away, to avoid her gaze, but he couldn’t, she was more serious than ever before.
Sincere people shouldn’t be let down.
"We’re siblings." Ji Qingyuan clenched his fist, unsure who he was saying this to.
Zhu Xinyue understood.
He knew.
He had always known.
"Since you know, you should have kept your distance from 'me' and not given 'me' unrealistic hopes. The things you’ve done for me, even a boyfriend wouldn’t go that far," Zhu Xinyue said.
Ji Qingyuan looked at the bitter smile on her lips and felt as if he had been struck head-on, his heart aching with a dense, piercing pain.
Hadn't he distanced himself from her?
Every time she confessed to him, half-jokingly and half-seriously, he would reject her. Yet she would always chase after him, clinging stubbornly, crying and begging to make up. He was human too, with a heart of flesh and blood. Besides, they were so close, how could he bear to see her cry so miserably and still act cold toward her?
Once, twice... every time, he thought it was just their usual way of interacting.
He had grown accustomed to her always returning to his side. Why change that?
Most importantly, he couldn't bear to lose her.
What did it mean to be childhood sweethearts?
It meant that whenever one person was mentioned, the other was inseparable. It meant that old friends, upon meeting one of them, would inevitably ask about the other. It meant that in their memories, the other's shadow was always present.
They were inseparable, intimate, free of suspicion, and utterly trusting.
But now, the shadow that had always chased after him was moving forward.
Zhu Xinyue returned the key in her palm to Ji Qingyuan.
"If it's just sibling affection, then let's not do things that are too ambiguous anymore. Like giving me a house, or putting your arm around me, I don't like having overly intimate physical contact with the opposite sex. Besides, you're a public figure now, constantly in the spotlight. It's not good to get too close to someone of the opposite sex.
Moreover, when you meet a girl you like in the future, how will you explain our relationship to her? Childhood sweethearts? Siblings? Do you think she won't mind at all? If you can't bear to let someone who likes you feel wronged, how could you bear to let someone you like feel the same?"
Zhu Xinyue, tempered by society, had already smoothed out her edges. She was gentle by nature, never raising her voice at others. Now, she reasoned with Ji Qingyuan emotionally and logically, gently rejecting him, hoping he would understand.
Ji Qingyuan clutched the key she had returned, the teeth digging deeply into his palm as if about to break the skin.
Zhu Xinyue stepped forward, pressed the elevator button, and faced the elevator doors, waiting for the car to descend from above.
As she turned away, no longer looking at him, Ji Qingyuan stared intensely at the girl before him, feeling she was both unfamiliar and familiar.
Unfamiliar, because he was about to lose her, she was no longer the number one fan who would always chase after him.
Familiar, because she was still herself. She was soft-hearted; even when cutting ties with him, she wouldn't say a single harsh word, though she knew exactly what would hurt him the most.
"If we get together, can we go back to how we were before?" Ji Qingyuan asked softly.
The descending elevator dinged, the doors sliding open at that very moment.
Zhu Xinyue didn't catch what Ji Qingyuan said and asked, "What?" while her peripheral vision caught a familiar figure standing inside the elevator.
Ji Qingyuan grabbed her wrist, his tone urgent. "Let's be together, okay?"
Zhu Xinyue frowned, about to scold him for acting crazy, when an exceptionally cold male voice came from inside the elevator.
"Are you coming in?" Ji Linyu's voice was so cold it could freeze over.