After that night, Xianyin started inviting me out more often—to art exhibits, concerts, even her colleagues’ weddings. I knew she liked me, but I wasn’t sure about my own feelings. She resembled Lixue so much that I worried my attraction was just a projection.
I told her honestly, asking for time to sort out my feelings. She looked disappointed. “I understand.”
After that, she stopped contacting me. I missed her daily messages, her cheerful updates. The silence left me feeling hollow.
One day, driving aimlessly, I found myself back at the university. As I parked, I saw her walking with a refined-looking man. The way he looked at her was obvious—he liked her, and she didn’t seem to mind.
They laughed together, looking perfect. Suddenly, she twisted her ankle. The man caught her, pulling her into his arms.
A surge of jealousy overtook me. I jumped out, strode over, and, to her surprise, pulled her from his arms and carried her to my car.
As I buckled her in, she looped her arms around my neck.
“Lin Jiayi, have you made up your mind?”
Her breath was warm against my jaw. Staring into her sparkling eyes, I lost myself.
What was I doing? Why was I so angry?
Before I knew it, she kissed me. I hesitated, then wrapped my arms around her, deepening the kiss.
We officially became a couple.
A month later, the divorce with Lixue was finalized. She was still with Bai Jiachang.
“Lin Jiayi, thank you for all these years. She and I really do look alike. I guess she’s your true match,” Xianyin said calmly, glancing at Bai Jiachang. “Some people should open their eyes—don’t mistake glass for pearls, or you’ll regret it.”
Lixue glared. “What do you mean?”
Xianyin just smiled. “I’m not telling.”
I ruffled her hair and led her toward the parking lot. Lixue and Bai Jiachang followed.
As we crossed the street, a car suddenly sped toward us. I instinctively pulled Xianyin to safety. Bai Jiachang let go of Lixue and ran, leaving her frozen in the crosswalk.
With a sickening thud, Lixue was thrown several meters.
I shielded Xianyin’s eyes from the gruesome scene.
Bai Jiachang ran off. Out of old friendship, I called 110.
Lixue survived, but lost the use of her legs. Her once-beautiful face was scarred.
But none of that concerned me anymore.
That moment made my feelings clear—when danger struck, my only instinct was to protect Xianyin. She was the one I loved.
As for Lixue, my feelings for her had ended the day she skipped our wedding.
I proposed to Xianyin. Her parents—both renowned academics—were open-minded and didn’t object, even though I was divorced.
The day before our wedding, Uncle Yao and Aunt Xu came to my house, asking me to visit Lixue in the hospital. Out of respect for our long friendship, I agreed.
Lixue’s condition was dire—paralyzed from the knees down, her face badly scarred.
She wept when she saw me. “Jiayi, do you really love Guan Xianyin?”
I nodded, my tone cold. “Isn’t it obvious?”
She looked devastated. “But I love you too. Can’t we go back to the way things were?”
“We’ve known each other for twenty-eight years. When you confessed to me in high school, I was happy, but I couldn’t figure out my feelings. I thought of you as a brother. I never dated anyone else, thinking you understood. I only went on blind dates to provoke you. When you started seeing Xianyin, I panicked and tried to win you back.”
I didn’t believe a word. “You announced your true love on our wedding day. That’s love?”
She froze, then stammered, “Bai Jiachang was an accident. When I met him, my heart raced—I thought I’d found true love. But seeing you with Xianyin hurt so much.”
I scoffed. “You just can’t stand losing.”
“Oh, and by the way—Bai Jiachang is the illegitimate son of the Bai family. He might love you, but he’ll never take responsibility.”
I told her everything I knew about Bai Jiachang. She went from angry to devastated, finally breaking down in hysterics. I left, smiling.
Xianyin was waiting in the hallway. I ruffled her hair and took her hand.
Later, Chen Tao revealed a secret:
Nine years ago, the reason he’d dated Xianyin was me. She’d fallen for me at first sight in college, but never dared confess. She’d hang around our group just to catch a glimpse of me, but I only had eyes for Lixue. Chen Tao, seeing this, dated her partly to get close to me and partly to provoke Lixue. When he brought her to meet us, it was all just a ploy. Xianyin realized I didn’t notice her, and Lixue’s beauty made her feel inferior.
She stayed away for years, only reaching out when my family arranged a blind date, thinking she might have a chance. But Lixue intervened again. When she heard about our wedding, she gave up, but couldn’t resist attending.
After Lixue’s public betrayal, she started planning for our next meeting—never expecting to run into me at the university.
The words on the tree? She’d seen them long ago. On the other side of the trunk, she’d carved her own secret wish—but I’d never noticed.
Chen Tao told me all this when I asked him to be my best man.
After our wedding, Xianyin and I visited that old maple tree together, ready to carve a new chapter into its bark—one that belonged to just the two of us
END
Chapter 04
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