Chapter 174: We Are Already Over

"Thank you for your effort; I saw your design." Sitting in the car, Yang Yi spoke politely. "I didn't expect you to still remember the joke from our school days."

"That was never a joke to me." Chen Chen Huanyue had a hint of expectation on his face, but it vanished immediately upon hearing her polite words.

Yang Yi wanted to laugh, but only a bitter smile formed on her lips.

Seeing that design, she immediately realized it was Chen Chen Huanyue. The reason she had asked him out was to discuss the problems existing between them.

She was not someone who liked to play with feelings, nor did she wish to become such a person. She did not want to keep him hanging, neither refusing nor giving a clear answer—although she had already clearly rejected him once before.

Moreover, he had remained chaste for her; moreover, it was she who had left without a word back then; moreover... numerous "moreovers" made her feel vaguely that she owed him some sort of responsibility.

She weighed her words, then chose to be direct: "I have a boyfriend now, so..."

Before she could finish, Chen Chen Huanyue interrupted her directly: "Can we talk after eating? I'm still hungry."

Yang Yi opened her mouth, seeing his tightly pressed lips in the rearview mirror.

She suddenly found herself unable to speak.

On the road filled with cars and horses, colorful neon lights streamed along the roadside, flashing past the car window.

That was four years ago, when they were strolling through the park.

It was dusk, the sky had darkened, and the late spring breeze was extremely gentle and warm. They were walking by the willow banks of the park, holding hands.

By then, they had been dating for three months. She would not be as nervous as the first time they held hands, with sweaty palms and a heart beating like a drum, but when her slightly rough hand was held in his, she still felt a sense of shame.

Her palms had yellow calluses that could never be removed; her fingers, due to years of labor, appeared slightly thick at the knuckles. Moreover, upon close inspection, there were various small scars, deep and shallow, on them. This was not a beautiful hand.

His hand, however, had even bones, was white, clean, and delicate, slender yet strong. Just seeing these hands made one unable to help but imagine the appearance of their owner in one's mind. These were the hands of a young master who had never done rough or heavy work; perhaps the only heavy work he ever did was holding a racket. And these hands were very sexy, provoking fantasy.

Class is reflected in every aspect; these clasped hands were merely the least conspicuous manifestation of it.

Chen Chen Huanyue spoke of his childhood, mentioning a fairy tale called "The Magic Tree House." The general plot was about two siblings who discovered a magic tree house in a forest capable of traveling through time and space. After the siblings entered the tree house, they traveled through time and met Mr. Morgan, who had turned into a mouse. To save him, they embarked on an adventure spanning different eras and places.

"... After reading it, I really hoped to have my own tree house. Of course, by then I already knew there was no magic in this world..." At that time, he still carried a certain youthful air. Holding her with his right hand, he excitedly gestured with his left hand in the air. "... I chose the largest and sturdiest tree in the backyard, drew my design for the tree house with colored pens on paper, and then Mom found a designer and a construction team to build it for me..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly realized these words might "offend" the girl beside him—he had secretly investigated long ago that she had been abandoned by her parents, lived as a dependent in another's home, suffered a hard life since childhood, and experienced the coldness and warmth of human feelings. He carefully glanced at Yang Yi; she was only listening to him with a smile, as if immersed in the world he described.

"Actually, the tree house wasn't that interesting," he said, trying to cover his tracks. "I played in it for a few days and then just forgot about it..."

"Is that so? It sounds very interesting. Is that tree house still there?" Yang Yi asked with longing.

"Yes! How about I take you to see it next vacation?" Chen Chen Huanyue suddenly tightened his grip on her hand.

Yang Yi felt a bit nervous, seeming to want to pull her hand back, but Chen Chen Huanyue held on even tighter.

She looked down and, after a long while, said: "It's a bit too fast; it's not appropriate."

The two walked silently along the willow banks. No one knew how long they had walked; the sunset had already reached the end of the western mountains, and a few stars dotted the eastern and western parts of the sky.

"When I was young, I borrowed my neighbor's older brother's comic version of 'Journey to the West' to read. I was especially envious of the monkeys' Flower Fruit Mountain and Water Curtain Cave..." Yang Yi suddenly said. "They were in the mountains and wilds; every day when hungry, they picked some fruit to eat; when thirsty, they went to the stream to drink some water, unrestrained and free... What exactly was the Water Curtain Cave like? I guess it must have been quite damp inside, after all, the entrance was a waterfall, so wouldn't water constantly splash in?"

"I guess so too. 'Journey to the West' says there is a bridge behind the waterfall connecting to the Water Curtain Cave. Inside the cave, there are flowers and trees, stone houses, and within the houses, stone pots, stone stoves, stone bowls, stone basins, stone beds, stone stools..." But back then there were no glass windows, and the cave entrance was covered by the waterfall; wouldn't the inside be dark and damp? If one lived there for a long time, one might get sick!" Chen Chen Huanyue also said.

The two were like kindergarten children, trading words, fantasizing about the illusory scenes in an illusory novel, as if such a place truly existed in the world.

"If I had such a cave, I would divert the stream into it for living water. Then I would dig out a bedroom next door to isolate the dampness. Best of all, have a fireplace, because the nights are especially cold, especially in winter, making it even harder to endure..." She was speaking excitedly, but suddenly her voice dropped lower.

Chen Chen Huanyue wanted to pull her into his arms, but worried he might scare her, so he only tightened his grip on her hand until his palm sweated.

"It will come true; it will definitely come true," he said with a firm tone.

Once he graduated, he would give her everything she had never received, everything she had once desired but could not obtain, or even things she dared not imagine. He would present the entire world he possessed before her—that was the vow he made silently in his heart at that time.

##

"Let's eat right here!"

The car slowly stopped at the entrance of a night market. Chen Chen Huanyue stuck his head out to look. The night market was not very bustling, because less than a month had passed since the Sky Channel Incident, and commercial activities and people's lives had not yet returned to normal.

But there were already some people in the night market; after all, everyone had to live.

"Oh, sure." Yang Yi came back to her senses from her thoughts and realized Chen Chen Huanyue had already parked the car in the night market parking lot.

To prevent anyone from recognizing her, Yang Yi made some changes to her face and also put on a mask. She was already well-versed in all of this.

Chen Chen Huanyue was obviously still somewhat unaccustomed to her new face, but he tried his best to act as if it were normal.

"Grilled squid on an iron plate; you used to love eating this. Want some?" Chen Chen Huanyue asked, looking into her eyes, because this was the only thing familiar to him—yet even this was not entirely the same as before.

"I've already eaten; you just eat," Yang Yi refused.

She somewhat sensed Chen Chen Huanyue's intention in bringing her here, but this ran counter to her goal in asking him out. She had asked him out specifically to resolve the lingering connection between them. He should go live his own life, not waste his time and energy on her.

She always felt that his current state was caused by her—this sense of responsibility and guilt compelled her to personally resolve this matter, and to do so decisively, leaving him no room for hope.

Watching Chen Chen Huanyue go to buy sugar-roasted chestnuts again—this was another thing she used to love—Yang Yi grabbed his arm, looked seriously into his eyes, and said, "Chen Huanyue, that's enough. Cut your losses in time!" Her tone was steady and cold. "We are already over."

Chen Chen Huanyue's breath suddenly tightened, and his throat bobbed up and down.

People came and went in the night market; occasionally, passersby looked curiously at the man and woman standing in the middle of the road.

No one knew how much time had passed; perhaps a few seconds, a minute, or perhaps as long as a year. Chen Chen Huanyue asked in a hoarse voice:

"It's Chris Norton, isn't it?"