Chapter 111: The Childhood Sweetheart from Legend Has Arrived

"You all should leave some sparks for the animals in the Back Mountain," Zhang Qian still couldn't help but say.

An Yinan waved her hand, "Don't worry, a single spark can start a prairie fire, passed down from generation to generation."

"..." Only these six dots represented Zhang Qian's state of mind.

"Right, big news, that someone's someone has appeared." Zhang Qian pointed toward the courtyard next door.

An Yinan widened her eyes, Xie Yuanyuan's childhood sweetheart!

"Where?" she asked.

"That person just came to find Xie Yuanyuan, the two of them went out, I don't know where they went," Zhang Qian explained.

Unfortunately, the person he was asking about was exactly him.

Otherwise, in such freezing weather, who would come out for a stroll? It's not like they're crazy.

Huh! No, wait, aren't the two in front of me just crazy people out for a stroll in the freezing snow? Could it be that the flames of love are not afraid of the cold ice?

An Yinan was silent for a moment, "Tell Li Xiu'e and the others to put away the study materials," An Yinan told Zhang Qian.

She returned to her room to find the key to Xie Yuanyuan's courtyard, then went into her room and put all the study materials into her space.

She trusted Xie Yuanyuan, but she did not trust this Xie childhood sweetheart.

After all, for someone not seen for so many years, who knows what they might have become? Not to mention her Yuanyuan is silly and naive; even if she were cheated, she'd probably end up counting the money for the other person.

Meanwhile, by the river, Xie Yuanyuan's face was frozen bright red, and standing before her was that man, Xie Shuyang.

"Go back, I will call Uncle Xie tomorrow to have you transferred back to the City," after a long silence, Xie Shuyang sighed and said.

Xie Yuanyuan looked at him with some stubbornness, but the moisture in her eyes grew, streaming down the corners of her eyes, "It's been so long, is this all you want to say to me?"

Xie Shuyang twitched the corners of his mouth, only to find he had forgotten how to smile; he didn't know if it was because the weather was too cold, or if the human heart was too cold, leaving him with no other emotions besides stiffness?

"What else?"

Xie Yuanyuan wiped her tears fiercely with her sleeve, "Xie Shuyang, do you really want me to go back?"

Xie Shuyang clenched his fists tightly, let out a self-deprecating grunt, "What else?"

"Xie Shuyang, have you ever liked me?" Xie Yuanyuan looked at Xie Shuyang, her gaze direct, just like when they were children, every time she was serious, she was just seeking an answer.

"Brother Shuyang, I want that little colorful fish, I like it so, so much, Brother Shuyang." The girl with pigtails looked at the boy, acting like a spoiled child.

That day by the river, Xie Shuyang had spent half a day soaking in the water to catch a little colorful fish for her; when he was found, he was drenched, and he ran a high fever the next day, but in the end, he had found the little colorful fish Yuanyuan liked.

Xie Shuyang closed his eyes, "Never."

Xie Yuanyuan's tears flowed more and more, she couldn't wipe them away, "Fine, since you never liked me, my affairs have nothing to do with you either. Let's act as if we no longer know each other; you walk your single-plank bridge, and I will cross my own broad road."

Xie Yuanyuan turned around; this time she didn't act spoiled, and she didn't pull him with a bitter expression.

She left so freely.

Xie Shuyang watched the retreating figure, his fists clenched tightly until that figure disappeared; he smashed his fist fiercely into a large tree by the river, blood flowing through his fingers, the intense pain helping him restrain the urge to step forward and pull her back.

What could he give her now?

Give her the status of the "Five Black Categories"?

Or give her a dark future?

He was already deep in the mire, how could he drag her, so beautiful, down with him?

But why did his heart ache so much? Having long forgotten pain, he now felt as if a hand were tightly gripping his heart.

Xie Yuanyuan could not see the man behind her, his eyes red like a madman's after she left, nor did she see the blood dripping from his fingertips, and she would never see his inner conflict and reluctance to let go.

At this moment, she had already returned to her room, covering herself in the quilt, curled into a ball.

"Yuanyuan." An Yinan came to her room and gently patted the quilt.

Xie Yuanyuan threw herself onto An Yinan, "Nan Nan, he doesn't want me anymore."

The girl who was always laughing was now like an abandoned puppy, her eyes wet, filled with unease and hesitation.

She didn't know how to go on; return to the City? She was unwilling, and she couldn't let go of the friends by her side.

But she also didn't want to face his coldness.

"I want you!" An Yinan patted her back, comforting her softly.

"In this life, eight or nine out of ten things don't go as planned. When listening to someone, you can't just use your ears." An Yinan didn't care about her already soaked cotton-padded jacket, just patted her back, giving her some strength.

Hearing this, Xie Yuanyuan raised her head, her eyes crying until they looked like a rabbit's, "Not use my ears? Then what do I use?"

An Yinan reached out and wiped her tears, "Use your heart."

"A person's mouth can lie for various reasons, but a person's heart cannot. Whether they love or not, perhaps their brain isn't clear, but their heart knows."

Use her heart?

Xie Yuanyuan recalled their meeting this time, a meeting after several years, his cold words, his emotionless eyes; she really couldn't find any trace of him liking her.

"But I can't understand it?" Xie Yuanyuan replied.

An Yinan smiled; Xie Yuanyuan was a bit lazy, and she was a bit mischievous, but she was very obedient and a child who could listen to advice.

"If you can't understand it in one day, look for two days; if you can't understand it in two days, look for three. Anyway, we made a five-year pact, do you want to go back on it?" An Yinan raised her eyebrows.

It wasn't that she wasn't happy for Yuanyuan to return to the City, but returning to the City meant she would fall behind, and she wasn't confident in Yuanyuan's self-control.

"I won't." Xie Yuanyuan pouted.

Now her mind was full of the five-year pact; she had to work hard, she didn't want to fall behind.

"Exactly, having a man is fine, it provides spiritual sustenance, but without one, it seems we don't lack anything. Instead, we have plenty of time to study, don't we?" An Yinan tapped Xie Yuanyuan's forehead, resolving her inner knot from another direction.

This young girl had a big heart; she didn't care about many things, even less so for herself. The supplements Lao Xie mailed over, she wouldn't even eat them herself, but would send them to her.

But this girl's heart was also very small; if she let other things fill it, she would forget some things.

For example, temporarily forgetting Xie Shuyang, for example, temporarily forgetting those ethereal feelings.

As an outsider, she had no right to express an opinion on the matters between the two of them.

But she needed to give Xie Yuanyuan other things to do, to let her have enough time to see through her own heart, and also to see through Xie Shuyang's heart.

When it comes to one's own child, you must discipline them when you should, but you must also let go when you should; if you never let go, how can they ever grow up?

When it comes to the major events of life, only by choosing for oneself can one avoid a lifetime of regret.

Regretting why things were like that in the beginning!