Chapter 27 Unable to Let Go She Never Truly Moved On…

Chapter 27: Unable to Move On

She hadn't truly let go...

Tao Jiang’s face fell, utterly surprised that he knew about her connection with Qin You.

“You’ve misunderstood,” she quickly composed herself under Xie Xingzhi’s mocking gaze. “Yu Kui, Qin You, and I are all just friends. It’s not what you’re imagining.”

“Is that so?” Xie Xingzhi’s lips curved slightly. “That innocent?”

“Of course,” Tao Jiang forced a smile. “Yu Kui and I are very close.”

“Alright then, tomorrow I’ll ask Yu Kui if she knows about you and that childhood friend of yours.”

“You!” Realizing Xie Xingzhi was toying with her, Tao Jiang secretly gritted her teeth. “Why would you ask Yu Kui? You don’t need to stir up trouble in our relationship.”

“Why do you think I’d ask her?” Xie Xingzhi said with a faint, knowing smile. “Since you’ve gone to such lengths, I should at least give you some credit. Otherwise, your grand performance would be wasted.”

Tao Jiang clenched her fists, astonished by his stubborn refusal to budge.

“I’ve seen plenty of people like you,” Xie Xingzhi took two steps closer, lowering his voice. “You’d better stay away from Yu Kui, or don’t blame me for tearing off that facade of yours. We’ll see who ends up embarrassed then.”

With that, he walked away, not giving Tao Jiang another chance to speak.

Tao Jiang trembled with anger but dared not confront him directly.

She sensed a kindred spirit in Xie Xingzhi—he was completely different from Qin You, someone she couldn’t possibly manipulate.

Tao Jiang watched his retreating figure with resentment. Why was Yu Kui always so lucky? Even without Qin You, an even better guy appeared by her side.

It was truly infuriating.

No matter how much she schemed, she could never truly defeat Yu Kui. Yu Kui always managed to pick herself up and become even better than before.

Tao Jiang lowered her gaze. Why couldn’t she be a little luckier?

That day, after Yu Kui finished helping Xie Xingzhi with his studies, it was already 8 p.m. She took the bus home and ran into Qin You downstairs.

He stood under the streetlamp, snowflakes gently falling on him, as if he had turned into a statue, completely oblivious to the cold.

Yu Kui instinctively quieted her footsteps, hoping to pass by unnoticed.

“I was waiting for you,” Qin You said, his voice hoarse.

Yu Kui stopped, both surprised and puzzled. Since their falling out, they had barely spoken. What did he want now?

Yu Kui remained rooted to the spot. Qin You slowly walked over to her, studying her increasingly refined features. Only then did he realize that a year had passed since their estrangement, and Yu Kui had gradually shed her baby fat, growing more and more beautiful.

But in his memory, their argument felt like it had happened just last month. He clearly remembered what they had said and how heartbroken Yu Kui had been.

“Why did you stop me?” The weather outside was cold, and Yu Kui didn’t want to talk in the snow—it brought back too many unpleasant memories.

Qin You stopped two steps away from her, close enough to clearly see Yu Kui’s delicate face. Unlike Tao Jiang, her features were soft, reminiscent of fresh jasmine blooming in summer—pure white and fragrant.

Qin You’s impression of her had also undergone subtle changes, changes he had never quite been able to grasp.

Frowning, he asked, “Why are you back so late today?”

A flicker of surprise crossed Yu Kui’s eyes. How could he speak to her in such a familiar tone, as if nothing had ever happened between them?

“I was studying in the classroom,” Yu Kui said, suppressing the stirring emotions in her heart. “Why do you ask?”

“Is that so?” Qin You countered instead of answering. “Studying alone, or wasting time with some low-achieving student?”

Yu Kui stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“We’re in our final year of high school. You know how important time is,” Qin You said gravely. “That guy keeps bothering you, doesn’t he? He just wants to drag you down with him. How can you hang out with him?”

The faint hope in Yu Kui’s heart vanished instantly. Her eyes turned cold. “You waited here just to say this?”

“What else?” Qin You said expressionlessly. “I may not want to interfere in your affairs, but at least I mean no harm. That guy is one of the poorest performers in the science class. He has ulterior motives toward you. You should stop associating with him.”

Yu Kui remained silent. Looking at Qin You’s sharp gaze, she felt her earlier “expectation” was utterly ridiculous.

How could he possibly want to reconcile? He was merely using their past friendship as an excuse to condescendingly criticize her current friends.

How ironic.

“We’ve already cut ties,” she said, avoiding his eyes, though her heart felt heavy with a cold rain. “You have no right to question my friendships.”

“He’s not a suitable friend for you,” Qin You said with feigned concern. “He’ll only hinder your academic progress.”

“That’s none of your business,” Yu Kui disliked his helpless yet hypocritical demeanor, as if she had committed some grave sin. “My affairs have nothing to do with you anymore.”

“You’re being stubborn!” Qin You’s chest heaved with anger. “I’m reminding you out of respect for our past. If you keep this up, he’ll lead you astray sooner or later.”

“What does it have to do with you?” Yu Kui met his eyes, her voice cold. “What gives you the right, what authority, to say that?”

“I—”

“If you have nothing better to do, focus on your own studies. Someone ranked over a hundredth in the class has no right to question the top-ranked student. You and I are no longer friends.”

“Yu Kui!” Qin You’s eyes reddened with anger. “I’m only trying to warn you out of goodwill!”

“I don’t need it!” Yu Kui didn’t want to hear his tiresome repetition. “You don’t know him, nor do you know how determined he is to improve. How can you dismiss someone’s efforts so easily?”

Qin You stood frozen, never expecting that one day Yu Kui would argue with him over someone unrelated.

Since they were children, she had always listened to him, no matter what he said. She had always supported him wholeheartedly.

But now—

“If you came specifically to say these things, there’s no need to continue,” Yu Kui said, seemingly oblivious to the disappointment in his eyes. “I’m not a child anymore. I know what kind of friends I want. I don’t need you to correct me.”

“But he’s clearly holding you back.”

“Then have you seen my grades drop?” Yu Kui retorted. “Not only have I helped him, but I’ve also helped many other classmates. I made these choices when I had the capacity to do so. I know what I’m doing. I’m not as blind as you think.”

“My relationship with him isn’t as sordid as you imagine.”

“Instead of wasting time on baseless assumptions, focus on yourself. Look at the state you’re in now.”

With that, Yu Kui turned and continued walking. She felt that stopping to listen to Qin You was a complete waste of time. She should have left the moment he spoke his first sentence.

“Yu Kui…” Qin You instinctively called out to her. “Are you really just friends with him?”

He didn’t know why he asked that, but every time he thought of Xie Xingzhi, his heart felt as if stuffed with cotton, leaving him utterly unable to move on.

Yu Kui paused but offered no explanation, stepping into the building entrance without another word.

Qin You stood in place, snowflakes dusting his shoulders. He felt no relief from speaking his mind, only a profound sense of melancholy.

He didn’t understand why he was acting so out of character. It seemed that ever since Yu Kui left, his heart had developed a crack, and as time passed, it hadn’t healed but instead grew more painful.

Had he been wrong?

Qin You kept reevaluating his past decision. If he hadn’t said those harsh words, he and Yu Kui would likely still be as close as before, and these problems wouldn’t have sprung up out of nowhere in his life.

Had he truly been wrong?

Qin You couldn’t say for sure. He began to wonder—if given another chance, would he still be so ruthless? Yet, he couldn’t find a perfect answer.

Perhaps this was something one had to let go of in order to grow up. He shouldn’t keep wasting time on Yu Kui.

Back home, Yu Kui was in no mood to study. She recalled how, when they were children, Qin You would also get upset whenever she played with other kids. He would drag her away insistently and say, "If you play with them, I won’t be friends with you anymore."

Yu Kui, too young to understand, asked him why.

Without hesitation, Qin You replied, "Because there’s only one best friend. If you treat them the same way you treat me, I won’t like you anymore."

Back then, Yu Kui didn’t understand a child’s possessiveness, but since she was closest to Qin You, she, without thinking, reduced her interactions with other children and regarded him as her best friend.

In her eyes, since Qin You cared so much about her, she couldn’t bear to disappoint him.

Perhaps the impression from childhood was too deep, or perhaps she had already quietly fallen for him.

She always instinctively accommodated his preferences and considered him her one and only.

Even later, when she had many opportunities to make other friends, she always held back and declined, because she knew Qin You would be unhappy—she didn’t want to disappoint him.

Even if this friendship came with chains, she accepted it willingly.

But now, they’d grown apart.

Even though she no longer needed to care about what he thought, Yu Kui’s mood was still affected.

Though she never said it out loud, deep down she had always hoped that one day Qin You would come back to apologize, admit that his past decision was wrong, and say they could start fresh and be each other’s best friends again.

Even if it wasn’t the romantic relationship she had once fantasized about, even if he would never develop feelings beyond friendship for her—she’d take any of it.

They could still be like before, going to school together, traveling together, attending the universities they both dreamed of, occasionally having meals together and venting about what was bothering them…

They clearly had so much left to do—why had things suddenly gone so wrong?

Yu Kui felt she could never truly let go. Even if she accepted the reality, a lingering question always remained in her heart.

They had been so close—how could Qin You so easily abandon their friendship?

Why did it all happen this way?

Perhaps only until she got that answer would she truly be able to move on.