Chapter 93 Just Missing a Small Push

Chapter 93: Still Waiting for One Small Trigger

The gift from the unfamiliar child was truly comforting; Qin Shuyi’s sadness about the farewell was quickly soothed by the turtle plushie.

She was still smiling as she carried it back. Her aunt, seeing her face, let out a relieved sigh.

Unfortunately, after looking around, they couldn’t find the child, so they could only be grateful in their hearts.

At the airport, separation and reunion play out every single moment.

Chi Yu was also at the airport today, though his flight was over ten hours after Qin Shuyi's.

"Professor," he said, stepping forward quickly to greet the professor in the wheelchair.

He then nodded to the person pushing the wheelchair.

The woman looked at him with a complicated expression, the pearl earrings on her ears glowing softly. "I told you not to come pick us up."

But Chi Yu shook his head. "If I didn’t know, that would be one thing. But since I do, I had to come."

Professor Jiang was his mentor, who had played a crucial guiding role in his career and had always taken good care of this student in the past.

A year ago, the professor went abroad for treatment, keeping the news hidden to avoid worrying everyone.

This time, having learned of his return, Chi Yu felt that, in all conscience, he couldn’t act as if nothing was wrong.

With the professor present, he didn’t inquire about the illness in detail. Instead, he took over pushing the wheelchair, saying with a smile he'd see them home.

Professor Jiang was clearly delighted to see him.

The two easily broke through the awkwardness of not having seen each other for a year, catching up warmly.

Jiang Tingyu turned her head, watching Chi Yu’s smiling face, her eyes flickering with the shifting light and shadows outside the car window.

Technically, she was actually Chi Yu’s junior.

The first time she saw him in her father’s lab, she had fallen for him.

When they got together, she was the one who pursued him.

Chi Yu had a gentle temperament but wasn’t easy to get close to; she wore him down for over half a year before he gave in.

He was a considerate and tolerant boyfriend, but like his parents, who were often away for work, he was also a workaholic.

However, Jiang Tingyu was raised by her father alone, and she had high emotional needs from her partner.

After the initial sweetness wore off, endless arguments followed.

He always put work first. On the most important anniversaries or birthdays, a single call from the hospital could pull him away. She even wondered if patients were more important to him than his loved one.

When she brought it up, he tried to change his behavior as much as possible, but the two still struggled to find a balance.

When she argued with him, she actually wished he would lose his temper and have a big fight with her, rather than always calmly and rationally reasoning with her.

She once mocked him, "You’re five years older than me, but you’re not actually my dad."

Because of his excessive rationality and her immaturity, they inevitably reached a dead end.

She grew tired. She felt that the person who repeatedly sought attention from him like a madwoman was terrifying and pitiful.

When her father’s illness came to light, she really wanted to go to him.

But they had already broken up. To curb her own weakness, she directly took her father abroad for treatment while studying there.

Now, looking back calmly, she realized that both of them were at fault in this relationship.

Two imperfect people didn’t become halves that fit together just because of love.

…

Already ill and exhausted from the long flight, Professor Jiang grew drowsy soon after returning home.

Jiang Tingyu walked Chi Yu downstairs.

In just one year, the lively and playful Jiang Tingyu seemed to have grown several years older, showing signs of the maturity they had once hoped for, but without happiness.

"Professor Jiang’s illness…" Chi Yu hesitated before speaking.

Jiang Tingyu’s expression remained calm. "There’s no cure. He said he wanted to return to his roots, so I brought him back to spend his final days. He was very happy to see you."

Chi Yu fell silent.

He had already sensed the severity of Professor Jiang’s condition.

After hearing about his illness, he had inquired and learned that the chances of a cure were slim.

Moreover, meeting him at the airport today, he could clearly feel the waning of his vitality.

But facing the impending death of such a respected elder, he couldn't remain detached as if it were a stranger's affair.

Confronting death truly requires immense mental strength.

"There’s no need to be sad. He said everyone has to go through this eventually. He didn’t tell you all at first because he didn’t want you to worry." Jiang Tingyu smiled self-deprecatingly. "Actually, he probably knew the outcome even before going abroad for treatment. Agreeing to go through the ordeal was just to ease my mind."

Chi Yu said, "Professor Jiang couldn’t bear to part from you either."

Jiang Tingyu nearly shed tears.

She didn’t want to dwell on this. Over the past few days, relatives and students had been calling one after another, forcing her to face the reality countless times.

She changed the subject. "You don't have any other questions you want to ask me?"

Like why she broke up with him back then, whether it was impulsive, why she didn’t contact him, whether she had a new boyfriend this past year, or whether she still loved him.

Chi Yu paused, remaining silent.

After a moment, he spoke softly, "Someone once told me that worrying about what’s already happened is like running a red light and then constantly wondering what would have happened if you’d taken a different route. It’s pointless. What matters isn’t why, but after paying the fine, thinking about how to walk the next road."

No matter how they ended up in their current situation.

The reality was that they had reached this point, and it couldn’t be changed.

A year had passed—not very long, but enough to change many things.

Seeing the gentle smile on his face that even he seemed unaware of, Jiang Tingyu suddenly asked, "Is it the girl we saw at the dessert shop that day?"

Chi Yu nodded silently.

Jiang Tingyu smiled, though it was tinged with bitterness.

"She's gorgeous. Are you guys dating?"

From the very first encounter—Qin Shuyi's restrained pause in her steps, the polite space she gave them, neither staking a claim nor making an issue of the stir she caused—she knew that girl was truly wonderful.

She must be the mature, considerate girlfriend he had always imagined.

Moreover, her appearance was equally dazzling.

The kind you'd remember instantly and wouldn't forget.

Chi Yu shook his head. "We're not dating."

Although Qin Shuyi was talkative, cheerful, and very engaging when they were together, she always maintained a certain distance and had never given him any ambiguous signals.

He could sense that between them, the spark wasn't quite there yet.

However, he didn't want to give up.

Love was never a simple yes-or-no question. Some people were suited for love at first sight, while others find love through time.

Just clicking puts them ahead of 99% of blind dates.

What he lacked was just a little nudge.

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