Chapter 203 Extra: Lies x Qi Wanting

Chapter 203 Side Story: Lies x Qi Wanting

Qi Wanting had lied to Qi Manjun.

At eighteen, he went to that meeting under the tung blossom tree.

How could love not be felt, after all?

The girl's shy cheeks, bright eyes, and the way she always leaned in made him, in his own joy, unable to resist reaching for her hand. Countless times, as she pretended to sleep against his shoulder, he would steal the scent of her hair. On many restless nights, he fantasized about the sleeping face of the girl in the next room.

His sister was in love with him.

He felt a base, secret joy about it.

The Qi family had given him a new life, yet he wanted to steal their most precious treasure.

Praised by others as gentle and steady, the young man would slap himself hard. These uncontrollable, sordid fantasies came in the dead of night.

But it couldn't snap him out of it.

He still loved her too much.

She was the rose he had nurtured with his own hands; how could he let anyone else take her?

Who else could take care of her properly?

So that year, when Qi Manjun shyly yet boldly asked him to meet outside, he already had a sense of it.

Silly girl, how could she be the one to make the first move?

He never told her that her brother wasn't as pure as he seemed, that he had wanted her for a long time.

It would scare her.

But it was fine; they had a long, long time ahead—enough for Qi Manjun to see her brother's dark side and desires, enough for him to spoil her until she was spoiled rotten and couldn't leave him.

He no longer cared what their parents thought or what others said.

No one could turn down a girl's sincere and passionate feelings.

He couldn't stand to see her sad.

He had already planned to move out once he turned eighteen, build his own career, and then come back to the Qi family with a grand betrothal gift.

They would all stay together forever.

But young Qi Wanting never imagined that while he could handle worldly gossip and prejudice, he couldn't handle fate's sudden blow.

...

They both knew what Qi Manjun's invitation meant.

The ambiguity between them was like paper, ready to be torn through.

Showing up meant yes, not showing up meant no.

Qi Wanting tore through his closet at home, trying on all kinds of clothes, finally settling on a casual outfit that was Qi Manjun's favorite.

Perfect for taking her to her favorite amusement park after they finally confessed their feelings.

He drove off in a great mood, making a detour to buy a bouquet.

Later, he would always think: if he hadn't insisted on buying flowers, if he hadn't run into that person, maybe he could have fooled himself into a brief moment of happiness.

At the entrance to the flower shop, a woman stopped him.

It was his mother, the one who had disappeared years ago.

...

Qi Wanting was adopted by the Qi family from an orphanage.

The Qi family already had a precious daughter and hadn't planned on adopting.

But Qi Manjun took one look at this handsome older boy and insisted on bringing him home, crying until she hiccupped if they said no.

Her parents doted on her. Thinking a playmate would be good for their busy lives, they gave in to little Manjun's wish.

Qi Wanting was very obedient.

Knowing he wasn't their biological son, he never made excessive demands and cherished his sister like a treasure.

When Qi Manjun first developed breasts, had her first period—all those awkward, confusing moments—Qi Wanting taught her step by step.

He was more like a parent than Qi's actual parents.

Sometimes even they found his maturity heartbreaking.

But Qi Wanting was content; he loved taking care of Qi Manjun, loved the feeling of her being completely dependent on him.

It was a perfect match; no one could say otherwise.

Only Qi's parents often muttered that Qi Wanting spoiled Qi Manjun so much, what man would ever be able to handle her?

At times like that, Qi Wanting would just lower his eyes and say nothing.

He thought, it's okay; no one else needs to put up with her.

He believed he would be the one to stay with her forever.

But the news from his biological mother shattered his illusion.

"Do you know why you were abandoned? Because you were never a child blessed by heaven."

Qi Wanting's biological father's family had a hereditary disease.

Or rather, it was more like a curse.

Almost all the men died before their forties, and in the later stages, they developed symptoms of schizophrenia.

His father, in that state of madness, had beaten his mother and, upon regaining clarity, killed himself out of remorse.

His mother, unable to face a child who would repeat his father's fate, simply abandoned him at the orphanage.

After that woman left, Qi Wanting sat in the café for a long time.

So the "forever" had a limit of only twenty years.

They were already nearly twenty; at most, he might have until forty to spend with her before the illness struck.

At what should be the happiest time of her life, should he let her endure the pain of a lover's face contorting into something monstrous, or even the permanent loss of love?

Would their child repeat this terrifying cycle?

He sat and sat, watching the clock hands sweep second by second. Finally, he wiped his face, stood up, and left that place.

……

He went to the paulownia tree they had agreed on.

He was worried about her being out there alone.

From afar, he watched the girl shift from full of anticipation to disappointment and sorrow, from bright-eyed to her spirit dimming. He stood at the corner, keeping her company from afternoon till dusk, till the sky was full of stars.

The one she was 99% sure would come failed her in that 1% chance.

He rejected her.

When it came to crossing the line of that forbidden relationship, he was the first to retreat.

He watched the snow-white paulownia blossoms fall all over her, watched her crouch on the ground, hugging her knees and crying silently, but he could not take a single step closer.

That night, he followed her, watching her slowly walk home.

He watched her stop before her room, staring blankly at the dark, quiet space inside.

He watched her finally return silently to her room and close the door.

Qi Wanting's eyes felt parched and sore.

The next day, Qi Manjun stopped him and asked, "Why?"

Qi Wanting remained silent for a long time, then replied, "Familial love lasts longer than romantic love."

She did not press further, only forcing herself to act as if nothing had happened and calling him "brother."

Qi Wanting's heart was torn apart.

But he knew that from then on, a clear line was drawn between them.

……

Qi Wanting's understanding of Qi Manjun was correct.

She was only eighteen; her future held many possibilities.

The girl with a delicate appearance had a heart tougher than anyone else's.

A momentary youthful impulse, a fruitless pursuit of love, would ultimately be buried by the torrent of time.

She was always able to move on.

The first year, when their eyes met, she would still look away, sometimes secretly gazing at him, lost in thought.

The second year, he encouraged her to immerse herself in her painting. She won numerous awards and shared her joy with him like any normal sister would with her brother.

The third year, she made more friends, and her gaze toward him no longer held sorrow.

The fourth year, they could calmly sit together discussing her hopes for marriage and the kind of person she wanted; that word "brother" was no longer spoken with painful reluctance.

The fifth year, new people entered her life.

……

Qi Wanting thought it was time for him to bow out.

But he never expected Ling Mufeng to hurt her so deeply.

The treasure he had doted on since she was little suffered through ten years of a torturous marriage.

He even began to regret, wondering if he had made the wrong decision back then.

Facing little Jue, his heart ached with an indescribable sourness.

He actually resembled his mother quite a bit, but without Manjun's childhood delicacy. He tried his best to treat him well, to compensate for the absence of his parents.

Ling Jue regarded him as a father, and he likewise saw him as his own child.

Qi Wanting's parents initially asked him why he didn't marry.

Later, perhaps sensing something, they stopped urging and questioning.

Until Qi Manjun had a change of heart, determined to let herself off the hook and divorce Ling Mufeng.

He thought, ten years was nothing; the eldest daughter of the Qi family had plenty of backbone. He would help her regain that bright, bold demeanor she had before marriage.

In a few more years, even if he fell ill, Jue would be nearly grown up.

By then, her child would continue to shield her from the storm.

She only needed to be a lady of leisure, a great painter free to express her talent.

But accidents always come out of nowhere.

Before the car flipped and everything went dark, the last thought flashing through his mind was:

Manjun is so delicate and prone to tears; what will she do later?

……

He had never intended to become a burden in her life, yet ultimately, through a twist of fate, their paths converged.

During his days lying in a vegetative state, he could occasionally perceive the outside world.

She often visited him, gently wiping his palms and his body.

He heard her cry and desperately wanted to comfort her, to hold her, but couldn't even lift a finger.

Later, she stopped crying, and her voice grew steady and calm over the years.

She seemed to have become another Qi Wanting.

In the end, she began to talk about Jue.

That child had grown up and met a girl he liked, a girl who was very, very good.

But Jue was stubborn, unwilling to admit he liked her.

She said with a smile that they still had much to go through, and added that being able to struggle like this was also a kind of happiness.

Her heart is now at peace, rarely stirred.

Until her end drew near.

Her tears fell onto his hand once more.

She confessed.

She said it was her selfishness that had made her struggle all these years, refusing to let him leave, causing him to suffer.

You silly girl.

How could this be selfishness?

You don’t understand—I want to stay with you just a little longer too.

He couldn’t speak, only desperately fighting against death.

To live one more second, one more minute, one more hour, one more day.

You see, you’re not bad at all—being with you like this is my own choice.

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