Chapter 11 Past Life

Chapter 11: The Previous Life

The words "You will definitely regret this!" that Ye Jiaonan had just spoken—in the original book, he had also said them to Lin Xishan.

On the night before Ye Jiaonan and Lin Jichuan had a complete falling out and he turned and threw himself into Lin Xishan's arms, Ye Jiaonan had shouted those exact words at Lin Jichuan with tears in his eyes.

Now, the same line was being delivered to Lin Jichuan again.

Lin Xishan suddenly found it a little amusing.

Not the sarcastic kind of laugh, but genuinely funny—so Ye Jiaonan's script only had a few lines he recycled for any occasion.

He shook his head and was about to turn and leave when Ye Jiaonan's eyes suddenly swept across the crowd and locked right onto him.

Their gazes met.

Ye Jiaonan's eyes were swollen and red, his face all tear-streaked, but the moment he saw Lin Xishan, his expression shifted.

From despair to wounded indignation.

A self-righteous kind of hurt that said, "You saw that, right? I'm hurt—why aren't you coming over to comfort me?"

Well, now Lin Xishan was the one in despair.

He tensed up. Pei Zhi wasn't here right now, and if Ye Jiaonan rushed over to grab him and cry on his shoulder, he couldn't guarantee the "simp mode" wouldn't kick in again.

He subconsciously took a step back.

But Ye Jiaonan was already walking toward him holding the flowers. His pace quickened until he was almost jogging.

"Xishan..." Ye Jiaonan's voice was choked with tears. "You saw all that, right?"

Ye Jiaonan stopped in front of him, threw the flowers on the ground, and grabbed his sleeve—just like he'd done countless times before.

"He rejected me," Ye Jiaonan said, tilting his face up to look at him as tears started falling again. "Lin Jichuan rejected me..."

"Am I really that awful? Am I just not good enough for him?"

"Xishan, say something..."

Lin Xishan looked down at the hand clutching his sleeve.

A pale, slender hand, trembling slightly.

Once, he'd thought that hand was pitiful and needed protecting.

Now he just wanted to shake it off.

But he wasn't sure he could shake it off.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

That weird force didn't show up.

Lin Xishan's heart gave a heavy thud.

He tentatively spoke, his voice carrying a calmness he couldn't even believe himself: "Ye Jiaonan, please let go of me."

Ye Jiaonan froze, subconsciously tightening his grip. "Xishan?"

"Let go of me, and then we'll talk," Lin Xishan said again. His tone was gentle but left no room for argument.

Ye Jiaonan's fingers slowly loosened.

He looked at Lin Xishan with a confused, hurt look in his eyes.

Lin Xishan took half a step back, creating some distance between them.

He looked at Ye Jiaonan's swollen eyes and tear-streaked face, carefully choosing his words.

"Jiaonan, it's normal to be upset after getting rejected," he said. "But what you just said—'you will definitely regret this'—there's no need."

Ye Jiaonan's lips trembled. "But—"

"No buts," Lin Xishan cut him off. "Lin Jichuan doesn't like you. That's not your fault, and it's not his either. You can't force feelings."

Ye Jiaonan's tears flowed even harder. "Xishan, you used to be different... You used to comfort me..."

Lin Xishan was silent for a moment.

"I used to," he said, each word coming out extremely slowly, "probably not do things the right way."

Ye Jiaonan was stunned.

"I've thought it over now," Lin Xishan said, meeting his eyes openly. "Jiaonan, I was nice to you because I thought of you as a friend. But even between friends, there are boundaries."

"What... what do you mean?" Ye Jiaonan's voice trembled.

"What I mean is," Lin Xishan said, "you can come to me to talk, and I'll listen. But don't treat me like your backup."

Those words hit like a knife, stabbing right into the part Ye Jiaonan least wanted to face.

His face went completely white.

"I never treated you as a backup..." he muttered, his voice so quiet it was barely audible. "I just thought you'd always be around..."

"I won't," Lin Xishan said. "You don't have to text me anymore. I'll block your number. If we run into each other on the street, don't bother saying hi—let's just act like strangers."

Lin Xishan thought he was still too nice for not saying the word "enemy."

After all, as far as he could tell, this world's Ye Jiaonan hadn't done the things he hated so deeply yet.

He still hoped things would end here.

But Lin Xishan still underestimated how much Ye Jiaonan could take. As if all the strength had been sucked out of him—his whole body swayed, almost losing his balance.

He'd rather doubt his own ears than admit that Lin Xishan had just said they should be strangers.

Recently, Lin Xishan had been colder to him, and last time there was even a really handsome guy beside him, pulling and tugging at him.

Ye Jiaonan had noticed something was off, but he hadn't paid much attention to it.

Because he was way too confident.

Ye Jiaonan abruptly lifted his head, the tears in his eyes still wet, yet he forced out a smile.

“Xishan, you’re joking, right?” His voice was shaking, but it carried a stubborn, almost obsessive certainty. “How could you say something like that to me? How could you even…”

He reached out again, trying to grab Lin Xishan’s arm.

Lin Xishan instinctively stepped back, but his feet felt nailed to the ground—a familiar chill creeping up from the base of his spine.

“Xishan…” Ye Jiaonan’s voice cracked with tears, his fingers already touching Lin Xishan’s sleeve. “Don’t do this to me, do you have any idea how harsh what you just said was? We’re best friends, aren’t we? How can you say you want to be strangers?”

“Jiaonan, listen to me—” Lin Xishan’s voice remained steady, but only he knew how much effort that steadiness cost.

“I don’t want to hear it!” Ye Jiaonan shook his head, tears flying off. “What’s been going on with you lately? Is it because of that person from the other day? What did he say to you? Did he try to drive a wedge between us?”

The more he talked, the more worked up he got, his fingers gripping Lin Xishan’s sleeve so hard his knuckles went white.

“Xishan, you weren’t like this before! Before, if I got hungry in the middle of the night, you’d go out and get me something without a second thought; when someone picked on me, you were the first to stand up for me; when I cried, you’d always stay with me and comfort me…”

With every memory Ye Jiaonan brought up, the force controlling Lin Xishan grew stronger.

“How can you say you want to be strangers now?” Ye Jiaonan’s tears fell in big drops, splashing onto Lin Xishan’s sleeve and leaving small wet marks. “Do you have any idea how much that hurts? You’re all I have, Xishan. I really only have you…”

Suddenly, the phone rang.

A sharp, relentless buzzing exploded from Lin Xishan’s pocket, slicing through the spreading chill like a knife.

Lin Xishan sucked in a breath.

Most of the force faded.

Almost reflexively, he pulled out his phone, didn’t even look at the caller ID, and hit answer.

“Hello—” His voice came out a little hoarse.

“Where are you?”

It was Pei Zhi.

Low, raspy, with his usual commanding tone, but for some reason, coming through the receiver, it felt like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline.

Lin Xishan took a deep breath, trying to sound normal: “At school.”

“Your voice sounds weird.” Pei Zhi said immediately. “What’s wrong?”

Lin Xishan glanced at Ye Jiaonan in front of him.

The latter was staring at the phone in his hand, tears still on his face, but his expression had changed.

No longer the pitiful, wounded look from before—now it was wary, hostile, scrutinizing.

He was watching to see who was calling Lin Xishan.

“Nothing.” Lin Xishan looked away. “What do you need?”

Pei Zhi paused for two seconds, then said matter-of-factly: “…Can’t I call you without a reason?”

Lin Xishan almost laughed despite himself, but he really did owe this call a debt of gratitude.

“You can.” Lin Xishan said, his voice lighter than before. “Lord Patron can check up on me anytime.”

Another brief silence on the other end of the line.

“…Are you outside?” Pei Zhi’s voice dropped.

“Yeah.”

“Someone’s there with you?”

Lin Xishan hesitated: “Yeah.”

“Who?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Lin Xishan said, his gaze drifting past Ye Jiaonan into the distance. “I’ll call you back later.”

He hung up.

Ye Jiaonan was still standing there, tear streaks not yet dry, but the pitiful act had already fallen apart.

He stared at the phone in Lin Xishan’s hand, as if trying to burn a hole through it.

“It’s him.” Ye Jiaonan said, not a question but a statement. “That guy named Pei Zhi, right?”

Lin Xishan put the phone back in his pocket without answering.

“What exactly is your deal with him?” Ye Jiaonan’s voice rose, taking on an accusatory edge, practically ranting, “You never used to take calls from other people while I was talking! You never did!”

Lin Xishan said nothing, only confirming that the force had indeed receded before stepping back to put distance between himself and Ye Jiaonan.

“Jiaonan.” He said, his tone calm. “I meant what I said earlier.”

Ye Jiaonan’s expression froze.

“I’ll block your number.” Lin Xishan said. “From now on, if we run into each other on the street, there’s no need to say hi. Let’s just act like strangers. I’ve said my piece. I’m leaving now.”

He turned and strode off toward the dormitory.

Honestly, if he didn’t run now, he’d be the world’s biggest fool.

Came to watch the drama, almost became a lapdog again.

Ye Jiaonan stood there, watching that unhesitating back, his lips moving a few times but no words coming out.

He lowered his head, and the tears fell again.

But this time, not from sadness.

From anger.

—No, not just anger.

Also unwillingness.

And a panic he refused to acknowledge.

Ye Jiaonan realized that the look in Lin Xishan’s eyes just now was different from his last life.