Like Love But Not

9- Xiao Xia's Confession

Xia Mingxiu shouldn’t have taken this path.

For Luo Yuchen and I, we reaped what we sowed for where we are today. But for Xia Mingxiu, he was only an innocent victim that we dragged into this mess.

He never did anything wrong from the beginning to the end.

The ones who were wrong were Luo Yuchen and I.

Yet, he never complained when he had to pay for the price of our mistakes.

He looked deep into Luo Yuchen’s eyes and said, “Let’s slowly forget about him together.”

“I can wait. Xiao Heng could wait ten years. I can too.”

I finally understood that I could never be Xia Mingxiu’s opponent.

He really was too perfect. He wasn’t doing it on purpose, and his action was completely genuine. Someone like me could never hope to reach his perfection.

The reason why I was able to retain that little amount of pride and persistence in front of Xia Mingxiu was because I had the advantage of time and wealth. I got to know Luo Yuchen before Xia Mingxiu for more than ten years. I was friends with Luo Yuchen for more than ten years, and I waited silently by his side for ten years. I know that Xia Mingxiu was better than me. I know that he liked Luo Yuchen a lot as well. But I always reassured myself that I could do it. I felt that Xia Mingxiu couldn’t beat what I have done.

But now, it seemed like Xia Mingxiu was also able to do the only thing I was able to do for Luo Yuchen.

He could wait too, and I believed he could wait even longer than me.

Waiting was a slow form of torture. One would feel hopeful, then disappointment, and finally despair.

However, Xia Mingxiu was different. Maybe he would be able to see the rainbow after the storm.

Luo Yuchen might soon realize that his yearning for me was only due to his feeling of guilt and obligation.

I’ve seen many such examples. It wasn’t a realization of his true feelings. It wasn’t truly love.

Perhaps everything was just my wishful thinking. My wishful, selfish, stubborn thinking that Luo Yuchen had suddenly realized that he liked me.

This is exactly what I am now. While I felt heartache watching Luo Yuchen like this, I also felt a despicable delight. I really was pathetic.

I looked at Luo Yuchen and Xia Mingxiu again. They looked like a match made in heaven.

Why was I so arrogant to think that he would look past such a bright person before him and instead land his gaze on me, an old speck of dust in a corner?

No one would be able to reject Xia Mingxiu. I knew that.

But Luo Yuchen remained unmoved. Ignoring everyone’s words, he said, “Xiao Heng is still alive…”

He thought that I was still alive.

He wasn’t rejecting Xia Mingxiu. He just truly and simply felt that I was still alive.

However, if it wasn’t for that night, if it wasn’t for the fact that he truly felt that I was alive, would he have accepted Xia Mingxiu already?

I didn’t know the answer.

I only knew that Luo Yuchen had hurt Xia Mingxiu. I knew that his stubborn persistence had cruelly hurt Xia Mingxiu.

Xia Mingxiu’s face visibly paled. He stared at Luo Yuchen’s absent-minded face, and an expression of despair and unwillingness finally broke through,an expression that I’ve never seen before.