I Still Remain (Completed)

Prologue

It was a Saturday, and Saturdays were supposed to be their day.

No matter how hectic their schedules got, when Saturdays would come, it was imperative that Wang He Di and Shen Yue needed to spend time together, whichever way possible.

But this Saturday, was one of the Saturdays. This kind of day hardly ever comes that he considered it a top priority to plan something special for them.

She hated big occasions and he knew that, so he decided to cook for her and prepare a candlelit dinner at her apartment. He loved to cook but he loved it best when she compliments his cooking, so from the get-go, it was clear to him that he had to cook for her. Plus, he had a key to her unit, so surprising her shouldn't have to be a problem.

It was also very rare that their schedules would meet especially on such a busy year like this one (when both of them are filming their individual dramas in different cities), so when he found out that they both had zero commitments on this date, he immediately booked a flight to Beijing and spent every single day counting the hours until this day arrived.

When she texted him that she way on her way home from visiting a friend, he readied himself by anxiously sitting on one of the chairs of her dining table – which he decorated with candles and dishes that he knew she would love. A bouquet of flowers was also set on top of it, one he planned on giving her upon her arrival.

It was going to be perfect.

And for a time it was. When she opened the door, he ran towards her in a way that was almost melodramatic, shouted (more like shrieked) the word "Surprise!" but she just stood there on the doorway, lips slightly parted and seemingly frozen. It wasn't the reaction he was hoping for but he had missed her so much that he almost crushed her to pieces when he hugged her.

She hugged him back but he recognized a certain distantness in the way she touched his back and the manner in which she settled her chin onto his shoulder. Usually, she would run to him for a tight embrace and a huge smile on her face. Sometimes, she would even jump at him so he could carry her the way they dramatically do in those romantic movies, except theirs was void of any theatrics and borne out of genuine yearning for each other.

This time though, something seemed off. She wasn't her usual enthusiastic self and she kept spacing out and taking deep breaths.

But he missed her so much that even if he wasn't able to see her clearly because of the limited light from the candles, the mere smell and brush of her skin on his was enough to make him feel like crying.

They went to dinner and he got what he wanted. She presented herself as being ever in awe of his cooking and kept praising—in between mouthfuls—how every single dish was delectable. But she sounded weird, like she was trying to please him rather than actually thinking the food was good. Meanwhile, he kept looking at her and touching her right hand, as if their close proximity wasn't enough to satisfy his constant need for her affection.

But then she started to look away from him, teary-eyed and visibly attempting to hide something.

It wasn't long before she gradually pulled her hand from his grasp, covered her face with both of her hands and started sobbing.

He didn't understand what was happening. She cried the way he never saw her did before, and he started to get confused, and terrified.

He tried to remove her hands from her face but she cried even harder that he had to stand up and hug her head while softly caressing her back. Then he went on to squat in front of her and finally managed to slowly remove her hands from her face. He was met with her eyes shut tightly, tears dripping down her cheeks.

"What is it? Why are you crying?" he asked.

She attempted to open her mouth but her lips were just shaking so terribly that he knew there had to be something seriously wrong.

"Did you miss me that much?" he tried to joke, but she just continued to cry that he knew better than to push it and just held her until she was exhausted from crying.

After about ten minutes, she broke free from his embrace, looked down, took a deep breath and was finally able to speak.

Her voice broke but she managed to say, "I think... I've fallen out of love with you."

No words came out of his mouth. The way she said those dreadful words was almost like a whisper, but the shrill of it punctured him like the loudest of uproars.

Wang He Di felt the color drain from his face as he slumped down on the floor of her apartment, rendered speechless, heart sinking to his stomach.

Ten minutes.

Thats all the time Shen Yue took to compose herself and end their four-year relationship.

This night was going to be perfect.

Instead, it turned into a haunting disaster of a night that marked the end of their relationship.