I'm sorry, but your fiancé loves me.

She recalled something from many years ago.

At that time, she and Qin Qihan had just gotten engaged not long ago, and the relationship between the two families was at its warmest. She would go to the Qin family for dinner every week. Qin's mother would hold her hand and say, "Xue'er, you are the blessing of our Qin family." She believed it at that time, believing that the two of them were well-matched, childhood sweethearts, and that their relationship would naturally fall into place.

Believe that those seemingly perfect matches will naturally lead to a happy ending.

She never thought of investigating anyone's background, going through anyone's phone, or asking "Who did you have dinner with tonight?"

When did she start to change?

It was probably one day that she noticed he was replying to messages slower and slower; it was probably one time that she smelled an unfamiliar perfume on his shirt; it was probably one late night when she called him, and it rang many times but no one answered.

The next day she asked him, and he said, "My phone is on silent." She laughed and said, "It's okay, I was just asking." But that night she sat alone on the bed and thought about it for a very long time.

From that day on, she changed. She checked his phone contacts, the places he'd been, and things she shouldn't have checked. She didn't find any solid evidence, but she didn't stop.

She thought it was to protect herself.

In the end, she protected nothing.

Could it be that Qin Qihan left her because of this?

She picked up her phone, scrolled to Yun Muqian's WeChat, clicked on it, typed a line, deleted it, typed another line, and finally sent only one sentence: "Are you free tomorrow night? Come over for dinner."

A few minutes later, the reply came: "Okay."

The next evening, Yun Muqian brought a box of pastries when she arrived. Zhou Yao had already dressed smartly and was sitting on the living room sofa pretending to look at his phone. As soon as Yun Muqian entered, he looked up and greeted her.

Zhou Xue cooked for herself today. She came out of the kitchen, her apron still on, carrying a plate of freshly cooked food. Seeing Yun Muqian standing in the entryway changing her shoes, she smiled.

"Sorry to bother you." Yun Muqian placed the pastry box on the entryway cabinet. "I just grabbed it; I don't know if it suits your taste."

"It's enough that you're here." Zhou Xue put the dishes on the table, turned around and saw Yun Muqian standing in the living room. She walked over and opened the box of pastries. Inside were several handmade cookies, baked to a golden brown with slightly charred edges, as if they had just come out of the oven.

"Are you lucky?"

"Hmm," Yun Muqian said, "it wasn't done very well."

Zhou Yao, who was standing nearby, picked up a piece, took a bite, chewed it a couple of times, and nodded: "Delicious."

Yun Muqian smiled. She didn't know that Zhou Yao was pulling the strings behind the scenes, but she felt that Zhou Xue seemed more enthusiastic than usual.

That evening, after Yun Muqian left after dinner, Zhou Xue sat quietly in the living room for a while. The TV was on and the volume was very low. Suddenly, she stood up, grabbed a coat, and took out her car keys from the drawer in the entryway.

Zhou Yao poked his head out of the kitchen and asked her where she was going. She only said, "I'm going out for a bit," without explaining further.

It was almost ten o'clock when the car arrived at Qin Xihan's company building.

After Qin Qihan finished his work and walked out of the office building, she went to meet him. Unsurprisingly, she saw a hint of resistance in his eyes. She said softly:

"Qin Qihan, I'm not here to bother you."

"I came tonight to tell you that you don't need to avoid me anymore. You should go find someone you like. I was wrong before, always causing you trouble, but I won't do that anymore."

He continued walking forward, and Zhou Xue, unlike before, didn't cling to his arm; instead, she kept her distance.

"sorry."

She said softly:

"I was too willful before. I knew you were busy with work, but I still made you come to see me. Every time you didn't reply to my messages, I would start overthinking and checking up on everyone around you, which annoyed you. The breakdown of our relationship was all because of me. It was my fault."

She didn't cry when she said those words, perhaps she had been crying for a long time on the way here.

Qin Qihan did not stop walking. The night wind blew in from the end of the street, causing the hem of his coat to flutter slightly, but he did not turn around.

As she watched his retreating figure, she suddenly remembered something from long ago.

They were about ten years old then. The adults from both families ate together, and after the meal, the children were sent out to play in the yard. She sat on the swing, and he sat behind the curtains playing the piano. She just watched him play one piece after another.

"I've liked you since I was little," Zhou Xue said, her voice soft in the night breeze, as if she were talking to someone who wouldn't respond.

"You probably know, right? My mom said she's been talking about you since second grade, saying she'd marry you someday. You didn't really pay attention to me back then, but I still thought you were great. You were good at grades, good at basketball, and aloof to everyone, but I just loved you."

She paused, as if waiting for him to speak, but he didn't.

"When the two families announced their engagement, I was so excited I couldn't sleep all night. I thought I'd finally reached this day."

As she spoke, her voice lowered, "But I later found out that you agreed to the engagement because your family thought it was a good match, not because you thought I was."

"I didn't understand those things before," Zhou Xue continued.

"I thought that as long as I was attentive and considerate enough, you would definitely see it. When you were busy with work, I would go to the company to wait for you. If you didn't reply to my messages, I would call you more often. If I saw anyone I didn't know around you, I would try to find out who they were."

"I thought that was how I showed my love."

She walked in the night breeze, with Qin Qihan ahead of her. She didn't tug at his clothes, but followed him at a short distance, like someone saying a long goodbye.

"But actually, it wasn't that," she said. "It was fear. I was afraid I wasn't good enough, afraid you would leave, afraid there would be someone better than me by your side. The more afraid I was, the more I wanted to do something. I'm the one who pushed you away."

Qin Qihan finally stopped, but only said, "Let's not talk about the past anymore."

Zhou Xue stopped too, standing about two steps behind him, not moving forward. "You're very good, you've always been very good, but you're right, we're not suitable."

The night breeze passed between them, she said:

"Brother Qihan, I only hope that you will have a good life in the future."

There was no way to salvage the situation. Zhou Xue knew that no matter what she did, she couldn't win him back. So she decided to use this method to make him remember her forever.

But in the distance, under a streetlamp, she saw Yun Muqian, carrying a bag and holding a steaming bowl of oden.

It's like they came specifically to pick someone up.