Chapter 6

Jiang Yuqing got into the car.

She settled into the back seat and accepted the tissue he handed her.

His gaze finally turned to me:

“She’s my friend, let’s drop her off first.”

If she was a friend, why didn’t he introduce her earlier?

I didn’t ask, perhaps because I already knew the answer.

On the way, we passed by a herbal medicine store, and he got out to pick up my medicine.

Jiang Yuqing’s voice came from the back:

“I’m his ex-girlfriend.”

I remained silent, and she continued with a sigh:

“Love is truly like planting trees for others to enjoy the shade.”

Her words were filled with a deep sense of resentment.

After all, she and Xu Siyan had been in love for five years.

In terms of time or emotional depth, I was outmatched.

Jiang Yuqing didn’t know that a week ago, she sent a message to Xu Siyan late at night, asking to reconcile.

He had quit smoking for a long time, yet he unexpectedly smoked half a pack on the balcony.

His phone didn’t have a password.

He was so open that I never had a shred of doubt.

But for the first time, I secretly checked his phone.

He told her, “I’m getting married soon.”

Not “I love my girlfriend,” nor “I don’t love you anymore.”

Just a plain, emotionless “I’m getting married soon.”

I noted down her WeChat.

Following the trail, I found her other social media accounts.

She kept all the traces of their love.

They met in college, each other’s first love.

He gave her custom-made couple Legos, spending nights building them for her.

He wrote her a handwritten love letter, one each year.

He named a star after her.

He also gave me expensive gifts, but every gift he gave her carried a thoughtfulness I never received.

When she interacted with other men, he would deliberately assert his presence in front of them.

He forbade her from talking to other men, from smiling at them.

She laughed, saying he was marinated in jealousy.

He would seize the moment to kiss her: “Hmm, do I taste sour?”

When they argued and she threatened to break up, she hadn’t taken three steps before he tightly embraced her from behind.

With reddened eyes, he said, “Jiang Yuqing, don’t ever think of leaving me in this life.”

They loved with a passion as deep as the ocean, yet parted with lingering ties.

I felt like a thief, stealing their memories and piecing together a Xu Siyan completely unfamiliar to me.

It turns out the composed and restrained Xu Siyan could also whisper sweet nothings.

It turns out the rational and calm Xu Siyan could also plead not to break up.

It turns out the indifferent and aloof Xu Siyan could also love someone fervently.

He could be so vibrant.

Yet those clumsy affections were never given to me.