Heartbeat Step by Step - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
This time, my brain truly crashed.
So much so that when Xie Xu bent down and kissed me, I didn’t even have time to react.
He spoke softly, his voice hoarse.
“Xiao Huai, I’ve liked you for a very long time.”
Chapter 20
Xie Xu took me to Nanchuan Company to sign the contract.
When the company’s CEO saw Xie Xu, his brow furrowed. He swept a none-too-friendly glance over me. “You brought him?”
Xie Xu lowered his head. “Mm.”
“You’ve thought it through?”
“Mm.”
The CEO handed me the contract documents. “Fine. Since you’ve made up your mind, do whatever you want. It’s not like I can control you anymore.”
After the CEO left, I asked Xie Xu, “Do CEOs personally handle artist signings now?”
Xie Xu picked up a pen from the CEO’s desk and handed it to me. “He’s my dad.”
What?
I was so startled the pen fell to the floor.
“So the CEO of Nanchuan Company wasn’t here for the contract. He was here to see his future daughter-in-law?”
“Ahem.”
The moment I realized what I’d just said, I buried my head in my arms.
Xie Xu rubbed my head, sounding entirely too smug. “You’re not wrong.”
Chapter 21
After I signed with Nanchuan Company, Nanchuan released a video on its official account.
In the video, Xie Xu wore simple clothes and spoke slowly to the camera.
“Xiao Huai and I have known each other for a long time.
“Back then, I was just someone who didn’t like talking and was often bullied.
“I used to think forgetting was the best way to heal from past trauma.
“But the scars on my body from cigarette burns told me I couldn’t forget. I had to face it.
“The person who was bullied wasn’t Xu Ze. It was me.
“Xiao Huai saw the scars on my body and stood up for me, openly giving Xu Ze a taste of everything he had done to me.
“And because of that, people with ulterior motives were able to take advantage of the situation.
“I believe that aside from me, many others have also experienced bullying.
“I also hope you won’t define this as the dark part of your life.
“You were never the ones in the wrong.
“I’m very sorry the truth came so late.
“I just feel that if someone acts out of kindness and does the right thing, then they deserve a positive response-or at the very least, they shouldn’t be slandered for it. Even if that person himself doesn’t care about what the outside world says.”
Three minutes later, the reposts had passed ten thousand.
Under the Weibo post, countless people who had once been bullied or treated unfairly in childhood began telling their own stories and speaking out, calling for an end to unconscious bullying.
Chapter 22
Many years later, I found a document on Xie Xu’s computer.
When I opened it, I discovered it was filled with fanfiction he had typed out, word by word.
So it turned out some feelings had been mutual from the very beginning.
Xiao Huai:
“Love is such a beautiful thing-beautiful enough that I believe it can give me courage.
“I have never felt inferior because of who I love. I pursue love boldly, regardless of the world’s gaze.”
Xie Xu:
“People always demand that the sun burn brightly, wishing for their beloved to be like the morning sun, forever vibrant.
“Yet they forget that even the final ray of a setting sun is enough to illuminate the entire world.
“I don’t want you to struggle to maintain the brilliance of dawn.
“Because you are the sun. Whether rising or setting, you can drive away the darkness on the road ahead of me.
“As long as you are willing to stay in my world, then to me, that is the greatest fortune of all.”
(The End)
