After Trying To Pursue The Cold, Elegant Beauty. I Ended Up Being Flirted With Instead - Chapter 56

Once Only One Step Away

Pei Xiubai was frozen in place, her blood seemingly congealed at that moment.

“We have no future.” Wen Zhu’s gaze moved from her face to the doorway. “Give up, I haven’t wanted to marry you for a long time.”

After speaking, she leaned over and picked up the takeout meal on the table.

If she delayed any longer, Li Zhiyun really wouldn’t be able to eat it while it was still hot.

She wanted to leave, but her wrist was suddenly seized with great force.

“Qingqing, don’t go!”

Pei Xiubai held her tightly, as if grasping a final life-saving straw, trembling all over.

“Please, give me another chance… I can swear, I can change into anything you like, I’ll never ask you to do anything for me again, you can do whatever you want!”

She truly could not live without Qingqing.

The thought of how much Qingqing had suffered beside her, while she had bitterly believed Qingqing was the one who was wronging her…

She had been going crazy these past few days…

“Just give me a chance to make amends, to let me and you go back to the way things were…”

Wen Zhu ignored her pleas, only using force to pry open her fingers one by one and pull out her wrist.

She didn’t spare her a glance, turning around to walk out.

Her heart felt as if it were being fiercely squeezed by an invisible hand, painful and distorted.

Pei Xiubai watched Wen Zhu’s resolute back, a huge panic welling up inside her.

How could Qingqing be so heartless?

Hadn’t she done enough?

Could she really bear to see her become like this?

Without Qingqing, she truly would die…

No! It can’t be!

Seeing Wen Zhu’s back about to disappear through the door, the redness in Pei Xiubai’s eyes deepened, and she almost shrieked.

“I won’t give up! I will definitely win you back! Don’t think you can get rid of me!”

Wen Zhu, who had reached the doorway, suddenly paused.

Pei Xiubai thought she saw a glimmer of hope, and her dim eyes instantly lit up, asking eagerly, “Qingqing? You… you’re willing to change your mind?”

Wen Zhu slowly turned around.

The afternoon sun shone in from behind her, coating her entire body with a hazy halo, making her expression unclear.

Only those beautiful eyes were staring fixedly at her.

That look was no longer the indifference from just now, but a kind of inquiry, a scrutiny.

Pei Xiubai’s heart skipped a beat.

Then, she heard Wen Zhu suddenly speak, asking an irrelevant question.

“Pei Xiubai.”

“If you truly feel sorry for me, then tell me…”

Her voice paused, every word crystal clear.

“Back then, what exactly did Li Zhiyun send me?”

The way home wasn’t long, but Wen Zhu felt every step she took was on cotton, light and unreal.

She opened the door, and the sight inside made her freeze.

Li Zhiyun was standing by the dining table.

She was wearing an expensive silk shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing a section of her cool, pale forearm.

The hand usually only used for holding Go stones was now holding a cloth, diligently wiping dust off the cabinet.

Hearing the door open, Li Zhiyun turned her head.

Her gaze first fell on Wen Zhu, scanning her up and down.

Then, a faint smile spread across those cool eyes, as if she had seen a treasure.

“Your outfit is very cute.”

Li Zhiyun’s voice was soft, with a slightly husky resonance, “Like Little Red Riding Hood just returning from picking mushrooms in the forest.”

A single sentence, like a needle, gently pricked the nerve that Wen Zhu had kept taut all afternoon.

Her nose suddenly felt sharp.

She remembered Qiao Yu’s undisguised disdain and contempt when she pointed at her old clothes in the coffee shop just now.

Wen Zhu stood motionless in the entryway, staring at Li Zhiyun.

She kept staring until the smile on Li Zhiyun’s face faded, and a hint of awkwardness appeared in her eyes.

She thought Wen Zhu was unhappy that she was touching her things without permission.

Li Zhiyun quickly put down the cloth and explained, “I just saw you had already prepared water and left it here, so I thought I’d help you wipe.”

“Don’t worry, I wiped it very clean, I wasn’t clumsy, and my hands are fine…”

Before she could finish speaking, Wen Zhu suddenly moved.

With a clatter, she placed the packaged meal on a nearby shelf, then rushed over in a few steps and plunged into Li Zhiyun’s embrace.

She buried her entire face in that soft and clean-scented embrace, her voice muffled, with a heavy nasal tone.

“Can I hug you for a moment?”

Li Zhiyun froze completely.

She subconsciously wanted to raise her hand to hug her back, but her arm stopped halfway up.

“I… I’m very dirty.” She looked down at her shirt, stained with dust from wiping, her voice a little unnatural.

The person in her arms shook her head heavily, tightening her grip.

“I don’t mind.”

Wen Zhu’s voice sounded somewhat indistinct, but Li Zhiyun still heard clearly.

She said, “I just found out what you… truly gave me back then.”

It turned out she was only one step away from becoming a professional Go player.

If she had received that plane ticket back then, would everything be different now?

Would she be able to stand openly beside Li Zhiyun?

Instead of being separated by a vast disparity, a chasm between reality and ideal, as they were now.

Li Zhiyun hadn’t expected her to suddenly learn about this.

Just as she was about to ask if Wen Zhu had met someone, she felt the person in her arms stir.

Wen Zhu lifted her head, her beautiful, fawn-like eyes glistening with moisture, looking straight at her like that.

She asked, “What exactly did Pei Xiubai say to you back then?”

In the coffee shop, Pei Xiubai stared at her bloodless face and explained everything.

Li Zhiyun had indeed placed the ticket in her drawer back then, but later, Pei Xiubai found it and returned it to Li Zhiyun.

Wen Zhu remembered that Li Zhiyun transferred schools not long after that.

She wanted to know what exactly had happened back then.

Hearing Pei Xiubai’s name, Li Zhiyun’s eyes darkened.

But Wen Zhu’s gaze was so intense, carrying a stubborn insistence to get to the bottom of the matter.

Her fingertips trembled, seemingly falling into that unpleasant memory as well.

That year, Pei Xiubai intercepted her at the end of the corridor, holding the envelope she had just placed in Wen Zhu’s drawer.

What did Pei Xiubai say back then?

Oh, she spoke coldly, in a manner of asserting dominance, right in front of her.

“Qingqing asked me to return this to you.”

“She said she finds this kind of petty competition beneath her, and she doesn’t want to go with you.”

“She only wants to stay by my side.”

It seemed to have been a rainy day. A flash of lightning outside the window cut across the sky, and the pale light reflected off Pei Xiubai’s icy face.

She tore the ticket into pieces, one after another.

Every single word was like an ice-tempered knife.

“Qingqing also asked me to tell you.”

“You’re annoying, can’t you just get lost?”

A familiar, dull ache unexpectedly came from her heart.

Those scenes flashed through Li Zhiyun’s mind, then were quietly suppressed by her.

Fortunately, after all these years, she had long been used to it.

Li Zhiyun lowered her eyes, looking at the person in her arms who was still slightly trembling, her voice as gentle as if she were soothing a startled small animal.

“She didn’t say anything.”

“She just refused on your behalf.”

She raised her hand, her warm fingertips gently brushing across Wen Zhu’s damp eye corner, wiping away the tear that was about to fall.

The gloomy days of the past were over and would not return.

Li Zhiyun gazed at her, tracing her features inch by inch, as if she wanted to engrave her current appearance deeply into her heart.

“Wen Zhu,” she paused, “it’s never too late to start Go.”

“If you are willing, I can introduce you to a top player to be your student.”

Soon, it was time for Li Zhiyun’s next match.

The venue was crowded, and flashbulbs were constantly flickering.

As expected, Li Zhiyun won again.

It was still a crushing victory, the entire match taking no more than ten minutes from the first move to the end.

“She won again! God Li is still God Li!”

“Ten minutes! Her opponent was last year’s newly crowned champion, just crushed like that?”

“Too strong… Why did she retire back then?”

The outside world’s speculations about her grew, and the attention she received skyrocketed.

As soon as the match ended, countless reporters swarmed forward, blocking the exit entirely, all vying for an exclusive interview with the genius Go player.

But the person they were eagerly awaiting had already slipped away and was quietly standing outside a lounge, waiting for someone.

Inside the door was Master Wei, the recognized doyenne of the contemporary Go world.

She was also a legendary figure who had once dominated the Go world. When Li Zhiyun first showed her talent, the Li family had paid a hefty sum to invite her to give Li Zhiyun initial guidance.

Li Zhiyun stood at the door for more than ten minutes.

With a slight creak, the heavy wooden door finally opened from the inside.

Wen Zhu’s figure emerged.

Li Zhiyun immediately went up to her, a hint of nervousness she hadn’t even realized present in her eyes. “How did it go?”

Wen Zhu looked at her, first curved her eyes into a smile, and then shook her head.

“A bit lacking in fate.”

Li Zhiyun stared at her.

She saw the relief and ease in Wen Zhu’s eyes, and that smile didn’t seem feigned, being clean without a trace of impurity.

The sense of oppression that had been lingering in her heart inexplicably dissipated a little.

Li Zhiyun was stunned for a moment, then sighed silently.

“Okay, then let’s go.”

“Mhm.” Wen Zhu nodded.

On the way back, the bodyguard was driving.

The two sat side by side in the back seat, neither speaking.

The neon lights outside the car window rapidly retreated, casting flickering light and shadows on each other’s faces.

Li Zhiyun took out her phone, opened the chat with Master Wei, and asked what had just happened.

The message was almost instantly replied to.

[A bit lacking in fate.]

It was exactly what Wen Zhu had said.

Li Zhiyun’s beautiful brow furrowed slightly, and her fingertips tapped on the screen.

[She is truly excellent.]

Master Wei paused for a moment before sending a reply.

[I can see, she has great talent.]

[But Zhiyun, her heart is no longer here.]

Master Wei’s message made Li Zhiyun’s fingers holding the phone turn slightly cold.

The phone screen lit up again.

[I can see it. That child has clear thinking, her own unique insights, and several of her moves made my eyes light up.]

[But Zhiyun, she was distracted the entire time.]

[There was a TV in the lounge broadcasting your match. Her eyes barely left the screen.]

Li Zhiyun’s breath hitched.

She recalled that moment in the arena; there were indeed a few precarious moves she made, which were deliberate weaknesses she exposed.

[Fortunately, you turned the tables, and the opponent resigned after just a few more moves.]

[The moment you won, I personally saw her let out a long, long sigh of relief, her whole body relaxing.]

[Then, she turned her head and smiled at me.]

[She said, Master Wei, to be honest, I didn’t come today to apprentice.]

[She said she just wanted to fulfill a dream. Her own, and also a dream from the youth of someone very important to her.]

Master Wei’s words were filled with an inexpressible regret.

[She looked at your face on the TV and told me that she is no longer suited for Go; her heart has been dulled by reality.]

[She said that someone like her won’t go far on the path of Go, and she didn’t want to tarnish my reputation.]

Li Zhiyun stared at the line of text, stunned.

An indescribable emotion enveloped her.

Master Wei’s message came through again.

[Alas, if only I could have met her ten years earlier. Perhaps, there really would be someone in the Go world now who could seriously compete with you.]

This sentence made Li Zhiyun’s heart swell with an aching soreness, as if it had been dehydrated in lemon juice.

More regrettable than the fall of a genius is when no one discovers the genius’s talent.

Before she had time to digest this sharp pain, Master Wei sent another message.

[Don’t be too sad.]

[You know what she said when she saw you win the championship and turned to smile at me?]

Before she could ask, the answer was revealed.

[She said, she may not be able to play Go, but watching Li Zhiyun play is the same.]

[She also said she’s happier seeing you win.]

Boom.

That familiar, suffocating, dull ache once again swept through Li Zhiyun’s entire chest cavity.

Like the fierce, howling cold wind during the annual windy season in Tongcheng.

It pressed down on her, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Her Qingqing could have had a completely different, much brighter future.

She should have been standing at the highest point, receiving everyone’s applause and praise, instead of being worn down by reality, losing even the courage to chase her dreams.

Li Zhiyun suddenly turned her head to look at the person beside her.

Wen Zhu was quietly watching the streetscape rapidly retreating outside the car window.

A very light, gentle smile lingered on her lips, and her whole being exuded a post-rain sense of relaxation.

She looked to be in a very good mood.

Indeed, she was.

Wen Zhu watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon outside the window, completely resolving the last knot in her heart from her youth.

She knew she had a slow, hesitant personality, always looking before leaping, and was never really cut out for Go.

Even if there were regrets, they were in the past.

What she was thinking about now, what filled her mind was…

She really, really liked Li Zhiyun.

How should she confess to Li Zhiyun?