Let Me Go, My Childhood Sweetheart [Rebirth] - Chapter 5

Jin Yi rushed downstairs, hopped into her little Polo, and sped off. It wasn’t until she had left the neighborhood and passed two traffic lights that she realized she had no idea where the wedding was being held.

While waiting at a red light, she pulled out her phone to call Qin Zhaomu, but hung up as soon as the call connected.

Then she dialed Chu Weiran’s number.

She’d had Chu Weiran’s number since they were kids, but they hadn’t been in touch for years.

The phone rang for a long time, but Chu Weiran didn’t pick up. Hearing the monotonous beeping on the other end, Jin Yi was so frustrated she felt like slamming the steering wheel.

After venting her anger, she tried calling again.

Sweat beaded on Jin Yi’s forehead as she muttered under her breath, “Chu Weiran, don’t do anything stupid…”

“Chu Weiran… Chu Weiran…”

“Little Yi…”

At some point, Chu Weiran had answered the call, and Jin Yi instinctively blurted out, “Chu Weiran… don’t do something so foolish!!”

Truthfully, she had never really liked her childhood friend and “older sister.”

Every time Chu Weiran spoke to her in that sugary, coquettish tone, Jin Yi would get goosebumps, convinced that Chu Weiran was up to no good again.

So now, hearing that same sweet voice, her first thought was that Chu Weiran was playing another trick on her.

“Chu Weiran, where are you? Don’t joke around like this.”

“Don’t hurt anyone!”

Jin Yi’s throat was already dry and hoarse, and with the added stress, every word felt like it was tearing through her throat.

But there was no other way—she had to try to calm Chu Weiran down.

“Where are you? I’ll come find you.”

Chu Weiran remained silent, simply listening to Jin Yi speak.

Her voice was raspy, her tone frantic, and it grated on Chu Weiran’s nerves. The more urgent Jin Yi sounded, the slower Chu Weiran became.

She placed the phone on the table, turned on the speaker, and glanced at the screen.

“My dearest Little Yi.”

Tilting her head, she smiled faintly and resumed what she had been doing before answering the call.

She was painting her nails. Only two fingers remained unfinished, but she had paused to take Jin Yi’s call. Now… she could continue.

Chu Weiran painted slowly, a stark contrast to Jin Yi’s hurried and anxious tone.

Originally, she hadn’t been sure what to do, but now it seemed Little Yi was genuinely upset.

By the time she finished painting her nails, Jin Yi was still talking.

Chu Weiran frowned in displeasure, her tone no longer sweet and soft but lazy and cold. “I have things to do. I’ll send you the address in a bit.”

“You—” Before Jin Yi could finish, Chu Weiran hung up.

Jin Yi had pulled over to the side of the road, completely unsure which way to go. As she was wondering who to ask for the address, she noticed snowflakes starting to drift outside the window.

At first, it was light, but soon, thick snowflakes began to fall.

Heavier than the first snow of the season.

With the wedding time drawing closer, Jin Yi tried calling Chu Weiran again, but no matter how many times she dialed, Chu Weiran didn’t answer.

About ten minutes later, Chu Weiran sent her a text.

It was the address.

The wedding venue turned out to be at Jin Yi’s family’s hotel.

Chu Weiran was even more familiar with the hotel than Jin Yi herself, which only made Jin Yi more panicked. She stepped on the gas, ignoring the wind and snow outside.

…

Jin Yi arrived at her family’s hotel without any obstacles. The wedding was being held on the third floor. When she got there, she saw a noisy crowd gathered outside.

“They say the groom was originally Chu Weiran’s fiancé—she must have turned love into hatred.”

“But Chu Weiran went too far, releasing those kinds of photos. It’s absolutely disgusting!”

An elderly woman retorted, “Too far? If it were me, I’d want the whole world to see their disgraceful behavior!!”

As soon as the woman finished speaking, a scream followed: “Ah!!! There’s blood!!!”

Jin Yi felt her head was about to explode as she struggled through the crowd.

The first thing she saw was Chu Weiran sitting on the ground, her body and hands stained with blood.

Beside her stood a bewildered Ye Yuan, and Qin Zhaomu, lying on the ground with a cut on her face, her eyes filled with resentment and terror.

The moment Qin Zhaomu saw Jin Yi, she seemed to be driven even more insane.

She struggled to her feet and walked over to Chu Weiran.

“Chu Weiran… Jin Yi is here… Heh heh…” The last two laughs were sharp and piercing. Jin Yi frowned and shot her a cold glance before focusing her attention entirely on Chu Weiran.

Her wedding had been ruined by Chu Weiran. They had agreed to let her and Ye Yuan be together, yet Chu Weiran had released those photos and even slashed Qin Zhaomu’s face.

She wished she could kill Chu Weiran.

“Chu Weiran! You’re a devil! Jin Yi will never love you, no matter what!”

Chu Weiran showed no reaction to the first part, but at these words, she stirred.

Clutching the dagger in her hand, she was about to stab Qin Zhaomu, but before she could raise it, someone grabbed her wrist.

It was Jin Yi.

Chu Weiran looked at Jin Yi and smiled.

How long had it been since she had been this close to Jin Yi?

Jin Yi was actually holding her hand.

Chu Weiran’s face was smeared with blood, and her smile was eerie and unsettling.

“Chu Weiran, put the knife down.”

“Jin Yi, do you care about her that much?”

Chu Weiran licked her lips and stroked Jin Yi’s face, saying, “But what can I do? I can’t let her hurt you~”

“Hahahaha…” Before Jin Yi could react, Qin Zhaomu behind her burst into laughter as if she had heard the funniest joke.

Ever since Jin Yi learned about Qin Zhaomu’s actions, she hadn’t wanted to so much as glance at her.

Qin Zhaomu, with her freshly slashed face, was unusually sensitive. Jin Yi’s refusal to look at her only further provoked her.

“Jin Yi, you have no idea, do you? How much Chu Weiran loves you. My marriage to Ye Yuan was all her doing.”

“She wanted revenge on me, hahahaha. She wanted you to see my face slashed…”

“Ye Yuan doesn’t love me anymore, boohoo…” Qin Zhaomu’s words were clearly incoherent, spilling out whatever came to mind. In the end, she even pretended to be pitiful, touching her face and saying to Jin Yi, “Xiao Yi, don’t you love me? Will you still be with me?”

“Shut up! Don’t call me that.”

Jin Yi didn’t fully understand the situation earlier, nor was she unaware of what had happened at the wedding.

But now, she didn’t dare believe a single word Qin Zhaomu said.

Qin Zhaomu’s hair was disheveled, blood from her face trickling down her neck, staining her wedding dress. Her eyes were bloodshot.

From the moment Jin Yi entered, her attention had been almost entirely on Chu Weiran, with only a brief glance at Qin Zhaomu.

But now, as she turned back, Jin Yi was clearly startled.

The person before her felt like a stranger. Despite having spent years together, Jin Yi seemed to be seeing her for the first time.

The kind and gentle Qin Zhaomu might not be real, but the Qin Zhaomu spouting nonsense and acting insane could very well be the true version.

“Stop saying such disgusting things. Your marriage to Ye Yuan was orchestrated by her did she also plan for you to sleep with him?”

“Yes, it was all her doing, all of it!” Qin Zhaomu, as if possessed, suddenly lunged at Chu Weiran.

She had long since put down the knife, so Qin Zhaomu naturally dared to act arrogantly in front of her.

“Because I hurt the person she loves most, she’s taking revenge on me.”

“Chu Weiran, we had an agreement, I would return Jin Yi to you, and you would give Ye Yuan back to me! Why did you have to do this?”

Why did she expose the photos of her and Ye Yuan? And why did Ye Yuan…

stop her when she was about to stab Chu Weiran? To this day, she still didn’t know whether it was Chu Weiran or Ye Yuan who had scarred her face.

Hearing this, Chu Weiran couldn’t help but correct her.

“Qin Zhaomu, this wasn’t my plan alone. Your Ah Yuan planned it with me.”

“In the end, Qin Zhaomu, you still aren’t as important as money.”

“Wh-what?!” Qin Zhaomu stared in disbelief at Ye Yuan, who was standing nearby.

But Ye Yuan kept his head down, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

“Why, why would you?”

Ye Yuan gave her a disgusted look and pulled her hand off his arm.

He then turned away, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.

Already on the verge of collapse, Qin Zhaomu lost control completely upon seeing Ye Yuan’s reaction.

She kept muttering, “I loved you so much, how could you do this…”

As she spoke, she stumbled backward, moving closer and closer to the knife.

Jin Yi’s attention was solely on Chu Weiran, completely unaware of what Qin Zhaomu was doing until she heard Ye Yuan’s scream. Turning around, she saw Qin Zhaomu covered in Ye Yuan’s blood, her smile twisted and her eyes bloodshot as she charged toward them.

“Chu Weiran, I’m going to kill you! You seduced Ah Yuan!”

Seeing her approach, Jin Yi instinctively shielded Chu Weiran and blocked Qin Zhaomu’s knife with her arm.

A sharp pain shot through her, and she heard Chu Weiran’s frantic voice: “Xiao Yi!”

Seeing Chu Weiran’s tear-filled, worried eyes, Jin Yi tried to reassure her, but before she could speak, Chu Weiran suddenly stood up.

Glaring at Qin Zhaomu, she said through gritted teeth, “Qin Zhaomu, how dare you hurt her?”

How dare she hurt her Xiao Yi?

Chu Weiran grabbed the knife in Qin Zhaomu’s hand, trying to wrest it away.

But Qin Zhaomu had already lost her mind. The moment Chu Weiran seized her hand, she thrust the knife forward, stabbing Chu Weiran in the shoulder.

Then, like a madwoman, she shoved Chu Weiran to the ground.

It all happened so fast that Jin Yi had no time to intervene. Chu Weiran fell hard onto the steps, blood streaming down from her head.

Qin Zhaomu, now completely consumed by rage, showed no fear only a wide, manic grin.

“They’re all dead, let them all die.” Qin Zhaomu, who had been muttering incessantly, suddenly released the knife in her hand. Her eyes were vacant, and with the scars on her face, she looked eerie and terrifying. She glanced at Jin Yi and Chu Weiran on the ground, then turned to look at Ye Yuan. In an instant, her emotions collapsed, and she threw herself onto Ye Yuan, wailing uncontrollably, as if the person who had done all this earlier wasn’t her.

Jin Yi had no time to pay her any mind, instead holding Chu Weiran in her arms.

Chu Weiran had always been pale, and now, having lost so much blood, there wasn’t a trace of color left in her face. Jin Yi lifted her body, wanting to stroke her head but not daring to.

How could it have come to this, Chu Weiran.

Lying in Jin Yi’s embrace, Chu Weiran smiled weakly and reached out a trembling hand to touch Jin Yi’s face.

Her hand was still stained with blood, and as she touched Jin Yi’s face, it smeared all over.

“Xiao Yi, I’ve… dirtied your face.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t speak anymore.”

“Xiao Yi…”

Jin Yi’s eyes reddened as she looked at Chu Weiran with heartache. It had been a long time since she and Chu Weiran had been this close.

When they were children, Chu Weiran had been chubby, nothing like now, when holding her felt like holding nothing but bones.

She was so thin.

Jin Yi reached out to wipe the blood from her head, but the more she wiped, the more blood there seemed to be.

She had never seen Chu Weiran like this before.

The Chu Weiran of their childhood had been willful and spoiled, always liking to bully her.

And the Chu Weiran after they grew up…

She didn’t know what the grown-up Chu Weiran was like.

But now, all she could picture in her mind was Chu Weiran, her face covered in blood, pale and lifeless.

“Don’t speak anymore, I… I’ll call for help right away…”

Jin Yi was in complete disarray, fumbling for a long time without finding her own phone, but she happened to see Chu Weiran’s phone lying on the ground.

After making the call, Jin Yi froze, because she saw the wallpaper on Chu Weiran’s phone.

It was… a little bunny eating a carrot, just like the painting in Jin Yi’s home.

Except this version was much more childish than the ones Jin Yi painted now.

In that moment, countless memories flooded Jin Yi’s mind.

She and Chu Weiran had grown up together since they were little. Chu Weiran would take her out to play, saying, “Xiao Yi is so cute. When we grow up, Xiao Yi, you have to remember to marry me, okay?”

“Or I could marry Xiao Yi instead.”

Her first painting had been taught to her by Chu Weiran.

She said she was the little bunny, and Jin Yi was the carrot.

Carrots were meant to be eaten by bunnies, and bunnies would starve without carrots.

So, they would always be bound together.

When did she and Chu Weiran start drifting apart?

Jin Yi couldn’t remember. She only recalled that almost every day of her childhood had been spent with Chu Weiran.

The connection between the Jin and Chu families dated back to their grandfathers’ generation.

Back then, Old Master Jin and Old Master Chu had gone to the countryside together and returned to the city together. Later, they each started their own families. Old Master Chu was the first to dive into business, and he later brought Jin Yi’s grandfather along with him.

Both families’ businesses grew larger and larger, especially the Chu family’s.

Jin Yi’s father wasn’t as sharp-minded and could only maintain the family’s existing assets, while the Chu family’s enterprise continued to expand.

But this never affected the relationship between the two families. Starting from their grandfathers’ generation, the two families had been neighbors.

Because when the two old masters were young, they had said that the children of the two families should either marry each other or become brothers or sisters. Back in those days, society wasn’t as open as it is now, so Jin Yi’s father and Chu Weiran’s father naturally became sworn brothers.

As luck would have it, Jin Yi’s mother and Chu Weiran’s mother were university classmates.

The two families became even closer.

Even before Jin Yi was born, their parents had arranged a marriage alliance.

However, Jin Yi never took any of this seriously, but her mother thought differently. After learning that Jin Yi was with Qin Zhaomu, she repeatedly expressed regret.

Since it’s a girl, why couldn’t it be Chu Weiran?

Jin Yi remained silent.

But in her heart, she thought, “Chu Weiran is domineering and willful—I don’t want to be with her.”

By the time she was about ten years old, she found Chu Weiran increasingly unbearable.

When Jin Yi made her own friends, Chu Weiran was unhappy.

When Jin Yi talked about others, Chu Weiran was still unhappy.

She would even bully and deceive her, making her cry, only to comfort her afterward. Over time, Jin Yi grew afraid of Chu Weiran.

Not daring to openly defy her, she resorted to giving her the cold shoulder.

She stopped answering Chu Weiran’s calls and avoided speaking to her when they met.

The bright and lively girl from her memories had turned into this fragile state. Jin Yi couldn’t stop her tears from falling.

Chu Weiran felt pain with every breath, dizzy and disoriented, yet she still reminded Jin Yi, “Xiao Yi, don’t cry. Wipe your tears.”

She wanted to reach out and wipe Jin Yi’s tears but noticed her hands were covered in blood. It wouldn’t be good if the blood got into Xiao Yi’s eyes.

Jin Yi followed her words, wiped her tears, and comforted her, saying, “It’s okay. I’ve called an ambulance. It’ll be here soon.”

“Okay… it’ll be fine.”

“Xiao Yi, I’m cold… Can you hold me?” Chu Weiran had intended to act coquettishly, but she was now too weak to even move, so she could only gaze pitifully at Jin Yi.

She said weakly, “Xiao Yi’s embrace must be so warm.”

“Okay ! I’ll hold you tight, Chu, sister. You’ll be okay.”

Soon, the ambulance arrived, and Jin Yi’s parents, along with Chu Weiran’s parents, also reached the scene.

Chu Weiran was taken into the ambulance, and her parents followed.

Jin Yi’s parents reported the incident to the police. Qin Zhaomu was taken away by the officers, and Ye Yuan had died.

Seeing Jin Yi’s poor mental state, her mother asked with concern, “Xiao Yi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Let’s go to the police station first, then to the hospital to see Weiran.”

“Okay.”

But just as they stepped out of the hotel, Jin Yi lost her balance, fell, and slid down the stairs.

As she lay on the ground, her consciousness growing increasingly hazy, she seemed to hear her mother calling her name by her ear.

She wanted to respond but couldn’t.

Before completely losing consciousness, Jin Yi recalled the two sentences Chu Weiran had said: “Jin Yi, do you care about her that much?”

“But what can I do? I can’t let her hurt you.”