Let Me Go, My Childhood Sweetheart [Rebirth] - Chapter 53

“Xiao Yi, I finally have you.”

Chu Weiran held her tight, her voice carrying a slight sob. Jin Yi was momentarily dazed; while she was touched, the intensity in Chu Weiran’s voice felt like almost too much. She couldn’t tell if she was just being sensitive, but something felt off.

Specifically, she remembered when Chu Weiran was drunk and told her to stay with Qin Chaomu. It felt bizarre then, considering she wanted absolutely nothing to do with Qin Chaomu in this life.

Pulling back slightly, Jin Yi looked at Chu Weiran’s tear-streaked face and asked with a tremor in her voice, “Ranran… is it really that moving?” Was it enough to cry until she was choking back sobs?

Chu Weiran nodded, let out a small whimper, and hugged Jin Yi again. She whispered her love into Jin Yi’s ear. “I’m so moved. I thought I would never be able to wait for you.”

“I…”

“So Xiao Yi, never leave me.”

Their eyes met, and Jin Yi saw a terrifying possessiveness in her gaze—a look that felt both strange and familiar. Perhaps she had been too oblivious in her past life, but looking back now, she realized she had seen that look more than once. It used to be a mere flash, as Chu Weiran was an expert at hiding her emotions. Now, however, she made no effort to conceal it.

To have a girlfriend who possessed such deep desire for her should have been a happy thing, and Jin Yi admitted she loved being cared for this much. Yet, the nagging feeling that something was wrong persisted.

“Xiao Yi, let’s eat cake.”

This was already the third cake they’d had in two days. There might even be a fourth.

It was a strawberry ice cream cake, Chu Weiran’s favorite. Jin Yi knew their parents would definitely buy another cake for the formal celebration, so this one was small—only six inches. Since there would be a larger one tomorrow, she wanted to share this one exclusively with Chu Weiran.

Pushing her doubts aside, Jin Yi picked up the server to give Chu Weiran the biggest slice.

“Don’t bother slicing it. Let’s just eat like this.” Chu Weiran reached out and smeared a glob of frosting across Jin Yi’s face.

“Ah! Chu Weiran!!”

Jin Yi hadn’t expected Chu Weiran to still have such a mischievous streak at her age. Chu Weiran used to tease her like this constantly when they were little, usually smearing it and running away. Jin Yi reacted instinctively to strike back, but this time, Chu Weiran didn’t run.

Jin Yi ended up smushing the cake right into Chu Weiran’s face. It was more than Chu Weiran had given her; it even got in her eyes.

“Ranran… I’m sorry!”

Chu Weiran kept her eyes closed, her tone coquettish. “It’s all your fault. Hurry up and get it off me.” She didn’t miss the chance to tease her further. “Lick it off! Or you’re dead.”

Jin Yi had to face the consequences of her own actions. She held Chu Weiran’s head and gently licked the frosting from her eyelid, her tongue clearing the cake away. Then she used a tissue to wipe the area. “There, all clean.”

After finishing the cake, they went back to Jin Yi’s room. Lying in bed, Jin Yi suddenly asked, “If we hadn’t gotten together, what would you have done?”

Chu Weiran leaned against her shoulder, thought for a moment, and replied, “I would probably… just watch you silently and wait for you.”

This wasn’t a “probably”; it was a certainty. In their past life, that was exactly what Chu Weiran had done.

Jin Yi looked at the face inches from her own and asked the question she wanted to ask most: “What if… I had ended up with someone else?”

Chu Weiran went silent, her expression becoming dead serious. They stared at each other in the darkness for a while until Jin Yi broke the tension. “Alright, time for sleep.”

She pulled Chu Weiran into her arms and hooked her leg over hers. She was suddenly afraid; she didn’t want Chu Weiran to answer anymore.

Chu Weiran stayed tucked in Jin Yi’s embrace, unmoving. She waited until Jin Yi’s breathing became long and steady, then, by the light of the moon, she traced Jin Yi’s face with her fingers and spoke her heart.

“If the person you were with treated you exceptionally well, I would bless you in silence. If they didn’t, I would make them pay. No matter how much you cared about them, I couldn’t let them hurt you.”

The room was dark, but Chu Weiran still saw Jin Yi’s eyelashes flutter. Just as she suspected, Jin Yi wasn’t asleep.

Chu Weiran had been debating whether to tell her the truth when Jin Yi asked those questions. She felt Jin Yi was acting strange, and likely Jin Yi felt the same about her. Only those who have experienced it would have such suspicions. So, Chu Weiran spoke those words almost inadvertently.

They were both using their own ways to test the waters, unable to speak plainly. Chu Weiran snuggled back into Jin Yi’s arms and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Jin Yi opened her eyes in the dark. Chu Weiran’s words were too similar to her final sentence in their past life—a scene that had haunted Jin Yi’s dreams since she was reborn.

“Do you really care about her that much? But I can’t let her hurt you.”

This was all too surreal. She didn’t know how to bring it up, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Unlike the peacefully sleeping Chu Weiran, Jin Yi slept poorly, tossing and turning until she drifted off around 4:00 AM.

It felt like she hadn’t even been out for an hour before she was woken by Chu Weiran’s voice. “Xiao Yi! It’s snowing outside!”

Snow seemed to hold a unique significance for both of them, causing them to forget the heavy thoughts of the night before. Jin Yi bolted upright and rubbed her eyes, looking out the window. “It really is snowing!”

The snow was late this year, but it was coming down hard. Jin Yi climbed out of bed and found two long down jackets. Although she was taller and her jacket would be extra long on Chu Weiran, it didn’t matter; they were just for warmth.

The two went out to play in the snow without even eating breakfast. Jin Hai and Chu Zhenglong had already gone to work. Jiang Qiong was at Zheng Yuan’s house helping with breakfast. When it was about time to eat, Jiang Qiong went to call the girls, only to see them building a snowman in the yard.

It had been at least ten years since she had seen such a scene. Jiang Qiong felt a wave of nostalgia and forgot what she was doing, simply standing at the door watching them play.

Chu Weiran usually looked cold and aloof, but she was actually the rowdiest of them all—something Jiang Qiong, who had watched her grow up, knew very well. When Chu Weiran threw a snowball at Jin Yi, Jiang Qiong laughed along.

Jin Yi, already annoyed at being pelted by Chu Weiran, felt even more embarrassed when she heard the laughter. She scooped up some snow and threw it at Chu Weiran, then quickly turned and threw some at her mother.

Jiang Qiong was laughing when she felt a sudden coldness on her cheek. The icy touch made her shiver, and she instinctively roared, “Jin Yi! You dare throw snow at your mother!!??”

What rankled her most was seeing that Chu Weiran didn’t have a speck of snow on her; she was the only unlucky one. Zheng Yuan came out to see what was taking so long and burst out laughing when she saw the hit Jiang Qiong had taken.

“I told you to call them for breakfast, and look at you, getting caught up in the mess! Serves you right!” Zheng Yuan teased.

Jin Yi chimed in, “Serves her right!”

“Xiao Yi, stop being cheeky and bring Da-Ran in for breakfast.”

Perhaps the sight of them playing reminded Zheng Yuan of the old days, and she accidentally used the old nickname, “Da-Ran.”

Chu Weiran’s smile vanished instantly. she stomped her foot in protest. “Mom! Stop calling me that, okay?!”

“Hahaha, Da-Ran! Da-Ran!” Jin Yi joined in, teasing Chu Weiran even harder.

Chu Weiran didn’t dare lay a hand on her mother, but she certainly wasn’t afraid of Jin Yi. She threw a handful of snow at her and tackled her to the ground. The snow was deep enough that the fall didn’t hurt.

As Jin Yi went down, she pulled Chu Weiran with her. For a moment, they felt like children again, filled with nothing but laughter. Chu Weiran was agile, but Jin Yi was stronger. Chu Weiran was good at sneak attacks, but once pinned, she was at Jin Yi’s mercy.

Zheng Yuan saw that breakfast wouldn’t be happening anytime soon and called Jiang Qiong back inside so they could eat first.

The two rolled around in the snow, destroying their half-built snowman in the process. After their exertion, Chu Weiran was clearly out of energy. She lay on top of Jin Yi, their faces inches apart.

Chu Weiran suddenly leaned down and kissed Jin Yi’s lips. Panting, she said, “Xiao Yi, I love you so much. No matter what, I love you.”

The love in Chu Weiran’s eyes was enough to melt Jin Yi. Despite being in a heavy snowstorm, Jin Yi felt a sudden surge of heat. She wasn’t sure if the decision to be with Chu Weiran was correct. For a while, she hadn’t thought about it, but the sight of Chu Weiran lying in her arms now—so vibrant and bright—was a stark contrast to the dying woman from her past.

She couldn’t stop herself from asking, “If you didn’t have me, would you have a better life?”

From last night until now, Jin Yi had asked “What if” questions more than once. Chu Weiran leaned down for another kiss and said passionately, “Without you, I might have no love at all. So, I don’t regret any decision I’ve made.”

They were both testing each other frantically. The secrets in their hearts could no longer be kept.

Jin Yi’s eyes felt hot, and Chu Weiran’s face blurred before her. She admitted she was being sentimental, sentimentally thinking that Chu Weiran would be better off without her.

The wind and snow beat down on them. They stayed like that for several minutes in silence, reading the unspoken truths in each other’s eyes.

Chu Weiran had suspected Jin Yi ever since her sudden concern and her adamant refusal to let her be with Ye Yuan, but she had ignored it for the sake of that hard-won affection. Jin Yi was the same; since her rebirth, her mind had been filled with stopping the union of Chu Weiran and Ye Yuan, until Chu Weiran’s drunken words made her look back at everything. Chu Weiran was equally “abnormal.”

The seeds of suspicion buried in both their hearts had finally broken through the soil.