The Sickly Fake Daughter, But a Beloved Darling of All - Chapter 120

The other woman had been standing there waiting at some unknown point. Her face was flushed, and she clearly looked unwell, yet her eyes remained exceptionally clear. “Xiaojin.”

Xu Chengjin did not speak. She glanced sideways at Si Yu behind her. Si Yu didn’t say a word either; she simply took a deep breath and took a step toward the house first. As she brushed past Xu Chengjin’s shoulder, she whispered, “I’ll wait for you up ahead.”

Today, they hadn’t returned to their apartment complex but had come to the villa instead. Xu Chengjin hadn’t expected Jin Xi to be here, but she didn’t say much. She stepped forward and said calmly, “You’re sick.”

“Are you worried about me?”

Jin Xi tried to grab Xu Chengjin’s hand, but the latter pulled away. Hurt flickered in Jin Xi’s eyes. “Aren’t you even curious how I guessed you’d return here today?”

Xu Chengjin blinked and let out a sigh. “I don’t particularly want to know. But you have a fever right now; you need to go to the hospital.”

“Xiaojin.”

The redness on Jin Xi’s face was unnatural due to the high fever. She felt dizzy, but she forced herself to stay upright. “I thought I still had a chance. When I saw you two getting engaged in front of so many people, my head was spinning in that moment…”

She grabbed Xu Chengjin’s hand, her body slowly sliding to the ground. her breathing was heavy. “I kept deceiving myself, telling myself that as long as I was alive, there was a possibility we could be together. But… tonight, when I saw the two of you leaning on each other, I really, truly couldn’t lie to myself anymore.”

Tears shimmered in Xu Chengjin’s eyes as well. She bent down, trying to pull Jin Xi up. “I cannot be the person who accompanies you for a lifetime. Jin Xi, get up. The ground is too cold.”

“But I’m supposed to be the protagonist, aren’t I?”

This was the first time Jin Xi had brought this identity out into the open. Her face was twisted in pain. “Why can’t I have anything? Why…”

Her tears fell like broken strings of pearls, large droplets hitting the ground. Her body trembled uncontrollably from the intensity of her emotions. Feeling the heat radiating from Jin Xi’s palm, Xu Chengjin closed her eyes and knelt down, whispering, “You are still the protagonist of your own story, but I cannot be your other half.”

“Jin Xi, stop clinging to the past.”

Xu Chengjin tried to withdraw her hand. She bit her lip, feeling a pang of pity. “We cannot become each other’s lovers. Love must be mutual, mustn’t it?”

Jin Xi wept until she nearly collapsed. In her twenty years of life, the only person she had ever loved was Xu Chengjin. From the first moment she saw her, she knew she would never be able to pull herself away. She loved Xu Chengjin; she liked Xu Chengjin. Every time she saw her, her heart would start racing—urgent and rapid—literally stealing the breath from her lungs. But they were never destined for a perfect ending.

In truth, Jin Xi knew that Xu Chengjin and Si Yu had been staying at a different house recently, but she only knew the address to this one. Jin Xi could only gamble. She understood she had no more chances; her tears now were nothing more than a final lament.

“Xiaojin.”

With a face covered in tear stains, Jin Xi looked up at Xu Chengjin. One last time, she pressed her face against Xu Chengjin’s palm. She, Jin Xi, was capable of loving boldly and letting go just the same.

She looked at Xu Chengjin with focused intensity, then curled her lips into a smile. Her lips moved soundlessly, but Xu Chengjin couldn’t make out what she was saying at all. Confused, Xu Chengjin leaned down closer to catch the words, but in the next second, the woman completely lost consciousness in her arms.

“Jin Xi! Jin Xi!”

Panic flooded Xu Chengjin’s face. She immediately looked up and shouted, “Si Yu! Si Yu!”

“We have to go to the hospital—”

Jin Xi had to be hospitalized for two days. Xu Chengjin waited until Father and Mother Xu arrived before she finally left with Si Yu. Her complexion wasn’t very good. “Maybe I should move my things out of the dormitory in a couple of days.”

Si Yu sat in the car, chewing on a piece of candy. The hard candy made a loud crunching sound as she bit down. “How so?”

“I don’t want any more emotional entanglements. It’s not good for me, and it’s not good for others.”

Xu Chengjin pursed her lips tightly, her expression troubled. “You should know what I’m trying to say.”

Si Yu turned to look at Xu Chengjin. She stayed silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, she reached out, pressed her hand against the back of Xu Chengjin’s neck, and pulled her close. She kissed her lips directly. Between their teeth, she fed the fragments of the candy into the other’s mouth. Her breath was shallow. “Move out of the Xu house, too.”

“Buy a house, put it in your own name. I’ll transfer a few more properties to you. You need to have your own assets.”

Si Yu slowly pulled back a little, taking a deep breath. “And shares… even if we don’t end up together in the end…”

“I have money.”

Xu Chengjin reached out and covered Si Yu’s lips. She had been awake for hours and was exhausted now, her voice lacking strength. “We will be together for a lifetime.”

“Forever… we will never be apart.”