Chapter 29: Tell everything

The thick, sweet tea swirled in my mouth, its simple flavor relaxing my nerves.

“It’s Yinyin.”

Xiao Qingling’s guess matched the thought in my head, and we both tacitly remained seated.

We could both see that Xiao Ji liked Senior Schoolmate Xu.

“I… should I go open it?”

Xiao Ji hid the game controller in the drawer at the bottom of the sofa.

‘Who else would do it?’

I looked at him with disdain, while Xiao Qingling simply picked up a book and started reading.

Xiao Ji jumped up abruptly, performing a mechanical dance as he walked to the entryway, organizing his words into the intercom microphone.

“Senior Schoolmate Xu? Come on in and have a seat!”

‘You haven’t even opened the door yet!!’

Xu Yinyin rarely came here, and even when she did, she usually stayed in the study, borrowing Xiao Qingling’s books to read.

She seemed to find Xiao Ji too noisy, but Xiao Ji just kept bringing her fruit and things like that—maybe once every 30 minutes…?

*Click.*

After the door opened, Xiao Ji backed into the living room immediately, reaching out to invite her in like a waiter in a restaurant.

Xu Yinyin was still wrapped up as round as a glutinous rice ball.

She scanned the living room and stepped forward with a grin to greet Xiao Qingling.

“Qingling, I’m bothering you again.”

Then she looked at me, rubbing the strands of hair dripping down her neck while narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Li Mingshan, we met not long ago, and today I’m here at your invitation.”

She was still as polite as ever.

“Yes, thank you for being willing to come, Senior.”

“It’s nothing~”

Just as we finished our pleasantries, I shifted my gaze only to find Xiao Ji standing bolt upright next to me, giving me a fright.

He stared at me, his eyes full of suspicion.

Come to think of it, he didn’t know that she had visited my house a few days ago.

Moreover, since she had greeted everyone except him, he was definitely unhappy.

Ever since he finally got to know her during our junior year, the relationship between them had been subtle.

Initially, we had an agreement: when I gathered the courage to confess to An Zhi, he would also confess to her.

In the end…

An Zhi and I followed the atmosphere and held hands, performing a “silent mutual confession” first, while things didn’t go as smoothly for Xiao Ji and the Senior Schoolmate.

Even after she graduated, Xiao Ji still didn’t dare to confess, dragging it out until now.

If An Zhi and I were a physical education long-distance run, they were a marathon—and Xiao Ji was still standing at the starting line, practically motionless.

I was truly anxious for them.

“Senior, tea! High-quality barley tea!”

Xiao Ji hurriedly poured tea for her.

“No, it’s just ordinary barley tea. Just drink it.”

Xiao Qingling seemingly couldn’t stand the way her younger brother was sucking up and spoke out to expose him.

This made Xiao Ji awkward, but he braved through it and finished pouring the tea.

“Thank you, Xiao Ji. I really love drinking… never mind.”

‘Don’t stop there, Senior!’

In our junior year, she said she loved milk bars, so Xiao Ji brought a whole box to her.

The time before last, she said she wanted to eat cream puffs, and Xiao Ji delivered them every day for a month…

The last time…

At this rate, a person as cautious with her words as Senior Schoolmate Xu wouldn’t dare to casually mention liking anything anymore.

Xiao Ji was stubborn with his mouth, but his body was still a man of action.

In a way, this could be considered a form of confession… right?

“Wow, haha, hello, Humi~”

As soon as she sat down, Humi jumped into her lap.

Perhaps it was very warm inside her thick clothes.

Then Xiao Ji looked at Humi with murderous eyes.

A man was less than a cat…

Then, just when I thought she would slowly sip her tea and rest for a while, she looked straight at me.

“It’s been a long time since you asked us to gather here. Is there something big you want to say?”

“Yes, now that Yinyin is here, I’m also very concerned.”

Xiao Qingling also put down her book and looked over.

Xiao Ji’s gaze was still stinging my cheek.

I didn’t expect to get straight to the point so quickly…

If I spoke about my private affairs, how would they view me?

In their minds, An Zhi and I were still deeply in love; they might even suspect us of deliberately hiding the progress of our relationship.

Only Xiao Ji knew the truth.

He nudged my shoulder, urging me on.

If I revealed Su Xixia’s existence, I would be admitting that I was a cheating scumbag, betraying all the efforts they had made behind the scenes to help us…

From a certain perspective, that was indeed the case.

Even so, I gathered my courage.

“I, actually, am a pretty terrible person. Right now, I’m in a twisted romantic relationship with a girl from my village… under the circumstances where I couldn’t see or contact An Zhi for nearly a year. I lied to myself, thinking we had a ‘de facto breakup,’ and I did something wrong…”

I stated the hardest truth to say first.

This way, explaining the rest would be much easier.

Xiao Ji stayed standing by my side.

“I was there too. Seeing Brother Li looking like he was half-dead, I also thought An Zhi had run off, so I advised him to move on.”

Xiao Qingling gasped, and the book in her hand hit the floor with a thud.

“Is it… really like that?”

The Senior Schoolmate held her cup, the white steam rising from the hot tea obscuring her face.

“An Zhi hasn’t contacted me at all. I thought she was just as quiet as before. In the end, did she not even contact you?”

Xiao Qingling picked up the book, closed it, and pressed it against her lap.

“Yes. I think it’s because of company regulations. After she became popular at that streaming company, we couldn’t even send messages.”

“If that’s the case, she isn’t having an easy time either. Li Mingshan, you know An Zhi so well, yet you still misread her. She loves you as much as she loves dancing. She must still be dancing.”

Seeing Xiao Qingling’s brow furrow slightly, I didn’t dare look at her anymore and lowered my head.

“Qingling, let him finish. Mingshan must have a reason for doing what he did, right?” the Senior Schoolmate said softly.

She, who had put in the most effort to set me and An Zhi up, didn’t seem that angry right now.

Seeing her say that, Xiao Qingling also fell silent.

“It was about two months ago… when An Zhi was temporarily unable to support me, and I really couldn’t afford the rent. A woman named ‘Su Xixia’ found me and used her family heirloom as collateral to help me renew the lease…”

Everything started from then.

Ever since Su Xixia arrived, the trajectory of my feelings had experienced massive fluctuations.

Full of lies, she had deceived me several times.

To get close to me, she even hid the fact that An Zhi was secretly helping me, taking part of the help for herself and claiming all the credit.

But she also had her merits.

Not only did she resolve the loneliness I had accumulated from being alone for so long, but she also never left my side while taking care of me.

I believed that ‘someone who doesn’t truly like me wouldn’t go to such lengths.’

I had been struggling with her strengths and weaknesses until I finally realized the truth not long ago.

She had always been a selfish person, from childhood to adulthood.

The scars she left on me would only deepen, never disappear.

I recounted everything I had gone through with Su Xixia during this time.

By the time I finished, my throat was parched.

I looked up; the hour hand on the wall clock had moved down more than one notch.

After I finished speaking, the silence lasted for a long time.

Steam no longer rose from the teacups.

“I see… I didn’t expect it to be so complicated. It hasn’t been easy.”

The Senior Schoolmate was the first to break the silence.

“Who the hell does that woman think she is!”

After learning more details, Xiao Ji flopped onto the sofa.

“When I saw her at the subway station again, I knew she wasn’t simple! She really knows how to play people!”

“A-Ji, watch your manners.”

“Tsk! Sis, why are you still worried about manners? Li Mingshan is suffering, being stuck in this kind of dilemma. That’s what men fear most.”

Xiao Ji shook his head vigorously and fell silent.

“…A relationship should have a proper beginning and an end. I think feelings are just that simple,” Xiao Qingling said flatly.

“Before dating someone else, you should at least confirm the end of your previous relationship. Although An Zhi didn’t do things correctly either by not contacting us for so long… it’s hard for us to judge. It’s too complicated.”

“Sis, let me remind you, you’ve never even been in a relationship… I don’t mean anything by that,” Xiao Ji whispered.

“I abstain.”

Xiao Qingling’s expression darkened.

“A-Ji, starting tonight, you must be home to check in by 8:00 PM every night. Fooling around outside every evening…”

“Huh?”

Struck by this blow, Xiao Ji instantly wilted.

“I hate men who come home late every day.”

The Senior Schoolmate, who had been silent for a while, added another blow to Xiao Ji.

Now Xiao Ji was completely incapable of getting back up.

The Senior Schoolmate, who always loved playing the mediator, chose to avoid the topic for now and took another sip of her cooled tea.

“Li Mingshan, I won’t blame you for wasting my heart’s effort in applying for that private practice room for you two, nor will I blame you for lying to me when I went to your house… if only you had told me sooner instead of telling Xiao Ji.”

“That’s… I’m sorry.”

Recalling the efforts she had made, my relaxed nerves tightened again.

‘It was to avoid unnecessary trouble, so my relationship wouldn’t affect you and Xiao Ji.’

That was what I had thought.

“Clearly, neither Xiao Ji nor I cared. The only one who cared was you. You just had to be a perfectionist in this kind of matter, but reality isn’t a literary work.”

She stood up and walked to Xiao Ji’s side, leaning over to peer into his dull eyes as if asking him, “Right?”

Then she looked at me again.

“Yes, I should have explained it to you all earlier,” I said.

“However, I have a new plan now…”

An Zhi and I have an appointment for next Monday to meet at the company…

After that, we can discuss our future.

Or, I could confess all my past loneliness and acknowledge the mistakes I made to An Zhi.

That would make things much easier.

Did I have that kind of courage?

When I shared this plan with everyone, my voice was trembling.

Xiao Qingling nodded after hearing it, and Xiao Ji also let out a sigh of relief.

Had everyone accepted it?

Then my purpose for coming here was…

“In my opinion, the reality is that holding tightly to what you have in hand is more cost-effective than pursuing a distant ideal.”

Xu Yinyin raised a finger and spoke suddenly.

“Wha…?”

Xiao Ji’s eyes widened in shock.

What… did she mean?

What was the Senior Schoolmate, who had worked so hard to bring me and An Zhi together, saying?

“Oh, that’s just what I think. A person’s ideals can be near or far; you have to decide for yourself. But it can’t be denied that love in any form has its own charm.”

“Ah… yes, thank you for your understanding, Senior. Thank you, everyone.”

I agreed with her idea purely out of politeness.

Those words must have been the result of her careful and cautious deliberation, right?

The topic reached its conclusion with my thanks.

Having successfully told my close friends everything, I felt the tranquility of the place.

Listening to their intermittent chatting afterward, my mood relaxed significantly.

It really was better to confide in someone if something was on your mind.

I would be able to see An Zhi after work the day after tomorrow.

When the time came, I had to be brave and tell her everything, just like I did today—

How would she view me?