Chapter 059: I Like You

Jiang Yao and He Yunqing did not accept Mr. Zhou’s kind offer.

The two of them went to a nearby wonton shop that was still open and each had a bowl of small wontons.

From the moment they left the little Western-style building, all the way to the wonton shop, and even after they left, Jiang Yao had barely spoken a word.

She was deep in thought.

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the woman who had been hospitalized for drunkenness seemed especially familiar, as if she’d seen her somewhere before.

On the wide and empty street, He Yunqing walked quietly at her left side.

The peach blossoms were in full bloom.

A gentle breeze blew, and the delicate petals drifted down through the air like rain.

“What are you thinking about?” He Yunqing asked mildly.

“I’m wondering if people really have past lives,” Jiang Yao blurted out, still preoccupied with thoughts of that woman. “Otherwise, how is it that some people feel so familiar the very first time you meet them?”

He Yunqing lifted his eyes, gazing far away at the endless sea of peach blossoms. “Who gave you the feeling that you’d met in a previous life?”

“It’s just that…” Jiang Yao replied, absentmindedly lifting her head.

Under the clear moonlight, He Yunqing’s features were both cool and gentle, a picture so beautiful that even the most skilled artist could never capture it.

Jiang Yao fell silent, walking on in wordless contemplation for quite a while before suddenly saying, “He Yunqing, your holiday ends today, doesn’t it?”

With his hands clasped behind his back, He Yunqing strolled leisurely, his long legs taking unhurried steps.

“I told you, I can choose not to resent you, but I also don’t want to see you.”

“Ah Yao.”

He gazed up at the sky. “And I told you, I won’t draw a line between us, even if it means you end up resenting me instead.”

“He Yunqing!” Jiang Yao stopped in her tracks. “What exactly do you want from me?”

He Yunqing looked ahead at the road. “Just to keep walking like this. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s not—it’s not good at all!” Jiang Yao strode forward, stopping right in front of him. Turning back, she stared at the man, unblinking. “I don’t want your pity or sympathy. Do you understand that?”

Her eyes were slightly red, her voice trembling, “You know about my past.”

“And if I do, is that so wrong?” He Yunqing asked in a low, steady voice.

“It is!” Jiang Yao sniffled. “Would you pity someone just because they have a scar? Of course not! Because that’s just a wound—if it heals, it heals! But why is it that someone like me attracts so much sympathy? Because, deep down, people think I’ll always be broken—that I’ll never truly be whole!”

She turned away, wiping away the tears that had slipped from the corners of her eyes. “Even though I know it wasn’t my fault, even though I keep telling myself I’m not inferior to anyone, that I should live with dignity, in the eyes of many, I’ll always have an unacceptable flaw. Here, this place will always bear that person’s name.”

Jiang Yao reached out and pointed to her heart.

A faint red tinged He Yunqing’s gaze as he looked at her.

“Pity can sometimes be a knife,” Jiang Yao said through clenched teeth, fighting not to cry. “He Yunqing, there are plenty of people who can pity me—but not you. I won’t accept your sympathy. Never look at me with those pitying eyes.”

What she had always minded was never what He Yunqing had done ten years ago.

What truly bothered her was his sympathy now.

Having spoken her mind, Jiang Yao’s chest heaved as she looked at He Yunqing one last time, then turned and walked away without looking back.

“Ah Yao!” came the man’s voice from behind her.

Jiang Yao didn’t turn. She strode forward, head held high.

“Jiang Yao!” His voice called her by her full name.

Still, Jiang Yao refused to stop.

“I love you!”

Her steps halted abruptly, her body going rigid where she stood. At last, she slowly turned around.

He Yunqing’s expression was more earnest than she had ever seen.

“You said you never thought of me at all these past days, but I—throughout these days, I’ve thought of you countless times,” he said, gazing at her with deep feeling.

A breeze swept by, shaking loose petals from the trees, and they fluttered softly between them.

Jiang Yao stood frozen, as if she had turned to stone.

She could hardly believe her ears.

After all, the man before her was He Yunqing.

The incomparably handsome He Yunqing. The talented, accomplished He Yunqing. The He Yunqing whose character and family background were impeccable. The idol of countless people…

And she?

Though she knew she deserved to be loved, sometimes whether one is worthy of love and whether love will come are two very different things.

Back in school, she had had admirers—after all, she was beautiful and outstanding.

But once those admirers quietly learned about her past, they always disappeared without a trace.

Over the years, she had grown used to this coldness.

She no longer cared about such things. The world was mostly like this, after all.

“Do you know what you’re saying?” Jiang Yao choked out, her voice trembling as she questioned He Yunqing.

“I’m saying that I want to walk this road with you,” He Yunqing replied with unwavering conviction.

Jiang Yao’s tears broke free, streaming down her cheeks.

She wiped her face carelessly, forcing a cold laugh. “With a woman like me? Mr. He, I have my dignity—please don’t make a joke of this. Even if you pity me, there’s no need to say something like that. What if I actually believed you?”

“Then believe me,” He Yunqing answered, his tone soft but ringing with certainty.

“This isn’t funny at all!” Jiang Yao bit her lip, turned away, and strode off, leaving him behind.

A strong hand gripped her wrist.

He Yunqing caught up in a few long strides and seized her.

“Stop following me!” Jiang Yao turned, trying to shake him off.

But unexpectedly, she collided with a pair of soft, sensual lips.

One of He Yunqing’s hands held her head steady, the other cupping her chin as he kissed her—forceful yet gentle, blending dominance with tenderness.

Jiang Yao froze, her mind going completely blank.

To a woman, He Yunqing was fatal.

Few could withstand such deep affection from him.

Otherwise, why would women of all ages flock to him?

Jiang Yao prided herself on being clear-headed and self-controlled. She hated losing herself like this—yet she was powerless to resist.

She stood there, overwhelmed, kissed with such tenderness that she felt like a drifting peach blossom, carried by the wind.

She didn’t know how long passed before she finally came to her senses.

She raised her hand and slapped He Yunqing hard across the face, then shoved him away.

It was the first time any woman had ever struck He Yunqing.

His face turned slightly from the blow, but there was not a trace of anger. When he looked back at Jiang Yao, his eyes were filled with a heartbreaking depth of feeling.

“Now, do you understand?”

He asked softly.