WG - 89

Considering that she had just finished a performance in the morning and was tired, and also that this wasn’t their own home, Xie Ye naturally didn’t cause a fuss for too long. Afterward, he held her, washed her body, and after a quick shower, they returned to bed.

Chi Zhiyu had no energy to bother with him and immediately fell asleep.

When she woke up the next day, she saw Xie Ye half-lying beside her, one arm around her, the other playing on his phone, looking languid and relaxed.

Chi Zhiyu had wanted to lie in bed a bit longer, but the moment she closed her eyes, she suddenly realized this was the Xie family home. She quickly sat up, turned to him, and asked, “What time is it now?”

Xie Ye glanced at the screen, “Nine o’clock.”

“Nine o’clock!” Chi Zhiyu immediately pushed him. “Then why are you still lying here? Get up quickly.”

Xie Ye casually put away his phone, “If you don’t get up, how can I?”

“Can’t you call me?” Chi Zhiyu picked up her clothes, buttoned them, and quickly got out of bed, heading to the bathroom.

Xie Ye followed behind her, pulling down the somewhat messy hem of her clothes. “What’s the rush? No one’s hurrying you.”

Chi Zhiyu brushed her teeth, glaring at him and saying vaguely, “Can’t keep the elders waiting. You hurry up and brush your teeth too.”

Xie Ye took the toothbrush she handed him. After they roughly washed up and went downstairs, they greeted the elders in the living room, had breakfast, and didn’t linger much longer.

Chi Zhiyu sat in the car, waving goodbye to Grandma and Jian Yazhi at the gate.

Xie Ye started the car and drove off.

Chi Zhiyu watched their figures gradually disappear, then sighed in relief and leaned back against the seat.

Xie Ye heard her sigh and found it amusing, “What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid,” Chi Zhiyu said very sincerely. “I’m nervous.”

“What’s there to be nervous about?” Xie Ye said casually. “You’ve already met them.”

Chi Zhiyu shook her head, “Even after meeting, I still get nervous.”

Xie Ye raised an eyebrow, “Why aren’t you nervous when you see my mom?”

Chi Zhiyu blinked, “Aunt Zhi and I are like mother and daughter. What is there to be nervous about?”

“Mother and daughter?” Xie Ye curved his lips. “Am I your brother then?”

“That works too,” Chi Zhiyu leaned closer to him, looking at him, and called out, “Brother Ye.”

“...” Xie Ye glanced at her, “Who’s your brother? I don’t commit incest, thank you.”

Chi Zhiyu was amused by him, “What’s wrong with ‘brother’? Isn’t it good?”

Xie Ye: “Did you ever consider me your brother before?”

“Of course not,” Chi Zhiyu curved her lips. “Brothers are supposed to be nice to their sisters, so were you nice to me back then?”

Xie Ye curled his lips, “Oh, you only remember wanting to be someone else’s child bride.”

“...” Chi Zhiyu almost choked. “Let’s not bring that up, okay?”

Just then, the light ahead turned red.

Xie Ye slowed down and stopped, turning to look at her, and slowly cursed, “You’re quite heartless.”

“...”

Xie Ye pinched her fingers, adding another charge, “And you’re fickle.”

“...” Chi Zhiyu felt very wronged. “I’m not. I’ve always liked you. That was just youthful ignorance.”

“Oh,” Xie Ye looked at her, enunciating each word, “You even wanted to date someone from the basketball team in high school.”

“...” Chi Zhiyu genuinely laughed this time. “Xie Ye, are you childish or what? Wu Xuan unfairly accused me of that. That was years ago, and you still remember it.”

The red light turned green.

Xie Ye started the car and said leisurely, “I remember everything about you.”

“So don’t even think about lying to me.”

“...”

After visiting the Xie family, Chi Zhiyu occasionally brought Xie Ye to see Grandpa and Grandma, making up for the days he hadn’t returned home before.

As long as she was with him, Xie Ye didn’t really care. Whether they went or not depended on her.

But sometimes, his schedule conflicted, so he naturally didn’t have time to go. Sometimes he would even stay at the company to work overtime, or be busy juggling both the company and the YG Club.

Chi Zhiyu didn’t often go to his company; she mostly went to the club to see him.

After Xie Ye retired, he chose to remain with YG as an investor but rarely appeared in public.

Fans kept crying out, begging him to make an appearance, saying even a friendly match livestream would be fine.

Yang Bin would occasionally complain about this to Chi Zhiyu, and Chi Zhiyu’s ears were practically calloused from hearing it so often. “Why don’t you talk to Xie Ye about this?”

“It’s useless for me to talk to him,” Yang Bin sighed helplessly. “I can only come to you, his family member.”

Chi Zhiyu spread her hands, “I, the family member, don’t have any say either.”

Yang Bin looked at her and shook his head, “Little Sister Chi, you can’t lie about this.”

“?” Chi Zhiyu blinked, “What about me?”

Yang Bin: “Who doesn’t know Brother Ye listens to you the most?”

Chi Zhiyu retorted, “I listen to him too.”

Hearing this, Yang Bin was about to say something else when he heard the door behind them open. The two looked back and saw Xie Ye returning. Yang Bin quickly stood up and greeted him, “Hello, Brother Ye! Hello, Boss!”

Xie Ye glanced at his demeanor, “Is there something wrong with you?”

“...” Yang Bin choked. “Isn’t this just showing respect for you?”

Xie Ye looked at him, so idle. “Don’t you need to train?”

“I’m resting,” Yang Bin said. “Chatting with Little Sister Chi.”

“Oh, go chat by yourself.”

Xie Ye directly led Chi Zhiyu out. Chi Zhiyu waved at Yang Bin, “Train well. I’ll come visit again next time—”

Before she finished speaking, Xie Ye had already closed the door. Chi Zhiyu turned her head and glared at him, “Be careful, Yang Bin might complain about you.”

Xie Ye’s tone was irritating, “I’m the boss. Does he dare to complain?”

“Oh,” Chi Zhiyu retorted sarcastically, “The boss is amazing.”

Xie Ye walked to the elevator, casually pressed the up arrow. In a few seconds, the elevator door opened, first revealing Old Mu inside.

“Hey,” Old Mu looked at the two, surprised. “Are you two leaving?”

Chi Zhiyu nodded, just about to ask if there was anything else, when a figure emerged from behind Old Mu and stepped out of the elevator.

The man was slender and tall, wearing a dark shirt that made his skin appear cool and pale, with a distinct sickly fragility.

He had a pair of exceptionally beautiful eyes, with slightly upturned corners and irises lighter than usual, exuding an indifferent, gloomy, and cold aura.

The man kept his gaze down, his eyes calm and devoid of any emotion, as if he hadn’t even noticed their presence.

Chi Zhiyu was slightly stunned after clearly seeing his remarkably handsome face.

“Yes, yes, I was going to introduce you,” Old Mu followed him out and quickly introduced, “This is Xu Jiali, the designer we hired.”

Hearing this, Xie Ye casually looked at the man, “Xu Jiali?”

Xu Jiali looked up at him, his gaze cold, as if he had given up on himself. He slightly lowered his jaw, as if acknowledging them, then averted his eyes, implying a strange sense of disregard.

“...”

Old Mu heard Xie Ye’s words and blinked, asking, “Do you two know each other?”

Xie Ye looked at Xu Jiali’s expressionless face, curled his lips, “Oh, same name as someone I know.”

Chi Zhiyu heard this and slightly turned her head to look at him, a bit puzzled.

Xu Jiali clearly didn’t want to waste any more time here. His eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at Old Mu, his tone flat, his voice cold and indifferent, “I only have ten minutes.”

He was rushing them.

Old Mu heard this and quickly waved his hand at Xie Ye and Chi Zhiyu, signaling Xu Jiali to go ahead.

Chi Zhiyu watched the man’s departing back, so arrogant and utterly cold. His aura was completely different from Xie Ye’s.

But she found him vaguely familiar.

Chi Zhiyu couldn’t recall where she knew him from. She turned to Xie Ye and asked, “Have we met this Xu Jiali before?”

“Mm,” Xie Ye took her hand and walked into the elevator. He pressed the first floor button and casually explained, “That little brat who lived at the entrance of Yangcheng Alley.”

Reminded by him, Chi Zhiyu remembered him as the little boy from the outermost house in the alley.

“What little brat?” Chi Zhiyu chuckled. “He’s not small. Isn’t he just two years younger than me?”

Xie Ye seemed to have a very logical reason, “Anyone younger than me is a little brat.”

“...” Chi Zhiyu was speechless. “Then I’m also one year older than you.”

“Oh,” Xie Ye seemed to remember, and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “Forgot about you, little chatterbox.”

Chi Zhiyu was too lazy to bother with him. Thinking about Xu Jiali from earlier, she blinked, “But I remember he seemed to have poor health, always taking medicine. He looks quite alright now.”

Then she added, “He grew up to be quite handsome too.”

“...”

The atmosphere became heavy for a second.

The moment Chi Zhiyu said it, she also realized something was wrong. The words on her lips instantly changed, “But—”

She turned to Xie Ye and smiled, “My boyfriend is the most handsome, no one can compare. This Xu Jiali is just a little brother, right?”

Xie Ye’s lips straightened into a thin line. He pulled his lips expressionlessly and retorted, “Oh, why don’t you just say you want to have a noona romance with him then?”

“...”

...

The two returned to the Xie family home in Yangcheng. As Xie Ye drove past the alley entrance, he said sarcastically, “Look at your little brother’s house.”

Chi Zhiyu was left speechless but found it truly amusing. “That’s enough, Xie Ye. Why do you seem more childish than someone’s younger brother?”

Xie Ye scoffed, showing his disdain for her words.

The car stopped at the gate of the Xie family home, and the two got out and walked into the house. Jian Yazhi was in the kitchen preparing lunch. Hearing the door open, she poked her head out and greeted them.

Chi Zhiyu walked to the kitchen, “Is there anything I can help with?”

“No, it’s fine,” Jian Yazhi looked towards the living room. “You can watch TV with Xiao Ye for a while, and lunch will be ready soon.”

Chi Zhiyu was afraid she might just get in the way, so she didn’t insist and turned to walk back. She noticed that Xie Ye, who had been sitting on the sofa, was gone, and she didn’t know where he went.

She blinked and didn’t bother with him. After watching TV for a while, Jian Yazhi came out of the kitchen and saw her alone, slightly puzzled, “Where’s Xiao Ye?”

Chi Zhiyu: “He probably went to the study upstairs.”

“Okay,” Jian Yazhi seemed to remember something as she turned around and told her, “There are some things in his room that I haven’t tidied for him. Later, you can go up and ask him if he wants to keep anything.”

Chi Zhiyu nodded, “Then I’ll go ask him now.”

After saying that, she naturally walked upstairs. Passing the study, she slightly pushed open the door and saw him on the phone with his computer open, seemingly talking about work, his tone quite serious.

Chi Zhiyu saw him look over, waved her hand to signal it was fine, then closed the door and walked to his room.

Because Xie Ye only occasionally came here, Jian Yazhi hadn’t moved much of his things. The room still looked like it did when he was in high school.

Chi Zhiyu looked around and didn’t see anything useless. She walked to a bookshelf nearby, scanned it up and down, and suddenly saw something like a photo album in the corner.

Chi Zhiyu blinked, reached out and pulled it out. The cover looked a bit old, and she thought it might be a collection of Xie Ye’s childhood photos that Jian Yazhi had put together.

Chi Zhiyu curved her lips and casually opened it.

The first thing she saw was a yellowed photo.

But the protagonist in it was her.

Nine-year-old her.

Chi Zhiyu paused, her gaze moving down, and saw that below this photo was the first group photo Jian Yazhi took of her and Xie Ye when they were nine.

She was smiling brightly at the camera, while Xie Ye had a straight face, showing no expression.

Chi Zhiyu reached out and continued to turn a page, seeing all their group photos, and even more, his photos of her from her graduation ceremony, where he kissed her, and his proposal photos.

From childhood to adulthood.

Every group photo.

Chi Zhiyu paused for several seconds, feeling that there were many more pages below. Her expression slightly stiffened, and her fingertips gently flipped a page.

This time, the protagonist was only her.

But unlike all the previous photos.

The first one was a photo of her dancing for the first time in front of Xie Ye when she was in fifth grade.

Further back, there were photos of every performance in middle school, and then all the photos of her dancing on stage at her high school graduation ceremony.

And every single one seemed to have been secretly taken with a phone. The pixels were a bit blurry, but she, in the center, was clear and distinct.

Among them was a photo that Chi Zhiyu had asked Xie Ye to take for her. However, before that, he had already secretly taken photos of her dancing every time.

Recording her every moment of brilliance, every moment of dazzling light.

Only she didn’t know.

And only, she didn’t know.

Chi Zhiyu’s eyes welled up, and she suddenly remembered what Xie Ye had just said that morning.

—”I remember everything about you.”

Everything. Every moment with you.

I remember.

From the year we first met, to the moment you entered my world and my life, I have never forgotten.

A sound came from the doorway. Chi Zhiyu looked up.

Xie Ye looked at her expression, then his gaze shifted, and he suddenly noticed the photo album in her hand. He paused slightly, then walked towards her.

Chi Zhiyu held the photo album, suppressing her emotions, and softly asked, “Why did you take so many photos?”

Xie Ye walked to her side, lowered his gaze, and looked at the girl in the photo, “Hmm, wanted to keep a memento.”

Chi Zhiyu paused, “A memento of what?”

“At the time, I was afraid if we didn’t end up together,” Xie Ye curved his lips and said lightly, “At least I’d have photos to look at.”

Chi Zhiyu immediately lowered her eyes, choking, “...Why would you be afraid?”

Hearing this, Xie Ye lowered his gaze to her, and then smiled faintly, “Chi Zhiyu.”

“Of course I would be afraid too.”

...

From the moment I realized my feelings for you.

I even wondered if it was just my illusion, if I had just spent too much time with you and mistaken this intimacy for love.

I was anxious and confused, but with every moment spent with you, I unconsciously cared about your emotions, about every word you said.

And when you relied on me, satisfaction gradually filled my heart.

If possible, I wanted to be with you forever.

The moment that thought arose.

He confirmed what that feeling was.

But he didn’t dare to say it.

During the days he spent with her, he was satisfied little by little, yet he wanted more and more.

Could it be, no longer just friends?

Could he be with her?

But he wasn’t sure about her heart, what if it wasn’t?

What if there was nothing?

What if she only thought of him as the so-called childhood friend, just a close friend?

Then what could he do?

Xie Ye had once thought about what kind of outcome breaking that boundary would bring.

Chi Zhiyu would avoid him, and she would decisively leave, no longer interacting with him.

Perhaps even the last existing relationship as childhood friends would be shattered.

So, he didn’t dare.

He failed.

He thought, Let it be.

Just keep that relationship where he could be with her, even if it was just as the so-called boy next door, he could still be with her.

As long as she didn’t like anyone else, as long as no one took her away, just keep going like this.

That would be enough.

This humble and selfish thought made Xie Ye feel frustrated for the first time.

It also made him clearly understand his own cowardice.

Just because he was afraid of losing her.

Losing the only excuse to be by her side.

So.

Then he would give up his greed, and just be friends.

As long as she didn’t leave him, it would be fine.

Xie Ye welcomed every day with Chi Zhiyu with this mindset.

Watching her smiles, watching her sadness, and watching her reliance and affection for him.

Then, secretly recording all her moments, preserving every little bit of their time together.

Until that obsession overflowed, he wanted more, and he feared more.

...

The moment his words came, Chi Zhiyu watched tears fall onto the photo album.

He had been afraid too.

Afraid just like her.

Chi Zhiyu remembered Wu Xuan’s past question: if Xie Ye also liked you but was afraid of losing you, wouldn’t you two miss out on each other?

So, how would you know if you don’t try?

That’s right.

How would I know if I don’t try?

Chi Zhiyu looked up at the boy she always wanted, who now belonged to her.

Xie Ye took the photo album from her hand, gently closed it, and was about to hand it back to her when Chi Zhiyu turned around, reached out and gently hugged his waist, burying her head in his neck, and called out, “Xie Ye.”

Xie Ye: “Hm?”

Chi Zhiyu firmly pursed her lips, her voice hoarse, “That ‘what if,’ it won’t happen.”

Hearing this, Xie Ye paused for a few seconds, then seemed to understand her meaning. He curved his lips, lowered his head and hugged her tightly, his tone serious and certain, “Yes, there will be no ‘what if’.”

It’s impossible for us not to be together.

...

In the past.

I shared every moment with you with trepidation.

When greed and fear coexisted.

I constantly struggled and conflicted.

Could I take a gamble, could I try just once?

Greedily praying for this one time.

To break this boundary, intensely desiring to possess you.

I thought perhaps.

That way, in the future, when we no longer meet, I will have no regrets.

At least, I tried.

So.

Even if you don’t want me.

I have conveyed this long-hidden, stubborn persistence to you.

Even if I’m covered in scars, it doesn’t matter.

Because I, too, was brave.

Holding a full heart.

To relentlessly pursue the person I clumsily and passionately loved, until death.

—End of Extra Chapter—