"Are you..." Xue Qingcheng noticed the melancholy in my expression and couldn't help asking again, "You'll compare me to Xue Qingcheng, won't you?"
I hesitated before saying, "That's inevitable, isn't it? But now I suddenly feel... perhaps that's just my selfish way of thinking. I can't be too demanding."
Xue Qingcheng studied me seriously in silence for a while. Then she turned to face forward and said, "Although there's no denying that you're a flirt, you really are very gentle—exactly like the hazy Xia Yitian in my memories. Sometimes I hate him very much. That's why I often tried to reject these thoughts whenever they surged in like a tide. But now, at least, my view of him has changed."
"Huh?" I froze for a moment, then couldn't help laughing. "I really didn't expect that. I thought you would love me very much."
"You!" Xue Qingcheng glared at me, but she seemed to feel that what she was about to say might hurt me, so she spoke in a low, distant voice: "I... instinctively rejected these emotional memories, actually. Although I inexplicably know many things, those unnecessary thoughts that surface sometimes always give me the illusion that I'm being protected. Do you understand? In the process of growing up, the thing you need least is the illusion of being protected... Because once you want someone to protect you, even if you know perfectly well it's impossible, you'll still think that person called Xia Yitian might be nearby, protecting you. If you were me, wouldn't you let your guard down?"
After hearing that, I was stunned. My heart seemed to be clenched tightly. Only after a long while did I manage to utter three words: "I'm sorry."
Xue Qingcheng was instead startled by my sudden apology and hurriedly said, "No... why