"I turned her down."
"If it weren't for all those days before..."
The young man couldn't find the right words to describe it. "I might have hesitated for a while."
After all, they'd been together for nearly five years.
They'd spent many wonderful days together.
They had a lot of happy memories.
"But she really did scare me a little."
The young man shook his head.
Raindrops fell in a steady stream.
"I told her outright that we couldn't get back together."
"I told her not to come looking for me again."
"I was very blunt."
The way she looked at the time...
"She looked like she'd taken a huge blow."
The young man felt a little sorry for her.
"But since I don't feel that way, I can't let her keep hoping."
"Better a short pain than a long one."
"I hope she can come to terms with it."
"I thought that would be the last time we saw each other."
"But..."
"You saw what happened."
The young man spread his hands. "A few days ago, our company held an event and organized a trip for the employees to see the maple leaves at Fragrant Hills."
Fragrant Hills?
Xiao Xiao froze.
Could it be...
The protagonist in Ling Yao's story was this very man?
"I actually ran into her there, too?!"
The young man laughed bitterly. "Do you think that was a coincidence?"
"I don't."
"She said it meant fate hadn't run its course between us."
"She said we were destined to be together."
"I—"
The young man held back.
In the end, he didn't swear.
"She must have hired someone to follow me."
"She actually went that far..."
The young man's frustration was plain to see. "Does she think this will work?"
"All she's doing is making