Chapter 33: Chapter 33: If That Day Comes, Can You Confess Your Love Again?
He probably hadn't eaten dinner yet.
Heh, sneaking out to have a rendezvous with that little vixen, of course you're not hungry.
Yao Mingyue remembered the way Xu Musen and that girl fed each other, even though they had only known each other for a few days... to think they would act so intimately.
Xu Musen also quietly observed every move of Yao Mingyue.
In his heart, he speculated about the extent of her "little illness" at this point.
It seemed, at least, that it was nowhere near as severe as her previous life.
If it had been her last life, she probably would have driven straight into KFC to catch him cheating.
Moreover, with the experience of being drugged in a previous life, Xu Musen was absolutely not going to eat anything she handed to him out of sight.
"Yao Mingyue, there are some things I need to talk to you about," Xu Musen said, after noting that she had nearly finished eating.
Being directly addressed by her full name, Yao Mingyue looked at him with a bit of indignation.
"It's me who should be asking you!"
Yao Mingyue wiped her lips, her phoenix eyes shining with the radiance of an empress sizing things up.
"The girl who was with you today, what exactly is your relationship with her?"
"My relationship with her is none of your concern," Xu Musen shook his head. She was always like this, wanting to control everything that appeared around her.
"It doesn't concern me... Xu Musen, don't tell me you're thinking of dating her!"
Yao Mingyue, looking at his nonchalant expression, felt her suppressed anger surge again.
Xu Musen silently watched her. They had had this type of conversation countless times in his previous life.
If Xu Musen glanced a bit longer at any other woman while walking on the street, she would get so angry, pestering him with questions about whether he liked other women or not.
"What happens between us doesn't involve others. I just simply don't want to date anymore; it's quite nice for everyone to just be friends."
Xu Musen truly felt that since he was reborn, he must accomplish something significant—at the very least, change his own and his family's destiny.
However, his expression, as seen in Yao Mingyue's eyes, became an act of spite.
If he didn't like that girl, then it must be because she had publicly confessed and rejected him last time that he was angry.
Yao Mingyue bit her teeth, her face reddening slightly, before she finally said, "Are you just resentful that I rejected your confession last time? I was just... not ready yet. Why don't you confess again? I will accept it this time..."
Xu Musen suddenly laughed, looking at Yao Mingyue.
She, ah, was just too confident, always had been, since she was young.
"Yao Mingyue, why must I confess my feelings to you?"
Yao Mingyue also looked him straight in the eye, "Xu Musen, do you dare to say you don't like me?"
She even leaned forward, her thin nightgown revealing a glimpse of scenery, and the two were close enough to smell the familiar scent of each other's bodies.
Xu Musen looked at her. Honestly, a couple for a day should hold a hundred days of grace.
Having shared a bed for so many years, it was impossible not to have feelings.
Xu Musen gazed at her; this time he did not avoid her but drew closer instead, their distance almost nothing at all.
The teasing warmth now made Yao Mingyue feel her face heating up.
"You…"
"Yao Mingyue, tell me, do you really like me? Or is it that you just simply want to possess this person called Xu Musen as your private property?" Xu Musen countered.
Yao Mingyue trembled, her phoenix eyes involuntarily showing a flicker of avoidance, and a mixture of complication and anxiety.
Xu Musen gave a self-deprecating laugh, "See, even you don't know."
"No, that's not it..." Yao Mingyue bit her lower lip, trying to explain, but facing Xu Musen's eyes, she hesitated.
"If that girl hadn't appeared, you would have continued dragging things out. Now that you feel threatened, you're thinking of accepting my confession.
I'm very curious, what exactly am I to you?" Xu Musen's tone was even, but each word weighed heavily on Yao Mingyue's heart.
Yao Mingyue's body trembled as scenes from the past flashed through her mind…
Did she purely like him, or was she more afraid of losing him?
Xu Musen looked at her in this state and sighed, "Actually, I'm not one to talk. The reasons I like you aren't that pure either."
Xu Musen remembered in his past life, he had so decisively agreed to marry Yao Mingyue. Apart from truly liking her, he also considered practical factors.
The road was one he chose himself; he didn't blame her.
But it was clear that such a marriage and life were failures.
Xu Musen looked at Yao Mingyue and slowly began, "Have you thought about it? Even if we were to come together, would our life truly be the happily ever after we both want?"
"One bows to reality, the other always lacks a sense of security; we are like two spies with ulterior motives playing house."
Xu Musen's self-deprecating words only made Yao Mingyue more panicked.
"No, it's not like that..."
But then, she thought about it, and if they really were together, she might indeed act that way.
Her complexion grew even paler.
Seeing her like this, Xu Musen's voice softened a bit: "Some paths, once taken the wrong way, the harder you try, the farther you are from your destination."
"But... I just don't want you to leave me, Xu Musen. I will definitely not go back on my word; I will always..."
Yao Mingyue's eyes reddened; she felt as if a large chunk of her heart was hollowed out.
"Maybe you can have me, but can you fill the insecurity within yourself?"
Xu Musen slowly said, "Because we both confuse possessiveness with liking, if two people truly love each other, they must be filled with trust in one another, even if separated by mountains and seas, they would still feel completely secure.
It is precisely because we do not know what liking really means that we aggressively invade each other's lives, only in this way do we obtain a slight comfort for our souls."
In saying this, Xu Musen seemed to be summing up his past life, with a touch of regret.
"How sad, to be together for a lifetime, yet the heart is always empty, even ending up as enemies. Is this really the life you want?"
In the end, Xu Musen's gaze fell on Yao Mingyue.
At that moment, Yao Mingyue was entirely stunned, with a faint mist in her eyes, as she blankly gazed at Xu Musen.
"But, but I..."
Yao Mingyue's eyes were hollow, seemingly wrapped in a tremendous sense of powerlessness, much like that thunderous, lightning-filled rainy night many years ago when she had received devastating news…
"Xu Musen, are you… are you leaving me..."
She was a bit panicked, reaching out to grab the corner of Xu Musen's clothes.
Xu Musen looked at her and after a moment said, "I've said it before, I won't deliberately avoid you, but I hope we can both find out what it is we truly like."
"We could be childhood sweethearts, friends, or even strangers, which is better than two people tormenting each other for a lifetime."
Yao Mingyue bit her lip, her mind in turmoil, wanting to say something but everything was stuck in her throat.
"Think about it yourself, get some rest early since your ankle is sprained. I'll be heading back now."
Xu Musen breathed a sigh of relief.
No matter what, the current Yao Mingyue had not reached such an extreme level of morbid co-dependency.
In fact, in their past lives, they were both victims. Yao Mingyue wanted to fully have him, but she never truly had Xu Musen's whole heart for her lifetime.
This misguided and tragic bond would be better severed sooner for both their sakes.
As Xu Musen's footsteps were about to cross the threshold, Yao Mingyue's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Xu Musen! If one day in the future, I can tell you why I like you, I will find the reason why it has to be you..."
Yao Mingyue propped up her body, grimacing with pain from her ankle, but she stubbornly stood up, her reddening eyes fixed on Xu Musen.
"When that time comes, will you confess to me again?"
Xu Musen turned his head, their eyes met for a moment, he said nothing and turned away to leave.
The night sky twinkled with stars.
Yao Mingyue watched his figure slowly disappear around the corner.
Deep in her eyes, half shadow, half starlight.
She quietly looked in the direction of Xu Musen's home, holding a photo of him from her chest, the gleam in her eyes seemingly in constant struggle.
"I will eventually have you..."