đź“–Chapter 15: The Distance Between His Silence and Her Heart
The echo of Xuan Qi's heels against the polished marble hallway was the only sound that accompanied her that evening. The lights overhead were dim, casting elongated shadows on the cold floor, and every step she took toward Wei Jie's apartment felt like walking through the past.
She hadn't planned on coming. Not tonight, not ever again. But something about the look in his eyes during their last encounter had pulled her back—an ache too heavy to ignore, a silence too loud to forget.
She paused outside his door, her hand hovering above the doorbell.
Should she?
Could she?
The door opened before she made a choice.
Wei Jie stood there, looking as if he hadn't slept for days. His shirt was wrinkled, collar half open, and his usually sharp eyes were clouded with something she hadn't seen in him in years—fear. Not the kind born of danger, but of loss.
"…Xuan Qi."
The way he said her name—it wasn't a greeting. It was a confession.
She looked at him for a long moment. "You didn't call."
"I couldn't."
"That didn't stop you before."
He stepped aside, letting her in without a word. The apartment was clean, almost too clean, like he had spent hours trying to erase traces of everything except the silence.
She walked in slowly, the memories rushing back—the late nights with instant noodles, the shared playlists echoing through his speakers, the time she fell asleep on his shoulder and woke up to find his coat draped around her.
It had been their world. Once.
"Why am I here, Wei Jie?" she asked softly.
He closed the door and leaned against it, eyes shut for a beat. "Because I needed to see you. Just once. Even if it's the last time."
His honesty disarmed her. She had expected anger. Defensiveness. Not this quiet surrender.
"You said nothing," she said. "Not when I left. Not when I begged you to fight for us."
"I didn't know how," he whispered. "And I thought I had all the time in the world."
She turned to him, eyes bright. "But you didn't. None of us did. And I waited, Wei Jie. I waited even when I shouldn't have."
A beat passed. Then another.
"I read every article about you," he admitted. "Watched every interview. I saw you building an empire, turning every broken piece into something golden. And I… I didn't know how to reach someone who had learned to fly without me."
"You could've just said sorry."
"I'm saying it now."
It wasn't enough. And yet, it was everything.
She sat down on the edge of the couch, arms crossed over her chest. "You think one apology can fix a decade of silence?"
"No," he said, walking toward her. "But I think it's a start."
Silence settled between them again. Heavy, aching, but not empty.
Wei Jie sat beside her, close enough to feel her warmth but far enough that she had space to breathe.
"Do you remember the night you left?" he asked.
Xuan Qi's gaze faltered. "Every second of it."
"I watched you walk away. I wanted to chase after you, but I didn't. I stood there like a coward, thinking maybe if I stayed still long enough, time would reverse itself."
She laughed, bitter and soft. "You always believed time was your ally."
"And you always knew better."
They shared a small, sad smile.
She looked at his hands—same hands that used to hold hers like they were meant for her alone. "Why now, Wei Jie? Why reach for me now?"
"Because I heard your silence louder than your words," he said. "And I realized I still love you, even in your silence."
That made her eyes sting.
"I don't know if I can trust you again," she said honestly. "Not with everything I've rebuilt. Not with myself."
"I don't deserve your trust," he said. "But I'll earn it if you let me."
She stood, walking to the window, watching the city below shimmer in the night.
"I'm not the girl you left behind anymore," she said.
"I'm not the man who let you go either."
Silence again.
Then she turned to him. "One chance. That's all you get. You break it, and I won't look back."
Wei Jie stood, facing her fully. "Then I'll make sure I never give you a reason to."
They didn't kiss. They didn't embrace. But in that moment, under the pale light of the city and the fragile thread of forgiveness, something between them shifted.
Something cracked open.
Not quite love reborn.
But perhaps, the beginning of something brave.