CHAPTER 177: COMPLAINING

"Did you fight with Grandpa again?" Qi Jianyi asked, her eyes narrowing skeptically. All throughout breakfast, Grandpa He had kept shooting murderous glares at Song Chengfeng.

No matter how focused she was on her meal, it had been impossible not to notice. And knowing these two, she could only guess that something must have happened.

So, the moment Song Chengfeng put down his chopsticks, she quickly tugged him away to the backyard garden under the excuse of needing to walk off the meal. When in truth, she simply wanted answers.

As soon as they stopped, the cold and composed image of the Young Master Song fell apart completely. His lips curled into a pitiful pout as he began to complain, sounding more like a wronged child than the dignified heir of the Song family.

"What do you mean I fought with your grandpa? I’m the victim here, okay? He threatened to throw me out earlier and kept glaring at me! I didn’t even do anything!" Seizing the moment to his advantage, Song Chengfeng pulled her closer, looping his arm around her waist as if seeking comfort.

"He even made fun of me!" he added stubbornly, voice tinged with grievance. How could she suspect him of picking a fight when it was clearly that old man who wouldn’t let him off?

"Really?" Qi Jianyi arched an eyebrow, unconvinced. "And what exactly did Grandpa do to ’make fun’ of you?"

Song Chengfeng’s eyes widened in disbelief, as though her doubt had genuinely wounded him.

"You don’t trust me?" he accused softly, letting his tone drop just enough to sound hurt.

Of course, he couldn’t possibly tell her the truth that Grandpa He had smugly emphasized "my wife" just to provoke him. Wouldn’t that make him look ridiculously petty in front of her?

"Don’t play the victim card with me, Chengfeng. You know it doesn’t work," Qi Jianyi warned, her brows arching and her voice dropping, signaling that she was serious.

Realizing he couldn’t get away with being shameless this time, Song Chengfeng simply lowered his head to her shoulder, his cheek brushing lightly against her.

"I miss you, Jianyi," he murmured softly.

"You—" Qi Jianyi frowned and instinctively tried to push him away, but as if expecting it, Song Chengfeng only tightened his arms around her waist, refusing to let go.

"I really miss you," he whispered again. This time, his voice trembled slightly, carrying raw honesty and a faint trace of sorrow.

"I thought... what happened yesterday might’ve been just a dream," he confessed, his breath brushing against her ear.

"I was even scared to call you... afraid that it wouldn’t be you on the other end of the line. Jianyi... I was really scared."

Qi Jianyi couldn’t see his expression, but just from the quiver in his voice, she could easily imagine the vulnerability etched across his usually calm, cold face.

She stretched out her hand and calmly pulled him into a tight hug.

"I’m sorry," she whispered, guilt lacing every word of her voice.

Qi Jianyi blamed herself for believing that Song Chengfeng would be fine on his own and could take everything well. But the truth was, he was also human. He felt fear, panic, and uncertainty just like anyone else. He also needed to be reassured, to be comforted with constant affirmations that she truly intended to stay in this world by his side.

After all, they had only just reunited yesterday, and for someone who had longed and waited for so many years, it was natural for everything to feel unreal—like a fragile dream that might disappear if he blinked.

The more Qi Jianyi thought about how Song Chengfeng must have lived through those seven long, empty years, the more her heart ached with guilt and pain.

She felt selfish. And foolish. It took her seven whole years to finally realise, with certainty, that she truly wanted to be with him. And now, when they had finally been given this second chance, instead of being the one to reassure him and ease his worries, she had instead asked him to understand her again.

"Song Chengfeng," she called his name softly, her tone gentle yet tinged with remorse.

Breaking the hug, she raised her hands to gently cup his face, her fingertips brushing lightly against the skin she longed to protect.

"There are so many things I want to say to you, and so many promises I wish I could make," she confessed, her gaze steady on his eyes.

"But I know if I say too much, it might not sound sincere or believable. Even so, I need you to know that the moment I made up my mind to come back to this world and be with you, I was already ready to stay here for the rest of my life." Her thumbs moved gently over his cheeks, brushing across his slightly reddened eyes, as if to soothe the lingering traces of fear and insecurity she could feel in his trembling breath.

"Back then, I refused to stay because my family needed me," she continued, her voice soft but unwavering. "I am the eldest daughter, and though no one forced that burden onto me, I still chose to carry it. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them without a chance to say goodbye. Just like how important my family is to me... I know that I am just as important to them."

"It took me seven years to give my family an extremely comfortable life. To make sure they could live in wealth and leisure," Qi Jianyi said, her voice trembling softly.

"I worked so hard, pushing aside my own health and exhaustion, just so my little sister could live freely without ever having to worry about money. But that wasn’t the only reason..." Her voice dropped, turning faint, almost ashamed.

"I couldn’t stop working because once I did, I would start thinking of you. And it hurt so much," she whispered, her eyes turning red as unshed tears gathered at the corners.

"I never knew I could love someone—a man I only knew for a few months—so deeply that it felt like my heart was being pierced a little more with each passing day we were apart," she confessed, her words cracking under the weight of truth.

"Every night before I went to sleep, I forced myself not to think of you. Because once I did, I might wish to come back to this world to be with you. And I was afraid that wish might actually come true."

Song Chengfeng silently placed his hands over hers, gently holding them, offering silent support as she spoke words she had kept buried for too long.

"It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be with you," Qi Jianyi continued, her voice soft yet unwavering. "But at that time, my situation didn’t allow it. Until everything settled down. Until I could be sure my family was free from worry, I couldn’t let myself choose my own happiness. At first, I was terrified of leaving them. After all, they’re my family. What would happen if something went wrong and I wasn’t there to help? But..."

A small smile appeared on her face. She looked at Song Chengfeng with utmost tenderness, as if he were the only person in the world.

"Mom and dad... they wanted me to choose my happiness over theirs."

"They told me I had been living my whole life for my family, ever since I first realised how serious our financial problems were. And now, they said, it was finally time for me to live for myself. To choose something purely for my own heart. To be selfish, not for them, but truly for me." She drew in a shaky breath, her gaze meeting his eyes with a rare openness.

"So, Song Chengfeng... for the first time after so many years of living my life only for my family... I chose you." A faint, happy smile curved on her lips—so soft, so full of relief and tenderness that in Song Chengfeng’s eyes, it became the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

"I’ve decided to put down the responsibility I’ve carried on my shoulders all these years and move forward," she said gently.

"Of course, I’m still worried about them. But I know that Miss Qi will keep loving and protecting my family just as I did." Her thumb brushed lightly over the back of his hand.

"When I decided to return to this world...my only wish was to be with you. But...if you had moved on, if you had found someone else," she paused, her voice lowering into a whisper edged with quiet sorrow, "then I would’ve accepted it. Maybe I would’ve gone back to my own world or just chosen to live quietly in this world. Because I love you. But loving you doesn’t mean I must have you."

Qi Jianyi finished her words with a small, self-deprecating smile that barely masked the pain behind it. Though she had already heard from Miss Qi that Song Chengfeng hadn’t married or had a partner, that he seemed to be waiting for her all this time...how could hearing it from someone else ever be the same as seeing it herself, with her own eyes?

It was inevitable that part of her heart imagined the worst possibility that maybe, after all these years, Song Chengfeng had moved on. And so, she had truly prepared herself.

If that were the case. If he really didn’t want to be with her anymore, Qi Jianyi was ready to live her life alone in this world, no matter how painful it might be.