May 27th—it had already been a week. Qingchan hadn’t replied at all.
I couldn’t find her, nor had I heard any news.
It was as if she had vanished from my world.
Had I… made a mistake?
…
“Had I… made a mistake?”
Staring at the weary blue-eyed boy reflected in the mirror, Jiang Chi muttered to himself.
His condition was far from good. His complexion was pale, his expression listless, and his body weak, as if someone had forcibly drained the spirit from him.
He felt as though the world was completely dark.
He felt like the sky was collapsing.
How could it be like this?
She had already accepted me—so why did she run away? Had he done something wrong? But if he really had, why didn’t she tell him? If he had made a mistake, he could change—truly.
Why run away?
Why not reply to his messages?
Why save him once, only to let go now?
Why…
As he thought, tears welled up in Jiang Chi’s eyes.
At this moment, his heart ached as if someone had carved it out with a knife.
To outsiders, Jiang Chi was the aloof school heartthrob, an ice-cold top student—handsome, excellent academically, a wealthy second-generation heir; the epitome of a perfect partner.
But the truth was, Jiang Chi knew very well that he was neither an aloof heartthrob nor an ice-cold god. He was not a perfect partner.
He was just a “patient”—a deeply insecure and sensitive “patient.”
He kept to himself because of severe mysophobia.
He was eccentric because he had no social circle.
He excelled in studies because throwing himself into schoolwork was the only way to feel less empty, the only way to feel alive.
Qingchan—Ji Qingchan.
Outwardly pure and adorable, but inside, a large and fascinating soul.
At first, he thought she was some sort of scam, until later… he came to understand her true self: her carefree nature, her disregard for trivialities, her passionate enthusiasm…
Ever since his severe mysophobia diagnosis, his family avoided mentioning his condition altogether.
Only Qingchan dared smear ketchup on his face and shout indignantly, “This is called male charm!”
Only she treated him not as a “patient,” but as a normal person.
And now, she was gone.
She was no longer there—like a passerby who merely crossed his world, nothing more than a passing moment.
“Ji Qingchan…” The boy looked up, letting tears stream freely down his face.
From the corner of his eye, he glanced once more at the mirror.
In the reflection, the boy’s lips were pale, his gaze as cold as a harsh winter wind, and those deep blue eyes shimmered with sorrow.
So full of sorrow.
Jiang Chi suddenly felt foolish. Why hadn’t he stopped her? Why wasn’t he a real “bad boy”? Why hadn’t he kissed her forcefully? Pressed her against the wall? Pinned her to the bed!?
Could it be that because he wasn’t “bad” enough, Ji Qingchan left him?
After all, she had said she liked “bad boys.”
Maybe the “bad boy” she liked wasn’t the same as the one he understood.
A thought suddenly flashed through Jiang Chi’s mind.
She was an orphan—no parents, no one to rely on, no harbor called “home.”
Only herself.
No matter how much pain or storm she endured, she faced it all alone.
She may have cried countless times hidden beneath the covers, but when she came out again, she was still the carefree, unburdened Ji Qingchan.
She didn’t truly like “bad boys.”
She longed for a dependable man who could give her a home she could rely on.
“Senior Jiang, give me a home, please.”
The girl’s playful words, as if a joke, still echoed in his ears—like an echo reverberating through a valley, ringing endlessly in Jiang Chi’s heart.
He felt stifled.
Overwhelmingly stifled—so much so that he struggled to breathe.
At that time, she was confessing.
She hoped he could be that reliable man.
But he was just a “patient.”
With a thud, he collapsed to his knees.
Unable to bear the pressure, he knelt there, his body unharmed, but his heart had suffered a fatal wound.
“I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t domineering enough. I disappointed her. It’s my fault…”
Crack…
A faint sound seemed to whisper in his ears.
An unknown flame suddenly burst into a blazing fire inside Jiang Chi’s heart, then exploded.
He slowly stood back up, tears glistening as they rolled down his cheeks, passing his nose, and finally dripping onto the floor, creating tiny splashes.
His face, once twisted into something nearly terrifying, gradually began to calm.
“I lost control of my emotions.”
“A truly reliable man does not lose control.”
The boy looked into the mirror at his red-rimmed, blue-eyed reflection, tilting his head slightly.
An inexplicable emotion surged in his eyes, making one uneasy.
“I won’t disappoint Qingchan again.”
“A man should never disappoint his woman.”
“Tears won’t solve anything.”
A breeze drifted softly through the open window, brushing against the boy’s calm face.
The cool, refreshing morning wind brought a pleasant relief.
He raised a hand to wipe away the traces of tears and looked once more at the boy in the mirror.
The world looked different in his eyes; even the air seemed fresher and purer.
He tilted his head, gazing at the reflection, at himself.
“Hahaha… so this is growing up?”
Jiang Chi exhaled heavily and laughed softly.
He felt like someone who was drowning, suddenly breaking through the surface and struggling to the shore.
The boy who once called himself a “patient,” insecure and sensitive, using all kinds of excuses for his inability to fit in—he had disappeared.
Now, the Jiang Chi left was a man who dared to take responsibility and was capable of doing so.
The light above the washbasin spilled onto his handsome face, but instead of warmth and brightness, it resembled a devil dancing wildly.
“This feeling is amazing~ this is growth! I’m grown up now! Hahaha!!”
“Ah Chi, are you okay? Why are you laughing?”
Suddenly, outside the door, Chen Mengrou’s voice came filled with concern.
“I’m fine, Mom, I’m watching a comedy.” Jiang Chi laughed loudly, tears streaming uncontrollably.
“This comedy is so funny! It made me cry from laughing! Hahaha! Damn it! It’s too funny! Life really is a comedy!!”
“Mom, just throw away all those masks and gloves for me! I don’t need them anymore!”
“When is Dad coming back? Next time he takes a client out for dinner, bring me along—I’ve been wanting to go see them! Hahaha!!”
The boy laughed out loud, excitement overflowing from his voice.