Chapter 12 — When the Ex Returns

Indeed. Deep, you just need to try a different approach. For instance, try courting her all over again. Every girl loves that!

Fu Deep, who had been keeping his head bowed, instantly looked up.

Courting her all over again?

Of course. If Summer does not forgive you immediately, then just keep pursuing her. Show her your sincerity and your feelings.

Throughout the night, Fu Deep listened to his companions share their advice. The heavy stone that had been weighing on his heart began to slowly fall away. Summer had assumed that Fu Deep had finally given up, but the very next day, he appeared once more beneath her dormitory. This time, he was clutching the most vibrant roses, clearly having groomed and dressed himself with the utmost care. Despite the murmurs of the crowd gathering around them, Fu Deep did not retreat; instead, he proactively called out her name.

Summer, could you come down and see me for a moment?

Summer had intended to ignore him, but Fu Deep’s voice grew louder and louder, clearly causing a disturbance for everyone else. With no other choice, she had to descend the stairs once again. Ignoring the prying eyes of the onlookers, she dragged him toward the back entrance of the school.

Fu Deep, what exactly do you want?

Fu Deep appeared flustered. Summer, I only want to win you over again. In the past, I failed to understand my own heart. I always told myself you were just a younger sister, choosing to ignore your presence and even... the love you held for me. But after you left, I realized you had long since woven yourself into every aspect of my life. As for Gu Little, I know what she did. Rest assured, I have already sent her away to a labor farm for reform. From now on, we can...

Enough!

Summer cut him off, her patience entirely spent. Fu Deep, what gives you the impression that just because you have turned back, I must be waiting exactly where you left me? In my previous life, I was the one who was greedy, foolishly insisting on being your fiancee. Because of that, I paid a devastating price. In this life, I told you from the very beginning that I only see you as an older brother. I have done exactly as you once wished—why do you insist on tangling yourself in my life? Is it decreed that no matter what happens, I must be trapped by your side for a lifetime? Fu Deep, there is no logic in that.

Every word Summer uttered was sincere, as if she were finally exhaling the heavy burdens she had kept hidden in her heart for so long. Fu Deep stood stunned by her rebukes. Once he finally processed her words, he surged forward and pulled her tightly into his arms.

Summer, I was wrong. In our past life, I thought it was just a common illness. I never imagined that you and the children would...

He could not finish his sentence before a sharp slap landed across his face. Summer had used every ounce of her strength, leaving his cheek burning with pain.

Enough! For the sake of the years we spent growing up together, I will not pursue the past any further. But if you continue to pester me, I will not be so polite. Fu Deep, let us at least preserve a final shred of dignity for one another.

With that, she threw the bouquet of roses he had forcibly shoved into her arms into a nearby trash bin and walked away without once looking back. In the vast, swirling snow, her silhouette gradually faded into the distance. In that fleeting moment, Fu Deep felt as if he had been pulled back into his past life, the exact moment he received the news that Summer and their two children had perished. Struck by a sudden, harrowing realization, he stumbled, and the next moment, he collapsed to the ground. In his final second before slipping into unconsciousness, he seemed to hear cries of alarm echoing from all directions. Yet, none of those voices belonged to Summer.

Fu Deep was rushed to the hospital with the greatest possible urgency. Throughout his delirium, he drifted endlessly through memories of the past. At times, he was back in the moment he held Summer’s hand to lead her away from the Summer family home; at others, he was trapped in the memory of his past life, holding her during their wedding ceremony. The warmth and happiness of those days slowly dissolved into the endless arguments that defined them after he recovered his memories. Her face, once radiant with an initial smile, became weary and numb, eventually hardening into endless resentment and despair. The experience was nothing short of a prolonged execution, one that made even his soul tremble.

Summer!

When Fu Deep finally jolted awake, only a nurse was there, tending to his medication. She explained in broken, heavily accented language that he had been brought to the hospital by strangers, yet no one had paid his medical fees. Fu Deep stared blankly for a few moments, then asked if anyone had come to visit him while he was unconscious.

I am sorry, no one has come.

Hearing the nurse’s indifferent report, the last flicker of hope in Fu Deep’s heart was extinguished completely. He let out a soft, hollow laugh, his eyes filled with a self-mocking agony that would not dissipate.

That morning, Summer arrived at the library to study as she did every day. Shen Yen Shu approached her with a purposeful stride. As soon as he sat down, he handed her a cup of warm milk and a piece of White Rabbit cream candy, a classic specialty from their hometown.

Would you like to try one?

Summer was just about to decline with a wave of her hand, but Shen Yen Shu had already unwrapped the candy and held it out before her. Unable to refuse, she accepted it. The familiar sweetness dissolved on her tongue, exactly as it had tasted in her memories.

Thank you, senior.

Summer curled her lips into a genuine smile.