Chapter 47: Don’t Leave

When Yin Xian got home from work, Wang Jiexiang had already made dinner.

She scooped two bowls of rice, set out his chopsticks, then rested her chin in her hands, sitting at the dining table waiting.

Yin Xian didn’t walk over.

“You go ahead and eat,” he said. “I have to pack. It’ll be inconvenient if I go out too late.”

Wang Jiexiang’s back stiffened.

Inside the house came the sound of him opening cabinets and moving heavy things.

He had an extra-large suitcase. He packed it one item at a time.

She cleared the extra bowl and began eating alone.

“Do you need the alarm clock?” Yin Xian was tidying the items on the nightstand.

She didn’t respond, stubbornly trying to split the meat on her plate in half with her chopsticks.

So he didn’t take the alarm clock. He left it for her.

Suddenly, there came a crackling patter of rain from outside.

Wang Jiexiang lifted her head and glanced at the window, where a few raindrops had appeared.

“It’s raining!”

She turned to look at him, her voice unable to hide her delight.

Yin Xian was folding clothes. The suitcase beside him was nearly full.

Thinking he hadn’t heard, Wang Jiexiang repeated herself.

“Look, it’s raining.”

He placed the clothes into the suitcase and said softly, “I know.”

“You’re still leaving even though it’s raining?” Wang Jiexiang’s voice was dry. “Why not just stay?”

He didn’t answer.

They fell once again into that dreadful, frozen silence.

She stared blankly at his back, and he kept busy, methodically packing.

After a long while, Yin Xian finished organizing everything.

He zipped the suitcase and stood up straight.

Their eyes finally met.

Wang Jiexiang looked stunned. Yin Xian calmly said goodbye.

“Take care.”

He dragged the suitcase and took a step forward.

Wang Jiexiang suddenly stood up. Her chair screeched harshly across the floor.

Her eyes were red as she rushed to him, trying to grab the suitcase from his hand.

“Don’t go.”

She pried at his fingers, and when she couldn’t, she started peeling them off one by one.

Yin Xian sighed.

“We agreed on this. I’d move out…”

Wang Jiexiang looked up and glared fiercely at him. “Who agreed with you!”

He knew her temper—once her emotions surged, she’d become stubborn and refuse to listen to reason.

“Calm down.”

Not wanting to clash with her, Yin Xian let go of the suitcase.

“I’ll come get my things tomorrow.”

Wang Jiexiang snatched the suitcase and clung to it, shaking her head like a rattle-drum. “No. I won’t be home tomorrow.”

“Mm. I don’t need you to be. I’ll just take my stuff and leave.”

“No!”

Her eyes darted around as she grasped for a poor excuse.

“What if you take my things when I’m not here?”

Yin Xian said coldly, “I won’t.”

She snapped back quickly, “Who knows if you will or not?”

He didn’t argue and simply turned to leave.

Wang Jiexiang stomped her feet in frustration. Dropping the large suitcase, she ran after him.

Just before Yin Xian opened the door, Wang Jiexiang hugged him from behind.

She clung to his back, shamelessly hanging on.

He didn’t hold her.

With her thin arms and legs, Wang Jiexiang wouldn’t be able to keep that suspended posture for long.

She smelled the familiar scent of soap on his clothes—something she hadn’t smelled for weeks.

She inhaled deeply, her tears and snot all smearing onto his shoulder.

“Yin Xian is awful. I hate Yin Xian.”

She sobbed and mumbled nonsense.

Heartless Yin Xian still replied.

“I’m awful. I’m leaving.”

“No!” she cried out, her arms going limp. She slid off his back like a tumbling ball.

Yin Xian turned to open the door.

Wang Jiexiang anticipated him going for his shoes and snatched one first—not even sure if it was the left or the right.

When he went to grab it, she swung her arm wide and flung the shoe as hard as she could.

…It landed gently on the roof of the old man who collected junk.

Yin Xian looked at Wang Jiexiang.

She puffed out her cheeks and stared at him with round eyes.

The tear tracks at the corners of her eyes didn’t diminish her expression of pure stubbornness.

He stared at her. She didn’t lower her guard and cautiously closed the open door.

Yin Xian had a headache.

Clearly, they wouldn’t be able to avoid a breakup talk.

He went back to the room and pulled out two chairs. He sat in one and motioned for her to sit in the other.

Wang Jiexiang folded her arms and dug her fingernails into the flesh of her arms.

Yin Xian saw her pain. He didn’t want to keep causing her more.

“If this is hard for you, then better to end it quickly than drag it out. Breakups are normal. If things don’t work, we separate. No big deal. We part on good terms.”

Every sentence was a knife to her heart, delivered in his calm voice at an unhurried pace.

Wang Jiexiang couldn’t tell if he truly meant it or was just talking out of anger.

“Think long-term. People who aren’t right for each other are better off apart. You’ll have many passersby in your life. I’m just one of them.”

“You’re immature!”

Driven into a corner, Wang Jiexiang lashed out first.

“You’re making it sound so profound when it’s just because I put chili in the fried rice!”

That wasn’t what he meant. “Not right for each other” referred to how they handled conflict.

Still, he was speechless at her retort.

Wang Jiexiang looked so righteously indignant.

“Fine, I’m immature.”

With that, Yin Xian turned to leave again.

Quick as lightning, she pounced on his back and used the same trick.

This time, he didn’t even manage to stay standing. He lost his balance and fell to the floor with her.

Wang Jiexiang clung to him with both arms and legs, holding him down.

Her legs wrapped around his waist from behind; her hands grabbed his wrists and pinned them to his chest.

How did it turn into this again? Yin Xian was exasperated.

Both annoyed and amused, he asked, “You think you can stop me with your strength?”

“I can’t,” Wang Jiexiang admitted.

She had no logic, so she didn’t bother pretending to have any.

“I don’t care. If you’re leaving, take me with you.”

She buried her head and tightened her grip.

Her voice was soft, her entire body like a clingy patch of stubborn plaster.

“I can’t live without Yin Xian. I absolutely won’t let you go.”

“……”

“Don’t be a passerby. You’re especially, especially important to me. You’re already my boyfriend. Don’t even think about running away. I want to be with you for the rest of my life.”

“……”

Wang Jiexiang keenly noticed that Yin Xian’s ears were gradually turning red at her words.

She couldn’t see his face, so she tested it again.

“Wang Jiexiang absolutely will not leave Yin Xian.”

The redness spread from his ears to his cheeks, like he’d been burned.

“You…” He didn’t know what to say to her.

“I’m Wang Jiexiang! I’ll never leave Yin Xian in this life. If you didn’t hear it clearly, I’ll say it ten more times.”

Was there any need to repeat it?

Her loud voice echoed through the half-emptied home, looping over and over.

Her direct words made her meaning perfectly clear.

“Alright, stop talking.”

She wasn’t embarrassed, but he was embarrassed for her.

Wang Jiexiang suddenly had a hunch—she sensed that Yin Xian wasn’t going to leave anymore.

She tested the waters by loosening her grip a little, letting go of one of his arms.

Yin Xian didn’t seize the chance to shake her off and walk away. He stayed still beneath her.

In fact, her clever little test had been completely unnecessary. As he’d said before—if he truly wanted to go, there was no way she could stop him even with all her strength.

Having received Yin Xian’s “affirmation,” Wang Jiexiang became even more enthusiastic.

She sat up, pressing her left cheek to his right.

His face was burning hot. Wang Jiexiang was overjoyed.

“I’ll say it. I’ll keep saying it.”

She closed her eyes and hugged him tightly.

“Let’s not argue anymore. Don’t go anywhere. Don’t say those hurtful things. They make me sad.”

“I really, really like Xian-ge!”

“How could you not know!”

Wang Jiexiang cupped her hands like a megaphone and shouted into his burning red ear, “I can’t live without you”