Chapter Sixty: You Should Fulfill Your Promise

Luo Qing stood before me, hands clasped behind her back, gazing down at me from above. I tilted my head, but I couldn’t discern what kind of expression she wore behind those dark sunglasses—was it ridicule, contempt, or the numb indifference I knew so well?

She was as strikingly beautiful as ever, yet the feeling she gave me now was completely unfamiliar. This wasn’t the willful, occasionally silly and adorable Luo Qing I had known. It was as if two identical people stood before me, but with souls worlds apart.

Lowering my gaze, I shoved the coins from the guitar case into my pocket, ready to leave. After so much hardship, I had grown used to the looks people shot me when they recognized me in this sorry state. I could face them with calm acceptance. But for some reason, she was the only one I couldn’t bear to see me like this.

I packed my guitar into its case and stood to go.

“So this is your life now?” Her voice came from behind me.

I ignored her and walked directly toward the exit of the passageway. If things had already grown so unfamiliar between us, better to be decisive and end this connection altogether.

My mind was a chaotic mess when Luo Qing suddenly ran over and grabbed my arm, her voice low and trembling: “Why did things turn out this way?”

Her grip forced me to stop. I turned and gave her a small smile. “Nothing stays the same forever. Life changes, people change. I can’t choose the circumstances I live in, but I can still choose how I live, can’t I?”

She stared at me in silence. I tried to shake her off gently, but she clung to me with all her strength.

“We’ve always been friends, haven’t we? Let go, let’s keep in touch.” I tried to keep my tone calm.

“I won’t let go!” Luo Qing suddenly shouted, drawing curious glances from the crowds at the mall entrance.

Stunned by her sudden outburst, I stood there awkwardly as she held onto my arm, exposed to the stares and whispers of strangers.

“Yang Chen… you don’t consider me your friend anymore… do you?” After a moment, her voice quivered as she spoke.

Instinctively, I wanted to deny it, but the words wouldn’t come. She was right—I truly couldn’t see her as just a friend anymore. After so many days of reflection, I realized I had come to like her. I couldn’t pretend, as she did, to treat our bond as a simple friendship between a man and a woman. I had tried to change my feelings, to become her confidant, but every time I thought of our moments together, her laughter, her words, I couldn’t control the surge of emotion within me. Only now did I understand: I could no longer be with her. We would only end up hurting each other.

With my head bowed and unable to reply, she seemed to sense my answer. Suddenly, in front of everyone, she burst into tears, sobbing as she pounded her fists against my chest.

“Yang Chen, you bastard! You broke your promise!” Luo Qing cried and struck me hard, but I felt nothing; I had grown numb. I didn’t understand why she cared so much about this “friendship.” Was I not someone she could take or leave?

“If you keep making a scene like this, I really won’t even earn enough for a meal tomorrow.” I couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity as I removed her sunglasses and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Don’t cry. Everyone thinks I’m bullying you.”

“You are bullying me!” she stomped her foot, finally stopping her blows, but still clinging to my arm, looking at me with all the grievance of a child.

“How could that be? You’re always the one bullying me.” I coaxed her as gently as I could. Around us, the crowd kept growing, though I couldn’t tell if they were here for the spectacle or simply drawn by her beauty.

“Come with me!” Luo Qing commanded as she dragged me toward the exit. I didn’t want to linger here any longer, so I let her lead me outside.

Even after we left the underground passage, Luo Qing didn’t stop. She pulled me all the way to the roadside before halting, gripping my arm as if afraid I’d escape, all the while watching the traffic, as if about to hail a cab.

“Even though my life is hard right now, I’m still chasing my dreams,” I said softly, patting her hand to signal her to let go.

“I don’t care about your dreams. All I know is that you didn’t keep your promises!” Luo Qing finally released me, turning to face me. “You said you’d come to my birthday, but you didn’t. You said you’d take me to the amusement park, but you didn’t. You promised to teach me guitar, and you broke that too! You never keep your word!”

Watching her grow more indignant, I felt that this was the Luo Qing I knew. I waved my hand and smiled. “If you want to learn guitar, I can teach you anytime. As for the amusement park, you left on your own—how is that my fault?”

“I had an emergency that day. Couldn’t you have called me to reschedule?” Her emotions flared, as if all the logic was on her side and all the faults were mine.

“Reschedule? Why should I? Just because you had urgent business with some handsome guy?” I laughed at myself, staring straight into her eyes. “You’d better not get too close to me in the future. I can’t afford to reach for someone so far above me.”

“You—you saw?” Luo Qing looked at me in surprise, her voice losing its earlier confidence.

Seeing her guilty expression, a sudden anger welled up inside me and I sneered. “So what if I saw? When you’re bored, you come play with me, and when something comes up, you leave without even an explanation. Yes, that’s just like you—the legendary Miss Luo. But did you ever think, when you left, that I went home and took out all my savings just to prepare a surprise for you? I ran around like an idiot making your birthday gift—did you ever stop to think about that?”

My voice rose to a near shout at the end. Luo Qing lowered her head in silence, and I saw tears gathering in her eyes once again.

Regret stabbed through me for my harsh words. Seeing her cry made my heart ache. Maybe I really was the one who took everything too seriously.

“Yang Chen, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it’d turn out this way…” Luo Qing looked up at me with reddened eyes, but I couldn’t bear to look at her. My mind was a tangled mess; I didn’t know who was right or wrong anymore.

“My words were too harsh. Don’t take them to heart… It’s getting cold. Don’t stand out here—go home early, take care of yourself. And don’t go drinking alone in bars anymore—you’re a beautiful woman, and there are a lot of creeps out there.” I sighed, speaking softly. “Take care. I’ll keep my promises. If you want to learn guitar, just come find me—if you don’t mind how shabby my place is.”

Luo Qing stared at me in silence as tears traced down her cheeks to the ground. I hurriedly turned away to hail a taxi, afraid that if I saw her sorrow, I’d lose control and rush back to console her, afraid I’d fall into old patterns again.

After getting into the cab and closing the door, I felt my nose sting and my vision blur. I cursed myself for being so weak—what was this, anyway? We weren’t even a couple, so why were we crying over a farewell? Yet the more I tried to hold back, the faster the tears fell.

And so it ended… I gave the driver my address and wiped away my tears. I didn’t dare look back, afraid of seeing Luo Qing’s face, afraid I’d lose all resolve.

Still, the car didn’t move. After the driver honked several times, I finally looked up through the windshield.

I saw Luo Qing standing in front of the car with arms outstretched, blocking its path. Her eyes were red and tear-stained, but she stood there with unwavering determination.

“Aren’t you going to check on your girlfriend? Is she trying to get herself killed?” The driver turned to me, exasperated. “Young couples like you, always causing a fuss—you call this romance. I call it foolishness. Go and see what’s going on.”

I nodded, quickly opened the door, and ran to Luo Qing, scooping her up and carrying her back to the sidewalk. “Are you crazy? That’s dangerous!” I said, my voice tense.

But Luo Qing, seeing my anxious face, suddenly broke into a teary smile, her beautiful eyes turning into little crescent moons. “If I want you out of the car, you have to get out!”

“I give up, Your Majesty. If you have orders, just say them. Don’t scare me like that—my heart can’t take it!” I wiped discreetly at my tears while pretending to turn away. I couldn’t let her see me cry, even though it happened more often than I cared to admit.

“You need to remember—making me angry is a very serious matter!” she said, wiping her own eyes. I hurried to hand her the sunglasses.

“No need to remind me. I’ve always known… When the mighty Miss Luo gets mad, no number of Yang Chens could stand against you!” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

She seemed satisfied at last, and the sadness began to fade. She put on her sunglasses, leaned close to my ear, and whispered, “It’s time for you to keep your promise and teach me guitar!”

“Now?” I asked, puzzled.

“Now!” she nodded emphatically.

“Hey, are you two getting in or not?” the driver called impatiently.

Damn, I’d almost forgotten about the driver waiting all this time. I glanced at Luo Qing, she glanced back, and without missing a beat, we said in unison, “Sorry, not today.”