Chapter 12: The Distance That Love Could Not Break
The silence between them had stretched across a decade.
And yet, when Xuan Qi looked at Wei Jie now—standing under the amber glow of her rooftop lights, fingers nervously fidgeting with the edge of his coat—she didn't feel like she was speaking to a stranger. She felt like she was speaking to a memory she never buried deep enough.
"I came back because I realized some things don't move on," he said, quietly. "Even when everything else does."
Xuan Qi stayed silent. Her eyes didn't soften. But she didn't walk away either.
Wei Jie took a tentative step closer. "You said once, back then, that if we were ever to part… it should never be in silence."
"That's ironic," she said coolly. "Because silence was all you left me with."
Wei Jie didn't try to defend himself. He only nodded, like he had replayed this conversation in his mind countless times.
"I broke a lot more than just us when I disappeared," he admitted. "But I never stopped believing in you."
Xuan Qi turned away from him, staring at the city skyline.
"You left me when I needed you most," she said. "Do you even understand what that did to me? I had no money, no network, no support system. Just this fire inside me that refused to die. I built everything with my bare hands. And I had to pretend—every single day—that you never existed."
Wei Jie's throat bobbed. His voice was rough when he spoke. "I'm sorry."
"For which part?" she asked. "The leaving? Or the fact that you only came back now, when I've finally made it?"
"For all of it," he said. "Especially for not being man enough to face you before now."
He paused, then added, "I didn't come to take credit. Or to interrupt your life. I came… because I never stopped loving you."
Xuan Qi's breath caught.
"I don't want to hear that," she said. "Not after ten years."
"You're right," he said. "You don't owe me anything."
She turned to face him again, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "Then what do you want, Wei Jie? Closure?"
He shook his head. "Hope."
Her expression cracked—just a flicker—but he saw it. He stepped forward again, and this time, she didn't move.
"I've watched every interview you gave. Read every article. You're brilliant, Qi. I always knew you would be. But I also saw something else behind those eyes—like you were still searching for something you'd buried too deep."
"You don't get to psychoanalyze me now."
"I'm not. I'm just… seeing you."
She exhaled slowly. "And what if I'm not the same girl anymore?"
"You're not. You're stronger. Smarter. Fiercer."
He paused, letting the words settle before adding, "But I still see the girl who used to bring extra hot coffee to my dorm because she knew I never remembered breakfast. The girl who wanted to build a company, not to prove a point—but to protect people."
Xuan Qi blinked fast. His words, soft as they were, hit something raw inside her.
He was still standing a little too close. Still smelling faintly of rain and bergamot—like all the nights they spent dreaming on rooftops, whispering ambitions into the stars.
"You can't just walk back into my life," she whispered.
"I'm not trying to walk in," he replied. "I'm just standing outside the door. Waiting to see if you'll open it."
The following days passed in fragments.
Business meetings. Shareholder updates. Marketing rollouts. Her life was a stream of decisions, signatures, commands.
But in the back of her mind, there was always him.
Wei Jie didn't contact her again.
No messages. No flowers. No sudden visits.
And yet, every time she walked through the city—past old cafés, familiar alleyways, even that broken bench near the university library—he was there, in memory. Lingering like a page she never finished reading.
One morning, while preparing for a press conference, her assistant, Lili, handed her an envelope.
"No sender. Again."
Xuan Qi hesitated before opening it.
Inside was a photo—grainy, slightly faded. It was of her, sitting on the edge of the university rooftop. Next to her was Wei Jie, holding a whiteboard marker, sketching out plans for their first failed startup idea.
On the back, his handwriting.
"We failed then. But you turned failure into fire. I never stopped believing in that fire."
She closed her eyes.
Dammit.
Why did he still know exactly what to say?
That night, she found herself outside an old café—Levin's, where they used to spend hours coding, arguing, and kissing between bites of dry muffins.
It had closed down years ago. The windows were dusty, the sign cracked.
But there he was.
Wei Jie, sitting on the curb in front of it. As if summoned by nostalgia.
"I didn't think you'd come," he said, rising to his feet.
"I didn't either," she admitted.
They stood in silence for a moment, the ghost of their past between them.
"I kept thinking," she said, "if I forgave you, would it erase the strength I built without you?"
Wei Jie didn't answer immediately.
"No," he said. "It would just prove how strong you really are."
She looked at him sharply.
"And what do you want, really? A second chance?"
He shook his head. "I want whatever you're willing to give. Even if it's just a conversation once a week. Or walking next to you in silence."
He paused. "Or maybe, someday… building something new. Together."
She narrowed her eyes. "Something like what?"
"Anything. Not just business. Not just dreams. A life."
Her heart stuttered.
This was dangerous. Reckless.
And yet, there was something achingly honest in the way he looked at her. No expectations. Just hope.
"I don't know if I can trust you again," she whispered.
"You don't have to. Not all at once. Just… start with letting me walk beside you."
She studied him for a long moment.
Then turned and started walking.
He followed, a step behind.
They didn't speak. Didn't hold hands.
But the air between them was no longer silence. It was possibility.
Two Weeks Later
They'd met three times since then.
Once in the park.
Once over coffee.
Once on a quiet late-night drive where she told him about her darkest year—the year her mother passed away, and she had to fight a corporate takeover alone.
Wei Jie listened.
Didn't interrupt. Didn't try to fix it.
Just listened.
And she realized how rare that was.
How seen she felt.
It was a Sunday when she finally broke her own rules.
She invited him to her office.
Not for business.
Just… to see.
Wei Jie walked in like he was stepping into a museum. Awed, reverent.
"Qi," he said softly, "you made an empire."
She nodded. "And you made the silence I had to fill."
He looked down. "I know."
She handed him a folder.
Inside: her upcoming expansion proposal. Overseas ventures. Risk analysis. Press contacts.
"You said you wanted to build something new," she said.
He looked up. Eyes wide.
"You're giving me this?"
"I'm giving you a test."
He grinned.
It was the same crooked grin that used to make her heart flip years ago.
"Challenge accepted."
That night, as they stood outside her office building, a soft drizzle began to fall.
Xuan Qi looked up at the sky.
"I don't know where this will go," she said.
"Neither do I."
"But I know this," she added. "I don't want to keep pretending the past never happened."
He reached for her hand.
This time, she didn't pull away
"We can't rewrite the past," he said. "But maybe we can write the next chapter."
She smiled faintly.
"And this time," she whispered, "don't disappear between the pages."