"The moon tonight is still the same as yesterday's, but the people today are no longer the same as yesterday's."

Jiang Che looked up at the half-moon in the sky, his tone surprisingly relaxed: "There's no reason why, it's just that we can't go back."

The more he spoke in this tone, the more it made Su Rongyin anxious, as if his politeness and distance made him seem like a stranger...

She clutched Jiang Che's sleeve, shaking her head like a rattle, and when she opened her mouth, she burst into tears: "No, I don't want to not be able to go back! I don't want to!"

"Jiang Che, I know you're mad at me. I shouldn't have rejected you in front of so many people. I didn't mean to, I was just startled. I'm sorry, I apologize..."

Startled... Only Su Rongyin didn't know that back then, she liked him... Jiang Che shook his head with a smile, it was truly ironic: "It has nothing to do with that, you don't need to apologize. Like you said, rejecting me is your right, and I respect your choice. This matter is inherently a mutual decision!"

"Then what... what is it because of?"

Su Rongyin sobbed: "Why can't we go back... Jiang Che, can you tell me..."

She was persistent in her questioning.

Jiang Che took a deep breath and finally said, "The reason... is that I've had enough of being a simp, and I don't want to be one anymore."

"Simp? What's that?" Su Rongyin's tearful eyes widened.

"My previous actions towards you were those of a simp," Jiang Che said.

"Giving my all without reason, feeling overjoyed with the slightest return, even if it was completely disproportionate to what I gave..."

Listening to Jiang Che's words.

Scenes of how Jiang Che had treated her over the years flashed through Su Rongyin's mind:

"Rongyin, let me carry your schoolbag..."

A simple sentence to start.

Jiang Che carried her schoolbag for six whole years.

And what about herself?

She completely forgot that the other schoolbag on Jiang Che's shoulder was hers, not caring at all;

"Rongyin, the ice cream you like, I waited in line for a long time to finally get it..."

Under the scorching sun, the boy's T-shirt was soaked with sweat, as he ran over with an ice cream.

He ignored the heat of the line, just wanting her to have a bite of her favorite ice cream on a hot day.

And what did he get in return?

He got her saying:

"It's all melted, how can I eat this? Jiang Che, you eat it."

How could she be so excessive?

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Even she felt it was too much...

How much heartache was hidden beneath Jiang Che's usual smile when he heard those words?

And there were so many more situations like this...

Too many to count.

Simply too many...

Su Rongyin clung tightly to Jiang Che's short-sleeved school uniform, burying her head in his shoulder, crying her heart out:

"How could this happen... How could I be so excessive... Jiang Che, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry..."

"No need to apologize, I did it willingly, and even enjoyed it," Jiang Che said. "Alright, stop crying, we're almost at your house. If your mom sees you like this, she'll think I bullied you."

The boy comforted her briefly, then fell silent, carrying the girl forward quietly, just as he had in the past, yet completely different now.

"Jiang Che!"

Su Rongyin lifted her head, her swollen eyes seriously watching Jiang Che's profile, holding back her sobs as she said:

"It was all my fault before, I didn't cherish you, didn't realize how good you were to me..."

"Can we go back to how we were before?"

"I won't let you be a simp anymore, I promise!"

Even without looking back, Jiang Che could sense her hopeful gaze, but he still just smiled: "Life is long, the road ahead is endless, anyone might just be a temporary passerby... Su, you don't need to take it to heart."

"I... I don't want you to be a passerby..." Su Rongyin said anxiously, but just as she was about to speak, Jiang Che suddenly called out:

"Auntie!"

Ahead, Xu Jingjie was getting out of a BMW, just about to head home.

"Little Che... Yin!? What happened?"

Xu Jingjie was first puzzled, then quickly ran up when she saw Su Rongyin on Jiang Che's back.

"Aunt Xu, Su accidentally twisted her ankle. We went to the hospital, it's nothing serious."

With Su's mother's help, Jiang Che set Su Rongyin down.

"Twisted her ankle again?" Xu Jingjie supported Su Rongyin, shaking her head helplessly: "How can you be so careless."

"Auntie, Su's bike is at the entrance of Li's Diner on Dongsheng Street. The cost for the X-ray and diagnosis was 180, she can bring it to school tomorrow. It's getting late, I'll head off now."

Jiang Che waved his hand, turned around, and left, not giving the mother and daughter a chance to speak.

Watching Jiang Che's resolute departing figure.

Xu Jingjie slightly raised her eyebrows.

Su.

This address, she had never heard Jiang Che use for her daughter before.

Many times before, when Jiang Che helped out, she tried to give him the money he spent, but he always refused.

But this time, he directly said for Su Rongyin to bring the money to school...

Xu Jingjie let out a long sigh.

She knew.

If he wasn't truly heartbroken, how could such a drastic change occur?

She suddenly doubted whether it was right to encourage Su Rongyin to win Jiang Che back.

But on second thought, she hadn't really made any decisions for her daughter, just told her what the right values and principles were, and the choice was up to her daughter.

With Su Rongyin's personality, even if she didn't say anything, she would still make this decision, and then, with her own temperament, she would only end up further from the result she wanted, more heartbroken...

Xu Jingjie shook her head, supporting Su Rongyin: "Let's go, Yin, tell mom what happened at home?"

Without even thinking, Xu Jingjie knew.

Her daughter crying like this couldn't possibly be just because of the pain from twisting her ankle.

Something else must have happened.

...

"Don't want to be a simp anymore?"

"Simp..."

"That's quite an accurate term..."

Back on the sofa, after listening to her daughter's story, Xu Jingjie let out a long sigh.

"It seems that trying to mend your relationship with Little Che... is even more difficult than mom initially thought..."

Tears welled up in Su Rongyin's eyes: "I have to mend it..."

"But you're about to take the college entrance exam, and then you'll go your separate ways, to different parts of the country, and might never see each other again. By then, you'll also meet new friends..." Xu Jingjie said.

"Then I'll go to the same university as Jiang Che!" Su Rongyin said firmly.

"But how are Little Che's grades?"

Xu Jingjie softened her tone as much as possible: "If they're really bad, mom won't agree."