Chapter Ninety-Two: Not as It Once Was

Soon, they arrived in Rong City.

Time slips through one’s fingers far faster than one can imagine.

Tang Dai, still haunted by the shadow of her earlier accident, drove with evident unease. Her grip on the steering wheel was so tight it seemed she might crush the rigid plastic beneath her fingers.

Seeing this, Qiao Siming suggested he take over the driving; after all, he had driven this company car more than a hundred times.

They pulled over by the roadside. Tang Dai opened the door and stepped out, just as a fierce gust of wind swept over her, lifting her long hair high into the air. Qiao Siming’s hair was tousled as well, like grass on a prairie bent this way and that by the wind.

There was a peculiar charm to the two of them, disheveled by the wind.

They skirted a nearby subway station and walked straight for several hundred meters, soon arriving at Xunyuan’s Rong City office.

The security guard at the entrance had seen Tang Dai a few times before; he raised his voice in a warm greeting before she even stepped through the door.

Tang Dai responded with a faint smile and walked on ahead.

Qiao Siming followed her closely, like a bodyguard—though he didn’t much look the part.

The heating inside was set low, leaving the temperature barely warmer than outdoors. Several staff members in navy blue jackets moved in and out of various office doors.

The elevator reached the tenth floor. Just as the doors slid open, Xu Shixi was waiting outside.

The three of them exchanged glances.

“What are you doing here?” Xu Shixi’s eyelids flickered upward.

“Why shouldn’t we be here?” Tang Dai responded, her eyes catching his reflection.

“No, I mean—” Xu Shixi gave a wry smile, stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the first floor. “Weren’t you supposed to be discharged in a few days?”

He had visited her in the hospital several days earlier and consulted with her attending physician. The doctor hadn’t given a precise date, only that she’d likely be discharged in about ten days. Considering their awkward past and their current complicated relationship, Xu Shixi had cut back on his hospital visits. Besides, work left him little time. Each visit lasted no more than half an hour—just a few words, several long silences, and then he was gone.

“What if I said I simply wanted to leave? Would that be a good enough reason?” Tang Dai watched his face intently, waiting for his response.

Xu Shixi’s mouth twitched; he stared fixedly at the straight seam at the center of the elevator doors, not daring even to glance at Tang Dai out of the corner of his eye.

Tang Dai gave a cold laugh. His indifference shattered the last shield she’d used to protect herself, leaving nothing but a bottomless abyss.

Qiao Siming stood behind them, his presence becoming more and more transparent until, in that windless, enclosed space, only a faint outline remained—light and silent, yet standing firm.

“Yes, I’d like to know as well,” Qiao Siming suddenly interjected without warning. “Shixi, can you accept that reason?”

Qiao Siming’s insistence forced Xu Shixi to face the question Tang Dai had posed. Being compelled to answer felt like a knife pressed to his heart, less than a millimeter away, threatening to pierce the chamber at any moment.

Tang Dai glanced at Qiao Siming; his words gave her a glimmer of hope. Then her gaze returned to Xu Shixi’s face, watching for any change—every expression, every gesture, now a critical juncture.

“We’re here. Let’s go,” Xu Shixi said.

At the crucial moment, the elevator doors slid open. Seizing his chance, Xu Shixi strode out as if relieved from a sentence.

“Let’s go,” Qiao Siming said quietly.

Tang Dai moved like a film stuttering from a slow internet connection—playing a few seconds, then pausing for ages.

Happy Town was located just south of the city center, where land was still plentiful compared to the saturated heart of the city. Since the intercity subway connected Rong City with Yun City, the local economy had leaped forward in only half a year. Yet this left ordinary wage-earners struggling—the down payment they’d saved for so long now didn’t even cover a fraction of the cost.

Sometimes, one must admit: development and progress are built upon countless bones. To stand on the graves of the dead and sing and laugh—was that not the very definition of inhumanity?

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Qiao Siming pressed, refusing to let the matter drop. Over time, he’d adopted a new approach—a taut rope stretched between two exhausted young men, neither willing to yield an inch. Now, if either one let go, disrupting the other’s rhythm and giving a hard yank, victory would be his.

“How would you like me to answer?” Xu Shixi deflected, tossing the question back.

“You’re answering my question with a question?” Qiao Siming’s gaze sharpened.

Xu Shixi sighed. “Siming, some questions are better left unspoken. You, of all people, should know what I think.” They’d been through so much together, large and small. Why, today of all days, must he press so hard, forcing everyone into an awkward spot?

—I love her!

Suddenly, Xu Shixi’s mind echoed with the words Qiao Siming had hurled at him eight years ago. He loved her. Unlike most, his passions were never hidden or restrained; his love and hate burned openly and fiercely. It was only then that Xu Shixi realized the roommate who seemed indifferent to romance harbored a fire capable of consuming everything—destroying himself and scorching everyone nearby.

They had both waded through a river of misguided love. After many struggles, just when it seemed they’d be overwhelmed, they miraculously surfaced.

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure of your thoughts,” Qiao Siming admitted, thinking of the past and the present. “I need a straightforward answer.”

“Very well, I’ll tell you.” Xu Shixi glanced at Tang Dai, who was walking behind them, then grabbed Qiao Siming and pulled him two steps forward. “Tang Dai and I—there’s no way we’ll ever be together again in this life.” He sighed. “There are too many obstacles between us—ones I simply couldn’t bear at the time. That’s why I gave up.”

“Coward! Spineless!” Qiao Siming sneered.

Xu Shixi gave a cold smile. Perhaps he was a coward. But it took a different kind of courage to face reality head-on. Not everything should be forced through to the bitter end.

“If I told you now that I intend to pursue Tang Dai seriously, would you stand in my way? Would you regret your decision today?” Qiao Siming pressed on, finally choosing to speak his mind.

“Treat her well,” Xu Shixi replied quietly. It was as if the story belonged to someone else, and he was content merely to be a silent, orderly observer. No opinions, no judgments.

Those four simple words let go of everything that had come before.

Tang Dai walked alone behind them, uninterested in their conversation.

This scene felt strangely familiar, as if she’d seen it before.

Years ago, the three of them had entered a school architecture competition. Xu Shixi outshone all rivals and took first place; Tang Dai came in third. Qiao Siming, though no more than a bystander, was still content.

They’d walked together down an autumn avenue carpeted with fallen leaves—their three silhouettes and the swirling foliage forming a meticulous, delicate tableau.

It was the start of winter then, adding a touch of desolation to the air.

“I’ll definitely treat her well,” Qiao Siming promised.

Perhaps that promise came too late. If it had been made eight years earlier, perhaps all their fates would have changed.

“Are you feeling unwell?” Qiao Siming noticed Tang Dai lagging behind, her steps listless.

“I’m fine,” Tang Dai replied, holding her head high. “Let’s move on, don’t waste time.”

Qiao Siming was momentarily stunned by her demeanor. Only after she’d walked far ahead did he come back to himself and hurry after her.

“What exactly is the problem with the Happy Town project?” Tang Dai raised her voice. “I believe I have the right to know. Xunyuan and Tang Group are partners, not employer and employee.”

Xu Shixi was taken aback; Tang Dai rarely spoke harshly to him—then or now.

“There were some issues during the implementation of the design.”

“Explain.”

“There was a slight error during the surveying phase, causing one of the residential buildings to be sited too close to the road. The buffer zone was lost.”

“How could such a basic mistake happen?” Tang Dai turned to glare at him, her hair falling to one side. “Didn’t you study architecture?”

Xu Shixi had no answer. When he’d learned that Yishu was stuck at the police station, he’d been so distraught that all reason and clarity vanished. The blueprints were never properly reviewed, and construction began in haste.

“So what’s the plan now?”

“We’ll have to move the building back. Fortunately, the central area has enough reserved space. If we reduce it slightly, it should work,” Xu Shixi said, relying on his years of experience.

“Are you sure?” Tang Dai asked, skeptical.

“We’ll need to discuss the specific solution carefully with the construction team and the engineering department.”

Tang Dai swallowed hard, her throat bobbing. The problem was far more complicated than she had imagined.