Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)

Seven years ago, Yanchen was twenty-five years old. He would always travel abroad as his career just kick-started. He had little
time for Ye Xi, but even under high pressure, he still called her to accompany her every night. Sometimes they would fall asleep
in the middle of the call because of the time difference. They had a long-distance relationship for many years.
Yanchen was eight years older than Ye Xi, but they had known each other since childhood. Yanchen was the perfect child that
everybody wants, while Ye Xi was a troublemaker. As they live in the same neighborhood, her parents often invited Yanchen to
come over and help her with her studies.
"And you guys fell in love?" Tongrui asked.
Ye Xi recalled the memories of her youth.
They didn’t know when they started to have feelings for each other. They were afraid that their parents found out about their
relationship. When Ye Xi grew older, her parents felt that it was not appropriate to let a boy tutor her alone. They also noticed that
Yanchen and Ye Xi’s interactions were more than friends.
Soon, Yanchen received an admission letter from the Harvard Business School.
Ye Xi still remembered that before Yanchen left, he threatened her at the airport to not fall in love with other boys and study well.
She was still young and did not understand the concept of love. She was reluctant to let him go because there was no one to
help her to do her homework anymore.
The long-distance relationship lasted for three years.
In those three years, Yanchen will contact Ye Xi every day. He would still help her out with her homework. Ye Xi once told him, if
only she could take Yanchen to the examination room, it would be great.
Yanchen used three years to finish his five years course. He graduated early.
"He did it because of you?"
"Maybe. If we had been on good terms back then, we are probably married by now. I would become the Mrs. Song that everyone
envies."
"What happened after that?"

After Yanchen returned to China, he was busy managing his family's internal problems and his career. However, he still made
time for Ye Xi and always stayed close to her.
Yanchen was excessively controlling. He wouldn’t let Ye Xi talk and laugh with other boys including her brother. It would be very
difficult to calm him down if he saw that. He would be very furious if Ye Xi couldn’t be contacted.
When Ye Xi grew older, she started to understand the concept of love. She began to notice the imbalance of their distorted
relationship. Ye Xi wanted to end their relationship as she noticed her feelings for him were not true love. She only liked him for
his good looks and the way he treated her like a princess. She never felt sadness when they quarrel about the breakup. She
knew she would still be happy without him.
"Did you guys break up?"
Ye Xi took a deep breath and continued, "If we had really broken up at that time, nothing would have happened. If I had been a
little more determined, we would not cross paths anymore.”
When Ye Xi suggested the breakup, Yanchen was annoyed but he thought that she was just kidding about it. She quickly forgot
about the breakup when Yanchen bought her some nice food or took her to fun places. She was attracted to the things that he
could give her.
This lasted until Yanchen turned twenty-five. He went to London for business, when he returned from London, he wanted Ye Xi to
pick him at the airport. However, her parents also told her to pick up her 10 year old brother from cram school. Ye Xi rejected
Yanchen’s request.
Yanchen was too dominant, he wanted to be first placed in her heart. He couldn’t tolerate Ye Xi putting anyone before him
including her family members. It might also be Ye Xi’s fault that she didn’t give him enough assurance in the relationship which
caused his dominance.
Ye Xi was afraid that he would be furious and break up with her if she chose her brother. She was also afraid that she could no
longer enjoy his gifts. She secretly went to the airport without permission to pick up Yanchen.
Ye Jin was hit by a car on his way home. When he reached the hospital, they pronounced him dead. People would tend to blame
another person to prove their innocence.
Ye Xi closed her eyes and the memories came to an abrupt end.
Tongrui knew she was crying and handed her a tissue, "That's why you've been cold to Mr. Song all these years?"

“I felt indebted to Jin if I’m on friendly terms with him.”
Tongrui nodded, "I understand how you feel."
She didn’t want to comfort Ye Xi with cliche words.
Ye Xi said with teary eyes, “If Yanchen’s temper is a little better, Jin will not die. The doctor who rescued Jin said if he had arrived
at the hospital a few minutes earlier, they might have been able to save him. If I hadn't gone to pick up Yanchen, Jin wouldn't
have died...”
Ye Xi was trembling as she cried. Tongrui reached out and hugged her.
"Because of Yanchen, I lost my only brother. My parents had never asked about me for all these years. They were immersed in
the grief and anger of losing their son. I lost my parents. Over the years, Yanchen probably felt guilty too. He would be patient
with me no matter what I did. I purposely left him time after time, he wouldn't say anything mean to me. The more he was like
this, the more I hated him because I would remember that Jin died because of him!"
"It's okay, Xi. Everything will be alright again. I forgot to tell you, I just got divorced."
The most effective way to comfort a friend was to tell the other person about their tragedy. Ye Xi looked at Tongrui with her teary
eyes and laughed out loud.
The two sad girls fell asleep hugging each other.