Chapter 49: In What Identity Did He Return to My Side?

Jin He was truly speechless. What kind of good person would come and peek through the door in the middle of the night, only to be caught by the robot? He felt ashamed for An Yi.

But An Yi stood blocking the doorway, still looking aggrieved, as if Jin He had done something wrong by letting him in.

Jin He said expressionlessly, "You disturbed my sleep."

"I'm sorry, I apologize."

Jin He turned to close the door, but An Yi blocked her way with one hand and slipped inside like an eel. He even familiarly lifted the covers and patted the spot next to him.

Jin He: "..."

"You can sleep here by yourself."

"No!" An Yi sat up and quickly grabbed the blanket to stop Jin He from leaving. "I came here for you. Is there a problem with me sleeping with my boyfriend?"

Who is your boyfriend/girlfriend?

"You, Jin He, are my boyfriend," An Yi said righteously. "Sleeping with your boyfriend is a matter of course!"

"If you're the only one who thinks that way, then that's just wishful thinking on your part."

"No, I haven't agreed to break up yet, so we're not breaking up. We just had a fight. You're angry now, so I'll comfort you. It's that simple. Although I don't know why you're angry, comforting you is the right thing to do."

Jin He: "..."

Are you sick?

"Yes, you abandoned me, I'm sick, you can't just ignore me!" An Yi said through gritted teeth, "I'll haunt you like a ghost!"

That unlucky kid, if he didn't say anything, who would know he's already twenty-seven, two years older than Jin He? He'll always look the same.

Jin He took a deep breath: "Are you leaving or not?"

"I'm not leaving."

Are you sure you're not leaving?

"I'm sure I'm not leaving. I'm going to sleep in this bed tonight!"

"Okay." Jin He lay down on the spot, straightening her body. "Then I'll sleep here tonight. Remember to watch out for me. Don't step on me when you get out of bed. Oh, and if I have a fever tomorrow morning, don't forget to call 120 for me."

How could An Yi let Jin He lie on the floor? He immediately got out of bed and lifted Jin He onto the bed. He wrapped Jin He up tightly in the blanket and said, "Go to sleep!"

Jin He: "An Yi, can't you grow up? If we don't tell anyone, who would know you're two years older than me?"

"What's wrong? Didn't you like me just the way I was before?" An Yi said. "You said I didn't need to change."

Jin He lay on the bed with his back to An Yi. After a moment of silence, he said, "I'm sorry for what I said to you back then. I thought that if you truly liked someone, you wouldn't need to make any changes, but it seems that's not the case now. We're both moving forward."

“An Yi, you don’t need to pretend to be crazy in front of me. You were like this when you were twenty, but you can’t still be like this at twenty-seven.”

A rustling sound came from behind. It was An Yi hugging Jin He, his forehead gently pressed against Jin He's back, and his voice was very low. He said, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid that if I change too much, you won't like me anymore."

How could that be?

Jin He smiled bitterly.

"Xiao He, tell me everything," An Yi said. "Can we make up?"

Jin He reached out and grabbed her pillowcase, tears silently streaming down her face, landing on the pillow with a loud thud.

“I don’t know why you suddenly don’t like me anymore. I thought it was because I’ve changed too much and you don’t like me anymore,” An Yi said. “My sister has always said I’m stupid, and I think I am indeed quite stupid. If it were someone else, I probably would have won you over by now, but I still don’t know what I did wrong. Can you give me a little more patience?”

When did Teacher An ever speak to people in such a humble manner? He's usually like a firecracker that explodes at the slightest provocation. The title of "the living dad of the Chinese entertainment industry" is truly fitting for him.

Now, Teacher An is like a primary school student who can't find the right answer, helplessly facing a blank test paper: "Is it just because you're sick? Is it just because you're sick that you want to break up with me?"

"Can't we not break up?"

How could it be just because of illness?

Jin He wasn't the kind of person who presumptuously wanted what was best for others; he was more filled with apprehension.

He was afraid that he had changed and An Yi no longer liked him, or that An Yi might only like the persona he was pretending to be.

“Actually, many of us have changed,” Jin He said. “I’m not the Jin He I was at eighteen. The me now is completely different from the me you imagine. Do you still like me?”

An Yi hugged Jin He tighter and said, "I like you even more now."

The room was quiet for a while. An Yi almost thought Jin He had fallen asleep. Just as he was about to check Jin He's heartbeat, Jin He suddenly turned around to face him. An Yi was startled and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to be with you," Jin He said solemnly, "at least not now."

An Yi immediately became anxious: "Why?!"

“Because I wasn’t entirely happy when I was with you before, and I wasn’t happy when we were together afterward,” Jin He said. “You are a person with ideals and dreams. You know every step of your life ahead of you, but I’m different.”

“I debuted because of the pressure of life. I had to practice singing and dancing well because my fans are like second parents to me. I had to provide them with emotional support. As you can see, in my entire life, 25 years, I have never lived for myself once.” Jin He said solemnly, “I used to be the face of Aurora, the brother of Jin Miao, and the good grandson of Grandma, but I am not Jin He. I don’t want to be with you in the future and become An Yi’s boyfriend again.”

"So what do you want to do?" An Yi asked.

"I want to live for myself for once. Right now, I don't want to be in a relationship." Jin He took a business card from her bedside table, turned on the light, and handed it to An Yi. "I met someone today who said he could be my manager?"

"broker?"

An Yi frowned and said, "Didn't you say you would retire from the entertainment industry after the show? Your body can't take it."

“I will handle it myself,” Jin He said. “I want to continue working, not to earn money for my grandmother’s medical treatment, nor to earn money for Xiao Miao’s education, but just for myself.”

"Although I still don't know what path I will take in the future, I think I can find the right one by exploring. I have an opportunity now."

At the very least, while he's still alive, he doesn't want his life to consist only of love, and he certainly doesn't want An Yi's life to consist only of himself.

An Yi glanced at him, but ultimately succumbed to the gleam in Jin He's eyes. He reached out and took the business card, then chuckled as he examined it closely: "Fu Youwu? How did you get in touch with him?"

"What's wrong with him?" Jin He had been semi-retired from the entertainment industry for three years and was a little confused about the situation.

"Nothing much," An Yi said. "He's about my age. But he has a strong backing, lots of resources, and the Fu family is very protective of their own. You won't suffer if you follow him."

I'm not your boyfriend anymore, so I have no reason to stop you from doing whatever you want. But I still hope you can take care of your health... just for my sake.

"I'll be waiting for the day you return to my side as Jin He."