Chapter Sixty Volume Three Finale

  After a whole day of activities, the last fan meeting ended on the big screen with "Sorry I Love You" playing its final episode, marking the end of today's busy schedule and also the conclusion of activities in Japan.

  Tomorrow I will return to Korea, the morning flight, because it is still from Narita Airport, so I have to hurry up. After several people's promotional activities returned, they went back to their own rooms and started packing their luggage.

  An Junhe returned to his room, passing by the door of Lin Xiujing's single room. The door was open and a waiter was pushing a cart out with some dinner plates on it. Some were covered, while others seemed to have just been opened, revealing rich and appetizing dishes that had not been touched. The decorative fruits and vegetables still presented their original appearance as if they had just been arranged.

  Then, her agent also came out, sighing anxiously "This kid is really, no matter what, can't get along with his stomach", while gesturing to the waiter, asking him to heat up the dishes and try again later. Then, she saw Ahn Jun-he standing at the door.

  All expressions on her face faded away, and she gave him a cold glance. She didn't want to bother with him, but An Junhe spoke up first: "She... isn't eating?"

  At that moment, she felt her blood rushing to her forehead, her veins were about to burst, she really wanted to rush over, grab him and punch him with a left hook, left hook, left hook... beat this guy into a panda eye, beat him until he couldn't take care of himself. Then, calm and refreshed, proudly, disdainfully and with a hint of resentment, say to him: Bastard, isn't it all because of you?

  But comparing the physical strength of both sides, she thought that maybe before he was beaten to a pulp, her own hands would be crippled first. She didn't dare to shout loudly either. This was at the door of Xiujing's room, not to mention the possible impact it might have. If Xiujing found out that he was here, who knows what kind of emotional state she would be in again. Thinking about all this, she just let out a cold hum.

  Then she saw An Junhe speaking fluently in Japanese to the waiter, who had been struggling to understand her words, and his face lit up with relief as he nodded and bowed repeatedly, pushing his cart away with a rattle.

  "Hey, hey, where are you going? I haven't finished speaking yet...... You scoundrel, what do you want to do now? Not enough that you've hurt Xiujing's heart, do you also want her to starve to death?"

  "I told him to tell the kitchen to make some porridge." Ignoring her furious expression, An Junhe glanced at the dimly lit entrance behind her and said, "I'll go take a look at her."

  She glared and raised her arm to block him: "No way!"

  "Just...wanted to advise her a bit."

  "What identity? Friend? Or a ruthless victor who rejected her? Seeing a girl cry for you, unable to eat for you, must be very fulfilling?" She coldly smiled, only intentionally lowering her voice: "You're not usually one to handle things decisively, so what does it mean that you refused her last night but now want to be all sticky and sweet?"

  An Junhe was speechless.

  Looking at her silently for a while, he said softly: "Anyway, I advise you to have some effect, you don't want her to be like this all the time, do you?"

  "He... " The agent was speechless, what he said was right. Compared to the advice of others, his words seemed more effective. Just like last night's conversation could make Xiujing heartbroken, from another angle, he could also turn her mood around.

  But, really, should she agree to let him in? Having gone through many emotions herself, she could understand how Ahn Jun-he would persuade Soo-jung, no more than deceiving her and giving that foolish child a negligible hope.

  Really agreeing with him going in might make Xiujing feel a bit better, but it's no different from drinking poison to quench thirst.

  What if I disagree?

  Thinking of Xiujing's originally frail physique, and not having eaten anything for a day, she might collapse at any moment. The refusal that rushed up her throat was swallowed with great difficulty, and the arm that blocked the door slowly fell.

  "Thank you!" An Junhe said in a low voice as he thanked him and walked into the room.

  The agent warned in a low voice behind him: "Don't cheat her too much, don't let her get stuck again before she can get out!"

  An Junhe didn't respond, he silently closed the door, blocking out all the light from the corridor outside.

  The darkness in the foyer quietly surrounded, the silence was almost audible heartbeat, feeling my way through this passage, turned to the living room, a corner bar with a wine cabinet on top of a weak light, lit up the interior, can be seen, the door leading to the bedroom was open, facing this side of the bed, a figure wrapped in a quilt lying on it, facing the curtains opened floor-to-ceiling window.

  Outside the window, the lights are shining brightly, a bustling scene, but inside the window, it is cold and quiet.

  He turned on the light, and in the instant when the brightness burst forth, the woman on the bed over there stirred slightly, and then a voice with a nasal tone came: "Sister, I want to be quiet for a while, don't call for food again, I have no appetite..."

  ……

  Lying in bed all day, actually didn't feel sleepy at all.

  In her mind, she always thinks about many things, thinking back to the first time she met him in a low-key manner. She sat stiffly next to the screenwriter, with So Ji-sub, the male lead at the time, on the other side, and Joo Ji-hoon, and many, many other actors. At that time, everyone was new to the drama team and unfamiliar with everything, and each other didn't know each other well either. As director Lee Hyung-min and screenwriter Lee Kyung-hee seemed to have no intention of helping them get closer, they just sat there awkwardly, occasionally exchanging stiff smiles when their eyes met.

  Only she knew how unaccustomed she was to such an awkward, silent atmosphere, only daring to lower her head, and every time she felt a gaze on her body, her heart would suddenly accelerate, as if it were about to jump out.

  Then he came.

  He greeted them with passion and courtesy, generously offering snacks and coffee. He was like a bundle of sunshine, dispelling the cold atmosphere in an instant, and I became curious about him at that moment.

  As time went on, I could feel his uniqueness more and more. He didn't have the recklessness and arrogance of a 19-year-old, and he wasn't pretentious or distant in his interactions with others. He seemed like a mature middle-aged man who had experienced many things, stably and calmly facing everything that came his way. He also had a maturity and gentleness that came from having been tempered by time, not in big ways, but in many small things that added up. When you were unhappy, he would coax you into happiness; when you needed to talk, he would listen silently; when you were cold, he would casually put his jacket around you and bring you warmth.

  Perhaps she was captured by the gentle accumulation of warmth, unknowingly starting to follow him foolishly, and unknowingly starting to store his back figure from her eyes into her heart - even though she knew that their age difference was huge, he was 19 years old, while she was 26 years old!

  A seven-year difference, yet she still thinks it's nothing. She tells herself that love can ignore age, and besides, his mind is not as young as his age. Whether physically or mentally, he is so tall and great, tall enough to accommodate her small figure.

  Now thinking carefully about it, I realize I was wrong from the very beginning.

  His gentleness was an attitude towards things, not just for her alone. He had never felt romantic love for her, and his tall figure was not prepared to accommodate her. All the way along, those were just illusions she was deeply trapped in, unwilling to believe certain facts. From the beginning, she was being self-deceived.

  He never loved her. From his perspective, their relationship had always been on a friendly level, with no commitment or responsibility to each other.

  So she understands his choice, he has the right to refuse, because she can't ask him to like her, just as he can't ask her not to like him!

  The thoughts in his mind were chaotic, and at this time, the light in the bedroom suddenly turned on.

  The light was a bit dazzling, it should be the agent's sister! She thought to herself, moving slightly after lying down for a day, her somewhat numb body, said softly: "Sister, I want to be alone for a while, don't order any more food, I've lost my appetite..."

  After speaking out, she didn't get a response. It wasn't until then that she felt something was off and wanted to turn her head to look back. From behind the bedroom door came a somewhat hoarse male voice: "It's me!"

  A very familiar voice, a very familiar way of speaking, so familiar that even hearing the sound is like smelling the scent on him.

  The smell that made her heart ache like a knife twist.

  Her body stiffened for a moment, the movement to turn back paused, her mind went blank, as if she had thought of many things in that instant, yet nothing at all.

  Then I felt him walking towards this side, the rhythm of his shoes falling lightly on the floor was so familiar, and his warmth seemed to follow.

  Before long, that warmth was truly felt. Outside the thin quilt, his hand gently fell on her shoulder, and through the clothes and bedding, she could feel the roughness and heat of his palm. It made her eyes suddenly sting, and the tears that had almost dried up in the afternoon came flooding back...

  ……

  The broker stood guard outside the door for a while, and in between to avoid misunderstandings from passersby, he returned to his own room to pack his luggage for tomorrow's return trip. However, leaving Ahn Jun-hee alone in Jang Su-jin's room made her uneasy. Before long, she heard a knock on the door, probably the service staff bringing porridge, and she quietly peeked through the slightly ajar door to keep an eye on things.

  When the waiter pushed out the empty cart, she seemed to be a thief, opening the door and slipping into the room across from her.

  The interior was the same as when she left, the entrance hall was pitch black, and the living room only had a faint light from the wine cabinet, but the bedroom was brightly lit. When she looked over, the door on that side wasn't closed, and on the small bed, a man was squatting beside it, gently blowing on the bowl of hot porridge in his hand. The small woman on the bed was half-sitting up, wiping away tears with one hand while drinking the porridge he fed her mouthful by mouthful.

  There was only silent stillness between the two people, the clock ticking softly, and the scene fell into their eyes, as if it had been frozen in time.

  Suddenly, many complicated emotions surged up in my heart, with both happiness and sadness...

  ==============

  It's supposed to be a bit clearer, but that's about it. The character's personality is fixed and won't change suddenly for the sake of the plot. Some people might think it's still abusive, but in my view, it's not - I'm just portraying the character and fleshing out her and others' personalities.

  This chapter is the end of the third volume, actually a lot has been simplified, that's it!

  Finally, this chapter was supposed to be released early in the morning, but I suddenly lost power last night while chatting with people in the group and didn't get it back until almost noon today... Sorry!

  Thanks for the rewards from five classmates: Song Bing Shu, 伤心⊙, angrykk, 情何以堪418 and 弹剑狂歌1984!