Chapter 156: A Reunion Or Another Farewell
Xie Rong shook his head instantly, "We are not!"
Wang Gege’s brows furrowed, "What do you mean, we are not?"
"Our parents were never married." Xie Rong’s voice became firm. "They were only dating each other. They never registered a marriage, which means you and I were never step-siblings."
Wang Gege stared at him. For a moment, she could not believe what she was hearing.
Then a bitter laugh escaped her lips. "What nonsense you are talking about Ethan Xu! Even when they didn’t get married of whatever fucking way you call it, they are in relationship! And because of that we—"
"NO!" He cut her out, "Whatever Furen said, this husband still didn’t think their relationship had any relation with us! This husband never sees Furen as a sister!"
Wang Gege laughed again. Hearing Xie Rong’s words sounded like nonsense at this moment, "After you rejected my confession... you are saying you don’t see me as a sister?"
Xie Rong’s expression tightened at her words. "That rejection had nothing to do with seeing Furen as a sister."
Wang Gege’s smile disappeared. "Then what was it?"
Xie Rong fell silent for a moment, his jaw tightening as memories from that time resurfaced.
"At that time, this husband had only just discovered that our parents were in a relationship. There were too many things that had not been settled, and this husband did not know what would happen between them."
His voice became heavier, "This husband did not want Furen to become involved in that mess."
Wang Gege stared at him. "So you rejected me."
"Yes." Xie Rong nodded hard.
"And you thought that was protecting me?" Wang Gege sneered.
Xie Rong’s lips tightened, "At the time, this husband believed it was the only thing he could do."
Wang Gege laughed again. Hearing Xie Rong’s words sounded completely ridiculous to her.
"After you rejected my confession..." Her eyes slowly reddened. "You are saying you don’t see me as a sister? Did you hear yourself?"
Xie Rong’s lips parted, but Wang Gege did not give him the chance to answer. "Then what was I supposed to think?"
Her voice trembled as years of resentment finally broke through the calm she had been forcing herself to maintain. "You rejected me in front of everyone!"
Xie Rong’s expression immediately changed.
"You stood there and rejected my confession as though I had done something shameful by liking you."
Her fingers curled tightly around her sleeves.
"Everyone heard you. Everyone saw my face. Do you know how many people talked about me afterward?"
Xie Rong’s breathing became heavier.
"I became a joke." Her voice cracked. "People whispered that I was shameless for confessing to the heartthrob of the college, and that I dared to covet something that was never within my reach..."
She lowered her gaze, her fingers trembling slightly.
"They laughed at me for thinking I could ever be with you, as though liking you was some kind of disgrace."
A bitter smile appeared on her lips. "And you know what was worse?"
Her head lowered further, unable to bear the emotions now swelling inside her, each one pushing against the other until she felt as though she might burst.
"They later... they later discovered that my mother was in a relationship with your father." Her voice trembled. "What did you do at that time?"
Xie Rong’s lips parted. "I—"
"You said nothing." Wang Gege cut him off before he could finish. "You stood there and watched."
Her voice rose slightly, years of resentment finally breaking through.
"You knew what everyone was saying about me. You knew they were calling me shameless, saying I had deliberately confessed to you even though our parents were together behind our backs."
Xie Rong’s expression tightened. "Gege, this husband—"
"And what did you do?" She suddenly raised her head, tears finally spilling from her eyes.
"You didn’t explain anything to them. You didn’t tell them that we had known each other long before our parents ever started dating. You didn’t tell them that I had done nothing wrong."
Xie Rong’s throat tightened. "I was trying to—"
"Trying to what?" Her voice cracked. "Protect me?"
She laughed bitterly through her tears.
"That was what you were doing, wasn’t it? You rejected me in front of everyone, let me become a laughingstock, and then when everyone found out about our parents, you simply let me carry all of it alone."
Xie Rong let out a weak sigh, "I did not..."
"Yes, you did," She wiped her tears roughly.
"So don’t stand here and tell me that we were never step-siblings." Her eyes fixed on him. "You knew what everyone thought of us, Ethan. You knew exactly what they would say."
A painful silence filled the chamber.
"And yet you stand here..." Her voice trembled with anger, "in front of me, bullshitting your way through all of this and telling me that we are here because of fate!"
Xie Rong slowly closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath, forcing himself to suppress the emotions surging through him.
"Can you listen to this husband first, Furen?"
"I am not your wife! Can you stop?"
The sharpness of her voice made Xie Rong’s eyes open again.
Wang Gege stood before him, her eyes reddened and her breathing uneven. "I stopped being your wife the moment I found out who you are."
Xie Rong’s lips parted, but she continued before he could speak.
"And don’t call me Furen either. I suddenly feel like shit!" She wiped away the tears that had fallen onto her cheek again.
"I was Wang Gege before I became Shen Taotao, and you were Ethan Xu before you became Xie Rong."
Her voice softened, but somehow that made her words hurt even more. "We both know those names mean something completely different to us."
Xie Rong stared at her.
"Then..." His voice was hoarse. "What do you want this husband to call you?"
Wang Gege looked away.
"Nothing." She took a step backward. "Because there is nothing left between us."
Xie Rong stood completely still, unable to find a single word to answer her.
For the first time, the reunion he had dreamed of felt like another farewell.