Chapter 155: Step-siblings
"Gege?"
Xie Rong finally managed to calm himself, although the disbelief in his voice remained unmistakable.
"You are really Wang Gege?"
He slowly stepped forward, instinctively reaching toward her cheek, as though he wanted to make sure that the person standing before him was truly the woman he had been searching for all this time.
But Wang Gege immediately stepped back.
She raised her hand, stopping him before he could get any closer, cutting off whatever emotional scene he had been about to create.
"Let’s end this marriage." Her voice was calm, almost frighteningly so. "I never planned to stay in this marriage any longer..."
Xie Rong froze.
For several breaths, he simply stared at her, as though he had completely forgotten what she had just said.
"No."
The answer came so quickly that Wang Gege’s brows furrowed.
"What?"
Xie Rong took another step toward her.
"No." This time, his voice was firmer. "This husband has only just found you again. How can you ask this husband to end this marriage?"
Wang Gege’s expression remained indifferent. "Because you are Ethan Xu."
The name immediately silenced him.
"And I am Wang Gege." She looked directly at him. "The two of us were never supposed to meet again and never meant to be anything."
Xie Rong’s fingers slowly curled. "Then tell this husband how this husband can be certain."
Wang Gege frowned. "Certain of what?"
"That you are really her." He stepped closer again, his voice becoming almost desperate despite his attempt to remain composed.
"You told this husband about the mushroom soup, the three circles, the answer this husband gave you..." He swallowed hard. "But those things could still be coincidences. Tell this husband something only Wang Gege would know."
Wang Gege stared at him. For the first time, she could see just how badly he needed confirmation.
"I don’t need to validate anything..." she suddenly said, growing annoyed. "And can we stop talking like this ancient world for a moment?"
"This husband... can’t..." Xie Rong bit his lower lip, still gazing intently at the woman in front of him.
"What do you mean, you can’t?" Wang Gege frowned.
"This husband means..." He hesitated before finally explaining, "I managed to obtain a potion that could make this husband’s tongue speak according to the language of this ancient world."
Wang Gege’s eyes widened, "So there is such a thing?!"
Her mind immediately went back to the ridiculous thought she had once had about asking Mini for a Doraemon’s cake that could somehow make her speak like the people in this world.
She had thought it was merely a joke. Apparently... There really was something like that.
"So you have been using a potion this whole time?" she asked incredulously.
Xie Rong nodded. "Yes."
Wang Gege stared at him for a few seconds before muttering, "How...?"
The question was not supposed to be asked, but since it had already slipped from her lips, she raised her gaze.
"So, Mr. Xu..."
Xie Rong’s brows lifted slightly at the sudden change in how she addressed him.
"How did you end up here?" she asked, her expression becoming slightly more serious. "You are not... dead, right?"
Xie Rong fell silent. The question struck him harder than he expected.
"I am dead."
Wang Gege’s eyes widened slightly.
Xie Rong lowered his gaze, his fingers slowly curling against his palm.
"After you died... this husband..." He paused, swallowing the words that had suddenly become difficult to say. "This husband did not handle it well."
Wang Gege’s expression slowly changed. She didn’t really understand why and what he was talking about ’did not handle it well’.
"I drank," Xie Rong continued quietly. "Every day. I thought that if I drank enough, perhaps I would not remember what happened."
A bitter smile touched his lips. "Instead, I only became worse." He fell silent for a moment. "The last thing this husband remembers is drinking alone." His voice became quieter. "Then I woke up here."
Wang Gege stared at him, unable to speak. So they had both died. They had both left the same world behind.
And somehow, after everything that had happened... they had still found each other again.
Despite the heaviness of their conversation, Xie Rong was smiling, a smile filled with genuine happiness.
"This husband truly did not expect to meet Furen again like this. This husband is so happy that he cannot contain it at this moment..." His smile deepened. "Perhaps this is fate—"
"Pfft..." Wang Gege suddenly laughed mockingly at his words. "Fate? What nonsense is that?"
She folded her arms and looked at him with disbelief.
"Listen, Mr. Ethan Xu. Just because this wife merely asked you a few basic questions does not mean this wife is interested in knowing everything about you." Her expression turned colder. "Do not misunderstand this wife’s intentions."
She suddenly shook her head, realizing how she had been addressing herself. "I mean... I... not this wife..."
Xie Rong’s smile slowly stiffened. "But, Gege..."
"Don’t call me that!" Her voice immediately became firm. "You have been calling me Furen for so long. Keep doing that. I hate hearing my name coming out of your mouth."
Xie Rong’s expression fell slightly.
Wang Gege turned her face away, refusing to look at him.
"And as for this so-called fate..." She scoffed softly. "This wife doesn’t believe in it.... Ah! Shit! I mean ’I’...!"
She paused before adding, her voice becoming colder, "If fate truly brought us together again, then perhaps fate is the cruelest thing in this world."
"Gege—"
"I said don’t call my name!"
Her voice rose instantly, her eyes furrowing with anger as she finally turned toward him.
"I hate you! I hate everything that has to do with you and me! There is no such thing as fate! We both know what our relationship was...!"
Xie Rong’s lips parted, trembling slightly as though he wanted to say something, but the words refused to come.
Wang Gege’s eyes reddened.
"Don’t act as though you don’t hate me too..." Her voice trembled with anger and hurt. "We both know that we hated each other, and we cannot change the fact that we were step-siblings!"