Chapter 96: She Was Always the One Who Was Wrong

The moment Qin Yu withdrew his hand, Lin Xi’s brows shifted slightly. She said nothing, leaning back to find a comfortable position, putting some distance between them.

On the way here, Qin Yu hadn’t actually decided how to begin talking to her about the past. At that time, Lin Chen’s troubles had unsettled them both; everything else that happened in those days was naturally overlooked, leading to problems piling up and conflicts escalating, until now, when none of it had ever truly been addressed.

These matters would take a long time to explain properly, each one requiring careful attention from the very beginning. In the past, whenever a similar situation arose, he would only approach her for an honest conversation after sorting out his thoughts. But today, with no preparation at all, he had rushed over.

He didn’t act impulsively often in his memory, but every time he did, it had something to do with Lin Xi.

“When the company’s cash flow was in trouble back then, I spent all that time trying to resolve it. As for the blind date with Song Ning during that period, it did happen.”

Hearing this, Lin Xi’s heart still skipped a beat.

For a brief instant, she felt as though she were seventeen again, her reaction identical to the first time she had heard of it. No matter how calm her façade, the momentary daze and trembling of her heart were impossible to hide from herself.

She gazed at Qin Yu, her eyes carrying a subtle blend of sorrow and resentment—emotions even she hadn’t realized she possessed.

“There was a reason. I didn’t know in advance that the dinner that day was a matchmaking event. I thought it was just a family gathering, and only realized there were outsiders present when I arrived. Strictly speaking, I was there for less than five minutes from arrival to departure. I met Song Ning, and that was all.”

It had indeed been a matchmaking dinner, but he hadn’t stayed.

Once he understood the nature of the gathering, he left immediately.

Lin Xi pressed her lips together.

This detail, she truly hadn’t known. What she had heard was simply that Qin Yu had attended the dinner, with his parents and Song Ning’s parents present. When exactly he arrived and left was a mystery to her.

She had originally wanted to ask him, but he had been so busy then. Every call between them, she could hear his exhaustion.

At first, she hadn’t understood why.

It was only later that she learned he was balancing work with caring for Lin Chen.

During that time, it seemed as though all the world’s burdens had fallen on his shoulders alone. Setting aside what happened afterward, at least up to that point, she truly owed Qin Yu her gratitude.

Her lips parted, but before she could speak, Qin Yu mentioned Lin Chen…

“I didn’t know at first that this had reached your ears, nor did I explain it to you. Just as the company’s situation was being resolved, my eldest brother had his accident. Aside from his workplace and our uncle, I was the first to know.

“Whether you believe me or not, at that time I did think of contacting you…” He paused. “In the end, I did hide the truth. It was my decision.

“So those few days, I was at the hospital the whole time and didn’t go to Linsi to see you. I didn’t know or stop my mother from finding you during that period.

“I’m sorry.”

Those three words, once again.

There was no discernible emotion in Qin Yu’s eyes. When he looked at her, his deep gaze seemed like an endless abyss—one she knew would swallow her whole, and yet she still fell—clear-minded, but falling all the same.

Lin Xi’s hand, which had been absently caressing her prayer beads, paused, then resumed its gentle movement after two seconds.

“You don’t need to apologize to me, Third Brother.”

“If we must speak of the past, it’s I who should apologize to you.”

“I was young and immature then. I did hear things I shouldn’t have, and regardless of whether they were true or not, I shouldn’t have acted so rashly. That slap… was my fault.”

“I was impulsive back then and said and did a lot of things I shouldn’t have. Whether you care or not, the fact remains that I wronged you.”

She caught the slight parting of his lips out of the corner of her eye, and quickly added, “I’m not being sarcastic. I truly mean these words.”

“All these years, from the beginning until now, I never found the chance to thank you.”

“I’ve always remembered your kindness to me back then. I’m also deeply grateful that you stayed by my brother’s side near the end, accompanying him on his last journey.”

“After I went abroad and my health improved, I gradually came to terms with all of this.”

“Whether it’s you, Third Brother, or my other brothers, none of you were at fault.”

“On the contrary, I’m very thankful to all of you now.”

“My brother’s work was always special. To be honest, ever since that night when he lulled me to sleep and left the capital early next morning without a word, I’d imagined this day might come.”

“If he’d passed away elsewhere, I wouldn’t have seen him one last time. There would have been no familiar faces around him, only himself—he might have had so much left unsaid, carrying that regret with him at the end.”

“So, looking back, I feel that my brother being able to hold on long enough to return home and see all of you—that was already a very good ending. Far better than I’d dared to hope.”

“At least, his childhood friends, his brothers, brought him home.” At this point, Lin Xi’s eyes reddened, and her voice caught in her throat.

“As for my small regrets, compared to all that, they’re not worth mentioning.”

“Even if I haven’t truly let go, at least now I can try to face it.”

“In the future, I’ll make peace with the girl I was that day.”

Looking back, her anger that day had never been for Qin Yu, nor for Second Brother or Bai Xu and the others.

The one she couldn’t forgive was always herself.

Because not long before her brother’s accident, her aunt had come to see her. She’d said that Lin Xi seemed much better than before, and asked if she wanted to return to the capital—after all, the environment for both study and life would be more familiar there.

Her uncle was also busy at the time, and she’d been living with her grandparents anyway—it was little different from staying in the capital.

Had she agreed to return with her aunt and moved back into the compound, she would have had the chance to know about her brother’s accident right away.

But she had been blinded by her own selfishness. She thought that if she returned, everyone would see it as proof she was completely well. After that, regardless of whether Aunt Rong interfered, perhaps Qin Yu would never care for her as he did now.

So she refused her aunt and planned to return to the capital only after the college entrance exam.

How could she blame Qin Yu? From start to finish, the real problem had always been herself.

It was that one fateful decision of hers that led to everything that happened.

The only thing she could ever fault Qin Yu for was that, at the time, Aunt Rong had said he would never like someone like her.