Chyou stopped in her steps, taking a deep, silent breath. She was aware what this date would end up in and most probably, Yating would confess to her tonight.
And now as those words finally echoed in her ears, it felt as if the world had come to a standstill. She could hear the loud heartbeats as if they played their own orchestra. It made her tremble and breathless.
It was her turn to answer but the words kept slipping from her the tip of her tongue. Her lips kept parting and shutting.
Ah come on say something, damn it!
In the end, what came out were not her words but tears that quietly slipped down her cheeks.
Yating's eyes widened and he held her hand. "Please don't cry, Chyou. If I am putting you in a difficult position then-"
She replied to that by shaking her head in disagreement. The world slightly blurred before her as she said, "It...it feels...like..." she said in a hoarse voice, "a long, long time since I have felt so much happiness. The past was so painful that I really couldn't imagine a day like this be-because even after I hurt you so much, you still...stand here and confess your feelings for me," her eyes ached.
Yating tilted his head. "When did you hurt me?"
"Don't lie. When I broke my friendship with you to please Cheng Yin, it must have definitely pained you. It hurt you when I distanced myself from you. I selfishly did whatever I wanted, yet you were always there even when everything tumbled down for me..."
What if I want that woman to be you?
"...I have kept hurting you for a long, long time."
Yating poked on her shoulder and she looked up as she sniffled. Then a soft smack landed on her head.
"Ow. Violenceeeee," she gasped.
"What violence? It didn't hurt."
"That is a very valid point," she nodded.
"Yes. So...can you please...?"
At first when they had started their walk, Yating was all cool, calm and collected so seeing the tense wait in his gaze was too adorable for Chyou. Maybe it was because of that that all the embarrassment and shyness dissipated off her mind.
She opened her purse and took out a chain that sparkled and glittered in the night. She placed the pendant in his palm and turned to face her back at him.
"Will you put it on me?"
Yating blinked at the Q pendant in his palm and trembled. It was the pendant he gifted her which she later kept locked in her purse to not wear it again.
Now that pendant gleamed in freedom once again.
Was that her way of her answer?
Yating clutched it in his palm and smiled. He lifted her long hair to one side and put his hands forward to wrap the chain around her neck. He felt her softly tremble as he fastened it on the back of her neck.
The Q pendant hung in the front down her clavicles, shining brilliantly in the darkness. It shone as if putting an end to an endlessly stretching spell of pain and loneliness and welcoming a new chapter in their lives.
Chyou slowly turned and met his gaze. "How do I look?"
Seeing the pendant delicately shining on her neck made him forget to breathe. It was as if something that was lost now came back to him.
He smiled. "As always, beautiful like a Goddess."
With that, he leaned in to kiss her lips.