Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

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."

"Here I am pouring my heart out and you are hitting me?" She complained with more tears escaping her eyes.

"You will only get more such smacks if you say unreasonable things and blame yourself," he harrumphed. "Who said you were being selfish? You thought you broke everything with me but it's not like I took that at face value. In my heart, I was still adamantly being your friend and I promised myself that if you will ever be in trouble, I will always be there for you.

It didn't matter how much you distanced yourself from me. I chose to continue our friendship one-sidedly. If that is not selfishness, then what is it I wonder? You did what your heart told you to. I did what my heart told me. So…"

He held both of her hands and lifted them up gently. "So my dear Queen. Tonight is not about backtracking the past and finding faults in our decisions. There is no place for any apology here. You were never wrong in the first place anyway. I brought you out tonight because I wanted to talk to you about our present and future and how much…just how much I want it to be with you, Chyou.

I want to share my life with you and I wish you would also want to share your life with me too. I…"

Yating inhaled a sharp breath as if somebody cast a dizzying spell upon him and with every last bit of courage he could pluck from within him, he said,

"I love you, Chyou. I love you a lot."

The warmth that touched and seeped into Chyou's fingers as they held hands seemed to quiver as he confessed the last words. She saw his hand slightly shaking in anxiety and anticipation of her response. She could only imagine the plethora of emotions mixing and banging in his heart with full speed as with every second passing by, she felt his hand grow warmer and hotter.

A drop of her tear plopped on his knuckle and she gently placed her hand on top of his. "E-En. Me too," she uttered in a hushed whisper. "Me too…I love you, Yating."

At first, Yating couldn't really believe his ears so he said, "I didn't quite hear you."

"Y-you are blatantly lying!" She looked speechless. "We are standing so close."

"Yes but it's like I can hear too many sounds right now upto the point that I feel dizzy. So can you please repeat what you said?"

"I don't know if you are being genuinely troubled or just pulling my leg," she frowned.

He slightly loosened his collar. "I feel too breathless to be pulling your leg right now. Also, I don't want you beating me black and blue because I chose to tease you at this moment."

"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.