Chapter 35: Not a Passer-by
"Your child is so good, not like my grump." A woman said as she poked a baby's cheek.
The baby giggled and kicked his feet in the air.
He then grabbed the woman's finger and stuck it into his mouth.
The woman laughed, and her companion smiled in indulgence.
"Your Nianzhen is also good. At least he doesn't cry at odd hours."
"It would be good if he cried more. You don't know how he glares when someone tries to touch him."
The women looked at another baby who was placed in another crib.
One of them tried to take the baby, and sure enough, he glared at her coldly.
"See." His mother complained, but the baby only sneered.
"How could he be like this? Who did he learn from?"
The woman was so depressed.
Her baby was only a few days old, but he already behaved like those domineering CEOs in her favourite novels.
This character was good when he grew up, but why did it have to show up now?
She wanted to hold a cute baby.
She wanted to cuddle it and poke its cheeks.
However, her baby was not cute at all.
She didn't dare to mess with him because she was afraid that he would remember.
She had a feeling that he was the kind of person that could hold a grudge.
'Luckily, I still have YueYue.' The woman cuddled Jiang Yue and silently loved him.
The grown-up Jiang Yue watched all this from a corner in the room.
For some reason, he had appeared in this place, but no one could see him.
Days passed, and his mother left the hospital.
Jiang Yue followed his infant self and returned to the old Jiang house.
"What's the point of this?" He wondered.
He wanted to return to the sect test, but he was more unwilling to leave this place. So, he stuck around and watched his life go by.
Jiang Yue was a fussy baby.
He didn't like to be alone, and he didn't like to be put down.
He didn't like this food and would only eat that one when this or that was done.
On the other hand, Yu Nianzhen was a little adult.
While Jiang Yue cried for a thousand little reasons, Yu Nianzhen would only cause trouble when he was dirty.
The boy could not tolerate a spot of dirt on his clothes, and Jiang Yue had somehow figured it out.
He would often throw his things at Yu Nianzhen and then laugh madly when the other became uncomfortable.
This way of interacting continued for a long time, but Yu Nianzhen never got angry at Jiang Yue.
When they were three, madam Jiang gave birth to a little daughter.
Everyone adored the little girl, and Jiang Yue was no exception.
However, Yu Nianzhen couldn't be bothered with the new baby.
He looked at the baby and immediately disliked it!
He disliked her wrinkled skin and her frequent crying.
However, he was destined to be stuck with her!
Before the baby could leave the hospital, madam Jiang had a 'perfect' idea.
The Jiang and Yu families were the best of friends.
What better way to cement their relationship than to let their children get married?
Everyone was happy with the idea, and Yu Nianzhen was soon brought over to give a baby kiss.
Yu Nianzhen didn't want to.
His three-year-old face scrunched up in reluctance.
"I also want a kiss." Jiang Yue shouted.
He was very jealous that the baby got a kiss when he didn't.
Without waiting for a response, he moved to Yu Nianzhen's side.
He grabbed him, stood on tiptoes and kissed him like he had seen his parents do.
All the adults were shocked, but before they could say anything, the baby wailed loudly and drew their attention away.
"It's good enough that YueYue kissed Nianzhen. We will take it as Nianzhen kissed our XiaoXing."
"How is this fair?" The old Jiang Yue complained when he saw the outcome.
He was the one who gave the kiss, but it was Jiang Xing who got the man!
However, the engagement was official.
From that day, Yu Nianzhen came to the Jiang house almost every day.
The plan was to cultivate his relationship with Jiang Xing from a young age. However, things did not go as expected.
Yu Nianzhen was more interested in playing with Jiang Yue than Jiang Xing.
Years passed, and this situation didn't change.
On special occasions, Yu Nianzhen would have to spend time with Jiang Xing, but Jiang Yue was always around.
Then came that fateful day!
When Jiang Xing was in her third year of high school, she approached Jiang Yue.
She wanted his help to spend more time with Yu Nianzhen.
Jiang Yue adored his little sister, and it was natural for her to spend time with Yu Nianzhen.
However, he wasn't happy.
He felt uncomfortable.
He didn't want them to spend more time together.
Fortunately, Yu Nianzhen was busy and couldn't spare the time to hang out.
Jiang Yue soon forgot about that incident, but his subconscious never forgot.
He felt uncomfortable whenever he saw the two together, but he would soon ignore the matter after some time.
He told himself that it was because Yu Nianzhen was his best friend and Jiang Xing was his little sister.
Days drifted like this.
Jiang Yue joined the entertainment industry and began to spend a lot of time away from home.
Although he disliked the months spent away for work, his life was fulfilling.
He liked performing, and he liked that Yu Nianzhen would always watch his shows even though he rarely watched television.
All in all, his life was good.
He had a good career.
He had a good family that cared for him, and he had a precious best friend.
Although he had swerved onto Yu Nianzhen's lane on that day, Jiang Yue didn't want to die.
The kiss at that drinking party had confused him, and he had spiralled for a time.
He realised that he was in love with his best friend, but Yu Nianzhen was his little sister's fiancée.
Jiang Xing truly loved Yu Nianzhen and had been looking forward to marrying him. Because of this, Jiang Yue thought that it was best to stay away.
He put some distance between them to give each other some time to think.
However, things didn't work out as planned.
His feelings didn't dissipate, and he grew desperate as the days passed.
He wanted to see Yu Nianzhen but didn't allow himself to call him.
When Yu Nianzhen wanted to see him, Jiang Yue refused to see him.
In the end, a gulf formed between them, and they became strangers.
On the day they died, Jiang Yue was just a little overcome with emotion and became a little daring.
He was anxious, but he had also made up his mind to be with Yu Nianzhen.
Although he was sorry for his sister, he also wanted to be happy.
It was selfish to take her fiancée, but short-term pain was better than long term pain.
In this way, she could still find someone who loved her back.
Jiang Yue had taken these thoughts and an immense amount of guilt to the Cangxing world.
He cultivated and made future plans, but his heart was actually full of reluctance.
He missed acting.
He missed singing.
He missed his sister's coquettishness.
He missed his mother's nagging.
He missed his father's strictness.
He missed having tea with his grandfather.
He even missed mother Yu's fussiness.
Jiang Yue had not been able to let go of this life.
At the bottom of his heart, he still hoped that he would one day wake up and find that dying was a nightmare.
However, he couldn't keep that thought as he now stood in front of his grave.
His sister was also at the grave.
She carried his favourite peach blossoms, and her face was dulled in sorrow.
She sat in front of the grave and looked at a framed picture that was on the gravestone.
Jiang Yue remembered that he had taken the photo with Yu Nianzhen at the premiere of his final movie.
"I couldn't separate you even in death." Jiang Xing said, and a smile brightened her face.
"He wanted to break the engagement since we were young, but I didn't agree. I thought I could make him like me, but he and I were never fated."
"However, I have the last laugh because I am still alive." The girl laughed, but tears streamed down her face.
She cried for a long time before she finally managed to control her emotions.
"YueYue, everyone is sad, but we are doing fine. What happened is irreversible, but we are comforted that you are together."
"Don't worry about us anymore, and live your life."
Choked sobs escaped Jiang Yue's mouth, and tears ran down his cheeks.
He placed his hand on her shoulder, but she could neither see nor feel it.
However, Jiang Yue seemed to understand everything at that moment.
Life always had to go on!
Until now, he had followed Yu Nianzhen without taking much into the heart.
He cultivated because it was the reasonable thing to do. Made plans because it was rational to do so.
However, he couldn't continue living like this.
It was not enough for Yu Nianzhen to always think of him. He also needed to think of and protect Yu Nianzhen.
Although he was reluctant, Jiang Yue had to let go of his past life and face his new life.
He wasn't a guest or traveller in the Cangxing world; the Cangxing world was his life now.