Chapter 6: Why Don't You Just Die?

A girl with the exact same face, the same personality, and the same name—yet utterly incapable of sharing the same future—drew closer to him.

He Tianran’s heartbeat began to quicken, a surge of adrenaline far more intense than the physical exertion he had just endured on the boxing ring.

No matter how many times he looked at that face, it inevitably summoned those indelible, heart-rending memories.

"I wouldn't have guessed. You don't seem all that... devoted?"

To apply a word like "devoted" to a seventeen-year-old boy was undeniably heavy. Though the girl cautiously framed it as a question, she herself probably didn't know what she was being so cautious about.

He Tianran did not speak; his gaze merely lingered on every minute detail of Wen Liang’s face. A moment later, he tapped his own eyebrow with his finger.

Wen Liang tilted her head slightly, her hand twitching by reflex as if she thought something had dirtied her skin, but she managed to restrain herself.

"If your hair and eyebrows aren't in the same color palette, you don't look good on camera... She told me that before, though I suppose to you, it doesn't make any difference."

He Tianran pointed out this detail with a calm voice.

"Do you usually look at 'her' with such unbridled intensity?"

The girl’s pupils contracted slightly, her expression turning somewhat unnatural.

"There were plenty of chances in the past, but I never dared to look. Now that I dare... the chance is gone."

He Tianran paused, averted his gaze, and stood up from the floor. He walked over to a nearby bench and sat down again. Wen Liang approached as well, sitting shoulder to shoulder with him like old friends.

The scene wasn't nearly as awkward or silent as one might have imagined.

"It doesn't really matter, after all. When you get right down to it, you are both the same person. Besides, I wouldn't mistake one for the other."

He Tianran’s breathing had grown much steadier. It seemed he had long since understood the meaning behind the girl’s sudden change in hair color.

"I suppose I just thought... out with the old, in with the new? After all, I don't want too many of 'her' shadows lingering over me—even though 'her' shadow is more real than a shadow has any right to be."

Wen Liang twirled a strand of her hair around her fingertip, making no effort to evade the topic.

"You don't like 'her'?" He Tianran suddenly pressed on.

Wen Liang shook her head, a vacant look in her eyes as she murmured:

"It’s not quite dislike, but I feel 'her' existence is pitiful, and I refuse to become as utterly humble and pathetic as 'her'. It feels like... I’m losing myself entirely. You must know that feeling all too well, right?"

"...Yeah."

He Tianran fell silent. He took a deep breath, steadying his turbulent emotions.

***

"Why did you find a girlfriend so quickly?"

Suddenly, Wen Liang dropped the question—casual yet abrupt, so sudden that, in a fleeting daze, He Tianran almost believed it was the girl he loved voicing a bitter grievance, striking straight into his heart.

The sentence echoed through his mind. He Tianran turned his head dazedly to look at Wen Liang, tears slowly welling up in the corners of his eyes.

"Heh, you said yourself that you could tell us apart."

Wen Liang didn't look back at him. She turned her head with a faint smile, her flaxen hair gleaming brilliantly, carrying a familiar fragrance.

"I want to treat her well. It's as simple as that."

He Tianran’s chest rose and fell. It was impossible to tell whether the "she" he referred to was Jiang Xixi or Wen Liang, or if he was simply attempting to love them both as the exact same person.

"Well, aren't you just full of universal love, then?" Wen Liang retorted with a sarcastic edge.

He Tianran shook his head. "If 'she' knew I was doing this, she'd probably be a little happier."

Wen Liang frowned. "You understand me that well?"

"No, it's you who don't understand 'her'. I think it's better if we see less of each other."

"Why?"

He Tianran stood up, turning his back to Wen Liang. "You have to leave me a little... hope, don't you?"

With that, he walked over to a freestanding punching bag in the distance and began practicing bare-fisted strikes. The other senior students, reading the atmosphere, tactfully dispersed. Although Xue Yong had overheard fragments of "she, she, she," he remained utterly clueless.

Wen Liang sat in her original spot, the light fading from her beautiful eyes, and whispered softly to herself:

"She is trapped in September and can't find her way out. Since you love her so much, why don't you... just die?"

"..."

"Wen... Senior Sister Wen."

At that moment, a timid voice sounded beside her. Wen Liang shot a murderous glare in that direction, but the hostility vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. She let out a soft hum.

"Hmm?"

Jiang Xixi felt a sudden chill run down her spine, startling her so much that the bottle of mineral water slipped from her hand. She hurriedly bent down to pick it up, and by the time she straightened back up, that oppressive feeling had vanished.

"You... you sing so well... Senior Sister, your performance at the gala... was truly amazing..."

Jiang Xixi nervously expressed her admiration.

"Thank you. Is that all?" Wen Liang smiled, teasing her.

"I... I saw the video of you and Brother He. That was you, right, Senior Sister Wen? Even without showing your face, anyone could tell from your voice alone."

Wen Liang shook her head flatly. "It wasn't me."

"How could that be?" Jiang Xixi asked in disbelief.

Wen Liang stood up abruptly, her tall, 1.7-meter frame making Jiang Xixi appear even more petite beside her.

"That person is your boyfriend's sweetheart. But don't worry, it's not me."

Wen Liang spoke with absolute bluntness, as if emphasizing a point.

Though Jiang Xixi didn't fully understand, the mere mention of it left her looking flustered and alarmed.

Wen Liang suddenly smiled, her tone softening. "Little sister, He Tianran just said he's going to treat you the same way he treated that person, so you don't have to worry about anything."

Jiang Xixi looked slightly uncomfortable. "I... I'm not a little sister, my name is—"

Wen Liang waved a hand to cut her off. "What your name is doesn't matter to me, nor do I care to know."

The young girl was entirely unaccustomed to Wen Liang's tone and style, and her fingers tightened unconsciously around the water bottle.

"I've noticed a trait in you that I can't quite tell is a strength or a weakness. Do you want to know what it is?"

Wen Liang looked her up and down, prompting Jiang Xixi to ask instinctively:

"Wh—what?"

Wen Liang stopped looking at her. She stretched her waist, speaking in an offhand, casual tone:

"You're terribly foolish and utterly naive..."

Jiang Xixi froze, then pouted. "Senior Sister Wen, when you say things like that, it makes me a little angry..."

Wen Liang glanced at her sideways, a provocative smile playing on her lips. "Why don't you go get your boyfriend to beat me up, then?"

The young girl ignored her, walking over to He Tianran alone and handing him the water with both hands. She clearly had no intention of telling him about the conversation that had just taken place.

Yet the boy had already sensed Jiang Xixi's unhappiness. He glanced over at Wen Liang, then said a few words to tease his girlfriend, instantly bringing a radiant smile back to the young girl's face.

Soon, He Tianran finished his training, changed out of his clothes in the locker room, and left with Jiang Xixi, chatting and laughing all the way.

Not once did he look back at Wen Liang as they walked out of the boxing gym.

It was the latter who watched the two of them leave without the slightest evasion, finally letting out a breath of release as she murmured to herself—

"If fools really do get all the luck, I wish I could be a bit more foolish, too. What a pity... I just don't have it in me."