When the bracelet was mentioned, she thought of Qin Tianyi again, and of what had happened between her and Qin Tianyi last night. Her heart clenched as she said, "I'm sorry, I accidentally broke the bracelet."
As she spoke, she took the bracelet out of her bag and returned it to him. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about this tonight. I wonder if it can be repaired? I know that even if it can't be repaired, each diamond on this bracelet is very valuable. I'll return it to you; you should keep it."
Yang Sijie took the bracelet and carefully examined the broken part. It had broken right in the middle, between their initials. He felt that Su Su shouldn't have broken it. "When we parted last night, you were still wearing this bracelet, and it was fine. How did it get broken?"
Gu Susu quickly fabricated a reason. "Last night, when I got back, it was inconvenient to put on clothes with this hand. When I was taking off my sweater, I snagged the bracelet, and with a careless tug, it broke."
Yang Sijie saw that the bracelet was snapped into two pieces by sheer force, not like something caught on a sweater. He felt something was wrong and grabbed her shoulders. "Was it Qin Tianyi? Did that bastard go to you again?"
Gu Susu dared not meet his gaze and shook her head. He could tell she was lying at a glance. He reached out and pulled down the scarf around her neck, discovering a distinct bruise there, likely from being choked.
Gu Susu immediately covered her neck with her hand and said in a daze, "I know this bracelet is very expensive, and I shouldn't have broken it. If it can't be repaired, I'll pay you whatever it costs."
Yang Sijie didn't expose her. With a smile, he said, "It's fine. I just didn't realize it would be inconvenient for you to do things with your hand bandaged. Leave it to me; the bracelet can be repaired."
Gu Susu let out a relieved "Oh" and grabbed her scarf back, intending to put it on.
However, as Yang Sijie put the bracelet into his pocket, he took out a platinum necklace and put the ring he had been holding onto the necklace. He stopped her from putting on the scarf and said, "Don't put on your scarf yet. It's okay that the bracelet is broken. Coincidentally, I prepared this ring today. I'll string the ring onto the necklace for you."
Gu Susu didn't refuse, her fingers gripping the scarf tightly. Seeing that Yang Sijie showed no unusual expression, she thought the marks on her neck probably weren't very noticeable.
Yang Sijie gently put the necklace on her and said, "The material of the ring and necklace won't fade even if they get wet, so you can wear them all the time without taking them off."
"Brother Sijie, I've always kept in my heart how good you are to me," Gu Susu said, touching the ring now on her neck. She didn't know how to say the rest.
Yang Sijie personally put her scarf back on for her and said, "It's the same for me. In all these years abroad, I've never forgotten you and have always thought of you."
Gu Susu tried to talk to him. "I know, I know all of this. I understand your feelings, but I just can't start a new relationship right away. There are so many things from the past that I want to let go of, but I can't..."
"Don't say it, I understand, I understand it all," Yang Sijie said, raising his eyebrows and looking at her. "We can take our time, but you haven't changed your mind, right? You're still willing to be my girlfriend, and we can try to be together?"
She had thought about letting go of everything and chasing after the beautiful lost times with Yang Sijie, but the past events and people weren't so easily let go of.
"I don't know, I really don't know... Brother Sijie, I want to... Right now, I just want to focus on my work, design good fashion, and let more people see and wear my creations. I want to put other things aside for now."
"Of course, it's fine if you want to develop your career. I'll support you wholeheartedly, but that doesn't affect our relationship, does it?"
Gu Susu lowered her head and remained silent, unsure if she could completely forget Qin Tianyi and be with him.
Yang Sijie gently lifted her chin. "Susu, it's not that you have no feelings for me, and I'm not just hoping in vain, am I? Ever since we depended on each other in the orphanage, I've been waiting for you to grow up. No matter how the world changes, I've been waiting for you, waiting for the day we could be together openly. But after we reunited, I don't know what went wrong. Have you completely forgotten me?"
Gu Susu's tears fell one by one. In fact, from the day Yang Sijie left the orphanage, she had cherished him in her heart and hoped he would return to the orphanage to find her.
The beautiful times they had shared were deep in her memory: the starry sky on the orphanage roof, the willows by the embankment, and the changing seasons on the hill behind the orphanage.
There were the fallen leaves they had collected in autumn, the snowmen they had built in winter, and the kites they had flown in spring.
She also remembered how Yang Sijie often told her back then that they should live for themselves, and even if no one in the world loved them, they had to learn to love themselves.
Whenever she felt lonely, helpless, or desperate, she would recall these memories, finding warmth and strength within them.
She could no longer control herself and hugged Yang Sijie tightly, burying her head on his shoulder, crying, "Brother Sijie, I haven't forgotten, I've never forgotten."
Yang Sijie held her tightly, his low voice tinged with a hint of grievance. "Susu, am I dreaming? If this is a dream, then let me never wake up."
Her heart ached with every passing moment. He hadn't changed after their reunion; she was the one who had changed.
She had too many concerns, too many ties, and she dared not accept him, dared not take this step.
Tonight, she finally stopped suppressing the feelings she had hidden for Yang Sijie in her heart and decided to rekindle this missed affection.
She let go of her many worries and had a happy candlelight dinner with Yang Sijie, then they went to watch a movie together.
After leaving the cinema, Yang Sijie held Gu Susu's hand and offered to escort her home.
Seeing that it wasn't far from where she lived, she insisted on walking instead of taking a car.
Yang Sijie indulged her, walking slowly beside her as if they were strolling.
Someone was driving Yang Sijie's car, following them from a distance.
The night breeze was gentle as they walked and talked about the past, alternating between bursts of laughter and moments of sad reflection.
The memories, which had become somewhat hazy, gradually became clear in Gu Susu's mind. The tall buildings in the city were far less appealing than the bluestone paths, grey walls, small ponds, and apricot trees of their memories.
"When can we go back to the orphanage to visit together?" Yang Sijie suggested.
Gu Susu hadn't returned to the orphanage since she left. She nodded and said, "Okay, let's call Kang Xi too, the three of us together..."
"That little brat, I don't want to bring him along," Yang Sijie objected. "Just the two of us. I want some private time."