Li Wei walked aimlessly through the empty university corridors, the sharp echo of his footsteps the only sound keeping him company. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat heavy with a confusion he couldn’t quite understand.

  He should have never gone to that rooftop.

  It was a bad idea, seeing her again. After all this time, why did she have to come back into his life, bringing with her all the memories he thought he had buried?

  He should have walked away. Ignored her. Pretended the past didn’t exist.

  But instead, there she was, standing in front of him, like a ghost from a life he couldn’t outrun.

  The words she had said echoed in his mind over and over. “I loved you.”

  He could feel them now, sharp and raw in his chest. The pain, the guilt, the things he had tried so hard to suppress.

  What had happened to them? What had gone wrong?

  For a second, he almost let himself believe it was still possible. To go back to when things were simple, when they had just been two people trying to figure it out.

  But then the reality hit him.

  He had changed. She had changed.

  The Li Wei who had loved her—really loved her—wasn’t the same anymore. The hurt, the betrayal, the walls he’d built around himself… they weren’t something you could just tear down.

  He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the ground, trying to steady his thoughts.

  He knew she was right. He knew he had never truly let go, and maybe, deep down, part of him still wanted her. But he couldn’t do it. Not again.

  That chapter was closed. It had to be.

  He thought about the days after she had disappeared from his life—how he had buried himself in basketball, in his family’s expectations, in the pressure to succeed. How he had pushed people away because it was easier than dealing with the pain of loss.

  His family had no idea. They thought he was fine. They thought everything was just fine.

  But it wasn’t. He had buried the grief, the regret, and the guilt under yers of work, of responsibility, of moving forward.

  He was supposed to be the strong one. He was supposed to be the one who could handle anything that came his way.

  But Jenny... she had always been the one thing he couldn’t handle.

  The next morning, Li Wei’s phone buzzed. A notification—his mother.

  Li Wei, are you coming to the family dinner tonight? We need to discuss your future.

  He sighed, running a hand through his hair. The st thing he wanted was to sit through one of those conversations. The ones about succession, about his role in the family company, about what he was supposed to do with his life.

  There had been no mention of the basketball team, of his dreams, of his love for the game. Just expectations. Just the constant pressure to be perfect.

  As the youngest, he had always felt the weight of everyone’s eyes on him. And his mother... well, she was the worst of them all. She thought she knew what was best for him.

  But he wasn’t that person anymore.

  He gnced at the phone screen one st time, his thumb hovering over the message.

  I’m sorry, but I can’t come tonight.

  The words felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders.

  It wasn’t about avoiding his family. It was about avoiding the constant reminder of what he couldn’t have. What he had lost.

  The feeling of his heart pulling towards Jenny again—despite everything—was unbearable.

  That evening, Li Wei found himself on the rooftop again, looking out over the same city he had always known. The lights blinked in the distance, but it felt different now. Everything seemed muted, distant.

  He hadn’t expected Jenny to come back. In truth, he didn’t think he could handle seeing her again. But after their brief conversation, after the rawness of her words, a part of him wanted to reach out. To say something. Anything.

  But the other part of him—the part that had spent years building walls around his heart—held him back.

  What would it solve?

  He couldn’t give her the answer she was looking for. He couldn’t give her the love she deserved, not when he wasn’t even sure of himself anymore.

  For the first time in a long time, he wondered if he had made the right choice. If he had been too harsh, too closed off.

  Could he ever truly move on from her? Could he ever truly let go?

  He exhaled deeply, the cold night air cutting through his thoughts.

  The truth was, he wasn’t sure anymore.

  And that scared him.

  As the days went by, Li Wei tried to bury himself in his responsibilities. Work, basketball, family obligations. Anything to keep him busy. But no matter how much he tried to distract himself, Jenny’s face was always there. In the back of his mind. In every quiet moment.

  And it was driving him mad.

  He hadn’t realized how much he missed her until it hurt like this.

  He wasn’t ready to reach out. Not yet. But the truth was, he wasn’t sure he would ever be ready.

  He wasn’t sure he could ever forgive himself for what he had done.

  And now... he wasn’t even sure he deserved to.