Ch91 - (II). I am letting you go

“Qingqing, Qingqing!” Yan Chen grabbed Rong Jun just as he leapt from the bed, trying to flee.

Rong Jun struggled with surprising strength, but Yan Chen quickly adjusted, wrapping his arm around Rong Jun’s waist instead. His heart pounding, his entire being consumed by the desperate need to keep him close, to not let him go.

“Please… don’t do this. Haven’t we been doing well all these years?”

“What? Are you going to imprison me here again if I don’t cooperate? Or drug me to make me obey you?” Rong Jun spat the word ‘drug’, his face twisting in panic and fury.

His mind was fraying under the weight of memories that had flooded him overnight.

“I… I won’t do that again,” Yan Chen said, trembling. His fingers tightened around Rong Jun’s hand, refusing to let go. “I’ve changed. I’ve really changed, Qingqing…”

The tremor in his voice made Rong Jun’s gaze flicker, betraying his faint hesitation.

Rong Jun hadn’t forgotten the present, he was simply overwhelmed by the memories that surged through him.

Remembering how Yan Chen treated him in their past life.

“Please… give me another chance. We’ve finally made it this far…” Yan Chen’s voice cracked.

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“That’s because I don’t remember anything from the past,” Rong Jun snapped. “If I did… do you really think we could have gotten this far?”

“I know I was wrong… I was so wrong,” Yan Chen said, his voice shaking, his desperation to make Rong Jun stay was in every word he said. “I’ll never forget what I did to you… I’m sorry, Qingqing… I was wrong… I promise I will never treat you that way again.”

For a moment, Rong Jun’s heart wavered. Yan Chen had always been patient, always caring, and Rong Jun had deeply admired and loved him for that.

But the past self of him, the one who had hurt him, still lingered in his memory, a shadow he could not let go so easily.

Fear, disgust, and hate surged through him. Yan Chen, the one who treated him badly, was a nightmare that suffocated him, and he wanted nothing more than to escape, even if the man in front of him changed… still, they were the same person.

“Let me go.” His voice was icy as he moved away from Yan Chen.

Yan Chen’s hand tightened, pleading repeatedly, but Rong Jun didn’t cave in. He had seen that pitiful look countless times before, and now it only stirred revulsion inside him, he just wanted to puke at the sight of this animal in front of him.

“I’ll give you two choices to keep me by your side,” Rong Jun said, his tone calm, yet carrying a hidden chill that set Yan Chen’s heart racing.

“The first one is for you drug me and imprison me here.”

Yan Chen shook his head violently. “I won’t do that again. I will never hurt you again.”

Rong Jun looked at him dead in the eyes as he continued. “The second one… is for you to let me go.”

Under the dim light, Yan Chen saw the determination in Rong Jun’s eyes, the unwavering, unyielding resolve. He would not pity himself. He would not change his mind, at least not now.

And he knew no matter how much he would persuade him that he already made his decision.

And that was to leave him.

Yan Chen slowly lowered his head, his fingers still gripping Rong Jun’s hand so tightly, refusing to let go. A flash of desperate, almost sinister intent flickered in his eyes, and his aura was suffocating, terrifying, as if the Yan Chen in the oast was also resurfacing.

If he let Rong Jun go now… he might never come back.

He would lose him forever.

Rong Jun curled his lips into a faint, mocking smile. Yan Chen would never give him up. He knew he would remain trapped forever in his own cage that Yan Chen built around him like invisible bars.

He was about to taunt Yan Chen, to tell him that he never changed, however, his next words left him stunned.

“I-I’ll let you go.” Yan Chen whispered, his words faltering.

He then looked at Rong Jun with a tearful gaze, genuine and full of love, a gaze that meant he now accepted his fate.

“Qingqing… I am letting you go.”