ETERNAL LOVE : A LOVE STORY

Yu Mei pursed her lips seeing Zhao Ming who was sitting with her legs crossed on the sofa with a pillow in her lap and her head was resting on her hand as she was staring at the front gate in a daze. 

" Why are you sitting here? Shouldn't you go upstairs and join them?" Yu Mei asked. Ji Cheng and Xie Ming went upstairs in Liwei's study to talk about something while this girl didn't follow them and stayed here with her in the living room. 

She was worried that the man might hurt Xie Ming in some way. When Xie Ming saw him, her face turned pale and she almost fainted. Three of them stayed in the living room for a while without saying anything. Then suddenly Xie Ming asked that man to follow her upstairs to talk. 

Zhao Ming glanced at Yu Mei who was looking worried and chuckled. " Don't worry. He won't eat your Miss. Now go and bring me a cup of hot coffee. It's been long since I have one. Also, bring some cakes as well. I at least deserve some sweets." she said bitterly as her smile slowly disappeared. 

She was trying to be chill about it but she remembered Ji Cheng's words that he said upon finding out the truth that she is not Zhao Ming. At that time, he had said that he wants Zhao Ming to come back, which means, her existence doesn't mean anything in his life. She is just a fake and fake cannot replace the original.

-

In the study, Xie Ming was sitting on a single sofa while Ji Cheng took a seat opposite hers. He looked around the room that was filled with the books. The study was different from his at the palace, however, at this moment, rather than looking around the new surroundings, he was busy staring at the woman opposite him. 

He knows that she is his Zhao Ming but there was an awkward silence between them. Her expressions were cold and she looked like someone else, like a stranger. The warmth that she used to have in her eyes before while looking at him was not there anymore. She looked like a different person in those strange clothes and her dark brown hair. 

Not only that, her face was not her anymore. However, he doesn't care as long as she is his Zhao Ming. However, right now she didn't look like the Zhao Ming he used to know. 

After a long awkward silence, Ji Cheng said, " Zhao Ming, I was-

" Xie Ming." she interrupted him. 

" Hmm?" He raised his brows upon hearing her words. Her tone was flat and was indifferent as if she was talking to a stranger.

She calmly placed the teacup on the table that she was holding and said, " My name is now Xie Ming, not Zhao Ming. Your Majesty, I am sure you know what happened to me and Xie Ming. Although it is hard to accept, we did swap our bodies. I am now living as Xie Ming while she is as Zhao Ming."

" Believe it or not, but I am happy with this life. I am glad that I not only got the second chance to live but I got to meet Liwei as well who made me experience the feeling of being loved and the true meaning of love and family," she said with a mild smile on her lips while she was talking about him. 

Ji Cheng quietly listened to her words and realized how much she had changed. Zhao Ming who used to be quiet in front of him and hesitate before speaking was not only speaking with a tinge of coldness in her tone but was also looking into his eyes without appearing to be nervous. The warm gaze in her eyes was nowhere to be seen. 

" What about your life at the palace? Don't you want to go back to your world? Zhao Ming, have you ever thought of going back to your world, go back to me?" He asked what he was waiting to ask for long. He wants to know if she ever missed him or wanted to go back.

She pursed her lips and stared at him quietly for a few moments before responding, " No!"

" Since the day I came here, I never thought of going back. For me, life at the palace was nothing but torture. I was happy that I not only got the chance to live again but also managed to escape from that hell. The palace politics, the rumors, and the race for power, all of this scares me. I am not fit for political life at the palace." 

Ji Cheng didn't know what to say after hearing her words. She didn't even talk about him, she only talked about palace life and politics. What about him? 

" And what about me? You never thought about what will happen to me without you? You're my wife after all." He clenched his fists when he finally said it. He was struggling to ask this question for so long. Since the day he found out that the girl living with him was not Zhao Ming, he thought that his Zhao Ming must be waiting for him. 

He was denying all the possibilities that she could forget him. However, upon hearing her words, the fear that he was trying to avoid turned out to be the truth. 

Xie Ming looked at him and didn't avoid his questionable gaze and sighed softly. " Your Majesty, at first I used to blame you for my misery, for my death. Rather than Empress Dowager, or Xiao Li, it was your ignorance that broke my young heart into pieces."

" You were new to the throne and was busy with wars and political affairs and left me to deal with the life that I never desired nor experienced before. My feelings for you turned into hatred upon coming into this world. However, I later realized that it was not only your fault or mine. It was the circumstances that separated us."

Seeing his expressions she took a deep breath and said, " Your Majesty, you don't need to feel guilty for anything. I don't hate you anymore. Some things were out of control and were bound to happen. After I got this second life, I realized that there are things that we take for granted and we only realize their worth after losing them."

" Same with people and their feelings. You also realized your feelings towards me after you almost lost me. However, Your Majesty, my feelings for you have ended long ago. I am happy with my life with Liwei and that's the truth." she stated, causing his expressions to turn dark. 

After a few moments, he chuckled bitterly and gulped down the tea that had cooled down, " Don't worry. I won't force you to come with me. I have no right to complain about it after all." 

She stared at him and realized how much he is struggling to accept the truth. Liwei was also shocked at first but he easily accepted the truth because he was already suspicious of her and he never had strong feelings for Xie Ming in the past either. 

However, seeing him now she realized that Ji Cheng never hated her as she had thought. It was the circumstances that made it difficult for them to express their feelings to each other and be truthful with each other. 

Seeing how much he was struggling with his feelings, she felt bad for Xie Ming. She was happy with Liwei but Zhao Ming's life with Ji Cheng is not as happy as she had imagined. Things don't look good for them at all. 

" Xie Ming is a good girl. She always pretends to be strong on the surface but her heart is fragile like a glass statue. She has seen so many hardships at such a young age, unlike me who was loved by her father and has seen the warmth of family, but she has only seen betrayal and hatred from her family, that's why she can be cold sometimes."

She looked at him and smiled, " Your Majesty, she is a good girl. Just like me, she also deserves happiness. She will love you wholeheartedly if you love her, however, don't take her feelings for granted. You must be confused because of this whole situation and there is no problem with that. However, don't take a long time to sort out your relationship, otherwise, you will be left alone, with no one by your side."

Ji Cheng stared at her and thought about the day when he found out the truth. The painful gaze in Zhao Ming's eyes and her tears still bothers him. It was the first time that he had seen her cry so vulnerably. 

' Sort out my feelings?' Xie Ming's words kept repeating in his mind, forcing him to reflect on his feelings. 

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