Chapter 110: You Take the Sunny Road, I’ll Take the Shady Lane

Chapter 110: Chapter 110: You Take the Sunny Road, I’ll Take the Shady Lane

Han Ning’s sudden call made both Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe freeze in their tracks.

This time, however, Gu Yifan had no intention of dealing with her.

The reason was simple.

It had happened far too many times!

’Her showing up now would be no different from all the other times: she’d demand to know why I’m ignoring her, then act all wronged and start crying and making a scene.’

’It’s always the same. She might not be sick of it, but I, Gu Yifan, certainly am!’

’Honestly, since I was reborn, I haven’t gone out of my way to provoke her, have I?!’

’If anything, it was *her* who started pestering *me* after she realized I wasn’t her doormat anymore!’

’As for why that was...’

’It was probably just that she couldn’t adjust, or to be more precise, she was just resentful.’

’It was understandable, really!’

’She’s an arrogant little princess, after all. Her logic is, "Only I’m allowed to ignore you; how dare you ignore me!"’

’But!’

’The person she was dealing with this time was the reborn Gu Yifan!’

’Having lived two lives, I’ve seen straight through her personality and all her little "dog-walking" ploys!’

’Doormat, doormat... be a doormat and you end up with nothing at all!’

’I’m not a fucking idiot. How could I possibly fall for that old trick again?!’

Gu Yifan shook his head. Ignoring Han Ning’s call, he took Su Qinghe’s hand and started walking toward the door again.

Seeing that Gu Yifan wasn’t turning back and was determined to leave, Han Ning grew desperate.

She was frantic, on the verge of tears, as she shouted at Gu Yifan’s back, "Gu Yifan, you don’t dare to face me! You coward! You big liar... Stop right there!"

"SOB, SOB, SOB..."

Hearing the sob in Han Ning’s voice, Gu Yifan continued to ignore her. But even if he didn’t react, Su Qinghe did.

Su Qinghe suddenly stopped in her tracks, forcing Gu Yifan to halt as well.

He frowned slightly, turning to Su Qinghe with a puzzled look. "What’s wrong?"

"She... she really seems to have something to say to you."

Su Qinghe shook her head and said in a small voice.

At her words, Gu Yifan’s frown deepened. He was silent for a moment before looking at Su Qinghe and asking, "You’re not jealous?"

Su Qinghe froze for a second. She first nodded, then shook her head.

Seeing her conflicted and silly Hanhan-like expression, Gu Yifan smiled faintly, understanding what she meant.

"Alright, we’ll do it your way."

He nodded, then turned to face Han Ning.

Seeing Gu Yifan turn around, Han Ning’s face lit up. She sniffled and said in a deeply wronged tone, "Gu Yifan, you’re finally willing to look at me!"

Hearing this, Gu Yifan frowned again. His tone was flat as he said, "Han Ning, I believe we’ve already said everything that needs to be said, haven’t we?"

"No, that’s not it! Gu Yifan, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have embarrassed you in front of so many people that day. I know I was wrong. I’m apologizing to you. Please forgive me, okay?"

Han Ning said in a rush.

"Uh..."

Gu Yifan was taken aback by her words and fell silent.

He hadn’t expected that Han Ning, who was always so arrogant and had such strong self-esteem, would actually apologize to him in front of other people.

But!

It didn’t matter whether Han Ning truly knew she was wrong this time, or if she was just apologizing to get him back as her doormat.

This time, Gu Yifan had no intention of repeating the mistakes of his past life.

And in all honesty, Gu Yifan had thought about it seriously over the past few days. He’d realized he wasn’t actually angry about Han Ning rejecting him in public and making him lose face.

He was angry at himself!

He was angry at his past-life self, the one who had spent a lifetime being a doormat.

He had spent his whole past life as a doormat, only for it to end in nothing. So in this life, he simply didn’t want to be a doormat anymore. That was all.

At this thought, he shook his head slightly.

Before he could speak, Han Ning saw him shake his head, and her sense of grievance intensified. She lowered her once-arrogant head again and pleaded in a humble tone, "Gu Xiaofan, I was wrong. I really know I was wrong. Please don’t ignore me anymore. Can we go back to how we were before, please?"

Hearing Han Ning once again use his childhood nickname, one that had been exclusive to the two of them, Gu Yifan froze for a moment.

"Haaa..."

He took a deep breath, then looked up at Han Ning and said, "Han Ning, you really don’t have to be like this."

"I do! I do, Xiaofan! I know I was wrong. This whole time you’ve been ignoring me... I’ve been truly miserable!"

"I’ve thought about it for so many days. I realize that all these years, you’ve always been the one to put up with my little tantrums, but I never once considered your feelings. So I understand why you’re angry with me this time. I’m sorry... I was wrong. Please forgive me, okay?"

"Can we go back to how we were before? Can we just be okay again?"

Han Ning pleaded again, her voice thick with tears.

"Sigh..."

Gu Yifan sighed softly, then looked at Han Ning and said slowly, "Han Ning, to be honest, I was never angry at you for rejecting my public confession."

"After all, it’s just as you said. We grew up together, and we’re childhood sweethearts, that’s true. But we’re *only* childhood sweethearts. There’s no law saying childhood sweethearts have to end up together. You were right: rejecting me is your right. But in the same way, whether or not I like you is *my* right."

"You did nothing wrong, and neither did I. So I was never angry with you over any of it, which means there’s no question of forgiveness."

"As for going back to our old relationship, to that way we used to interact... I don’t think that’s possible anymore."

"We’re friends, but the way we used to interact isn’t how friends are supposed to treat each other."

"And there’s another, more important point—we’ve both grown up."

"We should both have our own lives. We can’t be attached at the hip forever, can we?"

"Besides, what kind of friends are stuck together every minute of every day?"

"So, it’s not that I’m ignoring you. I’ve just come to a realization and decided to live the life I want to live. That’s all there is to it."

"Anyway, the college entrance exams are over. In another two months, university will start, and we probably won’t even see each other once a year after that. You take your sunny path, and I’ll take my shady... um, my tree-lined path. Isn’t that for the best?"

"And don’t you think it’s been pretty good, these past several days, with us not disturbing each other like this?"

"Oh, right!"

He paused, then looked at her again and said slowly, his tone flat, "I remember telling you all of this last time. And I made myself perfectly clear, didn’t I?"

After hearing Gu Yifan’s words, Han Ning’s heart was thrown into chaos. She froze for a moment, then lunged toward him as if she had gone mad...