The Wife of Hades

On the car ride back home, Yu Xinyi did not know how to feel. After everything today and what An Luxia had told her, the hope inside of her could not help but spark again.

The atmosphere inside the car was weirdly silent, and An Yuchen seemed to also be quite tense as he wanted to say something but he did not know what to say.

This silence made Yu Xinyi think, think about just how long she had been in this one-sided relationship already. Over ten years. . . That was half of her life!

She felt so powerless, merely liking someone silently like this, the other person never knowing unless she did something. Even when An Yuchen had gotten together with Hu Yiyi, the strongest feeling she felt was regret.

Why didn't she just tell him? Would she have had a chance if she just told him? Or. . . Or would their friendship have been ruined through her confession?

The thoughts were like heavy weights on her chest and she looked down at the white bandage around her arm, closing her eyes as the car stopped in front of her apartment.

"We're here," An Yuchen said, turning to look at Yu Xinyi with her eyes closed.

Yu Xinyi blinked her eyes open and slowly took off her seatbelt. An Yuchen got out of the car and quickly walked around the car to the passenger's seat. He opened the door for her and placed his hand on top of the car so Yu Xinyi wouldn't bump her head on the way out.

Yu Xinyi stretched one leg out of the car and looked up at him, their eyes meeting in the hot summer air. She suddenly said, "Are you sad about what happened?"

  An Yuchen was slightly taken aback by the question that he forgot to respond for a second, but almost as if his mouth was telling him what to do, he spoke the deepest answer in his heart without thinking much, "Not really."

  This time, Yu Xinyi was the one taken aback by his answer, "Not really? Why? Don't you - don't you like her?"

An Yuchen furrowed his eyebrows together, frowning slightly, "I don't know. . . Maybe not as much as I had thought."

  Yu Xinyi had more questions but she did not know exactly what to ask as she stepped out of the car, the summer wind brushing against her skin. Her long hair swayed behind her as An Yuchen closed the car door, turning to face her as well.

The only sound that could be heard was the wind as they looked into each other's eyes, and in that split second, Yu Xinyi had the determination to stop waiting.

To stop waiting for him, to stop waiting for the right time, to stop waiting for the right location, for signs of him liking her back, for. . . to stop waiting for herself.

"An Yuchen, I like you. Do you want to be with me?" Yu Xinyi said, standing up straighter as she said this. Obviously, this was not what An Yuchen had expected, because he took a step back in surprise as his eyes widened.

His mouth hung open but he did not know what to say and they stood in silence for another few seconds, "I. . . I -"

Finally, he stood up straightly, looking down at Yu Xinyi from several inches above with a serious expression, "Not yet. Wait."

Just those three confusing words, and then he turned around and left, entering the car and driving away faster than he had come, leaving Yu Xinyi standing alone in front of her apartment.

She blinked a few times, the sadness still hadn't hit her yet. Was that a rejection? 'Not yet. Wait' What type of rejection was that?! What type of response was that?! 

  She had been waiting for ten years! And now he told her to wait?! Yu Xinyi slowly turned around and entered her apartment, going up to the small room she had rented out.

She felt better after letting her true feelings out, but she did not expect to receive such a bland and confusing rejection.

After she had reached her room, she sat on the bed for what felt like several hours, when in reality, it was only half an hour. Then, she pulled out her phone and called An Luxia.

"Xinyi, how did it go?" An Luxia asked excitedly.

". . . Not well," Yu Xinyi said, and then she started on her story, "So I don't know what hit me, but I stupidly decided to confess my feelings to him when we arrived at my apartment, and guess what he said?"

  "You what?!" An Luxia screamed into the phone, jumping up from her chair, "You confessed?! No way, finally! You should have called me over! How could you do that without calling me?!"

  Yu Xinyi sighed, "That isn't important, okay? He just told me, 'Not yet. Wait.' Like what is that supposed to mean?! I know he wants to be nice, but he can just tell me no."

  An Luxia savored those words for a moment and after a while, even the ultimate genius An Luxia could not think of an answer, "I don't know. . . My brother's brain works a little differently than normal people so I can't translate his words for you. Maybe you should just. . . wait?"

  Yu Xinyi glared at the phone, "An! Lu! Xia! You are no help, I'm hanging up!"

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" An Luxia quickly called and Yu Xinyi generously waited for a few seconds to see what she had to say, "Liya called me a moment ago to go get coffee and study for the next school semester. Do you want to come with us?"

Yu Xinyi sighed, the sadness beginning to hit her from the rejection, "It's okay, you guys can go."

An Luxia nodded, "Okay then, bye. Don't think too much about it, I'm sure my brother. . ."

  Yu Xinyi could tell that An Luxia also did not have any way to comfort her, and she merely said goodbye and then hung up, falling down onto the bed again.

"Yu Xinyi! Yu Xinyi!" She suddenly heard a sound coming from far away, and it seemed to be calling her name. She frowned as she dragged herself out of bed, looking around.

The sound seemed to be coming from her window and she walked over, pulling away the curtains and saw An Yuchen standing at the bottom of the apartment, holding what seemed to be a bouquet of roses.

"Yu Xinyi, come down! Yu Xinyi!" He was screaming.

Other people had also heard the noise and were beginning to gather at their windows to see what was up. Yu Xinyi furrowed her eyebrows together, wondering what he was up to as she slowly dragged her body out of the room and to the elevator.

She could still hear his voice as the elevator door slid open and she got on in her slippers. Several seconds later, she finally arrived on the first floor and she walked out of the door, peeking out to see that he was indeed still there, looking up at her floor screaming, "Yu Xinyi! Xinyi!"

She walked out, her arms folded together. It seemed like she was mad, and she did not know why, probably from embarrassment, "I'm here. What are you doing?"

An Yuchen was out of breath as he looked towards her, his face slightly red, "I -"

He then seemed to suddenly remember something as he held the roses out, "I like you, Yu Xinyi. Will you be my girlfriend?"

  For a second, Yu Xinyi thought she was dreaming as her mouth fell open and she gaped at him. An Yuchen's face turned more red when she did not respond, and he stretched his arms out even further.

"Why -"

"A confession should not be done by the girl. As the older male, of course I should be the one to confess! So just forget about what happened earlier this afternoon."

  Yu Xinyi did not know whether she should laugh or frown as she looked at the roses, "You - You're not joking, right?"

An Yuchen gulped, "I'm not. I thought I was too when I told myself I liked you. Maybe the feeling was hidden underneath the mask of brotherly love I always told myself was what I felt towards you. Wanting to be nice to you, to help you, to protect you. . . I always thought it was only because I treated you as my younger sister, but after what had happened today, I thought maybe I'm wrong."

  What happened today? Yu Xinyi frowned. What happened today? Was it because of the accident? So. . . should she thank Hu Yiyi for this amazing gift?!

Yu Xinyi still could not believe that this was happening, but she was afraid that if she waited any longer, this amazing opportunity would past, "I -"

Not knowing what to say, she just took the roses from him, "I agree."

An Yuchen let out a sigh of relief, "Really?!"

  Yu Xinyi looked down, "Why wouldn't I? You know. . . what happened earlier -"

Then, before she could react, she lost a grip of the roses as it fell down onto the ground because she was pulled into his warm and large embrace. She could feel his heart beating in his chest as she pressed her face against it, her heartbeat also quickening.

An Yuchen closed his eyes, his mind racing through everything that had happened. The feeling he felt now was almost a sign that told him that she was the right girl for him.

This excitement, this happiness, this relief, it was something she had never felt before with Hu Yiyi. It explained why he was always nervous and happy when he saw her, why he loved her as much as he loved An Luxia, why his heart pounded like a frantic deer when he saw her in that white dress for prom, why. . . everything was right.