The place she chose wasn't crowded.
A quiet street café.
Dim lights.
Soft noise.
Neutral.
Somewhere neither of them had memories attached to.
Lian Hua arrived first.
Of course she did.
Because waiting—
Felt easier than walking into his presence again.
Her hands rested around a warm cup.
Untouched.
Cooling.
Every second felt longer than it should.
Because this wasn't just a meeting.
This was the moment everything would change.
The door opened.
She looked up.
And there he was.
Zhen Wei.
For a moment—
Nothing else existed.
Not the café.
Not the quiet music.
Just him.
He walked toward her—
Steady.
Controlled.
But his eyes—
Locked onto hers.
And didn't look away.
He stopped in front of her table.
"…you came early."
A small, familiar observation.
She nodded.
"…yeah."
He sat down across from her.
And just like that—
They were face to face again.
No distance.
No distractions.
Only truth.
Silence settled between them.
But it wasn't empty.
It was heavy—
With everything unsaid.
"You said you wanted to talk," he said finally.
His voice calm.
But quieter than before.
Lian Hua took a slow breath.
"I did."
Another pause.
Because saying it—
Was harder than deciding to say it.
"I've been thinking," she began.
"About everything."
He didn't interrupt.
Didn't rush her.
"I tried to move on," she continued.
"And I thought I could."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the cup.
"But…"
She looked up at him.
And for the first time—
There was no hesitation.
"I still love you."
Silence.
The words landed between them—
Clear.
Unavoidable.
Zhen Wei didn't react immediately.
Because this—
This was what he had wanted to hear.
And yet—
It wasn't simple.
"Then why did you let go?" he asked.
Not accusing.
Just… real.
Lian Hua's chest tightened.
"Because I was scared."
A pause.
"Of losing everything."
She held his gaze.
"But I realized something."
Her voice softened—
But didn't waver.
"Losing you… feels worse."
Something in his expression shifted.
Subtly.
But deeply.
Because those words—
They reached him.
"But this doesn't fix everything," he said.
"I know."
"There are still problems."
"There always will be."
Silence.
Because now—
They weren't avoiding reality.
They were facing it.
"I'm not asking for things to go back to how they were," she said.
"I don't want that either."
Another pause.
"But I want to try again," she finished.
The words hung in the air.
Not desperate.
Not uncertain.
Just honest.
Zhen Wei looked at her for a long moment.
Because this time—
The choice wasn't just hers.
It was his too.