When the Side Character Gets a System and Travels through Difference Worlds-Chapter 101: Chi Mo’s Tears

Chi Mo silently made tea in the kitchen while Xu Jike stood in the entryway, watching. Looking at the slender figure in the kitchen, he knew with absolute clarity that he and Chi Mo weren’t exes. As things stood now, they were merely former participants of a dating show. Beyond that, they had no connection at all.

He didn’t understand why his past self had been so cold. Why, after going to such great lengths to win her over, did he suddenly break up with her one day, just like that?

Xu Jike didn’t want to admit that was him, but he knew himself. His past self was definitely capable of doing something like that. ’So, was it because of him that Chi Mo has changed like this?’

Carrying out two cups of tea, Chi Mo glanced at Xu Jike in the entryway. "Have a seat. You look like you have a lot of questions."

"I did have a lot of questions before I came, but now I don’t want to ask anything." Xu Jike watched the steam rising from the cup. "I’ll just ask one thing. Is there really... really no chance for us?"

"I’ve already changed a lot..."

Chi Mo looked up. "I was devastated when you broke up with me. Back then, I couldn’t understand it at all. We had been doing so well, so why did you want to break up with no warning whatsoever?"

"Back then, I couldn’t sleep night after night. My hair was falling out in clumps. I just couldn’t understand—if your love couldn’t last, why did you pursue me so passionately in the first place?"

"You watched dispassionately as I became lost in the love you gave me, only to pull away without a shred of mercy." Chi Mo cradled the cup in both hands, her eyes turning a little red. "To you, was love just a game? Something that becomes boring once you’ve won?"

Xu Jike’s voice was hoarse. "I wronged you."

"There’s no point in talking about apologies now," Chi Mo said, wiping her face. "In any case, we have nothing to do with each other now, and we won’t in the future either."

"Even if you’ve changed a lot, we still won’t be anything more. I won’t fall in the same place twice."

"I may not be smart, and I can be clumsy, but I know how to learn my lesson. I will never make the same mistake again."

Xu Jike was silent for a long time before he spoke. "I was panicking when I broke up with you. You’re right, I was coolly observing you fall deeper and deeper. But later, I realized you weren’t the only one who had fallen. I had, too."

Chi Mo finally looked up at him, a flicker of surprise in her eyes for the first time.

Xu Jike gazed at Chi Mo, his eyes full of longing. "You’re a very likable girl. Or rather, no one can escape your charm, and I was no exception." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"It’s just that I was too arrogant back then. I thought I could pull away in time, just like I had before, so I broke up with you. I just never expected that after leaving you, I wouldn’t be okay."

"The longer the days went on, the emptier I felt inside. I became more and more afraid to go back to the home that held memories of you. I was scared to go back, but I couldn’t bring myself to move, because I was afraid that if I did, I would eventually forget you."

This time, it was Chi Mo who fell silent. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped her teacup, a clear sign that she wasn’t as calm as she appeared.

"Later, you became a streamer. Every time I saw people commenting that you’d been abandoned by men twice, I felt awful. But I couldn’t work up the courage to find you, because I know you. You’re a simple yet stubborn person."

"You have a pure heart, and being with you is so easy. But once you’re separated, you never look back, even if I regretted it back then."

Chi Mo said, "So you shouldn’t have come looking for me today. Since you already understood my stance, why did you come?"

Xu Jike forced a smile. "I guess I couldn’t accept it. I couldn’t accept us ending like this, and I was greedy enough to want to ask for another chance. More importantly, I wanted to tell you that the breakup was my fault. I was too arrogant. It wasn’t that you weren’t good enough; it was that I didn’t know how to cherish what I had."

Chi Mo couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer, and tears began to fall one by one. When she cried, her eyes and the tip of her nose turned bright red. She just sat there, crying silently, her soundless grief suffocating.

Xu Jike tentatively reached for Chi Mo’s hand, but as expected, she flung it away. Xu Jike gave a bitter smile, and in the end, could only sit to the side, his own eyes turning red.

’Tan You had never seen Chi Mo like this, at least not since Chi Mo had woken up. She’d never seen her lose her composure so completely. Speaking of which, with Chi Mo acting like this, she isn’t going to get back together with Xu Jike, is she? If that happens, I’ll be speechless.’

After riding out the turbulent wave of emotions, Chi Mo gradually calmed down. She pulled out two tissues and wiped the tear stains from her face. "I understand now. But just as I know you, you also know me."

"I am simple and stubborn. I will never go back to someone who has hurt me. I’m like a snail—once I’ve been hurt, I’ll never give anyone a second chance."

"I know." The last flicker of hope in his heart was shattered. Xu Jike forced a smile. "I really only came here to tell you that our breakup was entirely my own doing. I wasn’t brave enough."

"And you will meet someone better than me. He won’t be arrogant like me, he won’t be hesitant and hold back like me, and he definitely won’t fail to cherish you like I did. You deserve a wonderful romance and a happy marriage."

Chi Mo clutched the two tissues. "Thank you for your well wishes. Right after we broke up, I hated your so-called ’adult civility.’ But now, I think this is good. We can part on good terms, and if we see each other again, we can still exchange polite greetings."

Xu Jike clenched his fists. "But now I don’t think this civility is good at all. It feels so fake."

"That’s your problem. I was able to move on, so you definitely can too." Chi Mo started to show him out. "It’s getting late. It’s not appropriate for a single man to stay at my place for so long. You should go."

No matter how reluctant he was, Xu Jike had to leave. He knew in his heart that after he walked out that door, he would never have another reason to see Chi Mo again. She would move on with her life, and someone else—not him—would be there to take meticulous care of her.

"Fate is so unfair," Xu Jike muttered to himself after sitting silently in his car for a long time. "Why couldn’t I go back to before any of this ever started?"

Instead, he’d been thrown straight to the ending, powerless to turn things around.

Long after Xu Jike had left, Chi Mo silently began to clear the table. Tan You stood beside her. "You don’t seem to be in a very good mood."

Chi Mo snapped back to reality. "Huh? Yeah, I’m a little upset."

She smiled. "Xu Jike’s sudden appearance today freed me from a shackle. I finally understand that even if I’m just a simple-minded pretty face, someone can still love me."

"It’s just that his declaration of love came far too late. If he had come back before I had moved on, perhaps I would have gotten back together with him."