My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

"Shi Nian?" he called out after seeing her suddenly fall in a daze.

Shi Nian snapped out of her senses. When Jiang Jinyan turned his head to follow her sight, Shi Nian abruptly went on tip toe and grabbed his face with both hands. "No!" Her face was anxious as she shook her head. "I—It's nothing, don't look…"

When she acted like that, all the more reason for Jiang Jinyan to find out what was going on. He exerted a bit of force to peel her hands from his face, holding them tight as he turned around quickly. Similarly, his pupils dilated in surprise.

It was unknown where Shi Nian got the strength to break free, or maybe he was too stunned to react properly thus he failed to hold onto her.

Shi Nian looked at the familiar figure of Wei Xiameng in the distance, then to the shocked Jiang Jinyan. She bit her lips and reached out to cover his eyes, her voice contained a tremble which she didn't even notice. "Stop—Stop looking…"

Wei Xiameng was still as beautiful as always. No, she looked even more stunning instead. There was a hint of maturity in her face which Shi Nian didn't see a few months ago. The woman had cut her hair until it only reached her neck, the strands of it were highlighted in light brown, making her look more youthful yet mature at the same time.

This was Jiang Jinyan's ex-girlfriend, the woman who had accompanied him in the period which Shi Nian didn't know before.

Shi Nian didn't know what had happened between them but she could still make some guesses. She recalled the scene she had seen before; Wei Xiameng hugging someone else in the hospital's parking lot, and the man even kissed her on the cheek. Now, the same man was standing by her side, gazing at her with the same soft and affectionate look.

Shi Nian's heart was trampled to pieces just by imagining how Jiang Jinyan felt right now.

What to do? If she could, she wanted to keep Jiang Jinyan for herself so that nobody could look at him, so that nobody could hurt him anymore.

"It's okay." She whispered, her voice quivering slightly. "It's okay, Jiang Jinyan. Don't be sad…" You still have me. I will always be with you. But the promise of 'always' was too abstract and profound. Shi Nian found herself unable to say it at times like these, not with Wei Xiameng's presence not far from them. All she could do was try her best in her own way to shield him from harm.

Her fingertips were freezing against his skin and Jiang Jinyan grasped it tight, bringing it down as he turned around. "You…" Surprised, Jiang Jinyan cupped her cheek gently. "Why are you crying again?"

Shi Nian didn't even realize she was crying until he said it. "I—I just feel so bad…" She sobbed, her nose reddening due to crying and the cold weather.

People started to throw them glances, curious and inquiring. Jiang Jinyan looked around and decided to take her somewhere first. In this way, it was impossible for them to watch a movie peacefully anymore.

Shi Nian tried hard to stop crying, unwilling to be seen as a crybaby. But whenever she remembered Wei Xiameng, she just felt so angry that she wanted to teach her a lesson. Jiang Jinyan was such a good man, so how could she cheat on him?

In the end, Jiang Jinyan took her back to his car which was parked nearby. He settled her down before getting in himself. After turning on the engine and heater, he pulled out a tissue box from the dashboard and wiped her face for her. "Crybaby."

"I…I am not!" She exclaimed in defense, yet it sounded unconvincing coming from her swollen eyes and reddish nose. She had cried earlier in the book café and now, she cried again. If this wasn't a crybaby, then what was?

Jiang Jinyan dabbed her eyes with the tissue gently. "Yes, yes, my baby isn't a crybaby."

Shi Nian's golden eyes blinked in surprise.

He threw the tissue into the mini trash bin and took off his mask. Shi Nian scanned his face thoroughly, trying to find the slightest bit of sadness but saw none. "You…aren't sad?"

Amused, he squeezed her cheeks exasperatedly, making her look like an octopus. "Why should I be sad? I didn't even cry and here you are, crying buckets in my stead."

He wasn't lying…

Shi Nian let his words seep into her mind, relishing in it. So, he really wasn't sad. 

"You should forget about her, seriously. She isn't a nice woman. Last time, I saw her with the man beside her at the hospital, they…were acting unusually intimate." She asserted with a solemn expression.

The corner of his lips twitched into a mirthless smile. "So, even you saw both of them, huh?" Seeing her nervous expression, Jiang Jinyan softened his tone. "We broke up months ago. This time, I was only surprised. I didn't expect to see her in the Capital."

Even Jiang Jinyan himself was shocked to discover his calm reaction. There was a period of time when he decided to have Wei Xiameng stay by his side for a long, long time and there was also a period when he had difficulty accepting her infidelity. He thought that when they met again one day, he would still feel uncomfortable, heart rippling in waves of pain. After all, there were still years of good memories between them.

But to his surprise, he felt none of those. In fact, he didn't even feel any discomfort. Jiang Jinyan was really telling the truth, he was just a bit shocked to see her, nothing more.

Right now, all he could think about was the girl in front of him. Her crying face, her cute pout, her concerned eyes, her happy and silly grin. Even seeing her tears distress him to no end, how could he bring himself to think about another?

It was then that Jiang Jinyan realized he had truly moved on from the past. Each memory of Wei Xiameng, both happy and sad, was gradually replaced with Shi Nian, firmly etched into his body and mind. The feeling was even stronger, so intense that he felt it deep from his soul.

He had suffered before but destiny brought him someone much, much better, the best that he could ever imagine.

.

.

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A/N: yes, and she will be much more better later on (≧∇≦*)

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