Running Over The Head Of My Ex [Rebirth]

Chapter 81

He Qingqi walked to the door, her brows slightly furrowed as she stood there for a moment. Suddenly, she recalled the frustration and jealousy in Zhuo Zhiwei’s tone earlier. The corners of her lips slowly curved into a smile, and her thumb and forefinger gently rubbed together.

When she first heard the knock on the door, she felt a wave of panic. On one hand, Fang Xuanyao had been her first love, and on the other… the tragic death from her previous life had left a deep scar on her heart.

The moment the car hit her body, it hurt—her internal organs felt like they no longer belonged to her. But thankfully, the impact was thorough, and within a second, she was freed from the pain.

Yet, her girlfriend seemed to possess a unique kind of magic. The instant she heard her cool voice, her entire heart was filled with calmness.

What was there to be afraid of? He Qingqi steadied herself. This was her home.

She opened the door.

As expected.

The hallway was dimly lit, the yellow light blending with the sudden flood of incandescent brightness, casting a soft glow on Fang Xuanyao’s face. Half of her body was bathed in the orange shadow, the other half in the bright light, giving her an ethereal beauty.

She wore the slippers she kept at the He household. The moment the door opened, she tightened her grip on the hem of her clothes, her head slightly tilted as she looked up at He Qingqi, her expression filled with both surprise and joy.

No longer was she the arrogant figure from before, barking orders. Now, after shedding all pretense, she looked just like the older sister next door, the one He Qingqi had once been deeply infatuated with.

Unfortunately, He Qingqi no longer had the time to appreciate her beauty. The overhead light reflected her clear and pristine gaze.

Her emotions had already been shifted by someone else, and the person before her was just an attractive woman she often saw—nothing more.

There was nothing special about her.

He Qingqi’s heart was as calm as a lake on a winter night, and her voice matched her composure.

“Do you need something?”

Fang Xuanyao’s heart clenched suddenly. She bit her lip, the pain surfacing in her eyes. Even though she had known for a long time that He Qingqi’s heart was no longer hers, facing it always brought a fresh wave of hurt. Then, a bitter smile rose within her.

If I had known it would come to this, why did I act the way I did back then?

After taking a deep breath, she swallowed and, with no more warmth in her eyes, gestured inside, “Could I come in? Can we… talk?”

He Qingqi rejected her without hesitation. “No.”

Fang Xuanyao’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. But then, a reversal, albeit a minor one.

“You’re my ex, after all. We can talk outside.”

She said it indifferently, her expression unchanging. There was an unintentional trace of pride and nonchalance in her words, which made Fang Xuanyao momentarily dazed.

She stared at He Qingqi under the soft glow of the light. She was still as beautiful and radiant as ever, her gaze clear and honest, just like in those past days.

Back then, He Qingqi had joyfully married her, faithfully turning away anyone who tried to get close.

Including Zhuo Zhiwei.

But now, her care and affection belonged to someone else.

Fang Xuanyao wondered if, in the late hours of the night, Zhuo Zhiwei would also be held tightly in her arms, while He Qingqi affectionately snuggled up to her. Zhuo Zhiwei loved He Qingqi truly; she wouldn’t push her away or walk out to sleep in the guest room in frustration.

Fang Xuanyao blinked slowly, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Alright.”

If Zhuo Zhiwei could make her happy by not making things difficult, by watching her from afar, then she could do the same.

Fang Xuanyao’s love for He Qingqi was no less than Zhuo Zhiwei’s. She pressed her lips together, her face turning slightly pale.

“I’ll go put on some clothes,” He Qingqi said, closing the door without hesitation.

She didn’t even ask if Fang Xuanyao needed something to wear.

Fang Xuanyao was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

Left alone once again in the empty hallway, Fang Xuanyao stood there, her heart hollow. She stared blankly at the closed door, rubbing her arms, a faint tremble running through her body.

A bitter smile surfaced.

…

Late at night, the dark sky was dotted with stars, twinkling like diamonds. The autumn wind gently swayed the low trees in the greenbelt, their leaves rustling softly.

Under the flickering streetlights, He Qingqi walked with her hands in her pockets, strolling with Fang Xuanyao around the neighborhood.

“Do you need me to go back to your place with you to get a jacket?” He Qingqi asked, glancing sideways at her.

She had already noticed Fang Xuanyao wasn’t dressed warmly enough. But she didn’t want her own clothes to carry someone else’s scent, especially not Fang Xuanyao’s.

Zhuo Zhiwei would be upset.

So, she asked.

Fang Xuanyao felt the temperature around her and quickly gave in. “…Okay.”

Now that both were properly dressed, they occasionally spotted a patrol car making its rounds.

After being accustomed to cities torn apart by war, returning to the quiet peace of her hometown gave Fang Xuanyao a strange sense of comfort, like a fledgling returning to its nest.

She sighed softly, raising her head a little to ask, “How have you been lately?”

“…Pretty good. Everything’s going smoothly.”

Fang Xuanyao paused for a moment before asking what had been weighing on her mind, “By ‘everything’s going smoothly,’ do you mean with Zhuo Zhiwei?”

He Qingqi was slightly surprised. She glanced at her but answered openly, “Yes. We’re together.”

Fang Xuanyao’s pupils contracted, and she clenched her fingers tightly. Her heart seemed to be squeezed painfully, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

She lowered her head, forcing out a smile—one that tasted bitter. She nodded, trying to sound sincere, “That’s… good.”

After saying it, she repeated in a whisper, “Really good.”

“I think so too,” He Qingqi replied, indifferent and completely unbothered.

Then she asked, “And you? Why did you go to Africa? Are you not planning to come back?”

Fang Xuanyao froze for a moment, sighed, and let the sights and sounds of recent days push aside the pain of love lost.

“I wanted to contribute… to make a difference.”

A faint smile appeared in her eyes. “After all, I made so many mistakes in my past life. When I was reborn, my first instinct was to make things right with you.”

Her voice softened. “But you didn’t need that.”

“So, I thought… could I channel that guilt into helping others? At least they need me.”

“I’ve seen people starving, dressed in rags. I volunteered and saw those displaced by war. I even witnessed people die from untreated wounds. These things seem so distant from our lives. We’ve heard of them, but seeing them with your own eyes… it’s completely different. That’s when I made my decision.”

“I have nothing left. No attachments. Even if I died, it wouldn’t matter. It’d be a worthy death.”

Fang Xuanyao let out a soft laugh. In truth, she wished she could die and forget He Qingqi, forget everything.

She gazed dreamily at the girl beside her. “If I died one day, would you feel sad for me?”

He Qingqi’s steps faltered noticeably for a moment, but she said nothing.

She didn’t know the answer.

Instead, she looked up at the night sky, her hair blown into a messy, half-obscured cascade of beauty.

A look with a kind of profound allure.

Fang Xuanyao knew she wouldn’t get the answer she wanted. Feeling disappointed for a brief moment, her gaze shifted and caught the scene before her. She smiled bitterly.

“Do you know something?”

“What?”

“I used to blame you.”

He Qingqi’s eyes flashed with confusion and then disbelief as she stopped in her tracks.

She laughed out loud in exasperation, her eyes wide as she pointed to herself. “Blame me?”

“How is any of this my fault?”

Fang Xuanyao bit her lower lip and was silent for a while before speaking softly, “It was my fault.”

“But… I guess people are just greedy. They never learn. Being spoiled does that to you. You treated me too well, so I wanted more.”

“I blamed you for leaving too soon. Why couldn’t you wait just a little longer? Maybe I would have come to my senses.”

The atmosphere grew cold, and He Qingqi’s face hardened.

“You wouldn’t have,” He Qingqi declared. Her interest in Fang Xuanyao vanished. She suddenly felt that following her outside had been a mistake.

Seeing a pavilion not far away, He Qingqi quickened her pace and sat down.

Fang Xuanyao followed her and sat down a seat away.

“Ten years,” He Qingqi said coldly, her face twisting into a sneer. “And then I died.”

Fang Xuanyao blinked in surprise, then understood what she meant.

She couldn’t help but ask, “If I had come to my senses then, stopped in time, would you have forgiven me?”

Would she?

He Qingqi couldn’t help but wonder.

Perhaps she would still try to forgive, since this person had been the only one to step into her world of love. She occupied a place in He Qingqi’s heart that she couldn’t forget. She represented longing and delusion.

But in the end, what she had become was everything but love. Once that obsession faded, there would be nothing left.

He Qingqi was painfully aware of this truth.

Once the filters and halos faded, this person would be just a woman she once loved.

Loved, and that was all.

So in the end, she would leave.

This was their inescapable fate.

But as the best girlfriend, He Qingqi would never leave a trace of thought for her ex.

She firmly stated, “No.”

He Qingqi began to recall those years of her loveless marriage, unable to suppress a self-deprecating laugh, inadvertently prompting Fang Xuanyao to reflect on her own memories.

As for whether it would hurt her, that was no longer He Qingqi’s concern.

She looked up at the night sky, her tone calm. “Do you remember that one time?”

“What?”

“Our wedding anniversary,” He Qingqi recounted. “It was our eighth year of marriage. I wanted to surprise you with a candlelit dinner, but I waited and waited, and you never came home.”

“I fell asleep on the couch, and my heart sank, knowing you must have forgotten. I sent a message to Chai Xu and the others out of frustration.” He Qingqi paused. “The message was something like, ‘After chasing someone for so long, I ended up with nothing. I’ve decided I won’t chase anymore.’ At that time, I was just venting.”

“Qixi,” Fang Xuanyao said, her pain surfacing, “don’t say that about yourself.”

He Qingqi casually glanced at her, too weary to correct her address. She continued:

“About twelve o’clock, you finally came home, and I was so surprised.”

Fang Xuanyao’s pupils contracted suddenly, clearly recalling the moment. She gasped, “Don’t… don’t say anymore.”

Her tone was frantic and disoriented, unwilling to face the bloody realities of their past.

The damage she had done to He Qingqi was profound and thorough; a few apologies wouldn’t make up for it.

He Qingqi’s words pierced like knives, driving deep into her heart, yet they were slow and dull, offering no relief. The pain seeped through, blood flowing and gradually freezing over.

Fang Xuanyao bit down hard on her teeth, recalling everything.

Later, He Qingqi had approached her joyfully, always inclined to show her affection—kisses and hugs—but she had pushed her away.

He Qingqi, already disoriented, lost her balance and fell onto the ground, hitting her head on the coffee table. Pain shot through her, and tears instantly filled her eyes.

Then she said…

He Qingqi remembered her words as if they were etched in stone. She had laughed sarcastically. “Back then, you said: ‘Can you stop being like this? I’m your wife, not a mere plaything. Am I just a tool for your release?’”

“In that moment, I woke up.”

“I had loved you so deeply that I lost myself, crushing my own dignity and throwing it into the dirt.”

“So why would I jump back into the fire, betting my time on a love that had no outcome?”

After speaking, He Qingqi turned away.

Her gaze was cool and distant.

“Fang Xuanyao, I, He Qingqi, have never feared anything since I was young. There was never anything I couldn’t attain. That’s why I wouldn’t let go, even if I hit a wall.”

“You taught me this lesson in life: to let go. I’ve learned it.”

“Thank you.” Her gaze was sincere as she offered her heartfelt gratitude.

Fang Xuanyao was silent, her nails digging into her flesh without her realizing it, her teeth chattering from the pressure.

After a long pause, she finally lowered her head, defeated.

“I’m sorry.”

He Qingqi waved her hand dismissively.

She also said, “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t accept that.”