Chapter Sixty-Four: A Change of Heart

Gu Mengyan’s question seemed to pose a dilemma so profound for Fan Yirou that she could not find words to answer. Silence stretched between them.

Gu Mengyan did not press her for a response. Instead, she settled herself at the edge of the pool, dipping her feet in and gently swaying them through the water.

After a long pause, the two women heard the sound of Chen Hao leaving, his footsteps retreating as the door closed behind him.

“Chen Hao’s gone out,” Gu Mengyan remarked, her tone calm, as if it were a trivial observation. And truly, it was not of great consequence.

Fan Yirou followed Gu Mengyan’s lead, sitting beside her at the pool’s edge. She swung her legs and began, “Honestly, I’m not really sure what I feel about Chen Hao. At first, I only saw him as a good brother and friend, and as your future husband. That’s how I treated him.

In the beginning, I flirted with him deliberately, only to keep him away from other girls. But as time went by, the more I saw him, the more I found myself enjoying his company. And teasing him was such fun!”

At this, a childlike smile blossomed on Fan Yirou’s face, as if she’d recalled something delightful. “That was when I realized something was off. Clearly, I was trying to help you by keeping other girls away from Chen Hao, but somehow, my relationship with him grew closer instead. That was never part of my plan.”

“What did you originally intend?” Gu Mengyan tilted her head, studying her.

“I just wanted to make sure Chen Hao didn’t have a chance to interact with other girls. So I’d invite him out, keeping him busy so he couldn’t date anyone else. That was enough for me,” Fan Yirou explained. “Whenever he had time off, I’d seek him out, leaving no opportunity for others—and I never thought about making him fall for me.

But after a while, maybe he got used to having me around. Even when I was busy or didn’t take the initiative, he started reaching out to me instead.”

“Hmph!” Gu Mengyan snorted, unimpressed.

“I realized it was becoming too much, my contact with him too frequent... At this rate, I might pose more of a threat to you than any other girl. Don’t deny it—I’m far more attractive to Chen Hao than the rest, aren’t I?

Not only am I pretty, my family is well-off, and I consider myself a good person. Maybe a bit spoiled, but at heart, I’m kind,” Fan Yirou declared, with not a hint of modesty.

“Bah! Shameless!” Gu Mengyan retorted.

Fan Yirou shrugged off the remark and continued, “The key is, Chen Hao and I have many years of friendship, just like you—we’re childhood companions. With such advantages, if I really ended up with Chen Hao, it wouldn’t be surprising at all.

So, once I realized our closeness, I began to avoid him. If he invited me out, I’d make up excuses—sometimes work, which he couldn’t argue with, sometimes feigning illness. But when he heard I was sick, he insisted on coming to see me at home, so much so that I had to take cold baths just to catch a real cold. For your sake, I’ve suffered quite a bit! How do you plan to make it up to me?”

Gu Mengyan rolled her eyes, ignoring her. “Stop changing the subject. Go on.”

“But none of my tactics seemed to work. Maybe it was because Chen Hao had grown accustomed to my presence. No matter how I refused him, he still came to see me every week. And when I was ill, he truly cared for me with meticulous tenderness.”

Hearing this, Gu Mengyan felt a pang of jealousy. If only she hadn’t kept her distance from him, perhaps she’d be the one enjoying such devotion.

“I’m a girl too, at the prime of youth. Of course, I’d have feelings toward the opposite sex. And Chen Hao, in every respect, is the ideal boyfriend. When he takes care of me, he’s so gentle and attentive, and being with him makes me happy. I realized that, though my original intention was just to help you, my heart had begun to fall for him.

Honestly, when I noticed my feelings shifting, I panicked. I didn’t know how to handle it—my best friend on one side, and a boy who moved me on the other. It was so difficult. No matter what I chose, someone would get hurt. By then, I could already see how Chen Hao felt about me. If I rejected him, I’d hurt him; if I didn’t, I’d hurt you.

So my only solution was to keep things as they were—neither too close nor too distant, letting things unfold naturally, just as they had at the start. But whenever I sensed Chen Hao might confess to me, I’d always find ways to dodge it—joking around, for example—so he couldn’t say what he wanted to say.

That lasted until you and he met again...”

“Hmph! Now I understand why you pushed me to join Illusion Corp! Even though my college major was the same as Chen Hao’s—electronic information technology—I’d never intended to work for a gaming company after graduation. My plan was to travel, find something I was truly passionate about, and then decide what to do.

But you pulled me in, insisting I needed more practical experience, and arranged for me to join Illusion Corp’s tech department. So, it was all part of your scheme—you already knew Chen Hao would join Illusion after graduation, didn’t you?” Gu Mengyan confronted her, hands on her hips.

Fan Yirou smiled, “Of course! By then, Chen Hao had shared all his interests with me. I was thinking of you—after so long apart and now that you’d graduated, he didn’t need to spend every break training martial arts with Uncle Chen. There was every reason for you two to be together again!”

“I doubt it’s that simple,” Gu Mengyan eyed her best friend, who had always done so much for her.

Fan Yirou did not deny it. She nodded, “It’s true—it wasn’t simple at all! I really didn’t know what to do, because I was already in too deep. My attachment to Chen Hao had surpassed his feelings for me. If I didn’t hear his voice or see him for a day, it felt like something was missing. If I kept up this relationship, I couldn’t control myself—I’d end up together with him, and then...”

Fan Yirou left her sentence unfinished, but her meaning was clear: if she and Chen Hao became a couple, Gu Mengyan would have no chance.

Gu Mengyan did not contest this. Not because she underestimated herself, but because it was true. Though she was as beautiful as Fan Yirou, in other respects she could not compare.

First, she was an orphan, with no family background—her only family was Chen Hao’s own. Second, she wasn’t as clever or capable as Fan Yirou and couldn’t support Chen Hao in his career. Perhaps Chen Hao wouldn’t care about these things.

But the most critical issue—the one that made Gu Mengyan inferior to Fan Yirou—was that she was Chen Hao’s sister in name. Though they were not related by blood, Chen Hao had always considered Gu Mengyan his real sister. Both women knew this deeply.

That was why Fan Yirou had wanted to help Gu Mengyan from the start. Without that barrier, Chen Hao might have already been with Gu Mengyan. As for other girls, Fan Yirou didn’t believe any could compete with Gu Mengyan.

But at that time, if Fan Yirou didn’t withdraw from Chen Hao’s life and bring Gu Mengyan into it, Gu Mengyan would truly have no chance, because Chen Hao and Fan Yirou were already so close.

“You...” Gu Mengyan leaned her head on Fan Yirou’s shoulder. “Thank you, Yirou... You didn’t have to do so much for me. Even if, in the end... even if you ended up with Chen Hao, I might be angry at first, but I’d eventually bless you both from my heart.”

Fan Yirou laughed, delighted, and wrapped her arm around Gu Mengyan’s waist. “I know—you’ve always been a considerate girl.”

Gu Mengyan pondered for a moment and asked, “Since you decided to leave Chen Hao, why have you started getting close to him again lately?”

“Hehe~” Fan Yirou grinned mischievously. “Because I suddenly changed my mind!”

“Hmm?” Gu Mengyan’s heart tightened; she quickly lifted her head from Fan Yirou’s shoulder and looked at her with wary eyes. “What?”

“You’ve already guessed, haven’t you?” Fan Yirou gazed at her, half smiling. “I said, I changed my mind! I thought that if I spent more time distancing myself from Chen Hao, our feelings would fade—just like when we went to different schools years ago.

But to my surprise, after all these years, my feelings for him haven’t diminished at all. They’ve only grown stronger. After a long period of reflection and struggle, I decided to follow my heart. I don’t want to lose the bond I share with you, but I won’t give up my love for Chen Hao, either. So, I’m going to compete with you, fairly, for Chen Hao’s heart.”

“WTF!?” Gu Mengyan cried. “You!”

“Hehehehe~” Fan Yirou was very pleased with Gu Mengyan’s shocked expression. She kissed Gu Mengyan’s cheek. “Adorable Mengyan, if you don’t want Chen Hao to be snatched away, you’d better try hard! I’ve got a head start, after all. And honestly, I wouldn’t mind sharing Chen Hao with you, if you’re not against it. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for two best friends to share the same man? After all, our Brother Chen Hao is so outstanding!

So, what do you say? Will you keep hiding your feelings for Chen Hao? Or shall we become true sisters, or... perhaps rivals in love?”