Until My Soul Finds You Again - Chapter 8

After the breakup, everything changed.

Or perhaps the world itself hadn’t changed.

Only theirs had.

The classroom remained the same.

The teachers still lectured from the podium.

The bell still rang at the same time every morning.

Students still laughed in the hallways.

Yet to Chen Mo and Su Qingyi, nothing felt familiar anymore.

The seats they once shared were now separated by several rows.

No one saved a place for the other.

No one waited outside the library.

No one walked home together beneath the evening sky.

They had become strangers.

Strangers who knew every habit, every smile, and every hidden fear the other carried.

Chen Mo rarely laughed anymore.

He spoke only when necessary.

After classes ended, he returned straight to his dormitory, burying himself in textbooks until late at night.

It was as though studying had become a punishment he willingly accepted.

Every evening, before sleeping, he would unlock his phone.

His gallery was still filled with photographs.

Pictures of them studying together.

Pictures taken beside West Lake.

One blurry photo beneath the umbrella on a rainy evening.

He never deleted them.

But he never opened their conversation again.

Because he knew…

If he sent even a single message, he would never have the strength to stop.

Su Qingyi appeared much stronger.

She still ranked first in every examination.

She still answered every question perfectly.

She still smiled when speaking with classmates.

Only she knew how exhausting that smile had become.

Late at night, after her roommates fell asleep, she would quietly unlock her phone.

Then scroll through old conversations.

Simple messages.

Have you eaten?

Don’t study too late.

Remember to rest.

I’m always on your side.

She would stare at those words for a long time.

Then whisper into the darkness,

“If you were always by my side…”

“Why did you leave?”

One afternoon, Li Jun took the empty seat beside her.

“You don’t seem very happy lately.”

“I’m fine.”

He studied her expression for a moment.

“You and Chen Mo broke up, didn’t you?”

Su Qingyi looked at him coldly.

“That’s none of your business.”

Li Jun raised both hands in surrender.

“I’m not trying to interfere.”

“I’m only saying…”

“If you ever need someone to talk to, you can find me.”

She offered only a polite nod before returning to her notebook.

Across the classroom, Chen Mo happened to witness the entire exchange.

A familiar ache settled quietly inside his heart.

But he forced himself to look away.

This is better for her.

She deserves someone with a brighter future.

Even if that person isn’t me.

Soon, the final examinations arrived.

Chen Mo studied harder than ever before.

He stopped joining classmates for meals.

Stopped taking evening walks.

Stopped allowing himself even a moment of distraction.

When the results were announced several weeks later, the classroom erupted into surprise.

For the first time since entering high school, Chen Mo had ranked near the top of the class.

Not first.

But high enough that every teacher took notice.

Even Su Qingyi couldn’t hide the pride in her eyes.

Mixed with regret.

She looked at him from across the room.

You always had this ability.

You never needed to lose me to prove it.

After class, she quietly caught up with him in the hallway.

“Congratulations.”

Chen Mo turned.

A faint smile appeared.

“Thank you.”

An awkward silence followed.

Finally, Su Qingyi spoke again.

“I always believed you could do it.”

Chen Mo lowered his eyes.

“I only worked this hard because of you.”

Those words nearly broke her composure.

She bit her lip before asking the question she had carried in her heart for months.

“If that’s true…”

“Why did you leave me?”

Chen Mo opened his mouth.

Then closed it again.

Because every answer sounded meaningless.

Because every explanation would only cause her more pain.

Seeing his silence, Su Qingyi smiled sadly.

Then she whispered,

“I would rather have ordinary grades with you beside me…”

“Than stand at the top alone.”

For the first time since their breakup, Chen Mo’s eyes turned red.

Yet he still couldn’t find the courage to stop her.

She nodded gently.

As though she had finally accepted reality.

“Take care of yourself, Chen Mo.”

“You too.”

They walked away.

In opposite directions.

Just as they had done countless times before.

The days continued passing.

Weeks became months.

Neither reached out.

Neither stopped loving the other.

Because sometimes, relationships end long before love does.

One evening, Chen Mo sat alone beside West Lake watching the sunset.

It was the place where they used to talk about impossible dreams.

The small house.

The quiet countryside.

The garden.

The horses.

The family they imagined building together.

He closed his eyes and whispered into the evening breeze,

“I hope you become everything you dreamed of.”

“Even if I’m no longer there to witness it.”

At almost the same moment, inside the girls’ dormitory, Su Qingyi closed her diary after writing a single sentence.

He loved me enough to leave for my future.

But he never understood…

He had already become my future.

Their story wasn’t over.

Not yet.

Because some love stories don’t end with the first goodbye.

They survive misunderstandings.

They survive separation.

They survive silence.

Only to be tested again and again…

Until fate itself delivers the final farewell.