Jiang Siyu refused, "Jing Yan, you know how long I've loved him. I thought I could forget him, but only now do I realize I can't. Especially seeing him marry another woman. Do you know how I felt then? Despair, regret, remorse, so much heartache that I was almost driven mad."
In this world, the most painful thing is to love and not be able to have.
Jing Yan's mood wasn't any better hearing her confess her love for his good brother, feeling as though a knife was slowly piercing him.
He pitied Jiang Siyu, yet wanted her to give up.
"You have to understand, this is useless, and he won't agree."
"Why wouldn't he agree? If Wei Yumeng's child isn't his, I don't believe he'll truly accept her?"
If that were the case, she would give up, proving that he truly loved her to the bone.
Truly loving someone means deviating from your own nature, breaking your norms, and exceeding your limits.
"You're too persistent, Siyu. You could easily look at the men who pursue you, or if not, you could even choose me."
Jing Yan saw how hard she was trying, clinging to someone impossible and disregarding someone who had her entirely in his eyes.
He didn't know whether to call it her loss or his own lowliness.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Siyu's heavy heart immediately lightened, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Jing Yan, are you joking? We're friends."
"So what if we're friends? Who says friends can't date?"
He seemed rather insistent on getting an answer.
Jiang Siyu, however, completely believed Jing Yan was joking.
Zhan Mohan, nearby, was clearly getting a little drunk, feeling down and having drunk quite a bit.
Seeing them bickering beside him, not paying much attention to what they were saying, he urged them, "Jing Yan, are you leaving?"
Jing Yan hadn't finished his conversation with Jiang Siyu. He turned to Zhan Mohan and said, "I'll get you a taxi, you can go back first."
Zhan Mohan gave Jing Yan a disdainful look. He had previously said his eyes were only for Wei Yumeng, and now this show of prioritizing a woman over a friend was no different from his own behavior.
As soon as Jiang Siyu heard Zhan Mohan was leaving, she no longer had the leisure to entertain Jing Yan and hurriedly turned to say, "Ahan, I'll take you home."
Though she said this, where she would take him later was uncertain.
Zhan Mohan knew that if Jiang Siyu didn't leave, Jing Yan wouldn't either. He abandoned his usual cold demeanor and readily agreed.
"Let's go."
Jiang Siyu beamed with surprise, her gloomy mood vanishing instantly.
"Yes, let's go."
Jing Yan watched the two of them leave and instinctively called out, "Hey, you two..."
Outside the bar, Jiang Siyu pulled Jing Yan aside.
"Why don't you go back first?"
"Me go back? Why?" Jing Yan clearly wasn't willing.
"Don't you understand what I mean?" Jiang Siyu kept giving him meaningful glances.
Jing Yan understood, he just didn't want to. It was akin to personally pushing the girl he liked to someone else, and who would be willing to do that?
He felt that coming out today had been a mistake.
"Siyu, come here, I need to tell you something."
"What is it?" Jiang Siyu desperately wanted to leave with Zhan Mohan immediately. This might be her only chance, and she wanted to seize it.
"You clearly know Ahan can't be with you, so why are you so persistent?"
Yet, as Jing Yan said these words, he was also advising himself. Why was he so persistent, liking a woman whose heart belonged to someone else?
Jiang Siyu was now entirely focused on Zhan Mohan. She held Jing Yan's hand, her face pleading.
"Jing Yan, I beg you, just help me this once, okay? We've known each other for so many years. Besides, Wei Yumeng might not be truly sincere towards him. Only I truly love him."
Seeing Jiang Siyu's distressed expression was like daggers piercing Jing Yan's heart, making it difficult for him to maintain his smile.
"Stop talking, alright?"
Can't he see how much he's suffering?
But Jiang Siyu's mind was entirely on Zhan Mohan. "Jing Yan, I'm begging you, help me. You saw how Ahan and I ended up, didn't you? Can't you help me?"
Jing Yan knew Jiang Siyu's personality too well. If he refused today, she might do something drastic.
He decided to force her to face reality.
"Fine, you want to do something with Ahan. Then tell me, he's not completely drunk yet. What do you plan to do?"
"He's not drunk? I have a way to make him drunk."
When she had devised these plans, she had already thought of a solution.
The moment Jing Yan saw her confident demeanor, a bad feeling surged within him. He grabbed Jiang Siyu's hand.
"I need to remind you. You should know what Ahan detests the most."
Deception.
Jiang Siyu heard this and couldn't help but give a bitter smile. "What's the point of you telling me this now? Haven't you seen clearly? If I don't use this method, he might truly become a stranger to me forever."
She wanted to fight for her love one last time.
Jing Yan truly had no way with her. While his heart ached immensely, and he certainly didn't want to help her get together with Ahan, seeing her so conflicted also made him feel pained.
There was nothing wrong with loving someone, but loving someone you couldn't have was a waste of your time and a drain on your passion, ultimately leading to no results.
"Alright, I can help you. Seeing you like this, if you don't give up, you won't turn back."
Jiang Siyu's face lit up when Jing Yan agreed, and she tightly held his hand.
"Jing Yan, thank you so much. You're truly a good friend of many years."
Jing Yan forced a smile. "Who wants to be friends with you?"
Jiang Siyu took a small pill from her bag and handed it directly to Jing Yan.
"Go buy a bottle of water later and put this pill in it."
Jing Yan was surprised. "You want to use this method? Siyu, are you crazy! If Ahan finds out, you two might not even be able to be friends."
Jiang Siyu knew this all too well.
"But rather than just watch him be with another woman, I'd rather take a gamble. I'm not asking for official status, I just want to have a night with him."
She didn't have extravagant demands now. She only wanted to lie in his arms, even if nothing happened. Just having him by her side would make her content.