“Look and you’ll know!”
My brother Jiang Tri pushed his phone in front of my eyes.
I looked down.
Then I froze.
The screen showed a news article.
The title was huge.
“Young eSports genius Luc Duy announces retirement after championship victory.”
Below it was a photo.
Luc Duy.
The same cold face.
The same eyes that had made my heart beat uncontrollably the first time I saw him.
But the next line made my fingers go cold.
“Reason for retirement: personal matters.”
I looked at my brother.
“What does this have to do with me?”
He stared at me like I was an idiot.
“Are you blind?”
I frowned.
“What?”
He grabbed his hair.
“You chased him for half a year.”
“You pretended to be me and entered tournaments just to get close to him.”
“And then you disappeared.”
“So you don’t know?”
I blinked.
“Know what?”
My brother sighed.
“Luc Duy has been looking for the person who saved him during that tournament.”
I froze.
“What?”
Nine years ago.
I wasn’t supposed to be there.
My twin brother Jiang Tri was the official player of our team.
But three days before the tournament, he injured his hand.
The team was desperate.
The rules allowed a substitute.
And because my brother and I looked almost identical…
I secretly took his place.
I wore his clothes.
Used his account.
And entered the competition.
I thought it would just be a game.
Until I met Luc Duy.
The captain of the opposing team.
The legendary player everyone admired.
Cold.
Proud.
Impossible to approach.
But during the match, something unexpected happened.
My controller malfunctioned.
Everyone thought I would lose.
Luc Duy noticed.
During the pause, he quietly pushed his spare controller toward me.
No one saw.
Only me.
After the match, I chased him.
I wanted his contact information.
But he looked at me strangely.
Like I was a crazy fan.
And walked away.
I thought that was the end.
I didn’t know…
he remembered me.
When I woke up from the dream, my head was still heavy.
The room was dark.
For a moment, I forgot where I was.
Then I smelled something.
Porridge.
I turned my head.
Luc Duy was sitting beside the bed.
Still wearing the same black shirt from work.
His sleeves were rolled up.
A bowl was in his hand.
I stared.
“You really came?”
He looked at me.
“Who else?”
I swallowed.
“You are my boss.”
“Yes.”
“And my ex-boyfriend.”
His hand paused.
A few seconds later, he calmly said:
“Yes.”
My fever made my brain slow.
“Then why are you taking care of me?”
Luc Duy lowered his eyes.
“Because you need someone.”
Simple.
Natural.
Like it was the most obvious answer.
But somehow…
my heart hurt.
The next morning, when my fever finally decreased, I woke up and found medicine and breakfast on the table.
There was a note.
His handwriting.
“Take your medicine after eating.”
Only one sentence.
Cold.
Short.
Exactly like him.
But I stared at it for a long time.
Because I remembered.
Five years ago…
he also left notes like this.
Our breakup was not because we stopped loving each other.
It was because of one misunderstanding.
Five years ago, after graduation, I received an opportunity to study abroad.
It was my dream.
But that same night, I planned to tell Luc Duy something important.
I wanted to ask him to come with me.
Instead, I overheard a conversation.
His teammates asked:
“Are you really going to wait for her?”
“She will leave for another country.”
“Maybe she never planned to stay.”
Luc Duy was silent for a long time.
Then he said:
“If she wants to leave, I won’t stop her.”
Those words broke me.
I thought he didn’t care.
So I left.
Without saying goodbye.
I thought I was protecting my dignity.
I didn’t know…
he spent years believing I abandoned him.
After returning home, I avoided every company related to him.
Until today.
The world was too small.
I entered his company.
And became his employee.
Now I understood why his expression during the interview was so cold.
He wasn’t indifferent.
He was hurt.
A week later, I returned to work.
My colleagues welcomed me.
But everyone noticed something strange.
The usually distant CEO…
paid attention to me.
Too much attention.
When I forgot lunch, food appeared on my desk.
When I stayed late, he suddenly had a meeting nearby.
When I got a paper cut, the entire department received a reminder to be careful with documents.
Everyone noticed.
Except me.
Or maybe…
I pretended not to.
One afternoon, I entered his office to deliver documents.
I accidentally saw an old box on his bookshelf.
A familiar logo was on it.
My heart stopped.
The same paint case.
The one I gave him during our first year together.
I thought he threw it away.
Because after we broke up…
I never contacted him again.
“You remember it?”
His voice came from behind me.
I turned.
Luc Duy stood there.
I didn’t know when he entered.
“I thought you lost it.”
He walked closer.
“I almost did.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
His expression softened slightly.
“When you left.”
Silence.
“I wanted to throw everything away.”
“But I couldn’t.”
My fingers tightened.
“Why?”
He looked at me.
Because after five years…
he finally said the words I had waited for.
“Because I was waiting for you to come back.”
I looked away.
“Luc Duy…”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
His voice was quiet.
“Tell you what?”
“That you were leaving.”
I froze.
“I…”
He smiled bitterly.
“I waited at the airport.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“That day.”
“The day you left.”
“I thought you would come.”
“But you didn’t.”
The room became silent.
Because we both realized something.
Five years.
Five years of missing each other.
Not because love disappeared.
Because neither of us knew the other person was waiting.
I lowered my head.
“I’m sorry.”
Luc Duy looked at me.
For a moment, the cold CEO disappeared.
Only the boy from nine years ago remained.
The boy who quietly gave me his controller.
The boy who remembered my favorite food.
The boy who loved me but never knew how to say it.
“I don’t need your apology.”
I looked up.
“Then what do you need?”
He stepped closer.
“Stay.”
My breath stopped.
“Just this time…”
“Don’t disappear without telling me.”
Five years ago, I left because I thought he didn’t choose me.
Now I realized…
he had been standing in the same place all along.
Waiting.
Three months later, the entire company received shocking news.
The cold CEO Luc Duy…
was getting married.
Everyone expected a powerful businesswoman.
A celebrity.
Someone from an equal family.
But the announcement only had one name.
Jiang Dingin.
The woman who once disappeared.
The woman who returned.
The woman he never forgot.
At the wedding, Luc Duy held my hand tightly.
“Are you nervous?”
I smiled.
“A little.”
He looked at me seriously.
“Don’t worry.”
“I won’t let you run away again.”
I laughed.
“What if I do?”
His fingers tightened.
“Then I’ll chase you.”
“Even if it takes another five years.”
And finally…
I believed him.
Because sometimes love doesn’t disappear.
It just waits for two people to stop misunderstanding each other.
And find their way back home.
