Standing Next To You-Chapter 542: Melanie in Country C

The sun had set. The sky was dark. The path down the mountain was illuminated by glowing lanterns, casting a soft light over the winding road.

The foot of the mountain was in sight.

Bei Sangyun had finished her story, and silence settled between them.

The only sounds that filled the night were the distant chirps of insects from the forest.

Maid Ye Zhai took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure what kind of expression she was making—her heart was too full. Full of shock, disbelief... and an ache so deep it made her chest tighten.

Bei Sangyun didn’t ask her what she was thinking. She simply led the way down the mountain, maintaining a steady pace, allowing Maid Ye Zhai the time she needed to process everything.

When they finally reached the foot of the mountain, Maid Ye Zhai broke the silence.

"Young Miss."

Bei Sangyun stopped and turned.

She was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace.

Maid Ye Zhai hugged her, her arms wrapped firmly around her shoulders. A shaky breath escaped her lips as she gently patted Bei Sangyun’s back. Her voice trembled.

"I can’t even imagine... how much pain and confusion you must have gone through all this time. Dying like that... being left all alone... you didn’t deserve any of it."

Warm tears soaked Bei Sangyun’s shoulder.

She stood frozen for a moment before speaking softly, "...Are you crying?"

She had never seen Maid Ye Zhai cry before—not in her past life, not in this one.

Maid Ye Zhai only hugged her tighter. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

"You’ve been through so much," she whispered. "You deserve this second chance. You deserve to be happy. And I hope... I hope you can continue to be happy and healthy."

Bei Sangyun smiled gently, wrapping her arms around Maid Ye Zhai in return.

"I will," she promised. "I won’t waste this second chance. I’ll cherish the people I love, treasure every moment, and live my life to the fullest—together with all of you."

Maid Ye Zhai’s tears fell even harder.

No wonder Bei Sangyun had changed so much.

No wonder there were times—despite having both her and Grandma Bei by her side—Bei Sangyun still seemed distant. When she stood on the balcony, gazing into the horizon, it was as if there was an invisible wall around her, keeping everyone away.

She had carried this secret in her heart all this time.

She had died, only to wake up in the past. How terrifying must that have been? How painful was it to relive the moments she had once desperately wished to forget? How much courage had it taken to change her fate, to forgive those who had destroyed her?

And yet, she had endured it all—alone.

The more Maid Ye Zhai thought about it, the more her heart ached for Bei Sangyun.

She held on to her tightly, unable to let go.

Bei Sangyun gently patted her back, waiting patiently as Maid Ye Zhai cried. Her heart had never felt lighter before.

She was relieved that Maid Ye Zhai believed her unbelievable story. She had shared her past and the secrets she had carried for so long, never expecting Maid Ye Zhai to believe her.

Bei Sangyun’s heart—and the past version of herself, who had been alone ever since arriving in this new life—seemed to have found solace. She was comforted by Maid Ye Zhai’s warm embrace and tears.

....

With the storm over, flights across the country had resumed.

Melanie set foot in Country C for the first time. The sky remained gloomy, still not cleared up since the storm. The roads were wet, and the air carried the lingering scent of rain.

Yet, despite the dreary welcome, Melanie was beaming.

"I’m finally visiting his birth country," she murmured, watching the passing streets and towering infrastructure with excitement.

She had always wanted to visit Country C with Fei Chuan. However, he had never shown any interest in returning. And when he finally decided to come back, she had been aboard a cruise ship, traveling the world.

For that entire time, she had no idea that Fei Chuan had returned to Country C—thanks to her brother, who had kept it from her.

Thinking about how her brother had constantly gotten in her way made Melanie pout in frustration.

Just then, her phone rang.

Speak of the devil—it was her brother.

"Have you arrived?" William asked on the other end.

"I have. You haven’t told him, have you?"

"I haven’t."

"Good. I want to surprise him."

"You know he wouldn’t like this kind of surprise," William warned.

"He’ll like it. Anyway, I’m on my way to his villa. I plan to stay at his place while I’m here in Country C. Then we’ll go back together."

"Melanie, Fei Chuan wouldn’t agree to that," William sighed at her stubbornness.

"How do you know he wouldn’t agree? He hasn’t argued with me in the past two years. You keep insisting that Fei Chuan wouldn’t be happy with me. Tell me, do you like him?"

"What?" William was stunned. "I like him as a friend. And I’d love to have him as my brother-in-law. But that’s not possible."

"Shhh. Don’t be so negative. He will be your brother-in-law. Anyway, I’ve updated you. So, bye! Tell Mom I arrived safe and sound, okay?"

"Just stay in a hotel, Melanie—"

"Byeeee." Melanie quickly ended the call, cutting off whatever negative thing her brother was about to say.

Her brother had always been like that. It was clear that he liked Fei Chuan and valued him as a friend. William trusted him, even treated him like a brother. So why was he so against her being with Fei Chuan?

She had asked him for a reason, but all he ever said was that they were impossible.

How could they be impossible?

She liked Fei Chuan so much. Her family liked him too. And Fei Chuan... she didn’t know exactly how he felt, but out of all the women around him, she was the closest. He treated her well. She knew his feelings weren’t as deep as hers, but she was confident he would fall for her as they spent more time together.

To Melanie, Fei Chuan was the only man for her.

"...I won’t marry anyone else besides him," she muttered, leaning against the car’s glass window.

.....

Fei Chuan came downstairs, already dressed.

When Assistant Chen, who had been about to barge into his room, saw him in the living room, he was stunned.

Then, he was overjoyed.

"You’re finally on your feet again," he said, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. It had been a hellish week without his boss. Now, he could finally shift all those responsibilities back onto Fei Chuan’s shoulders.

"What did I miss?" Fei Chuan asked as he made his way to the parking lot.

"Five meetings with major clients..." Assistant Chen immediately switched into work mode, listing the delayed schedule.

Fei Chuan sat in the back seat while Assistant Chen took the driver’s seat. Once he finished reciting all the agendas Fei Chuan needed to catch up on, he finally asked,

"Are you going to the company?"

"No. I’ll send you an address. We’ll stop there first."

Assistant Chen checked his phone and was stunned to see the location. Though brimming with curiosity, he didn’t ask why his boss wanted to go there. After all, that place was... sensitive.

As he started the car, he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right. Sir William called earlier. He said, ’Tell him to stop shutting off his phone and call me as soon as he hears this.’" Assistant Chen even imitated William’s tone.

Fei Chuan picked up his phone and finally enabled his contacts. He had turned off his phone yesterday, too preoccupied with researching the place from his dream and the myths surrounding it. He had finally decided to go out today after his team sent him a few locations resembling the sketch he had drawn.

When he powered on his phone, he saw several missed calls from William and a few urgent messages marked with "!!!".

Fei Chuan called him back.

The phone rang only twice before the call was answered.

"Finally! You finally decided to use your damn phone," William said, annoyance clear in his voice.

"What’s going on?" Fei Chuan asked calmly.

"’What’s going on?’" William mimicked him. "Damn, Fei Chuan. I know you’re nonchalant and too lazy to bother with most things, but I’m still your friend. Can you stop blocking me? I haven’t been able to reach you for days!"

"You could have contacted Chen Li."

"Yeah, but that guy is only loyal to you. He wouldn’t tell me anything." William sighed. "Why the hell were you off the grid for days?"

Fei Chuan lowered his gaze.

"...Things just happened."

Silence stretched on the other end. Then, after a moment, William asked,

"...Was it her?"

Fei Chuan didn’t answer and simply looked at the passing scenery through the window. Instead, he asked, "Why did you call?"

"Ah, right. Melanie." William sighed again, this time much heavier. "She’s on her way to you."