Standing Next To You-Chapter 562: The truth she carried

Fei Chuan froze.

Dragon’s fate...

He had also heard these words from Bei Sangyun—the so-called fate that made her avoid him and leave him four years ago.

Fei Chuan’s face darkened.

"And what exactly is this dragon’s fate you speak of?"

The old monk handed him a cup of tea. "This will be a long story. You should drink your tea while listening."

Fei Chuan had no desire to drink tea, but the old monk glanced at him and then at the cup. It seemed he wouldn’t start unless Fei Chuan drank it.

Reluctantly, Fei Chuan reached for the tea and downed it in one gulp.

Seeing him obey without needing to be told twice—unlike a certain someone—the old monk chuckled in amusement. "It seems that between the two of you, you are the well-behaved one."

Fei Chuan set down the teacup and frowned. "...Who are you referring to?" It couldn’t be... Bei Sangyun, right?

The old monk did not answer his question but instead looked at his breast pocket. "You seem to be carrying an interesting object."

Fei Chuan instinctively covered his breast pocket with his hand, his gaze turning vigilant. "I’ve drunk the tea. Shouldn’t you start your story?"

The old monk was not offended by his tone and began recounting what had happened twenty years ago.

He spoke of the time he was invited to the Fei family as a last resort by Head Master Fei. At that time, the young Fei Chuan had suddenly fallen ill with a strange sickness that no doctor could properly diagnose.

For weeks, the brilliant child who was meant to be the future of the Fei family became as good as dead. The doctors told Head Master Fei to prepare for the worst.

The old monk described how the Fei family had desperately searched for a cure. In their desperation, they were willing to believe anything, as long as it meant their brilliant and prideful child could survive.

"It was a difficult decision for your grandfather. He followed my words not because he believed or trusted me, but because he wanted to believe that you would survive— even if it meant sending you away."

Fei Chuan’s hands clenched into fists. If he had heard this in the past, he would have laughed in ridicule, dismissing it as nothing more than an excuse for giving up on him.

"You shine, lighting up everything when you are born. Those with the dragon’s fate are the most extraordinary, destined to stand at the top, peerless among all. If it were another time, you would be revered, and this world might worship you."

The old monk smiled, but there was a hint of pity in his expression. "However, you are not the only one with this fate. There is another—born at the same time and in the same country as you, but in the farthest corner—just as remarkable. She has the power to bring the world to its knees."

Fei Chuan swallowed hard. That must be Bei Sangyun—the other person born under this so-called dragon’s fate.

She had been extraordinary since childhood. No one else could bear the weight of such an arrogant title—the dragon’s fate, other than her.

The old monk told him what he had once told Bei Sangyun—the nature of the dragon’s fate and the consequences of two dragons existing in the same era.

It all sounded ridiculous, just like the first time he had heard it. However, with the strange things happening to him recently, he couldn’t help but consider the possibility that it might be true.

Fei Chuan listened in silence, his jaw tightening with every word.

For one to live... the other must die?

"...Because I was the reason you were dying..."

Bei Sangyun had said those words to him. What expression had she worn back then?

At the time, it all sounded absurd. He hadn’t believed it.

When she made the decision to leave him four years ago... what had she been feeling?

She had spoken those cruel words four years ago because she knew he wouldn’t believe her. And she was right. When she confessed to him in the rose garden, he had laughed in ridicule, cruelly rejecting her and hurting her.

Fei Chuan lowered his head, closing his eyes as his heart ached.

If those flashes of memories... those scenes he saw... weren’t mere hallucinations but had truly happened...

She...had painfully experienced death, only to be reborn in this present time. No wonder she believed in this so-called fate. Compared to what she had endured, this predestined destiny—whatever it was—no longer seemed absurd.

Everything made sense now.

Fei Chuan asked in a hoarse voice, "...Did you... did you know she..." He swallowed heavily before continuing, "...died once?"

The old monk poured more tea into his cup. There was no need for Fei Chuan to elaborate. The old monk already knew who he was talking about.

"She didn’t need to tell me. Her soul is entangled with karmic ties from different timelines." He then glanced at Fei Chuan. "Just like you."

Fei Chuan froze. He looked up. "...What do you mean, like me?"

The old monk sipped his tea. "Everyone follows the cycle of life and death. But you and she are special cases. She remembers her past life—the people she left behind, the experiences she had, both good and bad. She carries them all into this timeline. And you..." The old monk smiled. "Don’t you remember something, too?"

Fei Chuan swallowed hard. Those dreams he had all these years... were they truly memories?

Memories of another him... in another time... with her.

"Judging by your expression, you must have been experiencing flashes of your past. And they must have become clearer to you—" The old monk’s gaze flickered toward his breast pocket. "—recently."

Fei Chuan remained silent.

Predestined fate... past lives... rebirth...

These ideas were new to him, almost impossible to believe. But when he allowed himself to consider them, when he truly tried to understand, Bei Sangyun’s words...

They weren’t lies.

The reason she had avoided him. The reason she left. The reason she never came close, despite watching him from afar all these years...

She was afraid of hurting him.

It was all for him.

A sharp, unbearable pain twisted inside Fei Chuan’s chest. He couldn’t begin to imagine what she had gone through.

And when she finally found the courage to tell him the truth... he had stabbed her with his cruelty, making her suffer even more.

Frustration overwhelmed him. He raked his hands through his hair, furious at himself. He wanted to beat himself up for realizing everything too late.

For not knowing the truth.

For not believing her.

For putting her through so much pain.

I’m sorry... I’m sorry... Bei Sangyun.

To add more salt to his wounds, the old monk continued, "For the past four years, she has been waiting and searching for a way to break this predestined fate. She is stubborn—so much so that she even dared to defy the heavens that gave her another chance."

"The heavens gave her a life she didn’t deserve. If they truly wanted to give her a chance, they should have made me remember too... from the very beginning." Fei Chuan responded. He couldn’t help feeling angry.

If he had remembered as well then she wouldn’t have been so alone. Then he wouldn’t have unknowingly hurt her. They could have found a way together. She wouldn’t have had to carry all the burdens by herself.

The old monk chuckled. "Both of you are stubborn, huh? Fearless, cursing the heavens." He shook his head in amusement.

Fei Chuan was silent for a moment before asking, "...Was she still looking..." He hesitated. "...looking for a way for us to be together?"

She hadn’t lost hope yet, right?

It was shameless of him to ask this when all he had done was hurt her.

The old monk smiled. "She has been searching. I believe even now, she is still looking."

Fei Chuan’s fingers curled into a fist. "What can I do to help her?"

"Why are you asking me that? I don’t know what she has found at this moment."

"But you just said she’s still searching for a way even at this moment."

"That’s just my assumption, young man."

Fei Chuan: "...."

The old monk smirked. "I am not a psychic. I read the heavens, I read the past and the future. However, right now, I can no longer read the karmic ties of this world. The fate of this world has been altered."

Fei Chuan frowned. "What do you mean?"

The old monk smiled knowingly. "I mean... this is a gift. An opportunity for the two of you to rid yourselves of the dragon’s fate that binds you."

Fei Chuan was stunned.

He had so many questions about what the monk had just said—about the world’s fate changing, about what caused it—but none of that mattered more than this ’gift’ he spoke of.

"You mean... she and I... we have a chance now? We won’t be destined to cause each other’s death?"

"The answer is in your hands."

Fei Chuan: ??

The old monk stood up. "I have told you far more than what she asked for. I hope you two can find happiness this time. Remember, everything is interconnected—the past, the present, and the future."

Fei Chuan wasn’t done yet.

"You said the answer is in my hands. What should I do next?"

The old monk pushed him toward the door. "You’ll figure it out. Don’t waste this gift you’ve been given."