Steal The Male Lead

1.18.5

[Understood, Host. Then I will immediately transfer you to your next world. Congratulations on completing your first world and successfully stealing the male lead.]

(AN: Play the music now.)

In the silence, under the bright and shining moon, the back of a man stood still, staring at the peach blossom tree that fluttered from the gentle wind, it's petals falling and scattering under the star-lit sky.

His face remained calm yet his eyes were filled with pain. Though his features remained the same, his mind had aged far beyond his years.

Just like that, five years had passed by. Five years, five springs, and five seasons of the peach blossoms blooming had passed by.

Five years since Bai Mengxiang had passed, leaving Xu Yongheng behind to heal his broken heart. For others, those five years may not seem like much, but for Xu Yongheng, those five years were the longest for him.

In all honesty, he had never imagined a life without Bai Mengxiang by his side, and now that he was experiencing it, he wished that it could all just be a terrible dream. Five years without him, it was the most painful period of Xu Yongheng's life. In fact, the damage dealt by Bai Mengxiang's death was so fatal, Xu Yongheng had truly changed.

When Bai Mengxiang was by him, no matter what, Xu Yongheng was able to smile, able to laugh as he stared at the love of his life, wishing to be with him for an eternity. With Bai Mengxiang gone, a part of Xu Yongheng was gone too now. If it weren't because of his son, Xu Wuhui, he would've chose to follow after Bai Mengxiang. But Xu Yongheng didn't. Because Bai Mengxiang had told him to take care of their son, and Xu Yongheng wanted to fulfill his last wish no matter what.

With his sudden thoughts, Bai Mengxiang's image appeared within his mind, still beautiful, still the same as before, making Xu Yongheng chuckle with sorrow as the calm expression on his face cracked, as his eyes turned red with tears that didn't fall.

"Mengxiang, you once told me that no matter what happened in the future, no matter how hard our road was, you would still love me forever. Thinking back upon it now, I wish I knew just how important you were to me then. For someone like me, you silently suffered, not once voicing out your feelings, only thinking about letting me go even if it meant breaking your own heart. After your death, I realized just how selfish I was, to love you once then let you go only to return once more." Xu Yongheng stopped as his emotions got to him, he stared at the peach blossom tree, stretching his hand to catch the falling petal.

"You said that the peach blossoms were your favorite flowers, and at that time, I didn't understand why. Now I realize just why you love them so much. I remember that we met for the first time under the scattering petals of the peach blossoms when we were still so young, and that under the peach blossom trees years later when we had grown, I had asked you to married me. Yet it was also under the peach blossom that you spoke those words, and maybe you didn't realize it yourself just how heartbreaking your expression was, or how your tears wouldn't fall yet your eyes were tinted red at the edges, but my heart broke then. I realized just what my actions had done to you, who had only wanted me to be happy even if it meant hurting you."

"I knew I couldn't fix my mistake, but I also knew that I couldn't let you continue getting hurt. Who would've known that you would reveal to me that you were pregnant? How much suffering you went through, I would never be able to understand, yet you still accepted me after everything I had done. After that, I wanted to make you happy, to see you smile and laugh was my goal, for seeing you like that made me content. I guess the heavens wanted to punish me for my cruel actions, because you were poisoned. In the end, even though you gave birth to our child, you were gone just like that. The heavens took you away from me because they wanted me to suffer, so year after year, I watched as the peach blossoms continue to bloom before they wilted away."