There was something Lin had not found the chance to tell Yeh—though it was not a matter of timing, rather she had never meant to bring it up herself.
The truth was, Jing had already received her admission offer to study for a Master's in Brand Management in France. It was a path she had set out on long before, a process through applications, interviews, and final confirmation. To study in France and one day return to launch her own brand had never been a passing whim, but a goal she had carried in her heart for years.
Lin had always known how Jing felt.
They had met years ago through a mutual friend, beginning as casual collaborators until Lin cast Jing as one of the leads in a short film. Back then Jing was still.young, yet already possessed a striking presence and instinct for the camera. As they worked together more often, a quiet understanding grew between them, and Jing found herself admiring Lin deeply—not only for her creative vision, but for the calm, clear way she faced every challenge.
Later, it was Jing who asked to join Lin's company.
Lin accepted.
Gradually, they drew closer in the eyes of others: collaborating constantly, sharing more of their lives, even living under the same roof. Lines blurred, and things remained unspoken—until a year prior, when Jing had been the one to confession first. She had been open and direct, holding nothing back. Lin listened calmly, then told her plainly that they could remain friends and partners, but she would always see Jing as nothing more than a younger sister.
Jing had not backed down. She had said she was willing to wait, and that it did not matter if Lin loved someone else.
At the time it had sounded like gentle resolve, yet Lin would come to see it as a quiet, unyielding devotion that was not easily set aside. Five years younger than Lin, Jing loved with an honesty and intensity that left nowhere to hide. Lin had never been blind to it, yet she had never found it in herself to cut things off sharply. She could not bear to hurt someone who loved so openly, and so had chosen what felt like the kindest path: keeping her boundaries clear, while letting Jing stay.
And so they remained friends, colleagues, roomemates—many things, all resting on the unspoken agreement that things could simply stay as they were for now.
Lin knew well that Yeh had pulled away, in part, because of Jing.
But she was not someone who offered explanations unasked; she preferred to let the truth show itself, rather than spell it out. She had always been the one to set the pace in relationships, knowing when to step forward and when to hold back—until Yeh arrived, and that control began to slip. More than once she found her rhythm broken, caught off guard, uncertain where to turn next.
She had always told herself that if Yeh ever asked about her and Jing, she would tell her everything.
But Yeh had never asked, and so the words had stayed unsaid.
Jing was, by any measure, a wonderful person—talented, driven, with a clear sense of where she was going. Only she had focused so much of her life on Lin, treating staying by her side as both a choice and a promise. Over time, that dedication had hardened into habit, until it grew hard to tell what was love, and what was simply an unwillingness to let go.
And so this time, Lin had spoken first. No soft words, no evasion—she told Jing plainly who it was she truly loved, and made clear that she wanted Jing to pursue the life she had dreamed of, rather than lingering somewhere that would never give her what she wanted. She spoke calmly, without great emotion or forced gentleness, yet with a clarity that cut deeper than any comfort could.
Jing had said nothing at first—not out of refusal, but because she needed time to let it settle. Perhaps she had already seen the truth slowly taking shape over these years; perhaps she had finally understood that waiting would never change anything; perhaps it was simply the moment she should be ready to let go.
In the end, Jing chose to leave—not pushed away, but walking forward of her own will.
She would leave for France the following month.