<h4>Chapter 1197: Just as Friends</h4>


    Ye Hao said softly and there was a pleading note in his voice.


    He had waited for so many years, so he didn’t want to wait any longer.


    He Xiyan heard him but she didn’t turn to look at him. Instead, she ced her hands on the windowsill.


    A cold wind blew and it carried some moisture with it. The wind felt like a knife that sliced past her face.


    Ye Hao walked over, shut the window, and stood behind her.


    This was such a familiar scene. They had once stood in front of the full-length windows and admired the hill with an elevation of less than 300 meters.


    He still remembered how she looked like as she sat in front of the window and drew the scenery. She would hold her paints and her paintbrushes as she painted the scenery, one stroke at a time.


    She would asionally include him in her paintings. He would usually appear as a tall silhouette in her paintings.


    “Yan Yan...” Ye Hao said when she didn’t respond. He guessed that she was probably feeling a little conflicted.


    He Xiyan finally reacted. She turned and looked at the man beside her, and saw the hope in his eyes.


    She couldn’t help but sigh before she shook her head.


    “Ye Hao, why must you do so?”


    He Xiyan knew what he was thinking and she also knew that he had always been waiting for her.


    Why was he so hung up over her after so many years? Why couldn’t he find his own happiness instead of constantly being so hung up over her?


    Ye Hao shot her a soft smile and looked deep into her eyes as he said, “It’s because I love you. I only want to be with you, Yan Yan.”


    Ye Hao spoke the truth. He gave himself wholeheartedly in every rtionship. Once he was in love, he wouldn’t look at any other women. Once he fell out of love, he would no longer have any feelings toward the woman he had once loved.


    He had once loved Han Xue and while he had given everything to this rtionship when he was in love with her, once he fell out of love with her, he couldn’t even bothered to spare her a nce.


    He didn’t know how much he loved He Xiyan but he knew that during those few years when he thought that she was dead, he hadn’t smiled nor did he spend a single day not regretting his actions.


    Life didn’t seem to have any color and he didn’t have interest in anything else after she left.


    When he saw the bullet hurtling toward her at the airport, he instinctively rushed to protect her without a second thought.


    The only thing he knew was that he couldn’t let her be injured.


    He Xiyan’s heart skipped a beat. She pursed her lips and she blinked up at him. Soon, tears welled up in her eyes.


    She turned away and stared outside at the street lights that were now lighted up.


    She knew that Ye Hao meant what he said and she didn’t doubt his feelings for her, but she was tired and didn’t have the courage nor the confidence to begin another rtionship, let alone another marriage.


    “Ye Hao...” she said as she took a deep breath and looked at the man next to her.


    Ye Hao nodded and waited for her response. However, he didn’t intend to change his mind based on her response.


    He Xiyan smiled wryly and paused for a moment before she said, “If I want to live with you as a friend and look after each other in a tonic way rather than as husband and wife, would you still be willing to move in?”


    Her voice was extremely soft. She didn’t know why she said this but this was how she felt at the moment.


    She wanted him to find a girl who was more suitable for him instead of constantly pining after her but she knew that he wouldn’t do that. He hasn’t found another woman after so many years had passed.