Yu Xiaoying hugged him, her tears soaking his white shirt. She cried while holding him tightly, afraid he would suddenly disappear.
Song Chu stood quietly, his heart aching. He bit his lip, a faint trace of blood spreading down his chin.
Yu Xiaoying grew tired and leaned against the bedside. Song Chu fed her water, which she drank obediently, her silence heartbreaking.
He placed a small DV by the bed. “Please be strong for me. We’ve already lost Ji Ran; I don’t want to lose you too…” He closed the door, his lonely footsteps echoing in the hallway.
…
Song Chu walked out of Yu Xiaoying’s house in a daze.
“Song Chu!”
He turned around to see Lin Yichen looking at him fiercely. “Wasn’t I good to you? Why do you want to challenge my patience? What’s so good about Yu Xiaoying?”
“I’m sorry,” he said honestly, “I can’t control myself.”
“Do you like her?”
“No!” He looked at her, his eyes revealing determination. “It’s not like, it’s love!” He didn’t want to escape.
Lin Yichen sneered, “So no matter what I do, you won’t come back to me?”
“I’m sorry,” Song Chu replied painfully, “You’re a good girl who will find someone better to love you.”
Lin Yichen turned away, her expression unreadable. “I will make you pay,” she said coldly.
Song Chu didn’t look at Lin Yichen and was oblivious to her departure, fixated on one person in his heart.
…
At Yu Xiaoying’s home, her room was covered with thick curtains, and she was maintained by IV.
“Xiaoying refuses to eat. What should we do?” Na Na asked. Others remained silent.
Three days without food had left her fragile as a glass doll.
Yu Xiaoying opened her heavy eyelids. Lying quietly felt comfortable. Is it you, Ji Ran? Can I be selfish just this once? Mom and Dad have Jun Feng to take care of them. Can I go find you?
She struggled to sit up, picking up the razor blade she had hidden.
Her thin wrist showed pale blue veins under her snow-white skin.
As she picked up the blade, her gaze caught the small DV left by Song Chu.
No need to rush to die just yet. Yu Xiaoying gave a self-deprecating smile.
Trembling, she turned on the DV…
White clouds like cotton candy, blue sky, large floor-to-ceiling windows, piano, Alice, prince.
Ji Ran sits by the piano in the DV, looking weak, with a slight frown.
After the song “Little Demon” ends, he speaks. “How are you?”
“How am I? You tell me.”
“I wanted to call you, but I’m afraid hearing your voice would make me rush back to you unconditionally. The surgery’s success rate is very low, though they’ve been trying to hide it from me.” He smiles. “This surgery is a bet between me and heaven. If I win, I’ll use my remaining life to love you. If I lose, please live well in my place.”
Ji Ran looks deeply at Yu Xiaoyan. “Please be strong and live for Uncle and Aunt, and for all those who love you. Promise me, and I will continue to love you in heaven…”
“Promise my request…”
Request? You who broke faith still have a request. Cunning, cruel, hateful…
I can never refuse you.
Tears pierce her swollen eyes and heart.
Yu Xiaoyan slowly climbs down from the bed, struggling to reach the bedside. A light door-closing sound startles those waiting outside. They look up at her.
Yu Xiaoyan leans against the doorframe, breathing slightly. “Is there anything to eat? I… am starving,” she says with tears streaming down her face.
[Part One: Chapter Sixteen Debt]
Before her is a bowl of soft, fragrant white porridge.
A small dish of vegetables, a small dish of meat, a small dish of her favorite pickles.
Yu Xiaoyan swallows slowly as her mother secretly wipes her tears. Everyone watches her eat, sensing her suppressed sorrow.
…
At school, Yu Xiaoyan sits on a bench. Qin Na looks at her, “Nana, go back.”
Yu Xiaoyan has been normal to the point of concern, everything as usual except for rare smiles. She doesn’t mention Ji Ran, reluctant to share memories of him.
“Okay, go home early,” Qin Na says, standing up.
“Mm.” Yu Xiaoyan gives a transparent smile.
If I don’t think about anything, can I forget you, Ji Ran? I’m trying to forget you, but why do the details of our time together become clearer?
A tall figure shades her.
Song Chu sits down, holding Yu Xiaoyan’s hand, cool as a mountain stream. The wind lifts her curls, caressing the scar on her forehead.
“Thinking about him?”
Her eyelashes flutter, “No,” she replies firmly. “I want to forget him.”
“Can you really forget?”
“…”
“So why force yourself to forget? If you miss him, miss his goodness, smile when you think of him, and live more seriously because of him. So, why must you forget?”
Yu Xiaoyan gazes at him, her eyes filling with tears. One drop, then another…
Song Chu continues softly, “When you miss him, be happy.”
Ji Ran lives forever in your heart; how wonderful…
He smiles, his face filled with sunshine. “When you miss him, come find me. We’ll remember him together.”
Her fingers absorb his warmth. They sit in silence, the sunlight passing over their eyes. The first autumn leaf spins and falls.
Below the apartment, Lin Yichen has waited for a long time, her legs almost numb. She stands stubbornly, coldly looking at others’ curious glances.
Song Chu approaches, noticing Lin Yichen. “Long time no see!” She indeed has eyes very similar to Yu Xiaoyan’s.
Song Chu observes that Lin Yichen looks different today.
“Can you come back to me?” Lin Yichen bites her lip.
“I’m sorry!”
She laughs coldly, “So, you run back to her as soon as something happens, too lazy to even break up properly?”
“It was my negligence…”
“Won’t you consider it at all?” Her heart aches. Lin Yichen clenches her hand, nails digging into her palm, looking at Song Chu as if awaiting a life verdict.
“Come back to me!” she calls softly.
“I’m sorry… I can’t.”
Lin Yichen laughs bitterly. From childhood, she never got what she wanted—playing with dolls her grandmother picked from the trash; becoming a trophy for various “big brothers” at 15; now… he is so sunny that standing beside him feels like basking in sunshine. She was careful, walking on eggshells to protect this relationship.
But with Yu Xiaoyan’s mere appearance, he rushes to her unconditionally.
“Did you ever like me?” Her eyes redden.
“Yes…” Looking at the weeping Lin Yichen, Song Chu feels deep guilt.
“Really? Like how you like Yu Xiaoyan?”
Large teardrops flood Lin Yichen’s delicate face.
“Yichen,” Song Chu panics.
“Song Chu, remember this,” Lin Yichen looks at him deeply, “I really like you… but I also hate you. You think you’re right to everyone, but you’ll always owe me!”
She decisively turns and walks away.
“Yi Chen… I…” Song Chu reaches out, but his hand stiffens in mid-air.
He gives a bitter smile. He had hurt her, using her because she had eyes similar to Yu Xiaoying’s. He believed he could face anyone, but he owed her a moment of genuine emotion.
Love… always a double-edged sword.
But having someone to protect makes one fearless!
“I hate you! I hate you!” Lin Yichen returns to her apartment, sweeping everything off the table.
How unfair the world was; other girls were loved by their parents while she had curled up in the corner, enviously watching. Now that she has grown up, what she wants is still out of reach…
Emotions bottled up for a long time finally erupt, “Yu Xiaoying, I will definitely take back what was originally mine!”
I want you pampered girls to taste the bitterness of revenge, to suffer!”
“Definitely… definitely,” Lin Yi Chen murmured, her gaze toward the window cold.
MIX Bar
In the dim light, Lin Yi Chen’s enduring face was blurry. Her big brother’s hand rubbed against her shoulder. She suppressed her urge to vomit.
