Xiao Ning Wanwan innocently asked, “How can no one care about your life? Your parents must care.”
“They… are dead,” Xiao Sizhan said, burying his head deeply in his legs.
Xiao Ning Wanwan hadn’t expected Xiao Sizhan to be an orphan and felt sympathy for him. She moved closer and sat next to him, only to notice he was shaking.
“Big brother, what’s wrong? Are you cold?”
Xiao Sizhan kept his head down and said nothing, but Wanwan heard his chattering teeth. She rubbed her hands, breathed on them, and hugged him. “Don’t be afraid, big brother. I’m hugging you, and you’ll warm up soon.”
After a while, he stopped shivering.
Ning Wanwan held him tightly and said, “Big brother, don’t be afraid. From now on, I care about your life. Don’t think of giving up. My grandmother said that no matter how bitter life is, we should live it with flavor and not waste it.”
Xiao Sizhan finally looked at her, his eyes shining. “If we can return alive this time, will you promise to live only for me?”
Ning Wanwan smiled sweetly and extended her pinky, “Promise! Pinky swear!”
“Promise,” he replied.
The next day, Xiao Sizhan tied one end of woven vines to a stone, threw it onto a tree branch, and discovered a small cave in the mountain wall.
Later, Ning Wanwan was carried out of that cave on Xiao Sizhan’s back.
At that time, Ning Wanwan was seven or eight years old. She pitied Xiao Sizhan’s troubled background and his desire to die, wanting to encourage him to live. After parting, she gradually forgot about it.
Unbeknownst to her, Sizhan had preserved that memory for eight years, living only for her in both his previous life and this one.
She pressed her forehead against Sizhan’s, smiling slightly. “Big brother, thank you for keeping your promise and living on, allowing me to meet you now.”
Two days later, Sizhan received an invitation from Di Jin to meet at Qingfeng Lou, warning of consequences for not attending. To avoid worrying Ning Wanwan, Sizhan kept this secret and took only Yuan Bi with him.
What Sizhan didn’t know was that Ning Wanwan had quietly slipped out after him.
