The daytime always seemed fleeting.
The sun was slowly setting, and the twilight light sprinkled onto the streets.
However, the black-haired girl was still searching in this place.
The sun had just risen when she left home, and until now, she still hadn’t found that little cat hair clip.
If she wasn’t certain that her memory was correct, she would even think that thing didn’t exist at all.
An Qing’s face was cold, and her body already felt extremely exhausted.
She had searched all day without success, and now she had to continue.
What exactly was she persisting for?
Even without this hair clip, everything that was about to happen wouldn’t change at all, right?
But even so, An Qing did not give up searching.
She supported her arm with one hand, and her somewhat lonely figure trembled slightly.
She was dressed too lightly; she felt cold now.
If it were her previous life, at this time, at least An Yu would come to care for her, right?
Thinking of this, An Qing suddenly froze, then shook her head fiercely.
What nonsense was she thinking about again?
An Qing continued forward expressionlessly, but ahead was already the end.
She stared blankly at the empty space in front, having gone through all the stalls once… or perhaps more than once?
But she just couldn’t find that little cat hair clip.
Yet it shouldn’t be like this.
That thing definitely existed.
It was the only gift An Yu had ever given her…
An Qing unconsciously clenched her fists.
She just wanted to return this only gift to An Yu.
Was even such a simple thing not allowed?
She looked up somewhat blankly, suddenly becoming a bit at a loss.
The sky was somewhat overcast, with dense clouds, but An Qing hadn’t brought an umbrella because she knew it wouldn’t rain today.
“Ah, excuse me!”
While An Qing was in a daze, a group of young people walking together on the other side were pushing and shoving playfully, completely not noticing the person in front of them.
By the time they noticed, it was too late.
The young man being pushed just happened to collide with An Qing.
In an instant, An Qing staggered from the impact, but she still managed to steady herself and not fall.
Her brows furrowed tightly.
She instinctively wanted to blame them, but in the next moment, her eyes widened.
On the stall in front of her, there was a hair clip that was extremely familiar to her, with a white cat pattern on it.
It was the hair clip she had worn for a very, very long time, only throwing it away when An Yu’s true nature was exposed.
Now, it was right in front of her eyes.
An Qing stood there stunned without a word, while the young man on the other side became a bit nervous.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
To be honest, the girl in front of him looked very unapproachable.
That gaze was as cold as anything, and the clothes she wore seemed like expensive brand-name items…
An Qing spoke coldly, without even lifting her head: “It’s fine.”
“I-Is that so? Really sorry…”
Seeing An Qing say it was fine, the young man didn’t say more.
He quickly ran back to his friends, gave them a reproachful look, and then hurriedly left.
An Qing paid them no mind.
She reached out and took down the hair clip, her cold eyes revealing a trace of inexplicable meaning.
Finally… she had found it.
Looking at the hair clip in her hand, An Qing’s gaze became somewhat dazed, almost subconsciously recalling that somewhat embarrassing past.
That day was the girl’s birthday.
Fine rain was falling from the sky, pitter-patter.
The girl had escaped here alone.
She wanted to flee from that home because no one there cared about her.
Not even a servant.
She couldn’t understand.
If that was the case, why bring her back?
She even more couldn’t understand why her biological parents looked at her with disgust and loathing.
The black-haired, red-eyed girl, with a rustic braided pigtail, thick bangs, and black-framed glasses.
The bewilderment in her eyes far exceeded what she felt now, but more than that, it was a kind of despair.
Her longing for family affection had all turned into pain at that moment.
The current An Qing, even if she wanted to run away, had nowhere to go, so she could only choose to hide temporarily.
She looked up expressionlessly and scanned her surroundings.
There were no longer any familiar people around.
An Qing walked slowly, seemingly not caring about the rain.
Her vision grew heavier, the rain-soaked bangs gradually covering her sight…
But An Qing didn’t care. She just wanted to be quiet for a while.
“An… An Qing…”
But she didn’t get her wish.
A somewhat breathless voice came from behind her, as if someone had chased after her.
However, even An Qing, who wanted quiet, felt that voice was very pleasant.
An Qing turned around and immediately saw the petite girl with blue-white long hair.
She was looking at herself expressionlessly, wearing an luxurious long dress—someone from a completely different world.
“Why run?”
That was An Yu.
She unhesitatingly grabbed her hand.
Why? She wanted to ask why.
Clearly, she had chosen to run away.
Why would someone still chase after her?
“I…”
An Qing shook her head: “I just want to be alone for a while.”
An Qing explained calmly, but although An Yu heard her words, she did not leave.
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
The girl stared blankly at An Qing’s crimson eyes, completely unaware of what she was thinking.
The girl firmly held her hand, staying silent, and quietly walked forward.
“An Yu… what are you doing?”
An Qing looked somewhat weakly at this girl shorter than herself.
Although An Yu was the one benefiting, An Qing found it hard to hate such a cute girl.
She could only blame her own misfortune.
As long as she stayed far away from her, everything could remain as usual.
Unfortunately, the girl had no intention of doing so.
“An Yu, An Yu?”
No matter how An Qing called her name, she got not the slightest response.
An Yu just held her hand and silently walked forward.
Until they reached a stall, An Yu seemed to remember something and squatted down.
She casually picked up a hair clip with a cat pattern and paid for it without hesitation.
She didn’t even ask the price, probably because she didn’t care.
She stood up facing An Qing, but An Qing couldn’t see the expression on her face because her bangs blocked her view.
An Qing could only see the petite girl reaching out toward her.
An Yu gently lifted An Qing’s bangs, exposing those crimson eyes, and then clipped the hair clip on.
An Qing blinked blankly.
Now she could finally see An Yu’s expression clearly.
The girl in front of her wore a brilliant smile, her amber eyes filled with faint satisfaction.
…
“This is for you.”
An Yu paused: “Hmm, as expected, this way looks better.”
She gently tousled An Qing’s hair.
“An Qing, it’s okay.”
She shook her head: “Don’t be alone. Being alone isn’t happy at all.”
An Yu’s expression was extremely serious, with a faint smile on her lips—very beautiful.
“Don’t mind those things, and no need to run away anymore.”
Her voice was cold, but it pierced right through what An Qing was thinking.
“Because I’ll always be here.”
Fine rain was still falling from the sky, pitter-patter.
The petite girl with blue-white long hair gently stroked the black-haired girl’s cheek.
Her smile hung on her face—the most beautiful smile An Qing had ever seen in her life.
So, from that day on, An Qing had always worn that hair clip.
Until the very end, before the day An Yu mocked her with the hair clip, An Qing had always worn it.