Chi Qingya picked up the bottle and began to chug.
Alcohol could help her temporarily forget her worries. It helped her forget everything that made her unhappy.
Chi Qingya regretted discovering this stuff so late. If she hadn’t, she might have been able to forget that painful past much sooner.
She could have grown up happily. Perhaps… she could have lived a normal, ordinary life like everyone else.
Chi Qingya had no idea how much she had drunk. She only felt her head growing heavy, and everything around her began to spin and blur.
She felt her eyelids fighting to stay open; even trying to see the room clearly had become a difficult task.
Then again, there wasn’t much worth seeing in her room anyway. Aside from the piles of trash and delivery bags, nothing could catch her attention.
If Su Li were here, the room would be kept spotless. Perhaps then she would have the heart to admire the scenery within her home.
But now, when she opened her eyes, she felt nothing but disgust. There were no other emotions left.
Chi Qingya slumped against the table, wishing to drift off into dreamland.
She had no way of seeing Su Li in reality, but she could meet her in her dreams. They could return to the past in that world.
She could hold Su Li’s hand and do all the things they loved to do together.
In her dream, Chi Qingya caught the scent of cherry blossoms.
She walked barefoot across the floor covered in pinkish-white petals. The pebbled path made the soles of her feet itch, but she didn’t care. Instead, she felt incredibly happy.
In the distance, a snow-white figure stood under the shade of a Cicada Tree. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a shimmering gold trim along the edges of the girl’s hair.
“Su…”
Her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and she couldn’t make a sound.
Chi Qingya watched as Su Li slowly turned around, the ends of her hair brushing against her Light Green Uniform Bowknot.
Su Li stood in the dappled shadows of the tree, clutching her textbooks. A cherry blossom petal rested on her eyelashes, trembling slightly with every breath.
As Chi Qingya ran forward, the rain of cherry blossoms suddenly grew denser. The petals felt cool as they brushed past her ears.
She saw Su Li lift her hand, her wrist bone appearing dazzlingly white as it peeked out from her sleeve. Su Li’s fingertips were about to touch the space between her eyebrows.
Chi Qingya felt an itch in her heart.
“Qingya, it’s time to turn in the homework.”
“You’re so amazing. You took first place on the exam again.”
“You should be able to leave our Small Mountain Village and get into your favorite university, right?”
“I remember your dream was to leave this place.”
“I’m so happy for you, Qingya.”
The voices in her dream sounded like they were soaked in honey.
Chi Qingya looked down to find that she was also wearing an Ink-stained School Uniform, with a small blue stain from a fountain pen spreading across her shirt pocket.
Su Li’s fingernails were trimmed round and clean. She was gently tapping on Chi Qingya’s blank workbook.
The sound of cicadas mixed with the chiming of wind bells drifted from above the teaching building.
Chi Qingya suddenly noticed that Su Li had the Cat Brooch she had given her for her birthday last year pinned to her collar.
She reached out, wanting to touch the small, silver-glimmering object, but her fingertips passed right through the flickering sunlight.
A cherry blossom petal fell into Su Li’s ponytail. Chi Qingya stared dazed at the tuft of hair sticking up.
“We will get into university together, Su Li.”
“We’ll leave this place together.”
“When that time comes, we can rent a house together.”
“We’ll work hard in the Big City together!”
“I can learn how to cook and make you lots of delicious meals.”
“I can…”
Chi Qingya spoke with a hint of excitement. At this distance, she could see the tiny fuzz on Su Li’s earlobes, turned translucent pale gold by the sunlight.
She gathered her courage to hook her pinky finger with Su Li’s, but the moment they touched, Su Li dissolved into countless points of light.
When Chi Qingya snapped awake from the dream, her hand was still suspended in mid-air. A ray of sunlight from the window filtered through the gaps between her fingers.
Chi Qingya curled up on the sofa cushions, which were scattered with delivery receipts.
She heard the sound of her teeth chattering and the vibration of the cell phone in front of her. She felt her heart still pounding wildly.
The dream was over.
Looking back, she slowly realized that the dream wasn’t actually real. After all, she had only met Su Li in university.
How could she have possibly encouraged Su Li to get into the same university back then?
Even so, she felt a wave of sadness and wanted to close her eyes again to return to that dream.
“A message…”
Chi Qingya looked at the cell phone that was still vibrating. A glimmer of hope surfaced in her heart.
‘Could it be Su Li?’
‘Could it be a message from Su Li?’
‘Did Su Li accept her friend request?’
‘Maybe it was because Su Li was by Bai Huizi’s side that she was forced by circumstances?’
‘She still has me in her heart.’
‘Otherwise, why would Su Li add me as a friend and send me a message?’
‘Perhaps she wasn’t in a position to greet me back then.’
Chi Qingya could understand that. She felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. If she hadn’t kicked Su Li out, Su Li wouldn’t have had to endure such grievances.
Su Li was originally homeless in this world. This place was also Su Li’s home. Perhaps when Su Li left the house, she felt incredibly sad too.
‘Everything was my fault!’
‘I was too selfish.’
‘Why didn’t I ever think about things from Su Li’s perspective?’
‘Even so, did Su Li still want to explain things to me?’
Chi Qingya’s nose felt runny, and she felt guilty for her past behavior.
Why had she only realized Su Li’s good intentions now? Because of one casual action of hers, Su Li had suffered so much in silence.
Chi Qingya’s hand trembled as she picked up the cell phone. She was nervous, not knowing what she should say to Su Li.
‘Welcome home?’
‘Or “I’m sorry”?’
She had already said “I’m sorry” many times. But it probably wouldn’t matter if she said it one more time. As long as Su Li could come back, it was fine.
Just right… her Younger Sister was coming over to visit the home today. She could introduce Su Li to her. They would definitely become good friends.
Thinking this, Chi Qingya felt her life filling with hope once again. Even the sunlight shining through the gaps felt warm against her skin.
Chi Qingya held the cell phone, her hands shaking uncontrollably.
Right now, it was as if she had bought a lottery ticket and was praying she would win. The Lucky Goddess should favor her just this once, right?
Thinking this, Chi Qingya suddenly didn’t dare to open her eyes. She started to feel afraid. She was afraid that the person who sent the message wasn’t Su Li.
If it wasn’t Su Li, what would she do? She was so scared that it wouldn’t be Su Li.
Chi Qingya gasped for air, her eyes gradually narrowing into slits. She peeked at the message on the cell phone.
When she saw it was a message from the Sister Group, she felt her heart stop for a moment.
‘Why?’
‘Why isn’t it Su Li?’
‘Why is it them?’