Chi Qingya’s hand trembled as she lit up her cell phone screen.
Dried alcohol from the night before was still stuck under her fingernails.
She squinted at the notification bar, and the tears hanging from her lashes turned the fluorescent light into a blur of rainbow bubbles.
Her breath hitched in her throat, feeling as though someone were squeezing her windpipe.
‘Why? Why isn’t it Su Li? They didn’t send messages earlier or later. Why did it have to be right now?’
Chi Qingya felt a suffocating sensation in her chest; even breathing became difficult. She took deep gulps of air, trying to calm herself down. But…
The moment her finger swiped to unlock the screen, a beer can rolled off her knee and hit the floor with a clatter.
Chi Qingya felt the heartbeat in her chest gradually weaken, turning into a dull hum like the sound of a refrigerator running.
It wasn’t Su Li. If it wasn’t Su Li, what was the point of any of this?
She tossed her cell phone onto the sofa carelessly. Even though the movement caused some liquid to splash onto her foot, she didn’t bother to wipe it off.
She curled her knees up and buried her face in her arms, her neck feeling chilled by cold sweat.
The temperature of Su Li’s fingertips from her dream still lingered on her skin, but now it felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her, chilling her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
The massive gap between the dream and reality was too much for her to bear.
Outside the window, a sparrow chirped and flew away, leaving only the humming vibration of the air conditioner’s external unit.
Chi Qingya stared at the beer stain slowly congealing on the floor, suddenly feeling the sour stench of alcohol rising in her throat like heartburn.
She had been so close to holding Su Li’s hand. They were so close to making up and being together again.
Chi Qingya slumped against the table, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t fall back into the dream.
It was annoying. She didn’t want to face the cold reality. She wanted to reconcile with Su Li.
The cell phone continued to vibrate with incoming messages, making Chi Qingya feel even more flustered and irritable. Why had her sisterhood not replied for so long, only to start now?
‘Is it… is it because they’re worried about me? Am I not alone?’
‘Maybe… I can ask the sisters what I should do, how I can make up with Su Li.’
Hope surged within Chi Qingya’s heart again. Her younger sister was arriving tonight. Perhaps she could have her younger sister and her friends act as her strategists to see how she could win Su Li back.
Chi Qingya regained some of her spirit and quickly grabbed the cell phone from the sofa. She wanted to see what the sisters were chatting about in the group.
When she opened the cell phone, she saw a red dot hovering over the Sister Group icon. The chat was discussing checking out a newly opened trendy shop tonight.
The sunlight suddenly became blinding, making the pink cat emoji in the chat box look like it was grinning and mocking her.
They weren’t actually worried about her… they were just discussing where to eat dinner.
[Little Bear Gummy: Babies, babies, that new Cloud Canteen has a group deal! It just opened recently. Should we go check it out tonight?]
[Image.jpg]
[Image.jpg]
Chi Qingya looked at the photos sent by Chen Tangguan. The pictures showed cream-yellow walls decorated with marshmallow string lights, and every table had plush cloud cushions.
The atmosphere looked quite nice.
[No Cilantro (Postgraduate Edition): Holy crap, I saw that rainbow mille-feuille! Last time A-Lin was streaming, her spoon couldn’t even cut through it!]
[Strawberry Milkshake (Diet Edition): I heard the terrace has bubble machine effects? Wearing a white skirt makes for fairy-like photos! It’s the perfect place to check in.]
Chi Qingya tossed the cell phone back onto the sofa, thinking about where to take her younger sister for dinner.
Since her younger sister was coming to the city to visit, she definitely had to take Chi Qingyao out to eat. She couldn’t just have her stay home and eat delivery food.
Chi Qingya knew very well how difficult it was to get from their small mountain village to a big city like S City. It had taken her ten years of hard work to make that journey.
If she only gave Chi Qingyao delivery food, she would feel terrible. She knew the hardships of that path, so she naturally hoped her younger sister could stay in the big city.
Chi Qingya hadn’t decided where to go yet. Perhaps she could consult the opinions of Caixiangxiang and the others.
In just three minutes, the chat box reached 99+, and a new voice message popped up. When she clicked it, Caixiangxiang’s delicate, high-pitched voice played.
[No Cilantro (Postgraduate Edition): (Voice Message 7s) “But I want to eat hot pot~”]
Chi Qingya watched the cat emoji following the message.
[Strawberry Milkshake (Diet Edition): We’ve taken photos at hot pot places 800 times already! I have nowhere to show off my new butterfly necklace!]
[No Cilantro (Postgraduate Edition): How about Japanese food? We can wear kimonos for photos at that place!]
[Strawberry Milkshake (Diet Edition): Forget it, the collars on those rental kimonos were all yellow last time… I felt like I couldn’t get clean even after showering multiple times. I always feel like they do weird things with those kimonos; it’s disgusting.]
The topic was suddenly interrupted by a photo of a dessert—a strawberry tart that was seven layers high.
[Little Bear Gummy: This place it is! My bestie said if we post on Xiaohongshu, they’ll give us free macarons!]
[Little Bear Gummy: What about Yaya? Yaya has been sick for so long and hasn’t come to school. I don’t know how she’s doing. Is Yaya coming? @Yasuyugongshang @Yasuyugongshang @Yasuyugongshang]
[Strawberry Milkshake (Diet Edition): Yaya might be feeling unwell from her illness. Why don’t we go see her tonight? We can bring her some delicious food. Since she’s been sick these past few days, she must be eating really bland stuff.]
[No Cilantro (Postgraduate Edition): Come with us, come with us, Yaya! Us sisters haven’t gathered in so long. We miss you to death, Yaya Baby @Yasuyugongshang]
Looking at the concerned tone of the sisters, Chi Qingya felt her nose sting. So, it wasn’t that no one cared about her. They—they actually had her in their hearts all along.
The hand Chi Qingya used to hold her cell phone trembled slightly. She had misjudged them.
Perhaps they always cared about her but were just too shy to express it. Maybe she could ask them about Su Li, just as she had imagined.
[Yasuyugongshang: I… I have to go pick up my younger sister tonight. She’s coming here to visit.]
Chi Qingya’s hands shook as she typed.
[No Cilantro (Postgraduate Edition): Your younger sister is coming? Why didn’t you tell us! You should bring her along to eat with us!]
[Little Bear Gummy: Yaya, Yaya, aren’t we good friends? How could you not tell us something so important! It’s just one more set of chopsticks anyway. Bring your younger sister along!~]
[Strawberry Milkshake (Diet Edition): Exactly, Yaya! You definitely don’t see us as friends. You didn’t even introduce your sister to us. I’m heartbroken! (TT)0]