“Sister… Sister!”
“Be gentle… you need to be gentle!”
“It hurts, I, I’m dying!”
Afternoon. Inside the dance studio.
Li Xingya, who was taking dance class, let out a series of desperate wails.
She was doing a forward bend exercise.
To help Li Xingya’s fingers touch her toes as much as possible, Meng Yiqiao was sitting completely on Li Xingya’s back.
Her sister’s butt was pressed against her back, but Li Xingya had no time to feel that sensation.
‘Because it really hurts!’
‘Every time my body gets pushed down, I feel like I can’t breathe.’
‘Every cell in my body is screaming in pain.’
‘Tears…’
‘I can barely hold back the tears.’
‘Wah, I’m going to cry again.’
‘Even though I’m an adult on the inside, I’m still going to cry so easily.’
Looking at Li Xingya beneath her, Meng Yiqiao sighed.
“Xiao Ya, your body’s flexibility is really too poor. If you want to become an idol, dancing is the most basic foundation. Bear with it a little longer; once you get used to it, it’ll feel comfortable soon.”
Li Xingya sniffled and said with a crying voice:
“I can’t do it! Sister, no matter how you look at it, I can’t do this!”
“Comfortable… that’s a lie, isn’t it!”
“Mmph!”
When Meng Yiqiao pressed down again, Li Xingya’s body uncontrollably bent forward.
“I’ve reached my limit… Sister, really, I’ve really reached my limit!”
“Please, just let me go…!”
Meng Yiqiao looked down slightly and said without any pity:
“Your fingers only reached your knees. That’s still far off. Xiao Ya, you’re like this because you’re too out of shape!”
‘Sister won’t go easy on you!’
“Waaah!”
With yet another forced push down, Li Xingya finally started crying.
‘Demon.’
‘During training, Meng Yiqiao is a complete demon.’
‘No matter how much I beg, it’s useless.’
‘No matter how much it hurts, she won’t stop.’
‘…I don’t want anymore.’
‘Don’t do it again.’
‘I’m really going to die!’
Once class time started, Meng Yiqiao was like a completely different person, showing none of the cold yet gentle demeanor she had when they normally spent time together.
‘I don’t want to be an idol anymore.’
‘I’m so tired.’
‘Physical training class is so tiring.’
‘Dance class is also so tiring.’
‘I’d rather go carry cement at a construction site!’
Until class was over.
Li Xingya still couldn’t touch her toes.
For her, the distance to becoming a qualified idol still seemed very, very far away.
***
“Ahh.”
Li Xingya walked alone on Stargazing Avenue, letting out a long sigh.
After the torment of dance class, now she began to understand the students’ pilgrim-like feelings.
To be able to write your own message on these two boards, to become an outstanding graduate—they must have put in a tremendous amount of effort, right?
Li Xingya thought, and slightly leaned toward the left message board.
Looking at the encouraging words on it, Li Xingya silently turned up the corners of her mouth.
‘Alright.’
‘I really still can’t understand these people’s feelings.’
‘No matter how I look at these words, they seem like empty promises.’
‘As an adult, I can’t grasp the innocence of school days anymore.’
Li Xingya thought this, and then her gaze stopped on a name.
‘Lin Jin’an’
“I’m very grateful to everyone who has helped me all along—whether it’s the teachers’ guidance, my younger sister’s support, and also my best friend’s companionship. Although we’re not in the same school, I still thank you, Jiang Chiyue.”
Different from other students’ encouragement, Lin Jin’an’s message was very plain.
However, why did Jiang Chiyue’s name appear on it?!
Thinking carefully, back then Jiang Chiyue had said that when she debuted, she would invite Lin Jin’an to help stir up some hype.
She had thought it was because the Jiang family was rich and powerful, but… was it because Jiang Chiyue and Lin Jin’an already knew each other?
‘I’ll ask Jiang Chiyue about it when I get back.’
Li Xingya thought.
Without a word, she walked out of the school and got into the black stretch limousine.
When Li Xingya got home and opened the door, she saw Jiang Chiyue sitting on the sofa.
Without a word, she approached her.
“Sister.”
“Mm.”
“Were you originally good friends with Lin Jin’an?”
Li Xingya asked directly.
Jiang Chiyue, who was looking at the documents in her hand, obviously paused.
Then she looked up at Li Xingya.
“Lin Jin’an and I are friends. I told you that a long time ago.”
Jiang Chiyue’s expression wasn’t very good.
‘What does she mean by asking that suddenly?’
‘Is she deliberately provoking me?’
‘She had that same surprised look when she found out I was going to invite Lin Jin’an.’
‘And she deliberately attributed it to the Jiang family’s power.’
‘It’s almost like she’s trying to show how different she is from Sister Li Xingya.’
Li Xingya didn’t speak.
She silently took a step back.
Li Xingya thought.
‘Ah.’
‘I think I said the wrong thing.’
“Sister, I’m going back to my room first.”
“Wait.”
The living room atmosphere instantly turned cold.
Jiang Chiyue was angry.
“…Sister.”
“You seem to be scared of me?”
Li Xingya: “…”
‘With the expression you have right now, anyone would be scared.’
Before Li Xingya could react, Jiang Chiyue suddenly grabbed her.
“Eh?”
Li Xingya only felt her body lean forward, and the next moment, she had fallen into Jiang Chiyue’s arms.
“How did you get that injury on your forehead?”
Li Xingya didn’t dare meet Jiang Chiyue’s eyes.
“I bumped into something.”
She hated Jiang Chiyue’s gaze.
The kind of look that seemed to be seeing someone else.
‘Suddenly I kind of miss Meng Yiqiao.’
‘Whether she calls me ‘Li Xingya’ or ‘Xiao Ya,’ at least she’s calling ‘me.”
‘Ah.’
‘Suddenly I don’t want to play the role of Li Xingya anymore.’
“Sister.”
“Call me Jiang Chiyue.”
Jiang Chiyue said slowly.
“Li Xingya, stop acting for a while. Let me see your real self.”
Li Xingya’s eyes suddenly dimmed.
Disgust. Irritation. Nausea.
All kinds of emotions suddenly engulfed Li Xingya.
‘What “real self”?’
‘Is it the “Sister Li Xingya” you expect?’
‘But she died long ago.’
‘When will you accept reality?’
A wave of irritation suddenly surged from her heart to her brain like a raging fire.
There was only one thing that could make Li Xingya lose patience: facing a simple task that required constantly repeating the same basic step.
‘I am not Li Xingya.’
‘Whether it’s amnesia or rebirth, as your debtor, no matter which explanation you’re willing to accept, please remember—I am not Li Xingya. Stop forcing me to learn to be Li Xingya.’
‘You say you want to see my real self?’
‘Fine, then take a look.’
After a moment of silence, Li Xingya looked at Jiang Chiyue with a “dead and lifeless” gaze.
Jiang Chiyue’s pupils visibly trembled.
It was a gaze that clearly had lost all hope for the future, just mechanically repeating life.
‘How annoying, this look.’
‘It definitely doesn’t match this face at all.’
“I am not Li Xingya.”
Li Xingya’s voice grew a little hoarse.
“Jiang Chiyue, how many more times do you want me to repeat it?”
“Li Xingya died long ago. If you really want to see her, how about trying to kill me? Maybe then—
her soul will come back?”
Li Xingya took Jiang Chiyue’s cold hand and slowly placed it on her own neck.
“Come on, try to kill me?”
‘Kill me, this Li Xingya who has stolen her nest.’