Just like a parched traveler in the desert longs for water—that’s how I felt.
I grew up in an orphanage, where I saw too many instances of human indifference.
Because of that, my heart became cold. Very cold.
I really wasn’t a good person.
That’s why I resorted to little tricks, constantly engaging in open and hidden struggles with different people, just trying to find my footing wherever I could.
What Su Liumeng said… was right.
I was born short. Just a scrawny teenager, barely over ten years old—how could someone like me ever win in a fight? I was a natural-born weakling. So I had long since gotten used to feigning weakness,
using passive tones and facts instead of force to manipulate others’ emotions, tilting the scales of every situation in my favor.
And perhaps Su Liumeng was the one who suffered most from this.
The sentence I probably used the most was in front of her father—
“Maybe your daughter doesn’t like me, that’s why she always picks on me.”
That’s the kind of person I was—someone people found hard to like. Which is why, when I was diagnosed with cancer, I told myself I deserved it. Maybe it was my final confession, and so I left the Su family villa on my own.
I rarely had the courage to admit that from the age of twelve to sixteen, I had been playing a role—
The role of a “green tea.”
Yes.
That kind of girl everyone hates the most.
And the reason? It was pathetic—I just wanted to stay in the Su household.
I didn’t want to go back to that sunless hellhole of an orphanage where I was bullied by a crowd every single day.
I didn’t want to go hungry anymore.
A more pathetic reason? I just wanted to survive. That’s all.
But the desire to live…has never justified hurting others.
Just like how I kept compromising in front of the ghost baby, in the face of death—I had tasted indifference too many times, and I had long grown used to scraping by, barely clinging to life in every corner I could.
It was only with Su Liumeng that I experienced, for the first time, what it meant to be loved unconditionally, to be spoiled without expectations.
She would try to understand my difficulties, and more than that—she would consider how I felt.
She was slowly becoming a part of my world.
What she said to me just now…truly, deeply moved me.
At the very least—in this moment—I was genuinely touched by her.
There was no acting involved. I leaned onto her shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
Probably the kind of ugly crying anyone would be embarrassed about.
But I didn’t care how I looked. I’d already made a fool of myself so many times in front of her,
one more time wouldn’t matter.
“Cough, cough, cough—”
I coughed violently. Su Liumeng kept patting my back.
She wasn’t very good at comforting people, but she was trying to calm me down.
In the middle of crying, I broke into a fit of harsh coughing.
Lately, I hadn’t had much pregnancy nausea or dry heaving—this time, it was purely from crying too hard.
“Alright, alright.”
“If you have something to say, take your time—I’ll listen to all of it.” Su Liumeng let out a quiet sigh in her heart.
I sniffled in response.
Then, suddenly, I shot out my tiny hand and covered my mouth, just barely managing to stop myself from letting out an embarrassing burp in front of Su Liumeng.
I stayed nestled in her arms for a while, adjusting my emotions. Then all of a sudden, I sat up with a serious expression and said in a solemn tone: “Su Liumeng, do you believe in the power of rules?”
“Heaven’s will has a self-correcting mechanism.”
“That… is the source of the change that’s happening in me. As for the deeper truths… I can’t tell you just yet. Can you wait a few more days?”
“Once I get permission, I think I’ll be able to explain it to you.”
I couldn’t bring myself to betray the ghost baby.
That baby already held a place in my heart.
Su Liumeng looked at my eyes—now red and swollen from crying. This girl… she cried so hard.
What kind of ointment should she use?
Right now, she was truly worried that too much emotional fluctuation might affect the baby in my womb.
“Are you still upset?”
I shook my head. “I’m not upset anymore.”
What I said next—so blunt and direct—made Su Liumeng freeze for a moment.
“Being with you makes me really happy.” A faint smile slowly appeared on my tear-streaked, adorable little face.
When the wind passes, it leaves a trace. That gentle voice of the girl rippled across Su Liumeng’s heart like countless waves.
If, in this desire-driven world, one still chooses to believe in love—
Then yes, there’s always an element of risk.
But in this moment, she knew she had bet on the right person.
“Su Liumeng, I’ll fix all the things you mentioned. I won’t say those kinds of things anymore, okay?”
There were still several glimmering tears clinging to my long, fluttery lashes, and as I blinked, they shimmered with each movement. My voice was halting, as if I were trying to figure out whether I truly meant what I was saying.
Su Liumeng chuckled softly. “You don’t have to change anything. I was just teasing you earlier because you looked so upset—I was trying to distract you.”
“Everyone has their own way of protecting themselves.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. As long as it’s not done with the intent to hurt others, it’s not excessive.”
“You don’t have the same kind of physical power others do. You have to rely on the things you’re best at.”
“But…” I twisted my small hands together and said hesitantly, “I did hurt you on purpose once.”
Su Liumeng’s brows furrowed. “Why bring up the past again? Haven’t we already moved past it?”
“The invisible web spun by the Su family… it’s the fuse that doomed so many people to tragic lives.”
“But what does that have to do with you?”
“You’re just one of the victims too.”
Su Liumeng suddenly reached out and pulled me into her arms, settling me on her lap. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her neck—just like a child rewarding an adult—and planted a loud kiss on her cheek.
“Su Liumeng, I want to apologize. I shouldn’t have kicked you, and I definitely shouldn’t have mocked you for still wanting to apologize even though you didn’t do anything seriously wrong.”
My voice trembled. “I just felt so awful, like I’d trampled all over someone’s feelings. After all, if it wasn’t true love, who would be willing to lower their head and be that humble?”
“I didn’t even care,” Su Liumeng said with a soft chuckle. “You’re so tiny, your little foot’s not even as big as my palm. If I got hurt from that, that’d be my problem…”
She paused slightly as she felt the wet kiss still lingering on her cheek, her eyes flickering with a hint of unexpected joy.
“Where’d you learn to do that, huh…”
My cheeks flushed pink. I didn’t dare admit it was something I picked up from my not-yet-born daughter.
Su Liumeng seemed to sense my embarrassment, so she gently shifted the topic like a soft drizzle watering the earth.
“How’s the tea ceremony class I signed you up for? Keeping up?”
I stared down at my pink little fingertips and replied in a quiet voice, “That kind of double entendre isn’t very fair…”
“If we’re talking about a different kind of ‘tea ceremony’…” I muttered, “then I might be a grandmaster by now.”
“That’s not something to brag about,” I grumbled. “From a male green tea* to a female green tea, if people find out, I’ll be cursed out across two thousand floors of comments.”
“So what?” Su Liumeng replied confidently. “You don’t act ‘tea’ to anyone else—just me. Let everyone else be jealous.”
The price for her shameless little remark was a soft, weak punch that landed right on her stomach.
It didn’t hurt at all—in fact, Su Liumeng looked like she was thoroughly enjoying the “massage.”
The sunlight gradually slanted toward the west, casting a soft glow over the rippling pale green water.
By the shore, two girls sat entwined in each other’s arms—Frozen in time like a scene from a poetic painting, a picture of delicate, tranquil beauty.
I slipped my small hand into Su Liumeng’s palm, gazing intently at her profile. Ever since she arrived, my heart hadn’t calmed down for even a second.
“Su Liumeng,”
“When are you… going to officially confess to me?”
If you keep waiting—then I’ll be the one to confess first.
“Ah?”
Su Liumeng had clearly heard me, but she was completely caught off guard.
By the time she asked for clarification, zll she could see was the girl’s neck flushed red, and a stubborn refusal to admit anything.
“No, I— I didn’t say anything…”
I fidgeted with my fingertips.
“I was just saying… if something happens again in the future, I’ll try to control my emotions. At the very least, I want to give us a chance to talk things through.”
“I didn’t used to be this sensitive.”