Missing something isn’t about being wrong, it’s about it being gone.
Time and again, opportunities were placed before Chi Qingya, yet she never cherished them.
Instead, she drifted further and further away from Su Li.
The more she recalled each past scene, the more sorrowful Chi Qingya felt inside.
She stared fixedly at the photo on her cell phone, her throat tightening as if gripped by an invisible hand.
In the photo, Su Li was eating quietly. The girl opposite her had eyes that sparkled as she gazed at Su Li, a table full of steaming hot meal between them.
Had she ever looked at Su Li like that too, with eyes that sparkled?
Looking at the table full of dishes Su Li had meticulously prepared for her.
Chi Qingya suddenly remembered how, every time she used to return home, pushing open the door, she would always catch the fragrant scent wafting from the kitchen.
Su Li would always be busy by the stove, wearing an apron, while she herself would just sprawl on the sofa, finding fault with everything.
She would nitpick the food Su Li made, and despite not knowing how to cook herself, she’d always offer Su Li amateur advice.
When Su Li took her suggestions, she’d feel a peculiar sense of accomplishment, as if it proved her own existence.
A wine bottle slipped from her trembling hand. The sound of shattering glass startled her.
An image suddenly surfaced in her mind: the way Su Li later looked at her, her face utterly devoid of any expression.
She wouldn’t refute her words, nor would she refuse her requests.
Even though everything went exactly as she said, it made Chi Qingya feel an intense sense of estrangement.
Even though Su Li was right there by her side.
So, Su Li wasn’t born cold. She would also eat someone else’s stir-fried tomato and eggs, and she would also listen to that girl chatter on about things with little nutritional value?
It seemed every time she spoke to Su Li, Su Li listened very attentively too.
Even later, when Su Li’s face showed no emotional change, she still listened just as attentively.
It was Chi Qingya who thought Su Li’s expression seemed perfunctory.
Back then, when she slammed the door and yelled “Get out!”, was Su Li’s heart breaking?
Tears fell onto the cell phone screen, blurring the figures of the two people in the photo.
She finally saw how ridiculous she had been.
The one who always complained about Su Li being poor and tacky now didn’t even have anyone to make her a hot meal;
The one who called Su Li mercenary was actually herself, the most mercenary one, who had “wrung the rent dry.”
What truly tormented her now wasn’t the churning of cheap liquor in her stomach.
It was the sudden understanding of Su Li’s silence that night she packed her bags to move out.
It was the panic of realizing there was no one left to tell “I feel like eating sweet and sour pork ribs today.”
The evening sun streaming through the dining hall’s glass window was just like before, but no one would ever leave a light on in the kitchen for her again.
“Waaah…”
[Little Bear Gummy: Yaya, Yaya, why aren’t you saying anything? Do you know that girl next to Su Li? @Yasuyugongshang]
Seeing Chi Qingya wasn’t responding, Chen Tangguan grew anxious and urged her.
Getting halfway through some gossip only to be left hanging was incredibly frustrating.
But there was no way to directly ask Su Li about their relationship.
Wait, maybe she could ask directly.
“Cai Cai, do you think we should just ask Su Li directly who that girl is?”
“After all, we’re Su Li’s classmates, aren’t we?”
Caixiangxiang was also staring at her phone, waiting for Chi Qingya to spill the tea, but Chi Qingya remained silent.
“You’re right. We’re Su Li’s classmates. If we just say hello to Su Li, she probably won’t say anything.”
Caixiangxiang thought about it and agreed they could indeed just go ask Su Li.
After all, you don’t hit a smiling face. If their attitude was good enough, Su Li probably wouldn’t embarrass them in front of her friend.
So, glancing at their food, Caixiangxiang and the others stealthily waited for Su Li and then carried their trays over.
The trio’s furtive movements caught Cat’s attention. She secretly glanced at Su Li, and seeing no reaction from her, she quietly went back to eating.
Back when her pooper-scooper used to carry her on the street, many people would also try to greet her pooper-scooper under the pretense of wanting to pet her.
But petting her was not allowed, and greetings were ignored.
Su Li seemed just like her pooper-scooper, showing no reaction at all.
Cat continued eating silently.
Although Su Li was aware that Chi Qingya’s sisterhood had sat down nearby, likely to cause trouble, she paid them no mind.
“Su Li.”
Caixiangxiang suddenly piped up in a sweet, girly voice to greet Su Li.
Truthfully, she hadn’t had much direct contact with Su Li. Usually, she just gossiped about Su Li behind her back with her little sisters.
The only brief interaction they’d had was back during that “help me hack this price” incident.
As she approached Su Li, a faint, pleasant fragrance wafted over. It was very fragrant, yet not overpowering.
Examining Su Li up close, Caixiangxiang noticed Su Li’s skin was more delicate and fair than she had imagined.
She subconsciously swallowed. Looking at that baby-soft, tender skin, she suddenly felt an urge to take a bite out of it.
But Caixiangxiang quickly remembered the purpose of her approach.
Seeing Su Li wasn’t acknowledging her, Caixiangxiang still didn’t feel annoyed.
She suddenly couldn’t remember why she had gotten so angry and embarrassed back when Su Li refused to help her with that price hack.
“Su Li, is this your friend?”
Caixiangxiang asked softly. Su Li continued eating by herself, ignoring her as if she were air.
“Su Li.”
“Su Li.”
Caixiangxiang called Su Li’s name a few times, but Su Li still didn’t respond.
Looking at Su Li’s utterly calm expression, then glancing at her little sisters watching her furtively from their seats, Caixiangxiang felt a twinge of displeasure.
So what if she’s pretty?
“Su Li, I’m talking to you!!”
Su Li still paid Caixiangxiang no mind.
So Caixiangxiang shifted her gaze to Cat, sitting across from Su Li. Cat felt her stare but just kept her head down, focused on eating.
Cat could sense the atmosphere at the table wasn’t quite right.
But if Su Li wasn’t speaking, she wouldn’t speak either.
“Classmate, we’re Su Li’s classmates. What’s your relationship with Su Li?”
Caixiangxiang asked Cat. Cat’s little ears twitched slightly, but she said nothing, eating silently.
She didn’t hear.
She didn’t hear anything.
She was a little mute, a little dummy who only knew how to eat.
That’s what Cat thought to herself. Back when others would tell her pooper-scooper how cute she was, she’d also just curl up in her pooper-scooper’s arms without making a sound.
“Classmate, I’m talking to you. Didn’t you hear me?”
Caixiangxiang was getting irritated. She was starting to wonder if she was talking to two dummies.
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