Ling Chuxia nearly bit her lower lip to bleeding, the bitterness filling her mouth. Her hands trembled lightly, and moisture slowly welled up in her eyes. Her throat was hoarse as she struggled to open her mouth, struggled to speak.
She was really too tired, she really feared she wouldn’t make it, couldn’t wait for her to come back, she really feared she would disappoint her...
It took who knows how long for Ling Chuxia to finally find her voice again, to laboriously push out the words one by one from her throat, "Elder sister, I... I am... trying..."
However, Ling Yunshu, whether sensing what she was about to say or suddenly having an urgent matter, once again interrupted Ling Chuxia, speaking softly, "Xiaxia, I don’t have much time to talk right now, let’s talk about everything when I come back, remember, you must wait for me, Xiaxia, you must hold onto that position!"
All of a sudden, her voice grew even softer, each word slowly spoken, "Xiaxia, you won’t disappoint your elder sister, the promise you made to me, right?"
Each word was so light, yet when they reached Ling Chuxia’s ears, they seemed to become mountains upon mountains, heavily crashing down on her, suppressing all the words she had managed to summon the courage to confess, pushing them all back down.
Ling Chuxia’s body was so cold that she trembled uncontrollably, almost incapable of holding onto the phone.
Her elder sister had entrusted all her hopes in her, and at this moment, she simply couldn’t bring herself to refuse her.
Ling Chuxia took a deep breath, forced all the heartache and bitterness back down, and tried to muster a smile, to bring a hint of cheer to her voice as she said, "Mhm, I won’t."
Hearing those few words from her, Ling Yunshu seemed to let go of a weight she had been carrying; she chuckled lightly, her voice full of gentleness, "I knew it, Xiaxia, you wouldn’t let your elder sister down. Xiaxia, wait for me, I will contact you again."
As the words ended, the call was abruptly cut off, and Ling Chuxia could only hear the long string of dial tones in her ear, chillingly tapping against her eardrum.
Her hand holding the phone dropped powerlessly, and Ling Chuxia closed her eyes, the bitterness and grief in her heart slowly spreading through her whole body.
The next day, Ji Xinxin was awakened by noises coming from the kitchen. As it was an open kitchen, even the slightest sound was audible.
Ji Xinxin suffered from slight morning grumpiness. She had been too upset to fall asleep the night before and had only managed to doze off at the crack of dawn, only to be rudely awakened not long after. Her grumpiness surged as she shot up from the bed, tousling her hair, and looked towards the kitchen, only to see Ling Chuxia’s slender figure busying herself, and she couldn’t help but yell out in annoyance, "Chuxia, what on earth are you doing up so early without sleeping?"
Ling Chuxia turned to glance at her, curved her lips into a slight smile, then said, "Now that you’re up, go brush your teeth, wash your face, and come have breakfast."
"What’s gotten into you!"
If not for being good friends, she really would have given her a piece of her mind, Ji Xinxin cursed, and flopped back down to continue sleeping.
Unperturbed, Ling Chuxia finished preparing breakfast, washed her hands, dried them, and then slowly walked to the bedside, gazing at Ji Xinxin, her lips parting lightly, as she spoke softly, word by word, "Xinxin, I have to go back now."