Back then, she had held him so tight, protected him so thoroughly, but why now, could she leave so easily, let go so effortlessly?
If it was because of her elder sister, then why did she wait for him that whole night?
No, Ling Chuxia, you can’t just leave , you can’t just disappear—you still owe me an explanation, owe me an answer. I must find you, I must!
In Lin City, at the coffee shop across from the station.
Ling Chuxia and Bai Yixuan sat facing each other. Ling Chuxia gazed steadily at Bai Yixuan, her eyes moving up and down, from left to right, scrutinizing him several times, with a hint of disbelief still evident in her gaze. She couldn’t help but sigh, "Am I dreaming... Brother Xuan, are you sure you’re real?"
As she muttered to herself, she reached out her hand, unapologetically pinching Bai Yixuan’s face.
Her grip was not weak, pinching hard enough to make Bai Yixuan frown. He shook his head but didn’t stop her, "So? Are you convinced I’m real now?"
Ling Chuxia pinched him for a good while before finally letting go, nodding earnestly, "It seems you are real after all—you haven’t disappeared."
Bai Yixuan didn’t know whether to laugh or feel pain. Even though she was right there in front of him, why did he sense such extreme insecurity in Ling Chuxia’s voice, as if he would vanish the next second?
What had she gone through all these years to feel so insecure?
He couldn’t help but reach out his hand, grasping Ling Chuxia’s hand and slowly raising it to touch his face, a faint smile on his lips, his voice as gentle as ever, "Of course I won’t disappear. Feel for yourself, I’m real, truly existing."
Bai Yixuan led Ling Chuxia’s hand to touch his eyebrow, his eye, his nose, and then his chin.
His dark eyes looked at her with gentleness like water, "Xiaxia, remember this—I will never disappear; I’ll always be here."
Ling Chuxia felt the warm touch beneath her palm, that real touch, which gradually calmed her heart. She really saw her Brother Xuan, not just her own illusion.
Ling Chuxia’s eyes couldn’t help but redden, her throat choking up, her voice hoarse, "After you and your father left, I kept waiting for you, waiting for you to come back to find me. But you never did. Elder sister told me you wouldn’t come back, you were enjoying your wealth and would never remember me. I didn’t believe it, but indeed, you never came back to find me..."
"Xiaxia, I’m sorry. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to come back to find you; I just never had the chance. At first, I would always sneak out, but I was quickly caught and brought back. Later, when my father brought me here, I had even less of a chance to find you. Until I grew up and had money, the first thing I did was buy a train ticket to go back to the orphanage to find you, but... the director told me that you and Yun Shu had already been adopted. She couldn’t reveal the adopters’ identity, only telling me that the family that adopted you was wealthy, and that you would surely not suffer."
He paused, couldn’t help but clutch Ling Chuxia’s hand tighter, his voice also growing hoarse, "Xiaxia, these years in that family, have you been well?"