Song Lili leaned against it, her back against the ice-cold, hard stone, which jabbed into her lower back.
Lin Xinglan’s wronged and suppressed sobs quietly poked at the softest part of Song Lili’s heart.
She had originally thought of the girl as the heartless and foolish daughter of the mayor, but had not considered that, despite her silliness, she wasn’t devoid of a sense of right and wrong or unaware of the ways of the world.
Song Lili stretched out her hand and gently patted Lin Xinglan’s shoulder, offering the only comfort she could provide at that moment.
Lin Xinglan wiped her nose, hugged her knees, curled up her petite body, and slightly turned her head to look at Song Lili with tear-filled eyes. She pleaded pitifully,
"You can continue without me, a dead weight, but you... you have to believe me. I didn’t mean to harm you... really, I didn’t..."
Song Lili also tilted her head, gazing directly into Lin Xinglan’s eyes...
Suddenly, she reached out, touched Lin Xinglan’s head, and gave a gentle smile, like an older sister consoling a hurt little sister...
That affectionate gesture from Song Lili... made Lin Xinglan’s tears overflow even more.
"I’ll take you with me."
Song Lili said softly.
Lin Xinglan’s sobbing abruptly stopped; she thought she must have heard wrong...
"Lin Xinglan, we’ll travel the rest of the way together. Don’t fall behind; we have to pass the selection together."
Song Lili spoke earnestly to her.
Since the moment Wen Nian gave up on her, she hadn’t known what it felt like to trust someone... She didn’t know the taste of advancing and retreating together with someone...
She couldn’t say she trusted Lin Xinglan entirely, but Song Lili also didn’t want to resist her innermost genuine feelings.
At least, the feeling of being trusted by someone... warmed her heart.
To her surprise, Lin Xinglan shook her head in refusal, "Xiao Hua, you just need to believe that I didn’t intend to harm you. My leg is injured, and with the outside situation so chaotic, if you take me along, you’ll definitely..."
She was cut off mid-sentence as Song Lili gave her a hard knock on the head,
"Crying so pitifully, I’ve finally made up my mind, and now you’re hesitating again? Are you trying to play me?"
Lin Xinglan’s head throbbed in pain.
"Stop babbling, from now on, you’ll do as I say. Of course, don’t think too highly of me. I’m making this decision impulsively, moved by your antics. Who knows, I might get annoyed and leave you behind later! Be mentally prepared."
Song Lili said decisively, making Lin Xinglan swallow any excuses she had.
She secretly wiped away her tears, feeling uneasy yet ecstatic.
She nodded vigorously.
Song Lili saw how silly she looked and couldn’t help but chuckle again.
Her ankle was sprained, and she should be able to walk without having injured her bones too badly, but the ordeal was enough for Lin Xinglan to bear.
"Didn’t you say you saw people heading this way? Where are they?"
A questioning voice came from above their heads. Lin Xinglan’s body instinctively tensed, and Song Lili also tightened up, picking up her gun and getting into a defensive stance.
Qing Luo and Bian Yiyi opposite them did the same, each very much on alert.
The four exchanged glances and held their breath in silent understanding, none making a sound.
"I did see them... It should be two women, one of them limping as she walked, probably with an injured foot; they couldn’t have gone far."
Another person answered.
"This area is so open; if what you said is true, how could those two people run off so quickly?"