The Abused Novel Heroine Became a Clingy Sweetheart [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 22.2

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After learning that the fire was deliberately planned, the Yan family became extremely anxious and wanted You Ting to move in and live with them.

But You Ting was more accustomed to being alone and politely declined their kind offer.

The Yan family was still worried and strongly insisted on hiring bodyguards to protect You Ting.

After all, although Song Zhiqiu was incarcerated, the You father and son were still outside.

Who knew if they would be desperate enough to do something foolish.

You Ting found it genuinely hard to refuse and finally nodded in agreement.

She hesitated slightly and said to Yan Rong, “Also have some people secretly protect Bai Nianzhao.”

“…Uncle.”

Yan Rong was stunned, standing frozen for a long time before reacting.

He suddenly slapped his head and repeatedly agreed: “Yes, yes, yes! It’s just protecting another little girl, your uncle promises you!”

He completely failed to notice You Ting’s pause when mentioning Bai Nianzhao, completely immersed in the joy of You Ting finally calling him Uncle.

Did this mean that Ting Ting was starting to accept the Yan family?

If he weren’t out in public, afraid of being too undignified and embarrassing, Yan Rong would surely have embraced You Ting and cried heavily.

He had waited for more than twenty years for this one word, “Uncle.”

After moving to the new place, You Ting visited Bai Nianzhao at the hospital twice.

But she didn’t go inside; she merely stood outside the room.

Through the transparent glass window, she glanced at Bai Nianzhao while she was asleep.

As soon as she sensed any sign of the person waking up, You Ting would immediately withdraw and leave.

Perhaps a period of separation would allow Bai Nianzhao to calm down and clearly think about their relationship.

On the day Bai Nianzhao was discharged, she waited a long time at the hospital entrance.

She never saw the familiar figure.

It was clearly something she had anticipated, yet she couldn’t help but lower her head in disappointment.

Uncle Mo personally drove to pick her up, smiling gently, “It’s a good thing to be discharged healthy, Miss Bai, why the long face?”

Bai Nianzhao shook her head, “It’s nothing.”

On the way back to Dreamy South after getting into the car.

She silently thought that when she saw her sister again, she would definitely apologize for her recklessness that day.

She shouldn’t have overstepped.

She would properly retreat to her rightful place and stop fantasizing about any unrealistic dreams.

As long as.

As long as her sister didn’t dislike her.

But it wasn’t until she saw the empty villa that Bai Nianzhao realized You Ting hadn’t even given her that chance.

Since they met, Bai Nianzhao knew that You Ting always handled everything calmly, rationally, and indifferently.

She had always felt at ease hiding behind her sister, greedily enjoying the taste of being protected.

But when this calmness was directed at herself, it turned out to be so painful…

Uncle Mo sighed and said, “Miss instructed that Miss Bai can continue to live here, and the driver and maid are at your disposal.”

It was no different from before.

The only difference was—

Bai Nianzhao looked up, her clear eyes already filled with tears without her knowing.

Her pale complexion looked fragile, and her already slender figure stood alone, like a precarious residual leaf shaking on a branch in the wind.

She trembled her long eyelashes, looking at Uncle Mo.

Her bloodless lips slowly parted, and she asked in a light and desperate tone, “Sister doesn’t want me anymore, does she?”

The young girl’s eyes, which reflected the starlight, seemed to be slowly dimming.

Uncle Mo lowered his head in sympathy, not answering.

Suddenly missing one person, life didn’t seem to have changed much.

Bai Nianzhao still attended classes, finished classes, ate, and slept every day.

Except that she would suddenly stare blankly for long periods, and occasionally look up, wanting to call out something, but only moving her lips in the end.

In her childhood, Bai Nianzhao had read a book.

The book contained a passage:

“True farewells always happen quietly. It’s just that on a certain ordinary day, some people leave through that door and never return.”

At that time, she didn’t understand its meaning.

In a child’s heart, everything in the world should have a beginning and an end.

For example, a self-introduction at first sight, and a similar farewell when leaving.

Both parties would talk, confirm the time and place, and perhaps even check the weather.

Then wave goodbye and openly leave each other’s worlds forever.

But it turned out it wasn’t like that.

Leaving did not require a sense of ritual, and getting used to the leaving had become a long, drawn-out torment.

Every fragment of memory leaping in her mind was a dull blade.

Bai Nianzhao lay on the desk, her gaze fixed on the porcelain-blue paper on the table.

On the paper was a volume of sutra she hadn’t finished copying, the pale gold ink reflecting a subtle sheen under the lamp.

She shifted her gaze and stared blankly at the vase in the corner.

During the days she was hospitalized, no one took care of it, and the flowers in the vase had long since withered.

The light in the villa was bright as day, yet she felt her vision blurring.

The porcelain-blue paper was stained with wet marks, blurring the ink of the characters, making them patchy and ruined.

And so she realized clearly once again that her sister didn’t want her anymore…

Bai Nianzhao slowly closed her eyes.

After a while, she suddenly hugged a book from the table, opened the door, and rushed out.

She was only wearing thin pajamas, and disregarding the strange looks of passersby, she ran through the streets late at night, straining towards a certain direction.

Just like that day, when she rushed into the raging flames without hesitation.

Like a moth to a flame.

She ran too urgently and too fast; her breathing couldn’t keep up, and intense pain came from her throat and chest cavity.

It was the first time she had done something so close to madness, yet her eyes, which had just been crying, were as bright as green porcelain after the rain.

Uncle Mo was eventually soft-hearted and told Bai Nianzhao the address where You Ting now lived.

It was not close.

She ran and stopped along the way, leaning against the wall, panting heavily.

The wind blew through her sweaty hair, briefly taking away the heat.

By the time she finally arrived at the address, Bai Nianzhao was completely soaked, as if she had been pulled out of the water.

Her throat burned fiercely, and every swallow was like swallowing a knife.

Looking at the bright lights upstairs, a smile appeared on her pale face.

She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted in a hoarse voice, “Sister!”

The girl’s voice was particularly clear in the quiet night, echoing in the air, carried by the wind, and reached the ears of the person upstairs.

You Ting was still awake.

To be precise, she couldn’t fall asleep.

Bai Nianzhao knew she had a habit of occasionally staying up late, and afraid that she would get a headache, she would warm milk every night and watch her drink it before resting assured.

The child would always lean against the door, watching herself with those exceptionally clear eyes, curved into a beautiful crescent shape: “Good night, Sister!”

Perhaps it was the unfamiliarity with the new environment, or the unfamiliarity without that familiar good night, You Ting lay in bed for a long time unable to sleep.

She simply turned on the light and got up to look at company documents.

When she heard the noise, she almost thought she was hallucinating.

Until the sound downstairs was clearly repeated once more.

You Ting rarely froze due to excessive astonishment.

The next moment, she got up and walked quickly to the window.

Pulling back a corner of the curtain, she immediately saw Bai Nianzhao standing under the street lamp.

The girl was tightly hugging a book, her rapid breathing not yet completely calmed, and she was slightly trembling in the wind in her thin pajamas.

She looked up, stubbornly gazing in the direction of You Ting’s room.

You Ting instantly frowned.

A summer night wasn’t exactly cold, but staying outside in just pajamas could still lead to a cold.

Moreover, Dreamy South was not close to here; did Bai Nianzhao actually run all the way here?

How ridiculous!

She subconsciously wanted to go downstairs but forcibly stopped herself.

A long shadow was cast on the curtain, and Bai Nianzhao’s eyes suddenly lit up.

She had never done anything out of the ordinary in her life.

Rushing into the fire was one time.

Running over late at night now was another.

In that villa, with only herself, Bai Nianzhao suddenly understood.

More than death, she feared the feeling of being abandoned by her sister.

In one’s life, there should always be one moment of daring devotion.

Even if the possibility was minuscule, almost negligible, she had to try.

“Sister!” Bai Nianzhao’s heart pounded like a drum, serious and nervous.

She clenched her fists. The words she couldn’t finish in the hospital that day were finally shouted out: “I like you!”

It was a love pondered over and over, thoroughly considered, a love that would not turn back even after hitting a wall.

It was the one and only flutter of her heart in this lifetime.

“I know you can hear me. I won’t leave.”

The child was stubborn and childish: “Even if you chase me away, I won’t leave.”

You Ting’s hand, which was about to draw the curtain, suddenly froze.

Various complex emotions surged in her heart, and her gaze fell on the person downstairs.

Across the vast darkness of the night, their eyes met.

Logically, she shouldn’t have been able to clearly see Bai Nianzhao’s expression, but inexplicably, You Ting felt that clean and fervent gaze.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Dark currents surged in her pupils, and after a moment, they slowly returned to calm.

The startled bodyguard came upstairs and asked somewhat awkwardly, “Miss, Miss Bai… what should we do?”

You Ting slowly unclenched her tightly gripped hand and said softly, “Leave her be. Let her be.”

Having received instructions, the bodyguards returned to their rooms.

Downstairs, Bai Nianzhao’s figure remained standing upright.

Upstairs, the light in You Ting’s room also remained on.

Like a silent battle between the two, comparing whose heart was more ruthless.

And whose heart was softer.

Her body relaxed, and the fatigue from running for most of the night quickly brought on drowsiness for Bai Nianzhao.

She didn’t know how much longer she stood there.

The wind was a bit chilly. She squatted down, leaning against the street lamp post, slowly curling herself into a small ball.

The second before she drifted off to sleep, she thought she heard a sigh.

Or perhaps not.

You Ting stood in front of Bai Nianzhao, looking down for a while.

She reached out, and her fingertip landed on the child’s cheek, which was cold from the wind.

“Why go through all this trouble?” You Ting whispered.

The sleeping girl couldn’t give her any response, muttering something through her lips.

Bai Nianzhao’s grip on the book in her hands loosened in her sleep, and it fell to the ground.

You Ting picked it up and realized it wasn’t a book; it was a thick notebook, to be precise.

She hesitated slightly before opening it.

Some pages had more writing, some less, and between some pages were pressed dried flower petals made into specimens—

They were all flowers she had given to Bai Nianzhao.

You Ting’s heart softened. She lowered her eyes and read carefully. The pages contained Bai Nianzhao’s diary.

In the oppressive life of the Bai family, their first meeting at the banquet became the only color in Bai Nianzhao’s eyes.

The subsequent pages became a record of hidden affection.

Even before Bai Nianzhao understood love, she had already regarded You Ting as the warm light in the abyss.

The last page must have been written after Bai Nianzhao was discharged from the hospital.

The handwriting was a bit messy, and there were still damp traces on the paper.

It was just a few very short sentences:

“Is it also a mistake that I simply fell in love with someone?”

You Ting abruptly closed the notebook, and a withered flower petal fluttered out, falling to the ground.

She wanted to leave heartlessly, but her skirt was suddenly tugged.

Bai Nianzhao was a light sleeper, and the previous commotion had already woken her up.

Her mind hadn’t fully reacted, but her body had moved instinctively. She reached out her fingers, tightly holding onto the person in front of her.

Afraid that the slightest release would turn You Ting into a figment of her imagination, carried away by the wind.

“Sister,” Bai Nianzhao looked up at her, like a homeless puppy.

Her eyes were misty, and her expression was one of careful pleading:

“Don’t abandon me.”

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