The Beloved One Is Always Coveted - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

◎Someone Raised a Hand and Caught That Snowflake◎

She wouldn’t even come to see her now, only sending a cat to relay a message. She must be utterly disappointed in her; after all, no one wants to put effort into a cold relationship.

She had heard all those things Tang Xi said on the phone yesterday. How would she look at her now?

The friend who used to trail behind her, tugging at her coat, had become this.

Yu Li suddenly didn’t dare to go downstairs. She wanted to stop the cat, but when she opened the door, there was no sign of the tabby cat in the stairwell.

Her heart felt like a sponge soaked with water, sinking little by little, crushing her until she couldn’t breathe.

Her luck seemed incredibly poor these past few days. All the bad things piled up together, with no place to vent them. They were pushed into her chest, stacked one upon the other, filling up her already small heart.

When 5:00 PM arrived, despite her hesitation and reluctance, she still went downstairs. She had promised the grandmother, and she had replied to Qi Xue that she would come down.

Walking down to the second floor, she saw the cat again, curled up on the stairwell window sill, watching the evening glow outside. Its ears twitched, looking adorable no matter how you looked at it.

She approached. The tag hanging on the kitten’s neck was gone.

It didn’t know the complexity of human emotions, but it could sense the sadness in Yu Li. It tilted its head, letting out a soft meow. Its round, amber-colored cat eyes reflected the fiery sunset, all visible in her gaze.

Kittens are so wonderful; they are great companions for humans.

She thought with emotion, patted the kitten’s head, and continued downstairs.

When she reached A-Po Qi’s (Grandma Qi’s) door, she was still practicing how to smile curving her lips, raising and bending her eyes. But if her eyes weren’t smiling, no smile looked good.

Just then, the door opened, and her awkward attempts were unintentionally seen by Qi Xue, who happened to look up.

Yu Li stepped back, filled with the embarrassment of being caught. Her impression in Qi Xue’s mind was already poor, and now it was even worse.

Qi Xue, however, smiled, with no mockery or distaste in her eyes.

She was wearing a small floral apron, holding a handful of string beans, and turned her head to tell A-Po Qi that Yu Li had arrived. Then she turned back to face Yu Li, wanting to say something to ease the awkwardness.

“Did… did you eat?”

As soon as the words left Qi Xue’s mouth, she wanted to cover it. She was usually aggressive, saying whatever she wanted, but she didn’t know how to interact with Yu Li.

To make a better impression on her, she was trying her best not to swear.

Both of them were clumsy. One didn’t know how to speak, and the other didn’t dare to ask any questions.

Yu Li slightly looked up: “…Not yet.”

The conversation stalled again. Qi Xue curled her fingers, wanting to break the silence, but someone spoke before her.

A-Po Qi came over, snatched the snapped string beans from her hand, and said aggressively, “What are you standing at the door for? Hurry up and let her in!”

She changed her expression quickly. After scolding Qi Xue, she looked at Yu Li, adopting a kind, loving manner, “Girl, don’t mind her. She’s always fooling around. Come in quickly. There’s cut watermelon on the table. It’s very sweet. Dinner will be ready soon.”

After speaking, she pinched Qi Xue, with a strong implication of being utterly disappointed in her.

A-Po Qi’s house was a little bigger than theirs. For the past few years, she had lived alone, and Qi Xue had moved in later. The decor maintained the old lady’s previous style—simple and plain.

Yu Li entered the house and sat quietly on the sofa.

There was a plate of watermelon on the coffee table, cut into pieces and skewered with picks. It was surprisingly delicate and didn’t quite match the rustic furnishings in the room.

Qi Xue’s ears were red. She sat down next to Yu Li and said, trying to make conversation: “I cut this. It was bought from the same place as the half I gave you yesterday. Try it.”

“Thank you. It’s very sweet.”

She picked up a skewer and ate a piece. It was sha-rang (sandy-textured), dissolving into sweet juice after a few bites. It was indeed delicious.

She just felt a bit unwell inside, otherwise, it would have tasted even sweeter.

After the awkward pleasantries, Yu Li decided to get straight to the point. “You heard it yesterday, right?”

Qi Xue scratched her head, unsure how to answer. She hadn’t heard everything. Her original intention was to go upstairs to find Yu Li, but she had unintentionally overheard and then didn’t want to leave. So she listened to Yu Li’s silence along with everything else.

She wanted to know about her past, unwilling to let others occupy her life, but didn’t dare to take an obvious step toward her. So, she just listened secretly, like a mouse.

In truth, she hadn’t heard much. She had only seen Yu Li standing motionless on the stairs for a long time in that dark space, completely stiff. Her heart clenched with concern.

So, people are base. See, she listened secretly but left a handle for trouble. Now Yu Li is here to call her out.

“I didn’t mean to.” Qi Xue looked deflated, voluntarily admitting her mistake, hoping for a reduced sentence.

“I know you’re afraid of me, that’s why I came up to try and explain clearly. I genuinely want to be good with you.”

As soon as she said it, she instantly regretted it. “Want to be good with you” was clearly ambiguous. Looking at Yu Li, her cheeks were flushed.

“Not that! I want to be friends with you, just like before. Before… you don’t even remember.”

Mentioning the past brought back Qi Xue’s sense of frustration. Was she really so forgettable?

How imposing they were back then! The two of them beat up all those other kids—of course, she did the fighting, and Yu Li watched from the side.

How sad she was when she left! She told Yu Li she would definitely come back. The child’s eyes were swollen from crying. She stumbled and fell trying to chase her car, begging her not to go. How could she forget her after only a few years?

“You must be very disappointed,” Yu Li said softly, like an untimely snowflake falling in the midday sun, vanishing in an instant.

The friend she had promised to be with forever had forgotten her, and moreover, had become a very bad person.

A rosy filter is a terrifying thing. Even if the day before she was afraid that Qi Xue might grab a stool and smash her if something displeased her, in the blink of an eye, she was worried about leaving a bad impression in Qi Xue’s mind.

But she couldn’t help it. She was Qi Xue, the one who would rush over and tightly shield her when she was bullied.

She couldn’t treat her as a stranger anymore. Those rumors were irrelevant. As for seeing her hit someone firsthand, the other person must have done something wrong. Qi Xue wasn’t a bad person; she wouldn’t hit people without reason.

“You’re still the same as when you were little.”

Someone raised a hand and caught that snowflake.

Yu Li looked at Qi Xue again, a faint anticipation in her eyes. Her body unconsciously leaned toward her.

“I know everything. You were always timid when you were little; you wouldn’t fight back when you were hit.”

Qi Xue spoke very flatly, merely narrating, but if you listened closely, you could hear the tremor in her voice.

She had thought about why Yu Li forgot her. At first, she thought she had found a better friend, but later she realized that wasn’t the case. She was still alone, without a single friend to share her happiness with.

Only later did she feel that Yu Li had closed herself off. After she left, no one protected her, so she became the most pitiful child again, not daring to cry even with tears brimming in her eyes.

She was so afraid of being bullied and wouldn’t fight back. Even telling a parent would only result in a dismissal like, “They’re just kids; it’s no big deal,” and the matter would be dropped.

So she knew it all. The light she brought her had become the force that pushed her down. Yu Li clung tightly to the edge of the cliff, trying to survive in a crack, but eventually fell in.

“Mm.” Yu Li fell silent. Even the light in her eyes gradually dimmed. That snowflake had melted even in that person’s palm.

She began to think about how to make her exit.

But Qi Xue didn’t let her.

In the blink of an eye, she crashed into a very firm embrace, just like when they had collided in the stairwell.

The embrace was warm, a refreshing warmth, completely unlike the heat of summer.

The person held her tightly, her arms strongly clasped around Yu Li’s waist, as if trying to knead her into her body. But her movements were gentle, as if the person in her arms was a moon she had lost and found again.

“Qi Xue…?” Yu Li was stunned, unsure where to put her hands.

“I’m sorry.”

Her voice was completely free of her usual accent now, but in a trance, Yu Li felt as if she had returned to the past the accent-speaking boss walking ahead, and her running to keep up behind.

How could her short legs outrun a car? She stumbled and fell, and when she got up, the car was already gone.

The street was empty. She squatted by the roadside for a long time. Occasionally a car passed by, but she couldn’t find that car anymore.

She had lost her boss.

Yu Li wanted to laugh. The reunion of old friends—what a great joy! If she had the means, she would even set up a banquet and invite all her relatives and friends to witness their happy event.

But before her lips could curve up, the tears started to fall, unending, one after another, crashing down.

Afraid of wetting Qi Xue’s shoulder, she caught them with her hands, the burning tears running down her cheeks into her palms.

It was actually pointless; in the end, her clothes were still wet.

“Don’t cry. We’re about to eat. Can we cry after dinner, okay?”

Qi Xue cooed, just like when they were little.

The girl in her arms constantly trembled her shoulders, her tears like a string of pearls, looking incredibly wronged.

But she just couldn’t stop. Yu Li hugged Qi Xue’s shoulder. How could she possibly hold back her tears?

All her emotions had been suppressed and stacked to that one point, ready to burst.

When she cried, her voice was quiet, afraid that A-Po Qi would hear. She sobbed into her hand, only letting out faint whimpers.

Qi Xue gently patted her back, comforting her. She felt that the first step had been right. At least they had recognized each other. There wouldn’t be too many problems after this.

She wouldn’t have thought that that phone call was just the beginning. The girl in her arms was a monster who had been targeted, even if she was her precious treasure.

Finally, she managed to stop crying before A-Po Qi came out. She used a large pile of tissues to wipe her tears, threw them all into the trash can, and pushed it under the coffee table so A-Po wouldn’t find it.

Qi Xue brought out several dishes. They were home-cooked meals that A-Po was very good at making. Yu Li went to wash her hands, and when she tried to go into the kitchen to help with the bowls, A-Po chased her to the dining table, saying guests shouldn’t help.

A-Po Qi’s cooking was excellent; she made the simple home-cooked dishes very flavorful. Qi Xue commented that A-Po rarely cooked, usually leaving it to her, only to be criticized by A-Po for being too salty or too bland.

A-Po, standing nearby, praised Qi Xue, saying it had probably been more than ten years since the two of them last ate together. “She loved you when you were little, always clinging to you. If Yu Rong hadn’t taken her away, she would have even slept with you.”

This is so nice, Yu Li took a bite of rice. She loved this atmosphere, like being soaked in a milk bath, so relaxing.

She ate very gracefully, taking small bites of food, occasionally picking up a piece of vegetable, and sometimes responding with a smile.

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