Chapter 37

The sounds of footsteps, voices, and the rhythmic beeping of instruments…

Everything felt distant to Ran Jin, as if she were trapped under a black veil, unable to open her eyes or move. Her consciousness was like water—perceptible, yet the moment she tried to grasp it, it slipped through her fingers. Amidst the faint signals from the outside world, she carefully filtered for anything belonging to Chi Yu.

Initially, not finding her caused a surge of anxiety. It wasn’t until the sound of Chi Yu speaking on the phone drifted closer that Ran Jin felt a wave of relief. Then, her consciousness swayed, drifting back into the ocean of memory.

She returned to six years ago, to her favorite chapter of the past.

When she first arrived at the Chi residence, she lived alone in the attic. Every day, Dr. Lin and two nurses would come to check her wounds, prescribe medicine, and provide nutritional meals to speed her recovery. The scene was so familiar it made Ran Jin instinctively wary. She was guarded against everyone in this grand house, yet she constantly thought of the beautiful young girl she met on her first day—the one who didn’t find her dirty and wasn’t afraid of her.

While Ran Jin lay prone on her bed, unable to move, she thought of Chi Yu often. That girl is so beautiful, so translucent—clean from the tips of her hair to her fingernails—yet she was willing to come near me…

Ran Jin didn’t know why she had been brought to this attic; the woman who brought her hadn’t appeared again since that first night. Truthfully, she didn’t care much for her own fate and was no longer afraid of pain. If she were to die here, it would be fine. But deep down, she held a blurry hope—that it would be nice to see that girl one last time before dying.

As it turned out, she didn’t die, and she really did see that girl again.

While helping her with physical therapy, Dr. Lin led her down from the attic to walk in the yard. Back then, Ran Jin still needed assistive equipment to walk; every two steps caused her to break into a cold sweat from the pain. Though Dr. Lin was cold-faced, she was patient enough, supervising from the sidelines.

“I say, Dr. Lin, you’re being too fierce,” Chi Yu suddenly appeared. “Sister Ran is so badly injured; can’t you speak more kindly?”

Dr. Lin smiled at Chi Yu—naturally, she was all smiles for the sister of her employer. “It’s not like I was being mean to her.”

Suddenly seeing the person she had been longing to meet, Ran Jin’s legs buckled, and she nearly fell. Fortunately, Chi Yu was quick enough to catch her.

“Look at that!” Chi Yu turned back to Dr. Lin. “Sister Ran is practically fainting. Can we stop the practice for today?”

Dr. Lin said with a smile, “Whatever the Second Miss says goes.”

Chi Yu slid her arm under Ran Jin’s, wrapping it around her body to support her steadily. “Sister Ran, can you stand?”

At the time, Ran Jin’s wounds hadn’t healed, making it unsuitable for her to bathe. Her clothes hadn’t been changed and were covered in grime. Chi Yu, however, was wearing a white crepe pleated dress; she had just bathed, and her body carried the scent of bath salts and the refreshing fragrance bailiantales.comof shampoo from her neck and hair. It was a scent Ran Jin had never smelled before—something sweet and complex that perfectly matched Chi Yu’s aura.

Despite how clean she was, Chi Yu didn’t show the slightest hint of disdain for Ran Jin; she was willing to be close and help her. Ran Jin was constantly afraid of dirtying Chi Yu—not just because she was grimy, but because she was sweating from the therapy. She instinctively wanted to pull away. But she couldn’t resist Chi Yu, nor did she have the strength to push her away.

“I see you can’t walk on your own. Let me take you back,” Chi Yu said. “You can lean on me and go upstairs slowly. If it’s too hard, I’ll call Uncle Chen to help.”

Ran Jin’s waist and legs were in significant pain, but she didn’t want anyone else to help, and she certainly didn’t want to leave Chi Yu. She said, “I can do it, really.”

Chi Yu’s beautiful eyes looked at her and she laughed, using the back of her hand to wipe the sweat from Ran Jin’s forehead. “You’re trying too hard. Recovery isn’t a matter of a day or two. Haste makes waste.”

“Haste makes waste…” Ran Jin repeated the phrase.

“Exactly. Follow the doctor’s orders. Steady progress leads to twice the results with half the effort.”

“Twice the results with half the effort…”

Ran Jin hadn’t had much schooling. The people around her before were similar, and none of them spoke like bailiantales.comthis. She instinctively repeated after Chi Yu. Seeing her constantly mimicking her words, Chi Yu burst out laughing. “What’s this? Is Sister Ran a parrot?”

Ran Jin blushed slightly, but felt a flicker of happiness.

After finally helping her back to the attic, the freshly bathed Chi Yu was sweating again. Her lower back ached so much she had to lean back and support it with her hands. Once Ran Jin was lying prone on the bed again, she asked worriedly, “Is it hard for you? Don’t bother with me next time.”

Chi Yu shook her head. “This is nothing; I’ll be fine after moving around a bit. But you—why don’t you take a bath? Your hair is all matted; isn’t it uncomfortable?”

Ran Jin said, “Dr. Lin said my wounds haven’t healed yet. Water might cause an infection.”

“Oh… I see. But isn’t it uncomfortable not bathing?”

Ran Jin shook her head.

Chi Yu sat by her bed, one hand resting on the mattress, seeing through the lie instantly. “How could it not be uncomfortable? You’re lying without blinking. You can’t bathe… but a sponge bath should be fine, right? We’ll just avoid the wounds and wipe the uninjured parts.”

“Mhm, maybe…”

“It’ll definitely work. I’ll go ask Dr. Lin. If it’s okay, I’ll help you.”

Chi Yu left like a whirlwind and returned in less than ten minutes with a basin of water and a towel. “Dr. Lin said no problem! I’ll help you. You’ll feel much better once you’re clean.”

Ran Jin would never forget the feeling of that soft, warm towel stroking her body. Chi Yu carefully avoided every wound, letting her experience the long-lost warmth of being cared for.

Later, when Chi Yu found out she hadn’t had much schooling, she was surprised and felt it was a pity. She borrowed primary and middle school textbooks from a classmate’s sister and used her spare time to teach Ran Jin. Ran Jin was very bright, and Chi Yu was patient. During that time, Chi Yu was her little teacher, teaching her Chinese characters, reading English together, math, physics, history… whenever Chi Yu had a moment, she would run up to the attic to teach her.

When Ran Jin still couldn’t sit up, Chi Yu had Auntie Su bring a rug over. She would lie on the floor by Ran Jin’s bed with a stack of books, reading stories from Chinese textbooks and historical tales. Sometimes Ran Jin would fall asleep while listening; when she woke up, she would find Chi Yu asleep on the rug, clutching her books. Fearing Chi Yu would catch a cold, Ran Jin would struggle to prop herself up and spread her own blanket over her.

Once Ran Jin could sit up, Chi Yu properly moved a desk in and turned the attic into a mini-classroom, spending nearly all her free time on Ran Jin. This continued until Chi Yu’s own grades dipped—her top-tier ranking was nearly overtaken. Chi Li felt she was neglecting her own studies and, since Ran Jin could now move and attend school herself, forbade Chi Yu from teaching her further. She sent Ran Jin to a school under the Group’s umbrella and had her spend her spare time learning the family business.

With that, the “teacher-student” relationship between Chi Yu and Ran Jin came to an end.

Ran Jin understood that even when Chi Yu treated her with innocent kindness, she had no idea of her identity; she simply saw her as her sister’s guest. One day, while still in therapy, Ran Jin accidentally overheard a conversation between the sisters.

Chi Yu was curious about this special guest who had suddenly appeared in their home and didn’t seem to be leaving. She asked her sister who she was and why she was there. Chi Li didn’t give her a straight answer, appearing somewhat troubled. “I didn’t want you to know about her so soon, but you happened to come home early from class that day. Now that you know, visit her when you have time. She’ll be in our home for a long time to come. Get along with her, and no nonsense.”

Chi Yu huffed. “Who’s making nonsense? I think she gets nervous seeing you but is quite relaxed with me. You must just look too fierce.”

Chi Li tapped Chi Yu between the brows and took her coat from Uncle Chen to head out. Chi Yu called after her, “I’ll go see her often then. She doesn’t seem able to get out of bed on her own; I’ll go help her.”

Chi Li, already in the yard, looked back and smiled. “Fine, I know Xiao Yu has a good heart. But you can’t go see her alone; someone else must be with you.”

Ran Jin wasn’t entirely sure why Chi Li had found her. But what she was certain of was that whatever Chi Li intended to do, Chi Yu knew nothing of it. She didn’t know who she was or why she was injured, yet she was willing to be kind to her. That was just the kind of person Chi Yu was.

It was Chi Yu who pieced her broken life back together.

Those days of meticulous care from Chi Yu allowed a fragile flower to bloom amidst the ruins of Ran Jin’s inner world. Ran Jin’s feelings for her transcended ordinary admiration and became reverence. Chi Yu was her deity.

If there was anything in this life she couldn’t let go of, it was surely those two years before Chi Yu went abroad. ​stolen content​The days that followed were fine, of course, but the time she got to see Chi Yu each year was painfully small. Unless Chi Li missed her sister too much—and before she discovered that matter—and was willing to bring Ran Jin along to see Chi Yu, they only met during the Lunar New Year.

The year-long mountain of longing could not be expressed in the slightest when she saw the increasingly mature and beautiful Chi Yu; instead, it only made her more clumsy. Ran Jin believed she had self-awareness. When Chi Yu left to study overseas, Ran Jin had prepared herself for the day she would return with a lover. When that time came, she would offer her sincere blessings. After all, besides daily pampering, she had nothing else to give Chi Yu.

That photo of Chi Yu at eighteen was something she had stubbornly kept. This was also one of the sources of the troubles that haunted her later. But she didn’t regret it.

Chi Yu was Ran Jin’s anchor in the sea of mortality. Without her, Ran Jin might not have lived this long; she might have left the Chi house years ago to find a quiet place to die. In this world of ten thousand pains, she had still encountered Chi Yu—encountered a reason to live.

The moment Ran Jin knew Chi Yu was in danger, she raced toward her like a madwoman. She couldn’t let anyone hurt Chi Yu. As long as she lived another day, Chi Yu was her treasure, her lifeblood—a forbidden land she would never allow to be violated. What was a life sacrificed for her?

When Ran Jin woke up, her whole body was in pain. But it was nothing; it was a pain she had experienced before, a pain she was used to.

Chi Yu was sitting in the lounge chair beside her, holding a book, having fallen asleep at some point. Ran Jin’s fingertips twitched. She couldn’t help but worry: How could she sleep like that? Not even a blanket.

As her fingers moved, the nursing station saw the light and called the doctor to check on her. The commotion of the nurse’s arrival woke Chi Yu. She turned her head and met Ran Jin’s gaze.

“You’re awake!” Chi Yu stood up, and the book she was holding fell to the floor.

Ran Jin’s gaze slowly lowered, seeing the cover of the book in Chi Yu’s hand.

Individual Psychology (The Science of Living)—it was the book Ran Jin had been reading recently. At this moment, a greedy fantasy arose in Ran Jin’s heart.

Why is Chi Yu reading a book I’ve read?

As the inner demon stirred, she immediately suppressed that spark of greed.