“It’s true! I just went to a very strange place.”
As Xie Tao walked into the residential area, she poked at her phone screen to send a message:
“Do you remember the fight I got into before? That day, she almost strangled me to death…”
“But a mysterious-looking uncle told me that she was being controlled by someone. He also said something about someone’s fate being tied to mine, that if I die, that person dies as well.”
Xie Tao had much more to say, but she felt that such supernatural events would not be easily believed by anyone.
Had she not witnessed it with her own eyes, she would not have believed that one second she was walking on a dimly lit street, and the next, everything in front of her turned into dark shadows, except for a quaint and mysterious little tavern.
Inside, there were two strange people.
“Forget it, even talking about it feels incredible.”
Xie Tao sent that message.
Then she took out her keys from her coat pocket and opened the door.
At that moment, Wei Yun, who had just put down his brush, lifted his hand to open the four letters on his desk. His gaze fell on the four golden-lettered papers.
His originally cold eyes suddenly showed a hint of unusual color.
He vividly remembered that day, when, without any warning, it felt as if someone had choked him, taking away his breath, and even causing unexplainable pain in his body.
“Someone has tied another person’s fate to mine, that if I die, that person dies as well.”
Wei Yun stretched out his hand, pinching the letter with two fingers, and stared intently at the line of ink on it.
The concept of fate, is it believable?
Perhaps because since childhood he could see the mysterious aura invisible to others, Wei Yun, though not devout in his faith to gods or Buddhas, was also aware that this world is full of wonders beyond imagination.
And considering the time frame of the dispute she mentioned during their casual conversations, it seemed to coincide exactly with when he felt unexplainably unwell.
Wei Yun’s fingers tapped on the desk, his long eyelashes drooping, concealing his dim eyes.
She had injured her knee, and in recent days, she mentioned her knee pain to him multiple times.
And lately, his knee was also slightly aching…
Upon this thought, Wei Yun’s cold, jade-like face suddenly turned somber, his eyes narrowing slightly.
At that moment, the light in front of him flickered, casting an unstable glow on his profile.
All around was silence, without a sound.
If what she said is true, then the person bound by fate to her as she describes, might just be him.
Wei Yun’s lips slightly curled in a silent, cold laugh.
But who could possess such extraordinary abilities beyond normal humans, and why go through such elaborate means to doom him?
Could it be that this person, despite possessing special powers, cannot take his life directly, thus resorting to the so-called fate-binding method, linking his fate to someone else’s?
But why her?
Wei Yun closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair, his brows lightly furrowed as if pondering deeply.
From the purple-gold incense burner at the side of the desk, curls of smoke wafted out, bringing a faint scent of incense.
When he opened his eyes again, he fixed his gaze on the copper pendant placed on his desk.
Regardless, it seemed all matters were somehow related to this object.
As if to confirm his suspicion, Wei Yun drew a dagger from the box under his desk, grasped the sharp blade firmly, and slashed without hesitation.
Bright red blood flowed out, droplets of blood blossoming on the desk, yet his brow never furrowed throughout.
He then threw the dagger aside and wrote on a blank piece of paper:
“Do you feel unwell anywhere?”
When Xie Tao received this message, she was biting on her pen, writing an essay. Hearing her phone vibrate, she picked it up and saw his message.
Unwell?
Xie Tao touched her knee.
Then she replied:
“My knee still hurts.”
At that moment, Wei Yun, upon reading her reply, slightly knitted his brows.
His gaze rested on the bloodstain in the palm of his left hand, his expression deepening.
“You say, someone has bound someone else’s fate to yours?”
Wei Yun picked up his pen, wanting to verify again.
The reply from the other side came quickly:
“Yeah, but they said they’ve completely separated that person’s fate from mine. I don’t quite understand it myself, do you think they are superstitious? Like, shamans, but it seems like they really do have supernatural powers… It’s so magical.”
“…”
Wei Yun glanced at the wound on his palm, the light flickering in his amber pupils, and he suddenly let out a scoff.
—
As the night passed, the next day, Xie Tao went to the airport to see Zhou Xinyue off.
She seemed to be finally in a better state, and for the first time in a while, she could smile at Xie Tao.
“Xinyue, I’ll wait for your return.”
When Xie Tao hugged her, she couldn’t hold back the tears.
“I’ll be back soon, Tao Tao,” Zhou Xinyue replied, hugging her back, her eyes already misting over.
No one could truly understand the shock Zhou Xinyue felt upon learning that Xie Tao had returned to Nan City and back to school for her sake.
After such an incident, she didn’t tell her parents, she didn’t tell anyone.
She thought she might just live her life in a daze from then on.
Whether it was pain or torment, she had thought more than once that leaving this world sooner might actually be a relief.
And she had attempted to do so.
But she ultimately did not succeed in escaping this world.
Unexpectedly, there was someone in this world who would go to such lengths to uncover the truth for her, unhesitatingly.
Even though she refused to say anything, Xie Tao still used her own strength to pull her out of the mire of despair.
Over many days, Zhou Xinyue had re-evaluated this timid, gentle girl she remembered from her childhood more than once. She could never have imagined that the girl she had protected as a child would one day stand so firmly in front of her.
Zhou Xinyue had always thought she was braver and more courageous than Xie Tao.
But at this moment, she felt as if she was truly seeing her friend for the first time.
She was braver than she had ever imagined.
On the afternoon she learned that Zhao Yixuan had almost strangled Xie Tao, Zhou Xinyue saw the girl limping into the hospital room and broke down crying.
She asked, “Tao Tao, why must you always meddle in my affairs? Is it worth it?”
But she knew very well in her heart.
Wasn’t this always Xie Tao’s way?
If someone was good to her, she would give her all in return.
Because in this world, those who are truly sincere are so precious.
And Xie Tao always, always cherishes this rarity.
Life might inflict many hardships and pains, just as Xie Tao, unfortunate from birth, left home as a teenager, and has since been living alone.
But she still approaches life with a warm and kind heart.
Zhou Xinyue suddenly felt, for a moment, that she had never been the bravest person after all.
Only a coward would constantly want to escape this world, to avoid the sources of her embarrassment and pain.
She realized she was so timid.
“Remember to take good care of yourself, listen to the doctor, eat well…”
Xie Tao’s voice, droning on by her side, was as soft as clouds drifting on the horizon.
Zhou Xinyue couldn’t help but shed tears. When she let go of Xie Tao, she grasped her hand tightly, “Tao Tao, I will…”
Just the thought that in this world, there was someone who so eagerly wished for her to live on, lit up a spark of light in Zhou Xinyue’s heart.
“This is the crispy heart candy I made for you.” Xie Tao handed her several large boxes of chocolate-flavored crispy heart candies she had made in advance.
Zhou Xinyue took them, looking steadily at her, “Tao Tao, thank you really.”
Thank you for doing so much, just for me to survive.
“I’m very happy to be your friend.”
Watching Zhou Xinyue and her parents enter the ticket gate, Xie Tao stood there, her eyes slightly warm.
Then, she turned and left the airport, returning to her rented apartment complex.
When she saw Zheng Hejia downstairs, she stopped, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
“Xie Tao.”
When Zheng Hejia saw her, he strode over to her.
He seemed to have a lot to say, but when he actually faced her, the boy who once behaved recklessly suddenly became much more cautious.
“I heard about your situation from my dad and Aunt Su,” he said.
Xie Tao didn’t speak.
“How are your injuries?” His lips moved, his throat unexpectedly dry.
“Much better.”
Xie Tao finally spoke, her response somewhat distant and polite.
As she tried to pass him to go upstairs, she suddenly heard the boy behind her say, “Xie Tao, I’m really… sorry.”
After all, there wasn’t much of a grudge between him and Xie Tao.
It was nothing more than the childish rebellion of a rebellious teenager against the mother and daughter who suddenly appeared in his family.
At first, he thought Xie Tao was competing with him in everything, wanting to learn everything from him, wanting to compete with him for everything.
From the beginning, he looked down on this suddenly moved-in, nominally his sister.
He would occasionally mock her, but this girl, who always seemed too silent in his home, was equally reticent in face of him.
It wasn’t until New Year’s Eve that he found the clay sculpture his mother had personally made for him smashed.
He had purposely placed his mother’s belongings in the most conspicuous place in the living room, to remind his father not to forget his mother.
But that day, when he came down from upstairs, he saw the clay sculpture shattered on the ground.
And at that time, Xie Tao was squatting there, cleaning up.
In that moment, anger surged within him, and as he walked over and pushed her away, she was caught off-guard. Her footing was unsteady, and her forehead struck the corner of the cabinet.
“Get out of my house!”
Those were the words he said to the girl that day.
At that time, Xie Tao’s forehead was broken, and the crimson blood flowed down her cheeks, while her gaze towards him was as indifferent and unfamiliar as it was today.
That night, her mother scolded her for her grades.
It was the first time Zheng Hejia saw Xie Tao retort to Su Linghua.
As mother and daughter argued, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, and in anger, Su Linghua slapped Xie Tao across the face.
Sometimes, Zheng Hejia would recall how Xie Tao looked at her mother, with tears in her eyes and red-rimmed eyes, a look of utter despair.
On that winter night, he saw her wearing thin clothes, carrying a backpack, never to return.
Later, it was Zheng Wenhong who talked to him, and he learned that the clay figurine his mother had made was accidentally knocked over by Zheng Wenhong when he came home drunk.
And Xie Tao was just asked by her mom, Su Linghua, to clean up the mess on the floor.
In fact, Xie Tao had never intended to compete with him or take anything from him.
It was all just a ridiculous act by Su Linghua, who had a new family.
By that time, Su Linghua, though she had cured her psychological illness, placed herself in a lower position due to the unequal relationship with her ex-husband Xie Zhengyuan over the years.
She wanted to establish herself in this new family, so she strictly demanded her daughter to keep up with Zheng Hejia’s academic performance, and subconsciously started to curry favor and lean towards Zheng Hejia.
She hoped that by showing goodwill, she could make Zheng Hejia accept her.
But in leaning towards Zheng Hejia, she neglected her own daughter, Xie Tao.
Perhaps in the years of her mental illness, she had already forgotten how to be a good mother.
Even though Zheng Wenhong had reminded her, Su Linghua was still stuck in her old ways.
Perhaps because she had lost a family before, which had dealt her a severe blow, she became overly precious this time.
Zheng Wenhong and Su Linghua always knew where Xie Tao was and had been quietly sending money to the cake shop in the town where Xie Tao was.
But they never dared to go there and bring her back.
Because this time, Xie Tao seemed particularly determined.
Even though Su Linghua had realized her mistake, it was already too late.
She had cruelly inflicted a wound on her daughter’s most vulnerable heart, a wound that might never heal in this lifetime.
And Zheng Hejia also felt guilty towards Xie Tao.
He admitted that he had been prejudiced against Xie Tao from the beginning.
Because she and Su Linghua were strangers who had suddenly intruded into his home.
Over the past year, the once reckless youth finally gained a bit of his father’s calm demeanor.
Zheng Hejia has always felt guilty about his immature behavior in the past.
“Actually, I used to hate you.”
Xie Tao suddenly spoke up without turning around.
“I used to think my mom really liked you. She always talked about you in front of me, told me to learn from you, wanted my grades to be as good as yours…”
“I really hated you for a while.”
“But I can also understand your resistance to two strangers suddenly entering your home.”
“Because I felt the same way.”
She also disliked living in such a completely unfamiliar place and being forced by her mother to call Zheng Wenhong “Dad.”
She resisted as well.
But their situations were ultimately different.
One was the original master of the house.
While she could only bow her head under someone else’s roof.
Many things he could say, Xie Tao couldn’t say at the time.
“But that’s all in the past, I don’t want to bring it up anymore, and you don’t have to remember it.”
“It’s good the way it is now.”
