Chapter 35: Orphanage

“Qingqing, you’re awake?”

Liu Qiu’s soft, clingy way of addressing her made Bai Qingqing’s mind go blank.

Looking at the shy smile on Liu Qiu’s face, Bai Qingqing’s voice trembled as she asked, “Qiuqiu, y-you’ve finally forgiven me?”

Liu Qiu frowned slightly, confusion in her eyes.
“Qingqing, what are you talking about?”

“Today is the day we’re going to remarry. Is it okay for you to dress like this?”

The Liu Qiu before her pursed her lips, looking bashful.
A faint blush spread across her pale cheeks.
“I think I only have this shirt.”

Light and tender, almost painfully innocent.

Remarry…

Bai Qingqing smiled.
So Liu Qiu was willing to remarry her.

The stabbing pain in her heart intensified.
Her eyes gradually reddened.
“Qiuqiu, the white shirt is beautiful. I’ve never seen you wear one before.”

“It’s really beautiful. Can you wear it more often for me in the future?”

By the end, her voice was shaking uncontrollably.

A trace of worry appeared between Liu Qiu’s brows as she reached out and cupped Bai Qingqing’s face.
“Qingqing, why are you crying?”

Tears soaked her long lashes, blurring her vision.
Bai Qingqing held the hand that was cradling her cheek.
“Qiuqiu, I want to kiss you.”

Liu Qiu’s eyelashes fluttered.
She nodded slowly.
“Okay.”

Okay…

Bai Qingqing closed her eyes and guided Liu Qiu’s fingers to her lips.
Those slender, pale fingers were damp with tears.
The salty taste seeped through her parted lips into her mouth.

But the Liu Qiu of reality would never say “okay” to her again.

It was so fake.
So fake that even the happiness mixed with it felt like shards of glass surging through her heart, carving bloody wounds.

“Qiuqiu, when I wake up, don’t leave me again, okay?”

She pierced through the thin membrane between illusion and reality herself.
Pain flowed freely through her body.
Yet the corners of Bai Qingqing’s lips lifted into a smile as gentle as water.

She had always smiled like this at Liu Qiu.
But Liu Qiu had never been able to tell whether that tenderness was real.

This time, however, her eyes overflowed with genuine love, not a false smile.
“Give me a chance to make it up to you.”

Liu Qiu paused, her eyes curving into crescents.
Her pale pink lips parted slightly, her tone light and distant.
“No. I don’t love you.”

“Crack—”

The vivid scene fractured.
Liu Qiu shattered like a mirror.

Darkness swallowed everything.

Bai Qingqing collapsed to the ground in breakdown.
Despair turned into tears, streaming endlessly.

Even in her dreams, she could not obtain what she wanted.

Why didn’t she love her?

Qiuqiu, why can’t you love me?

The emotions in her heart tangled and twisted, eventually transforming into resentment.
She blamed Liu Qiu for not loving her.

A figure slowly appeared before her.
Through tear-blurred eyes, Bai Qingqing saw clearly.

It was herself.

‘Bai Qingqing’ curled her crimson lips into a dazzling smile.
She looked just like she had at the very beginning.

“Why don’t you ask why she should love you?”

“What part of you is worth loving?”

“Your selfish, gloomy personality? Or molesting her while she slept?”

“How shameless can you be, Bai Qingqing?”

Bai Qingqing trembled violently.
Her hands clawed at her own arms in a frenzy.
Her face was pale and helpless to the extreme.

‘Bai Qingqing’ crossed her arms.
“Oh, did you forget? You always ignored her in front of others.”

“Have you ever loved her at all?”

“You’re truly stupid—only waking up when everything is beyond saving.”

“And you still say that. How could I possibly love you—”

A white mist covered ‘Bai Qingqing’s’ face.
When it dispersed, it revealed Liu Qiu’s face.

Liu Qiu looked at her without a trace of emotion.
There was only incomprehension in her eyes.

“Miss Bai, all the mistakes were yours. How could you blame me for not loving you?”

Bai Qingqing’s expression was panicked.
“I—I…”

What could she possibly say?
Every outcome was of her own making.

“This lady, the little snake you brought in has severe external injuries, but there’s no internal damage.”

“We recommend keeping it in the hospital for observation for a few more days.”

Voices drifted faintly into her ears.

Bai Qingqing jolted awake from her dream.
She opened her eyes in exhaustion—

—and saw Liu Qiu.

She froze.
Then joy surged through her heart.

Liu Qiu hadn’t abandoned her!

She remembered the familiar aura she’d sensed before losing consciousness.
It really had been Liu Qiu.

Bai Qingqing tried to move closer to her, but a transparent barrier blocked her.

Anxiously, she began to bump against the enclosure.
The faint movement caught Liu Qiu’s attention.

Liu Qiu walked over and extended her hand beside the little snake.
The snake gently nudged her fingertip with its head.

Liu Qiu lowered her gaze to the small snake wrapped in bandages and whispered, “I’ll come pick you up in a few days.”

A white snake that could climb that high and didn’t bite her—she couldn’t think of anyone else it could be except Bai Qingqing.

The one that had stayed coiled on her at Ran Ran’s house last time was probably Bai Qingqing too.

It just hadn’t been confirmed.

It was four in the morning.
Liu Xia was fast asleep.
Liu Qiu had brought the injured little white snake alone to a 24-hour pet hospital.

The snake struggled to lift its head.
Qiuqiu seemed to be saying something…

But before it could crawl forward, Liu Qiu had already withdrawn her hand.

Bai Qingqing flicked out her scarlet tongue.

She knew Liu Qiu was leaving again.
That slender figure turned and gradually disappeared from view.

In that moment, overwhelming despair engulfed her once more.

Qiuqiu left again.

She had lost Liu Qiu once more.

Don’t go…

Don’t—

Bai Qingqing tried desperately to prop herself up, but her fragile snake body could not support her.
From her dry eyes, burning tears fell.

She was always watching Liu Qiu’s back—

that slim, delicate, yet unbearably cold back.

Someone approached and stared at her curiously.
“Huh? Are you crying? That’s amazing. I didn’t know snakes could shed tears.”

Snakes have no tear glands.
They cannot produce tears.

Whatever the human was saying, Bai Qingqing could no longer hear clearly.
Her already exhausted mind finally gave way under extreme mental anguish.
She lost consciousness.

[Liu Tree Orphanage]

On the wall beside the rusted iron gate, the black characters remained clear and unfaded.

The lock on the gate had somehow been broken, leaving it slightly ajar.

The sky was overcast today.
Dark clouds stretched endlessly across it.
Cold wind swept through in gusts, as if rain were imminent.

Liu Xia took a deep breath and looked at Liu Qiu.
“Let’s go.”

She hadn’t come here in a very, very long time.

The orphanage was located in a remote area.
With no one to maintain it, weeds had long since overrun the grounds.

Green vines crawled across the mottled walls.
Broken windows creaked and groaned when stirred by the wind.

Liu Qiu felt both familiar and unfamiliar with this place.
Familiar because the original host’s memories contained it.
Unfamiliar because she herself had never experienced those events.

She had promised to accompany Liu Xia to take a look.
But staring at the lockless gate, she stopped walking.

“Liu Xia, we should leave.”

It was strange enough that the outer lock was broken.
There wasn’t even a lock inside.

More importantly, standing here, she could smell a faint stench of decay.

Liu Xia withdrew her hand from the gate.
Since Liu Qiu wanted to leave, she wouldn’t object.

But just as they turned around, the gate behind them swung open violently.
The rotten smell burst outward.

Liu Qiu’s breath hitched.
She instinctively turned her head.

A gaunt figure with disheveled hair stood there.

“Are you Liu Qiu and Liu Xia?”

The hoarse, unpleasant voice slowly called out their names.

Liu Xia turned around calmly, examining the person who looked as though they might faint at any moment.

Her eyes widened slightly.
“Liu Zhile?”

Liu Zhile stiffly curled her lips.
“It’s me.”

“I came back to take a look. Didn’t expect to run into you.”

“Come in.”

Liu Xia did not move immediately.
Liu Zhile had been adopted at sixteen.
At that age, one’s features were already mostly formed, so Liu Xia recognized her at a glance.

But it had been about ten years.
Facing someone like this, she couldn’t let down her guard.

Stepping in front of Liu Qiu, Liu Xia shook her head.
“No need. We’ll just take a look from here.”

Disappointment flashed across Liu Zhile’s face.
“My child is here too. I wanted you to meet them.”

Hope appeared in her expression.
“You really don’t want to see?”

Liu Xia frowned.
Through Liu Zhile’s cloudy eyes, she saw a trace of madness.

Without hesitation, Liu Xia grabbed Liu Qiu’s hand and slowly backed away.
“Sorry. Liu Qiu and I are leaving.”

Liu Zhile smiled.
“Why won’t you look at my child?”

The smile vanished abruptly.
Her face darkened.
“Why won’t you look at my child?!”

She pulled out a mid-length dagger and pointed it at Liu Xia, her gaze vicious.
“Why won’t you look at my child?!”

Liu Xia’s body tensed.
She shielded Liu Qiu firmly behind her and forced her voice to remain steady.
“Liu Zhile, Liu Qiu and I have things to do.”

Liu Zhile laughed hysterically.
“Excuses! All excuses!”

As soon as the words fell, she lunged at Liu Xia with the dagger.

Liu Xia wasn’t good at fighting.
Judging from the height and speed of the thrust, it would strike her waist.
At the moment the blade entered, she could grab Liu Zhile’s wrist and restrain her.

It wouldn’t be fatal.
If she called in time, she would survive.

“Liu Qiu, run!”

But the next second, a force pulled her back.
Her vision shifted as her body fell into a warm embrace.

It was—Liu Qiu.

Liu Xia’s expression went blank.
All words stuck in her throat.
Liu Qiu’s scent filled her breath.
The surrounding sounds seemed to vanish.

Liu Qiu held Liu Xia in her arms, turning her back toward Liu Zhile.

It wasn’t some noble impulse of self-sacrifice.

Liu Qiu hadn’t thought that far.
She simply felt that if she died, she could reincarnate and restart her mission.
But Liu Xia couldn’t.

She didn’t want to see Liu Xia die.

With her eyes closed and lips pressed tight, Liu Qiu braced herself for pain.
But the expected agony never came.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked back.
Liu Zhile had somehow collapsed onto the ground.

The dagger had snapped in two.
Her face was stunned.

Liu Qiu quietly let out a breath of relief.
Good thing.
She must have bought a defective one—it broke before stabbing anyone.

“Liu Xia, don’t be afraid. The thing she bought wasn’t good quality.”

Her gentle voice snapped Liu Xia back to her senses.
She looked at Liu Zhile, then at the broken dagger.

Her expression tightened to the extreme.
After a brief pause, her heart began pounding violently.

An unfamiliar emotion spread through it.

Liu Xia inhaled deeply, suppressing the turmoil inside.
She pushed Liu Qiu back and focused entirely on her.
“Liu Qiu, are you hurt?”

She couldn’t bring herself to scold her for something so dangerous.
She was supposed to be the one protected.

This accident had come too suddenly.
She shouldn’t have brought Liu Qiu here.

Liu Qiu shook her head.

Liu Xia grabbed her wrist and turned to leave, pulling out her phone to call the police.

“Why won’t you look at my child?!”

Liu Zhile’s hysterical scream echoed behind them.

Liu Qiu stopped.
Liu Xia looked at her in confusion.

“Liu Xia, wait for me.”

She freed her hand and walked toward Liu Zhile.

“Liu Qiu, what are you doing?!” Liu Xia exclaimed anxiously.

Liu Qiu pressed her lips together.
She didn’t approach too closely.

She opened her small crossbody bag, took out the bread she had saved, crouched down, and placed it on the ground.
Then she pushed it toward Liu Zhile.
“This is for you.”

“You should eat something.”

The stench on Liu Zhile didn’t seem to come from her body itself—it was more like it had clung to her.

If she kept talking about her child, that child was most likely already dead.

Liu Qiu didn’t know how long Liu Zhile had been here.
But judging from her sunken yellowed cheeks and tangled, withered hair, it had probably been a long time.

Liu Zhile slowly lifted her head and tore at her hair in collapse.
“Why won’t you look at my child?!”

“No one will look!”

“The doctors won’t look, Grandma won’t look, not even you!”

There was nothing more Liu Qiu could say.
She felt that Liu Zhile was deeply, overwhelmingly sad.

Giving her food was the last shred of kindness she could offer someone who had nearly harmed them.

At least this way, Liu Zhile might survive long enough for the police to arrive.