People Never Stop, They Only Pause

"... dead."

The air fell silent for a moment, leaving only the whistling sound of the evening breeze.

Cartethyia froze on the spot, her lips slightly parted, but she couldn't utter a word for a moment.

She never expected to receive such an answer. She had assumed that Wuling's family situation must be very good, or at least not bad, but she never imagined that the person in front of her was in the same situation as herself.

Cartethyia instantly felt incredibly guilty.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know."

She quickly lowered her head, her fingertips nervously gripping the hem of her dress, the blue and white unicorn hair clip by her temple swaying gently.

"I shouldn't have asked that."

Her voice carried a hint of helplessness, as if she were afraid that any word she uttered would stir up his buried painful memories.

It wasn't that no one had asked her this question before, so Cartethyia naturally understood how uncomfortable it must be, but she herself had just...

Seeing her flustered and guilty appearance, Wuling chuckled softly, a smile in his eyes, but without a trace of melancholy.

"It's okay, no need to apologize, it's all in the past, I'm used to it."

Even so, his tone still carried a hint of melancholy.

In fact, it had only been less than two months since his parents passed away. He was depressed for quite a while, but he quickly cheered up. After all, it was better to pay more attention to the living than to keep focusing on the dead.

He still has a younger sister to take care of, so he's not exactly destitute.

"People should always look forward. They may pause for a moment because of certain things, but they can't stay still forever. Sooner or later, they have to move forward."

"Besides, I still have Aimisi to take care of. Instead of dwelling on the past, I should move towards the future."

"Oh, Aimisi is my sister. I'll introduce you two when I have time."

Cartethyia looked up at him. The dim light outlined his profile. Although he had also lost a loved one, there was not a trace of self-pity in him. His composure and resilience stirred something indescribable in her heart.

It turns out that people who also carry loneliness can live so openly and honestly.

As for meeting Wuling's sister, she was a little nervous, but the thought of Wuling being right beside her made her less nervous.

"It's really impressive that you can think like that."

Her voice was very soft, carried away by the howling night wind.

"It took me a long time to barely accept that my grandmother was gone, and even now, I still occasionally find myself lost in memories."

As she said this, she lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a small, light shadow beneath her eyelids.

There's nothing wrong with being caught up in memories; those were real times. The only thing is not to let memories trap your present self.

He paused, his gaze falling on the girl's shoulders, which were trembling involuntarily.

"Alright, let's leave this heavy topic here. Standing here in the wind for too long will make us both catch a cold. It's getting late, I'll take you back to your dorm."

Cartethyia's ears flushed slightly, and her fingertips unconsciously touched the hair clip at her temple. The cool touch reminded her that what she had just witnessed was not a hallucination.

"Yes, thank you."

The two walked side by side along the sidewalk, the streetlights passing overhead one after another, their shadows gradually overlapping from where they were initially separate.

Only one figure remained behind, gritting his teeth.

Kuai Niang: "How dare you! This shy look doesn't seem like that of siblings at all. It's obvious you've fallen for Houli Crab."

She picked up the walkie-talkie hanging from her waist and said, "Notify everyone, we're leaving early today. From now on, we won't be accepting any new customers. I have to go now. Call me if you need anything."

After saying that, she hurriedly went to the changing room to change her clothes, pushed open the shop door, and walked straight towards the Tipping Bucket Garden.

What? You're asking why I don't ride a bike? My feet can't touch the ground, how can I ride?

The second time Kuai Niang felt that her small body was a burden was when she first started learning to cook. She couldn't reach the stove with her hands, so she had to stand on a stool to cook, and she almost fell.

It took them more than ten minutes to finally reach the front door of someone's house.

Thump thump thump, thump thump thump.

"Is Chun home? It's me, Little Kuai. I have something important to tell you."

Inside the house, Chun, who was sitting on the sofa, heard the shouts outside the door. She glanced silently at Encore, who was still wiping away tears, and pointed to her room.

"Go back to your room and do your homework. I'm confiscating the black sheep and white sheep for now. If it happens again, I'll personally supervise you as you finish this whole box of test papers."

Encore nodded and went back crying.

Chun watched her retreating figure with a sense of helplessness. How could someone so young be watching such things? Not to mention herself, she was already that age.

And not only did I discover it, but others also saw it, and now they're blaming me for being seen. Unfortunately, I can't really explain myself. How could such a ridiculous thing happen? Was I set up?

Chun shook her head, then got up to open the door.

The Kuai Niang outside the door was wondering why no one had come to open the door for so long. Just as she was about to knock a few more times, the door suddenly opened, but her hand had already been knocking.

A muffled thud.

The little hand that was hanging in mid -Kuai Niang air slammed solidly onto Chun's lower abdomen. The force wasn't very strong, but it came unexpectedly.

Tsubaki:...

Kuai Niang:...

Chun subconsciously took a half step back, her brows furrowing slightly. She gasped, her eyes fixed on the much shorter Kuai Niang in front of her. The air fell into a deathly silence.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

Kuai Niang abruptly withdrew her hand, took a small step back, and hurriedly waved her two small hands in front of her, her cheeks flushing bright red.

I was just about to knock again when the door suddenly opened. I really didn't mean to hit your stomach.

After recovering from the lingering dullness, Chun raised her hand to rub the spot where she had been hit, let out a long breath, and her face was full of helplessness.

"Why are you in such a rush? What terrible thing has happened that makes you so anxious?"

She stepped aside to let the Kuai Niang in, saying, "Come in first. What kind of appearance is this, standing at the door?"

Kuai Niang darted inside, closing the door behind her. Her round eyes scanned the surroundings, but she didn't see Encore.

"Where's Encore? Isn't she here?"

"Encore... went to do her homework. What do you want? I remember you should still be at work at this time. Why are you here?"

When Encore was mentioned, Chun's tone became a little unnatural, but Kuai Niang didn't notice.

Once she confirmed that Chun was the only one in the living room and that Encore had obediently gone into her room, Kuai Niang lowered her voice and approached Chun with a serious expression.

"Tsubaki, something terrible has happened! I just saw Wuling at a restaurant on the street."

Chun raised an eyebrow, casually pulled over the sofa in the living room and sat down, gesturing for Kuai Niang to sit as well.

"Wuling? What happened to him?"

"He was with a blonde girl."

The Kuai Niang lowered her voice and gestured with her hands, her expression excited.

"I didn't get a good look at her, but she had light blonde hair. Wuling even put a hair clip on her herself. The two of them were standing together under the streetlights, and the atmosphere was really strange. That girl blushed quickly. Do you know her?"