"Long time no see..."
When she came back to herself, the corners of Wu Lingkong's eyes were red. Her lips twitched, wanting to smile, but she couldn't manage it. She stared fixedly at Shi Lan, unwilling to look away:
"More than a hundred years. I thought you'd forgotten there was someone in this world called Wu Lingkong."
Shi Lan raised her head slightly, starlight seeming to flicker in her eyes. "I almost did..."
Wu Lingkong leaned against the doorway and closed her eyes. Her fist clenched tight, her body trembling slightly despite herself.
"Where have you been all these years?"
She had vanished without a trace for more than a hundred years, without even sending a single message. Wu Lingkong had naturally resented her for it. Yet now that she was seeing Shi Lan again, she still couldn't suppress the wild joy rising in her heart.
Shi Lan was still alive... There could be no better news...
As the thought arose, Wu Lingkong felt an arm tighten around her, then caught the long-missed scent of cool fragrance. At the same time, a murmur sounded by her ear:
"I just went somewhere very far away, met some people I never should have known, and did some things I had to do."
The warm embrace gradually eased Wu Lingkong's taut nerves. She let out a long breath, as though a great burden had been lifted, and exhaled a century of cold loneliness.
"I have to go."
After a long while, Shi Lan released her and slowly stepped back.
"Leaving so soon?"
Wu Lingkong's eyes held unmistakable disappointment, along with a trace of worry.
"There's one very important thing I still have to do, and I'm the only one who can do it."
Shi Lan nodded, speaking with a smile:
"So that you