At the stairwell, aside from the sound of breathing from the two people, there was no other noise.
Chi Xiaoxiao remained still for a long while before silently shifting to the side and stepping onto the stairs.
One step after another.
Soon, she walked past the woman.
As she passed by, Chi Xiaoxiao, as if driven by curiosity, secretly glanced sideways. However, due to her lowered head and the woman's hair obscuring her face, she couldn't make out the other's features.
From the woman's attire alone, she felt a vague sense of familiarity.
As if... she had seen her sowhere before.
Before long, Chi Xiaoxiao moved past the woman, turned a corner, and continued upward, her footsteps gradually fading.
Until... they disappeared completely.
But this silence didn't last long. Soon, the vanished footsteps suddenly returned, and Chi Xiaoxiao reappeared monts later.
Though she wanted to pretend she hadn't noticed...
"Are you okay?"
Holding a bag of snacks, she approached the woman and set the bag down on the steps before placing both hands on the woman's shoulders.
Perhaps due to this action, the woman, who had been keeping her head lowered, slowly raised it.
It was only when their eyes t that Chi Xiaoxiao realized why this person seed familiar.
She lived in the apartnt above hers.
They had crossed paths a few tis by chance but never spoken.
The woman’s long black hair cascaded down, and her face looked haggard. Without makeup to conceal it, her exhaustion was evident.
Her complexion was unusually pale.
And when their gazes locked, Chi Xiaoxiao noticed sothing unsettling in the woman’s eyes—
They seed lifeless.
"......"
Her question went unanswered, leaving Chi Xiaoxiao montarily stunned before she asked again.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"......"
The woman remained silent, rely staring at Chi Xiaoxiao for a long mont before finally nodding faintly.
Her lips parted, and she spoke in a weak voice.
"My head... feels dizzy..."
"Let help you upstairs."
"Mm..."
The woman didn’t refuse. It was clear that in her current state, she wouldn’t be able to make it ho alone.
Accepting Chi Xiaoxiao’s kindness, she allowed herself to be assisted.
Once she got a response, Chi Xiaoxiao imdiately hooked an arm under hers. However, being a girl who rarely exercised, her strength was limited. Combined with the woman’s frailty, she failed to lift her from the steps on the first try.
After several attempts, she finally succeeded.
Even so, she didn’t forget the bag of snacks she had set aside earlier.
Grabbing it, she awkwardly supported the woman as they painstakingly ascended the stairs.
What should have been a quick trip took several tis longer. When they finally reached the door, Chi Xiaoxiao watched as the woman fumbled through her bag for the key.
Once the door was unlocked, Chi Xiaoxiao prepared to leave.
"Well... I’ll head ho now..."
Before she could finish, the woman suddenly swayed and slumped against the doorfra. Startled, Chi Xiaoxiao quickly caught her.
Thankfully, her reflexes were sharp enough to prevent any harm.
Now, Chi Xiaoxiao couldn’t bring herself to leave. Supporting the woman, she spoke with concern.
"Let help you inside first."
"Okay... thank you..."
"Don’t ntion it."
With that, she guided the woman into the apartnt.
As she stepped inside, her eyes instinctively scanned the surroundings.
An ordinary ho—not much different from her own.
She didn’t linger on the details, instead carefully leading the woman toward the bedroom. After so effort, she finally managed to settle her onto the bed.
The mont her body t the mattress, the woman exhaled deeply, as if finally finding relief.
Standing nearby, Chi Xiaoxiao clutched her bag of snacks, about to announce her departure. But seeing the woman’s labored breathing and evident discomfort...
The words died in her throat.
Instead, she offered:
"I’ll get you so water."
With that, she left the bedroom.
But after searching most of the apartnt, she found no trace of a kettle. It seed this person didn’t drink much hot water.
Growing anxious after failing to locate any, Chi Xiaoxiao suddenly rembered the drink she had bought along with her snacks—
[Master Li’s Jasmine Tea]
Though it had cost her three yuan...
Gritting her teeth, she hesitated only briefly before pulling the bottle from her plastic bag.
Returning to the bedroom, she unscrewed the cap, helped the woman sit up, and tilted the bottle to her lips.
Clearly parched, the woman didn’t stop after the first sip. Instead, she gulped down nearly half the bottle in one go.
When she finally lowered it, only a small amount remained.
Taking the nearly empty bottle back, Chi Xiaoxiao glanced at the nightstand and moved to set it down.
But as she reached over, her gaze landed on a photograph placed there.
A family portrait—four people.
Yet... sothing felt off.
Unlike the smiling faces of the others, the woman in the photo stood out.
She didn’t look... happy at all.
Of course, Chi Xiaoxiao recognized her instantly—she was the sa woman now lying on the bed.
The one who lived upstairs.
"Thank you..."
The quiet gratitude snapped Chi Xiaoxiao out of her thoughts.
She turned to see the woman now sitting upright.
Smiling, she replied:
"No need to thank ."
"About... the drink..."
"This? Don’t worry about it! I have more at ho!"
Chi Xiaoxiao waved it off, her plain face brightening with a radiant smile.
"If you’re still feeling unwell, you should see a doctor. It might be low blood sugar—I get dizzy sotis if I crouch for too long."
"Is that so..."
"Yeah. So... if there’s nothing else, I should get going?"
"Mm..."
"Alright, take care..."
Noticing the woman’s sudden silence, Chi Xiaoxiao turned and headed for the door.
But after only a few steps, she paused, as if sensing sothing, and glanced back at the photo on the nightstand.
Her eyes fixed on the little girl in the picture.
A slight frown creased her brow.
For so reason... the child looked familiar, as if she had seen her sowhere.
Where... had she seen her before?
After a long mont of fruitless searching through her mories, Chi Xiaoxiao gave up and left.
With the sound of the closing door, the apartnt fell silent once more.
Seated on the edge of the bed, the woman stared blankly ahead.
After what felt like an eternity, her gaze shifted.
To the photograph on the nightstand.
To the two children frozen in ti within it...
And to...
The husband who had once loved her deeply.
She said nothing for a very long ti.
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