The cool breeze rushed past Alix's face in a pleasant rhythm, easing the buried tension in her shoulders. Placing her hands on the railing, she perked her ears to concentrate on the gentle ripples of the waves dancing to the tune of the wind. She closed her eyes, the view of the river fading away into darkness. She stood in that stillness till a soft whisper echoed sowhere.
"Thank you."
In that empty void of her thoughts, a flickering apparition of a woman materialized before her. She looked exactly like her except the sorrowful smile that her lips held.
Alix was taken aback for a mont, for she had not expected her to co before her. She thought she was gone.
"Thank you for what?"
"For everything. It's hard to begin and hard to end. I am in your debt for so many things. For telling the truth to my parents. I think they deserved to know that I…am no more."
Alix said nothing.
"Thank you for not telling Mui. She doesn't deserve to bear this burden."
"She killed you or at least…that wasn't her intention."
"No, it wasn't. She wanted to save from Kang Yuze. She knew she had beco his puppet. I saw her face when she pushed . She hated to see what I had beco. She wanted to end my misery. But she didn't know how when she didn't know how to resist him. It was impossible for her to stand up to him. It was the sa for at one point. He is a dangerous man."
She smiled. "Isn't he glad to et his match then?"
She smiled back. "I am glad it was you to take my body."
A beat of silence ensued.
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"Hm?"
"I know you have done a lot for and my family. You could have ignored everything, but you didn't. Can I…ask you to continue to take care of them?"
Alix felt a discomfort prickle her chest.
"I promise Mom and Dad will love you just the way they loved . They will never discriminate against you or treat you poorly. They need you, Alix."
Her breaths trembled in silence.
"And so does Mui. I know she has her faults. She is naive and a little lost. But I know that she will beco stronger with you. She can learn a lot from you."
"A villain herself can only instill evilness in others."
"Which is fine, isn't it? You didn't save by being kind or docile."
There was a long mont of silence.
"I cannot beco the daughter they want to be."
"You don't have to in the first place. You don't have to pretend to be . Just be yourself. Just be with them. That's all they wish."
Alix closed her eyes and exhaled a silent breath. She opened her eyes a mont later.
"Okay. But don't expect too much from . Relationships are not my forte. Any kind of a relationship."
A gentle smile laced her lips. "Then perhaps you can learn it this ti. What it ans to have a loving family and…a man who would go to the ends of the earth for you in a heartbeat."
Man? Alix blinked twice.
She simply pointed in a certain direction and smiled again.
"Goodbye, Alix. Thank you for everything. I wish you the world's happiness from the bottom of my heart."
Alix slowly opened her eyes, her brows furrowing at her mysterious smile and disappearance, but she didn't let that thought linger.
Thank you to you too Alix.
Releasing a quiet breath, she turned only to co face-to-face with the man she wanted to escape from. It then dawned upon her what she ant before.
Alix stared at Jin's breathless state which clearly told her how he might have indeed gone to the ends of the earth to search for her.
"You look like you really scoured through the entire city to find ."
His gaze remained fixed at her in silence while his rattled breaths were beginning to calm down. Sothing in his dead serious eyes told Alix that she might be right on her mark.
"You cannot be serious, right?"
Facing each other at the city's river walkway, they stood in silence with only the sound of the waves humming between them.
Alix smiled. "You seem very tired. This is a good place to unwind. So relax all you want. I will give you your privacy."
She had barely taken a single step when Jin's body gently collapsed against her. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close as he let his head rest on her shoulder. She could feel the warmth of his uneven and trembling breaths, ghosting across her skin.
"Please don't do this again. Please don't disappear like this again."
Alix stood stiff, not knowing where to put her hands. But she was certain not to wrap them around his back.
"...Why are you hugging like you just rescued from so vicious kidnapping plot?"
She didn't hear an answer but did feel his embrace growing firr. She waited for soti but didn't see him withdrawing any sooner.
"Can you please-"
"I love you."
She froze.
"I love you, Alix."
She looked ahead with a blank stare, trying to register his words that kept bouncing away. Every other voice faded away until only his whispers lingered. Amidst this confrontation, she felt his fingers snake past her cheek to the back of her head as he gently pulled away. For the first ti she didn't have the courage to et his black eyes, terrified of the feelings they held for her.
"I love you," he said it the third ti, this ti looking straight at her.
Alix didn't respond as if she had forgotten to breathe.
"Grandpa asked . Then Zhou Ai. Then Mr. Ren. They asked what I felt about you. I found my answer when I madly searched for you in every corner of this city. I found my answer when I thought I would never be able to see you again. I found my answer when I saw you again right now. I love you, Alix. I love you."
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