Under the scorching sun, Qi Jianyi stood quietly in the garden, her white dress almost shimring in the bright light. She leaned against the wall, lost in thought, her gaze drifting over the flowers around her. Qi Jianyi had been standing there for so long, she barely rembered why she was there in the first place.
Thoughts swirled in her mind, questions with no answers. Eventually, her attention settled on the ground, her expression distant.
"Sister, what are you doing out here? You look... kind of scary like this," Qi Jinlu’s voice interrupted her reverie as he approached, tilting his head with curiosity.
She rolled her eyes, reaching out to push him away. "Go away. Don’t disturb ," she replied, clearly annoyed.
Unbothered, Qi Jinlu sidled closer. "What are you even doing?" he insisted, undeterred.
"Nothing. Just... basking in the sun," Qi Jianyi answered absentmindedly, raising her head to the clear sky.
Qi Jinlu followed her gaze, squinting as the sunlight hit his eyes. "It’s way too hot out here," he grumbled, though he made no move to head back inside.
"Then go back inside and stop bothering ," Qi Jianyi said, giving him another gentle push.
"But Mom asked to tell you lunch is ready," Qi Jinlu pouted, rubbing his arm where she’d pushed him.
"Tell her I’ll eat later. I’m still full," she replied with a dismissive wave, moving toward a nearby bench.
"What are you thinking about?" Qi Jinlu asked, trailing after her despite her clear irritation. He seed completely unfazed by her annoyance.
"Can you just leave alone and let have a mont to myself?" she complained, shooting him a glare.
Why did she have such clingy siblings? They never seed to understand her boundaries. Whether it was her younger sister or the twins, all three of them seed to love nothing more than clinging to her side and testing her patience.
Qi Jinlu hesitated, then his tone softened. "You look sad."
Qi Jianyi’s expression faltered, and she looked away. "I’m not sad. You’re just imagining things," she replied brusquely, brushing off his concern.
"You’re hearing things. When did I cry?" Qi Jianyi glared at her brother.
But a flicker of doubt crossed her mind. Had her cries from earlier that morning been loud enough for soone outside to hear? Was the soundproofing in her room really that poor?
It had been a week since she first started dreaming of her high school days. At first, Qi Jianyi thought it was just a fleeting mory, a dream that would fade as soon as she woke up. But night after night, the dreams continued, like fragnts of the past determined to reappear.
It was as if the dreams were forcing her to relive everything all over again.
She dread of her best friend, Lin Qingqing, and even of her ex-boyfriend, Xu Yichen. But no matter how long the dream went on, every ti she tried to leave and return ho, sothing stopped her—an invisible force that jolted her awake the mont she stepped beyond the school gates.
It was as if her dreams were bound to that place only.
"Sister, do you take for a fool? Mom told to wake you up this morning, so I went to your room and heard you crying in the bathroom," Qi Jinlu explained, his face twisting in mild offense.
Qi Jianyi narrowed her eyes and grabbed his ear. "Did you sneak into my room without permission?" she asked, pulling a little harder as she realised he’d barged right in.
Qi Jinlu whined, attempting to pull his ear free but failing. "Ah—sister, that hurts! I didn’t sneak in, okay? I knocked for ages, but you didn’t answer. I thought you were asleep, so I just ca in. Besides, you didn’t even lock your door. How is that my fault?" he protested.
"Just because I didn’t lock it doesn’t an you can waltz in whenever you want, you little sneak!" she muttered, finally letting go of his ear.
Qi Jinlu rubbed his ear with a small frown but kept quiet, knowing better than to press his luck with her.
"But sister, who made you sad? Was it that guy Chengfeng?!"
Qi Jinlu’s voice rose as he narrowed his eyes, staring at her with a mixture of suspicion and surprise. His brows furrowed, as if his mind was racing to catch up with his own bold guess.
Before he could react, Qi Jianyi’s hand flew out, landing a light but swift smack on the back of his head. "Does that mouth of yours only know how to spout nonsense?" she scolded, half-amused, half-exasperated.
"Ow! I was just guessing..." Qi Jinlu mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, his lips curving downward into a slight pout.
Qi Jianyi sighed, dismissing his wild speculation with a casual wave of her hand. "How could Song Chengfeng make sad when there’s nothing going on between us?" she replied, her tone breezy but resolute.
Qi Jinlu frowned, confused by her nonchalant response. Still rubbing his head, he tilted it slightly, his gaze thoughtful.
"But... don’t you like him?" he ventured, his tone a mixture of genuine curiosity and puzzlent.
At his question, Qi Jianyi broke into a laugh, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she gave him an amused look.
"Why do you say that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow playfully.
Qi Jinlu shifted his gaze away from her, letting his eyes wander to the garden beyond. The afternoon sunlight dappled the leaves, casting shadows that danced in the breeze.
Softly, almost as if speaking to himself, he murmured, "Because, sister... you smile so happily when you’re with him."
For a mont, there was a silence between them, as if Qi Jinlu’s words had introduced a new layer of aning to the conversation
"Did I really smile a lot when I was with him?" Qi Jianyi murmured, her voice tinged with doubt and surprise.
She wondered, had she truly been that happy when she spoke with Song Chengfeng? Or was it just her brother’s imagination, seeing what he wanted to see? She looked at her brother, searching his face for any hint of exaggeration.
Qi Jinlu t her gaze, nodding sincerely. "Yes, both Jinli and I noticed it," he said, his voice soft but certain. He turned his head back toward the garden, his shoulders slumping slightly.
"But... you never smile like that when you’re with us."
There was a faint tinge of hurt in his voice, carrying a hint of childish vulnerability. Though he tried to hide it, it slipped through in that quiet mont, revealing the sadness he felt.
Qi Jianyi’s heart ached and for a brief mont, she was stumped, at a loss for words. She opened her mouth to say sothing, but all she managed was a small, sad smile.
After a pause, she finally spoke, her voice low and filled with quiet reflection.
"Last night... I had a dream," she said, turning her head to look at Qi Jinlu as though she were seeing beyond him, into a mory she held close to her heart.
"I dread I had a little sister."
A soft smile crept onto her face as mories washed over her, unbidden yet comforting. She could still see her little sister from the real world, her small cheeks puffed out with sweets, a playful pout on her face whenever Qi Jianyi refused her constant pleas to play.
The image was so clear it almost felt real—the shy laughter, the innocent persistence, the way her little sister’s eyes sparkled with joy and wonder.
Qi Jianyi rembered, too, the ti when she hadn’t quite understood her little sister’s attachnt, when she had even felt a pang of resentnt. Back then, she had felt left behind, cast aside by her parents in favor of this small, clingy child.
But as ti passed, Qi Jianyi saw her little sister in a new light, realising that the younger girl wasn’t trying to take anything away. She was simply a child, looking up to her elder sister with admiration, her whole world centered on that bond.
Everywhere Qi Jianyi went, her little sister followed, like a small duckling trailing behind. She’d often felt exasperated, but slowly, she began to cherish those monts, understanding that they were rare and precious.
Over ti, her heart softened. Little by little, her resentnt lted away, replaced by a fierce protectiveness and love for her only sibling. It had been these simple, everyday gestures—her sister’s shy smiles, the way she looked up at Qi Jianyi as if she held all the answers—that gave her the strength to carry on, even during the hardest days.
In that smile, she found her purpose, her reason to keep going, even in a world that felt miles away from ho. And now, here in this unfamiliar place, that sa mory was what kept her striving to return.
"Her na is Qi Jianning," Qi Jianyi said softly, as though naming her sister aloud was a way of keeping her spirit close.
As she finished, silence settled between them. The garden’s leaves rustled softly in the wind, and for a mont, it felt as if her little sister’s laughter echoed in the breeze, a reminder of the family and love waiting for her, a promise she would not let go.
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