He carefully carried Xu Yan back to his room, and then quietly sat by the bed, waiting...
Xu Yan opened her eyes with a headache, but found herself floating in midair in a daze.
It took her a moment to regain her senses, but no matter where she looked around, the surroundings were so unfamiliar.
Just as she was about to give up struggling and simply take a nap, she finally heard some sounds in her ears.
Xu Yan sat cross-legged in midair, dazed, looking at herself suddenly appearing in a luxurious villa.
At this time, in the center of one of the villa's rooms, stood a little friend who looked exactly the same as her when she was a child, except that the little friend didn't seem to be doing well.
Next to the little friend stood another girl with a rather harsh face, who was saying cruel words to the little friend.
Xu Yan frowned, took two steps forward, and shouted out loud, trying to stop the cruel girl. But no matter how hard she tried, no one seemed to notice her existence.
She watched helplessly as the little friend who looked so much like her grew up day by day, becoming more and more silent, more and more withdrawn...
Xu Yan seemed to remember something, she tightly closed her eyes, crying out in despair, "Get out! I don't want to see it!"
But even with her eyes closed, those scenes kept appearing in her mind, frame by frame.
As the little friend grew into a young lady, then into a graceful girl... Xu Yan felt an increasingly intense sense of despair.
Xu Yan's tears fell unconsciously, and just as she was about to be overwhelmed, a tall figure appeared behind her and tightly hugged her into his embrace.
Ye Jin panted heavily, his voice seeming to tremble a bit, "Yan Yan, don't be afraid, I'm here."
This voice was very familiar, and Xu Yan looked at Ye Jin with teary eyes, "Tizi..."
Ye Jin's eyes were red, "Yan Yan, I'm here."
Xu Yan tightly hugged Ye Jin, and suddenly burst into tears, "Tizi! Wuwuwuwuwuw!"
Ye Jin hugged her with heartache, gently patting her back, "I'm sorry, Yan Yan, I was late."
Xu Yan kept shaking her head, crying so hard that she could barely speak. It wasn't until a long time later that her sobs gradually subsided.
She sniffled, with tears still falling, "Tizi! You found me, but... but I forgot you."
Ye Jin held her, comforting her gently, "It's okay, my Yan Yan remembered me now, didn't you?" He sighed, holding Xu Yan tightly in his embrace, "Yan Yan, if the price of making you remember those past things is what it takes, then I'd rather you never remember me at all."
Xu Yan's tears flowed even harder, "You're not allowed to say that! Not allowed!"
Ye Jin gently wiped away her tears, "Okay, okay, I won't say it. Yan Yan, don't be upset."
Xu Yan sobbed as she nestled in Ye Jin's embrace, "I wronged Bai Heng and the others."
Ye Jin asked carefully, "Yan Yan, aren't you upset?"
Xu Yan sniffled, "I used to be upset, but... but with you here, I'm not upset anymore." She said pitifully, "Those things are over, and they did so many things later on, I don't want to blame them anymore. It's just... Bai Heng and the others..."
Ye Jin breathed a sigh of relief, "Yan Yan, you didn't wrong Bai Heng, and they never blamed you either."
Xu Yan looked at him with tears in her eyes, "You really appeared in front of me as a human."
Ye Jin's eyes darkened a bit, "Yeah, Yan Yan, are you afraid of me, the monster?"
Xu Yan suddenly burst into tears again, "Wuwuwuwuwuw! You're not allowed to say that to me! How can you say that! You can't say I'm afraid of you!"
Ye Jin had always known that his Yan Yan was adorable, but he didn't expect her to be this adorable. He was torn between laughing and crying, "Yan Yan, that's not what I meant."
Xu Yan hugged Ye Jin, crying softly, "No matter what, I... I will never be afraid of Tizi! Just like... just like how Tizi will always find me no matter what."
Ye Jin couldn't help but laugh softly, "Okay."
Xu Yan messily wiped her face, "I want to go back, I don't want to be here."
Ye Jin gently rubbed her head, covering her eyes with one hand, "Close your eyes obediently, we're going home."
Xu Yan obediently closed her eyes, her arms tightly wrapped around Ye Jin's waist. After a while, she asked weakly, "Are we home yet?"
Ye Jin held back a laugh and said seriously, "Yan Yan, we've been home for a while now."
Xu Yan opened her eyes in a daze, greeted by Ye Jin's room. After looking around in confusion, she suddenly realized she was still hugging Ye Jin.
Her face flushed, and she weakly retracted her arms, "Wh... Why are we in your room?"
Ye Jin didn't tease her anymore, "We'll talk about that later. Do you want to go wash your face and freshen up? The bathroom is right there."
Xu Yan clung to his clothes, looking pitiful, "Then you wait for me here."
Ye Jin laughed, "Okay, I'll wait for you here."
Xu Yan must have still been scared, as she just quickly washed her face and ran out, sticking close to Ye Jin's side.
Ye Jin took her hand and walked out of the room, "Yan Yan, don't think about those things for now. Let me go make you something delicious, okay?"
Xu Yan followed him step by step, "Okay."
As soon as the two of them walked out of the room, they heard some faint sounds coming from the room next door.
Xu Yan was puzzled, as the voice sounded a bit familiar, but then she heard the line "I will definitely come back."
She asked softly, "Did a little friend from the tavern come? Why are they playing an animated film?"
Ye Jin was completely baffled, "It's my sister, she's watching an animated film."
Xu Yan responded dazedly, unconsciously imagining what Ye Jin's sister might look like in her mind.
She said, "Your sister must be super cute."
Ye Jin didn't really want to express his opinion, "You'll see for yourself."
Xu Yan blinked her eyes, and just as she was about to ask something else, the door of the room next door opened from the inside.
A beautiful young lady with a cool and aloof demeanor leaned against the doorframe. She wore a loose short-sleeved shirt, holding a towel in one hand and drying her damp hair, saying indifferently, "You guys are a bit slow, eh? I've been awake for a while now."
Xu Yan: "!!!" Oh my god, a beauty!
Ye Jin: "...What's it to you?"
Liu Lingxiao grasped the towel, walked up to Xu Yan, and gently lifted her chin with a slender, fair finger. "Hello, little one."
She was about ten centimeters taller than Xu Yan. Xu Yan felt a little shy but couldn't help her eyes sparkling. "Hello, sister!"
It's no wonder Xu Yan thought so, as Liu Lingxiao looked only about eighteen or nineteen years old, so Xu Yan blurted it out without thinking.
Liu Lingxiao curved the corners of her mouth. "Little one, I'm already several thousand years old."
Xu Yan was dumbfounded. "Uh...huh?"
Ye Jin couldn't stand it any longer. "Get lost and don't touch my Yan-Yan! Yan-Yan, don't pay her any mind."
Xu Yan hesitated for a moment. "But... I want to play with her."
Ye Jin: "..." Argh, this is annoying!
