Xie Xun almost didn't dare to meet Fengyu's hopeful gaze. How he wished everything could be as Fengyu hoped—that they had simply waited too long in the tunnel and inadvertently fallen asleep. Whether it was for Fengyu or himself, what had just happened could all be dismissed as a nightmare. But he couldn't lie to Fengyu; he understood too well the crushing despair of unfulfilled expectations.
"Ayu..."
Fengyu's eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming silently down her cheeks. After such a long wait and years of yearning, she had never imagined this would be the outcome with her sister.
The pain, the despair, the suffocating weight of all her emotions swelled within her, overwhelming her entirely. She grabbed Xie Xun's collar in collapse, her whole body tight and rigid, trembling under the strain of trying to suppress everything she felt.
