Song Ning could not help but sigh inwardly.
Bai Yu continued to say softly, “Yin Yi and I learned to dance since we were young. I was mostly focused on folk dances. Yin Yi gave uphalfway and tried to persuade me to give up as well. However, I didn’t agree. Because of that, she even ignored me for a period of time.”
“My mother has always been very supportive of me. Dancing is both my mother and my dream. I couldn’t just give up. Although I was saddened by the double betrayal, I didn’t give up on dancing. Fortunately, due to a competition, I didn’t have time to wallow in my sadness. I threw myself into practicing for the competition. It helped me to deal with my heartbreak. However, just the day before my competition, something happened during the rehearsal.”
Bai Yu stopped speaking as she covered her face and began to cry out loud. It was obvious that the matter had affected her greatly.
Song Ning accompanied Bai Yu silently. She knew what Bai Yu needed the most now was a good listener.
Bai Yu gradually stopped crying. She wiped her tears away before she continued to say, “I was slightly anxious about the competition. At that time, some of my classmates said we should return to the dance studio to practice. Somehow, the locker room caught fire when we were in the dance studio. Everyone panicked and ran out. My practice room was in the innermost part of the building so I was the last to know about the fire. When I rushed out with another classmate, smoke had already filled the corridors, and the fire had already spread. It was difficult for us to leave. In the end, we could only jump out of the window. The second floor wasn’t high, but I…”
Bai Yu could not continue. She covered her face and wept again.
After listening to the story, Song Ning immediately thought there was something strange about the fire. She asked softly, “Why did the locker room suddenly catch fire?”
Bai Yu stopped crying as she shook her head and said, “I don’t know. My father suspected foul play at that time and reported it to the police. After investigating, the police concluded that the fire started because of a phone charger in the locker room. There were many flammable things in the locker room so the fire spread quickly. I was just unlucky… That day, my mother was supposed to pick me up. However, she was late because of some matters. If she had come on time, I would have avoided this disaster completely. Hence, she has been blaming herself all this time. I knew it was not her fault, but I… I have nowhere to vent so I began to hate her and torture her…”
Bai Yu’s voice grew softer toward the end of her words. It was not that she was unaware of how much her parents loved her. However, she felt powerless and could not help but hurt those who loved her most just because she knew they would tolerate it.
“Do you know why your mother was late that day?” Song Ning asked gently.
Bai Yu replied in a low voice, “On the way there, she had a minor accident and scraped the other party’s car. The other party was unwilling to settle the matter quickly, delaying her.”
Song Ning felt her heart skip a beat. ‘Why is it that all wicked people in the world use almost the same methods?’
After a moment, Song Ning asked, “When did you find out that you’d never walk again?”
“After a month. My father found a specialist, and he had said the same thing. I’ve been lying in bed for seven years. When I thought about how I’d have to lie in bed for the rest of my life, I was filled with hatred. I wanted the world to burn,” Bai Yu said as her eyes burned fiercely.
Song Ning chuckled. “It’s not easy to live. If you keep letting your negative emotions affect you, how can you be happy?”
