Returning to the topic, to this day, for Hu Yuexin, life had been anything but easy.
At first, she had been a simple girl who didn’t know what loss even was. She was pure and happy, untainted by the brutal clutches of fate itself.
Unfortunately, that happiness didn’t last for long as one day, pretty much the same as every other day, she received the tragic news of her parents’ car accident. And just like that, that normal day had transformed into her personal apocalypse, her worst nightmare. The nightmare of turning into an orphan.
Still, being the strong-willed person she was, and more importantly, due to her older sister still being there for her, she felt a lot less lonely. She, at least, had someone else in this cruel world. Someone she could depend on and call ‘family’.
‘I’m not alone. My sister’s here.’ She thought to herself at the time.
Yet, after that fateful day, even though she gradually snapped back to her initially cheerful state, to Hu Yuexin, the loss of parents always felt like a needle pricking at her heart, sending waves upon waves of tormenting pain at her very core. A type of pain that was never going to go away or vanish.
Still, time at least made the bleeding more tolerable.
And that fact became even more true when her sister became pregnant, thus forcing a big smile to take shape on Hu Yuexin’s otherwise forlorn face. The thought of having someone else in their small family made her feel content to no ends. She felt blessed once again.
But unfortunately…that ray of bliss only persisted until she was faced with the miserable news of her sister being diagnosed with a fatal type of cancer.
This, once again, shattered Hu Yuexin’s world into countless pieces. Her existence, at that point, felt broken even more so as she felt pent-up almost to the point of insanity with nowhere to release!
“How can the world be so brutal to me? Why? What did I ever do wrong to deserve any of this? What did my sister do wrong to be punished like this?” She screamed in despair. Wailing nonstop at the unbearable pain seeping into her very soul itself.
But as if that wasn’t enough, another tragedy soon fell upon her when her child was also diagnosed with the same type of cancer as her dear sister, may her soul rest in peace!
After that, there were no longer any fancy feelings such as happiness or bliss in her life. She no longer hoped. She no longer dreamt. She no longer wanted to even live!
However, watching her baby in excruciating pain, how could she? She had to stay strong for him! She had to make sure he received the best type of treatment so he would experience the least amount of pain and affliction!
Thus, for her son’s sake alone, she began pulling her shattered bits and pieces together. Again.
After that day, for him… she worked overtime, she slept less, ate less, and no longer smiled. Not from the bottom of her heart anyway.
From that day onwards, for Hu Yuexin, every chuckle was a mere smile thrown at the direction of her poor son with the sole purpose of trying to make him even slightly more cheerful and jovial.
Hence, for years to come, Hu Yuexin remained floating in the middle of absolute darkness and despair…
At least, that was the case until, one day, a man showed up. A man who, just like a shining ray inside the absolute darkness itself, had placed a Red-Crystal in front of her, giving her hope once again. A kind of hope she was certain she shouldn’t have since she firmly believed, ‘All hope is a false hope. So it’s better not to hope at all.’ This was a belief life had deeply engraved within her.
Nevertheless, being the stupid person she was, Hu Yuexin hoped again as she accepted the Red-Crystal. She wasn’t simply sanguine because of the Red-Crystal per se, but rather at the notion of someone existing in her life, someone who was willing to ‘give’ her the Red-Crystal, someone she could perhaps even rely on!
Therefore, at that moment, she experienced the sensation of really having someone else in her life. Even if that existence was somewhat distorted and with possible ulterior motives, at the bottom of her heart, she still appreciated that existence, that reliance.
But now… out of nowhere, she had been notified even that tiny positive presence in her life was going to disappear just like that, at the snap of her fingers.
And that was also why Hu Yuexin was having this mirage of being thrown into the absolute bottom of the deepest abyss as it all came crashing on her.
“Hello? Hu Yuexin? Hu Yuexin!” Suddenly snapping back to reality by his intense shake, a chilly coldness replaced the momentary confusion and despair covering her eyes.
Soon, looking directly into his eyes, she said in an expressionless yet piercing tone, “Oh, you’re leaving? Good luck… and goodbye.”
Facing her freezing eyes, saying Virus wasn’t astounded at all would be an understatement. Since he was. He really was.
This was Virus’ first time of catching a sight of that kind of gaze from her.
Still, assuming it might be because she was sad due to him leaving, he vocalized, “I’ve some urgent stuff to deal with back at home, but don’t worry, I’ll return soon enough and come visit you sometimes. Okay?”
Unfortunately, these comforting words of his still didn’t break the ice surrounding her eyes as she proclaimed as cold as ever, “It’s not like I’m worrying or anything. Return… or not return… it’s not really any of my goddamn business, no?”
Not pausing there, she went on, “It’s not like I’m your girlfriend or anything, right? I’m at most just a simple slave to you, right?” By now, her eyes had turned really red as tiny veins of blood were barely visible within them, “S-so, there’s no need to say goodbye to this slave. Goodbye.” Having finished with her words, turning around, she once again started pushing the cart forward.
