Broken Chains

It turned out better than he expected. When he saw Ning Bi finally approach Chan Lee at the end of their classes, a bead of sweat rolled down the temple of his forehead. He was aware of her kindness and concern over him, she had made it known to him several times…

And yet he also knew of her tendencies.

Those tendencies ingrained in her that she still fell back on them whenever she felt threatened. It was in the way that she would snark and even glower at their closest friend. It was in the way that she hardly trusted anyone beside him. She had punched several men who even dared look at her way.

It was whenever she'd wake up late in the night when they were kids and bawled her eyes out, shaking and hugging her knees close. It was when she opened the door last Sunday with tears gleaming in her eyes but never made mention of them.

Or perhaps she never noticed.

"I think it'll be fine, right?" Bo Ling nudged his side with his elbow.