24

Cen Lingqiu was stunned for a second, then patted Yu Mingjiao on the back, reassuringly asking, "What's wrong?"

Yu Mingjiao didn't respond, simply holding onto her tightly, engulfed in a confused silence.

Cen Lingqiu didn't understand her unusual behavior, but now wasn't the time to talk things over. More and more people were gathering around, and Yu Mingjiao's clothes were wet and clinging to her body.

"I'll take you inside first, okay?" Cen Lingqiu gently patted her back, softly asking for her agreement.

Yu Mingjiao nodded and let go of her.

"Xiao Yu, what happened?" Director Zhou finally arrived, looking surprised when she saw Yu Mingjiao soaking wet.

Cen Lingqiu picked Yu Mingjiao up and quickly said to her, "Director Zhou, I'll take her to the rest area first."

"Oh, okay." Director Zhou realized what was happening and stepped aside.

Cen Lingqiu carried Yu Mingjiao through the crowd and took her to the VIP lounge.

Yu Mingjiao was drenched, so Cen Lingqiu wanted to check the closet for dry clothes. Just as she got up, Yu Mingjiao grabbed her wrist.

Cen Lingqiu turned around, puzzled.

Yu Mingjiao kept her head down, her black hair falling forward, hiding her expression.

"Where are you going?"

Her voice was calm but carried a hint of barely noticeable anxiety.

"I'm going to get you some dry clothes. You're soaked," Cen Lingqiu explained.

Yu Mingjiao hesitated for a few seconds before finally letting go.

Cen Lingqiu searched the closet but found no suitable clothes. Just as she was worrying, there was a knock on the door.

She opened it to find Director Zhou, who handed her a few dry clothes.

Cen Lingqiu accepted them with thanks and handed them to Yu Mingjiao to change into while she turned her back and looked out the window.

Outside, the greenery was lush, and the cicadas chirped endlessly.

Cen Lingqiu felt a moment of realization.

Is it summer again?

It's been half a year already.

It felt like it had been such a long time since she last came to this world. Whether it was the green branches or Yu Mingjiao, it seemed like she hadn't seen them for years.

After Yu Mingjiao finished changing, Cen Lingqiu took her home.

As she drove, Yu Mingjiao sat in the passenger seat, her expression oddly calm.

They hadn't spoken since they left the villa. After half a year of separation and meeting again after more than a hundred days, it felt like words were frozen, creating a distance.

There was nothing to say.

They didn't know what to say.

Even though both had countless things piled up in their hearts, there was only a strange silence now.

Cen Lingqiu drove them back to the apartment, and after dropping Yu Mingjiao off, she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she quietly followed Yu Mingjiao inside.

Yu Mingjiao faced away from her and didn't move in the living room.

Cen Lingqiu broke the silence that had followed them all the way home.

"Haven't you been eating properly?"

She asked.

Yu Mingjiao's eyelids fluttered, and her hands gripped the wheelchair slightly, as if trying to suppress some emotion.

Cen Lingqiu walked a few steps closer, looking at her thin shoulders, and asked again, "You seem even thinner than before."

The familiar, long-missed concern was as gentle and calm as it had been half a year ago.

Yu Mingjiao wondered, how long has it been since she last heard something like this?

In the past six months, no one had asked her if she was eating well. No one cared that she had become so thin.

Because from beginning to end, she had only herself.

Only that woman would ask such things. After she left, this warmth and care had disappeared.

But only Yu Mingjiao knew how much she longed to hear it again.

She often fantasized that in the next moment, a woman would gently ask her, "Why have you lost so much weight?"

But it never happened.

Now that she finally heard it again, she found herself afraid to accept it.

Cen Lingqiu walked in front of her, crouched down, tilted her head, and smiled, "Just like before, huh? Still not liking to respond."

Yu Mingjiao's fingers curled, her dark eyes staring unblinkingly at Cen Lingqiu.

"You…"

Her voice was hesitant, as if she couldn't quite accept this reality.

Her lips moved for a long time before she finally asked, "Did you wake up?"

Cen Lingqiu blinked calmly and then nodded.

Yu Mingjiao pressed her lips together, her mouth opening slightly as if she had more to say, but in the end, she said nothing.

She didn't ask why Cen Lingqiu had suddenly woken up, or how she had managed to be at the banquet just in time to save her. She kept all these unbelievable questions to herself.

The atmosphere grew quiet for a few minutes.

Yu Mingjiao lowered her tired eyelids and spoke softly.

"I'm hungry."

Cen Lingqiu inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that Yu Mingjiao hadn't asked her why she had suddenly awakened and managed to appear at the banquet in good health.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have known what excuse to give.

Due to the sudden situation and the urgency of it, Cen Lingqiu had returned to this world immediately after learning of her task's failure, once again inhabiting Lin Qiu's body.

At first, Lin Qiu's body was frail from lying in bed for six months, coupled with the aftereffects of the car accident, making it almost impossible for Cen Lingqiu to even stand up.

She was worried something had happened to Yu Mingjiao, and with her body aching and in discomfort, she used a reward from the system to recover. This was a special reward given to her by the system center for her outstanding work in a particular year.

Although it couldn't fully heal a broken body, it could treat the core issues. After using it, Cen Lingqiu felt much lighter and, following the system's guidance, made her way to the banquet.

"Are you feeling hungry?" Cen Lingqiu asked.

"Mhm."

"Is there any food in the house?"

Yu Mingjiao shook her head.

"Any rice?"

"No."

"...…"

Cen Lingqiu sighed and rubbed her forehead. How could Yu Mingjiao still be the same as before, not taking care of her body at all?

She took a good look at Yu Mingjiao.

Her skin was too pale, her chin sharp, her eyes darker than before, and her hair had grown long, smooth, and reached her waist, with her collarbones prominently jutting out.

Her face was even more beautiful than it had been six months ago, but it was too thin, with a small, delicate face that had no flesh, full of frailty.

Even her wrists resting on her knees had no trace of color, thin and pale like snow-covered twigs, all with a sense of withering.

How had she been living these past six months?

How could she have ended up in such a weak state?

The only sign of life on her body was the red string bracelet on her left wrist.

Wait a minute.

Cen Lingqiu squinted, focusing on Yu Mingjiao's wrist.

If she remembered correctly, that red string was the one she had given her, though it had been thrown away at the time. How had it ended up on her wrist again?

Maybe she didn't hate her as much anymore?

To be honest, seeing that red string on Yu Mingjiao's wrist brought an uncontrollable joy to Cen Lingqiu.

"So, what do you want to eat?" Cen Lingqiu looked up at Yu Mingjiao.

"Anything."

Then, as if it were an afterthought, she added, "You have to eat with me."

Cen Lingqiu paused for a few seconds before she lowered her head and smiled softly.

"Alright."

After half a year, their reunion was marked by the same simple things they used to do together, with hardly any words of concern or intimate gestures.

"Are you okay?"

"How have you been these six months?"

"Have you recovered?"

These typical reunion phrases didn't appear between Cen Lingqiu and Yu Mingjiao.

They simply did what they used to do: Cen Lingqiu made a bowl of noodles, and they quietly ate together.

If there was one difference from before, it was that the hidden iceberg between them had begun to melt.

As the ice melted, perhaps spring would follow.

Yu Mingjiao quietly ate her noodles.

Of course, she found Cen Lingqiu's condition strange—how she was so healthy, how she had arrived at the banquet just in time to save her, almost as if she had known something would go wrong.

She didn't ask about any of this.

She just needed to know that this woman was awake and had returned to her side.

She was tired of being lonely.