Chapter 2 - Senior Brother Mu Qing

Xing Jiuan looked at the sky. Under the pitch-black night sky, people were coming and going, laughing and bustling about. She was the only one out of place in this world.

She took out her phone from her pocket as she had the sudden urge to make a call.

When she saw Mu Qing's contact number, she stopped for a moment before changing the contact name seriously.

Senior Brother Mu Qing.

She paused for a while before gently tapping it.

As she waited, her heart pounded in her chest. She curled her fingers nervously, wondering if he would pick up.

If he did, what should she say?

Xing Jiuan suddenly felt nervous and wanted to hang up the call. However, the call was picked up right at this moment.

The person on the other end of the line did not say anything. Xing Jiuan waited for a while before saying in a very soft voice, "Senior Brother."

Xing Jiuan had not called him "Senior Brother" for a long time.

When she was young, she came down the mountains with Mu Qing.

Mu Qing had two capable assistants following him who called him Boss.

At that time, Xing Jiuan was still young and was at the age where she loved to play. When she heard the title, she felt that it was quite fun and began calling him Boss as well.

Mu Qing said it a few times and she did not correct herself either. So she simply called him that from then on.

Later on, when the relationship between the two of them became bad, Xing Jiuan would sometimes call him by his name. Addressing him as "Senior Brother" had been set aside for a long time.

Even if she were to address him as Senior Brother again, their relationship was already no longer the same as before.

On the other end of the line, the other party paused for a moment after hearing Xing Jiuan's voice. He then said with a calm voice, "What is it?"

It was so calm that it was almost cold.

Even though she already knew what would happen and was prepared, Xing Jiuan still felt very sad.

For some reason, Xing Jiuan seemed especially sentimental today and wanted to say a lot.

It felt as if she wouldn't have the chance to do so again if she didn't say it.

"Senior Brother, are you doing well?" she asked.

"Very well."

"That's good." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Senior Brother, I was disobedient and insensible in the past. I caused you a lot of trouble and even made you angry. I'm sorry."

These words didn't seem to be that difficult to say.

Xing Jiuan stood on the path with a tree beside her. Small snowflakes started to fall from the sky again.

In the darkness, these snowflakes seemed especially eye-catching.

…

People were coming and going next to her. She didn't feel so lonely anymore, although the person on the other end of the line was still pitifully quiet.

Xing Jiuan didn't say much in the end. After apologizing, she didn't know what else to say.

They grew up like siblings, and they'd spent more than a decade together. But now, they didn't even seem to know what to say to each other. There was only silence between them.

Xing Jiuan's heart felt sour as she reached out to catch the falling snowflakes. In the background, there were sounds of children laughing and people talking. It was especially lively.

However, Mu Qing's end of the line was completely silent. There was only the soft sound of breathing.

"…Senior Brother, can we still be like how we were before?" After a long silence, Xing Jiuan had finally spoken.

Before the other party could answer, Xing Jiuan heard someone shouting in panic.

She glanced over. One of the cars seemed to have lost control and was driving toward her.

Xing Jiuan used to be very skilled, so she could have easily avoided such a situation.

It was just that the previous accident had affected her too much. Even though she tried her best to avoid it, she still accidentally scraped her arm.

She endured the pain and ran to the side to avoid the vehicle.

The call had not ended. The other party seemed a little anxious. "Jiuan, what happened?"

Xing Jiuan took two steps forward. "It's nothing."

At this moment, someone suddenly shouted from behind. It was a tone filled with fear and panic, and the crowd was in chaos.

"Little girl, get out of the way, get out of the way…"