The first ray of morning sunlight pierced through the gap in the curtains, breaking the stillness of the living room. It illuminated the chaotic dining table and scattered clothes, silently testifying to the lingering aftermath of last night’s frenzy.
Su Yiyi had barely slept a wink in her bedroom, her mind replaying the images that filled her with shame, terror, and disbelief.
The memory in her body and the condemnation of her reason felt like two dull knives, relentlessly sawing at her nerves.
She couldn’t believe she had committed such an act, behaving like a beast stripped of all control.
As dawn barely broke, she, like a startled bird, could no longer bear to stay in the confined room. She had to go out and confront, or rather, confirm the person she had harmed.
Taking a deep breath, she mustered her courage and gently turned the doorknob of her bedroom. The living room was eerily quiet, the air still seemingly thick with an ambiguous, chaotic scent.
Her heart lodged in her throat as her gaze cautiously swept across the living room—it was empty.
A sensation, a mix of relief and a deeper dread, seized her.
Had Xiao Cheng already left? After what she had done, did Lan Yucheng never want to see her again?
The thought brought a suffocating wave of guilt over Su Yiyi. She instinctively walked towards the entryway, as if to confirm something.
However, just as her hand touched the cold doorknob, the door was gently pushed open from the outside, creating a narrow gap.
Su Yiyi gasped, recoiling half a step.
The door slowly swung open, revealing Lan Yucheng standing on the other side.
She leaned against the doorframe as if all her strength had been drained. She was still wearing the same disheveled house clothes from last night, now somewhat torn with a crooked collar. On her exposed neck and collarbone, several distinct, suggestive red marks lingered.
Her hair was a mess, her face pale and devoid of color, yet her eyes were bloodshot and brimming with tears. Stubbornly, they refused to fall, as she silently and intently stared at Su Yiyi.
That gaze, so complex, made Su Yiyi’s heart clench.
Within it was grievance, fear, the pain of betrayal, and a deep, helpless despair, as if she had been abandoned by the entire world.
Lan Yucheng said nothing, yet every subtle expression, every exposed mark, silently accused Su Yiyi of the ‘crimes’ committed last night.
Su Yiyi’s mind buzzed. All her pre-planned apologies and explanations shattered in that instant.
She looked at Lan Yucheng’s broken appearance, especially those red, tear-filled eyes, and a colossal wave of guilt and heartache, threatening to drown her, instantly seized her.
It was her! It was she who had transformed the obedient, dependent sister from yesterday into this state!
“Xiao Cheng…” Su Yiyi’s voice was dry and hoarse, trembling noticeably. She took a step forward, instinctively reaching out to touch, yet fearing to startle her, her hand froze in mid-air. “You… you’ve been standing outside this whole time?”
Lan Yucheng didn’t answer. Her tears, finally unable to bear their weight, silently streamed down her pale cheeks. More heartbreaking than any wail, they fell without a sound. She slightly turned her head, seemingly trying to avoid Su Yiyi’s gaze, but her body trembled faintly from weakness and cold.
This subtle movement completely shattered Su Yiyi’s mental defenses. Escape? No, Su Yiyi was never one to shirk responsibility. Especially when facing the harm she had caused, she had to bear it!
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Xiao Cheng…” Su Yiyi could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and pulled Lan Yucheng into a tight embrace. Her hug was filled with remorse, guilt, and a powerful urge to protect, utterly unlike the roughness of last night. “I was a bastard! I wronged you! I don’t ask for your forgiveness, but… but please don’t hurt yourself like this, it’s so cold outside…”
Lan Yucheng stiffened for a moment in her arms, then, as if finally finding support, buried her face in Su Yiyi’s shoulder, letting out a suppressed, animalistic whimper. This crying tore at Su Yiyi’s heart even more.
Su Yiyi said no more. Half-supporting, half-embracing, she led the cold, seemingly frail Lan Yucheng into the house and directly to her own bedroom. She carefully laid her on the bed, still warm from her own body heat, and tightly wrapped her in a soft comforter.
“Don’t move, I’ll get the medicine kit.” Su Yiyi’s voice was gentle, almost humble. She quickly retrieved the medicine kit, sat by the bed, and delicately lifted a corner of the comforter, revealing the marks on Lan Yucheng’s arms and neck. Her fingers trembled slightly from fear and guilt, yet she strove to keep them steady, dipping a cotton swab into disinfectant and meticulously applying it to each red mark, as if tending to a fragile treasure.
Throughout the process, Su Yiyi kept her lips tightly pressed, afraid to meet Lan Yucheng’s eyes, fearing to see disgust and terror reflected there. She simply focused, repeatedly disinfecting and applying medicine, as if this could alleviate some of her own sin. The air was silent, save for the faint sound of the cotton swab against skin and their suppressed breathing.
Finally, all visible wounds were treated. Su Yiyi let out a small sigh, as if completing an arduous task, yet she dared not relax. She put away the medicine kit, stood up, and murmured, “You… get some good rest. I’ll be right outside; call me if you need anything.” She needed some space to process the immense shock and self-reproach, and also feared that her presence might continue to agitate Lan Yucheng.
However, just as she turned to leave, a cold hand suddenly emerged from under the comforter, accurately grasping her wrist.
The grip wasn’t strong, yet it held an undeniable stubbornness.
Su Yiyi’s body stiffened, and she halted, but did not turn back.
From behind her, Lan Yucheng’s low whisper, thick with a nasal tone yet exceptionally clear, reached her ears. Every word struck Su Yiyi’s heart like a small hammer:
“Sister Yiyi…”
“Are you… are you just going to leave like this?”
“You… you did that to me…”
“Don’t you… have to take responsibility?”
Su Yiyi whirled around, meeting Lan Yucheng’s uplifted, tear-filled eyes. The complete brokenness from before was gone, replaced by a mixture of grievance, accusation, and an almost desperate insistence on fulfilling a ‘promise’.
Take responsibility?
These two words fell, heavy as a final judgment.
Su Yiyi looked at the clear tear stains on Lan Yucheng’s pale face and the red marks on her arms. She saw the vulnerability and persistence in Lan Yucheng’s eyes, a complete surrender of herself. All thoughts of evasion were utterly severed.
Yes, responsibility. How else could she take responsibility? Besides dedicating her remaining time and care to compensate, to atone, what else could she do? Could she truly pretend nothing had happened, pushing away this girl she had harmed so utterly? What kind of person would Su Yiyi be then?
A heavy, almost fated, shackle clamped around Su Yiyi’s neck at that moment.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, only a kind of resigned, profound tenderness remained. She turned her hand to grasp Lan Yucheng’s cold one, gently sat back on the bed, and with her thumb, wiped away the tear stains from her face, her voice hoarse yet firm:
“Alright.”
“I’ll take responsibility.”
“From today on, I will take care of you.”
“Until… until you no longer need me.”
She made a promise, one that tightly bound her to Lan Yucheng. She didn’t know what the future held, but she knew that, at this moment, she couldn’t abandon this girl broken because of her.
Listening to this promise, a flicker of almost imperceptible, triumphant light flashed in Lan Yucheng’s eyes, instantly drowned by more tears. She leaned into Su Yiyi’s embrace, tightly hugging her waist and burying her face in her chest, as if she had found her final haven.
From an angle Su Yiyi couldn’t see, Lan Yucheng’s lips curved into a cold, weary arc.
The shackles were finally in place.
Su Yiyi’s tenderness and responsibility had become the most secure chains in her hands. And the path to Xiao Xue seemed to have become a little clearer.
What was the cost? Lan Yucheng no longer pondered it. On this irreversible road, she had long since considered both herself and others as calculable bargaining chips.