Tong Yao’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground completely.
Bai Song admitted that Tong Yao was exceptional, but she was like a burning sun, anyone who got too close would be scorched. The pain was too much; her already battered and broken body couldn’t endure any more torment.
She had let go. There was truly no love left in her for Tong Yao, no love for anyone at all.
The moment Bai Song decided to leave Tong Yao, she lost the ability to love.
Lu Xuanxuan watched the desolation in her eyes, her heart aching unbearably. How could Bai Song be so good? How could Tong Yao be so cruel? She didn’t deserve Bai Song, didn’t deserve even a shred of her love.
Without a word, Lu Xuanxuan helped Bai Song up to leave.
“No, you can’t! You can’t take her away! She loves me, she’s mine, she’s just saying these things out of anger!” Tong Yao suddenly scrambled up, shoving Lu Xuanxuan aside. Her eyes were bloodshot, her demeanor almost unhinged as she gripped Bai Song’s wrist, repeating frantically, “Song Song promised she would love me forever, no matter what happened. She said she’d never leave me!”
Seeing Tong Yao spiral into madness again, Lu Xuanxuan sneered, “Hah, ‘no matter what happened’? Was that supposed to be some sweet fucking confession? I bet Song Song never imagined you’d hurt her like this when she said those words. ‘Never leave you’? So she could wait around for you to send her straight to the grave?”
Tong Yao stiffened, her face contorted in agony and conflict as tears poured down her cheeks.
Bai Song struggled free from Tong Yao’s embrace. Even though Tong Yao wasn’t using much force, Bai Song was so weak she gasped for breath, as if she might collapse at any moment. Panting, she said, “Tong Yao, enough. That was all in the past. People change just like you.” She gave Tong Yao a meaningful look. “I never thought you’d become like this either.”
“No! You never told me! If you’d told me you were sick, I would never have treated you this way! I would have.” Tong Yao’s chest heaved violently, her fingers tightening around Bai Song’s wrist like iron claws.
Bai Song winced in pain but didn’t make a sound.
Tong Yao stared at her frail, trembling figure and whispered, “Do you really not like me anymore?”
Before Bai Song could respond, Lu Xuanxuan punched Tong Yao in the jaw and snarled, “Keep dreaming! If someone treated you like this, would you still like them? Tong Yao, are you fucking masochistic?”
Bai Song watched the two of them argue like kindergarteners, her expression cold and detached. When Tong Yao turned to her with hopeful eyes, she shook her head. “It’s not that I don’t like you anymore. I despise you. I don’t want to see you, Tong Yao.”
“Bai Song!” Tong Yao wailed hysterically. “What do you want from me? You said you loved me, then you turned around and went to someone else! I was angry, I locked you up but it was because I loved you! And you, how could you be so cruel? Just drop the bomb that you’re terminally ill and expect everything to flip upside down?”
She sobbed uncontrollably, like a puppet with its strings cut. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Bai Song closed her eyes, exhaustion weighing her down. “Yes, I was wrong. And I’ve paid the price for my mistake. Everything I’ve suffered should be enough to make up for it. If you still care for me even a little, just let me go.”
Tong Yao’s breathing trembled as she stared fixedly at Bai Song, her eyes filled with a tangled mix of grief and despair. Yes, it was all Lu Xuanxuan’s fault! Bai Song was alone and still ill. Without Lu Xuanxuan, even if Bai Song was angry with her, she would have no choice but to stay by her side. Then, Tong Yao would have had the chance to beg for forgiveness, rather than face such a fierce demand to leave.
At that moment, Tong Yao wanted to tear Lu Xuanxuan apart.
Even when she had been driven out of the Tong family, she had never felt such powerlessness. It was as if, even if she tore out her own heart to prove that everything she had done was out of love, Bai Song would only find it repulsive and bloody.
Tong Yao wiped her face, her voice thick with exhaustion: “Your condition isn’t suitable for long journeys. Wait until you’re a little better before leaving.”
Bai Song’s pupils constricted sharply, her tone defensive: “So you still plan to imprison me?”
“No.” Her reflexive reaction shattered Tong Yao’s heart. Suppressing her tears, she said solemnly, “This is a sanatorium. It’s more convenient for you to recover here. Don’t worry, I won’t barge into your room like before.”
Bai Song scoffed. This wasn’t her room at all, it was just another one of Tong Yao’s twisted playrooms.
Tong Yao’s body trembled slightly as she continued, “I won’t touch you without your permission.”
Lu Xuanxuan’s mockery was even more blatant: “No one should touch another person without their consent, Tong Yao. Don’t act all noble, what you did before was a crime!”
Tong Yao ignored her completely. After a pause, she turned and walked away without another word.
Early the next morning, Bai Song was still half-asleep when she heard a few soft knocks at the door, as if the person was afraid of startling her.
Bai Song forced her eyes open, still groggy. It had been so long since she’d heard a knock Tong Yao had always just barged in without warning.
She yawned, got out of bed, and walked to the door. “Xuanxuan?”
After a long pause, a voice replied, “Song Song, it’s me.”
“What do you want?”
“Song Song, I brought you breakfast.” Tong Yao’s voice was hoarse and rough, as if she hadn’t slept well the night before.
Bai Song said, “Leave it at the door. I don’t have an appetite right now.”
“It’ll get cold. You’re not well, you shouldn’t eat cold food.”
Bai Song laughed coldly. “Don’t talk about cold food. I’ve already eaten plenty of things I shouldn’t have. Tong Yao, isn’t it a little late for you to say this now?”
Tong Yao’s hand pressed against her chest tightened abruptly, her vision darkening in waves. She felt like she might collapse at any moment.
“Song Song, I was wrong.” After a long silence so long that Bai Song thought Tong Yao had left and was about to go back to bed, a weak apology came from the other side of the door.
The voice was rough, thick with a nasal tone, and utterly drained of energy.
Bai Song slammed her fist against the door. “Tong Yao, some wounds can never be forgiven.”
Exhaustion etched across her face, Tong Yao stood outside the door. She closed her eyes and said slowly, “Song Song, even if you hate me, don’t ruin your health. You still need to eat breakfast.”
Bai Song clenched her fists. “My body was already ruined by you. Even if I soaked in the Jade Pool now, it wouldn’t heal. Tong Yao, if you truly pity me, then let me go completely!”
“No!” Even through the door, Bai Song could hear the despair in Tong Yao’s voice as she pleaded desperately, “Yao Yao, don’t leave me.”
Bai Song hesitated for a moment before replying, “I’m sorry. Before I die, I don’t want to torture myself anymore.”
Tong Yao sniffled, “Is being with me really that painful? I swear, I’ll treat you better from now on. I won’t.”
“There is no ‘from now on.'” Bai Song’s lips trembled slightly. “Tong Yao, my love for you is gone, and my life is coming to an end. When will you finally realize that? Cough, cough, cough!”
Bai Song’s coughing grew increasingly violent. Tong Yao called out to her several times from outside, but the only response was the relentless, lung-wrenching coughs.
When Tong Yao pushed the door open, she saw Bai Song curled up on the floor. She immediately dropped to her knees. “Song Song, what’s wrong? Doctor! Get the doctor here now!”
Bai Song’s face was deathly pale from the pain, her features contorted. With a strength that seemed to come from nowhere, she grabbed Tong Yao’s wrist, smearing blood from her palm onto it. Through gritted teeth, she spoke as if each word were drawn from her very lifeblood: “Tong Yao, didn’t you love seeing me in pain? Didn’t you love watching me bleed? Isn’t that why you kept me here to see me struggle like this? Why pretend to care now by calling a doctor? Shouldn’t you be grabbing a camera to record this? You won’t get another chance.”
The crimson blood on her wrist burned like fire, searing into her soul. Tong Yao struggled to breathe, biting her lip to fight back the suffocating pain in her chest. She had made a mistake, and the price was far too high, one she could never repay.
“Song Song, I was wrong. You’ll be okay. The doctor is coming.”
“No. Even if they come, I won’t see them.” Bai Song gasped, her bloodless lower lip now bitten raw.
The sight of that scarlet stain sent a jolt through Tong Yao, and she reached out to wipe it away.
Bai Song flinched back instinctively.
The defensive reaction twisted Tong Yao’s heart as if it were being fried in oil. Her outstretched hand froze mid-air, her nostrils flaring as she fought back tears.
But Bai Song felt no pity. Instead, she bared her teeth in a ghastly, bloodstained grin. “Better to die on my own terms than be tortured to death by you.”
It was like a bolt of lightning. Tong Yao stared at her in shock. “Song Song, you!”
Bai Song only smiled, too weak to speak.
“Song Song?!” Lu Xuanxuan rushed in and pulled Bai Song away, glaring furiously at Tong Yao. “What have you done now? It’s barely morning, and you’re already tormenting her? Will you only be satisfied when she’s dead?!”
“I didn’t!” Tong Yao opened her mouth to protest, but Bai Song’s earlier words echoed in her mind. She bit her lip hard and, with immense effort, released her grip on Bai Song’s clothes.
Bai Song didn’t spare her a single glance. Coughing weakly, she relaxed into Lu Xuanxuan’s arms.
Lu Xuanxuan sobbed uncontrollably. “Song Song, I’ll get the doctor. Just hold on.”
“No!” Bai Song clutched at Lu Xuanxuan’s sleeve, her voice strained. “I don’t want Tong Yao’s doctor. Xuanxuan, take me away. Please, hurry! Get me out of here!!”
Her final words were a desperate cry, fueled by the last embers of her life.
Lu Xuanxuan seemed to have a premonition. Clutching Bai Song’s hand, her vision blurred with tears, she could see nothing but kept sobbing and repeating, “I’ll take you away, take you away, Song Song, I’ll take you away right now!”
Tong Yao collapsed onto the floor, her eyes hollow as she stared at Bai Song, whose breathing was faint but whose eyes immediately sparked with a desperate will to live at the mention of leaving this place. It felt as though her world was slowly crumbling, everything dissolving into nothingness in the blink of an eye.
She hated herself for not discovering Bai Song’s illness sooner. But Bai Song gave her no chance for remorse.
Her entire life had been immersed in the nightmare and molten pain of punishment, day and night.
Tong Yao’s heart was withering, fading, dying bit by bit.
She wished she could follow Bai Song immediately, but Bai Song had said, “Tong Yao, come a little later. I don’t want to see you before I drink Meng Po’s soup.”
“Song Song, I’ll take you to my home. There’s a huge garden room there, built by my dad just for my mom. It’s full of roses now white, pink, red, all so beautiful.”
“By the way, what flowers do you like? I’ll buy you seeds, and you can plant them yourself? Watching the seeds, you plant take root, sprout, and bloom is truly something to be proud of. I love sunflowers the most because no matter how much you mess with them, they survive. My mom says I have no ambition. Song Song, do you like sunflowers? Should I buy you sunflower seeds?”
“Song Song, don’t scare me. Song Song, open your eyes and look at me, Song Song!” On the boat leaving the isolated island, Lu Xuanxuan held the frail Bai Song, completely lost in her visions of their future life together. But when she asked question after question and received no answers, she looked down and saw that Bai Song’s eyes had long closed, her expression serene, a smile lingering at the corners of her lips, as if she had drifted into a beautiful dream, one too precious to disturb.