Chapter 12: Unbearable Crying

The young man stood on the steps, smiling at the girl—not the polite smile he’d worn when they first met, but a real one.

It was like the gentle fragrance of an evening breeze on a summer day after school, or fireworks bursting brilliantly for a moment in the night.

Not as dazzling as the Sun, but just bright enough to illuminate a heart teetering on the edge of darkness.

Why was that? It was just a smile—just a simple, ordinary smile…

It wasn’t that no one had tried to comfort Yudong.

The Netizens who donated, her former Teacher and Classmate—could their words really not compare to a stranger’s smile?

Yet the truth was,

This smile was warmer than all the comforting words Yudong had ever heard.

It had always been this way—unintentional gestures moved the heart more than carefully crafted reassurances.

For the first time in a long while, ripples formed in her heart, long saturated with negative emotions.

For a brief moment, Yudong felt this was her path forward, the reason to keep going.

“Thank you…”

She hadn’t expected it—not at all.

What finally broke her wasn’t some greater tragedy, but the smile of a stranger she’d just met.

“Tha… thank you.”

Yudong almost choked on the words as she uttered her thanks twice.

Was she… crying?

It started with a sourness in her nose, then, at some point, her vision blurred.

The second time she’d cried.

Since that night, this was the second time.

Why? When the Hospital called to demand payment, she held back. She swallowed disappointment after each failed interview.

Why… why?

First came the choked sobs, then the storm of tears and cries.

It was all let out.

Like a bursting balloon, all the pent-up pain finally released. Yudong could even feel her heart, crushed and misshapen, gradually easing.

She’d really let it out.

Her heart-wrenching cries echoed through the Corridor, as Yudong wept unrestrained.

Her grief, anger, and pain flowed out with her tears, washing over her decaying, blackened heart again and again.

“Um, are—are you okay?”

Yezhe had never seen anything like this. He racked his brains but couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong to upset Yudong.

His hands hovered in the air before dropping helplessly. Out of options, he could only stammer apologies to Yudong again and again, panicked.

Even the fiercest thunderstorm has to subside eventually. After a while, Yudong’s wailing gradually faded into sobs.

“Can you… hug me?”

Her words trembled at the end, her emotions breaking free despite her efforts to restrain them.

She needed someone to rely on—desperately.

……

The Evening Breeze rustled through the leaves—it wasn’t truly late. In the north, the Sun always seemed lazy, hanging on until the Moon was high before finally slipping below the horizon.

Far off, the Mountain, glowing golden, blocked out the Sun so thoroughly that only the faintest afterglow remained.

“Mother.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you know what happiness is?”

It was just after School, the Street bustling with cars and people.

The little girl turned her head, looking with innocent eyes at the middle-aged woman holding her hand.

“Hmm…” The woman lowered her head, looking at the small hand in her palm, and fell silent for a moment.

“Xiaoyu, are you happy right now?”

The little girl gazed innocently at her Mother, who looked back at her child with gentle affection.

“I don’t know…”

Not getting the answer she wanted, the little girl’s face fell, just a little.

“Then, Xiaoyu, are you happy right now?”

“Mm, because Mother is with me.”

“That’s what happiness is.”

“Hm?”

The two slowed their steps and stopped—it was a Red Light.

“Just like this, being together, safe and sound, with someone you can rely on—that’s happiness, isn’t it?”

The sky, painted honey by the Setting Sun, had quietly faded.

Streetlights flickered on, casting a warm yellow glow that mingled the shadows of mother and daughter together on the Street.

It seemed School ended a little later than usual today.

“Is that so?”

“Mm.”

At some point, the Green Light appeared.

“Let’s go. Let’s go Home.”

The woman smiled at Yudong under the lamplight.

“Mm.”

Yudong smiled back at her Mother. Their shadows, one large and one small, stretched longer and longer beneath the streetlights as they walked across the road together.

……

Yezhe said nothing as he watched, only slowly walked over to Yudong. When he reached her, he hesitated for a full moment before awkwardly spreading his arms.

Yudong, by contrast, rushed forward the moment his arms opened.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Yezhe’s back, even clenching the fabric of his shirt so hard it hurt Yezhe when she grabbed it.

Just how much strength does this girl have…?

“I… I haven’t even taken off my apron, it’s a bit dirty…”

Yezhe whispered gently to Yudong, afraid of upsetting her again.

Yudong didn’t reply. She just lay quietly in Yezhe’s arms, sobbing softly.

……

“…Are you okay? You were crying so hard just now.”

Still silent, her tears had unknowingly soaked a patch on Yezhe’s chest.

Saying he wasn’t nervous would be a lie—Yezhe was a mess. He didn’t know what to do with his hands; hugging her back the way she hugged him didn’t feel right either. In the end, he could only awkwardly rest his hands lightly on her shoulders.

After a while, her sobs faded to nothing. The air seemed to freeze. The Corridor was deathly silent—nothing but their occasional breathing disturbed the stillness.

“Can you… hold me tighter?”

Yudong’s sudden request shattered the silence.

“Ah… uh… okay…”

He was flustered, truly flustered. His palms were already slick with sweat from the tension.

Moving them from her shoulders, he stiffly wrapped his arms around Yudong’s back, finally holding her gently.

“Thank you.”

Her voice was hoarse from crying, her breath warm against Yezhe’s chest. Honestly, it was uncomfortable—ticklish, maybe even a little unsettling.

“It’s nothing, uh, as long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters… as long as you’re happy…”

He dared not move—not at all. Just keeping his panic under control already stretched him to his limit… Of course, in the end, a quiver escaped into his last words: as long as you’re happy.

Happy…? Compared to how things had been, this was honestly the happiest Yudong had been in a long time—relatively speaking.

Like a lamb lost in a sea of sand stumbling upon a bonfire, Yudong, surrounded by the depths of the sea, had finally found the faint light of a distant lighthouse.

Even if it was only for a moment, even if it wasn’t very bright, it was enough to let her find hope again, enough for her to swim on toward the unknown.

Yudong just stayed in the young man’s embrace, the warmth of his shirt against her face so comfortable.

Maybe it was all her time spent around stoves, or maybe it was something about the young man himself, but the scent of him made her feel as if she’d returned to those carefree summer days, helping her Mother in the kitchen—a wonderful, worry-free summer…

The Author caught the Flu… Updates will be fixed at one chapter every two days (though that’s pretty much how it’s been recently anyway) Dizzy and dazed…

Begging the Audience who made it this far to give a like and bookmark, please and thank you!