This winter was exceptionally cold, and the night was exceptionally dark.

The lights in the house were not switched on. When her cell phone suddenly lit up, Xing Jiuan turned her head to take a look. The cold light illuminated the girl’s face. Her skin was almost transparent.

[Eldest Brother: The money has been transferred to you.]

It was a very cold sentence. Xing Jiuan blinked her eyes, seemingly unable to react.

She sat up and turned the light on. Probably because she’d spent too much time in the dark, when the light came on, she had to close her eyes for a moment to catch her breath.

Today was her 21st birthday. Although no one came to celebrate for her, she couldn’t treat herself unfairly.

Xing Jiuan took out a small cake from the fridge, stuck a candle on it, and lit the candle up. She made a wish quietly.

After taking two bites, she put on her coat and walked out.

It was winter now and the weather outside was very cold.

In the past, Xing Jiuan was not afraid of the cold. However, ever since that incident, she had become very afraid of it.

People came and went outside, and the night scene was gentle. It was almost the Chinese New Year, so it should be lively.

Xing Jiuan thought this to herself.

She had just moved into this neighborhood and was still not familiar with the surroundings. The house was too quiet and lonely. Therefore, she could not help but want to come out to see the world.

Her long hair was messed up by the wind and her lips were a little pale. Xing Jiuan placed her hands in the pockets of her down jacket. Even though she had layers of clothing on, she still looked skinny.

It was still very cold. She thought that she would be able to keep herself warm by wrapping herself up tightly. Who knew that she would still shiver from the cold after coming out?

But Xing Jiuan didn’t want to go back either.

She looked at the bustling activity with some envy. A sudden cold wind caused some snow to land on her face. Xing Jiuan used her hand to block it, regretting not wearing a mask.

But she didn’t want to go back and get one.

She continued walking forward. There was a hotpot restaurant not far away and she wanted to go there for a meal.

On such a cold day, it was very fitting to have hotpot.

As she walked slowly, she couldn’t help but think about what had happened in the past few years.

She followed her senior brother down from the mountains and had not been obedient at all. She caused him a lot of trouble. Later on, in her disobedience, she always went against him…

It was only right that her senior brother was ignoring her.

When she was nineteen, her biological parents found her and asked her to come home with them.

For some reason, she only hesitated for a moment before going with them.

It was only after they reached home that she realized they already had a daughter they doted on. They had raised her for nineteen years. Compared to the biological daughter they had just found outside, the daughter they had raised for nineteen years was probably more likable.

Perhaps she’d been bewitched. She’d clearly had no parents since she was young, yet after being found by her biological parents, she still wanted to seek love from her family.

She was such an arrogant lady. But because of certain expectations, she folded her wings and pretended to be lovable and obedient. She became so small and weak that it was loathsome.

When they said that the color she had dyed her hair in wasn’t good, she dyed it back to black.

When they said that girls looked good with long hair, she started keeping her hair long.

They told her not to bully their daughter. Even if she was not their biological daughter, they had raised her for nineteen years and they loved her very much. She was younger and, therefore, she had to give in to her older sister.

She nodded then, but she didn’t explain that she wasn’t one to pick on people.

However, perhaps no one would believe her even if she’d said so.

The real daughter was too lousy. She was a hooligan who loved to fight and had dropped out of school very early. She seemed to have been labeled as a delinquent girl.

On the other hand, the fake daughter had been pampered since she was young. She was well-educated, well-mannered, gentle, and well-versed in the four arts. She was the image of a daughter of a prestigious family that everyone was all too familiar with.

Xing Jiuan touched her long hair, feeling a little sad.

Her life was still probably better described by the name her master had given her. Xing Se1, Xing Se. Her life was all sorts of unusual and only filled with bitterness and pain.

Xing Jiuan was such a blessed name. She didn’t deserve it.

Xing Jiuan didn’t know if she shuddered because of the cold she felt in her body or because her heart was cold.

Ever since she was brought back to the capital by the Huo family, her contact with her sect had become less frequent and her temper had been getting worse and worse. Every time she met them, she would end up disappointing the ones who cared about her.

Maybe she really wasn’t worth liking.

In the Huo family, no one liked her either. Every time she celebrated her birthday, they would only say a few cold words and transfer her some money.

Since they couldn’t give her love, they gave her money.

After all, the Huo family didn’t lack money.

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.

1

“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…”