A Glimpse of Ling Luo's Past (2)

Years passed by. Ling Luo was now 5 years old. She grew up into a precocious and obedient little girl.

Although she was still young, she could already sense the faint hostility and the feeling of alienation from other villagers.

She also realized that she was different from other children because they had both of their parents, but she had only her mother in the family ever since she remembered.

Although she was lonely, she knew that she couldn't bother her mother, who was already working hard enough to somehow put a food in their table, so little Ling Luo could only do her best to help her mother at home and be a good girl.

Her mother occasionally praised her, but for the most part, she seemed to be ignored by her mother, which disheartened her greatly. But in the mind of 5-year-old Ling Luo, it only meant that she wasn't obedient and helpful enough. So, she became more and more reserved.

It was all changed when the rumour about the Chief's son's marriage with his distant relative spread in the town. When the news arrived in her mother's ears, it extinguished the last candle of her hope.

Afterward, she seemed to lose her mind and became extremely violent. She frequently beat Ling Luo and cursed at her to vent the anger, hate, and desperation in her heart.

Every time she looked at Ling Luo's face, she saw the shadow of her once beloved man, and the throbbing pain of betrayal was worse than the pain she had when she was birthing Ling Luo.

In the end, she also abandoned Ling Luo and committed suicide.

"You are worthless."

"Your father left us because you're useless."

"You should just die already."

"I don't have a child like you. You are a mistake."

Her mother's departure and these ruthless words left behind by her kept lingering in her head, devastating little Ling Luo. No matter how sensible a 5-year-old child was, it was impossible for her not to be affected by the sudden tragedy that dawned upon her.

The more she recalled her mother's words, the more she felt that they were true. She was worthless and she didn't deserve to be born in this world. She sank deeper and deeper into the abyss of despair.

The already taciturn Ling Luo became more and more quiet afterward.

Many of the villagers felt a pang of guilt in their hearts when they saw the miserable little kids. Although they wanted to help, they were also afraid of the village chief, so they could only help her in secret. Some of the elderly villagers even wanted to adopt her despite the village chief's hostility, but they quickly gave up when they saw her current condition, which looked like a soulless puppet. Thus, they could only leave her alone while secretly providing her with daily meals.

Just when she was about to be completely devoured by the darkness in her heart, a blinding ray of light shone upon her. A gentle warmth enveloped her body, expelling the chilling darkness that engulfed her.

It was the moment that Qin Yu's parents found her crying alone in the corner of her dilapidated house.

She looked at the man and woman in front of her who gave her a sense of comfort and security, like a pair of angels descending from heaven.

The bespectacled man looked at her with an expressionless face, but his eyes were full of concern. Whilst the pregnant woman smiled at her warmly, embracing her while patting her back just like she imagined a mother would be.

"Will you come with us?" the woman asked in the gentlest tone Ling Luo had ever heard.

Little Ling Luo stared at the pair blankly, having a hard time registering what the other party said to her in her mind.

What did the woman in front of her mean? Taking her with them and then abandoning her again when they finally realized her worthlessness, just like her mother? What was she going to do if that was the case?

Her reason told her that she must stay away and crawl back to the safety of the darkness, but her heart seemed to feel otherwise. Once you felt the warmth of light, you would never be able to endure the loneliness of darkness once more.

"Will you abandon me again?" Her milky voice trembled.

"No. I promise you we won't." There was a hint of pain in the woman's smile, but when Ling Luo saw the gentleness in her eyes, she somehow trusted this couple inexplicably.

"Me and this man with a paralyzed face over here," The woman added while pointing herself at the man beside her, then caressed her bulging stomach. "And also this little one. We will be your new home. You won't be alone anymore."

Ling Luo's once lifeless eyes regained their lustre once more as they shimmered in tears. All of her loneliness, grief, and sadness erupted at the same time she clutched the woman's neck tightly, sobbing in her shoulder and soaking her dress.

The woman didn't say anything more and just let her release all her pent-up feelings that she had carried in her small frame. Her fingers ran through her hair, caressing her head gently.

"It'll be fine. It'll be fine. Everything is going to be better."

At this moment, Little Ling Luo realized that this was something she had yearned for a long, long time. The warmth of a family.

***

"Big Sis Luo… Big Sis Luo…"

"Hmm?"

A voice full of concerns immediately woke Ling Luo from her daydream. She felt that her cheeks were actually a little bit wet and her eyes a bit teary.

Not wanting to make Qin Yu feel more worried, Ling Luo hurriedly wiped her tears.

"What happened to you?"

"No, no, I'm okay… I'm just thinking about the past…"

"Is it a bad memory?"

Was it a bad memory?

She really thought so before, but she was also aware that if it didn't happen, she wouldn't be able to meet with the Qin family and also Qin Yu. She now saw her dark past in a different light.

"It doesn't matter. I have a cute little sister beside me right now, so I don't feel sad anymore."

Ling Luo replied in a teasing tone and gave Qin Yu a playful wink.

"Uuh… how can you easily say something like that… you're so unfair…"

Ling Luo could see the tips of Qin Yu's ears turning a bit red, tempting her to tease her even further.

"Hehe… what do you think? Have you started to fall for me, little Yu?"

"F-f-falling f-for you?! N-no… I'm not!" Flustered, Qin Yu hurriedly shook her head and denied falteringly while glaring at Ling Luo fiercely, like a cat that had had its tail stepped on.

But the increasing rate of her heartbeat and the change in her skin colour to a deep red from neck to ear betrayed her words.

'Her body is more honest than her mouth.' Ling Luo giggled inwardly. 'So, freaking adorable.'

Satisfied by her gains today, Ling Luo stopped her teasing for now.

"I'm just joking. Don't take it seriously." Ling Luo pinched Qin Yu's cheek, grinning.

Qin Yu was so bewildered by the unusual reaction of her body that she didn't seem to be aware that her cheeks had been squished and twisted by Ling Luo for a while.

As she regained her senses, Qin Yu quickly escaped from Ling Luo's evil hand and subsconciously protected her slightly swollen cheek.

"Aah… don't pinch my cheek, it hurts!" Qin Yu sent another fierce glare.

"Eeh? But it is so soft…" Ling Luo complained aggievedly, as if she was the one who was being wronged.

"Why don't you pinch yourself?!"

"But, it's different…"

"It's the same!"

"I don't want to!"

"Why?!"

"Because it's not yours~"

Qin Yu was at a loss. She never knew that the gentle big sister Ling Luo could be so shameless and unreasonable that she could still argue with a high moral ground, albeit being in the wrong.

"You… you're a bully!"

"I don't care… as long as I can pinch your cheek, you can call me a bully everytime~"

Qin Yu retreated several steps away from Ling Luo while tremblingly pointing her finger at her. But Ling Luo didn't give up and persistently chased her with her finger ready to poke her bulging cheek.

"Stop fooling around; it's dangerous!"

"Tsk."

"And don't click your tongue!"

Their game of cat and mouse finally came to an end. Both of them were a little out of breath, panting slightly.

"Fine, fine… ah… where did my obedient and cute little girl go? Is this the famous "rebellious phase"? This big sister's heart is hurt~"

"There's no "rebellious phase"!" Qin Yu retorted, "And, I'm not a little girl!"

"Yeah, yeah… I know, you're a big girl, aren't you?" Ling Luo smiled as she replied nonchalantly.

"Why did I feel you didn't mean what you said, Big Sis Luo?" Qin Yu squinted at Ling Luo suspiciously.

"It's just your imagination…" Ling Luo lied without batting an eye. "Now what about we continue? There's still a long way ahead." She quickly moved to the front and started walking without waiting for Qin Yu's reply, with a big smile plastered on her face.