The Healing Sunshine (一厘米的阳光)

Chapter 2.2 - Hazy Memories (2)

Her head was spinning from the jolt she received.

Fortunately, there was a lot of sand to cushion her fall. Still, though, her knee ended up getting scraped.

The grains of sand were not small, and when they seeped into her sandals, they chafed against the bottom of her feet very painfully.

She felt she really was a little dizzy, and leaning against the concrete wall that went around all sides of the pit, she slowly sat herself down. After resting for a lengthy time, she finally heard someone calling her. Nuannuan and Zhao Xiaoying were sobbing as they lay on their bellies up above, peering their heads over the edge to look at her and asking her whether she was okay or not. Jǐ Yi wagged her hand, no strength left in her to speak. Her legs, after the fact now, were limp—and she was afraid.

Such a deep pit. There was no way she would be able to climb out of it.

"Jǐ Yi, wait for me to find someone to pull you back up." Nuannuan made a swipe at her tears. "I am sworn enemies with Wang Xingyu for the rest of my life." She had not even finished saying two sentences before crocodile tears started falling again... "Jǐ Yi, I totally failed you. Every time, I can't even help you. The two of us are friends through life and death. Back then during that party, no one would act out New Legend of Madame White Snake with me, and only you would be my Xiao Qing..."

Jǐ Yi was genuinely tickled into giggles by this.

Oh, God, things like that just shouldn't be mentioned, you know? ...

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After saying this, the two up above both ran off to find someone to come save Jǐ Yi.

Jǐ Yi rested for a long while before she finally remembered, weren't Dad and Mama coming home today?! The instant this thought crossed her mind, she was struck stupid. Standing back up, she began thinking of various ways to try to climb out of here. Her parents were always very rushed when they came back and would leave immediately after. They would not be waiting for her at all.

All her courage from a moment ago completely left her. Thinking and thinking about this, she started to cry, and her tears tumbled downwards.

She hadn't seen them for two months already...

But there was not even a crack in the concrete walls surrounding her. There was no possibility at all of climbing out.

She tried hard for a long time, but in the end, she sank back down onto the ground, weeping. She thought, What if Dad and Mama get mad and won't come back next time? ...

As time slipped away, she felt more and more sad and wronged. Hugging her knees to herself, she sat in a corner where the sunlight could not reach. She knew only to cry. This was not the first time she had had a big cry because she missed her dad and mama, but this was the first time doing it in a place that was not home. Such a powerless feeling. Right now, right this moment, she felt only sad and hurt, a type of wounded sadness that had been suppressed for so long and that she had not been able to express through words.

Even when someone jumped into the sand pit, she still did not notice.

Until a finger gently brushed away the dirty sand on a spot near her knee. Because this action tugged at her wound, she finally lifted her head and, through blurred eyes, looked at the person in front of her.

Many years later, she would not remember their first meeting and would not really remember the ice cream from their second meeting, but she would still remember this picture. The eyes of Little Uncle Jì before her were scarily dark and grim, and with his back to the sun, his gaze was fixed on her. But after a while, he slowly, ever so slowly, melted away all of his anger, and those lips that had been pressed tightly together gradually softened into a smile.