“You’re still waiting for Ji Pei, aren’t you?”
Ji Wanxin furrowed her brows.
Ji Yunshu hadn’t mentioned that name in two years.
Upon hearing it from Ji Wanxin’s, her heart seemed to itch, yet she couldn’t scratch it. She lay her head against the pillow as she turned to hide her eyes.
Yet Ji Wanxin seemed to have completely seen through her. Ji Wanxin attempted to persuade her, “Ji Pei has already left for two years, why are you still waiting for him? Perhaps he won’t return at all, or maybe he has forgotten your promise. Yunshu, why are you making things hard for yourself?”
“Don’t say anymore, Second Sister.”
“I just can’t bear to see you like this. A spoken promise rooted you to this empty courtyard for two years. Was it worth it?” As if feeling that she wasn’t being persuasive enough, she continued, “You clearly don’t want to get married to the Wei family, yet you still tolerate it. If I were you, I wouldn’t wait for Ji Pei anymore and I would leave the Ji family, or even Jinjiang city.”
She spoke with a voice filled with indignation!
Ji Yunshu didn’t know why she felt like this.
Ji Wanxin didn’t understand Ji Yunshu enough.
She wasn’t that selfless of a person. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about anything, nor was it to make things hard for herself. The only reason why she waited was because she had promised to.
“Leaving the Ji family is easy. Leaving Jinjiang city is also easy. But… if I leave, how would Ji Pei find me when he returns?” Her voice seemed to come from a deep abyss.
“But your tolerance will only harm yourself in the end.”
“I know.”
There was a kind of unbreakable determination in her voice.
Indeed, Ji Yunshu was too stubborn, perhaps excessively so!
She promised to wait, and wait she would. The two-year deadline wasn’t up yet!
Shaking her head, Ji Wanxin didn’t know what else to say. A thousand words of persuasion came to her mind, but ultimately, she did not speak any of them. She could only sigh as she tucked in the corner of Ji Yunshu’s blanket.
“Get some rest. In a bit, I’ll get Dong’er to send over some medicine and tonics. Focus on recuperating and leave all the other matters aside for now.” Ji Yunshu assented to all her instructions.
Up until her departure, Ji Yunshu’s suffering was still visibly affecting Ji Wanxin’s mood.
When night fell, Ji Yunshu was in so much pain she couldn’t sleep. However, her pain didn’t just originate from the whip injuries on her back.
That name, ‘Ji Pei’, also contributed to it.
Ji Yunshu had never spoken to anyone about Ji Pei before. This person was the taboo of the Ji family! No one was allowed to mention or speak about him.
Even the 8-year-old Ji Lingzhi never dared to mention him! It was as if this person had never existed.
But Ji Yunshu knew well that Ji Pei truly existed. After all, the happy memories that they shared were carved deep into her heart.
That winter, the plum blossoms bloomed vibrantly. Ji Pei stood underneath the plum tree. “Strong facial features”, “A pleasant face”, “Brimming with elegance”. These phrases described him perfectly.
He broke a stem holding a plum blossom and placed it into Ji Yunshu’s palm. His movements were filled with warmth and gentleness.
“Shu’er, promise me that you’ll wait for me. In two years, I will definitely come back with betrothal gifts fit for the perfect bride that you are!”
The Ji Pei from her memories, with his scholarly air, was truly flawless. His gaze, just like the nightly summer sky faintly illuminated by sparse stars, was warm enough to set one’s heart ablaze.
That was the person to whom she was keeping her promise for nearly two years.
……….
Time flew by. The pain tortured Ji Yunshu for the whole night.
She only managed to momentarily slip into a light slumber right before dawn. When she woke up, her pillow was soaked wet, and it was difficult to tell whether most of it came from her sweat or her tears.