But around LiLi, that coldness disappeared almost completely. She was patient. She was gentle. She played with the little girl, listened to her stories, helped her with food, and never once treated her like an inconvenience.
Yan Cijin had noticed those things long before she realized how much they mattered to her.
Now she watched Bai Li playing with LiLi and quietly thought that this woman had somehow managed to find her way into every corner of her life.
At first, Bai Li had only been someone Yan Cijin had to cooperate with because the world had ended and survival mattered more than anything else.
Then she had become someone she could rely on.
Then someone she trusted.
Then someone whose footsteps she could recognize without looking up.
Then someone whose voice could calm her even when she was angry.
And somewhere between one day and another, she had become someone Yan Cijin could no longer imagine losing.
Yan Cijin lowered her eyes.
It was almost funny.
