Forced to Love (GL) - Chapter 19

Streetlights flickered, and a gentle breeze passed by.

Lingxi and Shen Sui silently looked at each other, neither speaking a word.

It was as if, in an instant, an invisible, transparent barrier had formed around them, isolating them from the noisy, laughing world outside.

It was as if the world had only the two of them left.

Shen Sui’s deep gaze seemed almost mesmerizing, pulling Lingxi into a daze, as if she stood at the edge of time and space.

Countless starlights gathered in one place, and when she looked inside, all she could see was a dazzling golden light, so bright that she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

Lingxi was clearly suspended in the air, yet it felt as if she was stepping on solid ground. As she took one step after another toward the golden light, ripples formed beneath her feet, like waves breaking on the ocean’s surface and colliding with each other.

Her fingertips lightly touched the golden light, and in just a moment, it wrapped around her completely.

“I like you.” These four words felt both familiar and unfamiliar to Lingxi.

“You don’t have to worry about me. No one will bully me.”

“Will you come to the parent-teacher meeting?”

“I’m going to university soon. Will you come with me?”

“I’ve started working. I can take care of myself now, and I can take care of you too.”

“……”

One scene after another suddenly appeared out of thin air, circling around Lingxi.

They were all moments from the previous world, when Lingxi had taken in Shen Shang.

As the images changed, one scene remained in black and white. It finally stopped right before her eyes, leaving Lingxi slightly dazed.

“…I like you. Will you stay with me forever?”

“I will always be with you.”

“What about liking me?”

“……”

In the black-and-white scene, her past self looked somewhat uneasy, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent in response to those words.

The image stayed there, then suddenly shattered and twisted, turning into countless static-like snowflakes. The colorful scenes around her lost their color, merging into the snowflakes and forming a new image.

Lingxi glanced at it and furrowed her brows slightly.

In the past life, Shen Shang lay on a hospital bed, the room filled with white. Lingxi stood in front of her bed. She weakly opened her eyes, no longer showing the resilience and endurance she once had.

Her gaze was soft yet bright. She looked at Lingxi for a long time before her pale lips gently parted.

Lingxi heard her softly ask, with a hint of sorrow:

“You still don’t like me, do you?”

At that moment, the spacious room felt empty and unnecessary, and an echo-like pressure seemed to pound against Lingxi’s heart.

Her lowered hand clenched tightly. Even now, facing this moment again, it felt as if an invisible force gripped her throat, making it hard to breathe.

Lingxi didn’t understand what it meant to like someone. She also didn’t understand why she felt pain and suffocation.

But that momentary feeling was real and profound.

Lingxi closed her eyes and fell into an endless darkness.

She had never sought anything in life, nor had she desired anything. The only time she ever had the thought of wanting something was when she first opened her eyes in that hazy beginning and saw Shen Shang.

Her initial thought was simple—she just wanted to see what she looked like.

After seeing her face clearly, she wanted to hear the sound of her playing the jade flute.

After hearing the sound, she had a new thought.

She kept wanting more, and there was no end to it.

By the time Lingxi realized it, her deepest desire had already become the wish to stay by her side.

Shen Shang bore the weight of her responsibilities. Though she remained in the same place day after day, year after year, she never seemed to feel boredom.

After leaving the first world, Lingxi had also wondered whether she had truly completed her mission.

The glow of a soul was like a flame, burning hot as it entered her heart through her palm, even making her bl00d boil.

“I don’t know when it started, but you became special to me.”

“This feeling is very strange for me.”

“My family background destined me to be independent from a young age.”

“When I was little, I already understood that crying was useless. No matter what happened, I had to face it head-on to resolve it.”

“So, I gritted my teeth and persevered. No matter how painful or difficult it was, I pushed through.”

“It made me numb.”

“But then I met you. You broke into my world from the outside.”

“You were stiff, awkward, and stubborn.”

Lingxi suddenly opened her eyes. The darkness before her was swept away by a blinding light.

Step by step, Shen Sui walked into her vision, filling her entire field of view.

The person in front of her was still talking in broken sentences, but Lingxi’s hand, which was holding the ice cream cone, trembled slightly.

“From that moment on, you broke my numbness.”

“You made me feel my pain again. It was out of my control, and it made me uneasy.”

Shen Sui suddenly smiled at Lingxi. “I tried to drive the ‘intruder’ away, but the ‘intruder’ wasn’t self-aware at all and stubbornly stayed.”

“After that, I started feeling things beyond just pain.”

“It was like a black-and-white canvas being filled with vibrant colors.”

“In that moment, I realized how different it was—walking alone through the darkness, compared to experiencing the bitterness, sweetness, sourness, and saltiness with you by my side.”

The soft light flickered, but it only made Shen Sui’s expression more determined. It was different from the past, yet it was still her. Or rather, it was the more genuine and open version of her.

Lingxi looked at her, feeling as if waves were crashing against the shore in her heart, sweeping up sand in their wake.

She tasted the faint bitterness of bl00d in her mouth, and the Shen Sui in front of her overlapped with the person in her hallucination.

“So,” Shen Sui stepped closer to her, extending her hand, and softly said, “will you be with me?”

In an instant, the burning heat in her soul spread rapidly from her heart, bringing back the familiar pain in her chest. The overwhelming suffocation made it impossible for her to breathe.

Shen Sui quietly watched her; her outstretched hand unwavering.

So close…

Shen Shang was so close…

Staying with her was so close…

Wanting to stay with her was so close…

……

Cool fingertips touched warmth, like finding a life-saving fire in the freezing wind.

Fire brought light and much-needed warmth.

All the pain and suffocation ceased the moment Shen Sui grasped her hand.

The moment Lingxi’s cold fingertips touched her palm, Shen Sui closed her fingers tightly around her.

Warmth spread in all directions, dispelling the looming disaster of a moment ago.

A cool breeze blew in, and Shen Sui smiled gently at her.

“Good, you can’t escape now.”

Each word was etched into her heart like a spell.