Chapter 119: Ch 119: Market Crowds and Parallels

While the loving pair remained beneath the shade, still lost in their shared past, PD Xu Cui and the children finally arrived at the village market. Voices rose and overlapped—vendors calling out prices, customers bargaining, children laughing, and the constant shuffle of feet on packed earth.

PD Xu Cui pushed Mo Yan’s stroller carefully through the growing crowd, with Shen Guoxing and Leilei walking close beside him. The stroller wheels bumped over uneven ground, and the baby watched the colorful chaos with wide, curious eyes.

Suddenly a dense wave of people surged past them. Bodies pressed and jostled from every side—shoulders, elbows, the sharp edges of bags and baskets. The heat of so many bodies pressed close made the air feel heavier.

PD Xu Cui immediately pulled Shen Guoxing closer against him, shielding her with his frame. "Be careful, Xing’er," he said gently, looking down at his eldest angelic granddaughter. The protective edge in his voice was soft but unmistakable.

Shen Guoxing tilted her face up and gave him a bright smile. "Got it, Grandpa!" The words were clear and steady despite the noise around them.

PD Xu Cui returned the grin and gently patted her head. "Good." With the same hand he took hold of hers, keeping her securely at his side as he focused on the path ahead. The crowd continued to shift and push, but the small hand in his remained steady.

Behind them, Shen Guoxing glanced back and saw Leilei being pushed and bumped by the hurrying adults. The other girl moved through the crowd with a kind of practiced endurance, as though she was used to it—shoulders slightly hunched, steps careful, expression quiet and resigned. A flicker of pity crossed Shen Guoxing’s eyes.

That must hurt, she thought, watching the careless elbows and shoulders that struck Leilei without pause or apology.

She quickly shook her head, pushing the feeling away. Get it together, Shen Guoxing, she reminded herself. Leilei’s strong. She doesn’t need pity.

She knew better than most how much pity could sting—especially when the person receiving it still believed they could overcome whatever hardship they faced. The thought pulled up older memories, sharp and familiar. She remembered the way other patients and visitors had looked at her in the hospital, their voices low but never low enough.

"She’s so unfortunate," one would murmur.

"Agreed. It’s such a pity seeing a child with her condition.. and her parents won’t even take care of her," another would add.

Those comments had never bothered her much. They were, after all, true. The hospital walls had heard them often enough that they had become background noise.

What she hated most were the words that always followed:

"And her guardian is also useless. Why aren’t they taking care of the poor child?"

Those remarks had always frustrated her. Aunt Wanyan worked endlessly—helping other people’s children, earning the money needed for Shen Guoxing’s treatment, carrying the quiet weight of responsibility without complaint.

Why did strangers feel entitled to judge her like that? The memory of those careless judgments still sat sharp in her chest.

Shen Guoxing knew most of those people meant no real harm. Still, she believed people should be more careful with their judgments. They never knew what battles others were fighting, or how deeply even "harmless" words could cut.

She was pulled from the memories when someone bumped hard into her. The man didn’t even glance down. He simply kept moving, and in the next second he collided with Leilei as well, sending the smaller girl stumbling. The force of the impact knocked her off balance; her knees hit the packed earth with a soft, pained sound.

Shen Guoxing frowned. "Hey!"

The man never looked back. The crowd simply swallowed him, indifferent and already moving on.

She shook her head, released PD Xu Cui’s hand, and hurried toward the fallen girl. The sudden emptiness in PD Xu Cui’s palm made him look down at once.

"Xing’er?" he called, but his granddaughter was already standing beside Leilei.

"Leilei!" Shen Guoxing called, voice full of worry. "Are you okay?" she stretched out her right hand, offering it. The gesture was open and steady, the small palm waiting without pressure.

Leilei didn’t answer. She didn’t even look up. Oh no.. was the fall that bad? Shen Guoxing thought, worry for her friend twisting together with lingering anger at the careless man. The market noise continued around them—vendors shouting, feet shuffling, the distant cry of a child—but in that small space the worry felt sharp and immediate.

Leilei was dizzy from the heat, the press of the crowd, and the sudden stumble. The packed earth was rough against her palms. It took her a few seconds before the worried voice finally registered. "Ouch...." The soft, pained sound was so pitiful it made Shen Guoxing’s heart ache.

"Are you okay? Can you stand up?" Shen Guoxing asked, using the questions that felt most natural in this situation. Her voice was careful, the concern clear and unguarded.

At last Leilei recognized the voice. Embarrassment flooded her at the thought of appearing so weak in front of Shen Guoxing. She hurriedly tried to smooth her expression, then slowly lifted her head and offered a small smile.

"I’m alrigh—"

The rest of the sentence died in her throat.

Shen Guoxing still had her hand stretched out, face filled with open concern. Behind her the afternoon sun poured through the gaps in the market stalls, illuminating her from behind.

The light caught the edges of her hair and the soft line of her shoulders, turning the simple moment into something almost luminous. A loose strand of hair had fallen across her cheek; she quietly tucked it behind her ear with a composed, almost elegant motion.

Leilei’s eyes widened. Her heart began pounding hard against her ribs once more.

Pretty..... She thought, completely captivated by the simple, sunlit image in front of her.

Meanwhile, Shen Guoxing continued to study Leilei’s face with growing worry. The market noise swirled around them—vendors calling out prices, the shuffle of feet on packed earth, the overlapping voices of the crowd—but in the small space between the two girls the worry felt sharp and immediate. The afternoon sun still poured through the gaps in the stalls, warm and bright against the dust in the air.

Is she really okay? Shen Guoxing thought. Did she fall so hard it did something to her brain?

The idea made her inwardly gasp. Did she turn into a fool?! She questioned herself, eyes widening slightly.

She stared straight into Leilei’s still-absent eyes, anxiety settling heavily in her stomach. The soft, dazed look on her friend’s face looked nothing like the quiet, steady Leilei she had been walking with only moments before. The longer the silence stretched, the more the worry tightened in her chest.

Just then she heard the other girl murmur a single word.

"Beautiful....."

Shen Guoxing quickly looked around them. They were standing in the middle of a busy wet market. The air was thick with the mixed scents of grilled meat, fresh produce, dust, and the faint sweetness of ripe fruit. Bodies pressed and shifted on every side. While the place was certainly novel, it was nowhere near what anyone would call beautiful.

She turned back to Leilei and called her name more carefully this time. "Leilei.. are you okay?" It felt like the hundredth time she had asked the same question. Still, the concern in her voice was clear and unguarded.

The soft voice finally cut through the daze. Leilei blinked rapidly. "Huh?"

Seeing her respond at last, Shen Guoxing secretly exhaled in relief. Oh, thank God she’s responsive, she thought, mentally patting herself on the back. The tight knot of worry in her stomach loosened.

The cautious expression melted away, replaced by a bright smile. "Here, I’ll help you stand up," she said, lifting her right hand a little higher so Leilei’s attention would naturally follow it. The gesture was open and steady, the small palm waiting without pressure.

It worked exactly as planned. Leilei’s gaze dropped to the offered hand—and then she froze again.

Such clean and delicate hands.. am I really allowed to touch that? She wondered. The contrast between her own slightly rough, work-worn fingers and the soft, careful hand in front of her felt sudden and sharp. I know I’ve held those hands a couple of times already, but now that I’m thinking clearly.... I don’t think I should—

She never finished the thought. Shen Guoxing waved her free hand in front of Leilei’s face, a mischievous little smirk tugging at her lips. The motion was light and teasing, breaking the spiral with easy familiarity.

"Hello? Earth to Leilei."

Leilei snapped out of her spiral and hurriedly took the offered hand for support. The contact was warm and steady. Shen Guoxing’s fingers closed around hers with careful strength, the grip firm enough to help but never rough.

"Up we go," Shen Guoxing said cheerfully, pulling her friend to her feet with careful strength. The packed earth was uneven beneath them, but the pull was balanced and sure. Leilei rose without stumbling, the dizziness of the fall already fading under the solid warmth of the hand holding hers.

Leilei looked down at the hand still holding hers. They’re soft.. and warm.. just like they were earlier. Without realizing it, she tightened her grip. The small increase in pressure was instinctive, as if her fingers had decided on their own that they did not want to let go.

"Hm?" Shen Guoxing glanced at their joined hands. The question was soft and curious, free of judgment.

Leilei noticed what she was doing. "Oh!" She tried to pull away in embarrassment, the heat rising in her cheeks, but Shen Guoxing simply tightened her hold. The warm pressure of her fingers sank gently into Leilei’s own, steady and unyielding.

"Let’s go!" Shen Guoxing declared, already tugging her toward where Grandpa Cui was waiting with the stroller. The words were bright and decisive, as if there had never been any question of separating.

After a second of lingering shock, Leilei stopped resisting. She closed her own fingers more firmly around Shen Guoxing’s and allowed herself a small, private smile.

The market continued its noisy, crowded rhythm around them—the press of bodies, the overlapping voices, the warm scent of food and dust—but the small, joined hands moved steadily through it all.

Unbeknownst to either of them, something very similar had once happened between another pair of childhood sweethearts—two people who were, at that very moment, still resting beneath a tree, quietly reminiscing about a past that had been simple, yet somehow magical.

The parallel was quiet and unseen, stretching across years and distances, linking two small pairs of hands that had found each other in different times and different forests.

The afternoon sun continued to pour through the gaps in the market stalls. The crowd shifted and pressed around them. And two small hands remained joined, warm and steady, as they walked forward together.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I feel like I should really change my updating time...

OH AND ALSO! Thank you guys so SO MUCH for 600k viewers! Like, fr, I could done it without y’all. So, thank you so much!