Chapter Text
Last time, they spent 800 years running towards each other.
This time, it only took an instant to fall into each other's embrace.
**The End**
"My gosh, their love is so awesome. Finally, they meet each other again after a year. Good for you guys!!! Long live HuaLian!!!"
A girl, sitting on the hospital bed, lifted both her arms in the air and started chanting her favorite line like reciting a mantra.
"HuaLian!"
"HuaLian!"
"HuaLian!"
Then, the door suddenly opened, revealing another young girl. She placed her hands on her hips, preparing to give a lecture.
"Xiuying, I know you're excited, but you need to calm down, or I'll call the doctor for you again."
The girl who was on the hospital bed, Xiuying, pouted.
"It can't be helped, Feiyu. I finally managed to finish the book, and it was just... Good!!! I can't describe it any other way than their love is just magnificent.
How I wish I can get a lover like Hua Cheng. The devotion, dedication, loyalty. Where can you find a man like that in this era? Not to forget Xie Lian too. He's just so precious, so soft, so kind, he makes me wanna protect him from everything.
Oh, but the duality just over the chart! His softness sometimes makes me forget that he is a martial god. He's strong and badass when he needs to be. Gosh, they are so compatible, complementing each other."
Her friend, Feiyu, just smiled softly at her while making her way to the bed and sitting on the chair next to it. She grinned.
"Well, aren't you glad that I recommended this masterpiece to you? Bow down to me, for I have helped you find something to be obsessed about," she proudly commanded.
Xiuying just looked at her weirdly.
"No. What are you? A god to be worshipped?"
Feiyu pouted at Xiuying, then both girls laughed. After a few seconds of laughter, they finally quieted down.
"So, how's your condition? Any better? You sure made me worried when you told me you suddenly vomited blood."
Xiuying just nonchalantly said, "Well, get used to it. It's a pretty normal occurrence. You've seen it happen many times before. I'm rather shocked that you're still not used to the sight yet."
Feiyu immediately retorted, "No matter how many times I've seen it, I'd rather not get used to it. Even though I know it's your illness—that you have a weak body constitution with weak lungs and respiratory problems—I just hope you can get better already."
She looked down, making a sad face.
Xiuying felt touched by the words and soon tried to soothe her.
"I'm sorry, but you know it won't be easy to get better. Even the doctors said that even if I have the chance, it'll be a very slow recovery. It will even take years."
"I don't care if it'll take years! I just want to see you get better. Even little by little is fine, as long as I can see the progress!"
Tears began flowing from Feiyu’s eyes.
Xiuying understood what Feiyu was going through. She was scared that her friend might go somewhere she couldn't reach, somewhere she couldn't follow.
She felt helpless, watching her friend get sad over her. While she was glad that Feiyu cared about her and wanted her to get better, she knew it would be hard.
But she didn’t want to see her cry, so Xiuying softly brought out her arms and wrapped them around Feiyu.
"Thanks for your thoughts. I'm sorry for saying that."
---
Xiuying was born as a healthy baby girl. She came from normal parents with a normal life.
But things took a turn when she started getting tired easily at the age of three. Her parents noticed her condition when she was playing with other kids at the park—she was the only one panting and catching her breath while the other kids seemed fine.
As a precaution, they took her to the hospital for a check-up. The doctor revealed that she was born with weak lungs, but for some reason, it only started showing symptoms when she turned three. Because of that, she needed to be careful not to do any extreme activities and always carry an inhaler.
But soon, her condition started getting worse.
When she was seven years old, her condition worsened to the point that she needed to visit the hospital frequently. Her asthma was easily triggered, and she needed constant surveillance. In the end, it was decided that she would be hospitalized.
Little did she know it was going to be her whole life.
At least, until now.
Time passed, and she was already seventeen. She had to admit—it was pretty boring going through the same cycle every day.
Wake up. Get interviewed by the nurse about her condition. Take medicine. More check-ups. Repeat the cycle again and again.
At least life wasn’t so boring after she met Feiyu.
---
She vividly remembered how they met.
Feiyu and Xiuying were neighbors, so their parents knew each other. When Feiyu's parents heard about Xiuying's condition, they decided to visit, bringing Feiyu along with them.
As soon as they met, Xiuying and Feiyu clicked, instantly becoming best friends.
Whenever Feiyu wasn't busy, or every day after school, without fail, she would visit Xiuying in the hospital. She would talk about her life, her school, and anything funny that happened.
She would also bring games to play with Xiuying so she wouldn’t get bored. She even brought some novels for her to read whenever she couldn't visit.
Most of all, Xiuying loved reading, so it was perfect. She had read quite a variety of genres, but her favorite was fantasy.
Recently, Feiyu got her hands on the rising novel , Heaven Official's Blessing. She introduced it to Xiuying and made her try it.
Xiuying read the novel and had fun with it. It was packed with emotions—kindness, evil, friendship, love. There was also loyalty, devotion, sacrifices, acceptance, happiness.
She learned a lot from it, as she didn't have the chance to explore the world.
So for her, it was enough.
---
"Alright, stop crying. You look hideous when you cry. Smile for me, will you?"
Instead of a smile, Feiyu just made a few funny faces instead. Again, they started laughing.
Feiyu looked at her watch and noticed it was getting late.
"Uh-oh. It's getting late. I’d better get going now, or my mom will get mad at me. I'll see you tomorrow. This time, I'll bring even more books for you to read."
Xiuying nodded, waving goodbye to her friend.
---
The Next Day
The next day came. Feiyu was walking excitedly towards Xiuying's ward when suddenly, all the hospital staff was panicking.
She wondered what was happening but soon realized—they were all rushing towards her friend’s ward!
She immediately ran as fast as she could, tears threatening to flow.
No, no, no, no. She can't. She can't.
She arrived at the ward, only to see Xiuying's parents talking with the doctor.
Both parents had shocked expressions.
Xiuying’s mother instantly fell to the ground as if she had lost all the strength in her legs.
The doctor patted the father’s shoulder while saying, "I'm sorry, sir. We've done the best we could. We hope you can stay strong for your daughter's sake."
That was all Feiyu needed to hear.
She could connect the dots.
Xiuying was dead.
She was gone, forever.
At least... she was finally free from this 'prison.'
Silent tears began to flow.
She tried to smile because she knew Xiuying wouldn’t want her to be sad.
But in the end, her heart betrayed her mind.
"Goodbye, Xiuying. It was nice knowing you.
I hope you'll have a better life in your next life.
I hope you'll be in a better world."
"Thank you for being my friend in this life.
Farewell, my best friend."