"But things are different now, Chunxi. Now that you have the ability to protect yourself, you are free to be just as you are. Do you know how happy I am for that?" Second Elder began to choke up. "I am so sorry. I really didn't think I could have protected you any other way. I did such a terrible thing to you. But now you are free, you can protect yourself, I… I…" Second Elder was so overcome by emotion, he could no longer speak. However, the trust and joy evident in his words and his expression of them was clear to Ling Chunxi.
Ling Chunxi gathered her wits about herself. She now saw that the reason Second Elder was so happy during the assessment ceremony wasn't because the Ling family had a new individual to pin their hopes on, but because it was the first time he'd ever seen her demonstrate the ability to protect herself against the wickedness of the world they lived in.
What she thought was betrayal and pretense had actually been genuine care all along.
