"Yo, who offended our little jiu?", Ye Simming came out from his tent and put his hand around her shoulders only to be thrown to the ground with a shoulder kick.
Ye Simming stood up and said with a cheeky grin, "Someone seems like they swallowed a cactus,", earning him a glare.
Ye Simming chuckled. "Alright, But bottling it up won't help. How about you take it out on me instead?"
Chujiu raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement dancing in her eyes despite her scowl. "You sure you can handle it, Simming?" she challenged, a mischievous glint in her eye.
Across the camp area, the Ye family brothers watched in stunned silence. Ye Simming, their eldest and most talented cultivator at nineteen, was being challenged by an eleven-year-old girl
"Always," Ye Simming said with a playful grin, taking a mock fighting stance.
Chujiu didn't need any further prompting. She launched into a flurry of attacks, her sword flashing through the air. Ye Simming, easily parried each blow, his own movements smooth and controlled. They danced around the place, the clang of metal on metal echoing in the wild.
The Ye brothers watched in awe as Chujiu, fuelled by her earlier frustration, rained down blows with impressive strength and speed. Ye Simming, though older and more experienced, remained on the defensive, deflecting her attacks with practiced ease.
The mock fight continued, a whirlwind of movement and laughter. Slowly, Chujiu's scowl faded, replaced by a smile. The frustration from earlier seemed to melt away with each clang of their swords.
Finally, with a well-timed disarm, Ye Simming managed to knock the practice sword from Chujiu's hand. She stood there, unarmed and slightly disheveled, but a wide grin spread across her face.
"Alright, alright, you win," she conceded, panting slightly. "Thanks, Simming. I feel much better now."
Ye Simming offered her a hand up, a smile mirroring hers. "No need to thank me, but you really surprised me. I have never seen a 11 year old with such skills, you are truly amazing."
Chujiu finally felt somewhat better from the previous emotional damage.
A smile spread across Ye Yuan's face as he approached Chujiu. "Little Jiu, your talent is truly remarkable. It's astounding to see such skill at your age."
"Thank you Ye Yuan.", Chujiu politely thanked him and felt with Ye Simming.
Ye Yuan felt a pang in his heart, she was calling him so sweetly as brother Yuan until yesterday but now she is polite and distant.
Ye Simming dragged Chujiu to a distant place where there is a tall tree.
"Aren't you too fast in making and breaking relationships?"
Both sat down under the tree shade, leaning on the trunk, Chujiu sighed..
"Yes, I felt the same but I don't know why I connected to you and Xinyu quite fast. This has never happened before."
"But I don't regret, you are both my friends and I accepted you with all my heart and there is no turning back."
Ye Simming pulled her in to his embrace, "I did not tell you right, you are the only friend I have in this life. I will treasure this friendship with all my heart too."
"It's like we click, you know? We're on the same wavelength, so we don't have to waste time explaining ourselves."
"Maybe that's why we became friends so quickly! It's such a relief to find someone you don't have to spell everything out for."
"But why did you become friends with Xinyu? Are you feeling sympathy for her?"
Chujiu thought for a while and answered, "At first yes, when you told me her story I felt sympathy for her. But when I met her, for some reason I saw myself in her and felt an instant connection with her."
"A connection, that I never want to loose in this life time."
Ye Simming is surprised, "Is it that deep?"
Chujiu nodded, "Yes".
She can't tell him about her previous life now, maybe in the future she will tell him everything. But not for now, especially its not the right time.
So she could only say, "Don't you know that my parents are missing? Though my family is doing everything to make it up to me, I still miss my parents. I have hope that I will meet them someday and I also have a beautiful family, but Xinyu is not like that. Yet she is so strong. So strong that she stood with her head held high in front of her former love and her sister as if nothing happened."
"She lost everything including her love but she did not turn in to a crazy and unreasonable person."
"She blessed her sister wholeheartedly. Weak people cannot make sacrifices or remain rational especially when it comes to matters like love."
"She's an idol, though she is a bit down now. All she needs is a little boost to bounce back even better! She'll leave the past behind and start fresh. I know she can be amazing again, and I'm going to be there cheering her on every step of the way. I can't wait to see her shine brighter than ever!"
Ye Simming listened to her with great interest, "What you said made sense, she is really admirable. I hope she comes out of this predicament quickly."
He pinched her nose, "you analyse and behave better than adults."
'What do you know, I am an adult soul and much older than you.'
After that, they talked for a while and left the place.
Little did they know that the female lead of their story is leaning on the same tree trunk but on the opposite side.
Bai Xinyu has heard everything they said.
'Is she that strong and admirable... that doesn't seem bad to hear.'
'Are there still people who care about her? Can she make a come back?'
'But what for, is there anything left in her life?'
After a while, with a light smile on her face, she stood up and left the place.