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After several disputes and much exhaustion, they ultimately could not break the invisible shackles.
A tug-of-war about kinship and tradition lasted for days until the dust had settled and people's lives slowly returned to tranquility, but that hidden pain lingered persistently, impossible to shake off.
Su Yu and Jiang Ziling, the two friends who once laughed and talked through all the storms, also chose to decline visitors behind closed doors, as if to isolate themselves from the world's turmoil with their silence.
Ziling was recuperating indoors, his needles threading through the fabric as the sole of the shoe gradually took shape, each stitch carrying his belief in life's resilience; while Su Yu carefully concocted formulas to nourish the skin, each spoonful of powder, each portion of the cream, was her determination to combat the ravages of time.
