cold clothes

Leng Yi was punished, with a maid standing guard beside her. The maid was also in a bad mood because of Leng Yi's situation. Moreover, she was Qin Mama's person and hated Leng Yi even more, so she did not give Ling Cao any leniency.

It was freezing cold, and Leng Yi knelt there for a full hour.

Xia Hua and the other three watched as Leng Yi was forced to kneel as punishment. Apart from Wei Feng muttering "What bad luck!", the others remained silent. After all, they were in a precarious situation themselves, and Leng Yi had indeed broken the rules.

After Leng Yi knelt down, Granny Qin immediately wanted her to practice dancing, revealing her intention to kill her. It was Xia Hua who couldn't bear to see it and helped her out.

“Granny Qin, I understand your eagerness to teach, but she is weak and gets annoyed by watching, which will disturb our practice.”

Although the words were unpleasant, Leng Yi gained a moment to calm down.

After drinking some soup to warm herself up, Leng Yi fell into a deep sleep. Half a day passed in the blink of an eye, and when she woke up, the sun was already setting.

As soon as she woke up, Lingcao had prepared some delicious food. Seeing that Lengyi's complexion was rosy, she couldn't help but smile and say, "Miss seems to have been sleeping very soundly."

"I'm so tired. I lose consciousness as soon as I close my eyes. I don't know whether to say I'm asleep or unconscious," Leng Yi said with a shake of her head and a slight smile.

Upon hearing this, Bellflower looked somewhat downcast.

"What's wrong? Are you tired from taking care of me? You should go and rest too." Leng Yi keenly noticed the hint of sadness in her eyes.

“No,” Suzuka shook her head, hesitated for a moment, and then said, “I’m just a little worried about Miss’s current state…”

"worry about what?"

"It's just that Miss is becoming more and more silent... Before, when Miss was bullied, she would react very strongly, but now... Although I hoped that Miss could be more patient, seeing you become like this, I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing."

Leng Yi smiled with a mature calm and said, "Don't worry about me. I've just come to terms with it, and that's why I know how to endure."

“Miss…” Lingcao was deeply moved, and then, with tears in her eyes, she said a lot of heartfelt words. Lengyi comforted her repeatedly, and they continued like this for a while before stopping.

After resting, Leng Yi practiced playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting until dusk. The moonlight quietly entered the clouds, and Leng Yi walked out of Zhuoyu Pavilion carrying a wooden sword.

They stopped near a pond, which was the entrance to the secret passage that Qingyou had told her about the night before. He would meet her here and take her into Langxuan Pavilion.

Despite the freezing weather, the water surface did not freeze. Clear water continuously gushed from underground, making a gurgling sound and producing a series of bubbles.

The scene amidst the snow and ice was quite charming, and looking at it eased the pressure in Leng Yi's heart considerably.

It's a lie to tell Suzuka that she's come to terms with it.

She was a hypocrite to the core. In her past life, she wove a fabricated backstory for her classmates and colleagues: a wealthy family, loving parents, a wonderful and fulfilling life, and a positive and sunny personality—making them incredibly envious. She had many suitors and several relationships, but all ended before reaching the stage of discussing marriage and meeting the parents—she deceived everyone, but she couldn't deceive herself. She said she wasn't sad, but the fire burning in her heart caused her excruciating pain.

In her previous life of over twenty years, the skill she learned best was patience. She learned to endure in her past life, and she still has to endure after transmigrating. This raises a question: What is the purpose of my transmigration?

In the time-travel novels of my past life, the female protagonists lived a spectacular life after time-traveling, or they had a cheat code and achieved success in both career and love. Why is it different for her?

In a moment, it dawned on me that this question, like "What am I living for?", is unanswerable. Life isn't a novel; there's no author deliberately arranging it, and no indispensable mission. Living is simply living.

A desolate, cold wind blew in her face, and her breath billowed out white mist from her cold clothes. The world was dark and silent, desolate and vast, and she, standing amidst it all, felt utterly insignificant, as if confirming her inner thoughts—she was merely an ant, unworthy to be the protagonist of this world.