149 Warm Fragrance

"Hello? Hello? Are you still there?" Chen Qing asked twice more when no one answered from Jin Ye's end.

Then—

Chen Qing looked at the receiver in speechless silence; he had actually hung up on her directly.

Unbelievable.

He had bothered to call her just to tell her that he saw Lin Xia at the airport?

Truly speechless.

"Editor-in-Chief." Her subordinate's voice brought Chen Qing back to her senses. She took the handed-over documents, and while signing them, she said, "Urge the veteran authors for their manuscripts more often, and don't neglect the newcomers either. Also, regarding the summer publication schedule..."

After hanging up the phone, Jin Ye tapped his index finger rhythmically against the desktop, closing his eyes in deep thought.

Since when had he become so unable to steady his mind?

Yet, the moment he closed his eyes, the image of Lin Xia embracing someone else appeared before him.

Jin Ye dialed another number again. A mechanical female voice came through the receiver, "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off."

Hanging up, Jin Ye stood up, placed his hands behind his back, and stood before the large French window. Looking at the bustling traffic on the street below, his usually profound eyes were even more gloomy and devoid of light.

Meanwhile, Lin Xia and her father returned to Rongcheng. As soon as she got home, Lin Xia fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

She had inherited her mother's tendency to get carsick, and every time she went on a long journey, she would feel unwell for a while. A while ago, after consuming the spiritual fruit, she had seemed somewhat better, but after such a long period of staying home without traveling, the condition had relapsed.

This carsickness problem still required regular travel to build up resilience.

As soon as she got home, Xie Shitong's call came through.

"Hello—" Lin Xia answered the phone feebly.

"Xiaxia, you're back!" Xie Shitong's pleasantly surprised voice came through. Ever since she arrived in this realm, she and Lin Xia had practically been joined at the hip every day, and she truly regarded Lin Xia as her own sister.

The two shared a deep bond, and deep down, she held a lingering attachment to Lin Xia. Suddenly, with Lin Xia gone for so long, she had to go to school and come home alone. Although Chen Zimo usually accompanied her, it could never match the intimacy she shared with Lin Xia. Therefore, upon hearing the news of her return, she eagerly called her, even though she knew she should have let someone exhausted from a long journey rest for a bit first.

Yet, this turned out to be a fortunate coincidence, as the former Xie Shitong would have acted similarly.

Hearing her intimate and dependent voice warmed Lin Xia's heart.

However, thinking about the upcoming move, Lin Xia frowned slightly. How was she supposed to break the news to them?

"Mm. I'm back." Lin Xia placed a bolster behind her back. "Do you want to come over? I brought some little trinkets for you and Xiaoxiao from Beijing."

"Yes! I'm coming right over, wait for me!" With that, she hung up.

Although she didn't know why Lin Xia had gone to Beijing, everyone had their own private affairs and secrets. Xie Shitong had asked briefly, but seeing that Lin Xia didn't elaborate, she didn't press further.

If it were the former Xie Shitong, she would have probed relentlessly, regardless of whether the other person wanted to share. This was also something that greatly satisfied Lin Xia. After her car accident, Xie Shitong had indeed become much more sensible than before, making their interactions much more comfortable.

Taking a sip of the warm water from the glass on her bedside table, Lin Xia felt a sense of relief. Ever since the car accident nearly a year ago, Xie Shitong had changed a great deal. She should tell her about this first; after all, they were the closest, and she deserved to know beforehand.

Just as she was thinking this, the doorbell rang. Then, she heard her mother's booming voice resound, "Xiaxia, Shitong is here. Shitong, she's lying down in her room, go on in."

Who knows what Xie Shitong had said to her mother, but a few minutes later, Lin Xia saw her push the door open and enter.

"What were you and my mom chatting about out there?" Seeing her enter, Lin Xia shifted her position, and Xie Shitong naturally sat down.

Seeing her acting so well-behaved, Lin Xia amusedly said, "Alright, stop putting on an act, take off your shoes and get up here." In the past, every time she came to Lin Xia's room, she would burrow straight into Lin Xia's blankets, always claiming that her bedding carried a warm, soothing fragrance that made people drowsy just by smelling it.

Xie Shitong chuckled twice, kicked off her shoes, collapsed next to Lin Xia, and rubbed her face against the pillow. Another reason she loved staying close to Lin Xia was because Lin Xia genuinely carried a faint, warm fragrance.

This scent was extremely subtle and elusive, something one could only perceive after staying by Lin Xia's side for a while. Yet when one tried to sniff carefully and identify it, the scent would vanish entirely. She had even mentioned this to Lin Xia before.

Lin Xia herself naturally couldn't smell it. She simply lifted her arm, sniffed it a few times, and laughed, "Am I some imperial concubine from a story, carrying a natural fragrance?"

Seeing Xie Shitong like this, Lin Xia couldn't help but laugh. "What, smelling the imperial concubine's fragrance again?"

Xie Shitong rubbed against the pillow and sighed with emotion, "Yes, it smells so good, truly intoxicating." Having said that, she glanced around the room's furnishings, coupled with the person lying horizontally across the bed—the so-called gentle harbor of peace was little more than this.

So gentle and graceful, yet retaining the vibrant energy of a woman her age. Moreover, in an era where poetry had all but vanished, she possessed such genuine talent; it was truly admirable.

She wondered what fortunate young man's family would one day disregard societal conventions to marry her.

Thinking of her own short-sighted, narrow-minded cousin-sisters back home, and her scheming concubine-born half-sisters, Xie Shitong sighed with even greater admiration for Lin Xia. In ancient times, a woman like this would have been exceptionally precious.

How many people were there who blamed the heavens, blamed others, and harmed people? How rare was someone like her?

Even the original owner of this body, blessed with such a fine family background, hadn't she also been a narrow-minded person?

In the end, she had harmed others and herself, losing her life in an accident and allowing her, an outsider, to usurp her place.

The two sisters chatted idly for a while. Noticing the hesitant look between Lin Xia's brows, Xie Shitong asked, "What's wrong? Was there an emergency when you and your father went to Beijing this time? Is there anything I can help with?"

Lin Xia turned her head and met those sincere, unfeigned, crystal-clear eyes—large, round, and dark like black grapes.

After a moment of thought, she decided to tell her the true situation of their trip to Beijing, keeping to what could be shared.

"...The paperwork for the house is all settled, so barring any unexpected changes, our family will likely be moving to Beijing this year..." At this point, Lin Xia herself didn't know how to continue.

Before moving to Rongcheng originally, she had felt somewhat apprehensive.

After all, moving from the place where she grew up to a place with poor memories and an uncertain future—no one would be very happy about that.

It was only because she had taken the initiative to propose the move that she had to put on a brave face, fearing that showing any timidity would make her parents and Lin Hui even more reluctant. After arriving here, Xie Shitong had been the first person to extend an olive branch to her, treating her like a real sister and helping her rapidly integrate into life here.

It was fair to say Xie Shitong played an indispensable role in her current life.

While it was true that even without her, Lin Xia's psychological maturity as an adult would have seen her through, Xie Shitong had invested genuine sincerity in her. Now that her good friend was about to move away, who could easily bear it?

Seeing Xie Shitong's somewhat dimmed eyes, Lin Xia didn't feel well either, but this move was imperative!

Xie Shitong must have realized this as well and didn't ask any further questions, though her heart felt heavy and terribly painful. When she first arrived, she had stayed cooped up in her room all day, and only Lin Xia had come to see her every day, teaching her textbook knowledge, talking with her, and telling her stories.

She was arguably her closest person outside of her immediate family. She had refused to be held back a grade precisely so she could stay with her little circle of friends. Now that Lin Xia was moving away, she would have to go to school alone, come home alone, and do homework alone—could life get any more miserable?

Oh, the word "miserable" was something she had learned from Lin Xia, and now Xie Shitong felt it captured her mood better than anything else.

Xie Shitong remained silent, and Lin Xia didn't know what to say either. After a long silence, she finally spoke, "Don't be like this. It's not like we're never going to see each other again. Seeing you like this makes me feel quite uneasy inside."

Xie Shitong sighed inwardly. True enough, whether or not to move had always been a decision for the adults; what say did children have in the matter? If her own father decided to move, she wouldn't have the power to change it either.

Thinking of this, Xie Shitong forced a smile and said, "I understand. We're still young, and adults have the final say in these matters. I only hate that we can't grow up faster and stay together forever."

Lin Xia: ...

This move was actually instigated by her, but these reasons weren't fit to be shared with outsiders. She could only appease her carefully, "It's best that you understand. It's just that with Xiaoxiao and Qianqian, you'll have to help me smooth things over with them, or else those two will make a huge fuss again."

Though she said this, Lin Xia felt a weight lift from her heart.

Her relationship with those two wasn't as close as it was with Xie Shitong. Once this side was settled, a few complaints from the others wouldn't matter much, but Xie Shitong was someone she truly held in her heart as a close friend. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to her house every single day after school when Xie Shitong was sick.

Xie Shitong pouted and said, "Well, I won't care about that. If they yell at you, you brought it on yourself."

Lin Xia smiled, her heart feeling thoroughly relaxed.

Being yelled at was a good thing.

Sure enough, the next day after school, upon hearing the news that Lin Xia would be moving away soon, Zhao Qian and Sun Xiaoxiao immediately threw a fit.

First You Xin had left, and now Lin Xia was leaving—why were all their good friends leaving?

"Ah, ah, ah, why on earth is your family moving?" Sun Xiaoxiao pinched Lin Xia's arm and waist in dissatisfaction.

Zhao Qian also put her hands on her hips, her face full of displeasure, "Exactly! You've got it good, running off to enjoy life in the prosperous capital while leaving us behind in this barren land to study bitterly day after day."

Lin Xia: ...

Was she going there to enjoy herself? She was escaping trouble, alright!

"Well, let's get this straight first. Once you get over there, you are not allowed to forget about us! You must remember to write to us often, call us, and mail us snacks frequently. Don't you dare forget, do you hear me!" Sun Xiaoxiao rattled off a long string of demands, leaving Lin Xia's head spinning as she nodded vigorously.

Seeing that she was so amenable to reason, Sun Xiaoxiao finally let go and let out a cold snort, "Consider yourself sensible."

Lin Xia bitterly smiled, "I've always been sensible, you know."

"If you were sensible, you wouldn't be moving away and abandoning the three of us here," Zhao Qian pouted and complained.

Xie Shitong chimed in to explain, "Oh well, this isn't something she can make the decisions on either."

The two of them thought about it and realized it was true.

Thus, they extinguished their anger.