Praying Silently Every Day: A Sequel, Adding More and More

When she was seven, she lost her birth parents, herself, her name, and all her memories.

Ten years later, she lives a simple, carefree life under another name. She meets him and falls in love, never realizing she has fallen into a carefully orchestrated trap of romance.

She loves him like a moth flying into a flame, while he treats her as a pastime and savors the thrill of revenge.

Love needs care and effort. If it is built on schemes and arrangements from the very beginning, then as the truth gradually comes to light, even the convictions one has held firm will begin to waver...

Living in this world, we will always encounter things that teach us to choose what to keep and what to let go.

Some happiness is simple, while some desires are complicated. If something is beyond reach, why strain on tiptoe and stretch with all your might just to touch it?

Perhaps only after touching it will you realize that those desires are nothing more than simple outlines sketched in dust. The brilliant colors painted over them at the end scatter everywhere at the lightest touch, and they can never be put back together...

A journey through the wasteland of love, gathering what was lost: childhood memories and the bonds that once held them close.

She slowly closed the book and gently set it down on the table. In a quiet voice, she said, "I've been reading a lot lately."

Xu Linluo stopped short. It was the first time in all these days that she had spoken to him of her own accord. When he turned around, the grief that had tightened his face instantly eased and bloomed into joy and emotion.

But she remained unmoved and continued coolly, "There was a line in one of the books that I remember very clearly. Would you like to hear it?"

Xu Linluo paused, then slowly walked up to her, gazing at her gently and intently.

If she had been willing to look up at him just then, she would have seen how full his eyes were of feeling. But from beginning to end, she never raised her eyes. She kept them lowered.

She didn't wait for his answer, but continued anyway. "It said, 'I come close to you not because you're perfect, not because you can give me a secure and promising future, not because you're my boyfriend, not because I think we'll definitely make it through our whole lives together, and not because starting another relationship would cost too much. It's because I love you. Just seeing you makes my heart stir. In this relationship, I want nothing but love.'" She spoke slowly. At last, she smiled faintly. "I love you so much that I even forgot what my relationship with you was. I don't care how much I have to sacrifice. As long as you're sincere, as long as you care, I don't mind.

But one day, I suddenly realized that it had all just been a performance. I was the puppet on a string. All the audience had to do was move a finger and tug the strings lightly, and I had to wave my limbs and make faces in response. How ridiculous."

His expression crumpled in an instant. His voice, filled with anger, anguish, and regret, rushed to interrupt her. "Xu Yan, don't say any more. It's not the way you think. It's not..."

But she remained unmoved and continued along her train of thought. "Sometimes, when I think about it, it seems that not loving you anymore wouldn't be so difficult after all..."

He suddenly seized her by the arms, his eyes bloodshot. "Xu Yan, can't you tell how I feel about you after all this time? Just because of a few ridiculous angry words, you can take back the heart you left with me? If you can end it just like that, then your feelings must be awfully cheap!"

She raised a hand and gently stroked the corner of his brow, caressing it softly. "Don't be like this. The more you act this way, the less clearly I can see things. And the less clearly I can see, the more it hurts."

He froze, rooted to the spot.

She slowly freed herself from his grasp and said calmly, "I'm tired. I want to sleep for a while."

After saying that, she ignored his presence entirely, pulled back the covers, and lay down fully dressed.

His stiff movements were almost comical.

At last, he slowly straightened up and stood there, watching her sleeping face.

The sun sank in the west, and fiery evening clouds shone through the window, filling the room with light.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He didn't speak, but his voice was bitter all the same. "Xu Yan, how can you be so foolish? How can you not tell sincerity from pretense?"

A sigh swallowed up all the silence.

Completed