At the age of six, Lan Xin arrived at an unfamiliar city. In this city, there was no winter season, and no snow, but she was still very happy because there was something more beautiful than snow here; it was the person who she'd secretly called her 'Sister'.
She went to the same cram school as her sister, so now they were studying in the same cla.s.s. However, she could only look at her sister from the sidelines, because her mother had told her that she couldn't get close to her sister. Otherwise, her sister's parents would become unhappy. Therefore, she could only look at her from afar.
The six-year-old Lan Jinyao, like a beautiful and n.o.ble princess, held her head high and her chin slightly raised, appearing proud and lofty. She was surrounded by a lot of people who wanted to be friends with her. However, she was too outstanding, and she didn't like to be friends with people with poor grades.
Lan Xin, who always ranked second, could only secretly follow her.
One day, Lan Xin, who'd finally secured first place, was blocked by a group of children on the school playground. The children asked her, "Why did you get first place? Why do you always follow Lan Jinyao? You're an Ugly Duckling, so you're not allowed to be friends with Lan Jinyao, only we have that honour."
Those hurtful words. .h.i.t Lan Xin's sore spot, making her burst into tears. She looked at the group of children, choking with sobs as she said, "Lan Jinyao is my sister, i-if I stay with her, she'll protect me."
Upon witnessing the commotion, Lan Jinyao, who was wearing a pair of leather shoes, strode over. She walked through the group of children and stopped in front of Lan Xin.
"I'm your sister, you say?"
Lan Jinyao's voice was very gentle and soft, just like how Lan Xin had imagined it to be, so she didn't cry anymore and stared at Lan Jinyao. When she saw the latter frown, she nodded and responded, "Yes, Mama told me that you're my sister!"
"Oh," Lan Jinyao softly answered, and gently placed her hand on Lan Xin's cheek as she said, "No wonder, this is the first time I've seen someone who resembles me so much. It turns out that you're my little sister."
Lan Xin stared at the beautiful sister in front of her, and a sweet smile instantly blossomed on her face. Her sister was really the same person she'd seen in her dreams.
Her sister pulled her up from the ground and led her back to the cla.s.sroom hand in hand. Her hands were soft and warm; it was very comfortable. Back then, she'd tried to make a pair of hands for the snowman, but every time she'd held it, her fingertips would turn unbearably cold, and she'd start sneezing. This sister was a living person, how wonderful!
Her sister's deskmate was a beautiful little girl with good grades, but she didn't do well in the last exam, so her sister didn't like her anymore.
After entering the cla.s.sroom, Lan Xin sat next to her sister. This scene made the little girl extremely unhappy. The little girl glared at her sister with her big, pitch-black eyes, and yelled, "Lan Jinyao, why don't you want to sit beside me anymore, and instead, choose to sit with this Ugly Duckling?"
Lan Xin, who was called an ugly duckling, sadly lowered her head and tightly clenched her hands.
Then, her sister lifted her chin with a finger, and turned her head to face the little girl. Afterwards, her sister solemnly said, "I don't want to sit with you because you're dumb. Besides, she's my little sister, not some ugly duckling! If you call her that again in the future, I'll ask the teacher to transfer you out of the cla.s.s!"
Her sister stood in front of her like a towering wall, coinciding with the person in her memory.
The first time she was invited to the Lan family's mansion, Lan Xin was very happy. The Lan family's mansion was very beautiful, like a big castle. However, Lan Xin soon found the place not so good to live in because it was too big and too quiet. Lan Jinyao was the only one in such a huge mansion.
"Lan Xin, you're my little sister, so will you stay here with me?"
She couldn't refuse her sister's request, so that night, Lan Xin and her sister slept in the same bed. Even though her sister didn't tell her stories nor hug her to sleep, she was still very happy.
However, this summer vacation was too short, and since the cram school courses were also over, Lan Xin had to go back to her hometown.
As she left, she hugged her sister and wept quietly, because her mother had told her that she could never see her sister again after this.
Lan Jinyao pushed her away and coldly said, "Don't cry, if you cry, you'll really turn into an ugly duckling. If you miss me, I can send you a lot of photos. You can look at my photos and you won't feel so sad anymore when the time comes."
The twenty-two year old Lan Xin was currently in another country across the sea. She walked into an operating room with her sister's picture in hand, because she now had enough money and was about to have the birthmark on her face removed. She wanted to go find her sister with a beautiful face.
In fact, she hadn't heard from her sister for a long time already. After returning to her hometown from that city, she'd only received a letter from her once. Perhaps, her sister had already forgotten that she had a little sister.
A second before entering the operating room, Lan Xin took another look at the girl with a beautiful smile in the photo. She bowed her head and gently kissed her before closing her eyes. She'd wanted to visit her for a long time already, and soon she could finally go and find her.
She still remembered that a handsome boy had pursued her in school, but she'd coldly rejected him. At that time, she'd felt weird for not liking him, but one day, she accidentally saw two girls hugging and kissing in a corner of the campus. It wasn't the kind of action between two friends, but lovers. Upon seeing this, she felt her heart beat faster.
After coming out of the operating room, Lan Xin hid at home all day. She was looking forward to every day; to the day she could see a reflection of a perfect self in the mirror.
At last, she saw the same face as her sister's in front of the mirror with no birthmark. She could feel her smooth skin when she slowly touched it, and then with a big smile plastered on her face, she finally went to meet her sister. Will her sister still recognise her?
No, she must surely be able to recognise her, because they looked the same.
It had been more than three months, and it was the first time she'd stepped out of the door again, welcoming the suns.h.i.+ne and fresh air outside.
However, the moment she returned to her home country, the first thing she saw was breaking news concerning Lan Jinyao: Movie G.o.ddess Lan Jinyao has fallen off a skysc.r.a.per.
My sister…she died?
She touched her cheek and burst into tears on the street. How did Lan Jinyao die? Weren't the Heavens watching over her?
Lan Xin didn't believe it at first, but she could only face reality when she saw her sister's tombstone. That gentle smiling face was exactly like hers…
She really didn't expect to see something like this the moment she came back from abroad.
Lan Xin thought that she was the one who did wrong; that it was her fault that her sister had died.
She cried her heart out in front of the cold tombstone.