บท 105: As We Grow, We Drift

Chi Yu looked utterly unwell. 

Jin Yao had seen the faces of those near death before—void of color, eyes dulled, lips dry and cracked, their cheeks a sickly yellow. 

Chi Yu wasn't as frail, but it was as though something essential had been drained from her. She was now a mere shadow of the vibrant girl she had once been at school, like a faded painting left with nothing but pallor. 

Tubes protruded from her body—IV drips, oxygen masks, heart monitors... 

Though Jin Yao didn't know what exactly ailed her, seeing these devices alone told him she was gravely ill. 

If he had lingered earlier, it was out of concern for a classmate. 

But now that he had seen Chi Yu, and with her still unconscious, he couldn't possibly wake her. It was time for him to leave. 

Yet, Jin Yao stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, his eyes fixed on Chi Yu.