Chapter 242


    In the depths of Connor''s eyes, sadness was all that lingered. "No one wants me around."


    The little girl suddenly blinked and said, "Then let me give you a reason."


    Connor turned, puzzled. "What reason?"


    "Just live for me."


    "For you?" Connor was taken aback.


    "Yeah. You said no one wants you alive, right? Well, I do. From now on, you can live for me."


    At that moment, Connor thought she was incredibly na?ve and utterly childish. Yet, in the next instant, tears streamed down his face. That reason she gave, however nonsensical, had be his lifeline whenever he felt cornered.


    "You''re so cute. Don''t be so hard on yourself. Mom always says to be strong when facing tough times. Life is precious. Do you think every tree and every flower questions why they should keep living? Do they search for a reason? No, they just live."


    "If you have no friends, I''ll be your friend. If no one loves you, I will. Okay?"


    "Please, enjoy life and live well."


    el


    Despite her young age, she seemed to see right through him. Her face was youthful, but her words cut deep, slicing through the fog in his life, making him realize: why should he feetpelled to die just because his sister wished it f ire wanted him dead, he would live well just to spite her. If he was born a demon, then he''d be their demon.


    From that day on, Connor awakened, letting go of his obsessions and standing firmly against ire. Thus began decades of confrontation and struggle. Whenever he felt despair, he would remember the little girl holding a lollipop, that tiny voice, and her words. "If you have no friends, I''ll be your friend. If no one loves you, I will..."All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Chloe had long forgotten that moment. After all, it was just a child''s babble spoken on a whim. Yet, he took it to heart for over a decade. Later, during a stint in the hospital, she visited him daily, clinging to him like a little shadow, persuading him to take her out for fun, and tricking him into buying her ice cream with his pocket money.


    He knew why she was hospitalized.


    She had headaches, apparently due to a slight abnormality in a small area of her brain. The doctors said it might be because her brain was still developing, and it could heal on its own as she grew. But it could also get worse. There was no cure, but at least with modern medical


    technology, she could undergo


    observation.


    Then, she was discharged. Her departure was abrupt. On the day of her discharge, he missed saying goodbye because he went far to buy her a bun. By the time he returned to her room, it was empty, without a trace left behind.


    In the end, he found a small bunny hair clip under the hospital bed, the only thing she left behind. He kept it for many years, asionally taking it out to look at it. The bunny hair Hip was adorned with many tiny crystals. The bunny''s nose was a ratherrge blue diamond. Of course, it was fake, probably made of ss. One day, the blue ss diamond fell out. He had it made into an earring, which he still wore to this day.


    Chloe had seen the earring in his ear and asked him several times which girl gave it to him. He wanted to tell her that it symbolized the hope and courage for a new life she had given to him when she was only five.