Qiao Yu watched Xiangsi’s small form scamper cheerfully away. It was a scene she had played out in her mind a thousand times, a moment she had braced herself for endlessly. Yet, now that it was real, the ache in her chest was so sharp it nearly suffocated her. Her heart felt as if it were being smothered by a thick, airless plastic bag, a dull pressure that made the world tilt. And when a breath o