"I know what you want to ask." As Nora Yun looked up at Cecilia Gu, her eyes were already red with emotion. "But in this life, I am destined to let him down. Cecilia, I beg you. Live well for me, and... take care of him for me."
Cecilia Gu stared blankly at Nora Yun, at her pleading eyes, and couldn't help but nod.
"The first time I met him was when I was fifteen. He was so full of spirit, so handsome and refined. We fell in love at first sight. He treated me with such care, and I secretly smiled at him. But not long after, I met another—the eldest son of the Mo Family, Max Mo. The moment Max Mo saw me, he told me clearly that I would be his wife. It was then that I learned the Yun Family and the Mo Family had a marriage contract. The 1,111th generation daughter of the Yun Family is meant to marry into the Mo Family. I resisted, but I lost. Because I saw with my own eyes the Ancestral Oracle left by our Yun ancestors hundreds of years ago: 'The 1,111th generation will bear two daughters, twin souls unable to repay the debt. The downfall of the Yun Family woman, the rise of the Yun Family woman.'"
"I always vaguely felt that I should have a sister. That thought lingered in my mind and wouldn't go away. After I saw that prophecy, I became even more convinced. In fact, I often felt inexplicable heart palpitations, and I could always sense another person's emotions—a kind of despair that was overwhelming. So I knew, I believed, that there really was another you in this world." Nora Yun looked deeply at Cecilia Gu. "Maybe you'll say I'm foolish, say I'm weak. I really have no words to refute that."
"But as a member of the Yun Family, how could I ignore the life and death of my family? The power of the Mo Family is something the Yun Family can't compete with. If I abandoned the Yun Family's traditions and chose to be with Eric Jiang, then both the Yun and Jiang Families would suffer devastating consequences. Cecilia, you've already come into contact with the Mo Family, so I believe you understand what I mean." As Nora Yun spoke, her gaze grew clear and resolute, looking very much like Cecilia Gu herself.
"I spent two years weighing all the gains and losses, calculating what would happen if I only pursued my own love—the consequences would be catastrophic. I couldn't afford to gamble, couldn't afford to lose. I could only sacrifice myself to protect the Yun Family, and to protect you!" Nora Yun sighed softly, her determined expression gradually replaced by affection. "All I ask is for Heaven to let me stay in this world a little longer, just one more day. Let me bear all the responsibilities, and spare you... The Yun Family has already lost one daughter, we can't lose another."
"Back then, I knew there was another you in this world, but I never mentioned it to the family. Because I knew, once you returned, you'd have to bear the family's mission and responsibilities just like me. That would be too cruel for both of us. Since I had already decided to give up my happiness, I wanted to preserve your freedom as much as possible!" Nora Yun looked at Cecilia Gu with deep affection. "You're my sister! How could I bear to let you shoulder such heavy responsibilities?"
"Unfortunately, no matter how much I fought, I couldn't win against fate. Twenty-one years old became my destiny. Cecilia, I'm sorry, this is my fault as your sister. If I could have lived just two years longer, you wouldn't have had to bear all this." Nora Yun looked at Cecilia Gu with deep remorse.
Cecilia Gu was shaken to her core!
She had always grown up alone, relying only on herself.
No one had ever said anything like this to her before.
Even Jane Gu, she only bore her pain in silence, never once telling Cecilia Gu that she would bear the suffering for her.
But at this moment, Yun Nuo's simple words made Cecilia Gu instantly realize what Yun Nuo had endured for her all these years!
"Now that I'm gone, I know the Yun Family will try to force you back, to take on the responsibilities that were originally mine. So, Cecilia, I'm sorry." Nora Yun reached out her hand to Cecilia Gu, who couldn't help but grasp her fingers.
Yun Nuo's fingers were so cold, so cold.
Cecilia Gu's heart ached inexplicably.
She was her sister.
She had endured so much for her.
She had even given up her own love for her.
How could she be so foolish...
"Sister..." Cecilia Gu finally fully accepted her as her sister. She pulled Nora Yun into her arms with a strong tug.
"Cecilia..." Nora Yun gently wrapped her arms around Cecilia's waist. "I'm so happy you accept me. Please don't blame your sister, okay? I truly did my best... I really... can't go on anymore..."
Cecilia Gu's eyes instantly filled with tears, ready to spill over.
"Take care of Mom and Dad for me. Live well for me. No matter what the Yun Family faces next, don't abandon them, okay?" Nora Yun's pleading voice rang in Cecilia's ears. "I'm leaving so early, making them send off a child before their time. They've already done it once. Don't let them do it again, okay?"
Cecilia Gu couldn't hold back her tears anymore. They fell in big, heavy drops.
"Okay, I promise you," Cecilia Gu nodded firmly.
Nora Yun also began to cry. "Thank you, my sister."
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. Cecilia Gu nearly fell!
"There's not much time left. The Phantom Realm is about to break." Yun Zixiao said urgently from the side, "Keep it short, Nora Yun."
Nora Yun didn't bother to wipe her tears and said to Cecilia Gu, "Cecilia, we don't have much time. I'll be brief, so listen carefully. 1111 is the Yun Family's disaster number, so in the 1,111th generation, someone is destined to be born with a Cursed Destiny. Clearly, that person is you. So in our generation, the Yun Family faces its greatest trial. The Yun Family might disappear from history, vanish from the world. But there's a follow-up to the Ancestral Oracle: the Yun Family will be reborn in blood in the 1,111th generation. Now that I'm gone, the responsibility for this rebirth falls on you."
"Cecilia, listen carefully. Stay true to yourself, and you'll see it through to the end. The future of the Yun Family is in your hands! Don't hesitate, don't be lost, just follow your heart. This year is a turning point for the Yun Family—nine evils and nine calamities will gather, and the Yun Family may be finished. Cecilia, the mission to revive the Yun Family rests on your shoulders!" Nora Yun's words came faster and faster, and the surroundings grew more unstable, as if the whole world could shatter at any moment.
Cecilia Gu reached out to grab Nora Yun's hand, but her fingers closed on empty air.
Nora Yun's body suddenly became transparent and light. Cecilia Gu cried out in panic, "What's happening to you?"
"We're leaving for good, Cecilia. Everything here depends on you!" Yun Zixiao's body also began to fade. "Remember, whether you accept it or not, you will always be a member of the Yun family. The future of the Yun family depends on you!"
"Don't go! I still have so many questions!" Cecilia Gu hurried forward, trying to catch them, but their bodies drifted away like kites pulled by the wind.
Nora Yun shouted to Cecilia Gu, "Cecilia, remember what you promised me! Be kind to Mom and Dad, be kind to... Eric Jiang... Cecilia, I'll be watching you from above! Cecilia, the Yun Family is counting on you..."
"No, don't go! Sister, senior, don't go!" Cecilia Gu chased after them desperately, but the ground shook harder and harder, and everything around her shattered like broken glass, turning to dust.
"Cecilia, you and Charles Yin actually..." Yun Zixiao screamed hysterically at Cecilia Gu in the instant before disappearing, "You owe him a lifetime..."
Yun Zixiao's words were cut off, swallowed completely by the shattered void.
"No, don't go! Finish what you were saying! What am I to him?" Cecilia Gu screamed desperately at Yun Zixiao, but a powerful force yanked her back.
With a jolt, Cecilia Gu opened her eyes and sat up in bed!
She gasped for breath, and it took a long time for her eyes to focus and for her to see her surroundings clearly.
Was this... her own home?
She looked down at her quilt—it was soaked with sweat.
Was she... dreaming?
But the dream felt so real.
In the dream, Yun Nuo and Yun Zixiao seemed so real, as if they'd truly existed.
And the words they said to her in the dream were so clear and unforgettable.
Wait, what did Yun Zixiao's last words mean?
What exactly was her relationship with Charles Yin?
Just as Cecilia Gu was feeling unsettled, there was a sudden knock at the door. Assistant Xiao Wang's panicked voice sounded from outside: "Young Madam, are you awake? Something terrible has happened, Young Madam! Madam Jane Gu is in trouble!"
Cecilia Gu's heart sank!
What happened to Mom?
What happened?
Cecilia Gu didn't care about her sweat-soaked body. She jumped out of bed and opened the door, seeing Xiao Wang standing outside, holding up a phone with trembling hands, his voice choked with tears: "I just got a call from the hospital. They said..."
A sense of foreboding flashed through Cecilia Gu's mind. She snatched the phone and immediately put it to her ear. "Hello, this is Cecilia Gu!"
A strange woman's voice came from the other end: "This is County General Hospital. May I ask, what is your relationship to Jane Gu?"
"She's my mother." Cecilia Gu felt her heart race with anxiety and asked directly, "What happened to her?"
"Please come to the hospital as soon as possible. Mrs. Jane Xiao just underwent surgery, but there were complications. Her vital signs are dropping. If we can't treat her effectively, I'm afraid... she won't make it." The voice was filled with regret.
Cecilia Gu felt her mind go blank. She stumbled backward and collapsed to the ground.