WangXian Forever 5

Chapter 22 Pressure

SiZhui took Li XiWang to play with the rabbits while his fathers went to find their Uncle XiChen.

She was quieter than normal, usually chattering away about her day, what she had thought about her lessons and any progress she might have made, or difficulties encountered.

Now she seemed lost in her own little world.

So SiZhui took her little hand in his bigger one. She smiled at the contact.

"What are you thinking about, Li XiWang?" He asked her softly.

"Oh, lots of things." She tried to smile, but it came out wrong, and she burst into tears.

SiZhui knelt and put the basket down. He held her shaking body close in tight hug.

"It's alright, little rabbit. This is a lot for anyone to take. It's okay to cry." SiZhui felt for her.

So much stress needed an outlet and crying about it was surprisingly helpful.

"D-don't t-tell fathers." She told him, hiccuping.

"I won't." He told her, rubbing her back.

"It's just that they're so worried about all this, and SiZhui-ge, I'm really sorry."

He sucked in a breath. "Why? Why are you sorry?"

"Because...because all of you were happier before I-"

"No! That is not true!"

When her eyes filled with tears again, SiZhui pulled out a spotless white handkerchief and gently dabbed at her eyes.

He tried again, wishing his father Wei was here. Then again, come to think of it, he didn't know which of the two would cry harder.

"Listen to me, little rabbit. None of us are in control of what happens to us? Right?" He waited until she nodded. "So the only thing we can control is how we react to it. Does that make sense?"

"Yes." He reminded her of father Wei, then.

"None of this is your fault. I would even say that this isn't a fault, or anything bad. What if something good happens instead?" SiZhui smiled when she visibly brightened. "When problems come at us, the universe is testing us. It's something natural, like the waves of the ocean. All we can do is choose to stand in the water, or not."

"But then, won't the waves come anyway?" She whispered.

"Yes, exactly. How far will you run?" He stared into her innocent eyes, chocolate into burgandy.

She got the feeling that they weren't talking about just the ocean either.

"If the waves are going to come anyway, why not wait for them? When we choose to face what's coming, it becomes so much easier to deal with. And you are not alone. Haven't we made that clear?"

She smiled at him then, small but still there.

"That's my brave sister!" SiZhui hugged her again. "It's okay to worry, it's definitely okay to cry, but you have to tell me if you're worried about anything. This is what big brothers are for."

She nodded.

They resumed their walk, hand in hand.

SiZhui felt so much better. He thought he had coped quite well in this unknown situation, where in normal circumstances, he would have been the one receiving the comfort, but it meant something else entirely when he had to give it instead. It made him feel older.

In a good way.

He watched his little sister let go of his hand and run towards the now terrified bunnies, scattering in all directions, and he hurried to join her.