[ She follows his gaze to the same point, content not to look directly at him while they talk about this. It's the sort of topic that's difficult to look at straight in the face, perhaps all the more so at the side of someone who knows what you're feeling. ]

Mm... I think that's what the people waiting for you would wish for, too.

[ It might be a step too far for anyone else to say that — perhaps it even is for her. But it had helped Yingying a lot to frame things this way, where she had felt so apathetic about going on before, much like him. ]

They'd be happy you made it this far... [ there's a note of knowing melancholy. She didn't make it this far without staining her hands either. ] ... That's what I want to believe my moms would think, if they saw me now.

[ ..... ]

Is there really no way for you to become free...?