Lana imdiately burst into laughter.
"Please," she said dramatically while placing a hand over her chest. "If I ever defend a man who doesn’t deserve a second chance, then I truly wouldn’t be Lana anymore."
The playful tone finally caused Gwen to smile again.
The atmosphere inside the room gradually beca lighter.
Seeing this, Lana leaned back slightly before speaking again.
"You know, Jas is actually a very awkward person emotionally."
Gwen quietly nodded.
"He doesn’t even realize when his actions suffocate soone emotionally," Lana continued. "Half the ti, he probably thinks he’s being caring."
Gwen let out a tired sigh. "That honestly makes things even more confusing."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the blanket beside her.
"It’s not like I don’t understand him," she admitted softly. "I really tried my best."
Her voice gradually beca quieter.
"But whenever he kept talking about you..." she paused briefly before lowering her gaze further, "...I started feeling jealous no matter how much I tried not to."
Lana nodded understandingly. At that mont, she did not laugh or tease her.
Instead, she spoke gently. "Then next ti, use the sa thod on him."
Gwen blinked in confusion. Lana grinned mischievously. "Do exactly what he does to you."
Gwen stared at her blankly.
Lana chuckled.
"Make him understand your feelings either through communication or actions. Sotis emotionally dense people only realize pain after personally experiencing it."
Hearing that explanation, Gwen suddenly looked enlightened.
For the first ti, she finally felt that maybe Jas truly was not acting maliciously on purpose.
He was simply terrible at understanding emotions.
The two girls continued chatting for nearly an entire hour.
The more they talked, the more Gwen realized how comfortable Lana was to be around.
Despite her strength and mysterious background, Lana never once made others feel inferior around her.
Instead, she had an oddly warm personality that naturally made people relax.
Eventually, almost all of Gwen’s anger disappeared completely.
The mont Lana noticed Gwen calming down, she imdiately decided to strike while the iron was still hot.
Resting her chin lazily against her palm, Lana suddenly spoke.
"You know, when you finally reach the peak of the world one day, you’ll realize sothing."
Gwen looked at her curiously.
Lana smiled faintly. "At the top, the scenery becos beautiful... but also lonely."
Her voice softened slightly.
"And at that point, you won’t want soone who constantly makes you feel suffocated."
Then she lightly poked Gwen’s shoulder.
"You’ll want soone who can stand beside you comfortably at the very peak."
Gwen stared at her quietly.
After a few seconds, she gave a helpless smile.
"That sounds nice," she muttered softly. "But first, I would actually need to reach the top of the world."
Her expression dimd faintly. "And honestly... I know I never will."
Lana imdiately frowned. "Who told you that?"
Gwen lowered her gaze. "My parents."
The room suddenly beca quieter.
"They always said I would never surpass my older sister," Gwen continued softly. "According to them, Yumi is the only one truly capable of reaching the top."
The mont Lana heard the na "Yumi," her expression subtly changed.
Because of Monica, she already knew quite a bit about Yumi.
Still, she never expected Gwen to actually be related to her.
Lana stared at Gwen in surprise. "You’re Yumi’s younger sister?"
Gwen nodded silently.
After processing the information briefly, Lana suddenly snorted softly.
"Honestly? I think you’re better than her."
Hearing such confident words, Gwen imdiately looked shocked.
"How do you even know my sister?" she asked suspiciously.
Lana awkwardly coughed once before waving her hand dismissively.
"Let’s just say..." she muttered dryly, "...our relationship isn’t exactly good."
Then she casually added, "If given the chance, your sister would probably try killing ."
The mont Gwen heard that, her eyes imdiately sparkled with excitent.
"Really?! What happened?!"
Lana instantly regretted speaking.
Seeing Gwen suddenly becoming energetic again made her feel helpless.
"It’s an old story," Lana muttered quickly. "Let’s not talk about it."
However, Gwen suddenly leaned closer with unexpected seriousness.
"Trust ," she whispered firmly. "I hate my sister just as much as you hate her."
The mont Lana heard those words, she beca slightly stunned.
Then Gwen slowly lowered her head.
"You may have seen Yumi as one of those perfect overachievers everyone admires..."
Her fingers quietly tightened together.
"But because of her, my parents constantly compared my entire life. She often sches and fras. She even used a vicious sche to... kick out of the house."
A trace of bitterness appeared across her face.
"Sotis... I honestly wondered whether I was even their real daughter."
Hearing those painful words, Lana’s expression slowly softened.
Gwen quietly took out her phone and started to show the photos of certificates and awards.
"They were never enough," she whispered.
Then, little by little, she began talking about her childhood.
She spoke about how every achievent she earned was overshadowed by Yumi’s accomplishnts.
How every mistake she made was magnified.
No matter how hard she tried, her parents only ever looked proudly at her older sister.
She was kicked out, had to drop out at the age of 18, and ran in various ghost zones to make a living.
At one point, Gwen even laughed bitterly while speaking.
"You might not believe this," she muttered quietly, "but once I returned to them, they even arranged a marriage for ."
Lana froze slightly.
Gwen lowered her eyes in humiliation.
"The man was already in his late nineties."
For a mont, the entire room fell silent.
Even Lana felt shocked hearing that.
Only now did she finally understand why Gwen was so insecure emotionally.
Growing up in the shadow of soone constantly praised as perfect had slowly destroyed her confidence piece by piece over the years.
It turned out that ever since Gwen’s childhood, she had never truly been praised for her achievents.
No one celebrated her victories.
No one proudly showed off her accomplishnts.
Even when she succeeded, the praise would always sohow shift toward her older sister instead.
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