It’s been 10 years since Yiran and Xixi first got to know each other.
From innocent students to mature career women, the time-tested friendship between Yiran and Xixi is already as strong as family. After fighting together year after year and achieving milestones one after another, the two have celebrated beautiful life hand in hand. Yet, they still have the courage to jointly face ups and downs.
Getting to Know Each Other
After her parents divorced, 13-year-old Yiran, together with her mother and younger brother, left the place that changed from a warm and happy home to a site of endless quarrels, and arrived in a new and unfamiliar city to start a new life. At that time, divorce was still an unusual thing for many around Yiran, so she fell victim to hostile glances and questions, and started to say less and feel inferior. Suddenly coming to an unfamiliar city, Yiran just couldn’t get used to life there as she became an introvert.
Yiran felt the same at school. As a transfer student, she didn’t make a single friend for days, and had to go to the playground and the canteen alone. Girls' friendships often start out simple. "Why don't you go to lunch?" Seeing that Yiran was always alone, Xixi couldn't help but say: "Come with us."
The kindness from Xixi made Yiran feel the first warmth in a city of strangers. Xixi was a good-natured and chivalric girl, who didn’t want Yiran to feel lonely. So from that day on, she would bring Yiran and her friends along in everything she did: going to the toilet during class breaks, gathering at noon for lunch, and buying snacks together after school… During their interactions, the girls found that though introverted, Yiran had an attractive personality of being careful and patient, and Yiran felt closet to Xixi because of her voluntary approach. Playing and laughing among friends made Yiran no longer caught up in her own family misery. She started to show more smiles on the face, and her character gradually became as cheerful as Xixi.
"To this day, I am still grateful for Xixi accepting me that year, which helped me overcome the gloom in my heart. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be as cheerful and optimistic as I am now." Yi Ran says quite emotionally.
Friends of a Lifetime
One day after school, Xixi was attracted by a mini-skirt when hanging out with Yiran, but was discouraged by the RMB 600 price tag. Yiran quietly saved her pocket money, and in the third month, she bought the mini-skirt for Xixi. Holding the new and beautiful mini-skirt, Xixi smiled and her eyes turned red. She often went to Yiran's home, and knew well Yiran's family situation. She knew that Yiran's father had married again, and only gave a small amount of money for the upkeep of Yiran and her brother, so Yiran's mother had to pay for the schooling and living of two children, alone. Therefore, the money saved from Yiran’s daily expenses made Xixi both moved and distressed.
Friendship is never about one-sided giving. Yiran is introverted, and her care for friends is reflected in her deeds; Xixi is extroverted, and her devotion to friends is shown through paybacks.
In the first year after graduation, Xixi and Yiran, both new to the workplace, didn’t have any savings, but still, Xixi prepared a grand birthday party for Yiran. She had a room fully decorated with balloons, made a table of delicious dishes with her own hands, and bought birthday gifts for Yiran from 1 to 20 years old: pacifier for 1st birthday, doll for 5th birthday, and diary for 8th birthday… Each of the gifts was not expensive, but 20 different gifts still manifested Xixi’s considerateness. This was undoubtedly the most special and spectacular birthday that Yiran had ever celebrated.
Such sophisticated care helped craft a close friendship amid time. The two girls see each other grow up as time goes by, but never let go their tightly held hands.
Fortress to Harbor Each Other
For Yiran and Xixi, perhaps the luckiest thing is that the two girls with very different personalities have managed a friendship that transcends the test of time. For each other, such friendship is like a solid fortress and a safe harbor against all kinds of twists and turns in the outside world.
Shortly after finding her first job, Xixi had a quarrel with her family because she quietly quit the "iron rice bowl" job preferred by her father. During the six months of cold war with her parents, Xixi lived in Yiran's house. For her, Yiran's place was like her second home – it was not only a warm residence, but also a harbor that accommodated all her emotions. She told Yiran everything about her grievances about her parents' arbitrary actions, and her confusion about career and future. Xixi said: "I was very sad when things didn’t work out with my family. Yiran helped me with many things, including easing the relationship between me and my family. Since then, I have felt that we are closer than sisters." The same is true for Yiran.
"Even if the world outside is shaken by deadly floods, I am willing to be always behind you."
When Yiran's younger brother was about to enter high school, he needed to pay a large accommodation fee, something that Yiran and her mother could not afford. But she didn’t want her mother to work overtime, although it was difficult for her to earn more money, so she found herself in a dilemma. At that time, Xixi, who had been fighting in the livestreaming industry for three years, had the idea of introducing her best friend to the trade. Out of dear love for her bestie, Xixi persuaded Yiran for two months before Yiran started her first livestreaming session. At first, Yiran wasn’t good enough as a streamer, which worried Xixi very much. To help Yiran out, Xixi mobilized her own fans to cheer for Yiran, and also offered many pieces of advice in private.
"I know this industry and I’ve made some money from it. I will try my best to help my bestie overcome difficulties and live a better life."
As we run on the path of growth, friends support us in a way that we don’t have to lick the wounds ourselves. Time carves everyone, and leave marks, some physical and some psychological. For Yiran and Xixi, ten years have gone by in an instant, but have never weakened their friendship in which the two girls support each other without caring about personal gains and losses. As they both hope for a better future for each other, their friendship will definitely remain fresh and long-lasting.