Volume Two: Second Scroll
The End of the Green Duckweed (3)
“I love you.”
When they walked out of the Jingtai Building, it was already late at night, but reporters were still gathered by the entrance. Seeing them come out, they surged forward with a whoosh, surrounding her in a tight circle, and all sorts of long guns and short cannons1 were shoved in front of her.
“Miss Lin, Miss Lin, please say a few words.”
“Miss Lin, Miss Lin…”
The crowd jostled against each other, pressing closer to her.
Lin Yan could not move a single step. Perhaps seeing that she had just been crying and her eyes were still red, the magnesium lights2 began to flash erratically, stinging her eyes so much she could not open them.
Suddenly, she could not hear any sound at all. Her mind went completely blank, she broke out in a cold sweat all over, and her hands and feet trembled. Before her eyes, there were only these people’s faces of all shapes and sizes spinning around and around; their mouths were also opening and closing, but she just could not hear clearly what they were saying.
Just as she was at a loss, a firm and strong hand gently took hold of her. Song Yuhang strode forward and pulled her out of the encirclement, putting one arm around her shoulder and pushing through the crowd to walk away.
Lin Yan came back to her senses and raised her eyes to look at her, only to see her frowning, the expression on her face a mixture of sorrow and forbearance. Finally, as the reporters caught up, she truly could not hold it in any longer and turned around to roar, “Stop chasing! This is the involved party’s private matter! We are not accepting interviews! Not every public figure has to cut open their own wounds for others to see!”
She clenched her fists tightly, her eyes reddening. “If you keep chasing, I’ll call the police and have you detained on the charge of picking quarrels and provoking trouble3!”
Lin Yan froze, watching her back as she roared like a child, shielding her from the malice of the entire world. She finally could not help but curve the corners of her lips.
Song Yuhang turned back around and interlocked their fingers, the anger on her face not yet faded. “Let’s go.”
All the way until she had tucked her into the car, Song Yuhang’s face remained tense, her brows knitted tightly as she gripped the steering wheel.
Lin Yan could not help but let out a pfft of laughter and pinched her cheek. “Alright now, give this grandfather4 a smile. They’re just entertainment reporters5, you know. I really don’t care what they say.”
Song Yuhang turned her face toward her. “In the past, was it also like this?”
Lin Yan knew what she was talking about and shrugged indifferently, feigning ease.
“Yeah, it’s a common occurrence, you know. You have no idea how outrageous they were before, saying I was a fickle playgirl, in the morning three and at night four6…”
Before she could finish her words, her voice gradually trailed off.
Song Yuhang had been watching her the whole time. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes, her mouth turned down, and plip plop, golden beans7 began to fall.
“I’m sorry, I… I never knew before… In the future… in the future, I won’t let you face these things alone ever again…”
It seemed the police officer who was so resolute and courageous in front of others only ever exposed her vulnerability and childlike nature in front of her, huh.
Lin Yan’s heart was soaked by these tears, and the tip of her nose began to sting. She abruptly pulled down her collar.
“Song Yuhang.”
“Hm?” The officer sniffled, sobbing fitfully, not understanding why.
Lin Yan gently closed her eyes and offered her lips. “I love you.”
Let alone a confession, it was rare for her to even initiate a kiss. Song Yuhang froze abruptly, so agitated she did not know where to put her hands and feet. After a moment, just as she was about to pull away, she turned her by the shoulders and kissed her deeply.
How could someone who had tasted sweetness possibly let it go so easily, huh.
Compared to Lin Yan’s brief, stop-after-a-taste kiss just now, Song Yuhang’s was far more feverish.
Lin Yan retreated step by step, placing her hands on her shoulders as if unable to withstand it, gently pushing her away.
“Mmph…“
Song Yuhang became even more excessive, saying indistinctly, “I also… love you.”
When they finally separated, both of them were panting for breath. Lin Yan’s face was red, her eyes shimmered with a watery light, and at the corners of her lips was something that sparked the imagination.
Song Yuhang’s breathing suddenly grew heavy. She leaned over again, her objective clear, her actions simple and direct, reaching straight out to undo the buttons of her clothes.
“Lin Yan, I want…”
Lin Yan slapped away her salty pig trotters8 with her shoulder bag and cursed out loud in anger, “Get lost, shameless!”
“Oh.” Song Yuhang, in pain, withdrew her hand with a wronged expression and looked reluctantly at the inner wear that was straining the buttons of her shirt, licking her lower lip.
Heaven knows how long it has been since she last touched her, okay?
She even dreamed of it.
If Lin Yan did not let her touch her again, she was going to explode on the spot.
Inwardly, Song Yuhang was silently streaming with tears. She put the car in gear and set off.
One look at her expression and Lin Yan knew what she was thinking. Her face reddened slightly, and the corners of her lips pouted high.
“Drive faster. I’m tired and want to go home early.”
Song Yuhang’s eyes lit up—there was a chance9! She stepped on the accelerator and sped off.
“Alrighty, whatever Miss Lin says, goes. If you say not to touch, I won’t touch. If you say to touch, then… hehehe!”
Lin Yan’s face flushed red, and she raised her shoulder bag. “Who said I wanted…”
Song Yuhang dodged away, her hands not letting go of the steering wheel, the corners of her lips splitting into a wide arc. “Hey, hey, hey, I’m driving, you know. Make a scene at home, make a scene at home, ha.”
As for how to “make a scene” at home, that was, of course, for her to decide.
As soon as the door opened, Song Yuhang pushed her inside and backhanded the door locked. The things she was holding were piled haphazardly on the coffee table, and the sofa sagged slightly.
Lin Yan pushed at her shoulders. “Mmph… Go take a shower first.”
Song Yuhang stripped off her jacket, bit open the buttons of her shirt, and pushed her hands up above her head.
Lin Yan’s body felt light, and she was lifted up.
“Let’s wash together.”
The showerhead sprayed hot water with a whooshing sound. Two pairs of bare feet stood on the floor. The bathroom’s Yuba10 was turned on warmly, and steam quickly fogged up the glass window.
Lin Yan’s originally pale complexion was now as red as if it were dripping blood. Her head was buried in the crook of her neck, her fingers gripping her arm forcefully.
Song Yuhang freed a hand to pinch the nape of her neck. “Can’t stand anymore?”
“Mmm…” A soft hum, as delicate and soft as a kitten’s.
Song Yuhang’s heart was about to melt. The water in the bathtub beside them was almost full. She turned and picked her up.
Just when Lin Yan thought this long tug-of-war was finally about to end, she was placed into the bathtub.
Her long eyelashes trembled up and down. She lay over the edge of the tub, looking rather overwhelmed by pleasure.
Song Yuhang swept a long arm out and brought her into her embrace.
Lin Yan lazily raised her eyes. “What for?”
Besides the nape of her neck, she seemed to have found a new amusement.
Song Yuhang kneaded the part of her lower back that indented into the dimples of Venus11, her voice hoarse. “It’s still early. Let’s soak a while longer.”
Her palms were coarse and calloused. The places she caressed quickly broke out in goosebumps.
Lin Yan trembled all over and bit her lip slightly. Reason told her she should refuse. “Song—”
Before the word was finished, her lips were sealed.
Ripples spread across the surface of the water.
A droplet of water slid down the glass shower door.
On the floor sat two pairs of neatly placed slippers.
Song Yuhang: “Talk less, do more.”
By the time she was carried to the bed again, Lin Yan was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. The massive loss of fluids made her throat unbearably parched. Song Yuhang poured a glass of warm water and brought it to her lips, feeding it to her in small sips.
After she had gulped down more than half the glass of water, Song Yuhang took the glass from her hand and found a hairdryer to dry her hair for her.
Lin Yan lay on her stomach on the pillow, made drowsy by the warm air, her fingers unconsciously hooking the corner of her clothes.
“I’m sorry, I gave away most of the money. I didn’t leave any for you.”
Song Yuhang focused on drying the slightly damp strands of hair in her hand, massaging her scalp from time to time.
“It’s okay. This thing called money, I can earn it myself.”
“But…” Lin Yan bit her lip slightly.
Those two hundred million were originally left for her by Lin Youyuan, probably with the hope that she would use the money to revive the Lin family. This way, the business would have shown signs of recovery, the employees’ salaries could naturally be paid, and Lin Yan would have had enough wealth to live the rest of her life without worrying about food or clothing. But what he had not expected was that Lin Yan would be even more ruthless. She took the money, but she dissolved the company. Not only did she not get a single cent herself, but she also paid in a little extra. After all, what was distributed on-site at the time was only a small portion; many more branch offices in other locations would be receiving allocated funds over the next two days.
Others might not understand the reason she did this, but Song Yuhang understood. She stroked her head.
“This thing called money is a double-edged sword. It can spur people to strive forward, but it can also make people degenerate. Compared to sitting on a fortune of ten thousand strings of cash12, I would rather you be a happy, ordinary person.”
The sound of the hairdryer stopped. Lin Yan felt warm all over. She turned over and snuggled into the quilt, her voice a little drowsy.
“But… I still haven’t bought you a big house, a luxury car, a diamond ring…”
Song Yuhang’s eyes grew hot. She dimmed the table lamp and hugged her from behind.
“One person is worth ten thousand gold.”
“Number 0378, someone is here to see you.” The iron door opened with a clang. What Zheng Chengrui had not expected was that at a time like this, someone would still come to see him.
He had a buzz cut13 and had grown thinner. He got up numbly and followed the prison guard out.
Duan Cheng was waiting for him, separated by a wall.
The prison guard unlocked his handcuffs. Zheng Chengrui sat down, and then hand and foot shackles were put on. He was wearing a dark blue prison uniform, which was often jokingly called a “zebra uniform” by the criminal police because of the blue and white stripes on the back. This color and the police’s navy blue uniform were only a single word’s difference14, yet they were worlds apart.
Duan Cheng looked at him like this, as if he were a stranger. He stared for a long time at the spot on his chest where his police number should have been, without speaking.
Zheng Chengrui, on the other hand, was more composed. “You’re here.”
Duan Cheng responded with a faint sound of acknowledgement, raising his eyes to look at the new stubble on his chin. His whole face faintly showed some of the handsome and delicate contours of the past, but because the food in the detention center was not as good as before, his face lacked color.
“You’ve lost weight.”
Zheng Chengrui smiled slightly, as simple and honest as ever.
“I haven’t been eating snacks, so naturally I lost weight.”
Duan Cheng took out a plastic bag from underneath and handed it to the prison guard standing beside them for inspection.
“I can’t bring in any food or anything. Autumn is coming soon, so I brought you some thick clothes and daily necessities.”
Through a pane of transparent glass, Zheng Chengrui watched the prison guard place the large plastic bag on the table and inspect it, patting it inside and out, including the interlinings of the clothes, again and again.
He moved his gaze back, looking at the increasingly mature features of the boy before him.
“Thank you. You and Fang Xin?”
At the mention of Fang Xin, Duan Cheng also smiled.
“I’ve taken her to meet my parents. They both like her a lot. Now, the only thing left is that her parents haven’t agreed yet.”
“That’s great. I wish you in advance a hundred years of harmony, and to be of one heart forever15.”
His sentence had not come down yet, but with several crimes combined for punishment, it probably would not be light. He just did not know if it would be…
Thinking of this, Duan Cheng’s eyes grew hot, and he turned his body slightly to the side.
No matter what, Zheng Chengrui was a bit older than him and already had a very detached view of these things. From the moment he started down this path, he had long been prepared to have his reputation ruined and his life destroyed.
He just said, “Go back. Live a good life with Fang Xin. Don’t come again.”
His crime was, after all, a special one. Coming here often would not be good for him.
Duan Cheng raised his head and asked with red eyes, “Do you regret it?”
Zheng Chengrui seemed not to have expected him to ask this question. He froze for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
“The most important thing for a person is to always look forward. How can one always be looking behind them, huh.”
Duan Cheng also seemed to have expected him to say this. He tugged up the corners of his lips slightly and turned his head away to smile, his eyes still red.
The visiting time was almost up, and the prison guard began to hurry them.
He took a photograph out of his jacket pocket and passed it through the gap at the very bottom of the glass partition.
“Lin-jie asked me to give this to you. It was found at Pei Jinhong’s house.”
It was a yellowed black-and-white photo, with half of it torn away, leaving only a little girl with horn braids16 and a smile like a flower, standing quietly.
The girl’s hand was raised slightly, probably holding onto her relative, but unfortunately, that half was already gone.
A crack finally appeared in Zheng Chengrui’s calm and numb expression. The hands holding the photo began to tremble.
His lips quivered. He looked up at him, then back at the little girl in the photo, trembling more and more violently.
Duan Cheng stood up, a trace of pity and sorrow in his eyes.
“You say you don’t regret it, but do you know, you sold the intelligence to Lin Ge, and Lin Ge in turn informed Ding Ye, nearly getting Lin-jie killed, and also killing your…”
He pressed his hand against the glass, as if he could not bear to say more, and closed his eyes slightly, his fingertips clenched into a fist.
“If it weren’t for… she could still be alive.”
Clutching the photo, Zheng Chengrui trembled like a rice sieve17. This man, who had never been seen with red eyes even after being arrested and imprisoned, abruptly tried to stand up, but was cuffed to the interrogation chair and could not break free, his wrists scraping against the table.
Two tall and sturdy prison guards pounced on him, pressing him firmly back down, his head held against the table.
Zheng Chengrui’s eyes were wide open. His glasses had fallen off, and tears flowed down his cheeks onto the tabletop.
A sound like the roar of a wild beast came from his mouth.
Duan Cheng could not bear to watch any longer. His clenched fist loosened from the glass, and he turned to leave.
Behind him came the sound of a man’s wailing, hysterical cries.
All the way until he walked out of the detention center, Duan Cheng was still in a daze. The sound of crying seemed to linger in his ears, refusing to leave.
He stepped into a puddle of muddy water, only then noticing that it had started raining outside at some unknown time.
He was vexed. He took a cigarette from its pack, but it was quickly soaked by the rain, and his lighter would not ignite it.
Duan Cheng thought of Zheng Chengrui’s despairing gaze just before he left. A surge of bitterness rushed straight to his eyes. His fingers loosened, and the cigarette abruptly fell to the ground.
A pair of wedge-heeled shoes walked over from a distance.
He followed the owner of the shoes upwards with his gaze. The rain had stopped.
Fang Xin was holding an umbrella for him.
Ever since receiving the beauty secrets that Lin Yan had held nothing back in teaching her, Fang Xin had taken off her glasses that were as thick as the bottom of a beer bottle, started wearing contacts, began to let her long hair down, and learned to put on makeup and dress herself up.
Under the dim yellow streetlight, she had applied a light layer of powder and rouge. Her face was not particularly stunning, but it was delicate and pleasant to look at.
Her very presence here freed him from that sorrowful atmosphere, not to mention what she said.
“Let’s go. My dad is calling us home to eat.”
Duan Cheng froze, then fiercely pulled her into his embrace, burying his head in the crook of her neck, his shoulders trembling.
Fang Xin took a step back to steady herself. Holding the umbrella with one hand, she hugged him back, stroking the sweater on his back.
After a little while, he finally recovered completely. He wiped his face, smoothed his hair, and took the umbrella from her hand.
“Okay, then let’s go buy something.”
Fang Xin looked at the cigarette pack in his hand. “My dad has tracheitis…”
Duan Cheng tactfully threw the cigarette pack into a roadside trash can. “I’ll quit.”
“My mom has a bad temper and likes to nag…”
“Whatever the mother-in-law says is right.”
Fang Xin said angrily, “The first stroke of the character for eight hasn’t even been written yet18!”
Duan Cheng put his arm around her shoulder. The two of them shared an umbrella, and the streetlight cast a picture of them nestled against each other.
“It’s a matter of sooner or later, you know.”
After Zhao Junfeng was arrested, Song Yuhang had also gone to the provincial capital to see her shimu19, and Lin Yan went with her.
Her original intention was not to have her go. Firstly, the journey was long, and secondly, she was Zhao Junfeng’s wife after all; she was afraid that Lin Yan would have reservations and feel uncomfortable.
She was thoughtful about everything, but unexpectedly, Lin Yan just smiled slightly.
“You consider others, but why haven’t you considered yourself? I have a thousand and one reasons not to go, but only one reason why I must go, and that is—to accompany you.”
This door in front of her—she used to come here often back in her school days, but now she felt a little timid as if returning home after a long absence20 and could not bring herself to knock.
Song Yuhang hesitated for a long while. Just as she was about to ring the doorbell, the door opened from the inside.
An old woman appeared behind the door. She had a full head of silver hair, and her eyes were a bit dull and lifeless. Seeing it was them, she then smiled slightly, but the smile was also weak and feeble.
“It’s Yuhang.”
Song Yuhang took a step forward. “It’s me, Shimu.”
She moved her gaze to Lin Yan at the side.
“This is?”
During this period since Zhao Junfeng’s arrest, investigators would come to the house every few days, so the old woman’s expression was slightly confused and wary.
“She is my friend.”
Song Yuhang answered this way, taking her hand and pulling her inside. Lin Yan placed the things she was holding on the table.
During her school days, she had also often come over to eat, but she had never brought any classmates or friends.
The old woman came to a sudden realization and glanced at Lin Yan again. This was probably a very important friend of hers whom she knew inside and out21, she supposed.
But lately she had been living in a daze, and her mind was not very clear.
The old woman turned again and walked numbly inside, muttering to herself.
“It’s good that you’ve come, it’s good that you’ve come. Recently, no one but the police has been coming here.”
She had not come today in her capacity as a police officer, so she had sufficient reason to feel sad.
Song Yuhang followed her in. “We came to see you. Is there anything you need help with?”
The old woman shook her head and picked up the electric kettle to pour them water.
“No, no, people from the community come by to ask every few days. Just last month they sent a bag of rice that I haven’t finished yet.”
After trying to pour for a while, the kettle was empty. The old woman put it down in embarrassment.
“Oh, I boiled it this morning and drank it all. Stay for dinner tonight, okay? Shiniang22 will make you something delicious.”
As the old woman spoke, she opened the refrigerator door again. Lin Yan noticed that the power cord behind the refrigerator was not plugged in.
So as soon as it was opened, the smell of rotten vegetable leaves rushed out.
The old woman froze slightly and rummaged through a plastic bag for a long time. “Oh, it’s all gone bad, can’t be eaten. Then I’ll cook you a bowl of noodles, okay.”
Song Yuhang stopped her. “Shimu, don’t trouble yourself. We’re not hungry.”
The old woman turned around dejectedly. “Look at me, my memory is getting worse and worse. By the way, what about Old Zhao, is he doing okay inside?”
As she said this, an earnest look filled her eyes, and she gripped her hand tightly.
Song Yuhang pulled her over to sit on the sofa, then took the electric kettle to boil a pot of hot water and filled the thermos.
Lin Yan casually plugged the refrigerator’s power cord in.
“He’s doing fine, you know. It’s just that autumn is coming, the weather is dry, and he has a bit of a cough.”
Before her voice had faded, the old woman abruptly stood up and walked unsteadily toward the inner room.
“Then I’ll find some more thick clothes for him. You can help me take them to him.”
Before the court’s verdict came down, the person was held in a detention center, and no one was allowed to visit except for lawyers and case-handling personnel. Not even family members were permitted, let alone for a major and important case like this.
Duan Cheng’s ability to see Zheng Chengrui was also an arrangement from the higher-ups, in order to get him to tell the truth as soon as possible.
“Okay.”
Song Yuhang agreed and followed her inside.
The old woman’s hands were trembling slightly. She opened the wardrobe and took out a large stack of clothes from inside.
She was not very attentive to her own daily life, being forgetful and disorganized, but she could enumerate every detail of Zhao Junfeng’s food and daily routines as if counting family treasures.
“Sigh, I don’t know if the food inside is any good. He loves the cabbage and pork-filled dumplings I make the most.”
“These are a few autumn shirts, bought at the materials exchange fair23 that year. In the plaza, twenty yuan for three.”
As the old woman spoke, she seemed to be lost in memories, a hint of a smile on her lips. She picked them out and set them aside.
“I don’t know when the investigation will be over. Better bring a few sweaters, I suppose.”
“And this, the overcoat his work unit24 issued. I’ve washed it all clean for him.”
Song Yuhang noticed that the color of a few buttons on the cuff was not quite the same; the old woman must have sewn them back on after they fell off.
Her heart ached. “Shimu, find a big bag, and I’ll pack them all up.”
“Aye, okay, okay. In the drawer under that wardrobe, take a look and see if there are any woven bags.”
The old woman said, her hands full.
So Song Yuhang went over to help her search. She did not find a woven bag, but she did find a large pile of medical records, medical imaging data, all kinds of medicine bottles, and insulin pens, stuffing the drawer full.
Lin Yan leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, watching her take out a lab report, her lips trembling. “Shiniang, this is…”
Lin Yan turned her gaze to the old woman, her expression a mixture of pity and some other unnameable emotion.
The old woman, however, did not seem to mind much and continued to pack clothes for Zhao Junfeng. “Hai, diabetes. I’ve had it for decades. The doctor said I originally wouldn’t have lived this many years, but Old Zhao didn’t believe it and insisted on dragging me to hospitals all over the country. And I have to take those insulin shots, several hundred yuan per shot, you know, every single day…”
Song Yuhang clenched the report. “When was this diagnosed? Why didn’t you tell me?”
The old woman did not look up and packed a few more pieces of underclothing for Zhao Junfeng.
“Hai, that was so long ago. I already had it when you were still in school. Telling you would just give one more person something to worry about.”
A thick fog rapidly welled up in Song Yuhang’s eyes.
After that, she rambled on about some other things, but she could no longer hear them clearly.
The group finished packing. Song Yuhang insisted on taking her out for a meal, but the old woman refused.
“I’ll just stay here. I’m not going anywhere. In case he comes back, someone has to be here to open the door for him.”
Finally, the old woman gripped her hand again and asked.
“Yuhang, ah, can you tell me, what exactly did he do wrong? Why is the investigation taking so long, ah?”
To this day, she still did not know the news that Zhao Junfeng had been formally arrested25. This was already considered the organization showing him leniency26.
Song Yuhang forced a smile. “Please wait a little longer. In a little while, I’ll see if I can apply to the higher-ups to let you go see him.”
Joy flashed in the old woman’s eyes, and her cloudy gaze instantly gained a spark of life. She saw them to the door and called out to her as enthusiastically as ever.
“Aye, okay, okay, Yuhang, ah, bring your friend over to visit again next time, ah. Old Zhao will probably be back by then. He still has a bottle of Wuliangye27 that he’s been hiding, said he wants to drink it with you. Shimu will make you some more delicious food then.”
After returning from the provincial capital, the two of them lived peaceful days for a very long time. Song Yuhang was at leisure at home, and Lin Yan did not want to go back to work either. There was even a period where she had frequent nightmares. A person who had never before feared any blood or corpses now trembled all over just from seeing a scary scene on television, a physiological aversion.
The scene before Lin Youyuan and Lin Ge’s deaths was always replaying in her mind.
The doctor said that for her condition, she could only rest well and avoid external stimuli. Feng Jianguo returned the keys to the Qingshan Villa to her. It was far from the city center, quiet, and held too many memories for the two of them, so Song Yuhang moved there with her.
The autumn sunlight was gentle and not glaring, and the temperature was also pleasant. Lin Yan moved a lounge chair and sat in the courtyard to sunbathe.
Song Yuhang was tidying up the plants in the nursery bed. She wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead and pointed to an empty patch of ground.
“Lin Yan, what should we plant here, ah?”
“Sunflowers, I suppose.”
Hearing the voice, Lin Yan tilted her head slightly, a hint of a smile on her lips as she looked at her.
The police officer stood in the tilled earth, wearing a slightly worn camouflage short-sleeved shirt with the hem tucked into matching combat pants. She had sloping shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. A white towel was hung around her neck. The sunlight sprinkled on her, and set against the slanting sun and the backdrop of the green mountains behind her, she appeared all the more heroic and vigorous.
Song Yuhang froze, then remembered that she used to plant sunflowers both inside and outside the courtyard. Could it be that there was some kind of symbolic meaning?
“Why sunflowers, ah?”
Lin Yan narrowed her eyes and smiled, like a cunning and flirtatious fox.
“Not telling you, ah.”
Song Yuhang watched her nestled in the wicker chair, wearing a loose white woolen sweater that made her skin look even fairer. After these few months of recuperation, she had regained a bit of her spirit. When she smiled, it was as if a fine ink wash painting28 was slowly unfurling, with affection filling the tips of her brows and the corners of her eyes.
Her heart stirred. She threw down the hoe, went to the nearby water pipe to wash her hands, shook off the water droplets, and walked to her side. She stuck her hands under the thin blanket she was using to cover her legs to chill her.
“Are you going to tell me? Are you going to tell me? Are you going to tell me, hm?”
Lin Yan dodged all around and was provoked into giggling by her, only stopping after a good while, panting for breath.
Their four eyes met.
Song Yuhang looked into her pupils, and engraved within them was her reflection.
The first time she met her, those eyes were filled with countless negative emotions: arrogance, contempt, unreasonableness, disdain, condescension…
In the course of their later interactions, she also witnessed the sadness, reluctance, heartbreak, and despair in those eyes.
Actually, after Lin Yan returned, she too had many sleepless nights just like her. How to put it… there was always a sense of unreality. She was afraid that this was another dream she was having, and when she woke up, she would be gone.
Until this moment, on this quiet autumn afternoon, she found herself in her eyes, and she also found love in her eyes.
Song Yuhang had always thought that accompanying her was to heal her, but it turned out she was also healing herself, ah.
She sighed with emotion silently in her heart.
She felt that the crack that had grown in her heart because of her absence had now healed, fitting together perfectly29.
And it was even stronger than before.
She had once thought that she would never be okay again in this lifetime.
Song Yuhang’s heart warmed, and she reached out to hug her.
Lin Yan thought she was going to pat her head and naturally lowered it, but she did not expect to be pulled into an embrace.
Her chin rested perfectly on her shoulder.
The thin blanket slipped off, revealing a pair of straight and slender legs. At home, she always dressed in a cool and flimsy manner.
Barefoot, no less.
Song Yuhang glanced over and, without changing her expression, picked her up.
“It’s cool outside. Let’s go in.”
Lin Yan was still thinking about her sunflowers, sunlight, and wicker chair.
“Hey, how is it cool? It’s obviously very warm…”
Song Yuhang backhanded the living room door locked and drew the curtains. The sunlight shrank to a corner of the floor.
“The sofa is warmer.”
The sound of Lin Yan’s resistance grew smaller and smaller.
“I want to be… mmph… on top.”
“In a bit…” Her voice was a little hoarse. “If you have the energy, I’ll let you.”
LP: Re-translated on September 12, 2025
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