Paper Crane
She didn’t drive or call for a designated driver. Instead, she took a bus home.
During her school days, whenever she didn’t perform well on a test or felt down, Song Yuhang would always sit alone on a swaying bus, looking at the neon-lit city outside the window, as if it could take her to a distant place.
But this time, she sat in the back row but didn’t look out the window. Instead, she stared at her phone.
“What are the causes of bipolar disorder?”
“Can bipolar disorder be cured?”
“Do bipolar disorder patients have to take medication for life?”
……
Her fingertips glided across the screen, browsing through various search pages and reading some shares and confessions from bipolar patients.
Song Yuhang pressed her fingers against her forehead, pinching it hard, when the driver reminded her that they had reached the final stop.
She was taken aback. Had they arrived at the final stop so quickly?
Song Yuhang grabbed her bag and got off the bus. As she looked around at the familiar surroundings, a rush of memories flooded her mind.
She never expected that the final stop of the bus that took her home would actually be her own house, the Qingshan Villa.
Walking along the long mountain road, the villa cluster nestled among the green hills and clear waters. She and her had once had a fight here.
That rainy night was the beginning of everything.
Song Yuhang witnessed her skills, her courage, her charm, her sensuality.
It was also the first time she witnessed the softness beneath her tough exterior.
When she lay quietly in the accumulated water, shedding tears, and when she sat up trembling, clutching the clothes that had been torn apart by her.
Song Yuhang’s heart felt scratched like a cat’s claw.
She thought, maybe it was from that moment onwards that she started to develop a favorable impression of her.
She would unconsciously pay attention to her, care for her, take care of her. At that time, she had always thought it was guilt after hurting someone, but she never expected…
Song Yuhang shook her head, once again regretting her own dullness.
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The nursery in front of the villa, which had been destroyed during their fight, had been replaced with new plants, and thriving sunflowers were now growing there.
Song Yuhang walked over and plucked a sunflower seed from the full plate of sunflower seeds. She peeled it and stuffed it into her mouth. It was sweet, and the bitter taste brought by the medicine finally faded a bit.
She peeled some more, wrapped them in tissue paper, intending to bring them to Lin Yan when she saw her later, even though she couldn’t eat them.
What she didn’t know was that on the morning after their fight, Lin Yan got up and the butler came to ask her, “Miss, what are we planting in the garden?”
Lin Yan looked at the sky outside as the sun leaped out of the horizon, casting mottled light on the floor.
After the storm, there is always sunshine.
She said casually, “Sunflowers.”
When she said this, she had a momentary thought of the police officer’s face, of her not-so-bright but gentle smile, and of the faint scent of sunshine on her clothes.
Lin Yan was taken aback and wanted to change her answer, but the butler had already gone far. She smiled and continued buttoning her shirt.
Well, sunflowers it is, that’s fine.
Song Yuhang knew that there was no one at her house in the evening, and she should go back. However, she inexplicably found herself standing in front of the villa’s door and, as if driven by something, pressed the doorbell.
After the long dripping sound, a mechanical voice came from the access control system, “Hello, the owner is not at home. Please leave a message after the beep.”
It repeated the message several times in both Chinese and English. Just how much did Lin Yan dislike being bothered by people?
Song Yuhang chuckled, turned around intending to leave, but then she saw the fingerprint sensor below the access control system.
For some unknown reason, she placed her index finger on it.
“Beep—” A soft sound, and the gate opened in response.
Song Yuhang paled.
She clearly remembered that after spending the night at Lin Yan’s house, she had gotten up early to get ready for work.
She was curious about this door and placed her index finger on it.
Lin Yan was shocked and alarmed, “Don’t press randomly, it has automatic memory!”
As she said this, she brushed her hand away, but the electronic display screen already had the imprint of her fingerprint.
Delete or save?
Lin Yan was furious, “Who allowed you to touch my door? Who allowed you to touch my door? Do you want to leave your fingerprints and break into someone’s private residence?!”
Song Yuhang looked innocent, “Sorry… It’s just that it’s so high-tech…”
That fingerprint, she thought she had deleted it, but she didn’t expect it to still remain?
It turned out that a long time ago, Lin Yan had already given her the greatest trust she could offer.
Back then, they were nothing at all.
Song Yuhang’s eyes welled up with tears as she lowered her head and continued walking.
She didn’t even know what she hoped to achieve by tracing her footsteps today.
She had taken photos sitting by the pool and even sent her some of them.
She had initially wanted to set one of those photos as her screensaver, but she ultimately gave up on the idea, as her possessiveness was getting the better of her.
She was so enchanting, sexy, and alluring, but she didn’t want others to see it, so she set it as their private chat background.
Song Yuhang walked inside, pushing open the glass door and stepping into the lobby.
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On the left side was the cloakroom where she had stood, searching for her uniform.
On the right side was the open kitchen where she had once made her a bowl of tomato braised noodles.
She enjoyed it very much.
Song Yuhang felt a bit guilty. She thought that she should learn how to cook from her mother during this period and make sure she eats better in the future.
Song Yuhang walked up the stairs, recalling how Lin Yan had carried her up the stairs from the sofa. Lin Yan had one arm around her neck and was teasing her with sarcastic remarks in her ear.
“You’re such a weakling. You can’t even lift me, and yet and I’m not even a hundred kilograms. Last time, a man who carried me up and down the stairs while being completely naked…”
Song Yuhang chuckled, shook her head, and pushed open Lin Yan’s bedroom. She wondered if Lin Yan would still say such things now.
However, if she did say them…
Song Yuhang’s eyes darkened slightly, and based on her personality, she would probably carry her up and down the stairs ten times or so.
She couldn’t help it; she was used to being competitive.
The bedroom was quite tidy. She had noticed it the last time she visited. There were no extra slippers in the room, and nothing was repeated or held emotional significance.
The media always portrayed her as promiscuous, indecisive, and fickle in love…
But if someone were truly promiscuous, the bedside table would be filled with condoms rather than medical books and magazines.
Song Yuhang’s heart was filled with mixed emotions, and she closed the door and stepped back.
Next to it was her study. Song Yuhang pressed the switch on the wall, and the room was brightly lit, instantly becoming spacious and clear.
The study was even larger than her bedroom. There was a treadmill and other simple fitness equipment near the floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the impression that she would come here to relax after a tiring day of work.
A gentle curve formed at the corner of Song Yuhang’s lips as she picked up the pen that had fallen to the ground and placed it on the desk.
A thick stack of sticky notes on the desk caught her attention, and there was a transparent glass jar next to it. Song Yuhang picked it up and gave it a shake.
It was a thousand origami cranes. Did she still have this kind of interest and hobby that only little girls have?
Song Yuhang chuckled and unscrewed the glass jar lid, but accidentally dropped one out. She picked it up intending to put it back, but suddenly froze as she faintly saw some writing on it through the light.
Her heart tightened, and she quickly placed it on the table and unfolded it. The crumpled paper had a stranger’s name written on it.
It was Lin Yan’s handwriting. She couldn’t fathom its meaning, so she poured out more from the glass jar and opened each one.
This time, she understood.
“Ding Xue.”
“Li Shiping.”
“He Miao.”
“Wu Wei.”
“Wei Lin.”
……
She trembled as she held these crumpled and colorful sticky notes, her lips quivering, and tears started to fall.
These… these were all cases she had handled, bodies she had dissected.
She appeared cold and indifferent, but in the most primitive and simple way, she cherished their memories and remembered their names.
There were many glass jars like this, big and small, in Lin Yan’s display window. Song Yuhang could no longer bear it and ran out without hesitation.
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She had never felt such a strong urge to see her before, an immediate and unprecedented desire.
Song Yuhang ran all the way to the foot of the mountain and hailed a taxi, heading straight to the hospital.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier when you got sick?”
Lin Yan leaned against the bed, originally lying down. When Lin Youyuan entered, the caregiver thought it was disrespectful to the chairman and pushed the bed closer.
She still had a nasal feeding tube inserted and an IV catheter attached to the back of her hand, quietly folding origami cranes.
Lin Youyuan watched her move, noticing how her body was still recovering, unable to even fold a piece of paper properly.
“Go back to Jingtai, get treatment. Don’t go to work anymore in the future. I will talk to the leaders at the Jiangcheng Municipal Bureau.”
In an imperative tone.
Lin Yan seemed indifferent, but her folding movements became slightly more impatient. However, no matter how she struggled, her fingers were too weak to leave even a crease.
Seeing her like this, Lin Youyuan’s eyes filled with disgust. “Look at you, barely clinging to life. Just like your mother. I should have let you die outside. Even if you’re alive, you’re a disgrace to our Lin family.”
Lin Yan’s fingers began to tremble, and she broke out in cold sweat. She had only regained consciousness a few days ago and was far from being able to speak freely.
Lin Youyuan seized on this weakness and used both soft and hard tactics. “I consulted Professor Wang. Guillain–Barré syndrome is not hereditary. When you recover a bit more, I’ll arrange for the CEO of Xingye Corporation to meet you. If things go well, get married quickly. After marriage, don’t struggle anymore. Be a dutiful CEO at home, taking care of the family and raising children.”
As soon as Lin Youyuan’s words fell, the paper in Lin Yan’s hands tore apart with a sharp sound. She suddenly looked up, her throat choked, unable to speak. Her eyes turned red as she stared at him intensely, bloodshot veins visible.
Her gaze was fierce, cold, as if wanting to tear him apart.
Lin Youyuan laughed, “You can’t compare with me. Didn’t you know that fourteen years ago? If you insist on resisting, I don’t mind making you experience again what you went through fourteen years ago.”
Lin Yan gritted her teeth, tasting a hint of blood on her tongue. She gasped heavily, breathing as if struggling against a heavy wind.
A few words escaped from between her teeth, “Don’t… touch… her.”
A smile of confidence appeared on Lin Youyuan’s face, seemingly benevolent and enthusiastic about charity work to others. But in her eyes, he was a devil, a devil crawling out of hell.
Lin Yan gritted her teeth and watched as he manipulated the wheelchair and turned away. “Then it depends on what you do.”
As soon as he left, the data on the monitoring device began to fluctuate dramatically. Lin Yan collapsed on the bed, convulsing all over, and the piece of paper between her fingers gently floated to the ground.
“Miss, Miss, we need help!” The caregiver, seeing the situation deteriorate, rushed out to call the doctor.
LP: Dear author, please give Lin Youyan the worst fate there is! I want to punch that guy’s face!
Busy month this year, please expect inconsistent uploads~
omg just as i thought there was gonna be some fluff Lin Youyan appears.. ಠ_à²