Yu Xiaoying’s voice was swallowed by her cry of surprise. The room fell silent, everyone stunned by the sudden turn of events. Yu Xiaoying stood alone on the stage, surrounded by darkness, like a lone soldier.
A warm hand gripped hers. “Don’t be afraid, it might be a power outage,” Song Chu said, his warm breath close to her face. Yu Xiaoying felt reassured.
The lights came back on just a few minutes later. They quickly pulled apart, but Ji Ran’s gaze was fixed on them, filled with hurt.
Without looking at Yu Xiaoying, Ji Ran stood up and walked out.
Yu Xiaoying, surprised by Ji Ran’s pale face, called after him, “Ji Ran, are you not feeling well? What’s wrong, feeling chest tightness?”
She followed him out, forgetting she still had an announcement to make.
Song Chu watched them leave, his face expressionless. She hadn’t announced his victory; she seemed to have completely forgotten. What did it matter? During those three minutes of darkness, she belonged to him.
That patch of darkness also belonged to them.
“Ji Ran, what exactly is making you uncomfortable?” Yu Xiaoyang followed him.
No response, as if he didn’t want to answer her.
Yu Xiaoyang stopped, taking deep breaths to suppress the emotion welling in her heart, trying to hold back her tears.
Ji Ran walked quickly, forcing her to run to catch up.
“Ji Ran!” He didn’t turn back, and Yu Xiaoyang panicked.
His long legs made it hard for her to keep up.
“Ji Ran, wait for me!”
“Ji Ran!” Her foot caught, and Yu Xiaoyang fell to her knees.
“Pain!!!”
“Ji Ran!” she called, her voice trembling in the summer air.
Still no answer. The rustling of leaves echoed as Yu Xiaoyang sat dazed on the ground, tears spilling from her eyes.
Ji Ran stopped, standing alone. He slowly turned his head, weak moonlight falling on his face.
His expression showed a struggle, pain reflecting in his beautiful black eyes, eyebrows tightly locked. He frowned at Yu Xiaoyang as she cried softly.
Finally, Ji Ran walked toward her, as if making a decision.
Each step stirred the pain in his heart.
He crouched down to look at the wound on her knee.
Both knees were scraped, tiny blood beads seeping out and flowing down her pale legs. She seemed unconcerned with the injury, softly crying as her tears mixed with blood.
Ji Ran felt heartache and his gaze turned colder, wondering why he only brought her harm. His father had secretly called, saying Mom spoke harshly to her and asked him to comfort Xiaoyang.
For the first time, he shouted at his dad over the phone, insisting this was his matter and questioning why they hurt her.
“Sorry,” his father replied. “We’re just very worried about you.”
“No matter who hurts Xiaoyang, I will never forgive them!” he coldly declared.
But now, he had hurt her.
Ji Ran sighed and prepared to lift her up horizontally.
Yu Xiaoyang, still crying, grabbed Ji Ran’s clothes and pleaded through tear-filled eyes, “Ji Ran! Why won’t you pay attention to me? I called you so many times!” She cried like a child, “I was so afraid you weren’t feeling well! But why won’t you care about me? I fell!”
Large tears rolled down her cheeks, and Ji Ran’s cold gaze softened.
“Are you angry with me? Did I do something wrong?” She fired questions nervously.
“No, you’ve always done very well.”
“No, I clearly saw you were angry.” Her eyes were blurred with tears. “You can’t ignore me.”
Ji Ran hugged her tightly: “What should I do with you? I want to possess you, never separate, but always unintentionally bringing you harm.”
“Am I worthy of being your Ji Ran?” his voice was low.
Yu Xiaoyang cupped Ji Ran’s face. He saw her smile through her tears. “Don’t doubt me, okay? No matter what, you’re always the same. You have never changed.”
Embrace…
Embrace is enough!
The night wind lifted their clothes. Yu Xiaoyang cried quietly, her tears warming Ji Ran’s cold chest. That sentence “Go back to England” stuck in her throat, too bitter to say.
Ji Ran held Yu Xiaoyang tightly, as if holding his lifetime of happiness.
His heart ached. Only in pain could he truly feel her in his embrace. This wasn’t a dream; her tears were for him, her heartache was for him…
Hands slowly loosened.
Ji Ran fell down. In his blurred vision, he saw Yu Xiaoyang’s pale face and the deep love in her eyes.
He smiled, moonlight falling on his face.
“Ah?! Ji Ran! Ji Ran!!”
Snow-white ceiling, snow-white walls, bright white light…
Ji Ran opened his eyes to see everything white.
“You’re awake?” Yu Xiaoyang’s soft voice came, the fragrance of lily perfume entering his heart.
Turning, he noticed a vase on the table holding lilies with dew.
“I think you must not like hospitals. Fragrant, isn’t it?”
Ji Ran reached out to hold her. “Sorry, I scared you.”
Yu Xiaoyang looked at him with deep emotion, her eyes gradually moistening.
Panic struck Ji Ran as he caught her rolling tears, droplets sliding off his cold fingertips.
“Ji Ran…”
He looked at her.
“Go back to England,” Yu Xiaoyang sighed.
Ji Ran turned away, silent and unwilling to meet her gaze. She too remained quiet.
As night fell, the evening breeze lifted the curtains. Yu Xiaoyao remained stiff and seated.
“If I go back, will you be happy?”
“…”
“I will…”
“Really?”
Yu Xiaoyao trembled, squeezing Ji Ran’s cold hand, tears dropping into his palm. “Everything will be fine, Ji Ran!”
Ji Ran gently closed his eyes, a tear falling onto the snow-white pillowcase.
“I… will go back.”
“I’ll go back, I’ll go back…” he murmured, more tears slipping from his obsidian-like eyes.
“Ji Ran!”
“Is that so?” he replied sorrowfully.
“But, who else besides me is reluctant to let you go? Uncle and Aunt worry about you. How can I selfishly keep you by my side…”
Ji Ran turned his head to stare at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, I apologize on their behalf!”
“Don’t say that; they love you so much. Blaming me shows how much they care, I…” Yu Xiaoyao’s tears continued to fall.
“And my love is so shallow, so selfish, because I just want to be with you so much.”
Their hands clasped together, hers burning hot, his ice-cold. Ji Ran held Yu Xiaoyao’s hand to his lips, placing delicate kisses on it.
“I always wonder why heaven is so unfair, but I’m grateful because I have you. Perhaps because I don’t deserve such happiness, so I’m being punished. No matter how heaven punishes me, I won’t give up my happiness.”
“No, no!” Yu Xiaoyao shook her head desperately, “You will be happy.”
“Really?” Ji Ran asked, looking at her intently. “So, does my happiness allow me?”
She smiled, pure as an angel, “Happiness has never left you, whether in S City or in England.”
He smiled too, a prince-like smile, as if they had never been apart.
…………………
Yu Xiaoyao handled all the transfer procedures herself.
“Let me do this for you, let me be busy for you,” she told Ji Ran.
The procedures were complex, requiring her to run around several departments just to obtain signatures.
Midsummer, noon. Cicadas sang endlessly on the long tree-lined path under a blazing sun. Yu Xiaoyao held a few thin papers, feeling frustrated. Since 8:30 in the morning, she had been working on the procedures, and a whole morning had passed with two signatures still missing.
Final exams were imminent, and everyone was busy studying, paying little attention to an exchange student’s departure.
Sitting on a bench, Yu Xiaoyao buried her head in her knees and cried. She felt exhausted and powerless, unsure of how to face Ji Ran’s recent silence.
The scene around her blurred into shadows of green trees and yellow benches as cicadas sang, with her tears falling silently.
A hand picked up the papers from the ground. It was Song Chu, frowning and looking at her sympathetically.
