If it were a normal illness, my parents wouldn’t have hidden it from me, and Yin Zhongtian wouldn’t urge my return.
“Is there a life-threatening risk?” I kept repeating: No, no, definitely not.
“The surgery was successful; the doctor said… temporarily, no.”
Yin Zhongtian’s “temporarily no” felt like a death knell. “I’ll buy a ticket right now.”
I hung up the phone, my hand shaking as I searched for the ticket company’s number. I booked the earliest flight at ten o’clock the next morning and didn’t sleep all night, packing all the important items.
As I passed Ye Zhengchen’s door, I remembered I still owed him an answer. I set my suitcase down and pressed his doorbell. The door opened to reveal Yu Yin in a bright red nightgown.
“Can I help you?” she asked with a faint smile.
At four in the morning, dawn was breaking, and a fog settled in the distance, making everything hazy. I took the first airport shuttle bus. I never wanted to return to this country, city, or apartment.
While changing my boarding pass, the service staff reminded me, “You haven’t completed re-entry procedures. You’ll need to apply for a visa again to enter.”
“I understand, it’s fine.”
With two hours left before boarding, I sat down to call Lingling, Qin Xue, Brother Feng, and finally, I dialed Ye Zhengchen. The phone rang once, and I regretted it, but he answered.
“Kiddo?” His voice was low.
I took a breath and said, “Treat Yu Yin well.”
Regardless of whether you loved her or not, you should take responsibility.
“I’m leaving…” I said in Japanese: “Sayonara!” This word means “goodbye,” and Japanese people say it only when they are certain two people will never meet again.
Without waiting for him to ask, I hung up the phone. I heard him say, “Wait for me…”
Of course, I wouldn’t wait for him.
When boarding time arrived, I walked to the gate. As the staff checked my passport, he came, pushing through the crowd in white, a patch of bright red blood seeping through his shirt.
He was calling my name, not “kiddo.” “Bao Bing, Bao Bing…” Hearing him call my full name, I realized it carried a deep, cold meaning.
