Echoes of Lotus District | Chapter 60 | A Bitter Farewell | Novela.app

The ceiling light in the living room wasn't bright enough. They had talked about replacing it with a chandelier, but in the end, they never got around to it. The wind picked up, making the branches outside rustle and scrape against the walls. Qi Lian sat at the table near the hallway, with Yu Mo sitting opposite him. He hadn't seen her for a few days. Dark circles shadowed the skin beneath her eyes, yet she remained breathtakingly beautiful. The light from the ceiling fell directly over them, casting heavy shadows across their features and making their expressions seem almost ghoulish. Qi Lian’s face was devoid of emotion. He looked exactly as he had when they first met in Lianhua—like a man who wouldn't bat an eye even if Mount Tai collapsed right in front of him. His hands rested on the table, his posture loose and indifferent. Neither of them let their gaze settle on the other. "After my mother was discharged, she decided to live with us. She’s been very afraid of being alone since she got sick," Yu Mo began. "In her eyes, Xue Shen and I are still a loving, perfect young couple. Therefore, we must be. Compared to my mother’s health, my own joys and sorrows aren't important at all. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to give up my life for her. "When I was in junior high, we didn't have a driver yet. For a while, it was trendy in my class not to go home for lunch, so I followed suit. The other students ate cold leftovers brought from home, but my mother brought me fresh food every single day. "One noon, I was waiting for her at the school gate. It was snowing so hard you could barely see a soul on the street. I couldn't stand it after just a few minutes and blamed her for being so slow; my feet were frozen numb. When she finally appeared, it was the first time I realized how small and thin she was. She emerged from the distance on her bicycle, looking like a child. The road was icy. Her bike wobbled and she took a hard fall, sliding a long way. She couldn't even get up at first. She crawled over just to check if the lunchbox was broken. It took her a long time to stand up and keep riding. When she saw me at the gate, she smiled, but she got distracted and fell again, bike and all. She looked so embarrassed when she climbed back up. "Her face was beet-red from the cold. She couldn't even move her facial muscles to speak clearly. She kept apologizing for making me wait, telling me to hurry back to the classroom so I wouldn't freeze, and to eat while it was hot. "I don't need anyone to tell me what love is. I felt it deeply in that moment. I would sacrifice everything for my mother. Do you understand that feeling, Qi Lian?" "I understand it, because I’m a person with feelings," Qi Lian replied. "But do you have any? Is everyone else invisible to you except for your mother? Am I just a broken toy you can toss in the trash when you move? After all, there will be new toys in the new house, won't there, Yu Mo?" Yu Mo started to speak, her mouth opening and closing several times, but no words came out. "If you have nothing to say, then don't say it." He looked like a cold, distant stranger. Yu Mo lowered her eyelids. "Is your ex-husband good to you?" "Yes, he has always been very good to me. I would give my life for my mother, and he would do the same for me. We’ve known each other since high school; we were each other's—" "Shut up!" Silence fell over the room, making the rustling of the branches outside seem even louder. "You were with another man for months. He’s actually okay with that?" "If it were you," Yu Mo asked, "if I went off to be with another man for a few months and then came back, would you still want me?" Qi Lian’s nostrils flared. The answer was self-evident, but it was a truth he didn't want to face. "He said that whenever I got tired of playing around outside, I could always come home. The position of Mrs. Xue will always be mine." A metallic sweetness, the taste of blood, rose in Qi Lian’s throat. "Tired of playing after just a few months? Worn out?" "Qi Lian..." "Did I not satisfy you? Did the two of you discuss who makes you feel better? You chose him—does he satisfy you more?" Yu Mo felt her vision grow hazy. "Qi Lian..." "If I hadn't been so persistent, would you have even looked at me twice? Back then, did you just think it wouldn't be a bad deal to sleep with a simple-minded man with a decent body?" "Stop it, Qi Lian. You’re only torturing yourself. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. You’re such a good man. Find a good girl and live a good life." A sharp pang of pain pierced Yu Mo’s heart. "Where is this 'good girl'? You bring one to me. As long as you say she’s good, I’ll marry her on the spot. I’m sure I’ll be very happy with her—a wife, kids, and a warm bed. I’ll forget who you are in no time." "Will you forget me... eventually?" Yu Mo whispered. Would he forget that when he was young, there was a woman he raced through the night with, a woman he made love to in the wild, a woman he promised his life to? The expression on Qi Lian’s face remained motionless, like a monk in deep meditation. "That is my business. You don't need to know." Yu Mo nodded. "The renovations to this place... if they bother you, I can hire someone to tear them out." "I’m not so petty that I’d seek revenge for being dumped by a woman. Don't worry, I’ll tear them out myself." "When Jiang Yuan’s baby is born, if it’s convenient, please buy a small bracelet or something for them on my behalf. Consider it a gesture for our shared acquaintance. If it’s not convenient, then forget it." There was a long, thin gouge in the middle of the dining table. Qi Lian stared at it. Judging by the shape, it looked like a knife mark, and it was relatively fresh. When had that happened? Had it been when they were cutting durian? Or watermelon? Or had she nicked it while opening a package? A sharp pain throbbed in his head. "And how am I supposed to explain that to them? Tell them it’s from my ex-girlfriend? What if I have someone new by then? What would she think?" "Then forget it. I didn't think it through," she said, her voice trembling. "You were with me for a while, after all. If you need it, I can give you some compensation—" Yu Mo looked at him in horror. "No, no, no... there’s no need." She stood up abruptly. "I have to go." She moved so quickly she knocked her chair over with a loud *clatter*. Qi Lian stood up, closing the distance between them. "Will you ever set foot in a filthy place like Lianhua again for the rest of your life?" "I... I don't know." "When your driver passes through Lianhua, will you even look out the window? Or will you take a detour to avoid this stain on your life? You actually spent months with a dirty renovation worker—will you even dare to remember that when you’re old?" Yu Mo bolted for the door, Qi Lian’s voice chasing after her. She stumbled down the stairs, finally unable to hold back her sobs. She wailed until she began to convulse. The oleander bushes downstairs brushed against her clothes. She had never noticed these beautiful flowers before, nor had she ever truly looked at Lianhua. She tried to take in the place where she had lived for half a year, but her tears were endless, blurring her vision. From now on, this place would be her taboo. He was right—she wouldn't dare touch it, wouldn't dare pass through it, wouldn't dare think of it. She had once said that life was a riverbed with a constant flow of water, and that Qi Lian was just one branch that would eventually flow away. But why did it feel so impossible now? She didn't want to be the riverbed anymore. She wanted to go with him. She wanted him to wait for her. She wanted to rush forward and grab his arm just like the first time they met and say, "Wait." She wanted that boy who rode a bicycle with his father to buy popsicles to be happy forever, never again to be buffeted by the whims of fate. She wished him a smooth life, even if she had to be the sacrificial offering for it. The man who always wore T-shirts and shorts in late spring, who shuffled in flip-flops with a careless gait, watched her tremble with sobs. He watched her stoop as she climbed into the black sedan waiting at the entrance. A piece of his heart was gone forever, taken away with her. ***