Chapter 10 The Late-Night Visitor
The man in front of me tensed. He stayed silent for a moment.
I turned and walked out of the pool.
I had not noticed it in the water, but the night air now felt bitterly cold.
Dry leaves swirled down. Bare branches gleamed coldly. Even the wind carried desolation.
Pei Yuchuan did not move. He watched me leave in silence.
That day I did not stay. I rushed back to Xicheng overnight.
A new photo waited on my phone.
Gu Yan had sent it—Pei Yuchuan's engagement photo.
He wore a sharp suit beside a beautiful woman in a qipao.
Gu Yan said the girl came from a good family too.
They matched perfectly in status and looks.
The feeling on my lips stayed sharp. He had bitten it earlier and it still throbbed.
I stared at the scenery flying past the car window, telling myself it was normal to move forward with regrets.
At least he was thriving now and I was fine too, right?
The night wind was too damp. It still wet my cheeks.
Xicheng felt like my protective shell, keeping the messy past away.
I fed red-billed gulls at Yuantouzhu all afternoon and watched the sun sink slowly into Taihu Lake.
When the afterglow faded I finally calmed my emotions and walked home.
Life continued. Work still waited.
The company was chasing a big project and I was in charge.
Busyness was the best way to escape feelings. I poured everything into the work.
Every project still meant heavy socializing.
My alcohol tolerance was decent, but the other side had many people who drank hard. They kept pouring drinks in the name of sincerity.
I finished several glasses of baijiu. My insides burned.
I forced myself back to the rental apartment and collapsed on the sofa.
My body felt on fire. I curled into a tight ball.
The room stayed dark. I took out my phone like every other drunken night and opened the encrypted album.
I scrolled through the photos of Pei Yuchuan and me.
The last one was from the amusement park.
In it Pei Xi looked up at the balloons while Pei Yuchuan turned and smiled at me.
I was like a little shadow, only daring to look at these pictures in empty corners.
Yet those pictures had carried me through the worst days after the breakup.
It had been so hard then.
I could never sleep well at night. I would imagine hearing a baby cry and get up to feed, only to find the room empty with just me inside.
The only thing I could hold was the comfort doll I'd kept beside Pei Xi's cradle.
That home had our memories in every corner.
The living room sofa cover was cut by him.
The pots and pans in the kitchen were bought by him.
Even lying in bed filled my head with memories of us together on it.
I could not stand it anymore and chose to move.
Moving was exhausting.
Carrying boxes up the stairs, I vaguely remembered the last time.
Back then I had only given orders while Pei Yuchuan handled everything.
This was what time passing felt like.
The doorbell rang then.
I stood up despite the pain and looked through the peephole.
I must have been drunk and seeing things. I thought I saw Pei Yuchuan, who should have been far away in Shanghai.
I smiled bitterly at myself and turned back toward the sofa.
The doorbell rang again. The voice outside was painfully familiar.
"Open the door. It's me."
The man I had just been remembering stood right in front of me.
My legs went weak. I held the doorframe to stay upright.
I could not tell if this was real or a drunken illusion.
He pressed his lips tight and frowned. "Drinking that much? Do you want to die?"
Before I could answer he pushed into the room.