Chapter 13 A Nonexistent Address
Xia Lin delivered the invitation herself. She set it by my pillow.
In the ward, the bitter smell of disinfectant would not leave.
"Qin Song, all these years, I knew Zhou Su always came to see you. I agreed. I even encouraged it."
It was the first time Xia Lin had spoken to me so calmly.
"A lot of people asked if I was jealous.
Funny. A look like yours, who would be jealous?
Back in school, I did envy you. You two were always discussing math problems I couldn't understand.
You were heaven's favored child. Everything came easy...
But none of that matters anymore. Life only looks at results, doesn't it? "
The sun was especially harsh that day. It made my eye sockets unusually dry.
Strange, too. My limbs had no sense of pain, but the ache in my heart was everywhere.
Humans really were strange creatures.
When she left, I wished her a happy wedding. Xia Lin only laughed.
"Forget it. You're so unlucky. Keep the blessing for yourself."
...
I lifted my eyes and caught the malicious impatience on eighteen-year-old Xia Lin's face.
"Hurry up and write. It's not like it's the first day you found out your family is poor. What, too embarrassed to write? What's there to hide?"
My heart hammered. Under her urging, I steadied the pen.
And wrote down an address that did not exist.