CC stood behind me and Roben, holding back her tears, yet her body trembled violently. This trembling revealed emotions too intense to suppress. I believe this moment will be deeply etched into CC’s memory, remaining vivid until the final moment of her life, when she might even use her soul to look back once more… At this moment, CC is running toward happiness, yet she also falls painfully and helplessly, all because of this man named Roben standing in front of us.
CC was dressed too lightly, weakened from excessive drinking and intense emotional fluctuations, making her seem unsteady, as though she might collapse in front of me and Roben at any moment. When I wanted to take off my coat to cover her, she really did fall behind Roben, briefly escaping from this unbearable emotional state.
Roben, like a madman, immediately picked up CC. I placed my coat over her body and followed closely behind Roben, as if we had become two lines stretched by the night, running desperately out of that dark alley without any lights.
On the street, I looked back anxiously. Suddenly recalling that there was a hospital about one hundred meters west, I pulled Roben in that direction… Under the moonlight, we seemed to have become two helpless stray dogs, our steps chaotic, yet wishing desperately to leap to the end of time in a single stride.
…
Inside the hospital, CC was receiving an IV while Roben and I stood beside her bed, waiting for her to wake up. Moments later, Leyao, whom I thought I wouldn’t see again that night, also arrived at the hospital, followed by Wei Manwen and the staff from the Empty City shop.
When the small ward was filled with people, the nurse began urging us to leave because CC needed rest, and only one person was needed to stay with her. Originally, Leyao seemed the best choice, but Wei Manwen spoke up, her gentle tone unchanged as she said to us, “Let me and Roben stay to take care of her. Everyone else should go home and rest early.”
Everyone looked at Roben and Wei Manwen, and finally respected their wishes, leaving the ward one by one, leaving only Leyao and me, though we were only lingering before saying goodbye.
Roben gazed at CC on the bed, somewhat dazed, so I turned to Wei Manwen and said, “Ms. Wei, if anything happens, feel free to call us anytime. We’ll come immediately.”
Wei Manwen nodded. Leyao and I looked at the still unconscious CC once more before turning to leave the ward. We walked silently down step after step of the staircase until we faced the now quiet street again… We stood together, yet my car was on the left and hers on the right.
As we prepared to part, she finally asked me, “Do you think what will happen when the three of them are left alone in a room?”
“I don’t know, but maybe there will be a resolution tomorrow.”
“What did Roben say to you after I left?”
I recalled the conversation with Roben about first love and the one we truly love. At that moment, I felt unable to view it objectively, so I replied, “Not much. CC arrived just as we were talking about the ten thousand yuan Roben left at the restaurant.”
“Are you two ghosts? What bad luck, bringing up CC at that moment!!”
“Yeah, we didn’t choose the right time, but I think this was destined to happen… Didn’t you also agree that the worst outcome might finally free CC?”
A complex expression flickered across Leyao’s face. She looked at me and said, “I don’t want to say anything else. I’m leaving.”
“You’re really going to Beijing tomorrow?”
“Yes, taking the girl with me… But don’t worry, I’ll definitely bring Cao Jinfei back to Suzhou before the Christmas event, since Zhaoyang has already paid both of us… I want to properly finish this task for you before getting married.”
“Oh, congratulations on the wedding!”
“Thank you… I hope I’ll soon have the chance to say the same to you.”
“Okay.”
Leyao waved at me with both hands, walking away with her back to me, then suddenly turned around, walking backward, hiding one hand behind her back while waving with the other, before opening the car door, starting the engine of her white car, and disappearing from my sight. It was only then that I realized that the next time I would see her would be at her wedding!
I lit a cigarette, imagining her in a wedding dress, perhaps becoming a truly happy woman!! Perhaps her husband would soon take her to that island she had always dreamed of for a vacation. I heard that there are many such islands in Mauritius, where the dawn and dusk are both beautiful, making them deeply yearned for.
…
Early the next morning, Leyao returned to Beijing. In the afternoon, CC came to my office. She looked very tired. I didn’t let her speak first but went downstairs to buy her a cup of hot milk. Only after she drank it did I ask her in surprise, “CC, why did you come to my office?”
CC put down the milk cup, tears in her eyes, yet she smiled and said, “I came to say goodbye. I’m leaving this city, maybe even this country.”
“It might be good to get away for a while.”
CC shook her head and said after a long pause, “This time, it’s forever… I want to find a place to forget my past life, start a new life, and gradually forget everything that happened in this city.”
Suddenly, I felt pain in my heart, a very real pain. I began to cry, grabbing CC’s hands, sobbing, “Don’t make this decision… And don’t say words like ‘goodbye forever’… Wait, isn’t Leyao getting married soon? How can you not attend her wedding??”
CC couldn’t stop crying, and we hugged each other, crying… But the sadness of parting had already filled this small office, and no one could stop her from leaving.
“Zhaoyang… I’m also reluctant to leave you and everyone else… But I must leave, for the sake of my life in the future… Please take good care of yourself and Mi’er… I will silently bless you, hoping you can stay together forever, supporting each other, living a good life… “
“Why… Why must you leave like this… If one day I become heartbroken again, who will comfort me? Who will make me a cup of hot tea at night, wash my feet… I don’t want you to leave!”
CC held me tightly, and after a long time, she cupped my face with her hands, tears still flowing, but finally she showed a slight smile: “Zhaoyang… Promise me, be a bright and positive man, don’t break your heart for any woman again, and don’t let any woman break her heart for you… Remember to be a master of life!”
I couldn’t answer her with words anymore. Finally, I gently kissed her forehead, engraving my promise into her body. CC leaned her face against mine, and we completed this final farewell ritual… She left, picking up the cup of hot milk I had bought for her, gradually disappearing from my sight, while I dared not look at her retreating figure, only feeling the lingering presence she left behind, and all the scenes we had shared.
…
I finally stood by the window, watching her, watching her gait, imagining her holding a cigarette, drinking beer, and singing… Then, she truly disappeared from my sight… So, I smelled the scent of sadness, heard the sound of sobbing, yet the fire left by this kind woman in my body would burn from dusk to dawn, and from dawn to dusk!
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