I didn’t feel that what I said was merely comforting words for Mi Cai, yet she still seemed preoccupied with something beyond the wedding itself, and her mood remained subdued, which made me feel uneasy. If there was one flaw I could identify in her, it was that she put too much faith in her feminine intuition. Yet, at times, her intuition was frighteningly accurate, so I began to feel a sense of unease and irritation as I stared at the rain pouring outside the hotel window, a rain that had lasted for days without stopping.
Even so, Mi Cai and I hadn’t let go of each other’s hands. At that moment, as if driven by subconscious instinct, she tightened her grip on my hand, gazing at me and saying, “Zhaoyang, do you still remember our promise?”
Mi Cai and I met at a mature age, understanding the weight of a promise and never daring to casually make grand declarations of eternal love. Therefore, there weren’t many promises between us. Naturally, I didn’t need to think twice and simply nodded in reply, “Yes, I remember. We said that as long as one of us doesn’t give up on this relationship, the other mustn’t either.”
Mi Cai gripped my hand even tighter, smiling faintly at me, silently imprinting this promise more deeply into my heart. We embraced each other, drawing strength from one another and watching the rain that still showed no sign of stopping.
Finally, all the guests were seated, and Mi Cai and I stood in our designated area, guided by the staff, waiting for the master of ceremonies to begin the wedding. The guests couldn’t wait and began applauding, offering their sincere blessings once again. Mi Cai and I, in perfect harmony, closed our eyes together and listened…
The wedding ceremony began, and the stage lights shone brightly once more. The experienced master of ceremonies skillfully controlled the pace and atmosphere, keeping the wedding filled with warmth. In fact, following our original plan, warmth was the theme of this wedding, because Mi Cai was a rather reserved person, and overly emotional or lively atmospheres weren’t to her liking. After being together for so long, my preferences had clearly been influenced by hers, and I also greatly enjoyed this warm wedding atmosphere. Thus, we were both peacefully reminiscing about the scenes that had unfolded from the moment we met until now.
After those warm memories, we reached the ring exchange portion of the ceremony. Under the soft lights, we took out the carefully prepared rings. Staring into her eyes, my heart stirred. Without needing any prompting from the master of ceremonies, I wanted to lean down and kiss this woman who was about to become my wife! Looking deeply at her youthful face, our meeting felt like a dizzying moment of happiness crashing into me. I thanked fate for letting me meet the perfect her at the most carefree time of my life…
Just as I was leaning down, I unconsciously caught sight of Qin Yan’s face in the crowd, filled with pain and extreme anxiety. He was staring at me intently but didn’t speak… I also saw his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly, a clear sign of inner turmoil.
I let go of Mi Cai’s hand and walked toward Qin Yan under the gaze of the crowd, realizing that his struggle was closely related to me, otherwise he wouldn’t be staring at me like that.
I finally reached him, and his face turned pale at once. Suddenly, I felt a strong sense of unease and asked him in a low voice, “Qin Yan, what’s wrong with you? Your face looks terrible!”
Qin Yan kept his head down, painfully swallowing, and after a while, he told me, “You and Mi Cai first exchange the wedding rings… I’ll tell you later!”
I turned to look at Mi Cai. She was holding the wedding ring that was about to be placed on my finger. I hesitated for a moment but did not choose to return to her side, and instead said to Qin Yan again, “Whatever it is, just tell me now… Exchanging rings is a sacred act, and I don’t want to put the ring on your sister-in-law’s finger while I’m anxious about something!”
Qin Yan avoided the gathering gazes from the crowd and whispered heavily into my ear, “Brother Zhaoyang, Yan Yan just called me… Miss Jian Wei, she… she might not make it!… I’m afraid there are many missed calls on your phone! Don’t know if you can still make it to Suzhou in time to see her one last time!”
My scalp tingled repeatedly, I kept swallowing hard, and even breathing felt impossible. I trembled as I asked, “She… what exactly happened to her?” As I spoke, I painfully and laboriously pulled out my phone from my pocket, which had been set to silent mode. Sure enough, there were three missed calls from Yan Yan.
Without waiting for Qin Yan’s response, I immediately called Yan Yan back…
Before the call was even connected, I felt an oppressive silence, followed by the sound of Yan Yan sobbing. I gasped heavily and asked, “Jian Wei, what exactly happened to her?”
Yan Yan burst into tears, “Zhaoyang… Wei Wei fell down the stairs, causing acute brain injury. Her condition is very critical now… she’s in serious danger of losing her life anytime!”
“She… she actually fell down the stairs?… What exactly happened?” I cried out painfully, my emotions on the verge of collapse!
“…An hour ago, I was doing the final work handover with Wei Wei at the company, when suddenly a group of people with financial disputes with her showed up. Wei Wei made it clear that she was going to the U.S. to raise funds and would soon repay the debts owed to them, but they refused to let it go. They insisted that they had received information that her family had fallen into poverty and that she was planning to flee to the U.S. to avoid debts. Then they physically confronted her… Wei Wei was pushed down the stairs during the struggle!”
In my suffocating state, I thought of the name “Yan Zhuomei.” Why was this happening so coincidentally? Why?… Why on the very day of my wedding with Mi Cai! And why had Fang Yuan and Mi Zhongde warned me so strongly before?… It must be Yan Zhuomei delivering the heaviest blow to me!… If so, she succeeded—my heart had been utterly torn apart…
“Zhaoyang, if you still care for her, come and see Wei Wei one last time. She may never wake up again…”
Perhaps, Yan Yan, unaware of the truth, regarded this incident merely as an extreme accident, but the name Yan Zhuomei kept flashing in my mind… Who exactly incited those debt collectors? And who pushed Jian Wei down the stairs? Did she really owe them money, or did they just take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble?
A string of questions and the unbearable pain of possibly losing Jian Wei completely made my head feel like it was about to explode. I leaned against a nearby pillar, gasping in agony… An idea uncontrollably sprouted in my mind… I had to go to Suzhou, right now, immediately… I pushed through the crowd without leaving any explanation and ran frantically outside… The memories flashing through my mind drove me to see Jian Wei one last time… Even if it meant my heart would be torn apart!!
I had already forgotten about Mi Cai, who was still waiting for the ring exchange, and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the person running out of the wedding venue would be me, not Mi Cai…
The rain soaked the groom’s boutonniere on my clothes, but I didn’t care. As the car moved forward, I ran after a taxi that was dropping off passengers, got in, and repeatedly begged the driver to reach the train station as quickly as possible… Sensing my unbearable anxiety, the driver pressed the accelerator hard, weaving through traffic, and reached the train station in just fifteen minutes. Yet, to me, it felt as if I had already gone through a cycle of darkness in my life…
I was lucky enough to get a high-speed train ticket departing for Suzhou in twenty minutes, and I waited in unbearable agony… My heart was trembling, as if I could see the grim reaper swinging his scythe, ruthlessly harvesting the innocent life of Jian Wei!
Ten minutes later, a group of people closely related to me arrived at the train station, including Leyao, Luoben, Qin Yan, and Mi Cai, still wearing her wedding dress… I looked at her, my heart filled with conflicting emotions… In the end, I didn’t say a word and turned to walk toward the platform stairs…
At that moment, Mi Cai, lifting the hem of her wedding dress, ran after me and grabbed my arm, crying…
I gave her a bitter smile, “Hehe… Yan Zhuomei!… So terrifying, really so terrifying!…”
“Zhaoyang, it’s not her… Although she’s selfish and domineering, she wouldn’t do something like this… Believe me, please believe me, okay? This is just an accident… Just an accident!”
Shaking my head, I painfully questioned, “Can there really be such a coincidental accident?… Why not yesterday or tomorrow, but exactly on our wedding day?… Why, can you give me an explanation?”
Mi Cai lowered her head, tears falling onto the shiny leather of my shoes. I released her hand and didn’t look back again, running toward where the train was parked… At that moment, I didn’t consider her feelings, nor could I recall how I had left this wedding we had long anticipated… My mind was filled only with the critically ill Jian Wei. I must see her one last time—it was a belief, an instinct…
Outside the train window, the rain continued to fall softly. I kept my eyes closed, leaning back against the seat. My palms were sweaty, and my entire body seemed to be in reverse, flowing with pain… I feared the sudden ring of my phone bringing me a devastating piece of news…
As the high-speed train sped forward, in my world, there was only Jian Wei and me… I saw her painful beliefs, and I saw her gently breathing beneath the shade of a tree… My soul was crying. I dared no longer recall: her smiling face when she gave me the guitar, her patience when she ran away with me, her courage when she jumped into the moat to save me, her fearlessness when she poured gasoline with me…
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