It’s been a long time since I last saw her. I wonder how is she now?
He looked down and saw his wounds all over his body. Forget about it, he will see her when he is better. That’ll be at least a month later. Last month, they could still met four times, but this month, he was continuously covered in cuts and bruises.
He put his cellphone by his ear, the warm light falling on him. Below his eyes, he could feel the icy cold on his body melting away, and finally, he felt like flowers were blooming in the warm spring.
“I’d like to talk to Yan Huan, please.”
The person on the other end agreed. Lu Yi waited nervously, his palms wet with sweat, and the curvature of his lips opened up a little.
Then, he heard footsteps on the other side.
The corner of his lips continued to rise.
“I’m sorry, sir. The army is holding a military exercise now. She is not taking any calls. But you can leave a message if you want.”
Lu Yi’s lips had suddenly dropped flat.
“No, thank you.”
He cut the call and squinted his eyes.
Military exercise? What military exercise?
He took out his cell, and called the military again.
“Um, Instructor Huang, I want to ask…”
When he put down the phone, his whole body was emanating a cold and dark aura.
Ye Shuyun brought some nutritious soup she made again. When she saw the color on Lu Yi’s face, her worried heart was finally relieved.
“Come, drink this soup.”
Ye Shuyun filled up a bowl with soup and put it down before Lu Yi.
“Thanks, Mom,” Lu Yi took the bowl, and drank a few mouthfuls a little reluctantly, without a care for its taste or nutrients, as if he was gulping down water.
Ye Shuyun couldn’t care less. As long as her son would drink it, it didn’t matter if he treated it like plain water.
She wanted to say something to her son, but Lu Yi’s composed face made her feel like he was deep in thought. So she swallowed back her words at the brink of her lips.
“Your Grandpa doesn’t know about this. I told him you’re on a business trip.”
“Yeah, I know. He doesn’t need to know anyway.” He never intended to tell Grandpa Lu about this.
“What about Miao Xinyuan’s matter?” Ye Shuyuan was concerned that the woman will trouble Lu Yi again.
“Ignore her, she’ll leave by herself.” Lu Yi picked up his laptop, and placed it on his lap. There was something he couldn’t figure out on his mind. And anywhere he sees, he could feel an indescribable distance.
Ye Shuyun shook her head. Fine, I won’t ask.
But she didn’t know that the moment she left, Lu Yi had already come out of his room. Miao Xinyuan saw him, and quickly walked toward him. But Lu Yi turned around and walked away. He didn’t even want to meet her, not to mention reconcile with her.
“Your mother doesn’t know you’re discharged, right?” Lei Qingyi asked while he was behind the wheels. He looked at what Lu Yi was wearing. Still the hospital gown. “I told you, man. Just say the word and I’ll bring you the thing. You don’t have to go around. What, you don’t believe me?”
Lu Yi sat in the co-driver seat. His head bowed down, his lips silent.
Lei Qingyi rolled his eyes. He felt like he was talking to a tree, and he had been talking for a long time.
“Qingyi.”
Lu Yi suddenly called out Lei Qingyi’s name.
“Oh…”
“What’s up?” Qingyi answered back.
“What are you hiding from me?”
With a screech, Lei Qingyi quickly took a turn and stopped by the roadside. Beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead.
He wiped his own face. He almost had to go to the hospital with Lu Yi again.
“Are you hiding anything from me?” Lu Yi continued.
“Yes, or no?”
Lei Qingyi’s teeth were shaking. He didn’t dare to say no, but he was even more afraid to say yes.
He wiped his face again, and went back onto the road.
“Have you been knocked silly by the accident? What am I hiding from you? I mean, can’t I even have my own privacy? What did I eat, what did I poop, do you want to know everything? Damn, Lu Yi, stop being a pervert, you’re disgusting me.”
His voice was coarse and loud, and he floored the pedal.
Lu Yi maintained a composed visage. His black, icy cold eyes were locked onto Qingyi. He could not help but shudder. Damn, why am I forced to lie?
But he knew how smart Lu Yi was, so he couldn’t have to hide it for too long. If Lu Yi knew about this, he would be beaten badly. But he promised Yi Ling to keep it a secret. One was his best brother, another, his woman.
But he decided to keep quiet. He had hidden it for so long anyway. Wronging a brother wasn’t as bad getting on your lady’s bad side.
After he dropped Lu Yi, he quickly took off. Hmm, maybe he’ll take his lady for a vacation. Who knows, they might create some sparks.
Lu Yi opened the door to his own home and walked in. There was a faint musty smell in the air. Probably left vacant for a long time.
There was nothing in the house, other than cold loneliness.
He continued walking, his feet pressing against the floor, tap tap.
Suddenly he felt like he stepped on something.
He bent his back, it was still hurting a little. But he endured the pain to focus on all his senses, and he saw some fragments on the floor.
He picked it up, it seemed to have come from a cell phone, a pearl white one. It was Yan Huan’s favourite colour, the colour of the cell she was using.
He walked to the side of the sofa. He put a feet on the sofa, and kicked it away hard. And a pain poked through his heart. It wasn’t his wounds.
Underneath the sofa were more fragments. The glass pieces from the screen, and the other parts.
From the pieces he could tell that there was a corpse of a phone here once. But it was no longer here. It could’ve been thrown in the trash bin, or anywhere else.
Instructor Huang said, there were no military activities in the force, just some regular training. Moreover, since the year was ending, the women were training much less, only half a day.
He added that Yan Huan was there, but she was silent, and was always in her dorm room. She could be seen talking with others on the road last time. But in these few days, it seemed like she didn’t care at all.
Instructor Huang said, Yan Huan took a few days off. No one knows where she went, but she was like this when she came back. She wasn’t feeling well and rested for a few days as well.
