Chapter 30
Lu Yichuan slept soundly and didn’t wake up until midnight. Moonlight streamed in, bathing the small balcony in a soft, silvery glow.
He looked down and saw a thin blanket draped haphazardly over him, covered in dust. A bald kitten was curled up on his lap.
His fingertips traced the scar on the kitten’s back. He felt like he was forgetting something, but the overwhelming exhaustion prevented him from thinking clearly.
Despite his weariness, Lu Yichuan seemed strangely alert, a flicker of light returning to his usually dull eyes.
A candle flame burns brightest just before it dies out.
He stood up and carried the kitten back to its bed. The kitten slept soundly, only stretching its paws and rolling over when he moved it.
Lu Yichuan watched it for a moment, then took his keys and left the dormitory.
Song Zhang was working overtime again, his eyes dark and sunken, his face pale.
He thought, perhaps before his patients died, he would jump off the hospital roof and end it all.
So when Lu Yichuan called and asked him out for late-night snacks, he agreed without hesitation.
Even though Lu Yichuan had broken ties with his family, he was still wealthy, and Song Zhang unhesitatingly chose the most expensive restaurant, ordering lavishly.
City A never slept. Even at midnight, the streets were bustling with traffic, neon lights flashing brightly.
The huge French windows of the top-floor private room offered a breathtaking view of the city, the feeling of having the entire city beneath one’s feet.
Unfortunately, Song Zhang didn’t want to step on the city; he wanted to step on his department director’s head.
He gulped down a glass of water, finally feeling alive again. “Why are you being so generous today? Suddenly decided to repay your daddy’s kindness?”
Lu Yichuan opened a bottle of red wine, the crimson liquid flowing slowly into the tall glass, gleaming under the lights.
He leaned back against his chair, dressed in a black jacket, and glanced at Song Zhang. “You looked pitiful, so I thought I’d offer my condolences.”
Song Zhang pretended to cry. He really must have been out of his mind to become a doctor.
But being out of his mind didn’t mean he was stupid. “You? Kind? And why are you acting so strange today?”
Lu Yichuan raised an eyebrow. “Am I?”
Song Zhang thought, when you ask that, it means you are.
The dishes arrived one after another, the aroma of the food temporarily distracting Song Zhang from his thoughts.
Lu Yichuan watched him eat quietly. After Song Zhang was almost finished, he said, “I’ll give you my dormitory key. You can go tomorrow…”
He paused, remembering the two girls’ conversation from earlier. “It likes to play around campus. Go and see it. If it wants to come with you, take it. If not, just leave it at the university. Someone will take care of it.”
Song Zhang paused mid-bite. “You’re really giving it to me?”
“Don’t you want it?”
“It’s not that…” Song Zhang smacked his lips, still feeling puzzled. “You don’t seem like the type to give away your things.”
Lu Yichuan folded his hands on his lap and leaned back, his entire body relaxed, a genuine relaxation that emanated from within.
Hearing Song Zhang’s words, he smiled slowly, his expression softening. “What kind of person should I be, then?”
Song Zhang snipped off a crab leg with his scissors. “Although you don’t show it, I feel like you’re quite possessive of your things. Once you’ve decided something is yours, you won’t let others have it. But you usually don’t desire anything, except for Jiang Heng, I haven’t seen you care about anything else.”
“But it makes sense. You don’t seem very attached to that cat either, you even named it Mimi, like a casual fling.”
He cracked open the crab shell and looked at Lu Yichuan. “You came to see me in the middle of the night just to tell me this?”
Lu Yichuan’s voice was languid. “Couldn’t sleep, and it was on my way.”
Song Zhang was speechless.
After a few seconds, seeing that Song Zhang was still looking at him, Lu Yichuan raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“I still think something’s off. Have you really let go?”
The man across from him didn’t answer.
…
It was almost dawn when they parted ways. The sky in the distance was tinged with the pale light of daybreak, a hint of gold beneath the gray.
It would be a beautiful day.
Lu Yichuan took a taxi to the cemetery.
The light from the horizon illuminated the cold, silent tombstones.
He sat down by the tombstone, the morning breeze ruffling his hair, a flicker of light lingering in his eyes.
Lu Yichuan rarely came here, even though his beloved’s remains rested here.
He wanted his Rongrong to be happy and didn’t want him to see him like this. But the endless longing was too much to bear, and only here could he find the strength to go on.
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
Still, no one answered.
Lu Yichuan rested his head against the tombstone, the shadows obscuring his face. Beneath his cheek was the slightly faded black-and-white photograph. His fingertips traced the boy’s face, carrying the morning dew.
And finally, a gentle kiss.
…
Lu Yichuan left the cemetery as the sun rose.
He had arrived too early. The shops at the entrance weren’t open yet. Trash from the previous day littered the tables outside, and a raggedly dressed old man sat on the steps of a nearby flower bed.
Lu Yichuan stood by a trash-strewn table and took out his phone to call a taxi. He heard the old man speak, “Young man, want your fortune told?”
Lu Yichuan didn’t look up.
The old man continued, “I see darkness under your eyes, a sign of impending misfortune. If you don’t intervene, I’m afraid you won’t live much longer.”
No one wanted to pick up fares from the cemetery so early in the morning. His phone showed a waiting time of at least half an hour.
Lu Yichuan finally looked up. “Is that so? I’d welcome it.”
The old man choked.
He walked over to Lu Yichuan, his hands tucked in his sleeves, and pulled up a chair. But his posture was strange. Despite his seemingly old age, his body was surprisingly flexible, almost folding himself into the chair.
“I’m offering you this kind advice because I see a connection between us. Obsession is a dangerous thing, young man. You must learn to let go.”
Lu Yichuan ignored him.
Seeing this, the old man glared at him. “I’m talking to you! What’s with your attitude?”
The man took a couple of steps away.
The old man scratched the table, becoming even more insistent when he saw Lu Yichuan’s indifference. “I’m very powerful, are you sure you don’t have any questions for me?”
After increasing the fare several times, someone finally accepted his ride request. Seeing the car approaching, Lu Yichuan put away his phone.
“How powerful? Powerful enough to bring back the dead?”
“Of course not,” the old man said, “but I can make you dream of the deceased.”
He had expected a look of shock and awe, but the man just put on a baseball cap, the brim obscuring most of his face. “You’re the thirtieth person to tell me that.”
Old man: “…”
He protested, “But I’m telling the truth.”
Clearly, his words didn’t inspire much confidence.
A car slowly approached, and the driver poked his head out the window. “Are you the one who called for a taxi?”
Lu Yichuan pulled his cap lower and walked towards the car.
Just as he reached for the door handle, an anxious voice came from behind him, “I’m really telling the truth! You just have to soak that bone you’re carrying in a special concoction, and you’ll be able to enter your dreams.”
Lu Yichuan froze and turned to look at the old man. “What did you say?”
“I said…” the old man cleared his throat and looked up, but the look in Lu Yichuan’s eyes made him yelp.
…
The breakfast stall was bustling. The small shop only had three or four tables, and two unusual customers sat at the innermost one.
One was a neatly dressed man in a baseball cap, only half of his sharp features visible. The other was a white-haired man, dressed in rags, but beneath his messy hair was a surprisingly young face, looking only thirty or forty years old.
The old man…middle-aged man finished five baskets of steamed buns and waved at the owner. “Five more baskets, please.”
He turned around and saw Lu Yichuan staring at him.
“Can you tell me now?”
The middle-aged man wiped his mouth carelessly. “Are you carrying a bone around your neck?”
Lu Yichuan frowned. “How did you know?”
The man said, “I smelled it, of course.” His eyes darted around. “You know, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
“How much?”
The man thought for a long moment, then slowly held up three fingers. “This much. Not a penny less.”
“Give me your account number.”
The man’s eyes lit up, and he stammered out his account number. “You know, my fortune-telling services are usually very expensive. I’m giving you a discount because I see a connection between us. Otherwise, it would cost much more.”
Lu Yichuan had no patience for his nonsense. He showed him his phone. “I’ve transferred the money. Can you tell me now?”
The man squinted at the phone screen as he chewed on a bun. “Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands…”
The bun fell from his mouth. “Three…three million?!”
Looking at the mess on the table, Lu Yichuan discreetly moved back slightly. “You want thirty million?”
The man gaped.
He had only wanted three hundred…
“I…you…” He stammered, then looked at Lu Yichuan as if he were his savior. “It’s actually quite simple, and also not so simple.”
He pulled out a piece of red string from his pocket. “I’ll give you a talisman. Burn it to ashes and put them in a bowl. Then place the red string and the bone you’re carrying in the bowl and soak them in blood for three hours. When you go to bed tonight, string the bone onto the red string and wear it. You’ll dream of the bone’s owner.”
“But this method can only be used once.”
Lu Yichuan ignored his last sentence and asked, “Whose blood?”
The man was silent for a moment.
“Yours.”
After he finished speaking, he saw the man across from him smile slowly.
It was a strange smile, more of excitement than disbelief.
The man shuddered and quickly stuffed two buns into his mouth.
Lu Yichuan entered the hidden room, carrying a bottle of liquor.
He sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, facing the shrine. The lights were off, only the flickering candlelight illuminating the room.
He placed the liquor on the floor, bent his legs, and took a bowl from the side.
“I promised to go with you. I can’t go back on my word.”
Lu Yichuan chuckled, pulled out the talisman, and lit it. The sudden flare of the flame illuminated his face, his expression as gentle as ever.
The talisman quickly turned to ash, settling at the bottom of the bowl. He placed the red string inside, then took the finger bone from inside his shirt.
“I’m making Rongrong dirty even as I leave. Will you blame me?”
The candle flame flickered silently.
Lu Yichuan slowly placed the finger bone in the bowl.
He bent his legs further, meticulously rolled up his sleeves, revealing his pale, thin arms, then rested his hands on his legs and took off his watch.
He stared at the ugly scar on his wrist for a few seconds, then, lowering his eyes, he made another cut along the old scar, his expression casual.
The cut wasn’t deep enough to be immediately fatal, but it wouldn’t heal on its own either.
Crimson blood oozed from the wound, dripping down his wrist, gathering at his fingertips, and falling into the bowl below.
Drip—
Lu Yichuan shifted into a more comfortable position and picked up the liquor bottle with his right hand.
His body temperature was dropping, but the alcohol made him feel warm.
He didn’t seem to feel any pain and even spoke with a smile.
“You’re so petty, never coming to find me in my dreams. I’ve tried so many methods, but I can’t find you.”
“Maybe you just don’t want to see me.”
“But this is the last time.”
“It would be nice to see you one last time before I die. If not…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Because we’ll be reunited soon.”
