Just in Time Chapter 107
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 107 Candle
The New Year passed quickly. Yun Fang and Yi Chenliang basically stayed at home doing exercises, taking tests, and reviewing. Due to Yi Chenliang's special circumstances, this winter break was a precious time for him to make a breakthrough.
Yi Chenliang himself was also aware of this, not to mention he had Yun Fang, who was even more attentive than him, providing one-on-one tutoring and fully grasping his learning methods.
It was simply twice the result with half the effort.
Today was the Lantern Festival, and school would start tomorrow. The two decided to emerge from their mountain of books and sea of exercises to go out and relax for a day.
"There's a lantern festival at Jinshui River Park," Yi Chenliang said, putting his hand in Yun Fang's down jacket pocket and walking close to him. "Auntie said yesterday she wanted a small rabbit lantern. Let's buy one for her."
"When did she say that?" Yun Fang asked, confused.
"During dinner last night." Yi Chenliang was certain he remembered clearly.
"Then let's buy one," Yun Fang said, pulling him along. "But it's only morning now, the lantern festival doesn't start until after 6 pm..."
As the two were discussing where to go, they saw Su Qingbai standing outside just as they left the neighborhood.
Yun Fang hadn't seen Su Qingbai for over a year. After Su Shengwen took Yi Chenliang away, Su Qingbai had also transferred back to a school in Beijing. Compared to before, he had grown much taller, and his eyes were sharper. He stood there with a gloomy expression, looking at them.
Yun Fang didn't dislike Su Qingbai as much as Su Shengwen; at most, he just didn't like him. Back then, his and Chang Ziqi's casual remark about Yi Chenliang being in England had wasted half a year of Su Qingbai's time.
But Yi Chenliang really couldn't bring himself to like Su Qingbai. He pulled Yun Fang, intending to ignore him.
"Yi Chenliang," Su Qingbai called out, frowning slightly.
Yi Chenliang looked at him with hostility.
Su Qingbai said, "Mom's mental state is very poor now. She really wants to see you."
"The lawsuit is over. I have no relationship with you," Yi Chenliang said coldly.
Su Qingbai took a deep breath. "For what happened before, I apologize on behalf of my parents. My previous targeting of you was also my fault. I'm sorry."
"Not necessary," Yi Chenliang said expressionlessly. "Move aside."
"In the past, Mom's mental state was unstable, only controlled by medication. But whenever it comes to you, she can hardly control herself," Su Qingbai said rapidly. "Dad is usually busy with work and can rarely accompany her. Moreover, Dad is very career-oriented, and his situation in the Su family isn't as easy as outsiders think. Mom's divorce from him was a big blow to him... I know you don't care about these things—"
"Forcibly taking you away before was wrong of them, and I was at fault for standing by," Su Qingbai paused. "I'm not saying this to ask for your forgiveness. I just want you to know that often Mom can't control her emotions, she doesn't mean to hurt you."
"She loves you more than she loves me," Su Qingbai looked at him. "After Grandfather passed away, she's been very sad and guilty. Her treatment was making progress originally, but now her emotions have collapsed again."
"The doctor suggested that if she could see you more often, it would help with her treatment," Su Qingbai seemed very uncomfortable with the posture of begging, but he still forced himself to say, "I'm asking you, please go see her."
Just as Chang Ziqi had said before, Su Qingbai was always good with words. When he was polite, one could hardly find any fault. Now that he had said this much, with such a humble attitude and sincerity, it was hard for people to refuse.
Of course, Yi Chenliang could completely choose to refuse. He couldn't feel any pity for Su Qingbai, but he thought of Yun Fang.
When he was young, he dreamed of meeting his birth mother.
Even though he had grown up later, even though he was full of anger and resistance when he was forcibly taken away at that time, it was undeniable that when he first saw Chu Xia, he was a little happy.
Or perhaps it was the feeling of a long-cherished wish finally being fulfilled.
Just like how Song Lili had treated him so badly before, he would still remember how good she had been to him. Even though later everything changed and they cut ties completely, he would still feel sad.
Just like how he hated what Chu Xia and Su Shengwen did, but undeniably, when he first saw them, he couldn't help but feel a longing for his birth parents that had been buried in his heart for many years.
It's just that these insignificant, tiny feelings were quickly exhausted by their actions.
Usually, he didn't want to over-analyze his inner heart and emotions, as it made him feel useless and weak, but he had another self that he needed to care for.
Just as Yun Fang knew he would be upset for Song Lili, he also knew that Yun Fang would want to see Chu Xia once.
It wasn't about being useless or weak.
It was about a person facing and acknowledging the desires of their heart.
Even if this desire was so subtle that the person themselves might not have noticed it.
He needed to open his heart and observe carefully to find another self deeply hidden inside.
—
When they arrived at the sanatorium, Chu Xia was sitting by the window painting.
Clusters of colorful tulips were blooming on the canvas under her hand. She sat on a painting stool wearing a long white dress, looking quiet and gentle.
Chu Xia turned her head, and her eyes lit up when she saw Yi Chenliang, "Liang Liang, you've come to see Mom!"
Yi Chenliang looked at her somewhat silently.
This was the first time Yun Fang had seen Chu Xia in his two lifetimes.
She didn't even look much like a patient, sitting there smiling, her whole person gentle and quiet. But if you looked carefully, you would notice that her gaze was a bit rigid, stubbornly fixed on Yi Chenliang.
Su Qingbai stood to the side, listening to Chu Xia talking to herself, as if just seeing Yi Chenliang was enough to make her happy.
Yun Fang and Yi Chenliang didn't stay for long. Su Qingbai saw them out of the sanatorium's main gate.
"Thank you," Su Qingbai politely thanked them. He looked at Yi Chenliang, "We won't disturb your life again in the future."
Although it didn't sound like something to be happy about.
They shouldn't have disturbed him in the first place.
—
The lantern festival at Jinshui River Park was very lively in the evening.
The two spent quite a while at the lantern stall before finding a rabbit-shaped lantern. Yi Chenliang picked it up and looked, "Is this rabbit cross-eyed?"
Yun Fang looked carefully, "It does seem a bit like that."
Just then, Tang Yi called, asking them to bring back some candles for lighting when they returned, specifically requesting ingots shaped ones.
So the two put the cross-eyed little rabbit back and went to buy candles first.
They squatted in front of the candle stall, picking out ingots shaped ones. The stall was manned by a girl about eleven or twelve, wearing a thick scarf with a snow-white fluffy ball hanging from its tail.
Yun Fang put the selected candles in a plastic bag and handed it to her, asking, "How much in total?"
The little girl took the plastic bag and counted. Probably feeling stifled, she reached out to pull down her scarf a bit, and said in a soft voice, "Fifteen yuan in total."
Yun Fang took out money to give her, and as he took the candles and looked up, he froze on the spot.
"Lanlan, pass Mom the lotus candles over there," called a woman from the other end of the stall.
Lanlan took the lotus candles from near Yun Fang's feet and walked over to give them to her.
"What's wrong?" Yi Chenliang tilted his head to look at him.
Yun Fang's expression now was hard to describe, seeming both shocked and guilty, his gaze fixed tightly on the little girl.
"Do you know her?" Yi Chenliang asked him.
"I knew her before," Yun Fang said.
He said "before," meaning before he died in his previous life.
And when he saw someone from the past, it suddenly felt like all those things were from a previous life.
The two walked home with the candles and the cross-eyed rabbit lantern.
"That little girl is Wan Hui from when she was young," Yun Fang knew Yi Chenliang was curious, so he spoke up without waiting for him to ask, "She... showed me photos from when she was little, it's exactly the same."
"Is Wan Hui the partner you mentioned before?" Yi Chenliang asked.
"Yes," Yun Fang said. "When I met her, she was only 21. By then she was already with Ge San, and her skills were very impressive."
-- Wan Hui was a very pretty girl.
She loved dressing up, and even when it came to guns, she liked to choose the prettiest among the good ones.
When Yi Chenliang first met Wan Hui, he happened to see her scolding someone. The pretty girl held a knife in her hand, and with a swift motion, blood spattered onto her fair face.
[Hello, Ah Liang,] Wan Hui smiled at him, extending a hand. [I'm Wan Hui, I'll be your partner from now on.]
Yi Chenliang expressionlessly took her blood-stained hand.
Wan Hui was a cheerful and lively girl who liked to joke around and buy cosmetics. When there were no missions, she always liked to wear pretty dresses - lively ones, cute ones, elegant ones, sexy ones... then she would force him to say which looked good.
Most of the time, Yi Chenliang wouldn't pay attention to her, just sitting alone in a corner quietly cleaning his gun.
She would then run out in her thin high heels to ask others, laughing and joking with them.
At that time, she was still young, and Ge San valued her highly. She was too happy to seem like an assassin, more like a princess adored by everyone.
But as she grew older, Wan Hui smiled less and less, and even rarely wore dresses.
She often liked to stare at him and ask, [Ah Liang, why can't you like me?]
Then he frowned again, looking very troubled.
[If only you could like me.]
[When I see you, I'm reminded of my deceased brother.]
[Ah Liang, would you keep me company and talk with me?]
[Yi Chenliang, I want to save you.]
Yi Chenliang was always cold towards her. [I will never like anyone, nor do I need anyone to save me.]
When he said this, Wan Hui laughed intensely, looking somewhat inexplicably sad.
Later, she wore a glamorous red dress, with heavy makeup, her long hair draped over her shoulders, and the tip of a knife pointed at his heart.
[Yi Chenliang, you don't have a heart at all.]
The smile on Wan Hui's face was a mix of joy and sorrow. She grabbed his collar hysterically and shouted. [You have no heart! I've accompanied you through life and death for so many years, yet you never once looked back at me!]
[I don't want to kill you, but you owe me a life.] She laughed neurotically, the smile slowly fading from her face. [Before my mom remarried and took me with her, I wasn't called Wan Hui. My name was Wang Youlan.]
[Twenty years ago, in Xinnan Alley on Dongyang Street, do you remember the first person you killed?]
[His name was Wang Youwei.]
[He was my older brother.]
[Yi Chenliang, a life for a life, it's the law of nature.]
[Let's go to hell together.]