Waiting for You in a City

Xu Qin was startled, and immediately wanted to push Meng Yanchen away.

But Meng Yanchen wouldn’t let go, and grabbed her even tighter. He examined the expression on her face, as if he couldn’t believe that the mischievous and charming voice and intimate movements just now came from her.

But in an instant, she turned into Meng Qin again, her face was indifferent. She tried to be calm, but she couldn’t hide a trace of panic. Her eyes looked around, as if she was looking for something, she pushed and shoved on his chest, her voice was extremely low: “Meng Yanchen, are you crazy!”

While the two pushed and pulled, a cold male voice came from behind:

“You’re hugging my girlfriend, when are you planning on letting go?”

Xu Qin was startled and looked back; under the night, Song Yan’s face was covered with dark clouds.

She pushed Meng Yanchen away forcefully, just as the latter let go of one hand. She got out of his restraint and wanted to run towards Song Yan, but Meng Yanchen held her other hand even tighter.

Song Yan’s eyes were cold, he suddenly grabbed Xu Qin’s hand and pulled her over towards him.

Xu Qin staggered towards Song Yan, and he pulled her behind him.

He stared at Meng Yanchen, his eyes splattered with anger, as if the next second he would go up and tear him apart.

Xu Qin didn’t care about the pain in her wrist, and took Song Yan’s hand: “I got the wrong person—”

“Go up.” Song Yan interrupted.

Xu Qin was taken aback for a moment, and wanted to say something else, Song Yan turned to look at her, and asked lightly: “What’s wrong, are you afraid that I will beat him to death?”

When Xu Qin heard his tone of voice, she felt chills down her spine. Knowing that he was really annoyed, she immediately let go of his hand, turned around and quickly walked into the hallway.

Seeing that she didn’t even turn her head to look back, Meng Yanchen inadvertently bit his cheeks tightly.

The night was silent, the woman’s footsteps quickly disappeared into the corridor, and an elevator door could be heard opening somewhere.

The lights in the corridor shone out, like a bright blanket on the ground. At the end of the blanket, Song Yan and Meng Yanchen stood at the two corners.

They hadn’t seen each other for ten years, and both had changed a lot. They had grown from the skinny boys back then into tall men, but strangely some things remained unchanged, such as the disparity in their status, such as their irreconcilable differences.

Their gazes met, and the hostility and resentment on both sides were fully exposed.

In this world, nothing could arouse a man’s hatred and desire to win more than fighting over a woman.

For a moment, Song Yan really wanted to hit Meng Yanchen, but Xu Qin had obediently gone back to her house. The comfort brought by this behavior went without saying.

And Meng Yanchen had seen everything just now. He was a smart man, so he naturally would understand that today was different from the past, this place was no longer that original ice skating rink, and he had become the loser through and through.

“You are her brother, so pay attention to propriety.” Song Yan warned.

This sentence pierced the sore spot which Meng Yanchen was the most powerless to change, and his face contorted slightly.

Facing this loser, Song Yan had no interest in continuing to humiliate him. After saying these words, he started to walk into the corridor.

After taking just two steps, behind him, Meng Yanchen said: “You and her won’t work out.”

Song Yan stopped.

Meng Yanchen said: “As long as the family disagrees, she can’t have a relationship with you. She doesn’t go home these days, she’s just avoiding the issue, can’t you see?”

Song Yan knew in his heart that a week had passed since Fu Wenying called Xu Qin that morning. That weekend, Xu Qin did not return to the Meng family house with the excuse of working overtime.

He smiled faintly: “It’s not your job to worry about it. Whether I can keep her or not, depends on my ability.” The man continued to walk in.

“And then what, let her give up everything for you and satisfy your selfish desires, so you can feel at ease?” Finally, a trace of disgust crossed Meng Yanchen’s face, “Song Yan, do you deserve her?”

Song Yan stopped again.

“Ask yourself, are you worthy of her?” Meng Yanchen said unhurriedly, with a flat smile full of sarcasm and contempt, “Look at the environment of this community and where she lives. If it weren’t for her, you wouldn’t even be able to enter the front gate of this neighborhood. Think about it, isn’t it obvious?”

Song Yan’s fists tightened more and more, his veins bulged, as if he would turn around and punch him in the face in the next second, but,

Meng Yanchen said word by word: “Just based on the fact that all these years you still haven’t got something to show for your efforts, you are not worthy.”

Song Yan’s clenched fists held, held, and then slowly relaxed.

“Back then, you were dumped because of the disparity in your family background, but if you had even a sliver of bravery and a sliver of backbone, you should have tried every possible way and means to get ahead and be worthy of her. But now, huh, I thought you could at least have something to offer, guess I overestimated you. Look at you now, from head to toe, what do you have? Let her fight and lose everything she had in the past because of you,” reaching here, Meng Yanchen said, with hatred in his words, “Why you?”

Song Yan stood there for a few seconds without saying a word.

Half a moment later, he turned around, walked back to the opposite side of Meng Yanchen, walked under the streetlight, and leaned against the streetlight pole. The street lights hit his head from top to bottom, leaving deep shadows in his eye sockets.

He took out the cigarette box from his pocket, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, blocked the cold wind with his hand, lit it, and blew out a puff.

He squinted slightly, looked at Meng Yanchen through the smoke, raised his hand, and asked: “Want one?”

Meng Yanchen stood on the other side of the passage, indifferent, and did not respond.

Song Yan curled the corners of his lips very lightly, but there was no smile at all.

He stuffed the cigarette case and lighter back into his pocket, took another drag, and asked: “Meng Yanchen, do you understand her?”

“Aside from knowing that she is sensitive and taciturn, what else do you know?” Song Yan asked with a faint smile, the smile disappeared after asking, “You don’t understand her at all.”

Song Yan: “I know, you hated me when we were in secondary school, hated me for spoiling her, hated me for teaching her to drink, smoke, fight, hated me for tricking her into bed.”

Meng Yanchen’s jaw tightened and his fists clenched. After all these years, it still haunted him.

“In reality, she was the one who begged me to take her to the bar; if I refused to let her smoke, she would snatch it; if she was by my side, I wouldn’t fight, but then she would find someone to stir up trouble with. She wanted to play, be crazy, be wild, be free. If  you have been suppressed for too long, your methods will become extreme.”

Song Yan leaned his head on the lamppost and looked at the night sky. The light reflected in his eyes, as bright as broken glass.

He exhaled a long puff of smoke towards the night sky, the smoke fell and enveloped his lonely face,

“But at that time, at least she was alive.”

The night grew darker.

Meng Yanchen stood in the night, his face pale.

He had never seen what the alive Xu Qin from Song Yan’s description looked like. Could it be that unfamiliar and warm girl who rushed into his arms just now?

“……So, you asked, why me?” Song Yan slowly lowered his head and looked at Meng Yanchen. His eyes were as dark as the night, determined.

“Because of the sound of her laughter just now.”

Meng Yanchen was pale and unable to refute.

That’s right, he could see the smile on her face clearly just now, she was alive, but she was strangled to death the moment she saw him.

A sharp pain spread in his heart, uncontrollable.

“At that time, she was at least somewhat human. Now, well, ten years have passed, and she’s been so oppressed there’s barely any signs of courage.”

Song Yan lowered his head slightly, lightly tapped the body of the cigarette with his index finger, tapping down the ash. He remembered that day when she got into the elevator, her face was miserable and helpless, she was about to cry, but she forced herself to look for the elevator buttons calmly and didn’t dare to meet his eyes. She didn’t even dare to tell him when she was angry or jealous, for fear that he would not like it and that she would be rejected; she looked like that child who was afraid to speak, eat, or make a sound when she first entered the Meng house. The more she cherished the warmth that she lost and regained, the more she feared being abandoned.

With a jerk of his fingers, the soot broke and scattered in the wind.

“She treats you all as close relatives, what do you take her for?” Song Yan asked in a low voice, but the anger and hatred in his voice could no longer be suppressed, “You don’t know what kind of personality she has? She looks cold on the surface and doesn’t appear to care about anything. In fact, she’s just a coward, with a strong attachment to affection, get a hold of her lifeline and she’s easy to control. Your family knows very well that no matter how well she pretends on the surface, she’s a pushover on the inside. But you all don’t care about how she will be bullied if she marries into someone else’s family, as long as she’s a good pawn to facilitate the connection between families to pave the way for your official career. Anyways, even if she is depressed to the point of death, she won’t complain a word to you.”

Hearing these words, Meng Yanchen could no longer restrain the grievance and resentment in his chest, and said ruthlessly: “I won’t use her to pave the way!”

“Can you protect her?!” Song Yan asked back, “You can’t even protect yourself, Meng Yanchen!”

Meng Yanchen’s face was pale, he lowered his voice and said forcefully: “My parents are not as unbearable as you described. They have a set of rules they believe in, and these rules have indeed suppressed me, suppressed Qin Qin. But Qin Qin is their daughter, not a chess piece. ……That’s why,” he smiled with the corners of his mouth pulled, his pain was unbearable, “it’s because they regard Qin Qin as their own daughter, that I……”

I can’t do things that are “incestuous” in the eyes of my parents to hurt them.

He couldn’t go on, the pain in his mouth was endless, and his cheeks were almost twisted due to the pain.

Song Yan was speechless, looked at Meng Yanchen, and suddenly in that moment understood the root of the tragedy between him and Xu Qin. But Song Yan didn’t say anything, Meng Yanchen’s pain was unbearable, and the truth might overwhelm him.

“Go back,” Song Yan said, “you and your family, don’t make things difficult for Xu Qin anymore.”

Meng Yanchen shook his head very lightly, but he didn’t know what he was denying.

After a long silence,

“Did you know that she takes sleeping pills?” Song Yan suddenly said in a low voice,

“And also anti-depressants. You said this neighborhood is good, it is very good.” Song Yan raised his head, raised his chin, and looked at the lights of the houses above the tall buildings. “Meng Yanchen, look up. What do you think? Based on her previous state, when will come the time that she will jump off the top up there?”

The night wind blew, and Meng Yanchen’s body shook violently, as if he was so thin that he became a piece of paper. That handsome face suddenly lost all color, leaving only a distressed expression. His whole person seemed to be in the deepest catastrophe, beyond redemption.

Song Yan stopped lighting up his cigarette and let it burn out. He stood up straight from the streetlight, and said: “No one in your family is qualified to say the word ‘worthy’ to me.”

He threw away the cigarette and walked into the building.

The lights in the corridor illuminated Song Yan, forming a long shadow outdoors. Soon, it was gone.

Meng Yanchen stood alone in the cold winter night, suffering? Remorse?

For ten years, day and night, he failed to get out. But at least, at least she’s still here.

In the future, how will he survive the days to come?

He turned to leave, shaking slightly as he descended the steps.

Step by step, he went further away.

On the concrete floor, there were a few wet spots, like someone had left tears behind.

It was unknown.

…

The water in the kettle boiled, gurgling and bubbling.

The kettle screamed the alarm for a long time before Xu Qin realized it. She quickly picked up the kettle and poured water into the glass.

After pouring, she stood in a daze for a while, not knowing what was happening with the two men below.

She stretched out her hand unconsciously to get the glass, when she touched the wall of the glass it was scorching hot, and she shrank her fingers away suddenly, only then remembering that it was freshly boiled water.

She blew on her finger for a while, but it was still hot. After realizing it, she quickly took it to rinse under cold water.

At this time, the doorbell rang.

Xu Qin was startled, and immediately turned off the faucet and ran to the door. Just as she was about to open the door, she thought about it and checked through the peephole, it was Song Yan.

She took a big breath and immediately opened the door. When she saw him, she  stopped breathing.

Song Yan looked at her silently, without any expression on his face, and walked in.

Xu Qin couldn’t figure out what was going on in his heart, so she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Without a word, he closed the door behind him.

She whispered: “You didn’t fight, did you?”

Song Yan turned to look at her, put his hand on the doorknob, and opened the door that had just been opened. He gestured with his chin out the door: “Go, go down and see him.”

Xu Qin’s hair stood on end, she hurried to push the door shut.

As soon as she turned around, Song Yan approached her whole body, pressing her tightly against the door panel.

She pressed against his chest, sandwiched between him and the door panel, breathing hard. Looking up, she saw that his pupils were dark, staring at herself.

Xu Qin didn’t dare to provoke him right now, so after thinking about it, she reached out to touch his face. As soon as she touched his cheek, he squeezed her wrist tightly and pressed it to the door.

She didn’t have time to exclaim, his other hand had already ripped off her pants.

His hand pinched her butt hard; her whole body was numb, she let out a soft cry, suddenly stood on tiptoe, raised her head,

“Wrong person, huh?” He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “You’re going to die.”