Chapter 107
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=1363950 This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Zuo Qinghuan got off the plane, in this unfamiliar place, listening to an unfamiliar language, she suddenly felt a sense of panic. She didn't know what to expect in this unfamiliar country. She stood in the crowd, watching people coming and going, feeling lost.
"Are you Zuo Qinghuan?" A familiar Chinese voice sounded, making Zuo Qinghuan instinctively turn to the owner of the voice.
"I am Kitano Aoba, my father asked me to pick you up." The voice was as refreshing as spring water, speaking excellent Chinese, and even her smile was extremely gentle and elegant. It had a somewhat familiar demeanor to Qin Wanshu. In a trance, Kitano Aoba’s image seemed to overlap with Qin Wanshu's teenage years. Although Zuo Qinghuan had never met Qin Wanshu during her teenage years, she suddenly felt that Qin Wanshu's teenage years might have been like this. Thinking of Qin Wanshu, Zuo Qinghuan felt a sense of melancholy, wondering how she was far away.
"Are you Zuo Qinghuan?" The girl saw Zuo Qinghuan didn't respond, so she asked again. Her father said she was another daughter of her mother, asking her to treat her like a sister. When her father mentioned this person before, she was very much looking forward to her arrival. For some reason, she singled her out in the crowd, feeling that she was the person she had been waiting for.
Zuo Qinghuan nodded, "I am Zuo Qinghuan."
When Kitano Aoba saw Zuo Qinghuan nodding, she smiled. Her smile was warm, making her a very affable girl. It was somewhat different from the warmth of Qin Wanshu, whose affability always carried a radiant feeling.
"Please guide me well in the future." Kitano Aoba felt an inexplicable fondness towards Zuo Qinghuan. Besides the good first impression, it was also because she was sent by her mother, and she would tell her many things about her mother.
"Please guide me well." Zuo Qinghuan nodded. She was usually wary of strangers, but she felt somewhat familiar with Kitano Aoba, perhaps due to her similar qualities with Qin Wanshu.
On the first night in Japan, Zuo Qinghuan's yearning for Qin Wanshu grew like vines. She picked up her phone, trembling as if facing an impending verdict. She dialed Qin Wanshu's number repeatedly, her fingers shaking. Despite her persistent attempts, there was no answer, and tears finally streamed down her face. She knew Qin Wanshu was intentionally ignoring her calls because of their disagreement.
On the other end of the phone, Qin Wanshu lay in bed, listening to the continuous ringing. She knew it was Zuo Qinghuan calling, always able to understand her thoughts, except this time. She couldn't fathom Zuo Qinghuan's determination to leave. Though she rationalized that Zuo Qinghuan's actions stemmed from love, she couldn't bring herself to accept or forgive emotionally.
Qin Wanshu didn't want to answer Zuo Qinghuan's calls but found herself anxiously waiting for the phone to ring again and again. She closed her eyes, feeling exhausted yet unable to sleep. She had thought her feelings weren't deep, only to realize too late that she had fallen deeply in love, and now, the person she loved was no longer by her side. The dull ache in her heart resurfaced at the thought.
Zuo Qinghuan continued to shed tears, unable to control them as they streamed down her face. Loving someone could make one feel so vulnerable and so afraid. She feared that if Qin Wanshu got angry, she might no longer want her. Would everything she had done still have meaning then?
As dawn approached, the ringing interrupted the silence, as if exhausted. Even though Qin Wanshu couldn't hear the ringtone, she felt like something was missing from her heart. No matter how angry she was with Zuo Qinghuan, her heart fluttered with guilt when she heard Zuo Qinghuan calling.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=1363950 This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Zuo Qinghuan's phone rang all night, and Qin Wanshu listened with closed eyes. It was an agonizing night for both of them. When Zuo Qinghuan's eyes were swollen and red from crying, she finally felt that Qin Wanshu was determined not to answer her calls. She decided to buy a ticket back home at dawn. But as she got up from bed, she faltered. What would going back achieve now? She had already hurt Qin Wanshu deeply. Returning wouldn't restore their relationship to how it was before. She had no way out, and if she returned now, even if Qin Wanshu didn't look down on her, she would look down on herself.
Despite nearing despair, she couldn't bring herself to give up. Zuo Qinghuan dialed Qin Wanshu's number again.
When Qin Wanshu heard the phone ringing again, her heart skipped a beat. After hesitating for a while, she finally answered the call just before the ringtone disappeared.
Zuo Qinghuan's heart skipped a beat, filled with both joy and extreme unease. Neither of them spoke immediately, and after a long silence, Qin Wanshu finally spoke.
"Do you need something?" Qin Wanshu's voice was icy, sending a sharp pang to Zuo Qinghuan's heart.
"I miss you." Zuo Qinghuan felt like she was going crazy with longing.
Qin Wanshu could hear the thick nasal tone in Zuo Qinghuan's voice as if she had been crying. Had she been crying? The thought softened Qin Wanshu's heart for a moment, but it quickly passed, replaced by more anger. If she felt so reluctant to leave, why did she still choose to go?
"Since you've chosen to leave, then go ahead and do what you've chosen to do." If she had flown out of her own sky, then she should fly high. Qin Wanshu wanted to know how high Zuo Qinghuan could fly in her own sky, and if her own selfishness would hinder her flight.
"Will you not want me anymore?" Zuo Qinghuan asked the thing she feared most from the bottom of her heart.
"I don't know. I don't know if the Zuo Qinghuan three years from now will still be the one I love, and I don't know what state of mind I'll be in three years from now." Qin Wanshu felt that the most uncontrollable thing was time.
Zuo Qinghuan fell silent.
"Qin Wanshu, I want to make a bet. I bet that you will still love me three years from now," Zuo Qinghuan said earnestly. If she truly lost Qin Wanshu, then Zuo Qinghuan would spend her life in loveless sorrow.
This time it was Qin Wanshu's turn to fall silent. After a long time, she finally smiled.
"Grow well. There's no need to call back, you won't find me. You have your things to do, and I have mine. Perhaps three years later, you'll amaze me with your transformation, or perhaps three years later, you'll just be a familiar stranger. Let's just let everything happen naturally." Without Zuo Qinghuan, Qin Wanshu was still Qin Wanshu. Qin Wanshu had decided that she wouldn't wait for Zuo Qinghuan intentionally, nor would she try to forget her intentionally. Three years would test their relationship, whether it would bloom into something more beautiful or wither away with time, let it all happen naturally.
Zuo Qinghuan knew that Qin Wanshu was serious because Qin Wanshu had always been a very serious person. Zuo Qinghuan also knew that not contacting each other for three years was Qin Wanshu's way of punishing her, but it was already the lightest punishment. Three years later, she believed that Qin Wanshu would still love her, after all, she was a woman who knew how to love someone for a lifetime. Aside from her, Qin Wanshu wouldn't love anyone else.
After hanging up the phone, Zuo Qinghuan realized that it was already dawn. She opened the curtains, and the sunrise rising from the east dazzled her eyes. Today was a new day, and three years would pass quickly.
Author's Note:
Some people are destined for love not to become everything, like Qin Wanshu, while others are destined to put love first, like Li Xin." The next chapter will still focus on Li Yan. There are many more chapters involving Li Yan, and the upcoming ones won't be about meat but rather emotional drama.
After Li Yan concludes, it will truly be three years later.
