Su Qing felt as if a knife had stabbed her heart, causing her to feel a sharp pain.
Although she had remained silent and indifferent about the devastation her mother's death had dealt her, Jiang Sui knew that Su Qing was no longer the innocent girl she once was.
She felt fear, sadness, and dread.
These feelings were difficult to dissipate, Jiang Sui knew.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Sui gradually drifted off to sleep.
In the dark night, no one could see outside the window. The quietly rising full moon gradually faded across the faces of the two people, signaling something.
Because of the case.
Both of them had already taken leave.
Because Su Qing was required to appear for the subsequent case, and she still had much to do, she had no choice but to take leave.
The young man had been following her. Although Su Qing didn't quite agree, she acquiesced to Jiang Sui's condition.
With the college entrance examination approaching, the two top students at Jiang high school had both taken leave.
Although it was a pity.
There were always rumors, but they were very low voice.
——
Inside the police station, after several days and nights of investigation, the case was already mostly complete. The information and evidence had been nearly collected. Because Su Qing had just reached adulthood, for the sake of fairness, Pei Dai did not allow Su Qing to be the plaintiff. Instead, he submitted all the information and evidence directly to the public security, procuratorate, and court.
Everything just waited for the trial.
That night, Pei Dai took a deep breath, checked his phone, and saw no call. He pursed his lips to hide his disappointment, then dialed the number.
The call was picked up quickly.
"Qinqin, have you eaten yet?"
Pei Dai turned and looked at the clock. It was already early morning. He felt a little annoyed. He shouldn't have been so anxious. He should have called Mei Yeqin earlier.
He always worried about the hour, around seven, eight, or nine, waiting, wondering if Mei Yeqin would call him. This wait lasted until the early morning.
He even asked Qinqin if she had eaten yet. Pei Dai felt a little foolish.
Or was Qinqin thinking he was foolish, or sick?
"No."
Her low voice carried a hint of fatigue; he could sense she must be very tired.
Pei Dai's guilt intensified. He clutched his phone, reclining on his chair. "Are you tired? You haven't eaten yet. Can I have something delivered?"
He remembered the Cantonese restaurant they'd been to last time. It seemed to be open 24 hours, so he could order take out and order her favorite dishes.
"No thanks."
As Pei Dai pondered this, he'd already begun thinking about what to order for Mei Yeqin, but the woman's sudden refusal left him at a loss for words.
"Qinqin, you've lost your appetite, haven't you? I'll go over to your place and make you some egg drop soup or something."
He spoke cautiously, his voice lowered as if sensing her uneasy mood.
Mei Yeqin leaned against the car window, gazing at the dazzling full moon hanging in the swaying shade of the trees.
Is egg drop soup worth the trip?
"No need."
Her refusal was so complete that Pei Dai felt like he'd fallen into an ice cellar. They'd been in touch sporadically since returning from Jiangcheng, but with Su Qing's sudden incident, Mei Yeqin had become incredibly busy, and he was also incredibly preoccupied with the case, so he'd occasionally call Mei Yeqin.
It wasn't just occasional, though. Everyday, around the time she got off work or around dinner time, Pei Dai would call to ask what she wanted to eat.
Only today, for some reason, did Pei Dai keep wondering if Mei Yeqin would call him if he didn't.
So it kept dragging on, and he didn't expect it would take this long.
Hearing the displeased voice from the other end, Pei Dai lost all his mood.
"Qinqin, are you unhappy?"
Pei Dai's voice trembled. In this relationship, he had rarely had right to say. He simply wanted her attention too much, wanted to prove that he was special in her heart.
Hence what happened today.
Mei Yeqin took a sip of her cigarette, letting out a faint smoke ring, and pursed her lips.
"No, I just suddenly wanted to see you."
Her voice was cold, hoarse, and as aloof as her appearance, it was heart-wrenching.
But hearing that, the burning heat in Pei Dai's ears, his heart suddenly perked up, as if he'd been plunged from ice water into scalding water.
"Qinqin, I'm still at the bureau. Can I come see you right now?"
If it was the Pei Dai of the past, he would have wondered if such words were too bold, if they weren't reserved enough. But now, he didn't think about anything.
All he could think about was Mei Yeqin's words: "I wanted to see you."
He wished he could fly to Mei Yeqin's side right now.
In his haste, Pei Dai accidentally bumped into the corner of the table while putting on his clothes. He winced in pain, but that didn't stop him.
The rustling sound was clear to Mei Yeqin's ears, and she even caught the sharp gasp of pain Pei Dai had just made from bumping into the corner.
As a doctor, she could tell quickly.
"What's wrong?"
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
She rarely spoke two sentences at once, perhaps with a hint of urgency. But Pei Dai, more anxious than her, couldn't care less about the emotion and anxiety in Mei Yeqin's tone.
"It's okay, Qinqin, I just got bumped. I'll drive to you right now."
Under the moonlight, Pei Dai emerged from the gate. As he prepared to find a car, he looked up and saw a thin figure across the street. She leaned against the car window, her chin tilted up, her expression as haughty and cold as ever as she glared at him.
Like a queen looking down upon the world.
Across the street, Pei Dai could clearly hear the unbearable thump of his own heart.
"Qinqin, I love you."
His eyes, filled with passion and intensity, fixed on Mei Yeqin. The woman didn't hang up.
She let the faint throbbing in her chest drift away, watching the man obeying traffic rules with an eager look in his eyes.
At the green light, he couldn't wait to dash towards her.
Pei Dai had never felt sixty seconds so long; every second was excruciating.
Even more frightened, he thought everything before him was an illusion.
Even more frightened, he thought, Mei Yeqin, would suddenly open the car door and drive away.
Because he knew how difficult it would be to wait for that woman to take the initiative.