After realizing the person I saved was Hao Yan Ling, I could only stand there with astonished eyes. She gave me an incomprehensible look—a lovely yet angry face, sparkling eyes as if containing the entire sky but still hiding deep-seated anger, and deeper still, love.
The Abyssal Eyes: Essentially, aside from my parents, Van Phong's family, and inanimate objects like belongings, trees, documents... when looking at anyone else, my eyes automatically transformed. As an uncontrollable instinct, my eyes turned pitch-black like an abyss, like shrouded night. The pupils in my eyes enlarged, occupying the entire white of my eyes, while my eyelids drooped, reducing the whites to nothing but darkness—two jet-black pupils.
When Hao Yan Ling saw these eyes combined with my expressionless face, she flinched. It was always like this—eyes as if from hell looking directly at her. But she still struggled to regain composure, pressing my hand against her chest and saying:
"Thank you." Naturally, with such a bold gesture, any man would be enchanted. But when my eyes appeared along with an expressionless face like the night—black hair, black eyes, black clothes, only pale white skin like someone returned from the underworld... I calmly removed her hand from my chest.
"I, Wang Meng, only came for the fallen coin," I said, my voice emotionless and flat. "I had no intention of helping you, so you don't need to feel grateful or indebted to me."
Words Like Sharp Blades: Seeing her seductive gesture met with coldness, plus words like a sharp blade piercing her heart, Hao Yan Ling could only remain silent. But as I prepared to leave, a soft yet strong hand held me back. She gave a very frivolous yet convincing reason:
"It's true this time you didn't want to save me," Hao Yan Ling said, her voice trembling. "But last time during the battle with the Dark Society's magical beast, you saved me. I want to treat you to ice cream because you always seem so cold, so I thought you'd like this. If you won't let me repay you, I'll bother you forever. To let this young lady be saved without repaying her debt would bring shame upon me."
In her heart, I knew clearly: even without the coin, I would have saved her.
A Painful Compromise: In my heart, she was truly troublesome. Clearly she was beautiful, talented, kind, and noticed by Sheng Guang Yi—that was her fortune, her blessing. But why after that day, when I unintentionally saved her, did everything become like this? Wanting to avoid trouble, I said:
"Fine. I'll accept your repayment by letting you treat me to ice cream. After that, we owe each other nothing." Hao Yan Ling quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the shopping center. At first we walked very quickly, leaving the scene of conflict with the perverts and hooligans. Then, everything seemed to slow down tenfold. She seemed unwilling to go, yet still insisted on taking me. Hand in hand, our grip tightened with each step.
The Long Journey: And so, we walked the entire 2.5-kilometer road, taking about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Meanwhile, basically, walking 2.5 kilometers should only take 25 minutes, or 15 minutes if walking fast. I paid no attention, my right hand held by her as if leading a child, while my left hand scrolled through my phone for entertainment, discussing with Van Phong and texting my parents that I would be home late.
Along the way, I felt warmth from her hand, but also sensed the invisible distance between two worlds. On one side, the talented girl, respected by society; on the other, me—the powerless one, the scum of this world.
The Ice Cream Shop and Silence: After the long, drawn-out time, we finally reached the shopping center. Stepping inside, everyone smiled and commented with cheerful faces:
"This couple looks so compatible!" "This 16-year-old boy with his sharp, handsome features, eyes black as ink, black hair, and black clothes appears very mature." "And the girl is like an angel, extremely beautiful!" I just quietly followed, showing no reaction. Arriving at the ice cream shop inside the supermarket, she ordered two strawberry ice creams. I sat opposite, calm as still water without a ripple, my fingers still tapping on my phone.
The two of us sat like that for nearly 30 minutes, until the last bite of ice cream. I quickly stood up and bid her farewell. Her face showed sadness, hands clenched tight, nails digging into her palms hard enough to cause injury. Her eyes were about to redden as if crying, her face melancholy like someone who had lost a loved one. She replied:
"Thank you for letting me repay you." I just responded for formality's sake:
"It's nothing. We owe each other nothing now."
Tears Blended with Rain: After that, I quickly walked away. But it seemed I didn't know, for her, perhaps she had let go. In reality, she had cried a great deal. Suddenly, as I was walking, it began to rain. My mood wasn't cheerful either.
I am human too, liked by someone to this extent. I myself quite liked her, but the reality is that she and I are people from two different worlds. Even if we tried to be together, the outcome would only be suffering. One person is talented with real strength and power, respected by society. The other is me—just a worthless piece of trash, the scum of this world. Being together would only bring more pain.
And so I walked in the rain. But I didn't notice that my tears had fallen, while I remained unaware. I still thought it was raining, but in reality, I was crying. Tears mingled with the rain.
On the Other Side of Life: On the other side, Hao Yan Ling was the same. She walked in the rain, tears still falling endlessly. Hair and clothes soaked through. Deep in her heart, she kept asking herself:
"Why does the person I love not love me?"
"Why did he save me then push me away?"
"Why is Heaven so blind? Why make me suffer like this?"
Two figures in the rain, two different worlds, two hearts bleeding. Rain like the sky weeping, tears like falling rain, blending into the sorrowful flow of people who don't belong together. The family heirloom coin in my pocket felt cold, a reminder that: no matter how hard one tries, the gap between two worlds cannot be bridged.