Waiting for You in the City (一座城，在等你) by Jiu Yue Xi 玖月晞 ~ Chapter 51

The night turns dark.

Xu Qin stands on the hospital’s balcony and she has a light cigarette on her hand.

Song Yan is gone.

After getting treatment, he should go back to the camp to change his clothes and does the conclusion for his work.

Xu Qin stands there and feels the cold wind. She looks at her arm, which she used to hold his head, rub his hair.

She knows how tired he should be, she also feels tired.

When he was about to leave, he didn’t say nothing much. He just told her to work well and to have a talk later on.

But she feels that her mind is in a mess, she couldn’t calm herself down.

She really wishes that today she doesn’t need to get off work.

The time she is daydreaming, she hears a sound of ambulance.

She takes a long breath and throws away her cigarette. She returns back inside and goes to wash her hand cleanly.

This time, she washes it four times.

………..

The time Song Yan returns back home, Xu Qin doesn’t come back home yet. He notices his bedroom is still dark.

Jiu Ma knows that today he would be back so she prepares a lot of dishes for him.

Song Yan has no good rest these days. Today he was so busy for the whole day, he just ate two steamed bun. He feels tired and hungry. He sits down and eats. He even forgets to greet Jiu Ma and Jiu Jiu.

Jiu Ma sees that she is silent, she knows that something is wrong as he never acts like this though he is in difficult situation.

She takes some food for him and asks: “Today…. you met Qin Qin?”

Song Yan continues to eat. “Em.”

Jiu Ma looks at him. “Are you injured? Where is it?” She examines him.

Song Yan frowns lightly: “Minor injury.”

Jiu Ma looks at his expression and knows that he is sad. She asks: “Qin Qin is sad?”

Song Yan says nothing.

His silence makes Jiu Ma feels worried. She tries to probe him: “You guys don’t break up right?”

Song Yan is startled and shakes his head.

Jiu Ma is relieved and blames herself to be so indiscreet. If they break up, he wouldn’t sit still like this.”

“It’s good that all of you are okay.” Jiu Ma says: “Why do you look like you have something on your heart? Talk with me and your Jiu Jiu. Maybe we could help you.”

Song Yan turns silent for a second then he shakes his head. He says: “I feel that I’m useless.”

He feels that he even couldn’t make her be relieved.

She is someone who loves to think around of things. She also uses to be so sealed. She is panicky.

These days he wasn’t around, he doesn’t know how she spends her days.

That night she had a dream and called him, she sounds so flustered.

What about in the future?

She might bear it alone.

Song Yan lowers his head and messages his temple.

He feels so tired that he doesn’t want to say anything.

Jiu Ma speaks up: “Yan ah, Jiu Ma knows that you like her. I know I couldn’t persuade you. I and your Jiu Jiu wouldn’t talk much or intervene in your mater. We just want to remind you. Qin Qin is great, Jiu Ma also could see that she loves you sincerely. But it might be inappropriate later on. Think about it. Your Mama wasn’t living bad life, but the time she encountered someone who is rich and powerful. She just followed him. She isn’t willing to come back home to be a commoner./ Moreover Qin Qin, since she was young, her life is…..”

“Qin Qin is different from her.” Song Yan says with a low voice: “You also don’t need to mention that person.”

“But….” Jiu Ma wants to say more things, but Jiu Jiu stops her.

Song Yan puts down his chopsticks and says: “She would get off work soon, I’ll go and pick her up.”

“It’s still early, you even haven’t finished…”

Song Yan stands up and takes his coat. He leaves.

Both of the elders just sit down there and watches him leave. Jiu Jiu speaks up: “I’ve told you so many times, don’t mention that person again in front of him.”

“but he is older now…..”

“Though he is older now, but the scar is still there. Do you think it would be gone?……. Moreover how could you compare Qin Qin and that person?”

“Ahyoo, okay, it’s all my fault. I’m just worried. But what should I do?”

……..

Xu Qin gets off the work on time.

In the late night, there’re only few cars around. She just needs to take taxi for ten minutes and she arrives at Wu Fang Jie.

The small road has no a soul in sight.

The taxi isn’t stopped yet, Xu Qin has noticed Song Yan is standing there waiting for her. He is smoking while waiting for him.

She gets off the car and he just throws away the cigarette to the trash bin.

She puts both of her hands inside her coat’s pocket and passes by him.

He follows her and holds her hand; she just shakes it off lightly. He walks beside her and continues to hold her hand, yet she keeps on shaking it off.

She walks forward and he just uses a bit of her strength to pull her into his embrace. He hugs her from behind. She wants to struggle free from him yet he is holding her tightly. He places his chin on her shoulder and calls him with a low voice:

“Lao Po (Wife), let me hug you for a while.”

Xu Qin’s legs turn weak, she couldn’t move.

The time they were young, he was mature. He always called her Lao Po Lao Po; now it’s the first time for him to call her that way since they are adults.

Wu Fang Jie is so empty. Everyone seems to be asleep.

Only two of them are there.

Xu Qin turns her body and hugs him back.

She leans her head on his chest, she closes her eyes.

His embrace gives her a familiar peacefulness.

They are hugging each other and saying nothing.

He lowers his head and kisses her cold little face. He hugs her tightly for a while. He is a bit unwilling to let her go. He could feel that she is trembling lightly, he is holding her hands and saying: “Let’s find a place to sit down for a while, I also would take you to eat few things.”

She lifts her head: “Jiu Ma cooked midnight snack right?”

“We wouldn’t eat together with them.” Song Yan says: “Just two of them.”

………

Actually Wu Fang Jie is quite crowded. In the most distant part of the road. There is a small restaurant.

Song Yan takes Xu QIn into a seafood restaurant and orders according to her preference.

The restaurant is small but very clean. Though it’s late night but there are few people eating too. There are various seafood there.

They choose the most desolate table.

Xu Qin takes off her coat. Her nose is read then she says to the waiter: “Give me beer.”

Song Yan looks at her: “You want to drink beer?”

Xu Qin nods.

Song Yan lets the waiter serves them beer and pours a glass for her.

Xu Qin drinks it all in one go.

Song Yan is startled, he wants to stop her but it’s too late.

Song Yan looks at her for a while and says nothing else. He looks around and notices that the other table has steamed bun of corn, sorghum, etc. He calls the waiter to give him a plate of it. He wants her to fill a gap in her stomach before getting drunk.

“You want to get drunk for being able to speak up?” Song Yan teases her.

“Em, I want to drink a bit more.” Xu Qin says: “Anyway you are here, I’m not afraid.”

He laughs lightly for a while and says: “If you are with other people, you shouldn’t drink that much. Okay?”

“Okay.” She nods: “I just drink it with you.”

The waiter serves a plate of steamed bun of corn, sorghum, etc. Song Yan takes one for her: “Hurry up eat more.”

Her face starts to be red when she just finishes half of her wine.

Xu Qin eats her food and chews.

The steamed prawn dish is placed on the table.

Song Yan takes one and wrings the shrimp’s head. He peels the skin and then puts it on her plate. “Eat it when it’s still hot.”

She takes her chopsticks and starts to eat it. The shrimp is very fresh, she could taste the clear and sweet flavor of the shrimp.

She waits till he is done, and probes: “You like your current job right now? Maybe it’s because its’ more noble?”

His eyes roll and he says: “Honestly if it’s because of my love for it, or for people to adore me, those are not the reason. Sometimes I also feel too tired…… It’s just since I have decided to do it, then I would do it with my best. With duty on me, I should bear it.

Then he adds: “Till the day I leave my post.”

Xu Qin hears it and is lost in thought. He feeds him a shrimp and passes it to her. She opens up her mouth and eats it. She wants to ask something more but the waiter comes over with a plate of scallops.

Song Yan takes two scallops for her.

She eats it slowly and asks again: “Jiu Jiu Jiu Ma, what are they doing now?”

He looks at his watch and says: “They should be sleeping now.”

He places another shrimp on her plate

“That night, Jiu Jiu and Jiu Ma picked me up.”

“I know about it.”

“You said to them, you should know, but you don’t know about other thing.”

“What thing?”

He lifts up his eyes to look at her.

“Jiu Ma held my hand, she said that my hand is too cold, she wanted to help me to cover it up.”

Song Yan smiles for a while then passes another shrimp to her lips. She eats it. “All of your family members are quite good toward me.”

Song Yan stops, he stops moving, he just watches her. He knows that she has matters to say. He just takes tissue to wipe his hands clean and waits for her.

“Song Yan, since I was young I have told you, living at your house is really good. Do you still remember it?”

“I remember.”

“That time I still had a lot of things that I don’t understand, I just used my feeling so I said those words. But now I have understood a lot of things, I still feel that living in your house is very good.” Xu Qin looks at him. She seems to be influenced by alcohol right now. Her face is red, she speaks even slower right now. “Jiu Jiu, Jiu Ma, also Di Miao, are really great. I also like them so much, I really really like them. But…..”

“They are great toward me, I like them. It’s just…… because of you.”

She takes a deep breath: “If you are not here, then I would be unrelated to them. I would be alone, don’t you understand?”

Song Yan turns silent.

She fists her hands and he holds it. “Xu Qin——“

“Hear me out first.” She cuts him off lightly. “I’m afraid that if I don’t tell you right now, in the future I wouldn’t be able to. Actually…. I’ve considered about it carefully. If one day something happens to you, I would steal morphine and syringe from the hospital.”

Song Yan is surprised.

Yet she looks so calm like she is telling a normal thing. “Perhaps I would steal scalpel and sleeping pill out, and at this part——“

She flips her hand, which is held by him. She makes a line.

He looks at it and his face changes.

“It’s okay if you think you are not mature, It’s okay if you think that I’m weak and useless. Perhaps you feel that I’m threatening you, you want to be angry. But that day when I saw you were about to fall down. That moment, i think that way. If you …..” She seems to recall that moment and she shakes her head: “It’s too painful. I couldn’t bear it.”

She doesn’t want to recall that moment again.

She has experienced warm and happiness, she couldn’t go back.

Song Yan listens to her words.

It’s clear that they are in the warm-temperature room, yet he feels that he is standing in cold area.

He doesn’t think her words like a threat but he feels that he is falling harder for her. He loves her weakness and fierceness.

Song Yan holds up his glass and drinks it all. He looks at Xu Qin, her eyes are wet and bright. She seems to be waiting for his response.

“Xu Qin.” He says: “I might be promoted.”

She is surprised, her eyes turn big.

He laughs agonizingly: “At first I didn’t want to tell you early because it’s not yet decided yet. I don’t want to give you false hope. But since last year, I have been trying hard. First, because these years of working make me realized that lower accident rate is related to professional training. It’s all higher authority’s work.”

Xu Qin’s face shows her hope, she nods: “Em.”

Song Yan says: “Second, it’s because of you.”

She is startled and looks t him.

After a while, she moves. She wants to say something but suddenly she feels light-headed.

Song Yan immediately supports her.

She leans on his body and raises up her head to look at him. She feels that she has no strength.

The waiter looks over: “Is she drunk?”

Xu Qin hugs Song Yan’s waist and shakes her head.

Song Yan strokes her head and says to the waiter: “Pack it up, please.”

Xu Qin is held by Song Yan. Her steps are swaying. She is staggering.

“So now you are happy right?” He asks.

“I’m happy” She says.

He smiles for a while.

They go back home. Jiu Ma comes out from her bedroom: “You guys are home?” She looks at Xu Qin and Song Yan. “What happened?”

Song Yan passes the takeaway to Jiu Ma and says: “It’s okay. She is drunk. She would get better soon.”

Xu Qin nods too: “Em.”

Song Yan takes Xu Qin inside the bedroom and places her on the bed. He helps her to take off her shoes and changes her clothes

She isn’t drunk but she just feels no strength.

He helps her to wipe her face, hand, and legs.

He also freshens up and gets ready to sleep. He turns off the main light and turns on the table lamp. He looks at her.

She lays down on the bed and watches him. The redness on her cheek is lighten.

He lays down beside her and strokes her face. He finds that she is so cute: “You are awake now?”

“I am not drunk.”

“So you just pretend to have no strength and want me to serve you?”

She laughs.

“I just think… about taking advantage of you.” He tidies up her bang on her forehead. She says it and looks at her.

They look at each other.

He strokes her eyebrows.

She blinks and speaks up: “You haven’t finished your words.”

“Em.”

“You said for me.”

“em.” He strokes the bridge of her nose to her lips.

“Woo?”

“That time, we would live at our own house, we would buy a car. My work would be in regular pattern from 09:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. I could eat breakfast together with you, I would send you to go to work, I’ll pick you up. We would cook together, watch movie, stroll around, plant the flowers, raise a little pet. On the weekend we would go to Di Cheng to relax. During the annual leave we could go to somewhere a bit far to travel. If we are lazy to go out, we could stay at home and lay down on bed. We would do nothing. It’s just me and you.”

Without realizing, Xu QIn just smiles. Her eyes turn bright. She looks at him and she could see the happiness.

“Do you want to live together with me?” He asks.

“I want.” She smiles and hugs his neck.

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