"Yuanyuan... I'm sorry. Are you home?" Qu Ling's voice was still low, different from usual, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what was different.
"Yes, I'm at home. I just had dinner and I'm taking a nap while holding Xizi."
"Yuanyuan, can you come out for a moment? I'm waiting for you at your door. I have something to tell you."
Qu Ling's voice sounded very serious. Although I didn't know what he wanted to say to me, a sense of foreboding welled up in my heart.
"I...I'll be right down." After hanging up the phone, I put on my coat and hurried downstairs. Xizi followed me all the way, and by the time I noticed, it had already followed me out of the yard.
Outside the courtyard, Qu Ling stood in the shadow of the fence, her figure long and slanted by the streetlights, looking lonely and thin.
I slowly walked to his side, watching his back for a long time, until Xizi grew impatient and barked. Qu Ling suddenly turned his head, a cigarette butt still burning between his fingers. I looked down and saw cigarette butts scattered around his feet; I wondered how long he had been standing there.
Our eyes met, and seeing the faint shadows under his eyes, my heart clenched. Six days ago, he was completely different! Back then, his face wasn't so thin, his eyes were so clear, and he looked as handsome as jade as he walked from the stream.
How could someone become so haggard in just six days?
"Yuanyuan, shall we go for a walk on the riverbank for a while?"
"Hmm." I was very puzzled, but I didn't know how to ask, so I could only wait for him to tell me.
The wind is strong on the riverbank in winter; even with my cotton-padded coat wrapped tightly around my neck, I can still feel the wind seeping in.
Suddenly, I felt a warmth around my neck; Qu Ling had silently wrapped his scarf around my neck. The scarf carried his body heat, warm and cozy, and had a faint smell of tobacco.
“Yuanyuan, about the time you told me you wanted to break off the engagement,” Qu Ling’s voice was barely audible against the wind, yet every word was clear, “I agreed.”
In about a second, I felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over my head, chilling me from head to toe.
"Why?" I was surprised that I could still utter a complete sentence. The three words "why" echoed in the cold air, as if they were spoken by someone else, as if they were far away from me.
My world is frozen; everything has solidified into cold, hard ice crystals.
Qu Ling did not answer my question. Under the pale yellow moonlight, his dark eyes stared at me intently, without uttering a word.
I don't remember how I got home. I only remember holding Xizi tightly all night, with no tears in my eyes, but my whole body was freezing. I felt so cold that even breathing hurt.
Heartbreaking.
The sudden blow was too much for me to bear, as I had been immersed in happiness and sweetness.
I don't know why, all I know is that Qu Ling doesn't want me anymore.
The next day, I developed a high fever that lasted for three whole days, during which I remained in a coma day and night.
Later, my grandmother said that I kept saying three words for those three days.
Why?
Why are things in this world so ever-changing, like clouds drifting by? Happiness can arrive suddenly, and then vanish in the next instant.
Su Yuanyuan, the third tyrant of the Su family, an invincible little pig, who never knew fear or worry, also stumbled when faced with the complex problem of love.
When I told Qu Ling I wanted to call off the engagement, the pain and torment I felt was nothing compared to how he agreed to it.
I just realized how much I like him.
Only then did I realize that I had never truly wanted to let go of his hand.
Author's Note: Is everyone asleep?
I'm so sleepy~~~
If I'm free tomorrow evening, I'll reveal the truth behind Xiao Qu's annulment of her engagement...
Four thousand words... I wrote for three and a half hours, so sleepy... Time to sleep!
Yuanyuan's Decision
I looked in the mirror when I woke up this morning and stared at my panda-like face for a long time.
It still looks similar, but this is clearly a panda that has just lost weight.
Round eyes, with dark circles under them, on a face that's a bit smaller, make them look like a full moon on the fifteenth of the lunar month—big and round.
This is the first time in my life I've seen such significant weight loss, all thanks to Qu Ling. Putting Qu Ling aside for now, I grabbed the scale and weighed myself—OMG! I've lost a whole six pounds!
An unprecedented record.
Looking at the weight I've always dreamed of on the scale, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I'm not so easily fooled. Su Yuanyuan isn't someone you can dismiss with just a few words.
I put away the scale, got dressed, hopped on my electric scooter, and headed to find Qu Ling. Oh, no, I meant to go to school for the end-of-term review meeting. Last week, the school finished all the semester's final exams, and after today's meeting, winter break officially begins.
I don't believe Qu Ling won't show up. It's such an important meeting. As the current head of the academy, is he really not going to even show his face?
Riding an electric scooter through this familiar city, I saw that the green willows along the canal had withered, the peach blossoms were gone, and there were only a few barges carrying sand on the river.
In the past, even in the coldest winters, I never noticed the desolation on this river. Today, the chill of winter makes my heart ache.
I recall the dazzling fireworks I set off on the riverbank during my childhood; no fireworks can surpass those of that time.
The fireworks that Qu Ling set off, holding my hand, will forever remain beautiful and splendid in my memory.
That day, that idiot Su Tiantian even burned his bear gloves.
****
The end-of-term summary meeting was chaired by my third uncle, but Qu Ling was nowhere to be seen.
My suspicions only grew stronger. Something must have happened! Otherwise, why would Qu Ling have disappeared? I hadn't heard anyone mention him going on a business trip or anything like that.