Chapter 257: Ji Tan x Lian Jingcheng
In the initial impression of the residents of Qing Teng Road, Lian Jingcheng was a sincere, pure, handsome, and refined man, possessing the humility of a weeping willow and the silence of a deep pool.
His past was closely tied to a mysterious woman; no one knew why he was so obsessed.
He did not originally belong here; his hometown was in the distant south.
For a woman, he left his homeland and drifted to the Capital City.
Over twelve years, he experienced the warmth of help in times of need and the heartlessness of adding insult to injury.
In the end, he left empty-handed, having achieved nothing in over a decade.
But he did not know that the one he loved would also leave him with lingering thoughts and tears.
Before the story began, Lian Jingcheng lived in Coastal Village, a place with simple folk customs and tranquil sea waves.
The day he met Ji Tan, it was pouring rain, and the wind blew the rain into mist.
Lian Jingcheng selected his items, walked to the cashier, paid, and left the convenience store, holding an umbrella.
The rain was heavy, dripping onto the ground, water flowing from high to low. He walked along the familiar street, and as he turned to go down the steps, he suddenly stopped.
Lian Jingcheng stopped on the steps, looking at the girl with her back to him.
Ji Tan sat on the second step, her slender legs resting on the lowest step, her shoes stepping on the muddy ground soaked by the rain.
Her trousers revealed half of her thin ankles, and a few tiny specks of mud splashed onto her cold, white skin, yet she paid no mind, only propping her elbows on her bent knees.
And the thin jacket she wore, which was almost soaked through, was being pulled at the corner by her hands, which bore two bloody wounds—
Under the “tent” formed by the clothes was a shivering cat.
The cat was small, its soft fur soaked, looking extremely pitiful.
The wind, carrying fine rain, continuously sprinkled onto the girl.
The clothes she wore were soaked through, clinging to her waist, outlining a slender waist that exuded a supple strength.
She seemed oblivious, only turning her body, lowering her head, and smiling at the equally bedraggled cat under the clothes.
Fine rain fell on her curled long eyelashes, and with her blinks, tiny water droplets condensed and slid down, flowing past the corners of her lips, which held a hint of a smile.
Lian Jingcheng held his umbrella with one hand, gazing at her without blinking, as if lost in thought.
Thump, thump.
The pattering sound of the rain could not drown out the sound of his heartbeat hidden in his chest.
Ji Tan stood up, holding the kitten, and walked under the eaves. With a smile in her eyes, she placed the cat in a dry spot where the rain could not reach it.
Before Lian Jingcheng could react.
Splash.
Her white shoes stepped on the low-lying ground, and the girl ran into the rain, gradually running further away.
Her fluttering hem looked like a flower blooming in the clouds and mist.
Lian Jingcheng held his umbrella and walked under the eaves, looking at the soaked kitten. He was allergic to cats and couldn’t touch them. After watching for a while, he looked up at the distance.
The girl had long since disappeared. Judging by her appearance, she was likely not from this area.
On every rainy day thereafter, Lian Jingcheng would always recall this scene, including the day he passed away.
But he could never have imagined that this heavy rain would spread to the Capital City and also fall on Lian Li.
The next time he met Ji Tan was on a drizzly day. She came to the guesthouse to check in, saying she was here to relax and travel.
As the guesthouse owner, Lian Jingcheng carried her luggage and led her to her room door, saying with an inexplicably shy and reserved tone, “If you need anything, you can find me at the front desk anytime.”
Ji Tan wore a baseball cap on her head. She took off her black mask, hooked her finger, and smiled at him, “Thank you, boss.”
Lian Jingcheng’s appearance had the unique heroic spirit of an Eastern man, with refined and three-dimensional features. His double eyelids, paired with upturned outer eye corners, and his bright, clear eyes made him look somewhat like a puppy.
He had just taken over the guesthouse left by his parents and was still unfamiliar with many operational aspects.
Whenever Ji Tan had a question for him, he would always react a beat late, like a blockhead, endearingly slow.
Fortunately, Ji Tan was patient and not irritable, always able to brush it off with a smile, occasionally teasing him or playing a trick on him.
Lian Jingcheng’s calm and tranquil life began to stir with the arrival of a cunning girl.
One day, Ji Tan impulsively wanted to go out fishing with the people of Coastal Village. She told Lian Jingcheng about it, and he repeatedly cautioned her about the precautions for going out to sea, and gave her motion sickness medicine, cold medicine, and a life jacket.
On his Nth knock on her door, Ji Tan, with great interest, invited him, “Since you’re so worried, why don’t you come out to sea with me?”
On the day of the voyage, Ji Tan and Lian Jingcheng sat side-by-side on the ship’s deck. The view was an endless azure coast, and a refreshing sea breeze blew past, creating shimmering ripples.
Ji Tan took out wired earphones and an MP3 player from her pocket, put one earphone in her left ear, and tilted her head, smiling, asking Lian Jingcheng, “Want to listen together?”
Lian Jingcheng was stunned.
His pupils reflected her smiling face. Ji Tan didn’t wait for an answer, leaned closer, and put the other earphone in his right ear.
The girl’s hair was slightly cool, lifted by the sea breeze, brushing against the carotid artery on Lian Jingcheng’s neck like a light feather.
On that ship, the moment their gazes met.
They should have understood that what would destroy them was an obsession that could not be without each other.
The melody of the cello quartet 《Butterfly Lovers》 echoed in the earphones.
She said it was her favorite piece of music.
She also said that in her opinion, love was not a necessity, but a prize for the lucky.
To be lucky enough to meet someone deeply loved and to entwine in love with them.
To be unlucky and spend one’s life alone, but it was also good to have a clear understanding of oneself. That’s why she came out to relax and find herself.
Lian Jingcheng thought.
If love was truly a prize for the lucky, then she was the one who made him lucky.
To the extent that later, he uprooted himself and stubbornly searched in unfamiliar cities again and again.
Day after day, hoping for luck.
Perhaps, he would find her tomorrow.
Perhaps, he would never have the chance to see her again in this lifetime.
It didn’t matter.
He could wait a lifetime.
However, the mistakes they both made should not make their young daughter bear the consequences.
Where would his poor daughter go?
On the other side of the Earth.
In a German castle, comparable to a gilded cage, the butler bent down and gently patted the shoulder of the woman sleeping on the dressing table.
“Miss, Miss, Miss. Wake up.”
Ji Tan suddenly trembled, jolting awake from a nightmare. The vanity mirror reflected her features, tears overflowing from her eyes, moistening her face, like a fragile, cold piece of porcelain.
Her grandfather’s words from last night still echoed: “If you stay here obediently, he will be fine.”
“You were crying throughout your dream last night. Did you have a nightmare?” the butler asked softly.
Ji Tan opened the pocket watch in her hand and looked at the hour hand as it turned, “It was a beautiful dream.”
In the dream, sunlight cut a faint silhouette across the sky, and in the distance was a serene, azure coast.
A little girl ran forward, hopping and skipping, and behind her, a young man and woman walking side-by-side watched her with smiling faces.
They had all waited for a long time, waiting for the one who left without saying goodbye to return, waiting for the cage of confinement to be unlocked, waiting for the threads of their bloodline to lead them to reunion.
But fortunately, they had waited.
Then, they smiled at each other and talked about past events.
“What name should we give her?” He carefully held the infant in his arms, his face radiating a happy smile.
“February 1st is a good day.” She rubbed the Red Jade Pendant Bracelet on her wrist with her right fingertip, pondering, “Li, let’s call her Li Li.”
“Lian Li, our precious daughter.”
Adding content about the parents.
That’s all.
