Song Wan opened her eyes and saw that it was him. In an instant, the dream and reality merged into one. Memories flooded her mind like a tide, and tears welled up in her eyes. She threw herself into his arms and cried loudly.
Lin Zhaojiang paused, raised his hand and gently stroked her back, comforting her in a low voice as if soothing a child: "Cry, cry it out... and everything will be alright."
After you've finished crying, you can say goodbye to the past. You don't need any memory-erasing drugs to completely say goodbye to those painful memories.
Lin Zhaojiang gave a bitter smile.
The early spring nights were still cold, but the small space inside the car became warm because of his embrace.
*
After an unknown amount of time, Song Wan cried herself to sleep and fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up the next day, she found herself lying in an unfamiliar room.
There seemed to be the lingering warmth of someone nearby.
She paused for a moment, then looked around. The room was decorated in a simple yet elegant style, in her favorite off-white color scheme. The furniture had simple lines, but it exuded a noble atmosphere.
There's a photo on the bedside table; the girl in the photo with the bright smile is her.
Song Wan took the photo, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the frame. Behind her was a vast expanse of mountains, with lush trees under a clear blue sky, white clouds like fluffy clouds surrounding the mountaintops, and sunlight shining brightly on the earth—everything was tranquil and beautiful.
In the photo, she is smiling carefree.
That was the only time she traveled with Lin Zhaojiang; the destination was the Alps. She loved the story of "The Girl at the Foot of the Alps" and had always wanted to go see it.
That year, on her birthday, Lin Zhaojiang asked her what kind of birthday present she wanted. She cautiously made this request, and to her surprise, he readily agreed. He truly put aside all his business at the company and devoted himself to spending a long time with her in Europe.
That was probably the most radiant moment of her life, like the sun that day.
Song Wan sighed softly and put the photo back in its place. At this moment, Lin Zhaojiang walked in, saw that she was awake, and sat down beside her with a gentle smile.
His smile carried a hint of ingratiation.
“This is my own home,” he said softly. “It’s as if you’ve never been here before.”
“Hmm.” Song Wan nodded. “You’ve never brought me here before.”
Lin Zhaojiang lowered his head and coughed lightly twice, unsure of how to respond.
Song Wan said in a very soft voice, "Before... I always thought of that little villa as our home."
“Me too!” he said hastily. “Wanwan, I… I brought you back yesterday because I didn’t have the key to your new house. I thought you probably didn’t want to go back to that little villa or the hotel. But you were sleeping soundly in the car, and I wanted you to get a good night’s sleep, so…”
Lin Zhaojiang, like a child who had done something wrong, hurriedly explained, his words incoherent.
Song Wan suddenly felt a pang of sadness; he had always been such a proud person.
"Wanwan, I didn't bring you here on purpose... Last night, I lay down next to you for a little while. I was afraid you'd be scared of this unfamiliar environment when you woke up, so... I stayed with you for a bit. After you fell asleep, I went to the guest room next door. I'm telling the truth!"
Song Wan looked at him quietly.
At that moment, the heavy stone that had been weighing on my heart seemed to slowly move, letting in a breath of fresh air.
However, her silence made Lin Zhaojiang a little flustered.
"Wanwan..." He looked at her questioningly, "Do you want to eat something?"
Song Wan looked up and nodded slightly.
Lin Zhaojiang smiled with relief, "I'll go get it right away!"
"Let me do it." She gently pulled him along. "I see... you haven't been in the kitchen much, so let me do it."
Lin Zhaojiang froze, and in that moment of stunned silence, Song Wan had already gotten up and gone to the kitchen. She skillfully tied on her apron, opened the refrigerator door, took out some ingredients, and began busily working around the stove.
Lin Zhaojiang stood at the kitchen door, looking rather helpless, like a grown man.
He didn't know whether he should help, or how to help.
But he was also very attached to this moment.
Soon Song Wan had prepared breakfast: millet porridge, hot milk, chicken sandwiches, steamed shrimp dumplings, cold dishes, and a few red bean dumplings.
There are both Chinese and Western dishes, just like every meal she used to cook for him.
"What are you still standing there for?" Song Wan handed him the chopsticks. "Sit down and eat."
"Um……"
“Your stomach isn’t good, have some millet porridge first,” Song Wan said softly. “If we have enough time, I can bake you some bread. I remember you like pineapple buns, but they’re too high in sugar, which isn’t good for you. I made a low-sugar version, which you quite like.”
"I love it, of course I love it!" Lin Zhaojiang laughed like a child, blurting out, "There wasn't enough time this time, but there's always next time!"
He paused after speaking, thinking he had said something wrong, and chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Perhaps, there won't be a next time."
After a moment of silence, Song Wan said softly, "I'll bake it at home and bring it to you next time."
"What?"
She glanced at him, then lowered her head. "Eat quickly, before it gets cold!"
Lin Zhaojiang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed foolishly, and suddenly felt a great appetite.
Neither of them spoke much, but the atmosphere was like that of an old married couple who had been together for many years—you understand my tastes, and I understand your habits. Time flowed quietly in that instant, and the morning light jumped through the window and spread across the dining table. The two sat facing each other, quietly eating breakfast—a scene that Lin Zhaojiang had been looking forward to for a long time.
His nose felt a little sore, and he would look up at her every now and then, then lower his head and smile.
"Zhaojiang," Song Wan finally spoke after a long pause, "Do you have time later?"
Without even thinking, he answered, "Yes!"
"Could you take me to... my old home again?"
He was taken aback, only to hear her whisper, "I want to bring a bouquet of flowers for Yunqi."
"I think I've already let go of everything... I hope Yunqi can let go too."
After saying this, Song Wan let out a long sigh of relief and looked up at him.
A smile graced her face, clean, transparent, and without any burden.
“You know what? I keep having the same dream. In the dream, there is a child crying, and it comes from upstairs in that villa. Later I thought, maybe she is blaming us, blaming us for not protecting her well.”
"So I want to tell my daughter that her father didn't abandon her, didn't kill her... her father has been looking for the murderer. I also want to tell her that her father is a very responsible man, and all of these things were just a series of coincidences."
“Wanwan…” Lin Zhaojiang held her hand, his voice slightly choked, “Our daughter won’t blame us. I believe that one day she will come back to us.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
