Watching the Tide
The rain keeps falling and falling.
"This SQL query lacks index optimization and needs to be rewritten."
At the group's morning meeting, Wen Zhili said this while pointing to the projection screen.
"But the business is urgent..."
"Last week, a similar query caused the database CPU to soar to 90%. Should I fix it now or wait until it crashes?"
Wen Zhili glanced at the boy who was speaking indifferently, without giving him any extra frowns or questions. Seeing that he stopped talking, he continued talking on his own.
The boy curled his lips in inward aggrieved expression.
I don’t know what’s wrong with my supervisor lately... Although he doesn’t curse at anyone... I always feel like something is different.
…
After the meeting, Wen Zhili walked to an empty corner and took out his cell phone which had been vibrating in his pocket for a long time.
"Hello, Qin Zhen."
"Miss, you finally know how to answer the phone!"
"What's the matter?"
There was an unpleasant "tsk" sound from the other end.
"I heard you ran away from home again! Wen Yan asked me to take good care of you. Who knew I wouldn't even answer your calls for a month..."
When he heard that person's name, the dead waves in Wen Zhili's eyes shook.
But then she rubbed her temples with a headache again.
"I'm fine, Qin Zhen, you don't need to come."
"Send me your current address. I have to go over to see you."
Wen Zhili was a little annoyed. She wanted to tell Qin Zhen not to come. But then she thought again and realized she really didn't want to let Qin Zhen down again.
So she sent Qin Zhen an address, but said, "I'm currently working on an important project and will be working late at night. We don't have time to meet."
"How late are you going to stay? I'll wait for you no matter how late it is."
"At least twelve o'clock."
"You're crazy! Isn't today Sunday?"
Wen Zhili ignored this, said goodbye lightly and hung up the phone, hoping in his heart that Qin Zhen would give up when he saw the difficulty.
…
One o'clock in the morning.
Wen Zhili and Qin Zhen met at her doorstep.
Qin Zhen was smoking, looking at her thoughtfully through the smoke, with cigarette butts piled up on the ground at his feet.
Wen Zhili was stunned for only a moment before regaining his composure.
"When did you start smoking?"
She asked.
Qin Zhen looked up and thought for a moment.
"Not long after I broke up with my ex."
Wen Zhili nodded without asking any more questions.
Qin Zhen put out his cigarette, opened the door and followed Wen Zhili into the house.
The further she walked in, the wider her eyes widened - the house with one bedroom, one living room and one bathroom was not big to begin with, and almost half of the floor was covered with boxes of green apples.
Wen Zhili turned around and smiled at her.
"I love green apples, you know."
Qin Zhen looked at her for a long time with a complicated expression, then took out a cigarette from the cigarette box and handed it to her.
"Want to smoke? I think you really need this."
Wen Zhili stared at the cigarette at her fingertips for a long time.
But she still said, “No.”
She paused, then added, "Do you want to smoke? I just saw a big night tide at three o'clock."
"Qin Zhen, let's go watch the tide."
…
The same lonely night, the same silent car, the same 40-kilometer drive.
Different people in the passenger seat.
How is Wen Zhili the same?
…
At three o'clock in the morning on the river bank, Qin Zhen lit a cigarette in the salty and humid air.
She took a deep breath and said as she slowly exhaled the smoke, "Auntie has almost recovered, don't worry."
Wen Zhili was stunned for a moment and said "hmm" softly.
There were many more people coming here to watch the tide tonight than when Wen Zhili came last time. The two of them still found a place far from the shore to wait.
After a moment of silence, Qin Zhen tentatively spoke again, "Wen Yan...she's quite worried about you. She must miss you a lot."
Wen Zhili didn't respond.
Qin Zhen looked at her expression.
There was nothing in her eyes, just emptiness, like a pool of silent stagnant water.
The river water surged restlessly, making a low whimper.
Under the dim moonlight, Wen Zhili suddenly spoke:
"Actually, I'm very lucky. My parents brought me out of the mountains—most people there stay there their whole lives."
"Logically, my life should have been smooth sailing, right? That's how it should have been. But I just fell in love with my sister."
Qin Zhen exhaled another puff of smoke. Through the swirling smoke, she couldn't see Wen Zhili clearly.
Only the sparks on the fingertips flickered.
"I was born into poverty and lacked love—no one can change this stubborn part of me. I am timid and sensitive, with low self-esteem and a strong will. I admit all these shortcomings."
"So when she, a person born with love in her heart, appeared before me, I was inevitably attracted to her."
"I think I was destined to love her."
Qin Zhen didn't know what to say, so he took a deep puff of the cigarette and exhaled fiercely.
Then Wen Zhili's figure became more and more vague.
“Maybe this is my fate.”
"I admit it."
"I'm content."
Qin Zhen did not smoke this time.
A roar came from the horizon, approaching from afar, with the power to devour everything.
The tide is coming.
Qin Zhen frowned, then spoke carefully: "But if you leave like this, what will happen to Wen Yan?"
"She's been alone lately."
She looked at the white line rolling and approaching in the distance, and then she turned her gaze away.
Suddenly stopped.
Because the smoke dissipated at this moment, she saw a completely unusual Wen Zhili.
She was shrouded in the cold moonlight, and her whole body was filled with an aura of irritability and depression.
Her scarlet eyes became the only fiery color in the world.
…
"What can I do? What else can I do?"
She asked uncalmly after the wave crashed into the embankment with great force.
"I'm the older sister."
"If I don't leave, what will happen to my parents? What will others think of them? What will my parents think of me?"
"What should I do if people gossip about my sister?"
"Before the accident, my mother must have been wondering how her two daughters got together—"
“How can I go back?”
A huge wave exploded behind her the moment her last voice broke.
In the roar of the wind and waves, in the majestic wail.
Wen Zhili sank into the bottomless darkness.
…
Qin Zhen was speechless and could only stare at her in a daze.
Damn it, she thought.
She was definitely the first person in the world to see Wen Zhili so angry.
As the waves gradually subsided, Wen Zhili loosened his tightly bitten lower lip - the shaky light in his eyes was not sure whether it came from the river water or tears.
“I have no home anymore…”
"Besides accepting my fate, what else can I do?"
Her voice trailed off, muffled by the tide.
Under Qin Zhen's helpless gaze, Wen Zhili gradually squatted down and buried his head in his knees.
"Qin Zhen, I'm sorry. I treated you badly."
"I'm not a good sister, a good daughter... Now I can't even be a good friend - I don't even know when you started smoking."
Qin Zhen was stunned.
She said it was okay and she had never told anyone.
"You are my most important friend, and that will never change. And you still have time to continue to be a good sister and daughter."
Wen Zhili remained silent.
The violent noise that had just filled the world had receded far away, leaving behind an almost empty silence that hurt the eardrums.
After a long time, Wen Zhili suddenly whispered:
"I'm not worthy of being a sister..."
The moonlight streamed down quietly, making everything seem tired and lifeless. A chill spread through every part of my body.
Qin Zhen sighed softly.
…
Wen Zhili.
The night is long and I go through it alone.
…
She suddenly took out a laminated photo from her pocket and gently touched Wen Zhili with it.
The other person slowly raised his head, and his eyes widened instantly when he took the photo.
"Aquarium? How could you..."
"When I changed my phone, I printed out all the photos in my album, and this one just happened to be the one I kept."
Wen Zhili stared at the photo in a daze.
The moonlight shines down quietly, revealing the girl's sincere and immature emotions.
When the first tear fell on the photo, she heard Qin Zhen say:
"Wen Zhili, you should live for yourself once."
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