Chapter 38 Departure
Back in the afternoon, Su Nian looked at the now-empty bookstore, seeing off the last reluctant customer. The moment the shutters closed, the clanging of metal was particularly piercing on the silent street, and Su Nian's heart felt empty.
When he walked into the room carrying the purchased ingredients, the flowers in the living room and the cake with his name on the table made his dead heart beat again.
The aroma of champagne roses was wrapped in the sweet cream. The little whale painted with chocolate sauce on the cake was crooked. Su Nian's fingertips stroked the words "To: Su Nian" and his throat suddenly tightened.
He donned the light blue apron Ling Shen had given him. The salmon on the cutting board shone coldly under the light. As the knife rose and fell on the chopping board, the hands of the kitchen clock quietly moved three times.
The sycamore leaves outside the window rustled in the wind. Su Nian reheated the cold risotto for the third time. The creamy yellow cheese had solidified into a hard lump, and the originally beautiful flowers had drooped their petals, just like his gradually cooling expectations.
The sun sets and the moon rises, the sky clears and the rain falls. Su Nian moves his numb legs, looks at the door that is always closed, and curls up the corners of his mouth in self-mockery.
The white suit had been dry-cleaned and placed in the closet. Su Nian's hand gently brushed across the wintersweet on her shoulder, as if everything was still yesterday.
Su Nian had restored everything in the guest bedroom to its original state. Just like when he first arrived, he only brought a simple suitcase. A half-empty glass of honey water sat by the bedside, condensation on the glass dripping down the sides, leaving dark stains on the wooden tabletop.
The door opened and an assistant in black was already waiting there. When he saw Su Nian come out, he bowed respectfully.
“We can go now.”
Su Nian adjusted his collar in front of the entrance mirror. The red bloodshot eyes of the person in the mirror were particularly obvious in the cold light. Those smiling eyes were now completely cold. Although he was wearing a simple casual outfit, the aura he exuded was simply not something that ordinary people could possess.
"Let's go." Su Nian didn't look back. The door slowly closed, locking everything in the living room behind him.
The corridor's sensor lights went out one by one, and darkness swallowed up his final silhouette. The unassuming black car slowly started up and drove towards the airport. Su Nian watched the rapidly receding neon lights outside the window, remembering Ling Shen's words that the city's nightscape resembled an overturned Milky Way.
The music slowly flowing in the car was the jazz that Ling Shen often listened to. Su Nian raised his hand to turn off the switch. In the silence, he could only hear his own breathing gradually becoming steady.
"Goodbye, Ling Shen." Su Nian murmured softly, and the voice slowly dissipated and disappeared into the dark night.
Ling Shen ignored his unparked car, watched the elevator slowly move, and sprinted frantically to the door. His fingers trembled as he inserted the metal key into the lock. The moment he pushed the door open, Ling Shen felt his heart completely chilled.
The flowers in the living room were still there, but they looked like lifeless puppets, their petals tinged with an eerie grayish-white. The cold risotto on the dining table was caked with oil, and the cheese solidified on the surface, forming a glaring dividing line.
Ling Shen looked at the room where nothing had changed, and opened the door of the guest bedroom with trembling hands. The eye-catching white suit was hanging there, but the person who should have been wearing it was nowhere to be seen.
Moonlight leaked in through the gaps in the gauze curtains, casting a slender shadow on the empty bed. There was not even the last scent of Su Nian on the spotless sheets. It was so clean as if no one had ever lived there.
Ling Shen took out his cell phone and kept calling Su Nian's cell phone, but the only response he got was "Sorry, the number you dialed is turned off..."
The robotic female voice in the receiver repeated itself seventeen times until the phone automatically locked. Su Nian's name was erased from the cake in the living room, leaving deep fingerprints in the cream. Only Ling Shen's name remained, standing alone.
Ling Shen sat dejectedly on the sofa. The hum of the central air conditioner suddenly increased. He had never felt this house so empty and desolate. Rain began to fall outside the window, and the sound of raindrops hitting the glass sounded very much like Su Nian's light footsteps as she left.
The sunlight shone onto Ling Shen through the glass in the living room. Ling Shen sat there all night but still didn't wait for Su Nian. The phone he kept redialing was always answered by a mechanical female voice.
"Su Nian, where are you?" Ling Shen murmured softly. The morning light pierced through the mist outside the floor-to-ceiling window. His eyes, which hadn't slept all night, were covered with spider-web-like red bloodshot. His stubble made him look decadent and lifeless.
Ling Shen raised his head and his gaze fell on the bookshelf, with a strong surprise in his eyes. He staggered to his feet, and his numb legs hit the edge of the coffee table heavily. The severe pain made him sober.
"Yes, the bookstore. He must be in the bookstore." Ling Shen's heart was beating violently. He grabbed the key and rushed out of the house.
There was a wooden sign hanging in the bookstore saying "Closed". Ling Shen's palms left wet marks on the glass. When he pushed open the door, the wind chimes shook wildly, making a shattering sound.
The empty hall was filled with a mixed smell of sawdust and disinfectant. The walnut bookshelves that were once filled with out-of-print books were gone, leaving only scratches of varying depths on the floor, like unhealed scars.
Li Li, who was behind the bar, was startled by the sudden slam of the door, and nearly dropped the coffee machine in her hands. Ling Shen looked at the familiar girl in front of him and asked in a trembling voice, "Where's Su Nian?"
Li Li was startled when she heard this. She put down the coffee machine in her hand, turned around to look at Ling Shen who was so unkempt, and handed the file bag that Su Nian gave her to Ling Shen.
"Boss Su asked me to pass this on to you. He said he has left and this is what you gave it to him, and he is returning it in its original state." Li Li conveyed Su Nian's words word for word.
Ling Shen's fingertips trembled above the paper bag, and a rusty taste rose in his throat. "You know where he is, don't you?" He suddenly grabbed Li Li's wrist. "How did he give you the documents? Did he tell you in person, or..."
Li Li pulled her hand back and shook her head, "I found a file bag and keys at the door this morning." Her voice was deliberately calm, but she couldn't hide the trembling of her eyelashes, "The note is at the bottom of the bag. Boss Su has already transferred this place, and someone new will be taking over soon." When she turned around, the pendant hanging around her waist jingled, startling the gray sparrow that was perched on the window.
The wind chimes at the door rang again, like crushed moonlight, creating tiny ripples in the silent space.
His knuckles turned white as he gripped the leather briefcase so tightly, he moved towards the bar with unsteady steps, his lower back pressed heavily against the cold metal countertop. He seemed to have lost all his strength as he slowly slid down to sit on the high stool.
He lowered his eyes and stared at the file bag in his hand. His Adam's apple rolled up and down a few times, and finally he pulled out everything inside with trembling hands.
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