marry
Lin Xueyin rested in the quiet little building for a few days. Her physical condition stabilized under the doctor's care, but her heart remained as calm as a dry well.
Song Zhiyuan came every day, but didn't stay long. Sometimes he would bring some fresh fruits or exquisite snacks and put them on the bedside table.
That afternoon, he came again, with nothing in his hands. He just sat down beside the bed and was silent for a moment.
"How do you feel?" he asked, his voice lower than usual.
"Not bad." Lin Xueyin looked out the window and said two words reluctantly.
There was another silence. The sunlight filtered through the window, casting bright and dark shadows on her pale face.
"Lin Xueyin," he called her name, his tone carrying a rare, negotiating tone, "We... need to go through the marriage procedures."
Here it comes. Lin Xueyin's heart suddenly sank, and she clutched the corner of the quilt tightly. She finally turned her head and looked at him, with dead resistance in her eyes: "Why?"
Song Zhiyuan looked at her empty eyes, his brows furrowed slightly. He tried to keep his tone calm, "The child needs a name. This is the safest way."
"Status?" Lin Xueyin let out a sarcastic laugh, her voice light and airy, "Using a marriage certificate to tie me down completely? Song Zhiyuan, I don't need this kind of 'security'."
Her blunt refusal made Song Zhiyuan's eyes darken. He suppressed the anxiety surging in his heart and tried to explain, "Marrying me is the best arrangement for you and the child. You won't have to suffer anymore, and the child will get the best..."
"The best?" Lin Xueyin interrupted him, tears welling up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. "Have you ever asked me what I want? What you call 'the best' is forcing me time and time again, locking me up here, and now you want to completely imprison me with marriage?"
Her accusations pierced his heart like needles. He saw her agitation and knew gentle negotiation was a dead end. His hands clenched slightly on his knees, and the underlying annoyance at her resistance, coupled with a deeper fear of losing control, began to take over.
Time waits for no one, and his patience was gradually exhausted by her continued indifference and resistance.
He stood up, his tall figure instantly bringing an oppressive feeling. The slight attempt at easing his expression disappeared, and his usual stern expression returned.
"I'm not asking for your opinion." His voice cooled, with an unquestionable determination, "The child is the blood of the Song family and cannot be illegitimate. You must return to the capital with me, and the formalities must be completed."
He walked to the bedside table, picked up the phone, and gave a few brief instructions.
Not long after, Comrade Li, wearing a Mao suit and carrying a briefcase, appeared in the ward. He placed a few forms on the bedside table and said in a polite but unyielding tone, "Comrade Lin Xueyin, please cooperate and sign here."
Lin Xueyin looked at the papers, as if she saw a future in which she would lose her freedom. She shook her head vigorously, shrank back, and her voice trembled with despair: "No! I won't sign! I will never sign!"
Song Zhiyuan stood by the window, his face hard and cold against the light. He didn't even look at her fierce resistance. He just nodded slightly to Comrade Li and said in a cold tone, "Let her sign."
These three words completely shattered Lin Xueyin's last hope. She looked at this man who was so strong to the core and realized that all her struggles were in vain.
Comrade Li handed the pen to her.
Tears welled up, blurring her vision. She looked at the pen, then at Song Zhiyuan. He stood there, like an unshakable mountain, blocking all her paths to survival.
Yet, amidst this extreme coldness and hardness, she seemed to detect a hint of something strange—his clenched fists, the slightly whitened knuckles, and the complex, almost paranoid, emotion that flashed across his deep gaze as he cast his gaze upon her. It wasn't just control; it seemed to be mixed with something else... something he couldn't articulate, something he could only confirm and cling to in this way.
A huge feeling of powerlessness swept over her. She knew that she could not defeat him, and her family could not afford the consequences of resistance.
Trembling, she reached out and took the pen, which felt like a thousand pounds. Her fingertips were icy cold, barely able to grip it. Her scalding tears splashed onto the form, blurring the ink. She gritted her teeth and, crookedly, signed her name in the designated spot.
Every stroke is like burying one's past and future with one's own hands.
After a careful inspection, Comrade Li nodded to Song Zhiyuan.
Song Zhiyuan hummed, his gaze finally returning to Lin Xueyin. Seeing her slumped on the bed, her heart broken, the sense of certainty he'd achieved his goal inexplicably stagnated in his chest.
He walked forward, not to comfort her, but to reach out and pull up the quilt that had slipped down from her body, his action clumsily, as if declaring ownership.
"Rest." His voice was low and his emotions were unrecognizable.
He turned and left without looking back. The sound of the ward door closing was like the final sound of a lock being locked.
Lin Xueyin lay there, tears flowing silently.
Song Zhiyuan, exiting the ward, paused at the end of the hallway and lit a cigarette. Amidst the haze of smoke, a faint trace of fatigue and...bewilderment crossed his stern features. He had legal confirmation, bound her securely to his side, but why did he not feel the expected sense of security and control? Instead, he felt a strange, stinging pain at her tears of despair.
Being forceful was the only method he was familiar with and believed to be effective. But this time, beneath this force, something seemed to have quietly deviated from its course.
He got the person and the status, but it seemed that he was further away from what he really wanted. This love hidden behind the toughness was like a trapped beast, unable to find the way out.
The future seems to be filled with endless, planned darkness.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com