Chapter 2 Reunion in Linzhou
Linzhou City in the autumn of 2015
1. Reunion at the night snack stall
Linzhou's autumn nights are a stark contrast to the chill of Longdu. The air is drenched in the sweet fragrance of osmanthus, blending with the uniquely complex aroma of a city night: exhaust fumes, the aroma of food, and the faint whiff of perfume. Neon lights paint the streets a vibrant riot of color, and even late at night, the streets are still bustling with traffic, exuding a lazy, restless energy.
"I'd like a plate of fried vermicelli noodles, less vermicelli and more vegetables, slightly spicy," a woman in a smart business suit and delicate makeup said to the stall owner. Her voice was calm, with a subtle hint of fatigue. She was Ouyang Lanlan—a survivor of the nightmare four years ago, now an ordinary white-collar worker striving to make a living in Linzhou.
Today was Ouyang Lanlan's first day at her new company, and she hadn't expected to work overtime until this late. Her two young female colleagues were clearly still enjoying the excitement of their first job, chattering about their unfinished PowerPoint presentation and which guy in the next department was more handsome, while expertly ordering their own late-night snacks.
Ouyang Lanlan stood quietly a little distance away, deliberately keeping her distance from the hissing, pungent gas tank emanating from the stall. That smell, like a thin, cold needle, always managed to pierce the barrier of time, dragging her back to the cold northern corridor filled with a similar odor. She frowned slightly, subconsciously taking another half step back, her gaze fixed on the neon lights on the distant street corner.
"Boss, please add more vegetables to my portion!" a colleague shouted.
The stall owner responded vaguely, and his movements of stirring the wok were clean and neat. Flames shot up, enveloping the vermicelli and side dishes in the pot, emitting an enticing wok aroma.
It was Ouyang Lanlan's turn. She stepped forward and repeated her request: "One serving of fried vermicelli noodles, less vermicelli and more vegetables, slightly spicy." Then, as usual, she opened her phone to scan the QR code to pay.
The stall owner raised his head, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel hanging around his neck, and reached out to take the box of ingredients handed to him.
At this moment, their eyes met.
Time seemed to freeze. The clatter of the spatula against the iron pot, the laughter of colleagues, the hum of traffic... all the background sounds quickly faded, blurring into a humming white noise.
Even though four years had passed, even though the warmth of the south had blurred the harsh imprint of the north, even though she was no longer the terrified and helpless victim, but a professional woman trying to integrate into her new life; even though he had taken off his neat police uniform and was wearing a washed-out T-shirt, an oil-stained apron, and his face bore the marks of frost and the hardships of life...
But the thing in those eyes has not changed.
Ouyang Lanlan's pupils suddenly contracted, and her face instantly turned paler than the fluorescent light above her head. The fingers holding the phone subconsciously tightened, and her knuckles turned white.
Qin Chuan was completely stunned. His hand holding the spatula froze in mid-air, his lips slightly parted, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out. Sweat trickled down his temples, but he was completely unaware.
The world was so quiet that only the sound of each other's rapid heartbeats could be heard.
The next second, Ouyang Lanlan abruptly withdrew her gaze as if she was scalded, and almost staggered around. Amidst the surprised and puzzled gazes of her colleagues, she said nothing, walked hurriedly and even a little hurriedly towards the dormitory with messy steps, and soon disappeared in the night crowd.
Only Qin Chuan was left standing in that stiff posture, staring at the direction she disappeared in. The fried vermicelli in the pot was almost burnt, but he didn't react at all.
"Hey? What happened to Sister Ouyang?"
"I don't know! Boss! Are our noodles ready? They're getting mushy!"
Qin Chuan was startled awake by his colleague's urging. He snapped back to his senses and frantically turned off the heat and started stir-frying, trying to hide the turmoil in his heart and the uncontrollable trembling of his hands.
Everything is so coincidental and so cruel.
2. Noon Trial
The next day at noon, next to the coffee shop downstairs from the office building.
Ouyang Lanlan and her colleagues had just finished lunch and were about to return to the office when they spotted a figure leaning against the wall, clearly waiting for someone—Qin Chuan. He had changed into relatively clean clothes, but the weariness between his brows and his aura, which was incompatible with the glamorous surroundings, still made him stand out.
Ouyang Lanlan paused and subconsciously wanted to avoid it.
But Qin Chuan had already seen her and walked over quickly. "Oh...long time no see." He didn't call her by name, but greeted her directly, his voice a little dry.
The colleagues looked at Qin Chuan curiously, then at Ouyang Lanlan, and said tactfully, "Sister Ouyang, let's go up first."
Ouyang Lanlan nodded, and once her colleague had walked away, the polite smile on her face vanished, leaving only a cold, distant expression. "How did you find this place?" Her voice was low, with obvious resistance.
"I heard your colleague mention the company's name yesterday." Qin Chuan's voice was filled with guilt, and he looked at her with complicated eyes. He looked completely different from his previous police image, more like a child who had made a mistake and was being interrogated. "I didn't mean any other things, I just wanted to see if you were doing well."
"I'm doing very well." Ouyang Lanlan interrupted him, her tone quick and urgent, as if she wanted to draw a clear line immediately, "Very well. I don't need anyone to see me. Especially you." She said the last three words very clearly, with a sense of deliberately keeping a distance.
She didn't want to see him, didn't want to see anyone or anything connected to Longdu, or to that painful past. It would be like an invisible hand violently tearing apart the peaceful life she'd carefully maintained for four years, dragging her back into that cold nightmare. She was terrified of her current colleagues and friends finding out about that past, and even more terrified of those repressed memories being reawakened.
"I'm sorry for what happened back then." Qin Chuan's voice deepened, filled with a sense of powerlessness. "It's my fault that I couldn't catch him, and I let you..."
"Stop talking!" Ouyang Lanlan's voice suddenly rose, drawing the attention of passersby. She took a deep breath, forcing down her surging emotions. "The past is over. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Officer Qin, we're even now. Please don't appear before me again. Don't disturb my life. That's the best way to make amends for me."
After saying this, she stopped looking at the expression of pain and guilt on Qin Chuan's face, turned around resolutely, and walked quickly into the revolving door of the office building, her back stiff and indifferent.
Qin Chuan stood there, watching her disappear in the crowd, and pursed his lips bitterly. The sun was shining brightly, but he felt cold all over.
3. Late-night snacks and harassment
The next few days seemed to form a strange tug-of-war.
Whenever Ouyang Lanlan came home late from work and passed by the night snack stall, she would always "happen" to see Qin Chuan. He no longer tried to approach them directly, but instead, when he saw them coming from afar, he would pack a portion of fried vermicelli in advance, which was "less vermicelli, more vegetables, and slightly spicy", and silently handed it to them.
Ouyang Lanlan always turned a blind eye and walked straight past.
Her colleagues found it amusing, chuckling quietly and nudging her with their elbows: "Hey, Sister Ouyang, that handsome boss prepared another loving midnight snack for you, huh?"
"Even though he's just a stall owner, look at his figure and features, his sharp features, he's very manly! The sexual tension is so high!"
"Is he interested in you? He waits for me so punctually every day."
Ouyang Lanlan could only shake her head helplessly, unable to explain, and her heart was in turmoil. "No, stop guessing."
Seeing that she always ignored him, Qin Chuan finally couldn't help it one day and stopped her on her way home from get off work.
"Miss Ouyang!" He called her and walked quickly to her, holding a thermos bucket in his hand. "These are hazel mushrooms they sent me from my hometown. They are not available here, so I made chicken stewed with mushrooms. You should try it, it's delicious!" His eyes were filled with earnestness and imperceptible caution.
Ouyang Lanlan suddenly stopped and took two steps back like a frightened rabbit, putting some distance between them and him. Her eyes were filled with vigilance and annoyance. "What do you want to do now? Qin Chuan, I made it very clear last time!"
"I don't mean anything else, it's just..." Qin Chuan tried to explain and took another small step forward.
"I won't eat!" Ouyang Lanlan stopped him harshly, her voice trembling with excitement. "Officer Qin, I beg you, please don't appear in front of me again, okay? If you keep following me like this, I'll really call the police!"
"I just want to..." Qin Chuan didn't finish his words.
Ouyang Lanlan took out her phone without hesitation, and with trembling fingers, she pressed "110" firmly. Then she showed him the screen, which showed that it was calling the police: "Hello? 110? I want to call the police. There's a man here who has been stalking and harassing me. He's near the intersection of Huanan Road and Keji Road. Yes, he's right in front of me now..."
Qin Chuan watched her actually dial the number, his eyes dimming instantly, and the hand holding the porridge drooped weakly. He opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing, just standing there in silence.
The police arrived quickly. They were patrol officers from a nearby police station. They inquired about the situation.
"Comrade police officer, it's him!" Ouyang Lanlan pointed at Qin Chuan, her tone excited. "He knew me before, but we have no relationship anymore! He's been flirting with me every day downstairs of my office and on my way home..."
Ouyang Lanlan thought about it and didn't say the word "harassment". She changed it to "I have clearly rejected him many times, but he still keeps coming to me!"
An older policeman looked at Qin Chuan and asked, "What about you? Tell me, what's going on?"
Qin Chuan smiled bitterly and said in a dry voice: "Comrade police officer, I used to be a police officer in Long City. There were some misunderstandings between me and her, Miss Ouyang. I just wanted to care about her and send her some food. I absolutely did not mean to harass her." He raised the thermos in his hand.
"Who wants your concern! Is your concern just endless entanglement?" Ouyang Lanlan immediately retorted.
The police officer looked at Qin Chuan, then at the emotionally agitated Ouyang Lanlan. Qin Chuan had indeed not said or done anything extreme, and there was no substantial evidence of harassment. He could only say to Qin Chuan seriously, "Regardless of your previous relationship, since the other party has clearly stated that they do not accept your 'concern' and believe that your behavior is causing trouble, then it constitutes harassment. Do you understand? Stop this behavior immediately and do not approach the person who called the police again, otherwise we will have to ask you to come back to the police station next time."
Qin Chuan lowered his head and said in a muffled voice: "I understand. I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."
The police comforted Ouyang Lanlan a few more times, and only got into the car and left after seeing that she had calmed down a little.
Watching the police car leave, Qin Chuan stood under the streetlight, his shadow stretched out very long, looking particularly lonely. Ouyang Lanlan had already walked away without looking back once.
4. Security and protection
I thought Qin Chuan would disappear from his own world after the incident of calling the police last time. But a few days later, Ouyang Lanlan saw Qin Chuan again in the lobby on the first floor of the company.
This time, he was wearing a blue security uniform. He was directing a visitor to register and turned around to see her.
Ouyang Lanlan's brows immediately furrowed, thinking that he was trying to harass her again in another way.
Qin Chuan just nodded to her with a calm expression, as if he was just an ordinary security guard doing his duty, and then continued with his work.
Ouyang Lanlan was filled with confusion until she heard gossip from her colleagues in the administration department at lunch. She then learned that the property management company had recently hired a new security guard, who was rumored to have previously been a police officer in a northern city. She instantly understood. She felt helpless, yet unable to react, because he was a security guard here, and his presence was "natural and reasonable."
From then on, every day when she passed through the gate on her way to and from work, Qin Chuan would always stand there, sometimes helping her hold the heavy glass door, and sometimes just simply saying "good morning" or "time to get off work".
Ouyang Lanlan never responded and just walked past without looking around.
That morning, Ouyang Lanlan had just walked into the building when Qin Chuan greeted her as usual. Ouyang Lanlan ignored him again, then slipped and nearly fell. Qin Chuan immediately went over to help her, but Ouyang Lanlan was so irritated that she even shook her hands.
At this moment, a male colleague from the same department named Lin Jingliang just arrived. Upon seeing this scene, he misunderstood and immediately stepped forward, blocking Ouyang Lanlan. He said to Qin Chuan with a hint of displeasure, "Hey, you're a security guard, why are you making advances on a female colleague? Be mindful of the impact!"
Qin Chuan was stunned for a moment and was about to explain.
Ouyang Lanlan was afraid that the matter would get out of hand, and even more afraid that Lin Jingliang would delve into it, so she quickly grabbed Lin Jingliang's arm and said, "It's okay, it's okay, Senior Brother Lin, he didn't do anything, just a routine greeting. Let's go up quickly, we're going to be late."
She almost half-pushed Lin Jingliang, who was still frowning and looking at Qin Chuan, away.
Entering the elevator, Lin Jingliang asked worriedly, "Lanlan, are you really okay? Do you know that security guard just now? Did he harass you?"
Ouyang Lanlan forced a smile and shook her head: "I really don't know him, maybe the newcomers are just more enthusiastic. It's okay, thank you, senior brother."
When they reached the company floor, they walked out of the elevator side by side, still talking in low voices. A passing female colleague saw them and said with a smile, "Hey, Jingliang and Ouyang, are you dating during work hours?"
Both of them were suddenly embarrassed. Lin Jingliang's ears turned red and he quickly waved his hands: "Don't talk nonsense!" Ouyang Lanlan also lowered her head and walked quickly back to her workstation, but she was a little uneasy because of this sudden joke and the little turmoil just now.
5. Late-night memories
At night, Ouyang Lanlan lay on the bed in her rented apartment, the gentle night of Linzhou and the faint noise of the city outside the window. As the busy day faded away, the memories she had forcibly suppressed quietly surfaced in her mind.
She recalled four years ago, in that cold reception room of the Longdu City Criminal Police Team, where she had waited time and again. Sometimes she would see Qin Chuan hurried by, his desk always piled high with case files, and next to his computer sat a half-drunk, faded cup of coffee. His brow was furrowed, his eyes bloodshot, and he looked like a taut bow...
The scene flashed, and they were back in the hospital ward. Terrified, she clutched his arm tightly, her nails digging into his flesh through his uniform. The button fell to the ground, the national emblem gleaming faintly. He said nothing, simply patting her back very gently and soothingly with his other hand. That silent comfort, at that moment, was her only hope...
And the last time, in the lobby of the Criminal Police Division, with snow and wind outside, he asked her, "Which city in the south do you like?"
She replied softly, "Linzhou! The books say it's full of small bridges and flowing water, and it's like spring all year round. I've always felt that's the Jiangnan region I remember..."
At the time, she thought it was just a glimmer of despair, but she never thought it would come true. She really came to Linzhou, and he followed her, breaking into her life again in a way she had never imagined.
Memories flooded back like a tide, bringing with them a chill and a mix of emotions. She curled up, hugging the quilt tightly.
6. Broken Glass
In the morning, Ouyang Lanlan walked to the company as usual.
As I approached the office building, I saw two workers carrying a large piece of glass into a nearby shop undergoing renovations. Perhaps it was a slip or a misaligned angle, but with a piercing "clang!" the entire piece of glass suddenly slipped from their hands and slammed onto the marble floor, shattering instantly. The shattering sound was so sharp it nearly pierced my eardrums!
Everyone around was startled by the sudden loud noise and screamed and dodged.
Ouyang Lanlan's reaction was incredibly intense! Her face instantly turned as pale as paper, and she felt like she'd been struck by an invisible hammer. She suddenly squatted down, clutching her head tightly with both hands, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably! Her fingers dug into her arms, her nails digging into her flesh, as if she were trying to retreat into a completely safe shell.
Colleagues gathered around, saying, "Oh, I was so scared!" "Are you okay? Are you okay?" "It was just the workers being careless..."
Everyone quickly recovered from the shock and realized it was just a false alarm.
But Ouyang Lanlan was still squatting there, curled up into a ball, shaking violently, as if immersed in an extreme fear that only she could feel.
"Sister Ouyang?", "Ouyang? Are you okay?" Colleagues carefully supported her shoulders.
She shuddered violently, as if she had been scalded. After several seconds, she slowly raised her head with a dazed look in her eyes. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat and her breathing was rapid.
"No... I'm fine," she said weakly. With the help of her colleagues, she managed to stand up, her legs still weak. "It's just that I got scared all of a sudden."
At the nearby gate, Qin Chuan, dressed in a security uniform, took in all of this. His brow furrowed, his eyes filled with worry and understanding. He knew that the sudden, loud noise was more than just a noise to her. Anyone with even a modicum of medical knowledge would have guessed that this was PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), a severe stress disorder caused by intense mental stress like sudden disasters. It can trigger symptoms like re-experiencing the trauma, heightened vigilance, and avoidance or numbness. Although the environment had changed and the events of the past had gradually faded from memory, the fear and alarm lingering in her memory constantly troubled Ouyang Lanlan.
7. Tracking Shadows
A few days passed. Qin Chuan still appeared silently in her sight every day, keeping his distance, yet he was everywhere. In the morning, he watched her enter the elevator, and in the evening, he watched her walk out of the building safely, and occasionally he would say the dry "It's time to get off work, Miss Ouyang."
Ouyang felt like she was being driven crazy by this silent and stubborn "concern," which constantly reminded her of the past she had tried to forget and made her feel embarrassed in the company.
That night, she finally couldn't help it. After getting off work and walking out of the building, she turned and walked towards Qin Chuan who was standing at the door.
"Qin Chuan!" Her voice was filled with suppressed anger and exhaustion. "What on earth do you want to do?! Do you find it interesting that you appear in front of me like this every day? What do you want?!"
Qin Chuan looked at her, his eyes showing guilt, but more of a determination: "I said, I want to make amends. I want to protect you even more."
"I don't need it!" Ouyang Lanlan almost growled, "I'm doing fine! Very well! Please, can you let me go? Don't remind me of the past anymore!"
"You're not doing well." Qin Chuan's voice was deep, but it hit her heart like a stone. "When you get nervous and scared, your shoulders will tremble uncontrollably, your hands will tightly grasp something, or like that day, you will dig yourself hard." He pointed at her arm, "Also, you never dare to go near the roadside stalls using gas cylinders. Every time you pass by a barbecue stall, you will subconsciously cover your nose and go around it, speeding up your pace. I noticed it last time in front of my stall. Ouyang, you haven't walked out of there yet."
"Shut up! Stop talking! I don't want to hear it!" Ouyang Lanlan's emotions broke down. She covered her ears, tears welling up uncontrollably. She turned abruptly, not heading back to the dormitory, but walking quickly towards the quieter, dimly lit street on the other side, wanting nothing more than to escape from it all.
Qin Chuan subconsciously wanted to chase her, but finally stopped and just looked at her back with great worry as she disappeared around the corner.
Ouyang Lanlan walked alone under the dim streetlights, the night wind blowing coldly on her tear-soaked face. Her heart was in turmoil, and she only cared about lowering her head and walking quickly.
As she walked, she suddenly slowed down.
A strange feeling crept up her spine.
It seems like someone is following her?
She turned around suddenly - there was no one behind her, only the elongated and distorted shadows of the trees stretched by the street lights.
She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she was just being overly nervous.
But as soon as I turned around and took a few more steps, that nagging feeling returned! A very light, yet incredibly persistent sound of footsteps? Or was it a sight?
Her heartbeat began to accelerate, and cold sweat broke out on her palms. She didn't dare look back, but quickened her pace, almost jogging.
She could hear that the footsteps behind her seemed to have quickened in pace, following her slowly.
Fear was like a cold vine, instantly wrapping around her heart.
Is it him?
Could it be that the figure that only appeared in nightmares has followed him to Linzhou?!
(End of Chapter 2)
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