Chapter 16
Chapter 16
I found it ironic.
“In your eyes, I’m just making a scene?”
He sighed and took my hand.
“Nie Lan, I know you’re doing this because you love me. You think I’m favoring her, that I gave her your things.
“But it’s only because she was insistent on an apology. I saw that the camera was old, so I gave it to her just to get her to stop bothering you.
“You humiliated her in front of so many people. I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”
Suddenly, I felt a flicker of pity for the man standing before me.
“Ji Qing, I don’t love you…”
He froze for a moment, his expression hardening again.
“Stop being stubborn.
“If you don’t love me, why do you always look at me with those eyes?”
I chuckled softly and pulled my hand back, tracing his face one last time with a sense of longing.
“What a shame. I’ll never see this face again…”
As if suddenly realizing something, his expression shifted drastically.
“You…”
However, his phone suddenly rang.
It was Qiao Ning.
He hesitated for a few seconds before answering.
On the other end, her voice sounded despondent.
“Ah Qing, I’m leaving…
“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you this time.
“I just… I really couldn’t help but be jealous of her.”
“Qiao Qiao, where are you!”
“Don’t come looking for me. Go find her! She’s the one you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with.”
Ji Qing’s voice cracked with desperation.
“Qiao Ning!!”
The call disconnected.
Ji Qing shoved the things into my arms and turned to run.
I watched his figure disappear at the end of the street.
I let out a cold laugh.
Raising my hand, I tossed the camera into a trash can.
I was leaving soon, too.
There was no need to bring along useless junk.
Over the next week, I was incredibly busy.
Exercising, brushing up on the language, finalizing my research topic, contacting local guides…
During this time, Ji Qing kept texting me from different numbers.
[Nie Lan, what did you mean that day?]
[Don’t we still have things to talk about?]
[I apologize to you on Qiao Ning’s behalf for what happened that day.]
[Where are you now?]
…
I didn’t reply to a single one.
The day before my departure, he asked again.
“The wedding is tomorrow. You’re coming, right?”
I snapped the SIM card in half.
Dragging my suitcase behind me, I headed to the airport without looking back.
As the morning light streamed through the cabin window, the plane took off.
There were no direct flights from Beijing to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
I had to transfer in Cairo.
The entire journey would take nearly twenty hours.
It was enough time for me to revisit old dreams.
I put on the eye mask provided by the flight attendant.
I whispered softly to myself.
“Ji Cheng, I’m coming back.
“I really miss you.”