Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After returning home from the TV station, I dug out several camera bags from the depths of my bookshelf.

They were old memories I had buried deep.

The texture of the camera casings felt foreign to my touch, and the batteries had long since gone dead.

While waiting for them to charge, I slotted a memory card into my computer and opened those long-forgotten photos.

The first was a Black woman waiting on a street corner for cholera pills to be distributed.

The second was a five-year-old child soldier, not even as tall as the rifle he carried.

The third was of refugees in North Kivu Province living in tattered tents.

…

The scent of gunpowder and dust seemed to drift through time and space.

My heart felt as if it were being gripped by a pair of sharp claws.

I leaned back against my chair, trying to steady my racing heart, and gave a self-deprecating smile.

I wondered what Ji Qing would think if he saw these things.

Would he still label me as “well-behaved” in his contacts?

Just as I was thinking this, my phone vibrated twice.

It was a message from him.

He had sent the location of a restaurant.

I suddenly remembered that he was hosting a small gathering for the bridesmaids and groomsmen tonight.

I didn’t have many friends or family, so they were all Ji Qing’s friends.

However, I knew this dinner was just an excuse.

Because today, Qiao Ning had returned to the country.