The pungent smell of disinfectant, mixed with the stark white lighting, helped calm Meng Jin’s weary mind.
He had just wrapped up a two-hour international meeting before rushing to catch a flight. After more than ten hours in the air, he arrived here, dusty and exhausted, without even having time to change his clothes.
When he pushed open the door to the hospital room, Liang Yu had already been transferred from the operating room to a regular ward. Lying on the bed with her eyes tightly shut, her face pale, she looked nothing like the strong, capable woman she usually was.
Meng Sui sat by the bedside, looking even more aged than before. Only after hearing Meng Jin’s voice did he stir. “Everything’s stable for tonight. You should go back and rest.”
Meng Jin stepped closer to look at his mother and noticed strands of white in her hair. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked quietly, “What did the doctor say?”
“Why did she suddenly collapse? Should I contact specialists abroad?”
Meng Sui remained silent for a moment before speaking. “Your mother swallowed sleeping pills.”
Swallowed sleeping pills attempted suicide.
Meng Jin’s hand in his pocket curled slightly, his expression shifting imperceptibly. He stood still, listening as his father continued.
“Before Xue Yan went abroad, he came to see your mother, wanting to meet her. But she was in a hurry to attend a conference overseas and didn’t have time to see him. Who would have thought”
“She always felt that what happened to Xue Yan was her fault. If she had met him that day, maybe he wouldn’t have gone abroad, maybe he wouldn’t have boarded that ship.”
“…”
“Ajin, don’t withdraw the search team looking for Xue Yan. Our family can afford it. Do everything you can to bring Xue Yan home.”
Deep down, Meng Sui knew all too well, how could anyone possibly find a body in the vast, endless ocean? But searching for the dead was a way for the living to keep going.
“Xue Yan… he never liked water since he was little. Every time we tried to get him to learn to swim, he’d make excuses.” His voice faltered toward the end, tinged with sorrow. “His birthday is coming up soon. During this time, don’t go anywhere. Stay with your mother.”
Meng Jin’s throat felt dry. He clenched his fingers, a whirlwind of emotions surging within him, finally condensing into a single word: “Okay.”
He sat in the room for a while, his thoughts drifting. He remembered his childhood there was a time when he resented everyone in the Meng family, especially his parents and his younger brother, Meng Xue Yan.
His parents’ marriage was one of convenience, lacking any emotional foundation. His own arrival was more about fulfilling the duty of producing an heir, while his brother was the product of their love, cherished and doted on.
He watched the three of them, happy and harmonious, while he was left to follow his grandfather, learning how to become a worthy successor. Why? What was the reason?
That was why he grew distant from his family later on, why he could so easily develop feelings for his own brother because his emotions had always been shallow. Sometimes, he even wanted to ask his parents, “Am I a qualified heir?”
“Cough, cough”
Meng Sui’s coughing snapped Meng Jin out of his thoughts. Rubbing his temples, Meng Sui looked at his eldest son, who had always been so dependable. “Ajin, you should go back now. Get some rest and come again tomorrow.”
Meng Jin didn’t argue. He nodded, then got up and headed to the restroom. But the moment he stepped inside, his phone rang from his pocket.
“Beep, beep”
Upon hearing this, Meng Sui did not move. His eldest son had always been very particular about boundaries, what if he saw something he shouldn’t, further straining their already distant father-son relationship?
But the phone rang again after falling silent, persistent as ever.
Could it be something urgent?
Frowning, Meng Sui reached into the pocket of Meng Jin’s jacket draped over the chair and pulled out the phone. The screen lit up, flashing two characters: “Jiaojiao.”
His heart skipped a beat. To others, this note might seem ordinary, but for his emotionally detached eldest son, it was anything but.
Recalling Meng Jin’s ambiguous past with Xue Yan though never openly acknowledged, he, as a father, could sense it what did this “Jiaojiao” signify now?
Was his eldest son being fickle?
Meng Sui’s mind raced. Unconsciously, he rubbed the edge of the phone, his heartbeat inexplicably quickening. Just as his thumb was about to press the answer button, a cold voice suddenly came from behind.
“Father.”
Meng Jin stood at the doorway, his eyes dark as ink, as if they could drip with darkness.
“I was just about to bring the phone to you.” Meng Sui’s hand trembled, nearly dropping the phone. Forcing composure, he asked, “A call so late? Something work-related?”
“Mhm.” Meng Jin responded without even glancing at the phone, tucking it back into his pocket expressionlessly. He grabbed his jacket and headed out. “I’m leaving.”
The door opened and closed again in just two seconds.
Meng Jin strode out of the hospital room and didn’t slow until he was seated in his car. There, he quickly typed out a text message and sent it. Upon returning home, he immediately dialed Chen Jiaojiao’s number.
In his study, listening to Chen Jiaojiao’s gentle, comforting voice on the other end, his tense nerves relaxed slightly. But when he heard the word “Tokyo,” the last trace of warmth vanished from his eyes.
Click!
The lighter sparked a flame, illuminating his shadowed features. Meng Jin leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs, every movement exuding suppressed displeasure.
“Are you smoking?” Chen Jiaojiao caught the sound, her tone instantly turning reproachful.
“Is it really necessary to go?” Meng Jin evaded the question, softening his voice deliberately. “Do you have to?”
In the brief silence, many thoughts crossed his mind. He remembered Chen Qinghe was also in Japan in Osaka, not Tokyo but could he really be at ease? Could he trust it?
“This is my first trip with friends,” Chen Jiaojiao said firmly. “I want to go, and I want to see the fireworks.”
Then she sternly called him by his full name, “Meng Jin, no smoking!”
Meng Jin chuckled softly, stubbing out the cigarette after just one puff in the ashtray. Since Jiaojiao woke up, he had indeed smoked much less. But today, with too many things weighing on his mind, he had instinctively lit one.
Lowering his gaze to conceal the turmoil in his eyes, his voice remained as steady as ever. “Send me your itinerary.”
“You’re coming?” Chen Jiaojiao sat up in surprise, startling the sticky rice cake curled in her lap. “Aren’t you on a business trip?”
“How could I rest easy with you traveling far for the first time?” Meng Jin laughed lightly, his fingers unconsciously tapping the desk. “See you in Tokyo, baby.”
Chen Jiaojiao’s face instantly brightened with joy. The hesitation, anxiety, and worry she felt before calling were all swept away by delight, softening her voice. “Meng Jin, you’re so good to me.”
“Then… how about a reward?”
Lost in her happiness, Chen Jiaojiao replied without hesitation, “Name it.”
Meng Jin’s hand, which had been toying with the ornament, suddenly stilled. His brow lifted slightly. “Want to kiss me?”
Though phrased as a question, it came out as a statement.
“K-kiss?” Chen Jiaojiao stammered, her face instantly flushing red. “But we’re not together, how can we kiss?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a soft, lingering “mwah” came through the phone, tender and full of longing.
“Like this.”
Chen Jiaojiao touched her burning cheek. In the heart-pounding silence, she carefully pressed a kiss to her phone. “O-okay, done. You should rest early!”
After hanging up, she buried her flushed face into a cushion. If the butler, Lester, had been there, he would have said with relief: Mr. Chen is finally smiling.
On the other end, Meng Jin remained in the same position, his lips still pressed against the phone. He gently nuzzled the cool screen, as if through this small gesture he could draw closer to the person on the other side.
When Chen Jiaojiao had spoken of a kiss, she had only pressed her lips to the receiver. Yet Meng Jin somehow heard the faint rustle of that movement, rippling through the pond of his heart.
Tokyo Narita International Airport was bustling with crowds.
As soon as Chen Jiaojiao stepped off the plane, a wave of dizziness washed over him. This was his first international flight since losing his memory, and the discomfort left him pale, with fine beads of cold sweat forming at his temples.
His voice trembled slightly as he said to Mels, “I need to use the restroom.”
Seeing his poor condition, Mels exchanged a worried glance with his companions. Without a word, they all followed him.
Meanwhile, not far away in the arrivals area, Chen Qinghe stood quietly holding a sign with his employer’s name.
After arriving in Japan, he had first gone to Osaka but found himself lost and directionless. Now in Tokyo, working part-time as a tour guide was both a means of survival and a way to fulfill an unfinished promise to watch fireworks together.
“Xue Yan, I’m here.” He gazed up at the cold airport ceiling, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly as he silently asked in his heart, “And you? Where are you now?”
Have you become a star? If so, are you closer to the fireworks than I am.?
A young female employer hurried over. Spotting him, she rubbed her tired face and offered a friendly smile. “Hello, are you Qinghe? Sorry, but I need to use the restroom first.”
Chen Qinghe snapped back to attention, took her luggage, and with a smile, led the way. After escorting her to the restroom entrance, he waited outside, his eyes unconsciously scanning the passing passengers. Though he knew the chances were slim, he couldn’t help searching for that familiar figure.
He pulled out a stack of papers from his backpack, printed with information in Chinese, Japanese, and English. With a practiced smile, he handed them out one by one to passersby.
Even when rejected, his expression remained unchanged. But when he saw a paper dropped and carelessly stepped on, he bent down and carefully picked it up from the ground.
Only when he noticed the photo on the paper had become so dirty the features were unrecognizable did a single tear escape from the corner of his eye.
“Cheng!”
A faint yet achingly familiar call pierced through the noisy crowd, jolting straight into his eardrums.
Chen Qinghe trembled violently, his head snapping up. He followed the sound, his gaze frantically sweeping over the sea of unfamiliar faces.
And there, at the far end of a gap in the crowd, a painfully familiar profile flashed by!
“Xue Yan!”
He cried out in shock, the playing cards in his hand clattering to the floor. Without a second thought, he pushed through the crowd and desperately chased after the figure, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
But when he rushed around the corner, all he saw was an empty hall and unfamiliar passersby.
The hallucinations seemed to be getting worse.
A wave of immense disappointment instantly overwhelmed him. Chen Qinghe returned to his spot in a daze, just as his employer emerged from the restroom. Seeing his pale and distracted expression, she asked with concern, “Is something wrong?”
He clenched his palm tightly, shook his head, and forced out an incredibly strained smile. His voice was so faint it was almost inaudible. “It’s just… I suddenly really miss my brother.”
The girl leaned in to glance at the paper in his hand, frowned, and said uncertainly, “I think… I might have seen this person just now.”