16
"Lương Hạc Dã was studying abroad at the time."
"That's why he didn't know you."
Amidst the slow cello music, I stared blankly at the tiramisu before me. This café had a minimum spending requirement of 800 yuan - equivalent to my monthly food budget.
The one who invited me was Lương Hạc Dã's elder sister. Her attire was understated yet exuded nobility, her words gentle yet piercingly sharp.
"My reason for contacting you is simple."
"Could Miss Lâm please disappear from Hạc Dã's world?"
I lowered my gaze as her velvety voice continued:
"Hạc Dã... seems to have never left academia since birth."
"Whether studying, conducting research, or being rehired after retirement - he's never experienced society."
"Frankly, had he truly entered society, he would never have taken notice of someone like you, Miss Lâm."
Though her tone remained mild, each word felt like a blade slowly twisting in my heart.
"Hạc Dã has always revered our father most."
"Our father was truly an admirable man."
"He never chased fame or fortune, dedicating himself wholly to public service."
"But a selfish demon destroyed everything with their pitiful personal desires."
Her eyes locked onto mine as she uttered these words, before suddenly laughing coldly.
"You're the daughter of my father's killer."
"Yet here I am, begging you to stay away from my brother..."
......
"Hạc Dã has never loved someone this deeply."
"That's why I can't bear to tell him the truth - that you're the daughter of his father's murderer."
She stood, patting my hand with downcast eyes.
"I'll cover all subsequent treatment costs for your mother. The best doctors. The best hospitals."
"If I were you, I'd wisely vanish from his world."
......
17
The autumn rain seemed endless.
Dripping through broken window lattices, carrying the scent of decaying wood.
The cruelest truth was - every word she said was correct.
Staring at my dark phone screen, I realized:
I loved Lương Hạc Dã.
My heart always raced faster around him.
I craved his embrace.
Yearned for his lingering breath.
Yet eighteen minutes ago, I'd received his final message:
"Tiểu Bạch."
"Answer me."
"This is my last number. Don't block me again."
"Tell me why."
"If I have to find you myself, I can't promise what I'll do."
......
I knew how to end this.
I hate unresolved stories. Better to shatter the dream than linger in deluded love.
Thus, I finally sent him the news article:
"See this?"
"Lương Hạc Dã... your father..."
"...was killed by my dad."
......
18
When dawn broke, I realized I'd never slept.
My phone remained dark - Hạc Dã never replied.
I wasn't surprised. Tucking chilled hands into sleeves, I went to buy mother's breakfast.
......
Thus Hạc Dã vanished from my world.
Yet I still involuntarily thought of him - self-loathing yet longing.
When burning dumpling soup scalded my hand.
When the refrigerator stood empty.
I never realized how many memories we'd shared.
One morning, I recalled sitting astride him, his hands on my waist as I asked:
"Lương Hạc Dã, how can people return to the past?"
"Time is a vector."
"Entropy keeps increasing."
His thumbs circled my waist as he gazed up.
"We can never return."
19
Hạc Dã's sister called:
"He's leaving for Berlin tomorrow. Want to see him one last time?"
"What do you mean 'last'?"
She chuckled through the phone:
"He's settling there permanently. You'll never meet again."
......
The Lincoln's panoramic windows framed the airport scene.
This 'last meeting' meant I could only watch from afar.
"I didn't tell him you're coming, so we'll keep our distance."
Even this felt like mercy.
Among the rushing crowds, he stood out instantly - cyan trench coat, minimal luggage, hands in pockets like a solitary mountain.
A butterfly-like girl fluttered to his side, urging him to wait. He frowned but slowed his pace.
"Ah, I forgot to mention."
"Only two national research spots for Germany. That girl graduated from Chicago undergrad, Stanford physics master's. She's accompanying him as fellow scholar."
His sister tilted her head curiously:
"What was your major again, Miss Lâm?"
......
"I never attended university."
The words left me nakedly exposed.
"Is that so?"
"How novel - I've never dealt with the uneducated before."
......
She knew precisely how to strip me bare.
Yet I remembered his whispered confession:
"Education means nothing."
"My ideal partner isn't defined by degrees - it's you."
Now my heart felt like tangled yarn.
"Our families have always been close."
"I hope she'll become the future Mrs. Lương."
