Chương 23: It’s Me
Lina unpacked the last of her boxes in her new apartment, taking a deep breath as she looked around the small but cozy space. It was different from what she was used to—quiet, almost too quiet. The apartment was closer to the university, and Uncle Wei had insisted that it was a more practical arrangement, but the silence weighed on her. She settled into her new routine, focusing on her studies and trying to distract herself from the nagging feeling of something missing.
Her mornings were filled with classes, and in the evenings, she sat by the window, reading or reviewing notes, occasionally glancing at her phone. She knew what it was. It was the absence of him—Bo Qiang. Their interactions had always been complicated, but since that night, since the kiss, things had changed. She told herself not to think about it, not to dwell on the mess of emotions she had been feeling since then. But no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts kept drifting back to him.
Meanwhile, Bo Qiang sat at home, staring at his phone. The light of the screen flickered in the dimly lit room, casting shadows across his face. It had been a week since Lina hadn't returned, and each passing day gnawed at his patience. His thoughts swirled in his mind, dragging him deeper into frustration and confusion. Why hadn't she come back? What had changed between them? He swiped through his phone until her name appeared. His thumb hovered over the call button as a million questions raced through his head, but none of them seemed to make sense. Finally, he pressed it, the ringing sending his heart into overdrive.
Two rings later, her voice filled the silence.
"Brother Bo Qiang?" Lina's soft, hesitant voice came through, tentative, as if she wasn't sure why he was calling.
Bo Qiang's heart jumped at the sound of her voice, and for a brief second, all his frustration melted away. The memory of that night—of the kiss—flooded back into his mind, overwhelming him. He could still feel the warmth of her lips, the way she had looked at him right before everything shifted. Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, he forced himself to stay calm. He couldn't lose control now. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"It's me," he said, his voice carefully neutral, though it felt like a storm was brewing inside him. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Lina, why haven't you come back home?" His words were sharp, carrying a mixture of accusation and a sadness he hadn't intended to reveal. The question had been gnawing at him, festering for days, and it finally slipped out, sharper than he'd wanted.
Lina was silent for a moment, clearly caught off guard by the tone of his voice. "I did come back," she whispered, her voice so soft it barely reached him. "But I'm staying at my apartment now." There was a pause, a quiet hesitation, and then she added, almost apologetically, "I'll visit you this weekend."
Bo Qiang frowned, the frustration creeping back into his chest. Apartment? Since when did she have an apartment? What was she talking about? "When did you get an apartment?" he asked, his voice low, carefully controlled, though underneath it all, a simmering anger was building.
"Uncle Wei gave it to me," Lina replied, her innocent tone only aggravating him further. "It's closer to the university, so it's more convenient."
Uncle Wei. Bo Qiang clenched his jaw at the mention of his father. Of course. His father had given her an apartment without saying a word to him. He forced himself to stay calm, though the anger was bubbling up, threatening to spill over. "Tomorrow," he said after a long pause, his voice taut with restraint, "I'll pick you up from the university. We'll go out for dinner, okay?" The question wasn't really a question—it was more of a command, a thinly veiled attempt at regaining control over a situation that felt like it was slipping through his fingers.
Lina hesitated on the other end of the line. He could sense her uncertainty, her reluctance, but after a long pause, she finally agreed. "Alright, I'll send you the address."
Bo Qiang ended the call and immediately felt the weight of his frustration crashing down on him. He could barely contain the anger that had been simmering since Lina's unexpected disappearance from his life. And now this? His father, always making decisions without so much as a conversation. Scrolling through his phone, he quickly found his father's number and dialed, fully prepared to confront him. But after a few rings, the automated message broke through: "This number is currently unavailable."
Grinding his teeth, he muttered bitterly to himself, "Of course, it had to be my father." Always making decisions in the shadows, always doing things behind his back.
Tossing his phone onto the couch, Bo Qiang got up and began pacing, his frustration and confusion swirling together into a storm of emotions he couldn't ignore. Why hadn't Lina come to him? Why had she accepted his father's offer without telling him? And why—why couldn't he shake the feeling that something between them had changed?
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