A Tattoo That Can't Be Removed - Chapter 7

The raindrops pounded heavily on my skin, driven by the autumn wind straight into my collar. All I could hear was the noisy sound of rain. I stopped, the streetlights casting a hazy glow.

He didn’t come after me.

I suddenly remembered I hadn’t eaten the cake. Well, he could share it with Qin Chuchu, half each.

The giant screen at the mall displayed a dazzling array of images. I looked up; it seemed to be a couple shooting wedding photos at night.

But a heavy rain extinguished everything. The bride and groom, dressed in wedding attire, stood under the eaves to avoid the rain. The groom said something to the bride, then suddenly ran into the rain, shouting, “I love you.”

The bride just laughed, telling him not to embarrass himself.

I wiped my face, staring blankly, then slowly squatted down, crying unabashedly in the pouring rain.

In this world, people walk alone. I thought finding him would spare me from misery, but I didn’t realize the person he was unwilling to give up was never me.

The phone in my pocket kept vibrating. I didn’t answer. After crying enough, I stood up and felt dizzy, like the world was spinning.

I felt terrible, my stomach churning. I leaned against the wall and vomited everything I could. A gust of cold wind blew, making me shiver.

But for adults, the thrill of revenge is followed by regret for harming oneself.

I hailed a cab, went to the hospital, registered, got an IV, and sat in the noisy infusion hall in the middle of the night. The nurse kindly gave me a towel to wipe myself.

Hospitals seem to never lack people, whether it’s patients being wheeled past on emergency beds or the sudden outbreak of crying infecting the atmosphere. I felt a pang of bitterness in my heart for no reason.

Why am I always alone? Why am I not worthy of his affection? Why, even though I’m his girlfriend, can he stand so naturally in front of another woman?

I cried myself to sleep, and when I woke up, the IV drip wasn’t finished.

Someone stood in front of me. I thought I was seeing things, but it was him.

“Got a fever?”

He reached out to touch my forehead, and I pulled away.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He didn’t answer, just looked at me quietly with his head down.

His shadow almost enveloped me, and I couldn’t see anything in the depths of his dark eyes.

I snatched the paper from his hand. It was a medical report, stomach bleeding, with Qin Chuchu’s name in the patient column.

“Oh, Mr. Wei is here with his ex-girlfriend.”

I handed the report back to him, suppressing the urge to tear it to pieces.

“Go and accompany your ex-girlfriend.”

“What did you call me?”

He stood in front of me, unmoving, his voice restrained. It was the first time I saw him flustered.

“Say it again?”

“…”

I stared at him, speaking deliberately.

“Mr. Wei, now she can be your current girlfriend too.”

“What… do you mean?”

He probably wanted to grab my shoulder, but when he touched the unsteady IV drip, he stopped abruptly.

I envied how his eyes remained bright, how he could still try to hold onto me when he wanted to.

“I think we should break up,” I said.

I never imagined I’d be the one to say those words.

No, I should have expected it. Ever since that phone call, something had been quietly changing.

In countless days and nights, while I watered the newly bought hyacinths, I knew he was slipping away from me.

He would be taken by the woman who could stir all his thoughts with just a word, not by me.

I was just the one who had been by his side for so long that he thought he loved me.

“I won’t break up with you,” he said softly.

His eyes were downcast, as if I was the only one in his world.

I couldn’t deny that it was easy to get lost in that gaze, nor could I deny that perhaps I still craved his warmth.

“But, Wei Yan…”

The last bottle of medicine finished, and I removed the needle, pressing down with tape.

“I came to the hospital alone today.”

“And she… you came with her.”