Waterbound Love - Chapter 44
Du Bai did not expect that the first person she would see upon returning home was Wei Wen. Standing outside, Du Bai had no intention of letting him in. Jokingly, she thought to herself: she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Wei Wen seemed to guess what was on Du Bai’s mind and couldn’t help but smile bitterly, the pain tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Du Bai looked at the injuries on Wei Wen’s face, feeling somewhat vindicated. Her brother, it seemed, had not abandoned his principles and had not gone easy on him.
They stood silently; the desolate autumn wind dispersed the loneliness but could not sweep away the sorrow.
Du Bai lit a cigarette for herself. The moment she did, Wei Wen rushed towards her. As he made contact, Du Bai instinctively pulled her hand back. Her grip was not firm, and the cigarette hit her wrist, causing a sharp pain that pierced her heart. Some things can be accepted but not necessarily faced or forgotten. The recurring impact brought panic that followed like a shadow.
As Du Bai dodged, Wei Wen realized that the woman he deeply loved would not give him a chance to make amends. “Are you okay?” he said, wanting to step forward and check.
“Don’t come any closer,” Du Bai said, her eyes wary as if each glance were a blade slicing through his heart. What had he done to deserve this? Now he regretted, but was it of any use?
“I think everything that needed to be settled between us has been cleared up. Mr. Wei, you don’t need to come here anymore, adding to the trouble. As for my brother, he has vented his anger, and he won’t bother you anymore. Even if he does, I won’t stop him.” And frankly, she didn’t want to. She was the one who wished for his demise the most!
“Cleared up? How can it be cleared up? What about the child?” Wei Wen looked at Du Bai intensely, his gaze almost insane.
“The child?” Du Bai laughed lightly, her tone as calm as a light breeze, “That’s just the fruit of a mistake, left behind after another mistake. I can’t change what happened, but something that hasn’t been born, I can surely let go of.” She knew that compared to heart-wrenching cries, a calm, quiet voice was far more devastating.
“Are you saying you are going to terminate it?” Wei Wen read the confirmation in Du Bai’s unchanged expression. “No, no, how can you be so cruel? It’s a life, a life that carries on from you and me. You can’t just abandon it, it-”
“Are you trying to say it’s yours?” Du Bai quietly watched the slightly frenzied Wei Wen, a slight smile on her face. “These reasons aren’t enough. To the medical community, an unformed child is just medical waste, without any meaningful life. I have the right to decide its fate. Morality aside, this child is merely a transaction between us. With no love between us, how can we talk about continuation? Don’t you think its existence is superfluous?”
“How could it be superfluous? I love you,” Wei Wen slumped against the car, seemingly drained of even the strength to stand, unconsciously caressing the scar on his forehead, his eyes filled with hopeful expectation as he looked at Du Bai.
Du Bai chuckled and shook her head, her laugh devilish, “What does that have to do with me? Its existence only reminds me of my folly, telling me it is the cursed result of a deal meant to trick others but ultimately backfired on me. You can’t possibly be naive enough to think I would treat it well. Don’t be foolish. You should know that I, Du Ruo, have never been a saint. It would be kinder to end it early, a mercy to it, really.”
The autumn wind that was once gentle and melancholic now felt chilling to the bone.
“You could let me take care of it,” his muttering voice faded into the air, eliciting laughter. Du Bai laughed outright without hesitation, “You think too highly of yourself. While women may flock to you, I, Du Ruo, refuse to degrade myself. If you want a child, go to Lin Mumu. Why bother me?”
“No, no, no.” Wei Wen ignored Du Bai’s resistance and grasped her fiercely, pointing to the scar on his forehead, “Have you forgotten this? When you left it, I told you that you would spend a lifetime making it up to me. Don’t you remember?”
Wei Wen struggled to stand up by the car, his eyes red, his face fierce.
Du Bai laughed lightly, “Compared to what you’ve done to me, this isn’t even enough to cover the interest.” Hearing this, Wei Wen’s anger extinguished instantly, replaced by a moment of frustration.
It seems he has no regrets, what to do? Du Bai knew his lack of regret would only force her to be more ruthless.
“Childhood is too far away to disturb my current thoughts, and I have no intention of recalling it. I never dwell on the past. You should leave.” Du Bai turned and walked away, knowing all too well that the more she pushed him away, the harder it was for him to let go. This is the inherent flaw of men, or perhaps of everyone.
“I won’t give up. I will make up for my mistakes and make you fall in love with me,” Wei Wen called out with effort to Du Bai’s retreating figure. But he couldn’t see the smile that curled on Du Bai’s lips; it seemed the fish had taken the bait. Time to reel it in.
Love? She wished. Too much longing, too much madness, and eventually, she forgot how to love.
Du Bai carefully sipped her exquisitely handcrafted tea, appreciating its superior quality. It must be that the Guqing Teahouse was also owned by the Qing Gang. It was bold yet meticulous of them to conduct business right under the noses of high-ranking officials. Indeed, with power stretching across three provinces and their influence unwavering, the gang’s leader was not someone to be underestimated.
Qin Yulong watched Du Bai’s relaxed demeanor, and anxiety began to creep into his heart, the lessons she had taught him previously leaving a profound impact. She was not displaying her usual sinister stability. “Du Xiaobai,” he recalled their conversation in the hospital and deliberately switched from the formal “Ms. Du” to a more familiar “Du Xiaobai.” “We’re all old friends here, so I’ll cut to the chase. I believe Chu Qian has already spoken to you. I asked you to come today because I need your help to resolve a predicament for a brother of mine. My own life and death aren’t important, but it’s tough for my men who have families to support.”
Du Bai thought to herself that his words were cleverly crafted-ostensibly deferential but effectively coercive and emotionally manipulative. It seemed he feared she did not regard others’ lives highly and even brought up Chu Qian to ensure compliance. She knew Chu Qian was capable of handling matters flawlessly, always full of surprises.
Without responding, Du Bai covertly assessed the man across from her, likely a drug dealer from S City. Feigning casual interest, she asked, “And who might this be?”
“You can rest assured, he’s one of our own. It’s inconvenient for me to operate in S City, so, hehe,” Qin Yulong explained with a chuckle.
That made sense. Given the internal strife within the Qing Gang, Qin Yulong’s rash decision to enter another’s territory necessitated accompaniment, probably foreseen by Chu Qian to turn the tables and have them come to him.
“Since Hall Master Qin is being so straightforward, it would be pretentious of me, Du Bai, to beat around the bush. I normally wouldn’t get involved in such matters, but I can’t ignore Chu Qian’s prestige,” she contrasted with Qin Yulong’s increasingly pale expression. The person opposite remained as impassive as if amidst thunderstorm, prompting Du Bai to internally commend his nerve and composure. “Everyone knows the power of drugs. I have a ‘friend’ I don’t want getting involved with those substances. Agree to this, and I assure you your problem will be solved cleanly.”
“This-” Qin Yulong hesitated, clearly out of his element and unable to make decisions on this turf.
“Since Chu Qian sent you to find me, he must know I definitely have the ability,” Du Bai said, setting down her cup to emphasize her point. “Hall Master Qin won’t even let go of these minor benefits; I really can’t see any sincerity. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now.” With that, she stood up. Sometimes, retreat is the best advance.
“I’ll take care of it,” said a voice that hadn’t spoken for a long time, deep and promising. This matter isn’t so simple; the woman before him didn’t seem as harmless as she appeared. She was someone who wouldn’t stop until her goals were met. If he refused, would his situation be any better than Qin Yulong’s? By agreeing now, he would owe everyone a favor and avoid bringing major trouble upon himself. Being her enemy was not something he was sure he could handle.
Du Bai smiled. Now it was time to watch the play unfold, to watch her enemies crawl at her feet, struggling painfully-it seemed she rather enjoyed it, and her enjoyment arrived as expected.
Upon leaving the Teahouse, Du Bai saw Shen Yan rushing out of her luxurious Phaeton, which she hadn’t locked properly, heading towards the Teahouse. Seeing Du Bai, Shen Yan abruptly stopped and approached her. Upon seeing Du Bai unharmed, she hugged her tightly, as if wanting to merge into her.
The light cast long, intertwined shadows of the two on the ground.
After a while, “Shen Yan,”
“Are you an idiot, facing those people all by yourself?” Shen Yan interrupted Du Bai sharply, her voice filled with stern reproach.
“No, Shen Yan-”
“No? Still saying no? How come I saw you there alone? You really enjoy making people worry, don’t you? Think it’s fun?” Shen Yan held Du Bai tightly as she tried to wriggle free.
“Shen Yan, listen to me,” Du Bai was truly exhausted, trying to get Shen Yan’s attention back.
“What’s there to explain? After all this time, you never even considered whether I’d be worried.”
Shen Yan held Du Bai tightly, continuously talking to calm her own restless heart. Eventually, she released Du Bai. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Du Bai raised an eyebrow and looked behind, “Shen Yan doesn’t understand what Du Bai is up to, looking back herself.” There’s nothing there.” Shen Yan looked at Du Bai, puzzled.
“But there really is nothing. Where’s your car?” Du Bai barely held back a laugh.
“My car? My car!” Shen Yan exclaimed, “Where’s my car?”
“Someone drove it off.” Du Bai reminded herself to hold back the laughter; knowing how much Shen Yan treasured her Phaeton, she’d have her head if she found out.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Shen Yan glared at Du Bai, having forgotten she hadn’t given her a chance to speak.
“Who asked you to be so careless, not even locking the keys?”
“I, I,” seeing Shen Yan’s face turn red with frustration, Du Bai felt a moment of pity-after all, she was worried about her. “Go ahead and call the traffic police. Your car might look like a common Passat, but it’s a Phaeton; it shouldn’t be hard to find.”
Watching Shen Yan’s gloomy expression, Du Bai suppressed her urge to burst out laughing, “Alright, alright, I might as well get you a license plate, red with ‘Police’ at the start, even including 1101, no problem. Don’t worry about running red lights or even people; no one would dare to stop you.”
“Or how about I get you an air force special vehicle plate? Then you can drive it like a plane with no issues.”
Footnote:
- 110(110): In China, 110 is the emergency number for the police. If you need police assistance in an emergency, you can call 110.
