Waterbound Love - Chapter 55

Du Bai stared blankly at the water’s surface, indifferent to the decision to take a boat since waterway management was fairly lax. After all, she had her ID and other necessary documents with her. She had wandered around all morning, spent ten thousand yen, followed people around through a series of twists and turns, and finally got stamped onto a boat.

On the deck, children playing chased each other and bumped into Du Bai, startling her so much that she jumped, causing her phone to fall into the water.

“Oh my phone-” Du Bai desperately reached down trying to catch it,

But the phone, following the sound of a “plop,” sank into the sea.

At that moment, Du Bai felt a deep resentment towards the sea. Little did she know, on the other shore, chaos erupted almost immediately as if a nest had been stirred.

The weather in November felt desolate, giving one a sense of detachment from the world. Du Bai felt like a rootless drifter, unsure where to float next, where her heart belonged. After all the meandering, she found herself back where she started. Like a farewell with no one to hold her back, she returned, welcomed by no one. Although it was her own choice to keep things hidden, the feeling still left her heartbroken.

Du Bai glanced at the backpack behind her and couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Some habits only exist because of love, she thought. Without love, those habits vanish completely, such is life, where nothing lasts forever, forever comforted in oblivion.

Looking around, the bustling crowd did not call out for her, and the reckless yet tender girl was no longer there. Thinking of Tinna, Du Bai felt a wave of sadness.

How many people long for life but cannot have it, and how many squander it yet cannot escape it.

Returning didn’t mean she had sorted out her thoughts and was ready to face everything. Du Bai knew her longing still moved forward.

Du Bai didn’t expect the first person she would meet upon her return to be Yaoyao. She had simply helped a pregnant woman and, noticing that Yaoyao was staring at her, approached her with a sense of déjà vu.

Supporting Yaoyao, they walked into a nearby park and found a secluded spot. Du Bai took out a tissue from her backpack and meticulously cleaned a bench before helping the very pregnant Yaoyao sit down with her.

Du Bai carefully observed Yaoyao. Perhaps due to her pregnancy, she had developed some pregnancy spots on her face, which were not concealed with makeup. Her body was bloated, lacking the elegance and grace of the past, but the happiness radiating from her face was so dazzling that it captivated the heart. Du Bai couldn’t help but smile, feeling that distancing herself had been the right choice.

That afternoon was filled with a haze of ambiguous emotions. Their sporadic conversation seemed unable to truly reach the heart, yet it was as warm as the sunlight, spreading warmth throughout.

As the sun set, Du Bai didn’t know when Yaoyao had left. She looked up at the sky and searched her memory, realizing that despite having watched so many sunsets, she had never truly seen a sunrise. Did this mean that her life had always been in twilight? It seemed so.

She stood up, shook her numb limbs, and walked towards the nearby hotel. It seemed that the setting sun was descending alongside her.

In the early morning, Du Bai was awakened by the alarm clock, a sign that she was still alive. Perhaps today she would have time to welcome a brand-new sunrise. She smiled as she pulled open the curtains, then couldn’t help but laugh and immediately closed them again. In that moment of opening and closing, many emotions were extinguished, just like the daily change from bright sunshine to overcast skies outside the window.

Some things cannot be forced. Du Bai didn’t know why she had come back here, yet she had a vague sense of hope.

Du Bai found a place to rent. The house was new, with all the necessary furniture, mostly newly purchased, saving her a lot of trouble. Surveying her surroundings, although the layout wasn’t as exquisite as her own home, it was still clean and simple, pleasing to the eye. As for returning home, it was still not an option.

Once everything was settled, Du Bai went out to shop. From a distance, she saw the figure she had imagined countless times in her heart, now thin and heart-wrenching. The girl beside her was holding her arm. Although the distance made it hard to see their expressions clearly, Du Bai knew it was An Qinqin.

The intertwined figures slowly merged into the sunset, gradually blending into the horizon, becoming a black dot that eventually disappeared. Du Bai looked puzzled at the water stains on the receipt, then glanced up at the sky. The setting sun was dyeing the sky a deep red; it hadn’t rained after all. Lowering her head, the sunset cast a layer of sorrow over her silhouette, as if softly singing a farewell.