The night was quiet, with lightning and thunder flashing in unison. A soaked stray dog wandered in front of the brightly lit Shanghai Public Security Bureau.
“Alright, that’s about it. The one who called the police, please leave your address and contact information,” said the female police officer as she finished taking notes. She handed each of Fu Xueli and her companions a sheet of paper. “Here, check the content, then sign your name. After that, follow me to the hall to give your fingerprints, and we’ll be done.”
“I didn’t expect the police station to be full of your classmates,” Tang Xin said as she took the paper, casually asking Fu Xueli, “What about that handsome policeman from earlier? What’s your relationship with him?”
“Just classmates,” Fu Xueli replied.
“Just classmates?” Tang Xin didn’t believe it. Seeing Fu Xueli’s silence, she smirked, “Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“Friends with benefits, believe it or not,” Fu Xueli joked, but her face remained expressionless, not even bothering to maintain a basic expression. Her clothes weren’t suitable for today. The carefully tailored wool skirt was soaked with rainwater, clinging to her body, damp and cold, chilling her to the bone.
The female police officer leading the way seemed to notice, giving Fu Xueli an extra glance. She smiled slightly and suddenly spoke up, “It’s quite a coincidence. I was in the same class as Xueli for a year, though she probably doesn’t remember my name. I’m Ma Xuanrui.”
They walked into the hall, where curious yet restrained gazes converged around them. Of course, most of the attention was on Fu Xueli. After all, seeing a celebrity who’s usually only visible on TV, Weibo, or LED billboards suddenly appear in person was both novel and subtly exciting for ordinary people.
If it weren’t for the serious occasion of filing a case, they might have wanted to ask for an autograph or take a photo…
Fu Xueli seemed oblivious to the scrutiny, or perhaps she was used to being the center of attention.
A TV on the wall was replaying dull evening news. The clock beside it ticked slowly, its second hand moving steadily.
“Have some water first,” Xiao Wang said, trying to appear calm as he offered several cups of hot water to Fu Xueli and her companions.
Everyone except Fu Xueli, who remained standing motionless, accepted the water and thanked him.
“Officer, when can we leave? Look at the time, it’s so late,” Tang Xin frowned.
“The statement’s done, right? It should be soon, soon,” Xiao Wang said uncertainly, peering towards the second floor. He caught sight of Liu Jingbo coming down the stairs. Just as he was about to call out, Liu Bo walked past, talking on the phone, heading towards the exit.
As their patience was running thin, the officers finally finished confirming the names, phone numbers, and IDs of those reporting the incident. After a very formal round of questioning, they were ready to let them go. Xiao Wang escorted Fu Xueli’s group to the door.
As they opened the door, the wind and rain outside made everyone shiver.
It was too cold.
The sensor light under the porch was broken, leaving a dark corner where two people stood. The night was shrouded in mist, with the wind whistling softly. Xu Xingchun leaned against the wall, smoking. In the flickering light, his face was unclear.
Next to him was a trash can, used for tapping off cigarette ash.
The driver went to start the car, while the rest stood at the entrance. Liu Jingbo was fully focused on discussing autopsy results with Xu Xingchun, completely unaware of the group nearby.
They weren’t far, and everything Xu Xingchun said could be heard clearly. His voice was always low and hoarse, yet every word was distinct, as if it could echo in one’s heart.
The group stood still, looking straight ahead. Fu Xueli crossed her arms over her chest, staring forward. Xixi, the good citizen, silently thought to herself…
This kind of thing shouldn’t be confidential, it should be okay to listen…
After finishing a cigarette, Xu Xingchun straightened up, one hand in his pocket, his arm still draped with a white lab coat. “Let’s go inside to talk,” he said.
As they brushed past, stepping into the light, Xu Xingchun paused briefly. A second or two later, he lowered his gaze to look at his wrist, which had been grabbed.
Liu Jingbo and Tang Xin exchanged glances, and Xiao Wang was also confused. None of them knew what was happening.
“Oh my…” Xixi, who was still carefully taking photos of the entrance with her phone, turned her head to see the commotion and couldn’t help but exclaim softly.
What’s going on?
Tang Xin watched with curiosity. Over the years, she had dealt with all sorts of characters in the business and entertainment worlds, giving her rich experience and keen intuition. Partly due to her profession, she was used to sizing people up.
Having seen many boastful and exaggerated men, Tang Xin inexplicably determined from the first glance that Xu Xingchun must be a very steady and outstanding person.
Clean-living, taciturn, yet standing out from the crowd. And very attractive to women.
In simpler terms, he was quite appealing.
Fu Xueli smelled the scent of soap on Xu Xingchun, with a hint of tobacco, just like a long, long time ago.
She had drunk baijiu and couldn’t remember clearly. But after a moment, she suddenly came to her senses. He remained silent, his hand still in her grip, long-fingered and bony, yet cold to the touch.
Fu Xueli felt embarrassed, her fingertips trembling against his wrist as several absurd thoughts flashed through her mind.
Xu Xingchun’s expression remained cold, standing straight with his lean jawline, still silent, showing no response and not pulling his hand away.
They stood wordless, while those around them exchanged increasingly curious glances.
“Why didn’t you contact me when you came back?” she quickly regained her composure, becoming confrontational again.
She looked up at him expressionlessly, scrutinizing him. Xu Xingchun remained detached, motionless.
The surrounding light was dim, and though the atmosphere was quiet, many people were secretly glancing their way. After a moment, Xu Xingchun’s slightly hoarse and cold voice spoke up, “I’ve been busy with work. We’ll talk another time when I’m free.”
He had very slight double eyelids, with gentle light brown eyes, clean of any desire. Though naturally endowed with smiling eyes, shadows now lurked in their depths.
When she let go, he nodded slightly in acknowledgment, not even glancing at her before turning and walking away.
Xiao Wang finally snapped out of it and hurried to follow. He secretly admired Xu Xingchun.
How terrifying! Team Leader Xu’s personality was indeed cold and aloof, always maintaining his image, treating such a beautiful woman with the same indifference as he had ten years ago!
A surge of bitterness rushed to Fu Xueli’s nose. She had always been a prideful person, never treated like this since childhood. She lowered her head, tears quickly welling up in her eyes.
She secretly gritted her teeth, trying hard to suppress her emotions and maintain a nonchalant appearance. But inside, she was both anxious and angry.
Damn it!
Can’t let the makeup run.
Can’t cry.
I can’t cry.
As they approached their hotel, the car slowly came to a stop. Tang Xin took out the room key and handed it to Xixi, while briefing them on the upcoming schedule, “Tomorrow is the press conference for the new drama, and the day after tomorrow afternoon, if nothing comes up, adis has arranged a photo shoot. Then, I’m not sure which day, but sometime this week we’ll schedule an evening to record a variety show at Studio 2 of Minxing.”
“The schedule is so tight,” Xixi complained.
Tang Xin rolled her eyes, “Tight? In this industry, you want free time? Do you know how many people are trying to step over Xueli to get ahead?”
“And you,” Tang Xin turned her attention to Fu Xueli, pointing at her with her phone and lowering her voice in warning, “You’re currently in a CP ship1 with He Lu, and we can’t afford to offend anyone. Right now, both of your fan bases are hot, and whoever causes trouble first will bear the consequences. Be careful, I don’t want to see you and that man from earlier appearing on Weibo’s hot search. You’ll suffer if that happens.”
After showering that night, Fu Xueli, wearing a white bathrobe, stood in front of the full-length mirror by the bathroom door, blow-drying her hair. She looked at her expressionless reflection in the mirror, her bare feet sinking into the soft carpet.
Her mind was completely blank.
Xixi was tidying up clothes nearby, aware of her bad mood and saying nothing.
“Have you ever had a boyfriend?” Fu Xueli sat down on the bed, playing with her hair, seemingly asking casually.
“Boyfriend?” Xixi found some hand warmers and placed them neatly on top of the folded clothes on the bedside table. “No, I had one in college, but we broke up later.”
“Oh, why?”
“No reason.”
“Do you still remember him? Have you been in contact?”
“No contact, but I remember him.”
Xixi shook her head, not continuing the topic. Instead, she said, “By the way, it’s going to be very cold tomorrow. Xueli, remember to stick on a few hand warmers when you go for the photo shoot. Be careful not to catch a cold.”
The clock struck 3 AM. Fu Xueli pushed open the glass door and leaned on the balcony of the hotel room, overlooking the city’s night view.
Buildings of varying heights stood before her. High-rise apartments still had lights on, while further away they were swallowed by darkness. The night was like a huge, silent container.
After staring for a while, she suddenly thought weakly that perhaps… Xu Xingchun still harbored resentment towards her after all these years.
As soon as this thought arose, her anger diminished significantly.
After all, they had been together for so many years, breaking up and getting back together.
Fu Xueli had always known that in their relationship, it was Xu Xingchun who had been making all the effort and holding things together. While she, at times, deliberately distanced herself, only to fall back again, repeating this cycle over and over.
She had always loved freedom and disliked constraints. When she was happy, she was genuinely happy, and when she was tired of someone, it was the same. She rarely hid her feelings.
It was her who wanted to break up initially, and after the breakup, she had enjoyed quite a period of carefree life. Until at a gathering, she accidentally learned that Xu Xingchun had voluntarily applied for training at the technical investigation department of a remote city’s public security bureau, possibly never to return.
Fu Xueli had never cared much at first, but as time passed, she felt increasingly uneasy.
Finally, in a fit of anger, she followed her family’s wishes and went abroad.
She wasn’t sure who she was trying to prove a point to.
She was a person who often realized things too late. In fact, for a long time after Xu Xingchun left, she habitually thought that he would definitely come back. It had always been like this since childhood. No matter how tired she became of him, no matter how much she hurt him, he always stayed put, willingly by her side.
Her time living abroad was very lonely, with the language barrier and lack of friends. Gradually, she began to feel uncomfortable, uncomfortable with the feeling of Xu Xingchun truly being separated from her life.
This feeling came suddenly, yet it gripped Fu Xueli. It made her regret for the first time.
Over these years, she had even tried to contact him proactively. But Xu Xingchun seemed to have vanished into thin air, cutting off contact with almost everyone.
Ironically, it was she who had proposed the breakup, but it was he who had disappeared without a word for so many years.
Her vision blurred.
She smoked while wiping the liquid from her face with the back of her hand. She could hear the wind, the remnants of rain, and more than anything, an empty silence.
After getting some air, she returned to the room. Fu Xueli lifted the blanket and got into bed, turning off the bedside lamp. Years of irregular sleep due to day and night filming had left her with neurasthenia, making it difficult to fall asleep.
The hotel curtains were good at blocking light, leaving the room pitch black without a trace of moonlight. Fu Xueli closed her eyes, and after an unknown amount of time, her consciousness finally began to blur as she dozed off.
She was sure she had started dreaming. She was back on that night, going out for dinner and drinks with her college roommates. After drinking too much, they all walked together, through stairs, and gradually the path became darker. Eventually, she was left alone.
She didn’t know where she was going or when to stop. All that remained was a sense of bewilderment.
Then she saw Xu Xingchun. He was waiting at the bottom of the dormitory building, as if he had been standing there for a very long time.
There was no sound as he led her to continue walking. They passed through a pitch-black tunnel, with light and shadows quickly flashing by… but she could only see his back, no matter how much she called out, he never turned around.
Finally, at the gate of Linshi No. 1 Middle School, Xu Xingchun stood tall and thin, his skin pale with a hint of coldness. He wore the old blue school uniform jacket from years ago, a short-sleeved shirt, and black track pants. He exuded a strong sense of quiet, clear youth.
He waited by the flower bed, his shoulder leaning against the black lamppost, his features still delicate. He took off his glasses, his jet-black pupils slightly narrowed, smiling gently at her.
The love in his eyes was intense, gentle yet ethereal.
It felt like a piece of glass piercing her heart, a gentle collision bringing a tearing pain. Tears suddenly welled up in her dream.
- In Chinese internet slang, CP (actually written out in English) means “couple” and refers to a romantic pairing, either real or fictional. ↩︎
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