frightfiction Chapter 394 She Deserves Better
Chapter 394 She Deserves Better
The night breeze from Singapore's Marina Bay carries salty moisture, turning the neon lights on the glass curtain walls of office buildings into mottled light and shadows.
Du Fei leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window on the 27th floor of the hotel, his knuckles unconsciously rubbing the edge of his phone. The video playing in a loop on the screen was like a wound that would never heal.
Ling Jiuer's figure in a burgundy halter dress moved in the picture. The velvet jewelry box that Chen Nan unfolded when she knelt on one knee was shining with a cold light. The sapphire necklace pendant under her collarbone made his eyes hurt.
New messages kept popping up in the WeChat group, and the cheers of friends pierced my eardrums through the screen.
"Jiuer is going to marry into a wealthy family! Designer Chen's move is so romantic."
Du Fei suddenly turned his phone upside down on the table. The whiskey bottle made a dull sound when it collided with the marble countertop. The amber liquid splashed on the itinerary, blurring out the flight information of "Singapore-Huacheng".
He grabbed the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. The spicy burning sensation spread from his throat to his heart, but it could not quench the sourness surging in his chest. The emotions that he had buried deep in overtime documents, late-night messages and silent protection were now turning into thousands of fine needles, densely piercing his heart.
The phone rang suddenly, and Pei Luonan's video caller ID flashed on the screen.
Du Fei stared at the jumping name, his Adam's apple rolling twice before pressing the answer button. "Still drinking?" Pei Luonan's voice was clearly unhappy. "How long do you plan to soak yourself in whiskey?"
Du Fei tugged at his collar and laughed sarcastically, "Brother Nan, didn't you say that it's a good thing for young people to socialize more? Now that Jiuer has found a good home, isn't that what everyone wants?"
Before he could finish his words, his stomach suddenly spasmed and he covered his mouth and coughed violently. The spicy taste of whiskey mixed with the smell of blood spread in his mouth.
There was the sound of shuffling documents on the other end of the phone, and Pei Luonan's voice became low and sharp: "Stop pretending, Du Fei. Do you think I can't see those dozens of photos in your phone album?
When she was injured last time, you hurriedly carried her down the mountain. You were so nervous at the door of the operating room that you couldn't control yourself. When she was in the hospital and you took care of her, the look in your eyes was doting. Do you dare to say that you didn't have feelings for her?
These exposed secrets were like hot irons, burning Du Fei's heart.
"Are you really planning to keep running away?" Pei Luonan's voice suddenly exploded on the phone, "Are you afraid to face your own heart? If you remain indifferent, Ling Jiuer will really fall into Chen Nan's arms.
Do you think meeting someone who makes your heart beat and who also has feelings for you is as easy as buying vegetables at the market?
Du Fei's hand holding the wine bottle suddenly tightened, and his knuckles turned white and almost transparent.
"Remember the fire in the orphanage?" Pei Luonan's voice suddenly slowed down, but every word was piercing, "You always say that you are like a rootless weed and don't deserve happiness.
But the way Jiuer looks at you is like looking at the entire universe. Are you sure you want to push this starlight to someone else?
Du Fei's vision suddenly blurred, the scene of the orphanage from over a decade ago overlapping with Jiu'er's smile. That day, he had rushed out of the fire, his body covered in blisters, yet he stubbornly said, "I will protect you." But now, facing his own heart, he had become the most cowardly deserter.
My memory suddenly flashed back to the party where I first met Ling Jiuer.
He vaguely remembered the throbbing in his heart and her awkward shyness when he kissed her lips. The touch of her hair brushing against the back of his hand, lighter than champagne bubbles. Those starry eyes burst into his world, and from then on, they turned into a gentle tide that overwhelmed him on every sleepless night.
But he always remembered that he was an orphan, alone, with the world as his home, and unable to bring happiness to anyone.
"She deserves better." Du Fei muttered to himself in the empty room, his Adam's apple rolling violently as he swallowed the bitterness back into his stomach.
The whiskey bottle slammed heavily onto the table, the humming sound of the vibrating glass mixed with the sound of the whistle from the distant port.
Du Fei unbuttoned his collar and staggered to pull open the curtains. The city lights twisted into strange spots of light in the rain.
He grabbed the second bottle of wine and drank it in one gulp. The spicy liquid dripped down his chin, leaving dark marks on the carpet.
Memories surged uncontrollably: the scene when they met by chance at the airport when Jiuer went home for the New Year; when the nurse in the hospital misunderstood that he and Jiuer were a couple, Jiuer vehemently denied it, but the tips of his ears felt uncontrollably hot; and in the video sent by Gu Fanxing three days ago, she curled up in the corner of the bar and muttered to herself, with the faint sound of "Du Fei...big idiot" floating in the background.
The streets were glowing with a moist light at midnight. When Du Fei pushed open the door of the bar, deafening music and a strong smell of alcohol hit him in the face.
The colorful lights flickered on his face, making the bloodshot eyes even clearer.
He slumped down in a corner booth and raised three fingers to the waiter: "Jack Daniels, three bottles."
After the first glass of wine, a burning pain ran through my throat.
The second glass of wine made him cough violently.
"Again!" The wine bottle made a harsh sound when it hit the table, and Du Fei's pupils were slightly dilated due to the alcohol.
His phone kept vibrating in his pocket, and messages from Pei Luonan popped up one after another: "Don't drink yourself to death in a foreign country." But he just sneered and gulped down his third glass of wine.
In a trance, Ling Jiuer's figure appeared and disappeared in the light and shadow.
Du Fei stumbled to his feet, knocking over the chair next to him, and the whiskey bottle shattered. The amber liquid flowed on the ground, reflecting his distorted face.
"Jiu'er..." He stretched out his hand towards the air, but his fingertips only caught a phantom of light and shadow. Memory and reality overlapped in the alcohol. He saw Jiu'er walking towards Chen Nan in her wedding dress, saw the glittering sapphire on her ring finger, and saw himself standing forever apart from the crowd.
At two o'clock in the morning, the bar gradually quieted down.
Du Fei slumped in the booth, his cell phone screen lighting up and then going off.
The discussion in the WeChat group had already turned over hundreds of posts, and the latest message was from Gu Fanxing: "Are you still so stubborn? Are you willing to give up the person you love? Aren't you afraid of regretting it?"
These words were like a key that opened the deepest prison in his heart.
Tears suddenly flowed uncontrollably, mixed with the wine and dripping onto the phone screen.
His fingers trembled, and his mind was full of Jiuer's figure: her silhouette making tea in the pantry, the way she frowned at the computer, her twinkling eyes when she looked up at the stars, and even her slightly open lips when she took a nap.
These images now overwhelmed him like a surging tide.
The rain started falling at some point, and Du Fei stumbled out of the bar.
The damp night wind blew into the collar of his clothes. He leaned against the lamppost and retched violently. What was churning in his stomach was not only alcohol, but also regret and unwillingness.
He slid down the wet steps and let the rain wash over his burning cheeks.
Pei Luonan's words echoed in his ears: "Are you sure you want to give this starlight to someone else?"
He finally admitted that the high walls he built to prevent her from having stability were nothing but cowardly excuses.
He was afraid that he could not give her a future, but unknowingly, he hurt the person he loved with his own hands.
At this moment, he would rather put aside all his pride just to see the starlight that belongs to him in her eyes again, even if that starlight is about to go out.
Pei Luonan's voice came from the phone again, this time with unquestionable determination: "I have booked a plane ticket for you at six o'clock tomorrow morning. If you don't say something now, you will never have the chance to say it again."
Du Fei's hand holding the phone trembled slightly. Looking at the blurred outline of the city in the rain, he finally struggled to stand up.
He knew that this game of escape in which he numbed himself with alcohol had to end. No matter what the outcome, he had to face his own heart and make a final effort for this relationship that had been hidden in countless silent nights.