Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 46 Part 1
The snow on the road had already been swept clean but there were few cars on the road.
Ye Qiao wrapped herself in a white down jacket. There wasn’t much of an expression on her face: “What’s her name?”
Zhou Tingsheng, eyes glued to the road, frowned then replied: “Ruan Feiyan.”
“Her last name is Ruan?”
“......Yes.”
A sudden silence fell between them, but both of them could guess why the other wasn’t talking.
Ye Qiao looked outside the window, but her eyes couldn’t focus on anything: “The last name of that death roll inmate who donated the heart to me was also called Ruan.”
“I heard that her husband had passed away early, before her daughter was born. It was the reason why she took her mother’s family name. The husband had done some illegal things and caused a lot of trouble for the family after he died. People came to ask for money back or even threatened the lives of the mother and daughter. She was an amazing woman who single handedly raised her daughter.”
Ye Qiao told her heart-stirring past in a completely dull voice. The heat inside the car made her head cloudy, she even had difficulty hearing her own voice: “My father did something terrible to her.”
“......What terrible thing did he do?” Zhou Tingsheng didn’t have the courage to turn his head.
“The death sentence didn’t have to be carried out right away. She even had the chance to get the sentence reduced to a fixed term of imprisonment. It was my father who lied.” Ye Qiao didn’t seem to talk to any particular person. She even chuckled about the absurdity. “Later, I heard that she was actually taking the blame for someone else. One of my father’s students.”
Ye Qiao turned her head to look at Zhou Tingsheng. His face reflected the brightness of the snow, making the contour of the face somewhat surreal. She suddenly changed the direction of the conversation: “You told me that you were learning Chinese painting before, remember? When my father holds the brush, the first joint of his index finger will straighten up. You hold it the same way.”
That was how he held the needle while tattooing her chest.
When a person is afraid of something, they are inclined to interpret every hint as evidence that something has happened. Someone who’s afraid of being dumped by their lover sees betrayal in their lover’s every move. Someone who’s afraid of being blamed by their boss feels anxious in all their work despite putting in their best effort. Someone who’s afraid of ghosts will walk cautiously around corners and warily look at every bush fearing they would come face to face with a ghost.
Ye Qiao had just told him everything she’d kept hidden from the world.
Zhou Tingsheng stopped at the traffic light and pulled out a cigarette. He hadn’t smoked lately but now lit one up in front of her. He lowered the window, letting the chilly air in the car. The wind blew onto their faces and stung like needles. Half of Zhou Tingsheng’s face felt numb from the freezing cold. His lips quivered when he put the cigarette into his mouth. Ye Qiao, facing the cold breeze, felt more and more sure of her own hunch.
Her forehead throbbed from the icy wind. It seemed that even the weather was trying to stop her from continuing. Yet she stubbornly continued: “My father only had one student. His last name was Zhou.”
“Don’t say it anymore.” Zhou Tingsheng rolled up the window. The enclosed space suddenly began to fill with smoke.
Zhou Tingsheng extinguished the cigarette in irritation. He couldn’t understand why things had turned out this way.
Fortunately, there were three more kilometers to go before they reached the hospital. They had to be in the car for now and face an even more urgent incident together later. Ye Qiao dropped the topic but spoke self-mockingly: “You knew it all along. You just didn’t tell me.”
It was a red light again and Zhou Tingsheng stopped the car.
He didn’t say a word and prayed that the car trip could last forever.
But time that a person values the most, goes by the fastest. After a few turns, they had arrived at City Hospital.
Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.
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