An Earlier Meeting - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

In the afternoon, a movie was playing in the school classroom, the light dim.

Yu Wen’s phone screen suddenly lit up. An unknown number from City A was blinking.

She quietly slipped out into the hallway to answer it.

“Hello, may I help you?”

“Hello, are you Yu Wen?” The voice on the other end was a young man’s, with a hint of tension.

“Yes.”

“I’ll need you to come to the funeral home.” The sentence hit Yu Wen like a block of ice.

“Why? Why would I need to go to the funeral home?” Her voice unknowingly rose.

“My name is Zhuang Chenke. Su Li is your classmate, right? Please come and take a look.”

“Wait a minute. What do you mean, ‘take a look’? Why is she at the funeral home?”

Yu Wen’s heart pounded, still holding on to a sliver of hope that this was a scam.

“She’s dead. Su Li is dead.”

“Dead? How is that possible? She was fine last night after school. How could she be dead? Who killed her?” Her fingers gripped the phone tightly.

“No, she jumped off a building. It was a suicide.”

Yu Wen felt all her strength drain away. Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t ask another word.

“…Okay, I understand. I’ll be right there.” There was only one major funeral home in City A.

“Please come as soon as possible.”

The other person’s voice was clearly trembling. Who was he?

Did Huang Xiaozhi know?

Should she tell Huang Xiaozhi?

She instinctively clicked on her messages. A single unread message was there—from Su Li, sent last night! She hadn’t seen it!

The message read:

Hello, I’m Su Li. Yu Wen, I’m so glad to have met you.

Before I met you, my only friend was Huang Xiaozhi. Now, you are my friend too.

By the time you see this message, I will no longer be here. I trapped myself. This life is too tiring for me. I can’t be cheerful anymore. Please don’t cry because of my departure. I left a letter for Xiaozhi, and it’s with Zhuang Chenke. When you see him, you can ask for it. Please don’t tell Xiaozhi about what happened to me.

She will definitely be sad, and I don’t want to make her sad. Can you promise me that?

“…Okay,” Yu Wen’s voice trembled as she forced out the word. Tears instantly blurred her vision.

Zhuang Chenke is a person who has helped me a lot. He’s a good person. I trust him.

Don’t investigate anything. It’s meaningless. From the day they left, I no longer had a family. I only had myself.

See? I was still strong enough to live for so long. I’m really amazing.

Please take good care of Xiaozhi. You’re a very good girl.

After reading the messages, Yu Wen could no longer stand. She covered her mouth and slid down the cold wall, squatting on the floor. The empty space next to her made her realize how much losing someone could hurt.

It had been a long time since she had cried. The last time was because of her father. To her, Su Li had been a fiery sun.

But the most cheerful person often hid the deepest tears in their heart.

She wiped her face hard, took a few deep breaths, and rushed back to the classroom to ask for leave. Then, she ran like a madwoman down the stairs, sprinting across the empty field, using all her strength, as if by doing so she could outrun the bad news.

She immediately called Zhong Li and asked him to take her to the funeral home.

Sitting in the car, the cold wind outside the window whipped at her face, drying the tears that kept coming.

She wished it was all a nightmare.

A mix of bewilderment, fear, and worry for Huang Xiaozhi tangled within her. But this was Su Li’s last request, and she had to fulfill it.

She was the only one who could handle the funeral arrangements now. That little, cheerful girl had really been extinguished.

When they arrived at the funeral home, Yu Wen’s feet were nailed to the door.

It was as if by not going in, she could pretend that Su Li was still alive.

Finally, she pushed the door open.

Tears silently poured out again. In the center of the room, a white cloth covered a human form.

Next to it, a young man with glasses was sitting dejectedly, his head buried deep in his arms—Zhuang Chenke.

The Su Li she had seen was always smiling. She didn’t understand why.

Yu Wen stood at the doorway, unable to move forward. She leaned against the wall and squatted down again. What would Huang Xiaozhi do if she found out?

She didn’t dare to think about it.

After a long time, she wiped her tears and walked inside. Zhuang Chenke looked up. His red eyes and the tear stains on his face revealed his devastation.

“Mr. Zhuang… What was your relationship with Su Li?” Yu Wen’s voice trembled uncontrollably.

The man slowly raised his head, and tears fell. “No, her name is Su Lili, with the character for ‘grain’… I? I am nothing. Perhaps… just an unaccepted suitor.” He then painfully lowered his head again.

Yu Wen didn’t dare to look at the person under the white cloth, but she still trembled as she walked over and gently lifted a corner.

It was her.

Su Li, Su Lili. The girl who loved to laugh and be mischievous was now as quiet as if she was sleeping and would never wake up. They had just walked out of school together yesterday…

She gently covered her back with the white cloth and said in a low voice, “I saw your message. I’m sorry, Lili… I’m late.” Tears dripped onto the white cloth. “Why did she… jump off a building?” Her voice was as light as a sigh.

Zhuang Chenke on the chair didn’t react. He was like a solidified statue.

Yu Wen didn’t ask any more questions. She silently walked out of the room to a large tree outside.

She needed to calm down.

She, who usually only stayed at home, broke her rule and took out a cigarette and a lighter from her bag, lighting it. In the air of the funeral home, muffled sobs could be heard from time to time.

The cold wind whipped at her face, making it hurt.

She had to handle the funeral arrangements as soon as possible and also come up with a flawless lie.

She walked back into the room. Zhuang Chenke was still in the same position.

“You’re the one who signed, right?” Yu Wen asked.

Zhuang Chenke took a deep breath, as if it took all his strength to stand up. “Miss Yu, please come with me to cremate Lili. There’s no need for a funeral. I’ll take her ashes… and take her home.”

“No!” Yu Wen immediately refused, her tone serious. “You can’t take her away! Please let go of her! Don’t trap her at ‘home.’ She can’t escape!” The last sentence came out as a sob.

‘She can’t escape’—this sentence pierced Zhuang Chenke’s heart like a needle.

He froze, his head lowered even more.

“Why? Why can’t I take her?” he asked with red eyes, full of unwillingness.

Yu Wen looked at him, her gaze firm. “She doesn’t want to be trapped there! Do you understand? She’s already tired enough in this life! Let her be free… scatter her ashes.” She almost shouted the first part.

Zhuang Chenke was still. Su Lili’s short and heavy life flashed through his mind.

Finally, he closed his eyes in pain, gritted his teeth, and nodded. How could he not want to keep her? She was the first girl he had ever loved deeply.

He remembered the way she had rejected him. “Brother Zhuang, thank you for liking me, but you deserve better. The way I am right now… is not a good fit. Besides, I don’t really have any thoughts about being in a relationship. Can you please stop liking me?” But how could he just stop liking her?

When Yu Wen saw him agree, she went to the front desk to handle the paperwork.

Su Lili’s immediate family could not be reached. The phone number was a dead end.

Helpless, Yu Wen could only sign as her “younger sister.”

When she returned to the morgue, Zhuang Chenke was gently tidying Su Lili’s bangs, trying to make her look more presentable for her final journey.

Yu Wen walked up and silently tidied the other side, gently stroking her cold cheek. It’s over, Lili.

You don’t have to be tired anymore.

Her heart felt hollowed out. She couldn’t cry, only a huge sense of regret and sadness remained.

Everyone would die, and sadness would fade, but at this moment, only the two of them held this secret.

Zhuang Chenke went out to make a phone call. Yu Wen leaned in close to Su Lili and whispered, “Sister Lili, rest in peace. I… I’ll find a way to hide it from Little One.” Her eyes turned red again. She wasn’t stupid. She was just too tired.

By the time Yu Wen finished everything, it was already getting dark. She said goodbye to Zhuang Chenke and left this place full of sorrow.

On the way back, the city lights outside the car window were bright, but they couldn’t light up Yu Wen’s heart.

She stared straight ahead, her eyes empty.

“Uncle Zhong,” she said suddenly, her voice exhausted. “Help me look into a girl named Su Lili in City A. Look into her family background… and tell me what you find.”

Zhong Li glanced at her pale face and red, swollen eyes in the rearview mirror and simply responded, “Okay.”

…

Back in her cold home, Yu Wen collapsed onto the sofa. Thinking about the laughter she and Huang Xiaozhi shared with Su Li, and then thinking about the cold white cloth, her heart ached.

What would she do if Huang Xiaozhi found out? She didn’t dare to think about it.

Her head throbbed. Maybe it was from the wind, or maybe it was from the heaviness of the day. She sat up, hunched her back, and took out a cigarette and a lighter from a cabinet.

This was her second one today. In the haze of smoke, the unsolved mysteries and the pain of losing a friend were suffocating her.

As a child, she would cry when she lost her father. Now, she understood that an adult’s loss was a silent pain. At school, there would no longer be that chattering Su Li.

The dull pain in her heart reminded her that she truly considered Su Li a friend.

She had been sincere to her.

…

Downstairs, at Huang Xiaozhi’s house.

The mother and daughter sat on the sofa in the dark, the TV screen completely black. Silence hung in the air.

“Mom, are you very lonely?” Huang Xiaozhi’s voice echoed in the silence.

Wei Qingwen shook her head gently and kissed her daughter’s head. “I’m not lonely, because I have you.”

A bittersweet warmth surged in Huang Xiaozhi’s heart. Her mother had carried all of this alone.

They huddled together, their thoughts wandering, and neither of them said another word.

In the dark, they were each other’s only support.

…

The next day, as if they had agreed to it, both of them hid their burdens.

Huang Xiaozhi noticed that Su Li’s seat was still empty. She couldn’t help but ask Yu Wen, who was rummaging through her things next to her. “Deskmate, why isn’t Su Li here yet? She’s not replying to my messages.”

Yu Wen’s hand suddenly froze. It’s happening this soon?

“Su Li won’t be coming anymore,” she tried to make her voice sound natural, but she didn’t dare to meet Huang Xiaozhi’s gaze. “She went abroad yesterday. I went to see her off in the afternoon.”

Her palms were slightly sweaty.

Huang Xiaozhi was stunned, shocked and confused. Su Li had mentioned leaving before, but why did she leave without saying goodbye?

The words she wanted to ask were stuck in her throat. In the end, she just nodded silently.

Yu Wen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, not daring to look at her again, afraid that her evasiveness would be noticed.

Huang Xiaozhi still had her doubts. Not replying to messages and not answering calls didn’t sound like Su Li.

During class, Teacher He Wei announced to the class, “Students, Su Li has gone abroad for personal reasons. Although our class has one less member, we are still one big family…”

Hearing the teacher say the same thing, most of Huang Xiaozhi’s doubts were dispelled.

The teacher wouldn’t lie, right?

What she didn’t know was that last night, Yu Wen had made that heavy phone call to He Wei.

Last night:

After finishing her cigarette, Yu Wen stood on the dark balcony. Her surroundings were silent.

She dialed He Wei’s number.

“Hello? Is this Teacher He Wei?”

“Oh yes, I’m He Wei. You’re Yu Wen, right?”

“Yes, it’s me. Teacher, I need to ask you for a favor…”

“Go ahead. If I can help, I will.”

“Su Li… has passed away.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

“Are you saying… Su Li from our class?” The voice was filled with disbelief.

“Yes, it’s her.”

“How? Was it an accident?”

“She jumped off a building… a suicide.”

She heard He Wei’s heavy sigh.

“Okay… I understand. What can I do to help?”

Yu Wen’s eyes were unusually bright in the dark.

“Hide it from everyone, especially Huang Xiaozhi. Please, this was Su Li’s last wish… She didn’t want Huang Xiaozhi to be sad.”

Another moment of silence.

“Okay, I promise you. What should I tell them?”

“Just say… Su Li has gone abroad.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you, Teacher He.”

“It’s nothing. You… should also get some rest. I’ll tell them tomorrow.”

“Okay, you too.”

After hanging up the phone, a huge sense of powerlessness overwhelmed Yu Wen.

I hope… I can hide it.

Maybe the pain will be a little less if she finds out later.