A Broken Mirror Never Mends - Chapter 19

Growing up means living in the present instead of the past.

If Ji Yuanlin hadn’t purposely brought it up, Shi Tian’s memory of what happened eight years ago would have remained a bit blurry.

It was late winter, eight years ago—the second month after he and Zhou Sifu broke up.

On the day they had originally agreed to leave together, he packed his bags alone and went to Harbin.

Since he had taken his annual leave, he had plenty of time. Instead of flying, he bought a sleeper train ticket and traveled all the way from the south to the north.

Back then, the old green-skinned trains were still in use. They moved slowly toward their destination, stopping at many stations along the way.

During the fifty-hour long-distance journey, he met many people from different places and saw the winter scenery of many cities.

Time seemed to slow down. Travelers with their luggage came and went, but no one stayed in one place for long. People would stop to smile and chat with strangers, spending a short and pleasant time on the train before moving on.

Just like him and Zhou Sifu.

They had crossed paths briefly on the long journey of life and learned how to love and be loved. But one person got off the train early, and in the end, they became just passing guests in each other’s lives.

Sitting by the window, watching the view change from green trees to white snow, he finally reached the last stop on a late afternoon as the sun was setting.

During his first three days in Harbin, he visited the most famous sights in the city. He took a photo with a selfie stick outside the big cathedral. His hands in thick gloves were hard to control, and it took him several tries to post an update on his blog with the caption: 【Going to the countryside to try skiing tomorrow! First Time!】

In the photo, he was wrapped in a thick down jacket, looking like a round rice dumpling. His face was frozen red, with only the tip of his nose showing.

This was his private blog for recording his life. Not many people knew about it. The post only got one “like,” and it was from a stranger.

On the fourth day in Harbin, he took his rented ski gear and set off for Hufeng Ridge.

Hufeng Ridge was beautiful in winter. Frost flowers filled the air, and the snow was so thick it could reach an adult man’s waist.

He was a fast learner. With the help of a private coach, he was soon able to glide freely across the snow with his ski poles.

No one expected that toward evening, the snow on the mountainside would suddenly collapse. A small avalanche triggered without any warning.

When the avalanche happened, he was just jumping down a slope on his skis. The sunlight was so bright it was hard to see. He had just heard a noise and turned his head when a wall of collapsing snow buried him.

Fortunately, the rescue team arrived very quickly. In just one hour, they rescued dozens of tourists, including him, and sent them to the hospital by ambulance.

After being unconscious in the hospital for several days, he woke up feeling incredibly thirsty. He subconsciously let out a weak cry: “Zhou Sifu, water—”

Hearing his voice, the figure by the bed stiffened slightly. Then, a hand reached out to carefully lift his head from the pillow, using a wet cotton swab to gently wipe his dry lips.

“Brother Shi, the doctor says you can’t drink water yet.”

He heard the person speak in a soft, slow voice. “I’ll wipe your lips a bit more to help. Tell me if you feel uncomfortable.”

Opening his eyes slowly under the dim light, he found himself lying in a hospital bed. An IV tube above his head was steadily dripping cool liquid into his body.

A familiar figure sat in the chair by the bed. The man was tall, and his handsome profile was hidden in the shadows. Through the rimless glasses on his nose, one could see faint dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept for days.

He frowned and spoke with uncertainty: “…Xiao Ji? Why are you here?”

“I came after hearing the news.” Putting down the cotton swab, Ji Yuanlin leaned over, wrung out a hot towel from a basin, and began to wipe the cold sweat from Shi Tian’s forehead. “I’m at the technical university here for a research project with my mentor. Two days ago, a news report asked for help identifying people. It said several injured tourists lost their IDs and phones at the avalanche site. Your photo was among them, and I recognized you instantly.”

As Ji Yuanlin cleaned his face with the towel, Shi Tian realized his body was also very clean and fresh. It seemed someone had been taking care of him every day, making him look nothing like a patient who had been bedridden for days.

“…Have you been the one taking care of me these past few days?”

He felt too embarrassed to ask Ji Yuanlin directly if he had been cleaning his body for him.

Ji Yuanlin dimmed the bedside lamp and adjusted the pillow so he could lie more comfortably.

“I should, Brother Shi.” Ji Yuanlin looked down at the floor, not daring to look him in the eye. “Don’t worry. I’m here. Just focus on getting better.”

During his time in the hospital, Ji Yuanlin brought him lunch and dinner every day, sometimes even fresh homemade soup. He later heard from the nurses that he had suffered a severe inflammatory reaction the night he was admitted, and his white blood cell count had dropped significantly. They needed a blood transfer from another hospital, but the heavy snow and the number of injured people slowed things down. It was Ji Yuanlin who rushed over and gave blood to stabilize his condition.

He also heard that while taking care of him, Ji Yuanlin had taken leave from school and delayed his thesis work. Shi Tian felt truly sorry about it.

In high school, he had always known how Ji Yuanlin felt about him. But because he couldn’t return those feelings, he treated Ji Yuanlin like a younger brother and tried to be kind to him.

After getting into Peking University, they were in different departments and grades. Also, because Zhou Sifu never liked Ji Yuanlin, the two of them saw less of each other.

He didn’t expect that his first meeting with Ji Yuanlin after graduation would be in such a dramatic way.

After another week in the hospital, he was finally discharged. Since his annual leave was used up, he had to resign from his job for a while to wait for his body to fully recover.

After letting his parents know he was safe, he stayed in Harbin for another month.

Every morning, Ji Yuanlin would get up early to take him for a walk to exercise his leg muscles, which had been frostbitten in the snow. In the afternoon, after finishing his research, Ji Yuanlin would come to the short-term rental to cook for him and massage his shoulders, neck, and ankles.

Time moved forward slowly. After being busy from morning to night for six months at work, this short month actually gave him a rare sense of peace.

He seemed to have truly accepted a life without Zhou Sifu.

Until the day of Ji Yuanlin’s 21st birthday.

He specifically bought a bottle of good wine, a cake, and a big meal to thank Ji Yuanlin for taking care of him and to say a formal goodbye.

During his recovery, he had interviewed with several new companies and accepted an offer from a brokerage firm. He was ready to start a new journey after going back.

During the meal, he told Ji Yuanlin the news.

He thought Ji Yuanlin would be happy for him finding a new job, but Ji Yuanlin suddenly looked up from the table, his eyes red as he stared blankly at him: “Brother Shi, are you leaving me?”

Later, with the curtains closed, the lights in the living room dimmed.

To this day, he didn’t know why the wine felt so strong that day. He only remembered that after drinking too much, he felt like a different person. He stumbled toward the bathroom to take a cold shower to clear his head, but halfway there, Ji Yuanlin hugged him tightly from behind.

He heard Ji Yuanlin beg in a hoarse voice: “…Brother, look back at me just once.”

That night, they slept together.

Ji Yuanlin was right. He was indeed the one who started it. He was the one who put his arms around Ji Yuanlin’s neck, pulled at his white research coat, and looked at him with watery eyes, asking if he wanted to do it.

If there were consequences to face, he deserved them.

He didn’t remember all the details of that night, nor what he had said, but he remembered crying hard while they did it. He stared blankly at the young man, tears falling across his nose and wetting the pillow.

That was the only time in his life he had ever cried like that, but it wasn’t for the person in front of him.

After finishing his words, Ji Yuanlin did not make any further inappropriate moves.

Shi Tian pulled his thoughts back and looked up from Ji Yuanlin’s shoulder. He saw Ji Yuanlin looking past him toward the parking lot across Wangyue Lake.

In the next second, a car alarm rang out through the air.

【Beep— Beep—】

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the hallway. Several security guards from the restaurant noticed something wrong in the parking lot and ran toward the scene.

Soon, the phone in Ji Yuanlin’s pocket rang.

He answered and heard the restaurant manager’s anxious voice: “Mr. Ji, your car—”

Before the manager could finish, Shi Tian quickly backed away a few steps, creating a safe distance from Ji Yuanlin.

In just a few minutes, the other side of the lake had fallen into chaos.

In the parking lot, a black SUV and Ji Yuanlin’s Maserati had been in a serious accident. The entire right side of the Maserati had been scraped by the SUV, leaving a very long and deep scratch.

After scraping past the Maserati, the black SUV turned around and tried to steer in another direction. However, the driver seemed to accidentally step on the gas instead of the brake. After a roar from the engine, the front of the SUV crashed directly into the back of the Maserati. The force pushed the Maserati back several meters, leaving it hanging halfway off the embankment by the lake.

There were no guardrails around the parking lot. At this rate, unless a large crane arrived immediately, the Maserati would soon fall into the lake.

Anyone who knew Ji Yuanlin, including Shi Tian, knew that this limited-edition Maserati was his pride and joy. The money spent on its maintenance each year was close to seven figures.

Shi Tian stood by and watched Ji Yuanlin’s face turn from pale to purple. A dark cloud seemed to hang over his head, and his eyes were cold enough to kill.

Ji Yuanlin bit his lip and turned around with a dark expression, intending to find the restaurant manager to get his car pulled up.

At the same time, across the lake from Wangyue Mansion, the passenger door of the black SUV opened. A figure in a suit stepped out and took a phone from his pocket.

A phone rang inside the private room. Seeing the caller’s name, the muscles in Ji Yuanlin’s face twitched visibly.

“CEO Ji?”

Zhou Sifu’s face was full of surprise, and his voice carried a very sincere apology: “I just heard from the manager that this is your car. My driver wasn’t paying attention while reversing and accidentally scraped it. I am so sorry.”

“…”

Ji Yuanlin stared at the man across the lake and said through gritted teeth: “…Zhou Sifu, you—”

“Don’t worry, CEO Ji,” Zhou Sifu leaned against the car with one hand in his pocket and tossed his car keys toward the person across the lake. “Just put whatever the repair costs on my tab.”

Seeing the Maserati across the lake wobble again in mid-air and make a pitiful “creak” sound, Shi Tian also fell silent: “…”

You call that “accidentally scraped it”??

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