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墨書 Inktalez
I could only hold his hand tightly, feeling the warmth of his palm.
I wished that time could freeze in this moment.
When I woke up again, it was not in the burning church, but in a hospital room filled with the smell of disinfectant.
Gu Jing Shen sat by the bed, holding my hand, his eyes filled with anxiety.
"Wan Tang, how do you feel?" His voice was hoarse, tinged with a barely noticeable tremor.
My head throbbed, as if countless needles were piercing through it.
Fragments of memories flashed like scenes from a movie: the vows of our wedding, the Great Fire in the church, Su Nian's sinister smile, and the doctor's heavy pronouncement.
"The jade pendant... it's going to disappear..." I murmured to myself, instinctively reaching for the jade pendant around my neck.
Gu Jing Shen's expression tightened as he grasped my hand firmly.
"Wan Tang, what are you talking about? What jade pendant?"
I looked at him, my gaze confused.
"I can't remember..." I shook my head, my thoughts in disarray. "I only remember... it seems like I had a very long dream..."
In the days that followed, I felt like a marionette trapped in a chaotic memory.
At times I was clear-headed, at others, I was lost in confusion.
When I was clear-headed, I remembered that I was Lin Wantang, the wife of Gu Jing Shen, and a patient with late-stage cancer.
In moments of confusion, it felt as if I had returned to the past, to the time when I first met Gu Jing Shen.
"Jing Shen, look, the moon is so round tonight," I said with a smile, pointing at the bright moon outside the window.
Gu Jing Shen gently wrapped his arms around me and softly replied, "Yes, just like you."
"Jing Shen, if one day I'm no longer here, will you remember me?" My voice was so soft it seemed to be swallowed by the sound of the rain.
He tightened his embrace and rested his chin on the top of my head, gently rubbing it. "Silly girl, don’t say such foolish things." His voice was hoarse from sleep but more resolute than ever. "We will always be together."
But at that moment, the warmth of the jade pendant was fading. I could clearly feel it cooling down little by little, just like my gradually waning vitality. Perhaps Gu Jing Shen sensed something too; he held me so tightly as if he wanted to meld me into his very being. The sound of rain outside suddenly felt distant as I heard my own voice drifting in the void: "The jade pendant... is disappearing..."
When I woke again, twilight had seeped through the window curtains. Gu Jing Shen sat by my bedside, holding my hand while writing something on a small desk. Upon seeing me awake, he immediately set down his pen and brushed my damp hair away from my forehead with his fingertips. "Do you feel better?"
I wanted to nod but was seized by a violent cough. A salty liquid surged up my throat, blooming like red plums on the brocade quilt. Gu Jing Shen's face turned pale instantly as he trembled while wiping the blood from the corner of my lips. His voice was heartbreakingly gentle: "The physician said you need to rest..."
"Jing Shen," I interrupted him, struggling to grasp his wrist. "I want to go outside for a walk."
He hesitated for a moment but ultimately wrapped me carefully in a fox fur coat. We strolled along the bluestone path, where late cherry blossoms fluttered down like an unending snowfall. Suddenly, Gu Jing Shen stopped in his tracks and took out a silk pouch from his sleeve. When that string of broken jade fell into his palm, I heard the sound of my heart shattering.
"I tried to mend it with Golden Threads," his voice trembled, "but every time I finished stitching, the jade would crack again."
I placed the shattered jade back into the pouch and gently tied it around Gu Jing Shen's waist. "Take good care of them for me."
"Jing Shen..." I reached out my hand, only to see my fingertips becoming transparent. Gu Jing Shen awoke from his stupor at the table and rushed over, trying to grasp me, but his hand passed right through my body.
"Don't!" His heart-wrenching cry echoed in the room. "Wan Tang! Don't leave me!"
I wanted to tell him not to be sad, to express that meeting him was my fortune across three lifetimes, but no sound escaped my throat. In the fading clarity of my consciousness, I saw tears falling from Gu Jing Shen's eyes onto the jade fragments, staining them crimson.
In the moment the jade completely vanished, the cherry blossoms outside suddenly burst into bloom. Amidst the flurry of pink petals, I seemed to see that boy standing beneath the cherry tree again, smiling as he reached out his hand. "Wan Tang, let's go home."
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