Jiang Meilin stood at the window of her hospital room, gazing out at the people walking within the hospital. The sterile white walls that had confined her for the past week seemed to close in, amplifying the restlessness that had been building within her. She was healing physically, but her mind was a tempest of conflicting emotions – relief at her impending discharge, anxiety about returning to the outside world, and a deep-seated longing for... something more.
With a soft sigh, she turned away from the window. The doctor had given her the all-clear to leave today, and Zhao Jingshen promised to pick her up at night. The hospital, for all its clinical detachment, had become a sanctuary of sorts. Here, she was just another patient, free from the weight of expectations and responsibilities that awaited her beyond these walls... She was free from the shackles if her guilt.
Unable to shake the feeling of confinement any longer, Meilin decided to seek solace in the hospital's garden. As she made her way through the corridors, the antiseptic smell that permeated the air gradually gave way to the faint scent of flowers and freshly cut grass.
The garden was a small oasis amidst the concrete and steel of the hospital complex. Carefully manicured paths wound their way through beds of colourful blooms, while strategically placed benches offered respite to patients and visitors alike. Meilin felt some of the tension leave her shoulders as she stepped onto the sunlit path.
As she wandered, her mind drifted to the events that had brought her to Xia City. The promise she had made to her family, the new emotions she had developed for Zhao Jingshen, the life she had left behind – it all swirled together in a confused jumble of thoughts and emotions. Was she running away from something, or towards it? The line between the two had become increasingly blurred. Was she really doing this for Jiang Meilin or was it just a way for her to live? The question had started haunting her recently, especially after the call with her mother and seeing her brother again.
Lost in her reverie, Meilin almost missed the sound that cut through her thoughts. A soft, muffled sob reached her ears, filled with such raw pain that it stopped her in her tracks. Instinctively, she followed the sound, her own troubles momentarily forgotten.
In a secluded corner of the garden, partially hidden by a flowering shrub, sat a young woman. She couldn't have been more than twenty, with delicate features marred by tears and an almost palpable aura of despair. Despite her obvious distress, there was an ethereal beauty about her that tugged at Meilin's heart.
Without hesitation, Jiang Meilin approached, offering a clean handkerchief she had in her pocket. "Are you alright?" she asked gently, though the answer was clearly no.
The young woman looked up, startled. For a moment, she seemed about to flee, but something in Meilin's expression must have reassured her. She accepted the handkerchief with trembling hands.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice hoarse from crying. "I didn't think anyone would be here."
Meilin sat beside her, careful to maintain a respectful distance. "Sometimes it helps to talk," she offered. "My name is Meilin. What's yours?"
"Lin Yue," the girl replied, dabbing at her eyes.
"That's a very beautiful name, Lin Yue," Jiang Meilin offered a kind smile.
Lin Yue found herself smiling back at Jiang Meilin amidst her tears. "Thank you, Meilin. I'm sorry you had to see me like this." She extended her hand for a handshake.
They didn't speak for a moment as they were both lost in their thoughts. Then Jiang Meilin asked, "Lin Yue, if it's okay with you, can you tell me about why you were crying?"
Lin Yue remained quiet as tears started to spill down her cheeks. Jiang Meilin did not rush her and just watched as she let her emotions out. After a moment, she responded in a broken voice, "I... I don't know what to do anymore."
Jiang Meilin remained quiet, waiting for her to continue at her own pace. Lin Yue's sadness was pulling at her heartstrings. Although she did not know what the girl was going through, she felt that perhaps talking about it would help, and listening to her would give her a respite from her own thoughts.
Slowly, haltingly, Lin Yue's story emerged. She was a final year art student at Xia City University, there on scholarship. To support herself and her younger brother, she had taken a part-time job at a high-profile club where the money was very good. What should have been an opportunity had turned into a nightmare when a wealthy young master had assaulted her when she was sent to deliver drinks to his room one evening.
Lin Yue's trembling hands clutched the handkerchief as she struggled to meet Meilin's eyes. The weight of her story hung heavy in the air, each word a burden she could barely bear to release.
"I... I just wanted to make a better life for us," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "For me and my little brother. That scholarship was everything, but it wasn't enough."
Meilin leaned in, her heart aching as she watched tears form in Lin Yue's eyes.
"The club job seemed like a miracle. So much money, so quickly. I thought..." Lin Yue's voice cracked. "I thought I could finally breathe."
She closed her eyes, a single tear escaping down her cheek. When she opened them again, the pain Meilin saw there was almost unbearable.
"He was so powerful, so entitled. When I brought those drinks, I never imagined..." Lin Yue's body began to shake. "His hands were everywhere. I screamed, I fought, but he just laughed. Said no one would ever believe a girl like me."
Lin Yue's fingers dug into her own arms, as if trying to hold herself together. "When he was done, he just... left. Like I was nothing. Less than nothing."
Meilin felt a white-hot fury building inside her. "Did you go to the police?" she asked, her voice tight with barely contained rage.
A bitter, broken laugh escaped Lin Yue's lips. "Oh, I tried. The officer looked at me like I was dirt. 'A misunderstanding,' he called it. "The officer said I didn't have a case. He said it was a misunderstanding between two consenting adults... I had it coming by wearing such clothes to invite men." She sniffled.
With shaking hands, Lin Yue pulled back her gown, revealing angry purple bruises marring her skin. "Does this look like consent to you? No matter what my clothes looked like, they were the club's uniform, and I didn't deserve to be touched by such trash." she whispered, her voice raw with pain and anger. "We're not even from the same world. To him, I was just... disposable and available."
Meilin reached out, gently taking Lin Yue's hand in hers. "You are not disposable," she said fiercely. "You matter. They are the irresponsible ones. Thanks to Lin Yue and Zhao Jingshen, Meilin was finally able to feel something again. When she lost Jiang Meilin, she had also lost herself to an extent, she shut everyone out including her family, and doing this for Jiang Meilin was her only sense of purpose. Perhaps, with Lin Yue and Zhao Jingshen, she can now feel something other than guilt and self reproach.