CoP CH 3

  In actuality, up until Sui Cannong went to get his car in the parking lot; his day had been classified as one that fell into the miserable “Sui Meili social death” series. He returned to the car that he’d parked in the underground parkade; which was just next to the little cafe. He paid the parking ticket, drove outside, and realised that night had already fallen in the world outside. Currently, it was exactly seven o’clock; coincidentally the high of the evening rush hour. 

And so, Sui Cannong was stuck in this perfectly congested traffic. He sighed and resignedly merged his car into the traffic, knowing full well that if he didn’t wait for at least another half hour, he probably wouldn’t be able to drive on this road.

Usually at this time, Sui Cannong had just finished dinner. He might water the flowers on his balcony, do some laundry, and then get ready to go online and play games with Antelope.

In all fairness, setting aside Ji Ling’s emotional intelligence and personality, from the perspective of playing games together, a teammate like him was definitely the kind that Sui Cannong could only meet once in a lifetime.

Although the game equipment was a bit shabby, if the other party’s skills were on point and didn’t hold back, and they could help tidy up the home base, it really enhanced Sui Cannong’s gaming experience. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have voluntarily offered to give the other party a five-star character.

As they reached this point, Sui Cannong still felt a bit reluctant.

Although it wasn’t to the extent of deleting a game friend, in order to avoid future awkward encounters, he would definitely intentionally schedule his online time to avoid overlapping.

The traffic slowly moved forward, and Sui Cannong passed by the coffee shop he had just been to, and through the glass, he saw the booth where he and Ji Ling had sat.

Sui Cannong paused for a moment, turned on the radio, took a deep breath, and decided not to think about today’s events anymore.

“Let’s have some fresh shrimp wonton soup tonight,” he thought, and then moved his car forward a bit.

After getting on the bridge, Sui Cannong found that the traffic jam was much worse than he had imagined.

The radio was still playing the furniture store’s advertisement, and Sui Cannong, who just wanted to listen to some cross talk to lighten his mood, felt a bit bored, but fortunately, there was a river nearby, and the scenery at dusk was still beautiful.

The clouds were tinged with a soft purple-orange colour from the setting sun, and the colourful light and shadow flowed on the surface of the river, making Sui Cannong feel a bit more relaxed.

His gaze fell on the side of the bridge, and Sui Cannong noticed that the traffic on the road was jammed, but there were very few pedestrians on the sidewalk. He didn’t pay too much attention, just withdrew his gaze and turned up the volume of the radio.

However, five seconds later, Sui Cannong suddenly widened his eyes and turned his head abruptly.

Across several lanes, on the sidewalk of the bridge, he saw a somewhat familiar, slender figure in a windbreaker.

It was Ji Ling.

Why hadn’t he left yet? Sui Cannong was stunned.

When they had just parted ways at the coffee shop, both of them had something on their minds and neither had said much more. Sui Cannong only remembered that Ji Ling was standing on the roadside, looking at his phone, as if he was about to hail a taxi. Actually, according to Sui Cannong’s usual personality, he would definitely offer to give the other person a ride.

But at that time, Sui Cannong himself didn’t feel very comfortable, thinking that Ji Ling had been unwilling to even take the resources in the game, and probably wanted to quickly distance himself from Sui Cannong. Even if he had asked, it would have just been a result of seeking something in vain.

Sui Cannong couldn’t understand why he had been stuck here for half an eternity, and Ji Ling still hadn’t hailed a taxi, nor did he understand why the person was standing on the bridge now. At first, Ji Ling was standing with his back to Sui Cannong on the bridge, so Sui Cannong couldn’t see his expression.

So when Ji Ling turned his face slightly at that moment, Sui Cannong was stunned.

Because Ji Ling was smoking.

It’s not that he couldn’t smoke; in fact, there were quite a few male teachers at school who were heavy smokers, such as Thomas, and they would usually go to the school’s back door and smoke a few cigarettes in the empty space next to the security room during lunch break. But Sui Cannong remembered that Ji Ling had never been among that group of people.

Ji Ling didn’t really seem like someone who would smoke often. Sui Cannong saw him take a puff and then hold the cigarette in his hand, staring at the smoke rising from his fingertips, lost in thought.

Perhaps due to the thickening twilight, Ji Ling’s profile was very clear in Sui Cannong’s eyes, and his expression seemed somewhat bewildered. The wind by the river was strong, and the slightly long hair swept over Ji Ling’s eyebrows. Sui Cannong saw him slightly open his mouth, his eyelashes trembling, and exhale a puff of smoke.

Ji Ling looked up at the dispersing smoke, his expression seeming to be lost in thought. However, in that moment, within the hazy mist, Sui Cannong captured a fleeting emotion on his face, as if he was feeling sad.

He hadn’t reacted yet, Ji Ling bit the cigarette, turned his head, and looked back at the river.

There was an impatient honk behind him, and it was only then that Sui Cannong came to his senses and continued to move forward with the flow of traffic.

After moving a short distance, the traffic stopped again. Sui Cannong looked ahead and saw that they were about to descend from the bridge. He realised that this should be the last red light he had to wait for.

Sui Cannong had been waiting for a long time for the cross talk to start. The comic and the straight man were skillfully performing, but he seemed to be unable to focus.

Uncontrollably, Sui Cannong turned his gaze to the rearview mirror.

He didn’t understand why he continued to stare at Ji Ling. Perhaps he just wanted to see if Ji Ling had finished smoking the cigarette, or perhaps it was because his expression just now was… a little unsettling.

Ji Ling in the rearview mirror looked very small.

Sui Cannong saw him take a few slow steps forward, then stop at the railing by the bridge, staring blankly at the river.

After a while, Ji Ling lowered his head, as if he wanted to put out the cigarette, but after looking around and not finding a trash can, he continued to hold it in his hand.

He took two more steps forward, getting closer to the edge of the metal railing.

– However, in the next moment, just as Sui Cannong hadn’t reacted to what he was about to do, Ji Ling suddenly placed his hand on the railing.

The wind blew the hem of his trench coat violently by the river, and then Sui Cannong saw Ji Ling use both arms to support his upper body, bend over, and directly lean out of the metal railing!

Sui Cannong’s pupils suddenly contracted, and he was almost scared to jump out of the driver’s seat. After reacting, Sui Cannong immediately fumbled to open the car window and shouted Ji Ling’s name loudly through the window. However, the two were too far apart, and the honking behind easily drowned out Sui Cannong’s voice in the wind.

There were few pedestrians on the pedestrian bridge, and this particular moment happened to have no pedestrians passing by. Apart from Sui Cannong, who had been secretly observing Ji Ling, there seemed to be no other drivers on the road who noticed this scene.

Sui Cannong felt like his soul was about to scatter.

Fortunately, the next moment, he saw Ji Ling straighten up and, using the railing for support, pull himself back to the safety zone by the bridge.

Ji Ling’s arms seemed a little weak, so his whole body staggered back a step. After steadying himself by holding onto the railing, he started staring blankly at the river again.

Sui Cannong didn’t know what Ji Ling’s purpose was in making such a move, nor did he know what Ji Ling’s thoughts were at this moment. He only knew that he was truly and genuinely scared silly. Sui Cannong couldn’t let go, but he couldn’t turn around immediately either, and coincidentally, the traffic light turned green again. He could only move his car at the slowest speed, while keeping his gaze locked on the figure in the rearview mirror.

Sui Cannong saw Ji Ling lower his head and put out the cigarette. In the end, he still didn’t find a trash can, so he crushed the cigarette butt in his palm. The wind was a bit strong, and he stared at the river for a while, then turned around and slowly walked away along the edge of the bridge.