Chapter 173: Confession
Zhao Dong's speed surged as his vital energy and Spiritual Energy erupted. In the span of a single breath, he reached the railing and grabbed Ding Lan's hand at the last possible moment. She had already vaulted over the edge, her entire body suspended in the air, held only by his tight grip.
Zhao Dong's voice trembled. "Ding Lan, don't be rash! Listen to me, don't do anything reckless."
As Ding Lan looked down at the tiny streams of traffic below, a wave of dizziness washed over her. Looking up at Zhao Dong's face, tears streamed down her own. "Zhao Dong, let go! Just let me die! I don't want to live anymore. There's no point."
"Are you out of your mind? Snap out of it, Ding Lan! You're only in your twenties. You're a physician at East Sea Hospital with a promising future, and your parents' business is booming. You have family, resources, a good background, a career—why would you want to die?"
Zhao Dong clung desperately to Ding Lan's hand. He tried to pull her up, but she kept struggling, making it impossible for him to get any leverage.
Hearing this, Ding Lan cried, "Zhao Dong, why are you just like everyone else? Why can you only see my glamorous side? Don't you know that I'm living in agony? Do you have any idea that I suffer from insomnia every night and have to take sleeping pills? I seem to have everything, but I lost the most precious thing I ever had… Zhao Dong, I lost you…"
The sound of her crying, carried by the wind, reached Zhao Dong's ears. His heart trembled. "Listen to me," he said hoarsely. "Stop struggling. Just let me pull you up, okay?"
Ding Lan shook her head, her eyes shut tight. "There's no need, Zhao Dong," she said, her voice raspy. "Just let go…"
"Listen to me!" Zhao Dong's arms were trembling. "I'm begging you, Ding Lan. Please, just listen and let me pull you up."
Staring at the traffic far below, Ding Lan gave a sorrowful smile. "Why are you so afraid of me dying? Is it because you still like me?"
"Whether I like you or not, I can't just stand by and watch a living person die right in front of my eyes!"
"Zhao Dong, you do still have feelings for me, don't you? You still like me, right?"
Zhao Dong clenched his jaw, his grip on Ding Lan's hand unwavering. His arms scraped against the sharp concrete edge of the rooftop, already starting to bleed.
"Zhao Dong, I know I'm still in your heart. You just… you think I'm a bad woman, a woman who doesn't deserve to be liked… don't you?"
"Ding Lan, stop talking. Right now, all I want is for you to live."
"Then tell me! Do you love me or not?"
"Ding Lan!" Zhao Dong gasped for air, waves of fatigue washing over him. With the nourishment of his Spiritual Energy, this shouldn't have been so strenuous. But Ding Lan's constant struggling and her attempts to wrench her hand free left him at a loss.
Ding Lan closed her eyes, a single tear falling from over a hundred meters up. She said hoarsely, "Zhao Dong, why… why can't you accept me again? We obviously have feelings for each other."
"Ding Lan, you should know that a broken mirror can't be mended. It's precisely because I truly loved you that I can't accept us getting back together. For those three years when I was at my lowest, you were by my side, like a beacon of light in my dark world. I'll always remember that. I'll even admit that I haven't been able to completely sever my feelings for you. After all… we both gave so much to each other during those three years. But it's time to move on. We both have our own lives to live now. Ding Lan, let's just look forward, okay?"
Ding Lan replied through her tears, "But we promised we'd always be there for each other… Zhao Dong, I regret it. I regret telling you we should break up. I regret mocking you when we first met after you got back from the service even more… I just… I saw you with that woman, and it hurt so much…"
Zhao Dong gave a bitter smile. "But you were with Zhang Shaowen that day, too."
"That's because I saw you inside the restaurant from the street. I was afraid you'd found someone new. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to control my emotions. I was even more terrified of facing you alone, so I asked Zhang Shaowen to come with me and pretend we were just bumping into you…" Her voice trailed off. "Zhao Dong… if we had both been single back then, if we hadn't been so stubborn, could we have gotten back together?"
Zhao Dong sighed softly. "It's all in the past."
Ding Lan fell silent. She looked down at the city below her for a moment, then closed her eyes.
Zhao Dong gritted his teeth. Seizing the moment while Ding Lan wasn't struggling, he put all his strength into his arms and hauled her back onto the rooftop.
Ding Lan collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. She had been terrified, too. Only now, with solid ground beneath her feet, did she truly register the fear. Beside her, Zhao Dong also sat on the concrete, lighting a cigarette, his own face pale with lingering dread.
Looking at her, he exhaled a plume of smoke. "Scared now?"
Ding Lan bit her lip, composing herself before looking at him. "If it wasn't for you, I'd be on my way to reincarnation by now, wouldn't I? You saved my life."
Zhao Dong smiled faintly. "The woman I remember was always so rational. You shouldn't do something like this."
"Even the most rational woman can't think straight when it comes to love."
Ding Lan gave Zhao Dong a deep, meaningful look. He was startled into silence and continued to smoke quietly.
Just then, Ding Lan moved to sit directly in front of him. She reached out, plucked the cigarette from his lips, and placed it between her own, taking a soft drag. A second later, the smoke caught in her throat, and she broke into a fit of coughing, tears welling in her eyes.
Zhao Dong frowned and patted her on the back. "Of all the things to learn, you choose smoking?"
"I wish I were a cigarette."
"Why?"
"Because then… at least you wouldn't hate me so much," Ding Lan said, her gaze melancholic.
Zhao Dong froze. The next second, Ding Lan lunged forward and threw herself into his arms, holding him tightly. She buried her face in his chest, and her cold, silent tears soaked his shirt, piercing right through to his heart.
"Zhao Dong, wouldn't it have been wonderful if we'd never broken up? I'm a physician now. My salary is more than enough for us to buy a big house in this bustling city. We could get a small car, a puppy, a kitten… we could have a good life…"
Listening to the sobbing woman in his arms, Zhao Dong sighed, his expression complex. Back in school, their shared dream had been to build a career in this city and have a cozy little home together. But at the time, they were both from ordinary families. In a first-tier economic hub like East Sea, where property prices were sky-high, owning even a small nest was an extravagant dream. Yet now, for both of them, it was so simple and completely within reach.
"Maybe we got everything we ever wanted. Maybe we can finally achieve the dream we had back then… but is the person who shared that dream with me still here?" Ding Lan asked, her voice thick with tears.
Zhao Dong remained silent, closing his eyes with a soft sigh.
A faint, sweet fragrance wafted past, stirring something in him. He opened his eyes to find Ding Lan's beautiful face just inches from his own.
"Ding Lan, you—"
"Shh, don't talk."
Ding Lan placed a finger on his lips. The next second, her own soft lips pressed against his. Her tear-stained kiss was passionate yet cold, alluring yet emotional, as she kissed him deeply.
Zhao Dong's body went rigid as he stared, stunned, at the woman before him. She kissed him with feverish intensity, and he could taste the salt of her tears mingled with a wonderful sweetness.