Chapter 30: “She was resolute and proud, forever believing everything she didn’t believe in.” Part 1

“What’s your wish?”

In her panic, Qiu Yiran asked.

She was still extremely cautious.

Because at that moment, Li Wuhui was too close to her—less than ten centimeters away. She had her pinned against the car.

The wind, carrying the rain mist, was very lingering. It blew their damp strands of hair together, entwining their breaths.

Li Wuhui’s scent was everywhere, damp and seeping into every inch of her skin.

“Are you afraid of me winning?”

Li Wuhui lowered her eyes to glance at her from in front of the car.

Her long, curled lashes were wet, and her voice seemed to carry water as well.

“Afraid that after I win, I’ll find every way possible to cling to you?”

“I don’t feel that way.” Qiu Yiran twisted her toes, trying to pull away from this distance that felt like shackles.

And she merely shifted her body slightly—

Li Wuhui stepped forward decisively.

Their breaths came even closer.

She lightly pressed her boot against Qiu Yiran’s shoe, blocking her escape by the car.

The black mid-calf thin-soled boot was covered in rain threads, pressing tight against the loose brown snow boots.

It also blocked her path.

Qiu Yiran had no choice but to stop.

Through the damp clothing.

She could feel her residual limb almost pressed against the woman’s leg.

Even their body heat was transferring.

The rain made the woman’s scent even more humid.

Qiu Yiran lowered her eyes—she wouldn’t meet Li Wuhui’s gaze, but she finally relented.

“If I win, will you really agree to go to Paris with me in a faster way?”

Hearing her say that, Li Wuhui smiled.

Because they were so close.

The laughter almost swam into her ears like a fish.

And after that.

The shoe pressing against her toe finally moved back a step, allowing her to breathe again.

“We’ll talk after you win.”

With that, Li Wuhui said no more.

She just kept her head down, braving the rain as she walked toward the store across the street.

The rain threads lingered, still carrying that humid scent. Qiu Yiran exhaled with effort.

After catching her breath a bit, she followed.

Compared to Li Wuhui’s full gear, Qiu Yiran hadn’t bothered with any cover.

Because she didn’t think—

In a brand store endorsed by Li Wuhui, anyone would skip over Li Wuhui and recognize her, Qiu Yiran.

So Qiu Yiran walked in silently.

Then she started thinking about how they would escape once Li Wuhui was recognized.

This was too risky.

Maybe she shouldn’t have agreed to Li Wuhui. Qiu Yiran frowned as she thought.

And almost the moment she stepped inside, a cautious unfamiliar female voice came from behind her.

“Excuse me, may I ask—”

She and Li Wuhui both stopped.

They hadn’t entered together.

They were ten meters apart precisely so they could slip away later.

But the instant they heard that voice—

They were the first to lock eyes across the surging crowd.

Then they both looked away at the same time, searching for the source amid the clamor.

Unexpectedly.

The voice came from behind Qiu Yiran.

It was a young woman, dressed like a typical backpacker. She took a deep breath, looking at Qiu Yiran cautiously.

“Excuse me, are you—are you Ian?”

Qiu Yiran was stunned.

Then, amid the crowd, she searched for Li Wuhui’s figure.

Li Wuhui had witnessed it all, of course.

So when Qiu Yiran’s bewildered gaze turned to her.

She just smiled faintly, almost imperceptibly, then turned and left the store low-key.

Leaving Qiu Yiran alone.

And the Li Wuhui on all the store’s billboards.

To face this young woman who looked at her with utmost expectation, hoping she’d admit she was Ian.

“Yes, that’s me.” Qiu Yiran pursed her lips.

“It really is you!”

The backpacker got excited all at once. “I knew I couldn’t be wrong!”

Several passersby glanced back suspiciously, probably wondering what she was so worked up about.

“How do you know me?” Qiu Yiran still hadn’t recovered.

“I’d recognize you even if you turned to ash!”

As she spoke, the backpacker pulled out a notebook from her bag, then took a clipped paper from it, looking at her eagerly.

“Idol, can you sign this for me?”

“Idol?” Qiu Yiran felt a little unaccustomed.

But she still took the paper unconsciously, then froze—it was the cover of a magazine she’d shot before.

It must have been torn from the magazine for easy carrying, but since it was so old, the paper was worn.

On the cover page was her face from when she was nineteen, along with the words she’d said in that interview.

Flip it over, and it was the photo she’d won gold for in the competition.

She’d never thought she’d see her past self in someone else’s hands again.

Qiu Yiran was caught off guard.

But under the backpacker’s enthusiastic gaze, she signed it reluctantly.

Afterward, the backpacker invited her for a photo.

She didn’t refuse.

So they went outside the store.

The backpacker pressed the shutter, and Qiu Yiran forced a smile.

They posed in front of the massive billboard behind them. The third person in the photo was Li Wuhui.

Before leaving, the backpacker seemed to remember something and shouted back loudly,

“Idol! No matter what, I’ll always support you!”

Qiu Yiran didn’t respond.

She just watched the backpacker leave, then headed to her car.

Li Wuhui was already waiting inside.

She watched every step as Qiu Yiran approached, then said when she got in,

“You’ll honor the bet, right?”

Qiu Yiran thought for a moment. “You knew that person would recognize me?”

The car’s light was dim.

Li Wuhui looked at her expression of sudden realization and suddenly laughed.

“I saw that person crossing the street earlier. She was holding a camera at the time—the exact model you mentioned as your first one in that magazine interview.”

“That alone doesn’t prove anything, does it?”

“Of course not,” Li Wuhui said.

“But add in how she hurriedly stuffed the camera back into her bag, with the photobook corner peeking out by accident? And her outfit, the brand of her cap, the strap bag’s brand and model—they all match the ones in that video record of yours from when you were twenty…”

Qiu Yiran was dazed.

Even with a photobook…

She hadn’t even noticed all those things related to her on the backpacker?

How did Li Wuhui know so clearly?

It was as if…

She’d seen it with her own eyes and watched her past over and over.

“So I bet she’d recognize you right away.”

A big truck passed outside, and Li Wuhui made her conclusion amid the noise.

Qiu Yiran’s throat felt dry. “How do you know what I looked like at twenty?”

Li Wuhui didn’t answer.

She didn’t look at her either.

Instead, she stared at the cars passing outside.

After a long while, she spoke slowly. “Qiu Yiran, no one remembers what you were like before better than I do.”

She said it with such certainty.

As if it were an indisputable fact.

But Qiu Yiran remained stunned.

Hearing Li Wuhui say that, she didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad.

Admitting it seemed to make Li Wuhui feel powerless. So soon, she sorted out those excess emotions and shifted focus back to the bet.

“So in the end, I won.”

Qiu Yiran fell silent.

She knew from the start that Li Wuhui had set her up.

But she couldn’t blame her for it—

Li Wuhui wasn’t just the host of this bet; she was a participant too. She’d won, and the stake was her love for Qiu Yiran. Even if that love was now in the past.

“But actually, I was just tricking you.” Li Wuhui admitted it anyway.

“Because I wanted your wish.”

“What wish do you want?” Qiu Yiran asked softly.

“Give me…”

Li Wuhui had long decided what her wish was—she hoped Qiu Yiran would pick up a camera again and take photos of her.

That was one of the purposes of this trip.

Her suitcase even held the camera she planned to give Qiu Yiran.

But after winning the bet through such despicable means, looking into Qiu Yiran’s innocent, bewildered eyes, she suddenly felt reluctant.

And afraid.

Maybe revealing her goal too soon would push Qiu Yiran further away.

So at the last moment, she lowered her eyes and changed it to, “Paint me a picture.”

As far as she knew, Qiu Yiran had studied art to learn photography. Painting wasn’t hard for her and wouldn’t touch too directly on that painful past.

“Paint?” Qiu Yiran was surprised.

She hadn’t expected this wish that Li Wuhui had schemed so hard to win to be just a painting.

“Why a painting?” Qiu Yiran watched Li Wuhui’s expression. “Li Wuhui, I’ll honor the bet. You don’t have to—”

“Just paint.” Li Wuhui cut her off.

“What to paint?” Qiu Yiran had no choice but to ask.

“What to paint, where, when—I’ll decide. I’ll tell you when I want it.”

Qiu Yiran opened her mouth, wanting to say more.

But Li Wuhui quickly added, “I’ll have you finish it before we reach Paris.”

“No matter what, it won’t delay our divorce.”

Li Wuhui had emphasized this repeatedly—nothing on the road would interfere with their goal at the end.

Li Wuhui was actually very trustworthy.

But for some reason.

Hearing it didn’t make Qiu Yiran feel relieved. She just nodded and said blankly, “Okay.”

–

Xi’an was a place neither of them had been to before.

They got out of the car and went to the hotel they’d booked ahead, heading to separate rooms—

Like a pair of estranged wives truly going to get divorced.

This made Qiu Yiran feel at ease.

At least she didn’t have to expose her atrophied residual limb to Li Wuhui again.

But just before she finished washing up and going to bed, there was a knock at the door.

She opened it.

As expected, it was Li Wuhui outside.

By then, Qiu Yiran had removed her prosthetic leg, her pant leg hanging empty.

She leaned on the crutches she’d taken from the car.

She looked at Li Wuhui outside blankly. “Is there something else?”

Li Wuhui didn’t come in.

She just visibly relaxed upon seeing her, then scanned the room.

Finally, her gaze swept over the empty pant leg and unceremoniously extended her hand. “Give it to me.”

“What?” Qiu Yiran was confused.

“The prosthetic leg.” Li Wuhui said the words.

Qiu Yiran tried hard to show her determination to Li Wuhui. “I won’t run.”

Li Wuhui looked at her and smiled.

“On this matter, you have no credibility with me right now.”

Qiu Yiran had no choice.

“Actually, if I wanted to run, I could do it without the prosthetic leg.”

But she still stepped aside from the door, letting Li Wuhui in to take her stake.

“But at least, I won’t let you run off with the prosthetic leg.” Li Wuhui glanced at her. “That way, I can catch you quickly.”

Qiu Yiran was speechless.

Li Wuhui strode in openly.

She scanned the room, found the prosthetic leg, and picked it up heavily.

Seeing Li Wuhui hold the prosthetic leg without any qualms, her soft fingers gripping the metal shaft firmly.

Qiu Yiran felt a bit embarrassed.

Three years had passed; the prosthetic leg had become part of her body. Her flesh had stuck to the socket countless times, the metal shaft her bone, supporting her frame…

It felt like—

Li Wuhui was holding her leg in her palm.

And for the whole night, part of her body would be with Li Wuhui.

Undoubtedly, when Li Wuhui returned the prosthetic leg tomorrow and she fitted it back into her body, Li Wuhui’s scent would seep into her flesh too.

Qiu Yiran felt both humiliated and embarrassed.

But because it was Li Wuhui, her not-yet-divorced wife, because they’d done even more intimate things, because Li Wuhui was so frank.

It added a hint of unspeakable hesitation to her heart.

“What are you thinking?” Li Wuhui suddenly asked.

Qiu Yiran’s thoughts were yanked back.

She startled and retreated two steps.

Gazing at Li Wuhui, who was still holding the prosthetic leg in her hand, Qiu Yiran pursed her lips.

“It’s nothing.”

Li Wuhui didn’t miss Qiu Yiran’s slightly reddened ears.

She narrowed her eyes, unsure what exactly Qiu Yiran had thought of.

“I’ll return it to you on time tomorrow morning.”

“…Okay.” Qiu Yiran turned her face away.

She didn’t want to see what kind of posture Li Wuhui was holding her prosthetic leg in.

“But…”

Li Wuhui had already opened the door but stopped in her tracks and looked back at her.

“Will you let another woman do this in the future too?”

“Wha…” Qiu Yiran was astonished. “What did you say?”

“After we divorce,” Li Wuhui gazed at her amid the yellowish light and shadows,