Chapter 87: Station 23: Unmarried
Chapter 87: Station 23: Unmarried
Ming Yiyang felt a sense of bewildered emptiness.
This was actually the outcome he had anticipated, and he should have accepted it calmly without any surprise. However, he had clearly overestimated his ability to endure.
Upon hearing the affirmative answer, a fiery irritation spread from his stomach to his throat like burning alcohol, constricting his vocal cords as if they were stuffed with cotton, leaving him with an unfamiliar sensation of not knowing how to react.
Yan Qiling seemed indifferent to his emotions. Not only did he not promptly change the subject, but he gently recounted past details:
"At first, it was merely a childhood whim between two young ones. But as our families' friendship deepened, my in-laws intended to hold the wedding before I left for abroad."
"My mother thought I was too young, and teenagers inevitably have their blind spots in judgment. A hasty marriage would be irresponsible towards both children, so she advised me to establish myself first before settling down."
"My father has always deferred to my mother's opinions, so he had no objections and politely declined the arranged marriage on my behalf, allowing me to go abroad first."
Ming Yiyang felt a bit more at ease but was still puzzled.
"You rejected the arranged marriage, yet you still call that young lady your fiancée... Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
"Relax."
Yan Qiling smiled as if he found it amusing, his heterochromatic eyes shimmering with curiosity.
"The marriage contract between our two families wasn't settled before I left. So the girl who originally negotiated the marriage with me got married early on. By the time I returned to the country, she already had two children."
Ming Yiyang's expression changed abruptly as he imagined a grim scenario.
"Tell me she didn't marry someone else, and you still have feelings for her... Planning to marry a widow?"
Yan Qiling couldn't help but laugh and sigh at the same time.
"How could that be? Her husband runs a medicinal business locally, and their family is prosperous with many descendants. Even if she lost her husband, her clan would take care of her and her children. How could they allow her to remarry someone else? Perhaps such restrictions no longer exist now, but back then, once she was married, there was no possibility of any connection between us."
Upon learning that it wasn't some melodramatic storyline of undying love, Ming Yiyang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Gently smoothing his unruly silver hair, he pretended nonchalance and said,
"Not a problem then. Carry on."
Yan Qiling gave him a fleeting glance, twirling the creased cigarette between his fingers with casual indifference,
"At first, I thought this matter was settled, and my family started looking at other potential brides... But I didn't expect that my in-laws were indeed persistent."
"He insisted on marrying his youngest daughter to me as a fiancée, wanting to rekindle our past relationship... My family was quite content with this match, so I now have a new fiancée."
Ming Yiyang was deeply astonished; this twist was unforeseen.
"So, your in-laws married off the original fiancée to someone else... and after you returned home, they found their youngest daughter for you?! Wait, with your personality, you actually agreed to it?! I thought you would decline outright."
A rare expression of surprise flickered across Yan Qiling's face, probably because Ming Yiyang's reaction was more intense than he had anticipated.
Then, he smiled warmly,
"Yes, I was different back then. Although I had returned from studying abroad, my family's opinions held significant weight to me."
"Bound by the will of our parents and the words of matchmakers, one can hardly defy such arrangements. The most rebellious act I could muster back then was to persuade my father to let me secretly meet the maiden a few times. If she were unwilling, this marriage could not proceed, no matter what."
Ming Yiyang glanced sideways at the man's face and scoffed lightly, "With a face like that, who would dare to say no?"
"That's not something you can take for granted," Yan Qiling replied, spinning his pinky ring. His gaze was profound as he continued, "Perhaps someone might remain unmoved, or perhaps she simply doesn't fancy my type. It's all still uncertain."
Ming Yiyang wasn't keen on engaging further, so he pretended not to care and said, "Since she's become your fiancée, it seems she's quite pleased with you."
Yan Qiling answered candidly, his tone as if discussing someone else's story, "I had no objections to the maiden in the first place. Later, when I learned that she also had no issues with me, I went back to report to my father. After further discussion with her family, the matter was settled."
Ming Yiyang tried to hold back but couldn't resist, leaning in to ask,
"Is your fiancée beautiful?"
Yan Qiling pretended to recall the memory seriously.
To be honest, the matter of his fiancée was indeed too distant and long ago for him.
So much so that when he tried to remember her appearance now, it was like being lost in a fog, indistinct and vague.
He could only vaguely recall her outline, with faint hints of a gentle and refined lady's elegance still lingering.
Following the fragmented memories, he pieced them together carefully, saying,
"She... is delicate and charming, with a face as round as a silver platter. Although she has a few freckles, they only add to her liveliness and cuteness, making her extremely animated. She doesn't usually wear makeup, but would occasionally apply some when she saw me. On rainy days, she would go without, presenting her natural self, which was also lovely."
Ming Yiyang listened with great displeasure, but since he had initiated the topic, he had to endure it even if he disliked it.
Seeing Yan Qiling describe his fiancée in such a lovely and captivating way, he forced a grin through gritted teeth:
"Not tall, big face, with spots – doesn't sound appealing at all."
If Chi Zihe were here, he'd probably be overwhelmed by this person's sudden surge of jealousy.
But right now, only Yan Qiling was present.
As one of the main characters, he didn't seem to detect any hint of jealousy. Instead, he found the young man's reaction amusing and couldn't help but chuckle:
"If you had met her, you wouldn't think that way."
"She's a reasonable woman. Although she's been sheltered by her father-in-law for years, her vision isn't limited to cosmetics and jewelry. She secretly collects some nice Western dresses and wears them privately. I've even had a few sent to her from Guang City, which she adores. She looks adorable in those dresses."
Ming Yiyang began to regret his decision to speak up.
If he had known he would hear more praise about his fiancée, he would have preferred being silenced by poison just a second ago – silence would have been better.
Now, he was irritated to the point of craving a cigarette.
Snatching back the cigarette that the man had been holding, Ming Yiyang refrained from lighting it immediately and asked:
"So then, why is she just your fiancée and not your wife?"
Upon asking this, he felt a sudden relief in his heart, and his tone softened, carrying an unconscious hint of amusement:
"You keep referring to her as your fiancée... You two haven't gotten married, right?"
Yan Qiling didn't answer immediately but instead gazed at the moon above.
The cold moon cast a thin, dark shadow beneath his long eyelashes.
Amidst the solitude of his raised gaze, Yan Qiling broke the brief silence with a deep, soothing voice:
"According to custom, we should have been married."
"However, my mother passed away shortly after my engagement... Back then, I was bound by tradition to observe three years of mourning for her. And then..."
His expression was detached, as if he were recounting a story unrelated to himself:
"I am no longer alive, thus this marriage no longer concerns me."
This was not an answer Ming Yiyang had anticipated.
He stood frozen, taken aback by the response.
In a somewhat sluggish manner, he realized, yes, the Master of Wujian was someone who had died before. Only the deceased could sink into the realm of Yin and Yang, where there was no escape.
Yet, he couldn't fathom how Yan Qiling could have met his end.
Judging from Yan Qiling's physical form, there were no apparent signs of bodily harm... except for that artificial blue eye.
He gazed quietly at the man's exquisite face, which usually betrayed no emotions.
When Yan Qiling didn't smile, he seemed like a lifeless doll.
The light of humanity, which had been swirling within his dual pupils, rapidly dimmed away.
Instead, they were replaced by a pair of dull eyes, resembling glass beads, lacking any spark or life.
He wished to inquire about the cause of the other's death, but asking in such a setting wouldn't convey concern; it would instead seem like an innocent yet intrusive curiosity, solely to satisfy his own inquisitiveness.
By now, he fully understood why Yan Qiling kept his true nature hidden from others.
For someone carrying so many secrets, revelation was not a relief but a burden, a bloody dissection.
Each explanation might be like a surgeon's knife piercing through the abdomen, reopening old wounds for others to inspect.
It brought nothing but pain to oneself and gossip for others.
Ming Yiyang suddenly yearned to embrace the person in front of him tightly, even though he knew it wasn't needed and might discomfort the other party. Yet, he still desired to do so.
His fingers, holding the cigarette, tightened and then gradually relaxed. Ming Yiyang tried to control his muscles, not wanting to reveal too much abnormality, lest Yan Qiling feel pitied or sympathized with.
Such emotions could be an intrusion to Yan Qiling at this moment.
As Ming Yiyang was mentally arranging his words, Yan Qiling casually took the cigarette that had been in his hand, dismissing its significance.
The cigarette had been crushed and twisted beyond recognition, its wrinkled appearance suggesting it had been smoked countless times.
Yan Qiling twirled the cigarette between his fingers, then suddenly smiled.
With his usual, standard grin, he turned his head to look at the young man beside him, unexpectedly initiating a new topic:
"Speaking of which, do you know how my mother passed away?"
Ming Yiyang sensed that the story that followed might not be a pleasant one.
Yet, he felt Yan Qiling's rare urge to share, so after a moment of hesitation, he gazed at the cigarette, forming a vague conjecture in his mind:
"...Lung cancer?"
"Not quite that dignified," Yan Qiling chuckled, smoothing back his disheveled hair before speaking softly, "She died from opium addiction."
Bathed in the azure moonlight, a solitary figure twirled a tobacco-scented cigarette with an utterly indifferent air.
Yan Qiling gently placed the unlit cigarette on the roof tile, letting it rest there like an ordinary ornament.
Ming Yiyang's fingers twitched but did not make contact.
He heard the man say with a wry smile,
"A perfectly good person ends up as a ghost in the end."
There was not a hint of sorrow in his tone.
Not the slightest trace of reluctance.
Yan Qiling leaned against the rooftop with a relaxation that surpassed any other time.