3
A few days later, the real estate agent told me a client was interested in the house and asked when we could sign the contract.
I went back to our old villa.
Without her things, the interior felt empty.
The childish, exaggerated murals were gone, the stuffed animal pillows on the sofa were gone, the plants she grew on the balcony had been
moved away.
Including the wedding photo we took while traveling.
Only cold, simple furnishings remained.
I stood there dazed, suddenly wanting desperately to find traces of her life.
But there was nothing, not even the slightest bit.
I searched every corner relentlessly, but found nothing anywhere.
What about that bear?
Trushed frantically to the corner of the yard but the bear was long gone too.
3:02 PM
<
Maybe the cleaners had taken it away as trash.
The last thing she left for me, I had lost it too.
I went home and dug out all the clothes she had bought for me in the past, laying them out on the bed, then lying down on top of them.
I didn’t deliberately try to fall asleep, but quickly drifted off.
I vaguely felt a very soft breath by my ear, faint like a kitten’s. This sleep was unprecedentedly long.
The door opened. There were footsteps.
I suddenly woke up, striding out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
When I saw the person, my heart skipped a beat.
It was just the real estate agent.
He had potential buyers with him. Seeing me, he looked a bit surprised and smiled, “Mr. Lu, you’re here too. Perfect, let me introduce you.”
I covered my eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I can’t sell the house.”
I went to find Ryan.
I asked him about Vivian’s last residence before she died.
He looked at me for a while, then smiled. “I’ve already bought that house. Don’t think about it anymore.”
I choked up.
He stood and paced over to me. “I know you want to find her belongings, to know how she spent her final days. You don’t have that chance anymore.”
I was silent for a moment, then looked up at him. “Actually, I’m very jealous of you.”
“You always knew more about her affairs than I did.”
“I’m jealous that when she was hurt or in trouble, the first person she thought of was you, not me.”
“Before you appeared, I was the only one she relied on.”
Ryan slowly smiled. “Lucas, that’s because you didn’t deserve it.””
4
