"I hope Tan Ruo will be able to make a big hit movie every year in the future, and then invite Ms. Ling Chujin to attend the premiere!"
At that moment, the child's tender voice seemed to overlap with that clear and beautiful female voice from eighteen years ago.
At that moment, the scene on the rooftop of the campus many years ago emerged again.
Ling Chujin's hands were shaking. She heard herself ask the child in her arms in a dreamy, wispy voice:
"Ruo Ruo... Do you want to become an actor in the future?"
"Yeah! So Mom, do you want to be my fan? My first fan!"
...
"Well, it's settled then. From now on you'll be my fan, my first fan Tan Ruo!"
...
Listening to her daughter's innocent words and looking into her eyes that were just like that person's in her memories, Ling Chujin felt as if she had been pulled back to that year in an instant.
That year, she was seventeen. Her father was busy hosting academic seminars and teaching students, while her mother was busy with concerts all over the world.
She was alone, carrying a violin, struggling in various competitions.
She played the violin very well, but... she could never get first place.
The teacher said, "Chujin, you care too much about success, so your music can't move people."
The judges said, "This contestant has the best skills, but her sound is lifeless."
Dad said, "Your grades have collapsed. You should at least have one thing I can boast about.
When I give lectures, I worry that people will ask me if my daughter has any accomplishments."
Mom said, "If you're not happy, why bother learning?
I can't teach you. I don't understand why a seventeen-year-old girl like you is gloomy every day."
So after yet another failure in a competition, after disappointing her parents again and feeling lost and helpless, she went to the rooftop of the science building.
As she climbed onto the short parapet, she called her parents, who were at home, one last time.
On the call, she sincerely apologized to her parents:
"I'm sorry, Dad and Mom, I've embarrassed you again."
"Don't worry, Dad and Mom. After today, I won't embarrass you anymore.
After today, no one will know you had such a lousy daughter."
Then, under her parents' anxious questioning, she gently asked:
"Dad and Mom, could you say 'happy birthday' to me one last time?
It's been so long...so long since I heard you wish me a happy birthday... Today is...my birthday..."
It was the first time she heard her parents speak with tears in their voices. They asked her to come home, or to tell them where she was.
They said they wanted to wish her a happy birthday in person.
Only at that moment did she realize that her parents seemed to care about her too...
But it didn't matter. They would probably forget about her soon.
Maybe they would have another child in the future. Hopefully the next one would be an excellent child who could make them proud.
So she said,
"Never mind, I don't want to hear 'happy birthday' now. Let me make a wish instead!
I hope my dad and mom will be happy from now on. I hope you'll have a smart child..."
The moment the call ended, she threw her phone off the building.
By then it was already dusk, and the students had gradually left the science building.
She heard her phone shatter as it fell from the height.
She thought to herself, when I jump off shortly, it will probably make an even louder sound.
I hope I don't land on anyone...
She put her violin in a safe place,
as if hoping it could find a new owner.
But on second thought, that seemed unlikely, given that its previous owner had died so pathetically. No one would probably want to use it again.
How pitiful. To think it had been chosen by me...
I'm sorry. I got you into this...
After caressing the violin strings one last time, she slowly climbed over the short parapet.
The evening breeze carried a hint of coolness. She seemed to smell the scent of freedom.
"Um..."
Suddenly, a clear voice rang out.
"Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but...are you here to jump off the building too?"
...
Too?
The girl who was straddling the parapet paused, puzzled. She turned her head.
Not far away stood a ponytailed girl whose clothes were dirty, as if she had rolled on the ground.
Her exposed arms and calves were bruised purple and blue, and her cheeks still bore the mottled imprints of fingers.
At the moment, her eyes were red, but her voice was free of any sobbing.
"Y-yes, I am. What's up?"
Ling Chujin's voice was soft, as if afraid to startle the other girl.
"Then could you wait for me?" the girl asked.
"Why?" She felt confused.
This was the first time someone had asked her to wait before jumping off a building.
Wait for what?
To hold hands and jump together?
"I'm afraid if you jump too quickly, people will notice and gather around. If I jump after that, I might land on someone."
Ling Chujin fell silent. This girl was just as kindhearted as herself.
"Then hurry up."
As soon as she said this, Ling Chujin felt something was off.
This was like telling a friend to hurry downstairs when picking her up for school.
"Okay, okay!"
But the other girl didn't notice anything wrong at all. On the contrary, she sped up her actions.
The next second, Ling Chujin saw her stick the crooked candle into the cake.
Then she started rummaging through her pockets.
...
"Um, do you smoke? Do you have a lighter?"
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