Last Love chapter 118
On the morning when Han Jiangque left B City, the sky was gray, and occasional fine snowflakes drifted down. The sun hid behind thick clouds, resembling a gloomy face silently overlooking the world.
He switched his phone to silent and placed it in his pocket. The expressway to Jincheng was desolate, and the entire world was so quiet.
Quiet, to the point of being somewhat melancholic.
The journey took about three hours and fifteen minutes, following Route 13, passing through three gas stations, and climbing a short rugged mountain road before finally arriving in Jincheng—
His hometown Jincheng was a small northern city.
The air here seemed perpetually filled with mist, lacking lucrative industries. Young people left year after year, and due to the aging population, even parks and amusement parks gradually closed down. The people who stayed were gradually losing vitality and attractiveness along with the city.
Almost no one knew that Han Jiangque often drove back alone like this.
He never took the high-speed rail, perhaps due to the habit of self-driving in the United States; he preferred to silently drive alone.
For him, the lengthy journey was as natural as a solitary migration of a wild beast.
The deficiency in memory made Han Jiangque not adept at careful consideration. He instinctively returned to his frozen homeland, where the scent seemed to be calling out to him.
…
Winter in Jincheng felt like entering a long hibernation.
Streets were often devoid of people, snow piled up on the roadsides, and old buildings on both sides had iron burglar bars. Icicles formed under the windows.
He stayed at the only Hilton hotel in Jincheng, where there were almost no guests, and the front desk staff seemed sleepy every day.
Han Jiangque slowly drove through the city. During those days, time sometimes passed quickly, and at other times, it seemed to move very slowly.
He went to many places alone—
Places he had been to with Wen Ke.
KTV, Donghu Amusement Park, the beef noodle shop on Lin’an Road, and the small shop where they took photo stickers—all these places had changed beyond recognition.
But Beisan High School was still there.
Beisan High School was still on Luoyang Street, showing no signs of renovation in the past decade, and the paint on the school gate railing had peeled off.
Just like countless times before, Han Jiangque entered the school from the back gate, crossed the cold and windy corridors of the teaching building in the dark, and found the classroom where he and Wen Ke used to study—
The empty classroom was neatly arranged, with desks in order.
The writing on the blackboard was somewhat blurred, faintly indicating assignments given by the teacher for the winter vacation.
First row, second row, third row…
Han Jiangque counted and walked to the eighth row.
The seats were covered in dust, but he didn’t mind. Instead, he blew away the dust and sat down.
His gaze turned to the playground. Through the dirty window glass, it was as if he had traversed through time for a moment, seeing himself and Wen Ke standing on the track in the playground, being punished together.
Why would the studious Wen Ke be punished? Probably because he had been implicated by Han Jiangque.
But Han Jiangque couldn’t remember why; he only recalled that day when Wen Ke and he held their textbooks high above their heads as punishment.
Under the scorching sun, their school uniform shirts were soaked. When he turned to look at Wen Ke, sweat beads covered Wen Ke’s forehead, but he still sneaked a tongue-out gesture towards Han Jiangque.
Wen Ke’s face seemed so close, as if it were near him.
Han Jiangque couldn’t help but reach forward, wanting to touch Wen Ke’s soft cheek.
However, the icy touch of the window glass brought him back to reality. He looked around.
In the pitch-black classroom, he was still the only one sitting there, and the biting cold wind swept in from all sides.
He reached into the drawer of the desk, and when he pulled his hand out, there was nothing on it, just a thick layer of dust on his fingertips.
His fingers suddenly trembled violently.
For several days, he had cut off all contact with the outside world.
He feared communicating with Wen Ke, and at one point, he even thought that he no longer loved Wen Ke.
But when he sat here again, he suddenly clarified his escape.
Because like Wen Ke, he also had the long-standing, helpless pain embedded in his heart.
Ten years ago, at the age of 16, he had sat in the same position, watching his empty palms tremble—
“Where is Xiao Ke’s health examination report?”
Han Jiangque jumped up, leaving the dilapidated classroom like he was escaping.
…
On the 13th line expressway, a black Audi struggled forward in the midst of a snowstorm.
The cold wind roared against the car window as if it were howling, and the wheels crushed through thick snow, emitting a challenging creaking sound.
Jiang Chao cautiously held the steering wheel. He dared not step on the accelerator; some sections of the road were already icy. Driving in such weather was almost like constantly skidding, making it a very dangerous situation.
“Mr. Wen, I don’t think we can rush like this. The road conditions are very poor.”
Jiang Chao said in a low voice.
Wen Ke, still persistently dialing Han Jiangque’s phone, looked a bit pale when he heard Jiang Chao’s words. He forced a smile and said, “Let’s wait a bit longer. Maybe the snow will lessen after driving a bit more.”
Jiang Chao looked at the weary Wen Ke and sighed, continuing to drive forward for a while.
But after stopping at the third gas station, Jiang Chao, looking at the steep mountain road ahead, frowned and decisively said, “No more, the snow is too heavy, and the fog is too thick. It’s impossible to drive through the mountain road with such low visibility at night. Besides, you’re pregnant. In case something happens, I can’t explain to Mr. Han.”
Wen Ke looked at his phone screen and fell silent for a long time.
Outside, the sound of hail hitting the car body echoed, and he actually understood that Jiang Chao was right.
No more forcing it.
But he really couldn’t accept it. He could find Han Jiangque in just another half-hour drive.
“Mr. Wen!”
Jiang Chao’s tone suddenly intensified, “There’s a small inn next to the gas station. We can stay here for the night.”
Wen Ke finally lowered his head weakly and said softly, “Okay.”
They got out of the car together, and when they stepped outside, Wen Ke became more aware of how severe the weather was. The cold wind almost made him unstable. He covered his head and face with his hands, quickly walking towards the inn with Jiang Chao.
In the roaring wind, he vaguely felt the vibration of his phone. For a moment, he thought it was just his imagination, but when he hurriedly lowered his head, he couldn’t help but shiver uncontrollably—
He almost rushed into the inn, not caring about anything else and answered the phone by the door.
“Xiao Ke…”
“Han Jiangque!”
Wen Ke tightened the scarf in his hand, “Where are you now?”
“Xiao Ke.”
The voice on the phone said, “I miss you.”
Then paused for a moment, and repeated softly, “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
Wen Ke choked up a bit, speaking softly, “Where are you Han Jiangque?”
Han Jiangque didn’t immediately answer Wen Ke’s question. His voice sounded distant, echoing as if in a tunnel, “Xiao Ke, before, I said I hated you. But actually, I only hated you a tiny bit; I also hated Zuo Yuan, of course, I hate him. But the person I hate the most is myself.”
“Han Jiangque, just tell me where you are, are you in Jincheng?”
Wen Ke gripped the door handle.
After a moment of silence on the phone, Han Jiangque said, “I’m sitting on the steps in your building’s corridor.”
Wen Ke’s eyes reddened in an instant, and it took him a long time to say, “Is it cold? It’s snowing heavily.”
“Not cold. I’m watching the snow.” Han Jiangque said, “Xiao Ke, there’s a small window in the corridor of your home. Do you remember? I can only see a small corner of the sky.”
“I remember.” Wen Ke said, “Han Xiaoque, I’m also watching the snow. I’m at the small inn outside Jincheng.”
“…You came to find me?”
Han Jiangque’s voice trembled a bit.
“Yeah.”
Jiang Chao had already arranged the room and stood silently beside Wen Ke, handing over a room card.
Wen Ke nodded and took it, then walked inside with Jiang Chao.
It was a small inn with outdated facilities. The lighting was dim, and a musty smell hit them as soon as they opened the door. But at least there was heating.
Wen Ke took off his coat and stood by the window, watching the swirling snow outside. Speaking softly into the phone, he said, “Han Xiaoque, we are watching the same snowstorm. I’m very close to you.”
“Yeah.”
Han Jiangque responded softly.
The house Wen Ke lived in was too old. After ten years, it was basically in a semi-abandoned state. The sensor lights in the corridor were malfunctioning, everywhere covered in dust, and spider webs filled the corners of the security door.
The place Han Jiangque was in was pitch-dark, and the steps were as cold as ice.
During the summer when he lost Wen Ke, he also sat here. It was pouring rain outside at that time, and he cried freely.
Han Jiangque spoke softly, “These days, I’ve been thinking about something. In one’s life, are there many mistakes that are destined and cannot be rectified?”
“Yeah,” Wen Ke said, “I’m sorry, Han Xiaoque, it’s me…”
“I’m talking about myself, Xiao Ke—ten years ago, I left your medical examination report in the classroom.”
“Such an important thing, and I forgot about it.”
Han Jiangque said hoarsely, “When I came back to class on the third day, the medical examination report had spread everywhere. Everyone knew that you were actually an Omega, and an E-grade Omega at that. Actually, that was the beginning of everything back then, right?”
“Han Jiangque…….”
“Clearly, it was my fault. I caused you to be transferred, caused you to be talked about by other classmates, but I never apologized to you. Instead, I cold-warred with you like a child—actually, I pushed you towards Zhuo Yuan.”
Wen Ke couldn’t help but urgently say, “I already know about your memory issues! The incident with the pheromone stimulation leading to encephalitis, I understand it all. Fu Xiaoyu told me. Listen to me, the medical report wasn’t your fault, and what happened afterward, no one could have predicted.”
“You know…”
Han Jiangque’s face turned instantly pale.
The pain hidden for more than ten years was suddenly exposed, something he didn’t want to admit so early because it felt like shifting blame.
But all along the way, he had hidden it for too long, and it was too exhausting. Hearing these words, he even felt a sense of relief.
His tone lost the surprise, “You… you know?”
“Yes,” Wen Ke said firmly.
Han Jiangque curled up like a child, his body slightly trembling under his coat, “Actually, I always wanted to find a reason for all this misfortune, but every time I thought about it for a long time, I felt very scared. My dad caused severe damage to my memory, so I hated all Omegas because of it, and I hated you becoming an Omega. Then, because of the poor memory, I lost your medical examination report. You see, everything is intertwined like a tangled ball of yarn, as if destined to lead to irretrievable consequences because of my problems.”
“It’s simple to blame everything on Zhuo Yuan, but when I hated him, there was actually always an emptiness in my heart.”
“Xiao Ke—I am, I am such an incomplete person. I can’t even remember every word you say, so I have been abandoned by people all my life.”
Han Jiangque closed his eyes, leaning his head against the wall. He finally said all the words in his heart, “Actually, what I’m really afraid of is that I don’t have the ability to make you happy.”
Wen Ke’s tears silently flowed.
He heard the pain in Han Jiangque’s heart.
Han Jiangque had been abandoned all his life, abandoned by Han Zhan from birth, harmed by his Omega father, and then left by him. Even afterward, when Han Jiangque went to look for his Alpha father for him, even the Omega father rejected him because of his “betrayal.”
Such continuous abandonment throughout his life caused devastating harm to a person.
Han Jiangque’s suffering had actually transcended the word “hate.”
For a person to whom even memory was a luxury, how could he not feel deep confusion and fear about his destiny?
Wen Ke gripped the phone tightly and said slowly, “Han Xiaoque, listen to me, you have given me happiness.”
“You’re right; I am indeed weak. After my mother’s death, at that time, I… I actually thought about suicide, but when that thought occurred, I was frightened, so I deceived even myself and survived like this—I have a will to live, and that will comes from you. In those ten years, during the day, I sealed the drawing you gave me and tried not to think about your name. But at night, I turned into a giraffe. Why a giraffe? Han Xiaoque, because you were the only one who said I looked like a giraffe, and you gave my soul a body to quietly settle in.”
“So not only am I weak, but I’m also very cunning. I’ve never been able to truly give Zhuo Yuan love. I just forcibly restrained myself during the day with reason, being a diligent Omega. From an emotional perspective, I can’t even say who owes whom between me and him. I’ve blamed all of this on the power of the mark, because I slyly found an excuse, not daring to admit my own weakness and inferiority. Even when I was with you, I subconsciously protected myself.”
“Indeed, I’m not as good as the Wen Ke from ten years ago. That Xiao Ke wouldn’t let you be bullied like this. Give me some time to turn back into that person. Believe me, that Xiao Ke has always been in my heart. I didn’t kill him. When I grabbed you tightly on the dance floor, what I was thinking… was that you still needed me.”
“Han Xiaoque, you are the only person in this world who can make the weak Wen Ke brave.”
“Xiao Ke…”
It turned out that Wen Ke wasn’t born tall; it was because he loved him that he became the giraffe in his heart.
I’ve always needed you.
Suddenly, he really wanted to hug his Omega.
At that moment, Han Jiangque remembered a time in their sophomore year when they secretly drank a bottle of beer before self-study, and when they returned, the homeroom teacher caught them red-handed, sternly questioning why they smelled of alcohol.
He was at a loss standing there at the time, but the good student Wen Ke calmly said, “Teacher, it’s because we had beer duck for dinner.”
Han Jiangque couldn’t help but smile foolishly.
At the same time, he recalled his feelings at that time—
How could Wen Ke be so likable?
So, you’ve been cunning from the beginning, but when you admit your cunningness, even that word becomes adorable.
“Han Jiangque.”
Wen Ke suddenly called his full name solemnly, “When you come back, mark me, okay?”
Han Jiangque held the phone, and after a long, long time, he whispered, “I love you, Wen Ke.”
He looked up, in the pitch-black corridor, the only faint light came from the small window in the stairwell, and a few snowflakes floated in, landing on his face like gentle kisses.
He thought that he really didn’t care that much now.
The test of these ten years, in fact, they both found their own ways to overcome. Wen Ke survived by being cunning, and he waited for the giraffe because of his persistence.
Both of these had nothing to do with the mark.
Of course, neither of them was a perfect circle.
But fortunately, love is like a puzzle—because both have imperfections, they can fit together seamlessly.