Visa On Arrival Chapter 22
byThinking It Through
The car screeched to a halt downstairs at Chen Rong’s place.
She looked up.
That one window was still lit, a warm yellow glow peeking through the gaps in the curtains, looking exceptionally conspicuous in the early morning darkness.
She wasn’t asleep yet.
Qi Ranyue stayed in the car, gripping the steering wheel, staring at that window for several seconds.
Then she pushed the car door open and rushed into the building.
The elevator was too slow.
She watched the floor numbers jump one by one, her fingers clutching her car keys so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
The elevator doors opened, and she charged out, running to that door.
She raised her hand.
Knock, knock, knock.
It was quiet inside for a second.
Then came the sound of footsteps, getting closer and closer.
The door opened.
Chen Rong stood at the doorway wearing simple pajamas, her hair a bit messy.
Chen Rong looked at her, startled for a moment. What’s wrong, Yueyue?
Just as the words left her mouth, a soft sound of footsteps came from behind her.
Someone walked out from behind her, also wearing pajamas.
Wen Xinyao.
A loud buzzing sound filled Qi Ranyue’s head.
Qi Ranyue took a step back.
Why are you here? Come in first, Chen Rong’s voice carried a hint of confusion.
Qi Ranyue stood frozen at the door, her fingers still white from gripping the keys.
Chen Rong glanced back at the person behind her, then turned back to look at her, her mouth opening as if to say something, but no words came out.
You… her… you two… Qi Ranyue couldn’t go on. She took another step back, turned around, and ran.
Yueyue, what’s wrong! Where are you going!
She rushed into the stairwell, her footsteps echoing in the empty hallway, hurried and frantic. She didn’t even know what she was running from.
The lights in the stairwell flickered on floor by floor.
The car door was pulled open and slammed shut. She started the engine, shifted gears, and slammed on the accelerator.
In the night, the car’s taillights quickly disappeared at the end of the road.
She held the steering wheel, her hands shaking.
Her mind was filled with the scene she had just witnessed.
Wen Xinyao’s face, both of them in pajamas, in her house in the middle of the night… She clearly knew she was gay, so why did she…
Qi Ranyue took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. But her chest still felt heavy and painful, as if something was pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe.
Her eyes began to sting.
She tried desperately to hold it in, biting her lip until it turned white.
I can’t cry.
I can’t cry here.
But the thoughts kept surging up, unstoppable.
Why does my heart hurt so much?
Am I jealous?
Why was Wen Xinyao at her house?
What is their relationship?
They were both in pajamas—had they already slept together?
Didn’t she say she didn’t like her?
Was she lying to me?
That kiss…
What did that kiss mean?
Did she… mistake me for Wen Xinyao?
Is that why she kissed me?
She closed her eyes, and the tears finally fell.
Actually, she doesn’t feel that way about me at all!
It was all me…
I was just overthinking it!
I was just being sentimental!
I hate you!
I hate both of you!
…
…
Bang!
A deafening crash.
The car body jolted violently. She was thrown forward, then jerked back harshly by the seatbelt.
Her head hit the steering wheel, and everything went black.
Glass shattered, shards flying everywhere, glinting like tiny sparks under the moonlight.
The airbag deployed, hitting her face with a muffled thud and a pungent chemical smell.
Tinnitus.
A constant ringing in her ears made it impossible to hear anything.
She slumped against the airbag, unable to move.
Blood trickled down from her forehead, warm as it flowed down her cheek and dripped onto her lap, one drop after another.
The screeching of brakes sounded in the distance. Someone was shouting, car doors were opening and closing, and the sound of footsteps was running toward her.
But she couldn’t hear them clearly.
The sounds felt like they were filtered through a layer of water, blurry and indistinct.
She blinked once.
Blood matted her eyelashes, making everything look red.
In a room at two in the morning, a phone suddenly rang.
Chen Rong sat up in bed and looked at the screen.
It was Qi Ranyue’s mother.
A bad premonition suddenly surged in her heart.
Chen Rong answered, her voice tight. Hello, Auntie?
A burst of uncontrollable sobbing came from the other end of the line, intermittent, as if the person was trying desperately to hold it back but couldn’t.
Yue… Yueyue… she was in a car accident…
Chen Rong’s heart sank instantly.
She’s in the hospital now… in emergency surgery…
Qi Ranyue’s mother’s voice was shaking violently, every word sounding like it was squeezed out of her throat.
She was clearly at home today, I don’t know why she ran out. What should we do… how did this happen…
Holding the phone, Chen Rong froze, her mind a complete blank.
She rushed into the elevator, her finger frantically pressing the close button—once, twice, three times. The floor numbers ticked by one by one, but her heart felt like it was being squeezed tighter and tighter by an invisible hand.
How could this happen?
Wasn’t she just at the door?
She was just standing there…
She ran to her car, pulled the door open, started the engine, and floored the accelerator.
The car sped into the night.
She didn’t even know how many red lights she ran along the way.
The only things in her mind were that name, that face, and the sound of Auntie’s crying on the phone.
City First Hospital.
Emergency Room.
The red light of the emergency department was visible from a distance.
The emergency hall was brightly lit, the pale lights making everyone’s face look bloodless. Nurses hurried past pushing stretchers, family members wept in corners, and the smell of disinfectant stung the nose.
She looked around and saw Qi Ranyue’s mother sitting on a bench outside the emergency room, leaning against Qi Lan’s shoulder, her head down and her shoulders heaving.
Chen Rong ran over. Uncle! Auntie!
Qi Ranyue’s mother looked up, her face covered in tear stains, her eyes red and swollen.
Seeing Chen Rong, she grabbed her hand, her voice shaking uncontrollably. Yueyue… she’s still inside…
It’ll be okay, Auntie, Chen Rong’s voice was also trembling. She’ll be fine.
But she had no certainty in her heart.
The doors to the emergency room remained tightly shut, the red light above them glowing piercingly bright.
They sat there from the middle of the night until the sky began to pale.
Qi Ranyue’s mother had cried herself out and fallen asleep against Qi Lan’s shoulder, tear stains still on her face, occasionally sobbing in her sleep.
Qi Lan didn’t dare move, just sitting there, staring at the closed door.
Five hours.
Three hundred minutes.
Every minute felt as long as a century.
Chen Rong sat there, her mind blank, yet filled with thoughts.
Thinking of her.
Thinking of her standing at the door in the early morning.
Thinking of the momentary daze in her eyes when she saw Wen Xinyao.
Thinking of the way she ran away.
Thinking of her…
She closed her eyes, not daring to think further.
Outside the window, the sky slowly brightened.
It turned from deep blue to gray-white, then from gray-white to a faint gold. Sunlight streamed in from the window at the end of the hallway, falling on the floor in warm, rectangular patches.
7:15 AM.
The emergency room doors finally opened.
Chen Rong stood up abruptly.
The doctor walked out and took off his mask, his face showing a calm that followed exhaustion.
Qi Ranyue’s mother had already rushed forward, grabbing the doctor’s arm. Doctor, how is my daughter? How is she?
The doctor looked at her and gently patted her hand. We saved her.
Qi Ranyue’s mother’s legs went weak, and she almost collapsed, but Qi Lan caught her.
But she still needs observation, the doctor continued. She’ll be in the ICU for a few days.
Chen Rong listened and nodded, her eyes suddenly stinging.
She’s alive.
She’s alive.
Chen Rong stood in place, watching the nurses push the bed out. The person on the bed was pale, hooked up to tubes, her eyes closed.
She watched Qi Ranyue being pushed toward the ICU and said softly in her heart:
It’s enough that you woke up.
It’s okay if we aren’t together.
As long as you can wake up.
A few days later.
Sunlight shone through the hospital window, falling on the white sheets and on Qi Ranyue’s pale face, which had regained a bit of color.
She was awake.
She could speak now, too.
But most of the time, she just lay there, looking out the window in silence.
Chen Rong came every day, sitting by the bed, talking to her, peeling fruit, and helping her with water.
But whenever she arrived, Qi Ranyue would close her eyes.
She wasn’t actually asleep.
She just didn’t want to look at her.
That night, Qi Ranyue lay alone in the ward, staring at the ceiling, thinking for a long time.
She thought of that early morning, that door, the fact that they were both in pajamas at her house, the look in her eyes when she saw Wen Xinyao, that kiss, and all the things she had assumed…
As she thought, she suddenly had a realization.
I can’t force her!
I can’t just follow my own wishes!
I can’t make things difficult for her!
I can’t make everyone miserable!
The one she likes is Wen Xinyao!
So…
Qi Ranyue closed her eyes.
She would step back and let them be together!
She had finally thought it through!
From that day on, when Chen Rong came to visit, Qi Ranyue would open her eyes and look at her.
Her gaze was indifferent and flat.
As if she were looking at an ordinary friend.