The Youthful You Who Was So Beautiful (translated)

chapter 14

The sky had darkened completely.

Bei Ye asked every single shop along the streets, and finally found the dark and dingy alley Chen Nian had been dragged into. In the darkness of the night, Chen Nian's school bag, textbooks, pencils, mobile phone, skirt and red string lay strewn on the muddy floor. Bei Ye hastily picked up Chen Nian's items, storing them in her school bag. He twined the red string around his hand, and continued to search for Chen Nian.

The icy cold wind swept up the alley, causing the leaves of the surrounding trees to rustle and their shadows to tremble. It was about to rain.

A single bolt of lightning ripped across the inky night sky, illuminating Bei Ye's extraordinarily pale face. He walked further into the alley, the gust of wind causing a white piece of cloth to tumble to his feet. He had seen this piece of cloth before – in his toilet, hanging quietly from the clothing rack. That small piece of cloth stopped temporarily by Bei Ye's feet before continuing its journey to the rubbish pile.

Bei Ye found Chen Nian amongst the bushes, her white, pale body curled into a tight ball. There were innumerable wounds and marks on her body, as though she was a solitary, bloodshot eyeball that had dropped into the mud.

Bei Ye knelt down beside Chen Nian. He took off his shirt, and carefully wrapped his shirt around her frail body. Chen Nian's body gave an involuntary shudder. Her breathing was barely perceptible.

"It's me......" He approached Chen Nian slowly, carefully sweeping the unruly fringe and hair from her face. Chen Nian stared at him blankly. One second. Two seconds. In that very moment, something Chen Nian had been dearly hanging onto broke into pieces, and she fainted into unconsciousness.

Bei Ye carefully wrapped Chen Nian up.

Carrying her in his arms, Bei Ye began the walk back to his motorcycle.

The alley was void of people. Bolts of pure white lightning streaked across the sky.

It was time. The torrential ran began to pour.

The motorcycle zoomed into the night as the wind and rain whipped around the two youths. The youths were drenched in entirety, as though they had been travelling underwater.

The icy sheets of rain continued to pour mercilessly from above. The girl in Bei Ye's arms was akin to a corpse; her body was like a limp and lifeless rucksack that continually slid down the motorcycle as Bei Ye drove. Bei Ye was forced to stop his motorcycle again and again, each time patiently propping Chen Nian up and cuddling her with his arms. Finally, Bei Ye was left with no choice but to tie Chen Nian to his body with a rope.

He hugged her tightly whilst muttering to himself under his breath, as though he was trying to hypnotise somebody, "It's okay. Everything's going to be fine. Trust me, everything's going to be fine."

There was no response. She was already dead.

She was the only clean and beautiful thing in his filthy and disgusting life.

And now, she was dead.

The youth pressed his face tightly against her pale, icy face, howling in his sorrow.

The rain continued to beat down ferociously, forming little streams of water that swept the rubbish into the drains. It was as though the storm was intent on clearing every single piece of dirt from the city.

The rainy season was so long.

But, despite the torrential rain and the howling wind that raged throughout the night, by the very next morning, everything resumed its normalcy. The world was still there – noisy, messy, and complicated.