When they reached the upper floor, they went to the women's clothing counter they had just visited. Milan walked up confidently, pointing to some clothes and asking the saleswoman to bring her a number. The young girl recognized her, a puzzled look on her face. Milan, with her usual casualness, said, "Can't buy two and swap them around?"
At the checkout, Milan pulled out her wallet, but Lin Wan quickly stopped her. Milan laughed, fuming, "Am I really going to make you pay for it? It's not even that much..." But Lin Wan had already swiped her card. Milan laughed again, "Little crazy, is the money too much to handle?"
Milan had once teased her with these words, calling Sisi "little fool," as if she were the only sane one. Lin Wan paused for a moment, then took the receipt and signed it, saying, "It is a bit too much. How about you pick a few more, and I'll gift them to you?"
Milan thought she was joking and dragged her to another store. Milan paid for her items too, and as they walked back, Lin Wan stopped, staring at a red cashmere coat on the mannequin and said, "Xiao Mi, this one would look great on you."
Milan looked over, her eyes lighting up. She leaned in closer, glanced at the price tag, and let out an exclamation, "The price is even better, five figures. That's enough to cover a few months' living expenses."
"How about I buy it for you?" Lin Wan teased.
"Are you crazy? Want to be a fortune-dispensing kid? Let's go, let's go."
Lin Wan glanced at the card she was holding, thinking to herself, she must be crazy. This card wasn't hers. It was something Chen Jin had slipped into her bag at some point. She had only discovered it now, and a wild idea suddenly popped into her head. She wanted to max it out and bankrupt him...
The next day, Lin Wan found herself holding a ticking time bomb—one she had planted herself.
As the saying goes, "If you walk by the river long enough, your shoes are bound to get wet." And another one: "Walk too many night roads, and you'll meet a ghost."
Lin Wan sat dazedly on the toilet seat, holding a white test strip in her hands. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there—long enough for her thumb and index finger to stiffen. The test strip slipped onto the floor, and she looked at it. The two faint lines were clearly visible in her vision.
She buried her hands in her hair and frowned as she recalled a scene from not long ago. She remembered the moment when she held the medicine bottle, about to pour it out, but someone grabbed it from her with a displeased question: "Why are you taking this again?"
She answered irritably, "Do you think I enjoy it?"
Chen Jin pulled her into his arms, softening his tone, "Don't take it anymore. I've been using protection, haven't I? This is unnecessary. Don't you know medicine has side effects?"
Then he threw away the medicine she had kept in her drawer, and she actually believed him. She hadn't bought more after that. Now, she just wanted to say: Women get hurt because they hand over the right to hurt them to men. Men are overconfident, and women are too trusting. Confidence is foolish, and trust is even more foolish.
On the fourth day, Lin Wan went to a general hospital, got registered, and took a urine test. She handed the results to the doctor, who, after reviewing them, looked up and said, "Five weeks." She then flipped through her medical record and glanced at her personal information before asking, "Do you want to keep it?"
Lin Wan paused for a moment, then said, "No."
After saying those two words, she felt a bitter taste in her mouth. A life, so simply decided in this brief conversation.
"I suggest you consider a medication-induced abortion. You're young, and this is your first pregnancy. Since it's early in the term, a medical abortion will have less impact on your body."
"Okay."
"First, we'll need to do an ultrasound to check the size and position of the gestational sac to determine if a medication abortion is suitable."
"Okay."
After the Hospital Visit
The hospital was a bit cold. When Lin Wan stepped out into the sunlight, she found herself a bit unprepared. She instinctively shivered, her eyes reluctant to fully open. It wasn't until she had walked out of the hospital grounds that she started to feel better. While waiting for the bus, two girls nearby were taking pictures of the sky with their phones. Lin Wan followed their gaze, and saw two intersecting white lines in the bright blue sky. Those were the trails of two planes passing by. She smiled faintly, thinking she had seen a UFO.
One of the girls giggled and said, "Looks like a wrong symbol."
Lin Wan's heart stopped, and she looked up again. Sure enough, it was a large, intersecting cross, like it had been drawn with white wax crayon on blue paper. At that moment, she felt an overwhelming sense of irony. The bus came and went, and the two girls had already packed up their phones, chatting and leaving. Lin Wan stood still, staring at the fading lines until they disappeared. She lowered her head and touched the sore spot on the back of her neck, sighing inwardly. Yes, the wrongs—ultimately, they can't remain in the world.
On the seventh day, in the evening, Chen Jin came back. As soon as he got off the plane, he had the driver take him straight to the apartment.
When he walked in, the house was quiet, unusually still. There was no sign of the usual noise—no one and no dog lounging on the couch, no chatter from the TV. He felt somewhat out of place. His eyes landed on Lin Wan's milk-white slippers, and he felt a sense of relief. After changing into his slippers, he, almost automatically, bent down to adjust the direction of hers.
As he stood up, he couldn't help but chuckle. Every night, while lying in the comfortable bed abroad, he would miss Lin Wan's warm body. He even regretted not bringing her along; she could have traveled and explored during the day, and at night... He quickly stopped his thoughts. It wasn't good for a grown man to think about a woman all day long, but when he turned to bed, he couldn't help wondering if Lin Wan felt as uncomfortable sleeping alone as he did.
Chen Jin thought about calling Lin Wan to come back, but after pressing a few buttons on his phone, he felt a bit embarrassed. Why was it always him reaching out? She had never called him. He checked the time—it was still early. A shower wouldn't hurt.
As he walked toward the bedroom, his eyes caught a piece of paper on the coffee table. At first, he didn't pay much attention, but then he felt something odd about it, so he turned back to pick it up.
Chen Jin picked up the black-and-white B ultrasound photo, frowning as he looked at the blurry image. Then he glanced at the paper—there was a long title: "Mifepristone combined with prostaglandin for early pregnancy termination (medical abortion) procedure record." He muttered a curse under his breath, flipping the paper over. More medical jargon followed, and then, in the bottom right corner, he saw the handwriting—Lin Wan. It was the first time he had seen her handwriting, and it was quite beautiful.
Then it felt like a bomb had exploded inside him. He wasn't illiterate, and he wasn't stupid. Of course, he understood. He just couldn't believe it. It had only been a week since he left, and everything had already changed.