Chapter 11.1 (1/2)

Chapter 11.1

But before I could polish my masterpiece, Fifty Stratagems to Nail an Iceberg, Yin Li, acting as an iceberg, was struck by the “t.i.tanic” .

That day, Yin Li’s destination was in the same direction as my school so he dropped me off along the way . I was sitting in the front pa.s.senger seat, trying to think of a topic to start a conversation with, when suddenly a van appeared, haphazardly driving in a zig-zag on the wrong side of the road, and driving recklessly fast in our direction . I didn’t even have time to react before the silver van closed in on due collision course with us .

Perhaps because I had already experienced a car accident, at that time I became extraordinarily calm . I only turned my head quickly towards Yin Li . The man I liked sat next to me, yet in my mind there weren’t any thoughts along the lines of “until death do us part . ” My mind was only filled with one thing: “Those whom the G.o.ds love die young!”1 Looks like we’re doomed!

1 The actual idiom used by Yan Xiao is 天妒英才, which translates to “the heavens are jealous of outstanding talent” . Can refer to either “the best die young” or “the more talented you are the more hards.h.i.+p you face” .

However, Yin Li’s face bore a grave expression . He wasn’t panicked, but he also didn’t spare me a single glance . Gripping the steering wheel, he furiously tried to avoid the car hurtling towards us, or at to least lessen the degree of impact .

When the van was half a meter away, I knew that Yin Li’s efforts could not overcome fate . 2 At the moment of impact, he finally turned my way . His body suddenly twisted over to embrace me and he buried my head in his chest, using his upper body to s.h.i.+eld me .

2 回天乏术: 回天 (to reverse the sky) on its own refers to succeeding in escaping a hopeless situation, 乏术 means to come just short of finding the method, thus 回天乏术 means “unable to turn around a hopeless situation” .

“Yan Xiao, close your eyes!” He stared at me .

But I couldn’t close my eyes . I knew that, in this life, I would never be able to forget his expression in that moment . It was unwaveringly firm in its resolve, as if he had just made some kind of significant decision . Yet it was also unexpectedly calm . Before the violence of the impact and its accompanying dizziness, I could only stare blankly at him .

For the first time in my life, I wished I could live on—wished I could live on alongside another person .

When I awoke, I was lying on a stretcher and the scent of disinfectants surrounded me . The medical personnel were just about to push me into the surgery room when I lifted my head and looked around . But I couldn’t see any trace of Yin Li . My head hurt painfully . I could only remember that during moment of impact, only one airbag went off . I only heard Yin Li’s m.u.f.fled grunt, and then the air was filled with the smell of gasoline, grinding metal, and blood .

When I awoke, I was lying on a stretcher and the scent of disinfectants surrounded me . The medical personnel were just about to push me into the surgery room when I lifted my head and looked around . But I couldn’t see any trace of Yin Li . My head hurt painfully . I could only remember that during moment of impact, only one airbag went off . I only heard Yin Li’s m.u.f.fled grunt, and then the air was filled with the smell of gasoline, grinding metal, and blood .

“Such a tragedy . Did you see the person in the driver’s seat? Before even reaching the hospital, he pa.s.sed away . His face was so mangled, it was impossible to tell who he was . This is already the tenth traffic accident we’ve dealt with this week . Ai, so young . When harming others, people harm themselves . ”

The conversation brought me back to reality, but to an ice-cold reality . All my strength abruptly left my body, and I could only stare hollowly at the ceiling as, too late, past memories came up again in my mind .

A man who had once sent me a hundred white lilies and clumsily peeled apart lobsters for me, stood downstairs outside my home yelling, “I love you . I’d like your hand in marriage . ” In all these brief glimpses and fragments, I couldn’t make out that man’s face, but I could feel the depth of his love and the warmth of his hand .

I finally couldn’t help but begin to cry . In this accident, I finally remembered Yin Li for the first time, but under these circ.u.mstances . Yet in these past few months I had viewed Yin Li only with suspicion and distrust . In all things, I always seemed to be slow one step .