Love for You

"What do you mean over thirty hours on a plane? What going abroad?"

"Miao Jing told me she's going abroad for work."

"Going abroad for work? To which country?" His thick brows furrowed tightly as he suddenly realized—a 2 AM train, where could she be going in such a hurry? His tone was stunned, "Who said that? She said she's going abroad?"

"Yeah."

His mind suddenly went chaotic. Chen Yi's expression changed drastically as he urgently pulled out his phone to call Miao Jing. The phone rang repeatedly but no one answered. He dialed over and over, his thick brows tightly knit, face stern with an icy aura. Finally, Chen Yi lit a cigarette, couldn't resist standing up to change clothes, planning to leave the hospital to check.

Just as he stepped out the door, his phone vibrated—Miao Jing was calling him back.

The man's voice through the receiver was urgent and shocked: "Where are you going?"

"I was heading out earlier and didn't hear your calls. I'm still in a taxi now." She kept it brief, "I'll be at the train station soon. I can't talk now, you should rest early."

"Miao Jing." He urgently cut her off, "Where are you going for work? Are you going abroad?"

"Yes, an overseas assignment. To Colombia."

"Colombia? What Colombia?"

The name sounded familiar, but Chen Yi had no concept of it in his mind.

"South America." Miao Jing, dressed lightly, couldn't withstand the late-night chill as she hauled her suitcase out of the taxi and walked toward the train station. "I have an international flight at 8 AM, first transiting through Paris before finally arriving in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia."

Chen Yi froze for two seconds before his voice suddenly exploded through the phone, deafening and making eardrums ring: "Colombia!!! Miao Jing, you're going to South America alone? Have you lost your mind?!"

Colombia! How could he not know—anyone who'd been around the Golden Triangle knew about the world's three major drug regions. How rampant was drug crime in Colombia? How chaotic was the public security there? Was it even safe to go?!

Miao Jing tightened her coat, her voice hollow and calm through the phone: "I'm going for work."

"Miao Jing!!!"

"It's just an overseas assignment. The salary is higher there. There's a newly established branch office in Bogotá that needs domestic support for a project. Since someone is returning home at year-end, I'm taking over their role as project coordinator there."

Thanks to Cen Ye's help, things had come so suddenly. Positions for overseas assignments tended to be in remote locations, and Miao Jing had chosen the farthest one.

"Miao Jing! Isn't China good enough? Aren't there enough cities here for you to live in?" Chen Yi's voice roared with anger. He knew he was furious but couldn't control his rage: "Have you been kicked in the head by a donkey??? What were you thinking, going so far away?"

"I don't want to stay in China." She covered her fist with her mouth, exhaling warm breath: "Chen Yi, where I live doesn't matter to me."

"Haven't you always told me to get lost? I came back, and you still want me to leave... So I can only go, far away from you, never coming back in this lifetime. I'll never appear before you again. Do you know? China, the soil beneath our feet—if you go straight through the earth's core, you reach South America. We're probably standing on opposite ends of the earth's diameter, yet separated by half the world. It's the shortest yet longest distance on Earth."

"Miao Jing..." His eyes nearly burst with fury, "You..."The girl's voice was soft, tinged with the silence and gloom of midnight, murmuring low: "Domestic or abroad, far or near, what does it matter... I'm all alone anyway. Even if something happened to me—if I died, got deceived by a man, or encountered trouble—no one would care. After all, I'm the one who was abandoned..."

Hearing the suppressed, gentle voice over the phone, his chest churned with mixed emotions: "Miao Jing."

"Chen Yi, you don't need to explain. I understand. I know the past and the truth of it all. I know everyone has their hardships and reasons. I can't blame anyone, including you, Chen Yi. I understand and am grateful for everything you've done. I wish I could kneel and thank you for what you've given me. But you don't need my repayment, nor can it change the facts... Chen Yi, I'm always alone. I'm always being abandoned, over and over again..."

Miao Jing hung up.

Chen Yi felt as if he could hear the wind roaring past a speeding train. When he called back, her phone was already off.

A stream of curses raced through his mind. His face turned cold and fierce, his jaw clenched tightly. He gritted his teeth, slammed his fist against the wall in frustration, paced back and forth a few steps, ran a hand through his short hair, and finally tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a long, heavy sigh. With a grim expression, he strode out purposefully.

"Yi Ge, Yi Ge."

"I'm going to find her!" he tossed the words hastily to Bo Zai.

If she hadn't lost her mind, she'd know what kind of situation a girl traveling halfway across the world alone would be in—her body so thin, in a distant, unfamiliar, unsafe country. If she encountered any danger, the men there could easily beat her to death with a single punch...

If he completely cut ties with her, if anything happened to her in some place beyond his reach...

Chen Yi rushed frantically to the train station.

The Tengcheng station was desolate and quiet in the middle of the night. In truth, she had been here many times before, from age eight to eighteen, for various reasons. He had accompanied her here several times too, leaving her there, saying goodbye. The waiting hall was sparsely populated. He searched anxiously and frantically but found no trace of her. His panic made his entire body ache and sweat profusely. He shouted Miao Jing's name loudly, his handsome brows twisted in distress, and dashed straight to the platform, running back and forth across the empty midnight platform in his search.

Behind an advertising board, on the opposite platform separated by the tracks, a few weary, silent passengers stood by the descending elevator. They stepped out and dispersed, waiting quietly behind the yellow line—among them was a slender figure.

Chen Yi halted.

She was gazing at him calmly, her delicate face and deep, tranquil eyes like a meticulously carved work of art.

He stood with his hands on his hips, panting, wiping the sweat from his forehead. His stern eyes fixed on her heavily, like a cold, furious lion.

A train whistle sounded, and the platform broadcast announced the arrival. The incoming train slowly pulled into Tengcheng Station. Passengers, seeing the train approach, shifted their feet, exchanged a few words, and prepared to board. Miao Jing lowered her head, avoiding his gaze, picked up her suitcase beside her, found her corresponding carriage, and waited for the train to slide to a stop before her.