—We are often quick to condemn the missteps of others as unforgivable sins.
Ke Yiyi led the middle-aged man to The Robin Club. She did not usher him inside, and he, understanding the unspoken boundary, remained standing by the entrance.
“Who might you be looking for?”
“Gan Lan.”
Ke Yiyi nodded, then stepped into the club.
“Please wait a moment.”
Ke Yiyi paused, turning to face the middle-aged man.
“Kindly give this to her.”
It was an exquisite fountain pen, inscribed with characters Ke Yiyi did not recognize.
Ke Yiyi accepted the pen. Before entering, she glanced back at the middle-aged man, and seeing that he had nothing further to add, she turned and walked inside.
First, she returned the various packages to their respective owners, then made her way to Gan Lan’s room.
As usual, the door was ajar. Ke Yiyi saw Gan Lan hunched over a desk, engrossed in drawing. It seemed she genuinely loved to paint; Ke Yiyi recalled that among Gan Lan’s personal records, painting was explicitly listed as her hobby.
Ke Yiyi remembered her own hobby was listed as ‘mountain climbing’ in those records… While not entirely accurate, it wasn’t completely false either. It was merely a habit formed during her training at the Polzo Police Academy, which had somehow been misconstrued as a hobby.
She tapped lightly on the door, and Gan Lan swiftly gathered her drawing paper.
“The door’s unlocked.”
She rose, her gaze fixed on Ke Yiyi at the doorway.
“Someone asked me to give you this.”
Gan Lan’s expression was utterly perplexed. She had no friends in Nine O’Clock City and couldn’t fathom why anyone would be waiting for her, until her eyes fell upon the fountain pen in Ke Yiyi’s hand.
Ke Yiyi had a distinct impression of Gan Lan: she always wore an oversized black uniform jacket, her legs bare, and a lock of long hair fell across her forehead, giving her a rather incongruous appearance.
Aside from painting, she seemed utterly uninterested in anything else.
This time, however, was an exception. It was the first time Ke Yiyi had witnessed such an expression on Gan Lan’s face; her eyes were wide, fixed intently on the pen in Ke Yiyi’s hand.
She reached out to take it, but her fingers trembled, hesitant to draw near.
“What’s wrong?”
Ke Yiyi didn’t understand; Gan Lan wasn’t usually like this. She took Gan Lan’s hand and firmly placed the pen in her palm.
Gan Lan clutched the pen with both hands as if it were a sacred artifact, then, as if it were a hot potato, she involuntarily shifted it between her hands, clearly troubled.
“That person is waiting for you at the entrance.”
Though puzzled, Ke Yiyi didn’t press for details. It might concern personal privacy, and she had no desire to pry. After relaying the information to Gan Lan, she turned to leave.
Just as she was about to depart, she found her sleeve clutched tightly by Gan Lan.
“Return… return the pen to him… tell him to leave… go back to 4×4 Training Ground City… I… I can’t… I can’t see him again…”
Ke Yiyi looked at Gan Lan with confusion, noticing her face was flushed, her breathing quickening. She kept her gaze fixed on the ground, unable to lift her head.
“What’s the matter?”
The moment Ke Yiyi uttered the words, she immediately felt foolish. It was clear the man and Gan Lan shared an unusual relationship, perhaps even…
Ke Yiyi stopped herself. She couldn’t speculate about her colleague’s personal affairs.
If she kept delaying, the problem wouldn’t be resolved. It was best to use the most direct approach.
“He’s already at the entrance. Are you just going to send him away? Don’t you want to go meet him directly?”
Hearing Ke Yiyi’s words, Gan Lan involuntarily lifted her head, then slowly lowered it again.
“Wouldn’t it be better to say whatever you need to say face-to-face? Besides, you mentioned he came all the way from 4×4 Training Ground City just to see you. Is it really right for me to simply relay a message on your behalf?”
Upon hearing Ke Yiyi’s words, Gan Lan released her grip on Ke Yiyi’s sleeve and allowed herself to be led out, like a lost, disheartened puppet.
As Ke Yiyi rounded the corner of the corridor, she saw Li Qiwei’s head peeking out from the adjacent room. Li Qiwei gave Ke Yiyi a thumbs-up and a smile, clearly having overheard their conversation.
At the club’s entrance, Fletcher, who had been about to step inside, looked at the middle-aged man before him with surprise, and the man returned his gaze.
“You are…”
“Mu Xuanming?”
Fletcher interrupted the middle-aged man. Mu Xuanming looked at Fletcher with a puzzled expression, as if a long-lost friend had suddenly appeared before him.
“Fletcher?”
“Well, well, well! My brother! What a surprise to find you here! Ten years! It’s been a decade since we last met! I’ve truly missed you!”
Fletcher embraced him tightly, his voice already thick with emotion, his eyes glistening.
“Yes, it has indeed been ten years since we parted ways at the last comrades’ reunion.”
Mu Xuanming wasn’t as overtly emotional as Fletcher, but a gentle smile of reunion graced his face nonetheless.
“I still remember when we first entered Yuansu. You said you’d go in to negotiate, and I’d back you up. But when the gunshots rang out, I was so scared I couldn’t even speak.”
“I remember. That bullet hit the wall less than ten centimeters from my head.”
“It’s a good thing you’re so blessed with luck! If it had been me, I’d probably be dead right there.”
Fletcher released Mu Xuanming, examining him from head to toe.
“You’ve lost a lot of weight. I remember we used to be about the same size when we stood together, but now you’re so much thinner than me…”
“Time never stops; nothing remains constant. Everything changes.”
Mu Xuanming gazed at Fletcher. Although players didn’t age, Fletcher still appeared much older than before. Despite his spirited demeanor, a hint of melancholy now shadowed his brow.
“What are you doing now?”
Fletcher looked at Mu Xuanming’s hands and chuckled.
“Well, we can rule out anything military-related. Our entire batch has been prohibited from such work. Unless there’s a dire emergency in the future, we’re destined to be estranged from the army gates for life.”
“You’re much more humorous than before.”
Mu Xuanming nodded, his peripheral vision darting towards the club’s interior. Seeing no one emerge, a faint hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes before he turned his attention back to Fletcher.
“And that kind of humor is precisely what I lack.”
“Humor? It’s just making the best of a bad situation, that’s all.”
“Yet, isn’t that also a form of indomitable spirit?”
Hearing Mu Xuanming’s words, Fletcher scratched his head and smiled.
“You’re still as calm as ever, completely unchanged. What are you doing these days?”
“I’m currently a painting instructor at an independent art studio, occasionally taking on promotional work. Just as you said, nothing related to the military.”
“I almost forgot, you always had a talent for that. Whether it’s teaching or painting, I could never compare. I’m much worse off than you, look, I’m a bartender now.”
“No.”
Mu Xuanming offered a faint smile, then quickly regained his composure.
“You wouldn’t be a bartender.”
“What’s wrong? Do I not look like a working man?”
“If even you became a bartender, Vega would have no hope left.”
Fletcher’s smile abruptly vanished. He fell silent for a moment, then eventually resumed his cheerful expression.
“Oh, right! Do you remember Kincaid? That ‘Pidan’ is here too! I’ll introduce you…”
Turning his head, he caught sight of Ke Yiyi and quickly called out.
“Hey! Ke Yiyi, this is my old…”
The air fell silent in an instant. Their eyes met, and everything seemed to freeze in that moment.
Gan Lan trembled as she looked at Mu Xuanming. She averted her gaze, struggling to keep herself from looking at his face.
“Why won’t you look at me directly? Am I so frightening?”
Gan Lan turned her head and offered the pen, but Mu Xuanming didn’t take it; he simply stroked her head.
“I’m just an ordinary painting instructor. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
He bent down and squatted on the ground, looking calmly at Gan Lan.
“I’m sorry, Gan Lan… There are many things I shouldn’t have avoided…”
In the end, Gan Lan couldn’t control herself. She lunged forward, embracing Mu Xuanming’s shoulders.
“Teacher, I…”
“Don’t cry. Seeing you safe and sound is better than anything.”
Mu Xuanming neither resisted nor responded. He simply remained squatting there, allowing Gan Lan to cling to his shoulders. Due to their height difference, they looked more like a father and daughter, making it impossible to imagine them as a couple.
Ke Yiyi observed the scene before her, surprised that her earlier suspicions had been true. She glanced past the entrance, seeing Li Qiwei peeking around the corner, along with a reluctant Enfinietta. Clearly, Enfinietta didn’t want to join the commotion, but it was easy to guess she had been dragged along by Li Qiwei, as they had been in the same room.
Li Qiwei, with an excited expression, was chattering away to Enfinietta, who, in turn, appeared utterly uninterested, her face a mask of indifference.
From behind, Ke Yiyi gestured to Li Qiwei, signaling her not to intrude, as it would only embarrass Gan Lan.
On second thought, her continued presence there was also rather awkward. She turned and left the club, deciding to take a walk around the vicinity before returning.
As she departed, she glanced back at Fletcher, noting that the smile had vanished from his face. He watched the scene silently.
She didn’t quite understand why Fletcher wore such an expression, but she didn’t delve deeper.
Fletcher watched the two embracing figures. He had no doubt that they would proceed to do something even more unexpected, yet entirely natural for a couple.
He had words he wanted to utter, but ultimately, he kept them to himself. Not here, not now, could he speak them.
In his memory, he recalled that Mu Xuanming had a wife, a woman he had met once before.
He remembered clearly—it was not Gan Lan.
****
Ke Yiyi felt a significant weight lift from her heart; few things were as heartwarming as witnessing two people reunite after a long separation.
As she crossed the intersection, she noticed a young woman standing on the opposite side, gazing intently in the direction of the club.
‘Is she looking for someone too?’
Sensing Ke Yiyi’s gaze, the young woman waited until Ke Yiyi had passed the intersection, then slowly spoke.
“Hello, is there something I can help you with?”
“No, thank you. Are you perhaps looking for someone?”
“Yes, I’m looking for my husband.”
“Is there anything I can do to assist you?”
The young woman continued to gaze toward the club, then gently shook her head.
“No need, I’ve already found him.”