Love Me if You Dare: Pristine Darkness

It was not that bright yet, and the entire small town was shrouded in the greyness of dusk. It was particularly peaceful, as if the events of the previous night had never happened. Song Kun was half-lying on the bed with most of his shoulder and arm exposed, and a subordinate with some medical knowledge was carefully bandaging him. His eyes were red-rimmed, and the veins in his forehead were protruding, yet his eyes were unwaveringly bright as he asked the subordinate, “Wen Rong has not returned yet?”

The subordinate replied, “Dr Wen went to an old village in the mountains yesterday to treat a patient. He will only be back tonight.”

Song Kun hummed coldly.

Next to him, Qin Sheng’s face had also been cut by flying debris, and his back too had been injured, although not seriously. He was sitting sullenly at the edge, smoking a cigarette. The atmosphere in the room was incredibly depressing and stifling.

Bo Jinyan was sitting on the opposite side, smoking. As his sunglasses reflected the light, he exuded an air of being calm and collected, yet with a certain sharpness. Zhao Kun stood the furthest away from the others, constantly looking out of the window.

Song Kun asked, “Zhao Kun, what are you looking at?”

Zhao Kun said, “Nothing, I’m just thinking about Ah Chen, and where he is right now.”

Within their organisation, Zhao Kun had always been the one who placed the greatest importance on comradeship. On hearing his words, Song Kun also felt as if a blunt knife was sawing away at his heart. Zheng Chen had been with him from a young age, loyal and devoted. Who could imagine that he would go like this?

At the same time, he felt a kind of hollowness due to a sense of helplessness rising up within him. Even though it had been to catch the mole and remove the hatred within his heart, the fact was that he had lost two of his generals in one night. However, Gu An had been a police officer and did not deserve an ounce of pity. He had exchanged him for Smiling Snake, whom he had used to great satisfaction.

He said, “Ah Chen had no family. Do a good job with his funeral arrangements.”

The others replied in unison, “Okay.”

Song Kun also said, “The police officer has been removed, so this place is safe at present. However, I don’t think this will last long. The information has passed through the hands of the police, and although it does not indicate this location, I cannot be at ease. Everyone should rest and reorganise for the next two days. Qin Sheng, Zhao Kun, Ah She is not familiar with our organisation, the two of you take him to take stock of our people and property. Our plans have been moved forward – we will evacuate this place in three days’ time.”

With a smile, Bo Jinyan asked, “Boss, where are we going?”

Song Kun looked at him, also smiling, and replied, “Myanmar.”

——

After the ‘meeting’, Bo Jinyan returned to his temporary home. When he pushed open the door, he saw Jian Yao lying on the bed, staring out of the window, where the clouds drifted in a sea of light.

Bo Jinyan took off his sunglasses and placed them on the living room table. After looking at her for a while, he felt his heartbeat quicken. Because he could not pin down the reason for it, he despised himself for a moment. Then, he walked over to sit next to her and hold her hand.

After shooting Gu An the previous night, they knew other gang members would be rushing towards that location, so Bo Jinyan and Zhao Kun had to make their way to Song Kun immediately in order to avoid exposure. Thus, Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao had had no time to talk after meeting each other’s eyes. Bo Jinyan had once again donned his sunglasses.

Bo Jinyan wanted to say something, but found himself unexpectedly at a loss for words. Jian Yao had seen him come in but did not speak for a long time. She looked up and saw that his normally pale cheeks were slightly red. She sighed to herself and said, “You even concealed it from me?”

Bo Jinyan responded straightaway. “No, Jian Yao, I’m sorry, I did not intend to do so. In truth, I did not expect you to arrive so quickly. My original plan was to finish everything, then head back to Beijing to look for you. I made a vow before Ziyu’s grave not to open my eyes to look at the world before then . . .”

“And then?” she said. “Why did you still not say anything?”

He was silent for a moment before he said, “I considered it. Our present course of action is highly dangerous. If you knew that I had regained my sight, no matter how meticulously we pretended, your subconscious mind would have considered me as having returned to my normal self. Then, your manner of speech and attitude may very well have given the game away. That would have been dangerous for both you and me.”

Jian Yao laughed and said, “Indeed. I can’t put on a show as well as you can.”

Bo Jinyan felt relieved on seeing her laugh. He held her hands against his chest and said, “I know you had your suspicions, but I decided not to pay heed to them and just have confidence in you. You are the best, most intelligent woman in the world. Thank you, Jian Yao.”

A conflicting mix of grievance and warmth arose in Jian Yao’s heart. She lowered her head and remained still. Bo Jinyan pulled her into his embrace; she wanted to struggle free, but he held her even more tightly. After a while, she stopped struggling and laid her head on his chest.

True, she had been suspicious, many times.

From the time the two of them were reunited, in front of her, Bo Jinyan had continually displayed an almost superhuman level of perceptiveness, causing her to harbour a growing suspicion. When they were in pursuit of Luo Lang, Bo Jinyan had spent some time alone with him, which then led him to conclude that Luo Lang was the killer. Something about this had smelt faintly fishy to her.

The most obvious hint should have been that night they had drifted along in the water tank. He had clutched her hand and brought it to touch his eyes and eyelashes repeatedly. At that time, Jian Yao had almost cried and wanted to ask exactly what had happened during their year of separation. However, in the end, she had held back. She had been afraid that it was just her being excessively sensitive; she did not want to cause him pain or even greater disappointment. She had also thought, if he could really see, then he would certainly tell her . . .

Jian Yao hung her head. Bo Jinyan looked at her nape, fair and slender. After a while, he could not bear it any longer, and gently kissed her there. “Don’t be angry, my . . . Jian Yao.”

My Jian Yao.

These words dropped straight into her heart, causing a tide of warmth to spread throughout. Jia Yao sighed, and said, “How could I bear to be angry with you? You made the right decision. If I had known that your vision had been restored, with this on my subconscious mind, in moments of carelessness, I would have treated you as a regular person. This would have been disastrous if the masked killer or Buddha’s Hand had found out. Moreover, this was your ‘weakness’, which caused the masked killer to lower his guard, enabling him to be killed.” She turned her head, held his face between her hands and finally, smiled. She said, “My Jinyan, you have now become a ‘bad boy’, unexpectedly being able to fool everyone in this dangerous game we’re playing, and make such a major game move.”

Bo Jinyan’s lips were pursed tightly. He said, “I’m simply using my knowledge of psychology to play games with them. I would never be a bad boy.”

At his words, Jian Yao felt her heart grow soft, and she gazed into his eyes. Those eyes were as clear and astute as before, and also possessed the Bo brand of haughtiness and indifference. However, she did not know if she was wrong, but as she looked into those deep, black eyes, she seemed to see a touch of gentle compassion.

“Are these Ziyu’s corneas?” she gently asked.

He made a sound of assent.

She leaned over and began to pepper the ridge of his eyebrows and his eyelids with gentle kisses, while Bo Jinyan gently caressed her face. The affection in those briefly lingering touches grew and pervaded the entire small, narrow, dim room.

After a while, Jian Yao’s tears fell. She hugged Bo Jinyan’s head and laid it on her bosom. Her fingers threaded through his soft, short hair, and she said softly, “Jinyan ah, it’s been hard on you.”

Bo Jinyan did not speak. His head remained buried in her arms as he breathed slowly.

After an interval of time, Jian Yao felt that the front of her shirt was wet.