If the World Had No Daylight - Chapter 14

A little after eleven in the morning, the train set off.

Ye Wan sat by the window, silently watching the scenery race past outside.

There were not too many people on this train. Before boarding, Bai Tian had successfully bought a ticket for the seat opposite Ye Wan. After discussing it with an auntie traveling alone beside Ye Wan, she changed seats and sat over here.

Bai Tian took two mint candies out of her schoolbag and held one out in front of Ye Wan.

The other person reached out to take it, then peeled off the wrapper, pulled down her mask, and put the candy into her mouth.

They did not speak the whole way.

Bai Tian had been running back and forth for half the morning and was already exhausted. Not long after sitting down, she began dozing off, her head bobbing bit by bit until she completely lost consciousness.

The person wearing a mask turned her head and glanced at her, then supported Bai Tian’s head and let it lean against her shoulder.

Seeing this from across the aisle, the auntie teased, “Young man, where are you and your little girlfriend going?”

Ye Wan froze slightly before realizing the woman was speaking to her. She was silent for a long while and did not answer.

Seeing that she was wearing a medical mask, the auntie mistakenly thought she was sick and it was inconvenient for her to speak, so she stopped trying to chat.

Some of the people sitting nearby heard the auntie’s words and curiously looked over. Ye Wan turned her head aside and continued looking out the window, pretending not to know.

When Ye Wan went out privately, she always wore masculine clothes and hid her hair and half her face beneath a hood. It was not because she thought this looked cool, but rather because it was a means of self-protection.

But when she was with Bai Tian, who was completely undisguised, it instead made their relationship seem ambiguous.

This truly was a misunderstanding created out of nothing, Ye Wan rarely spared some thought to consider.

Because she and Bai Tian had not yet had any kind of relationship at all.

Taking the train from S City to C City required a full thirty-six hours, perhaps even more.

Bai Tian woke up in the afternoon. Seeing that Ye Wan still had not eaten, she took two pieces of bread out of her schoolbag, then went to get two cups of hot water.

Things on the train were too expensive, so she had casually bought a few things on the way here.

Although Ye Wan had no appetite, under Bai Tian’s insistence, she still finished the food and drank the water.

Bai Tian did not ask Ye Wan what she was going there to do, and Ye Wan did not ask Bai Tian why she had followed her. The two young girls seemed to have simply acted on impulse and stepped onto this journey.

Time in hard seats was difficult to endure. They had been in too much of a rush and could not buy better tickets. Yet neither Ye Wan nor Bai Tian had ever suffered this kind of hardship before. When the train finally arrived late the next night, they both let out breaths of relief.

Neither of them commented on or complained about the nearly forty-hour process. They shouldered their bags, followed the crowd off the train, and stepped onto this unfamiliar land.

The cold wind of a winter night blew over. It was already eleven at night. Bai Tian copied Ye Wan, tying up her hair, putting on her sweatshirt hood, and taking a mask from the other person to wear.

Although they were still very young, they were not completely without caution.

The down jacket Bai Tian wore was black, so it was not easy to tell whether she was male or female. She followed beside Ye Wan, and after leaving the train station, they ignored all the illegal taxi drivers soliciting passengers and directly hailed a licensed taxi.

Before getting in, Bai Tian habitually took a photo of the license plate.

After hurriedly glancing at the address Ye Wan handed over, the driver drove all the way toward their destination at flying speed.

At first, he was quite warmhearted and chatted a little, but when he discovered no one was responding, he consciously closed his mouth.

That made sense too. After sitting on a train for so long, who would not be tired?

Bai Tian really was tired, but Ye Wan’s silence had nothing to do with exhaustion.

She was very nervous. Bai Tian could sense that emotion without even turning her head to look.

Using “fear of returning home” might not be quite appropriate, but Ye Wan indeed became more silent the closer they got to their destination. The whole way, she sat motionless in the back seat.

Bai Tian lowered her head and turned on her phone, quickly sending another message to Third Uncle to report that she was safe. Then she immediately powered it off.

Starting from when she boarded the train, Bai Tian had sent a message back every two hours. She knew that doing this could not lessen Third Uncle’s worry and fear by much, but there was no turning back after drawing the bow. Whether he wanted to hit her or scold her, that could wait until she went back.

The taxi finally stopped in front of the gate of an old corridor-style apartment building. Ye Wan came back to herself and raised her head to look at the building before her, her expression hidden beneath the brim of her hood.

Bai Tian quickly paid the fare, then waited for Ye Wan. Only after a long while did Ye Wan reach out, push open the car door, and get out.

She looked around this dirty and old place, pressed her lips together, lowered her head, took out that piece of paper, and looked at it again.

Bai Tian followed behind her and quietly looked around the surroundings too, unable to help frowning.

This place did not look like anyone still lived here.

The taxi had long since driven away. Bai Tian did not even have anyone to ask, so she could only look at Ye Wan and wait for her decision.

After a very long time, Ye Wan took the lead and walked in. Bai Tian hurriedly followed.

Passing through the narrow corridor, they searched for a long time according to the address on the paper, then turned a corner and went up the third building on the right.

There were motion-sensor lights installed in the stairwell, but they were already malfunctioning. Sometimes they lit up, sometimes they did not, making everything seem somewhat eerie in the silent late night.

Bai Tian walked forward and linked her arm around Ye Wan’s. The other person paused, but said nothing. The two followed the stairs up to the third floor, looked left and right, and finally found the correct door number.

Ye Wan stood outside the rusty iron gate and looked at it in silence for a while. Then she reached out and knocked on the door.

Bai Tian held her breath and watched from the side.

There was no movement inside. Ye Wan knocked for a long while, but still no one came to open the door.

The atmosphere grew heavier and heavier. Bai Tian looked at Ye Wan’s expression, and in the end, simply reached out and knocked on the door with her. The muffled sounds echoed through the empty black night. Not a single thread of light could be seen in the corridor.

After who knew how long, still no one opened the door.

Bai Tian could not help saying, “Maybe she moved? This place looks like no one lives here anymore.”

Ye Wan did not answer and continued knocking.

“…Ye Wan.” Bai Tian looked at her and called out after carefully weighing her tone.

The tireless movements finally stopped.

“Ye Wan, it’s too late. Let’s find somewhere to stay first and come back tomorrow.”

It was already past midnight. If they continued staying here, it would be too dangerous for them.

Bai Tian held Ye Wan’s hand. Discovering that the other person did not resist, she turned and pulled her, preparing to leave.

Just then, from behind the rust-covered iron gate, there suddenly came a clear click. Then a woman’s voice came out. “Is that Wanwan?”

Ye Wan suddenly turned her head. She broke free from Bai Tian’s hand, quickly stepped forward, and knocked on the door while saying, “Mom, it’s me! Are you inside?”

The wooden door behind the iron gate opened. A person in pajamas walked out, and after seeing Ye Wan, she hurriedly opened the iron gate.

Ye Wan rushed over and hugged her. A few seconds later, she stepped back again and carefully looked her up and down. Only after discovering nothing unusual about her did she ask anxiously, “Why couldn’t I get through to your phone these past few days? What happened to you? Did something happen?”

The woman patted her shoulder, took a deep breath, then looked toward Bai Tian. She revealed a friendly smile and waved Bai Tian over as she answered, “Come in first.”

Bai Tian sat on the sofa, holding a cup of hot milk, quietly listening as the mother and daughter caught up.

Under the dim yellow light inside the room, Bai Tian could finally see the woman’s appearance clearly.

As expected, she was the woman she had seen at the restaurant back then.

At this moment, she was wearing pajamas, her face bare of makeup. Without the exquisite polish she had carried from head to toe at the time, she actually looked even more similar to Ye Wan.

“Silly child, why did you run here without saying a word? The road was so unsafe. Mom would worry.”

Xing Yun held Ye Wan’s hand and gently stroked it again and again, her face full of lingering fear.

Ye Wan looked at her and asked once more, “Why couldn’t I get through to your phone these past few days? What happened?”

The hand holding hers paused. After a moment, the woman revealed a smile and comforted her. “Mom’s phone was stolen. I had just paid the rent too, so I was planning to buy a new one after my wages were paid. I’m sorry, Wanwan. I made you worry. Mom apologizes to you.”

Ye Wan looked at her, not missing a single expression on her face. After listening, she continued without hesitation, “You could have used a public phone to tell me you were safe. You clearly knew that if your phone couldn’t be reached, I would worry. Are you hiding something from me?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Mom has had too many things going on lately and forgot. Will Wanwan forgive Mom?” The woman’s voice was very gentle, and the sincerity on her face did not seem fake. Ye Wan looked at her for a long while and could only let the matter go.

“All right, all right. Look how late it is. Even if you’re not sleepy, your classmate must be tired. Rest first.” She looked at Bai Tian and apologized to her as well. “I’m sorry for troubling you to come all this way. Thank you for accompanying Wanwan here.”

Bai Tian quickly waved her hand.

Ye Wan turned to look at Bai Tian, seeming as if she wanted to say something. In the end, she only nodded and said, “Let’s sleep.”

Bai Tian quietly let out a breath of relief.

This room was very small, and the furnishings were all very old, but it was extremely clean inside. It was clear the owner had carefully looked after it.

After Bai Tian and Ye Wan washed up one after the other, Xing Yun urged them into bed to rest.

There was only one single bed here. Bai Tian and Ye Wan were already barely squeezing together, so Xing Yun carried a quilt to sleep on the sofa.

This outcome was inevitable. Bai Tian did not plan to and did not have the energy to make unnecessary refusals, and Ye Wan understood this too. So neither of them objected, and they squeezed onto the small bed together.

After running around for two days and two nights, both of them were exhausted, so they slept especially deeply.

When the sun was already high and Bai Tian opened her eyes drowsily, she looked up and saw a face very close to her own.

When a person was asleep, they were at their least guarded.

Even someone like Ye Wan, when sleeping quietly with her eyes closed, looked gentle and harmless.

Bai Tian looked at her face and could not help reaching out a finger to poke that shallow dimple.

Someone had said before that people with dimples looked sweet when they smiled. But Ye Wan clearly did not match this saying, because her smiles were either fake or coldly sarcastic, leaving Bai Tian unable to appreciate them.

But at this very moment, looking at this dimple, Bai Tian rarely felt the true charm that Ye Wan’s appearance possessed.

Little bastard. She’s actually weirdly good-looking.

Bai Tian became addicted to playing. Her finger poked Ye Wan’s face again and again, acting recklessly. Holding back a laugh, she secretly fished out her phone and opened the camera.

The camera had just focused when the person in the lens opened her eyes and looked straight over.

Caught off guard, Bai Tian’s hand slipped and pressed the shutter button.

With a click, the photo froze this instant in time.