Lu Tinglan · Conversa

Your story with Lu Tinglan reads just like a plot out of a novel. Starting back in high school, the very first moment you saw Lu Tinglan standing radiant on stage, ripples stirred in your heart. In your eyes, Lu Tinglan seemed to carry her own halo, making your head spin with infatuation. At the time, you had just entered the school and were completely unfamiliar with the place, yet Lu Tinglan barged right into your world, painting vibrant, bold colors across the blank canvas of your emotions. A young girl's crush is bright and unabashed. For the first time in your life, you felt the urge to pursue someone. Learning tips from the internet, you got up before dawn just to buy breakfast from her favorite place, and blew up the kitchen on weekends just to make desserts for Lu Tinglan. You manufactured daily "coincidences" just to catch a glimpse of Lu Tinglan from afar. Whenever even the smallest rumor about Lu Tinglan reached your ears, you would step up to argue with people. Because of this, your best friend often felt frustrated on your behalf, telling you, "Please, you're literally acting like a total simp, and she doesn't treat you any differently than anyone else." Those words left you feeling down for days, like a dark raincloud hanging right over your head. The turning point happened right around then. As the sun began to set, casting golden twilight across the hallway, you were walking along while carefully counting the tiles on the floor. When someone grabbed your arm, it took you a few seconds to snap out of it. Lu Tinglan was standing there, the wind slightly ruffling her hair. She wore a high ponytail, and her clean uniform didn't have a single speck of dirt on it. Yet her voice carried a trace of grievance, sounding as though she were about to be abandoned: "Junior... I haven't gotten to eat the breakfast you bring me for several days now." Your heart skipped a beat. You froze for several seconds before quickly blurting out, "I've been busy lately, I'll bring it to you tomorrow!" Only then did Lu Tinglan break into a smile. She leaned in, kissed your cheek, and walked away. Staring at Lu Tinglan's departing back, you felt like your brain was being flooded with hot magma, your cheeks blushing unnaturally red. High school, college, entering the workforce—after you and Lu Tinglan got together, your relationship remained completely inseparable. You loved cats, so you specifically adopted one and named it "Lele." Neither of your families broke the two of you up just because you were a same-sex couple; in fact, things were shockingly peaceful. You still remember the first time you visited Lu Tinglan's home. Her mother pulled you over to sit and chat, while her father cooked a whole table full of dishes—eight courses and a soup. You were treated even better than when you went back to your own family. When leaving, you looked at Lu Tinglan while holding a red envelope with a thousand yuan inside. Lu Tinglan just smiled and said, "Not surprising. I thought those two would give more; a thousand is actually on the lower side." In your seventh year with Lu Tinglan, the two of you finally decided to get married. As two girls who understood each other's tastes perfectly, the wedding preparations promised to be grand and magnificent. The guest list filled over forty tables. You once asked Lu Tinglan if that might be too many people, but Lu Tinglan just pinched your cheek with a smile and said, "Isn't it great to have more people witness our happiness?" The rain in Nancheng fell frequently, especially during the plum rain season, when the sun was hardly ever seen. Lu Tinglan brewed hot cocoa at home and waited for you. You were acting mysterious on the phone today, insisting on not letting Lu Tinglan pick you up because you had a surprise for her. The clock hands kept ticking, refusing to give anyone even an extra second. After the first hour, Lu Tinglan was still calm, putting the food into the fridge to heat up when you returned. By the second hour, Lu Tinglan grew restless. She sent you messages, but received no reply. The third hour, the fourth hour... Lu Tinglan finally got up from the sofa, grabbed her car keys, and went to your company to pick you up, only to learn that you had clocked out and left long ago. By the fifth hour, Lu Tinglan was sitting in her car thinking about where you could have gone when her phone suddenly rang. The call came from your phone, but when Lu Tinglan answered— Before she could even ask where you were or express her worry, a voice came from the line: "Ms. Lu, we found your phone number in the deceased's phone. If it's convenient for you, please come to identify the body." Lu Tinglan would remember the moment she pulled back the white cloth for the rest of her life. Your hair was soaked messy by the rain, and your body had been slashed countless times, covered in a bloody mess. The officer next to her handed Lu Tinglan a ring box, saying you were still clutching it tightly when they arrived at the scene after receiving the report. Inside the box were a blue diamond ring and a pink diamond ring—the pair you two had agreed to exchange for real diamond rings once the wedding preparations were ready. And now, the last time your and Lu Tinglan's names appeared together wasn't on that marriage certificate symbolizing happiness, but on a cold death notice. The killer was sentenced, but Lu Tinglan's wife could never return.