SATURATION Chapter 3

 

Chapter 3: By the Bridge

Translator:Abo Dammen

Up until the moment Sui Cannong retrieved his car from the parking garage, today had merely been an ordinary day of social death for "Sui Meili." 

He picked up his car from the underground parking lot near the cafe, paid the parking fee, and drove out—only to find that night had already fallen. It was exactly 7 PM, the peak of the evening rush hour.

And so, Sui Cannong found himself completely stuck in traffic.

With a sigh, he accepted his fate and merged into the slow-moving sea of cars. He knew he wasn’t getting out of here for at least another half an hour.

At this time on a normal day, Sui Cannong would have already finished dinner. Maybe watered the flowers on his balcony, done some laundry, and then logged into the game to team up with antelope.

To be fair, if he set aside Ji Ling’s personality and social skills, purely from a gaming perspective, Ji Ling was the kind of teammate one could only get from accumulating good karma in a past life.

Even though Ji Ling’s in-game gear was a little on the shabby side, his mechanics were solid, he never dragged the team down during dungeon runs, and he even helped keep Sui Cannong’s in-game home neat and tidy. It undeniably improved Sui Cannong’s gaming experience by a significant margin. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken the initiative to gift Ji Ling a five-star hero.

Now that things had come to this, Sui Cannong couldn’t help but feel a little reluctant.

Not to the point of deleting Ji Ling from his friends list, but to avoid any awkward encounters in the future, he would definitely start logging in at staggered times.

The traffic crawled forward slowly. As Sui Cannong passed by the cafe again, he saw, through the glass window, the booth where he and Ji Ling had sat earlier.

He paused for a moment, turned on the radio, took a deep breath, and decided not to dwell on today’s events any longer.

—I’ll order some shrimp wontons for dinner tonight. With that thought in mind, he nudged his car forward a little more.

After driving onto the bridge, Sui Cannong realized the traffic jam was even worse than he had expected.

The radio was still playing an ad for a furniture store. Feeling a little bored, Sui Cannong wished he could switch to a comedy skit for a change of mood. At least the river beside him made for a beautiful evening view.

The clouds were tinged with soft hues of purple and orange from the sunset, and colorful reflections shimmered on the river’s surface. As he watched, Sui Cannong felt his mood lighten a little.

His gaze drifted toward the pedestrian walkway by the bridge. The traffic lanes were packed, but there were surprisingly few pedestrians. He didn’t think much of it and turned his attention back to adjusting the radio volume.

Then, five seconds later, Sui Cannong’s eyes widened, and he snapped his head around.

Across several lanes of traffic, on the pedestrian walkway by the bridge, stood a familiar, slender figure clad in a trench coat.

It was Ji Ling.

Why is he still here? Sui Cannong was momentarily stunned.

When they parted ways at the cafe, they had both been preoccupied with their own thoughts, neither saying much. Sui Cannong only remembered Ji Ling standing by the roadside, looking down at his phone as if about to call for a ride.

Under normal circumstances, Sui Cannong would have offered him a lift without hesitation.

But he had been feeling off himself. He figured since Ji Ling wouldn’t even accept free in-game resources, he was probably eager to cut ties as cleanly as possible. Even if he had asked, it would have just been an exercise in self-humiliation.

Sui Cannong couldn’t understand why, after all this time stuck in traffic, Ji Ling still hadn’t managed to get a ride—or why he was now just standing there, staring into space.

At first, Ji Ling had his back to Sui Cannong, so he couldn’t see his expression.

Then, Ji Ling slightly turned his face.

Sui Cannong froze.

Because Ji Ling was smoking.

Not that he wasn’t allowed to, of course. Plenty of male teachers at school had strong smoking habits—like Thomas, who always sneaked off to the vacant lot behind the security office for a smoke during lunch breaks.

But Sui Cannong distinctly remembered that Ji Ling was never among them.

Ji Ling didn’t even look like someone who smoked often. 

Sui Cannong watched as he took a single drag before holding the cigarette loosely in his fingers, staring absentmindedly at the swirling smoke.

Maybe it was the thickening twilight, but his side profile appeared remarkably clear. His expression seemed… lost.

The river wind was strong. Strands of Ji Ling’s hair swept across his brows. Sui Cannong saw his lips part slightly, his eyelashes quivering as he exhaled a stream of smoke.

Ji Ling tilted his head back, watching the dissipating smoke with an expression of complete emptiness.

Then, in that fleeting moment—through the haze of smoke—Sui Cannong caught something in Ji Ling’s face.

A flash of sorrow.

Before he could even process it, Ji Ling bit down on his cigarette, turned away, and gazed back at the river.

A sharp honk from behind jolted Sui Cannong back to reality. He quickly moved forward with the traffic.

Soon, the congestion cleared up slightly. He glanced ahead and realized he was approaching the end of the bridge—likely his final red light before exiting.

At long last, the comedy skit he had been waiting for started playing on the radio. The lead and supporting acts bounced off jokes each other effortlessly, but Sui Cannong found himself unable to focus on the jokes.

He couldn’t stop himself from glancing at the rearview mirror.

He didn’t know why he was still watching Ji Ling. Maybe to see if he finished his cigarette. Or maybe… because of the look on his face just now. It had been far too unsettling.

In the mirror, Ji Ling appeared small.

Sui Cannong watched as he took a few slow steps forward, then stopped by the bridge railing, gazing at the river.

After a while, Ji Ling looked down, seemingly about to put out his cigarette. He scanned his surroundings but found no trash bin, so he simply held onto it.

Then, he stepped closer—his body inching toward the metal railing.

And in the next instant—before Sui Cannong even had time to react—Ji Ling placed his hands on the railing.

His trench coat flared wildly in the wind. Then, Sui Cannong saw him brace his arms against the rail, lean forward, and suddenly—half of his body was hanging over the edge!

Sui Cannong’s pupils contracted violently. He nearly jumped out of his seat in shock.

Snapping out of it, he frantically rolled down his window and shouted Ji Ling’s name.

But the distance was too far. His voice was instantly swallowed by honking horns and the rush of wind.

Few pedestrians were on the bridge, and at this exact moment, none were passing by. Aside from Sui Cannong, who had been secretly watching, no other drivers seemed to have noticed what was happening.

Sui Cannong felt his soul leave his body.

Luckily, in the next second, Ji Ling pulled himself back, arms trembling slightly as he staggered a step backward, steadying himself.

Then, he simply stood there, staring at the river again.

Sui Cannong had no idea what was going through Ji Ling’s mind.

Had no idea what had prompted him to do that.

But he did know one thing—he was absolutely scared out of his wits.

He wanted to stop, but he couldn’t turn around, and just then, the light turned green.He had no choice but to keep moving forward, though he did so at the slowest possible speed, his eyes locked onto Ji Ling’s reflection in the mirror.

Ji Ling finally put out his cigarette.

Still unable to find a bin, he simply held the butt in his palm.

The wind was strong.

He lingered for a while longer before turning away, slowly walking off into the distance.

---

Author’s Feed:

Sui Cannong: SOS—