At the company meeting.
"Team Lead Lin Qinran, you have been promoted"
Applause filled the conference room.
"Congratulations, Team Lead Lin!"
"Leader Ran deserves it!"
Lin Qinran smiled quietly. "Thank you, everyone"
At a barbecue restaurant later that night.
"Team Leader Ran, you should drink more!"
"Yes, Team Leader— hic— a toast to completing the game— hic!"
"Congrats on the promotion, Leader!"
"Thank you, everyone" She lifted her glass. "I couldn't have done it without you."
She downed the beer in one go.
The table erupted.
"Another one!"
"Hahaha!"
A few hours later.
"Bye, everyone…"
Qinran stepped out of the restaurant, her gait unsteady. The night air hit her like cold water.
"Goodbye, Team Lead!"
She waved without turning back.
The streetlights blurred at the edges of her vision. Behind her, the laughter and noise of the restaurant faded with each step until there was nothing left but the sound of her own footsteps on the pavement.
Promotion. The word she'd chased for three years. Skipped dinners, pulled all-nighters, missed birthdays — her own included. She finally had it.
So why did it feel like holding something she'd already outgrown?
A cold wind cut through her jacket.
"So cold…" She hugged herself. "I should have worn something warmer."
For some reason, her thoughts drifted to Beichuan.
He hadn't come tonight. Said he had something to do. She knew what that something was — he just hadn't wanted to watch her be surrounded by everyone. Cheered for. Celebrated.
He liked her. Everyone on the team knew. Even she knew. He'd never said it properly, but his eyes always gave him away.
She remembered once, during crunch week, she'd found a coffee sitting on her desk. No note. The exact order she'd never told anyone. She'd stared at it for a full minute before drinking it in silence.
She stopped walking.
"…Idiot"
She still didn't know which one of them she meant.
She could have accepted. Could have tried. But dating within the team was complicated. And she was always busy. Work. Deadlines. Games. There was never a right time.
She exhaled slowly.
Maybe later
Her phone vibrated.
She stopped.
The screen lit up against the dark.
Beichuan Calling
She stared at his name. The phone kept vibrating. He rarely called at night.
Maybe he'd changed his mind. Maybe he finally wanted to say it properly. Maybe—
The call stopped.
The screen went dark.
She stood there a moment longer, looking at nothing.
Then it vibrated again.
Beichuan Calling
Her thumb hovered over accept.
Just this once—
She didn't finish the thought.
"Huh… a kid?"
She turned sharply.
Across the street, a small child stood alone at the curb. No adults anywhere in sight. The traffic light was already changing.
The child bolted forward.
"Hey— don't run, that's dangerous—!"
Headlights. Bright and sudden.
A horn tore through the night.
Everything slowed.
Her phone slipped from her hand and clattered onto the road, screen still glowing.
Incoming Call — Beichuan
She was already running.
Her heels scraped against the asphalt. She grabbed the child, shoved him back, and then—
The world spun.
The lights grew brighter.
Too bright.
Somewhere behind her, the screen cracked. The call went silent.
Shit… is this how I—
A deafening crash.
Pain.
Then nothing.
Her last thought, before the darkness consumed her—
Beichuan