A Tale of Love in a Coastal Town

Shi Duchen was taken aback when he saw the obituary posted by Qin Yan's studio on his phone. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he hadn't fully woken up yet, but after confirming multiple times, he realized that it was indeed Qin Yan's name. "Ms. Qin Yan passed away in a car accident on July 31, 2019, at the age of 39, in accordance with her wishes, the funeral will be simple. The farewell ceremony will be held at Hall 22 of the Galaxy Park Funeral Home at 9:00 am on August 2, 2019. This is a notice of her passing." Last week, she was still in Florence, drinking champagne with a few Italian boys, according to her WeChat moments. How could this happen today? So, isn't there always a saying that you never know which will come first, tomorrow or the unexpected? As an ex-lover, Shi Duchen's temples throbbed with pain caused by his hangover, and he was once again stirred up by this news. He threw his phone on the bedside table with some inexplicable irritability. The space gray edges collided with the silver-gray metal ashtray, making a clinking sound, and the half-full ashtray collapsed. It wasn't that he was still holding onto any lingering feelings for Qin Yan, but rather a feeling of powerlessness after learning that someone he once knew had passed away. Shi Duchen scratched his freshly shorn hair, feeling uncomfortable with the prickly sensation. He had drunk a long line of Jägerbombs last night, and drifted home in a daze, planning to have a bowl of instant noodles before going to bed. Searching through the kitchen, he realized that the night before, after a row of shots, he had eaten the last pack of sesame oil noodles. He had to scratch his growling stomach and sleep it off. By now, he was already sweating and low on blood sugar, with the alarm bells ringing loudly in his head. Shi Ducheng quickly rummaged through the bedside drawer and thankfully found two pitiful pieces of black chocolate among the condoms and lighters. As he waited for the chocolate to melt on his tongue, he leaned against the iron headboard and tried to ignore the constant nausea and palpitations. Memories of Qin Yan, an old flame, also resurfaced at this moment, though they had faded with time. After all, it had been nine years, and he had been with other women since then. He only remembered one thing he had said to Qin Yan, something he had never said to any other married woman he had been involved with: "If you get divorced, I will take care of you and your child." Thinking back now, he was so young and ignorant. With Qin Yan's income, when would it be his turn to take care of her? He even had to take a numbered ticket just to get back into her bed later on. Once his heart rate had stabilized, Shi Ducheng lifted the blanket and got out of bed. He didn't like to wear clothes when he slept, so he walked around the room naked. Hmm, maybe he hadn't been eating enough vegetables lately. Sitting on the toilet, he played "Candy Crush" for almost half an hour. After giving up on his daily bowel movement, he rinsed himself off casually. He wiped away the white mist on the mirror and looked at the disheveled man with dark circles under his eyes. Should he shave? He picked up the razor. Ah, forget it. Too much trouble. He threw the razor back into the transparent glass cup, and the lightweight plastic bounced around inside the glass before settling down. He put on a pair of underwear from the closet and used his toe to pick up the clothes he had tossed on the floor last night. The heavy smell of cigarettes and alcohol made him wrinkle his nose. He carried the dirty clothes to the washing machine in the kitchen. "Hiss--" As he approached the kitchen island, something stuck into his foot, causing him to jump up and down in pain. He looked down and picked up the culprit, bending down to grab it. He stuffed his dirty underwear into the washing machine and struggled to get any detergent out of the bottle. He realized that he hadn't bought any in a while. He threw the empty plastic bottle into the bin and decided to wash his clothes in plain water for another day. He opened his empty fridge, full of only alcohol, and wondered how long it had been since he had gone grocery shopping. He couldn't help but think that if something happened and he couldn't leave his house, he might starve to death. He changed into a t-shirt and shorts and texted his friend Shuman about a lost earring. After sending the message, he grabbed his cigarettes and security card and left his apartment. He ordered some beef and rice noodles from a shop and was told to finish his cigarette outside before entering the non-smoking establishment. Inside, the place was filled with elementary school students, and he asked some of them if he could sit at a table. He felt like a fishbone in his throat when they called him "uncle." He received a message on his phone and thought it was a reply from Shuman, but it was actually from "Qin Yan," who had sent him an obituary and a message from her daughter requesting his attendance at the funeral.