Chapter 117: Outside the Door
Yao Zhao was choosing her milk tea flavor, her head lowered, when she heard Song Chenyue beside her exclaim, “Huh?”
Yao Zhao turned, “What’s wrong?”
Song Chenyue said, “I think I just saw Dr. Zhou’s mother.”
“Auntie?” Yao Zhao said, “Where?”
Song Chenyue said, “At the restaurant across the street.”
There were many restaurants near the school, one after another. Song Chenyue had met Yu Qiao when she and Yao Zhao went to visit Zhou Tianzui at the hospital, so she recognized her. Yao Zhao said, “She’s alone?”
“No, there’s someone else with her.” Song Chenyue said. The other person was wearing a mask and dressed inconspicuously, so she didn’t recognize them. Yao Zhao said, “She must have something to discuss.”
Song Chenyue said, “Probably, but Dr. Zhou is really amazing.”
Yao Zhao lowered her head, waiting for her milk tea, “Amazing how?”
“Think about it,” Song Chenyue said, “after everything she went through, she still became a doctor, and that incident at the hospital, she even helped, I heard family has a huge impact on a person, if I were Dr. Zhou, I think I would be messed up.”
Yao Zhao said, “Me too, probably.”
“That’s why she’s amazing.” Song Chenyue said, “It makes me so angry that people are still criticizing her online.”
Yao Zhao smiled.
Song Chenyue turned and poked her waist. Yao Zhao told her to stop it, playfully pushing her back. At the entrance of the milk tea shop, the two girls played around, the cold wind from outside turned warm by the heater, blowing towards the people entering the restaurant across the street.
Yu Qiao hadn’t expected Wu Xiulian to ask her to meet, but she wasn’t surprised either. What could they possibly talk about, besides Zhou Tianzui and You Ruxu? She walked ahead, Wu Xiulian following her, and entered a small private room, a room for eight, the staff member, seeing only the two of them, smiling, “Would you two prefer a table in the main dining area?”
Wu Xiulian said, “No, thank you.”
The staff member, sensing they had something private to discuss, tactfully left.
The door closed. Wu Xiulian called out, “Sister.”
“Just say what you want to say.” Yu Qiao said, “I don’t deserve such respect.”
Wu Xiulian said, “You always deserve my respect.”
Yu Qiao looked at her.
She had a strong impression of Wu Xiulian, You Ruxu’s aunt, her privileged background, her respectable job, someone Yu Qiao usually wouldn’t interact with, and didn’t want to now, “Did You Ruxu ask you to come?”
“Xu Xu doesn’t know I’m here.” Her tone was respectful, a respect that made Yu Qiao uncomfortable, a deference tinged with apology. Yu Qiao said, “Then she didn’t tell you that Xiao Tian broke up with her?”
Wu Xiulian paused.
She really didn’t know, but thinking of You Ruxu’s recent state, she nodded: “I guessed.”
“Then what are you doing here? Playing mediator?” Yu Qiao said, “We’re not exactly close, are we?”
Wu Xiulian said, “I’m not here to mediate, I’m here to apologize.”
Yu Qiao looked at her.
Wu Xiulian said, “My sister had a daughter, named You Ruxu, who died when she was very young. Later, they adopted a child, Xu Xu, they didn’t even change her name, my sister wanted her to live as You Ruxu, to become the daughter she had lost. Xu Xu was very obedient, she knew she was just a replacement, but she was happy. I asked her once, ‘Xu Xu, are you upset?’ And she said, ‘Aunt, I’m not upset at all, I have a family now, I’m happy.’”
“She’s always been like that, always so careful, so cautious, at our home.”
Yu Qiao’s lips trembled slightly.
Wu Xiulian continued, “Xu Xu’s life with her mother wasn’t easy, her father gambled, drank, abused them, they were always hurt, her world was filled with pain. It’s not that she couldn’t differentiate right from wrong, she was just too young, she didn’t intentionally accuse Reporter Zhou…”
Yu Qiao interrupted, “What are you trying to say?”
Yu Qiao asked, “Trying to gain my sympathy? I don’t care about her past, I don’t want to know what she suffered. I agreed to the anonymous interview, that’s already more than enough. I don’t mind telling the whole world who she is.”
Wu Xiulian said, “Of course you could, you have every right to, but I know, the reason you didn’t, is because you pity her.” Wu Xiulian looked at Yu Qiao, “You might sound heartless, but you didn’t do it, you saw how hard she worked as a reporter, risking her life, she’s been trying to atone all these years…”
“I said, I don’t care!” Yu Qiao’s voice rose slightly, her face grim, her tone cold. Wu Xiulian said, “Then do you care about that work journal?”
Yu Qiao looked at her sharply: “What do you mean?”
Wu Xiulian said, “She came to Jindu when she was in seventh grade, she went to the apartment where she and her mother used to live, she also went to that man’s apartment.” The third person who fell from the rooftop, You Ruxu hadn’t known back then that he was the one who assaulted her mother. They lived in the same complex, a dilapidated building. After the incident, the owner left the country, and the apartment remained empty, no one dared to live there. Later, it was marked for demolition, so no one went there anymore. It was in that man’s apartment that You Ruxu found the notebook, tucked inside a book. She didn’t know if Zhou Qiming had lost it while investigating there, if someone had mistaken it for the man’s notebook, or something else, but after finding the notebook, she learned the truth.
“Xu Xu had a high fever when she came back, she sent the notebook to a reporter.” Wu Xiulian finished, and Yu Qiao stared at her, “Sent it to a reporter?”
Wu Xiulian said, “I intercepted it, behind her back.”
You Ruxu never knew, thinking the notebook was lost at the TV station, misplaced among all the other packages. So, she had contacted that reporter, repeatedly explaining that it was a notebook, a work journal. Yu Qiao, looking at Wu Xiulian, was speechless.
“What did you say?” Yu Qiao’s eyes were red, her gaze towards Wu Xiulian filled with fury.
Wu Xiulian said, “I said, it was me…”
“Why did you do that?” Yu Qiao said, “Why did you hide it?!”
Wu Xiulian, facing her accusations, looked guilty, “My sister had just lost her daughter a few years before, I didn’t want her to lose another child, I was afraid Xu Xu couldn’t handle it…”
“Yes, you were all afraid she couldn’t handle it, what about us?” Yu Qiao said, “We could just die, and it wouldn’t matter?”
Wu Xiulian said, “I asked someone to check on you afterwards, they said you had moved, it had been so many years, I…”
Yu Qiao raised her hand and slapped Wu Xiulian hard across the face.
Wu Xiulian looked up at her.
Yu Qiao’s eyes were filled with hatred, “The past? Who said anything about the past? You did? I knew it, how could You Ruxu do such a thing? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!”
“Xu Xu didn’t know.”
“I don’t care if she knew or not!” Yu Qiao roared, “How dare you even show your face in front of me?!”
Wu Xiulian said, “I know you hate me, you can hate me, but Xu Xu really didn’t know, she kept looking for that notebook, for years.”
“Looking for years?” Yu Qiao’s anger turned into laughter, tears streaming down her face, “Looking for years, so she could get into Xiao Tian’s bed? She felt guilty, so she had to make Xiao Tian suffer again? She knew who I was, yet she still shamelessly enjoyed my care for three years, right in front of me?!” Yu Qiao’s voice rose, “Do you know what I thought when I found out who she was? I wanted to die! What have I been doing all these years? What have I allowed Xiao Tian to do? Your family is respectable, untouchable, and what about us? We just deserve to be wronged? To be ridiculed and judged? To live in shame?”
Wu Xiulian said, “I didn’t think that.”
“You didn’t think that, but that’s exactly what you did!” Yu Qiao glared at her, “It’s one thing to be incompetent, but to be so shameless!”
She turned to leave. Wu Xiulian instinctively reached out to stop her. Yu Qiao pushed her hand away, sending Wu Xiulian stumbling against the door. Her eyes filled with hatred and disgust, “We can’t afford to be associated with your family! And tell You Ruxu, to show some respect!”
Yu Qiao stormed out of the restaurant.
Without even touching her food.
As she passed by the milk tea shop, Song Chenyue saw her walk past, she was about to say something when Yao Zhao asked Zhou Tianzui, “Dr. Zhou, have you gone back to work?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Not yet, I’ll be going back after the New Year.”
You Ruxu, sitting beside her, picked at her food, her appetite gone.
Zhou Tianzui, however, seemed to be enjoying her meal, finishing her noodles, drinking her milk tea, casually asking Yao Zhao about school, about her life, her demeanor calm and relaxed. You Ruxu, holding her chopsticks, took a few hesitant bites. Yao Zhao, noticing she hadn’t eaten much, asked, “Sister, is it not to your liking? Should I order you something else?”
You Ruxu said, “No, thank you, this is fine.”
Zhou Tianzui also looked over, her expression unreadable.
You Ruxu’s grip on her chopsticks tightened.
She just, couldn’t be as calm and composed as Zhou Tianzui, those words, let’s break up, echoing in her ears like a curse, those words, you’re not more important than my mother, you don’t like me that much, and I don’t love you that much either, how could she say them so casually? Didn’t she know how much You Ruxu loved her? You Ruxu’s eyes burned, she looked down, listening to Zhou Tianzui tell a joke, Song Chenyue and Yao Zhao laughing, while her own throat tightened, her vision blurring.
“I’m going to the restroom.” Zhou Tianzui said with a smile, “You guys eat first.”
Yao Zhao nodded, taking a sip of her milk tea.
After Zhou Tianzui left, she said to Song Chenyue, “Dr. Zhou is so funny, I used to be so scared of her…”
The voices seemed to fade in and out. You Ruxu lowered her head, her eyes watering. She grabbed a tissue, not wanting to lose her composure, and stood up, “I’ll also go to the restroom.”
Yao Zhao paused, “Oh, okay.”
She scratched her head, watching You Ruxu leave, and said, “Is Sister not feeling well today?”
Song Chenyue said, “Seems like it.”
You Ruxu couldn’t hear their whispers. She walked quickly, wanting to be alone, not wanting to go to the restroom, not wanting to see Zhou Tianzui, not wanting to see that unfamiliar coldness in her eyes, she felt scared. Someone walked towards her, and You Ruxu turned to avoid them, then realizing where she was, she was standing in front of the restroom.
She heard the sound of someone retching.
Zhou Tianzui was throwing up, everything she had just eaten, along with the harsh words and suppressed emotions. She leaned weakly against the toilet, her hands supporting her weight, her eyes closed. She flushed the toilet.
Her stomach empty, her body also felt empty. She went to wash her face, looking at her reflection in the mirror, and forced a smile.
Her reflection blurred into You Ruxu’s image.
Looking at her with surprise.
Looking at her with disbelief.
She had been so vulnerable, and what she had received wasn’t a comforting embrace, but a breakup. Zhou Tianzui’s hands paused as she washed her face, the cold water flowing through her fingers, a chilling sensation. She looked down, then suddenly chuckled softly.
After a few seconds, she turned off the faucet, turned around, opened the door, and You Ruxu was standing outside.
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