Chapter 43: Red Eyes
You Ruxu sensed something was amiss with Zhou Tianzui, but since Zhou Tianzui had just received a call from the hospital, she assumed there was an emergency there. After Zhou Tianzui left, she messaged her: [What are you having for dinner?]
There was no reply. Even after You Ruxu finished dinner, You Shu watched the news on the sofa, and Wu Xiulian washed the dishes, she still hadn’t heard from Zhou Tianzui. You Ruxu couldn’t help but call her.
The call went unanswered.
You Ruxu frowned.
She was worried, even wanting to go to the hotel to check on her.
You Ruxu turned to look at the kitchen. Wu Xiulian happened to look over and, seeing her fidgeting, smiled, “What? Want to come help your mother with the dishes?”
You Ruxu put down her phone, stood up, and went into the kitchen. It was spotless. She stood by the doorway and said, “I’ll wash the dishes for you.”
“Take this chicken soup to your aunt.” Wu Xiulian said. “Call her down, she’ll say she’s busy.”
“Like a little Buddha, needing to be spoon-fed.” Wu Xiulian chuckled.
You Ruxu looked at the thermos and nodded.
She left the apartment and took the elevator. She had a key to Wu Xiulian’s apartment. She knocked, but there was no answer, so she unlocked the door and went in. The lights in the living room and bedroom were on, the TV was playing. She called out, “Aunt.”
Only the sound of running water from the bathroom.
Wu Xiulian was showering. You Ruxu sat in the living room and waited, taking out her phone, looking at the call history, then after a couple of minutes, called Zhou Tianzui again. This time, the line was busy.
So she was busy—
Just didn’t have time to answer her call or reply to her message.
Actually, Zhou Tianzui hadn’t always replied to every message before, often leaving her hanging for half a day, or replying selectively. You Ruxu thought she was used to it, but she wasn’t.
It was Zhou Tianzui’s recent change that gave her new expectations.
A pang of bitterness and a dull ache twisted in You Ruxu’s heart. She couldn’t face Zhou Tianzui with her previous mindset anymore. She was greedier, she wanted more.
That Zhou Tianzui didn’t reply to her message immediately after returning.
Made her feel aggrieved.
She hadn’t been like this before.
You Ruxu’s fingers fidgeted with her phone. Wu Xiulian came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a thick bathrobe, her wet hair piled on her head like a ball. She was applying face cream. Seeing You Ruxu, she walked over, “Xu Xu? When did you get here?”
Hearing the noise, You Ruxu turned around and said, “Just now, you were showering. My mom asked me to bring you some chicken soup.”
Wu Xiulian beamed, “Xu Xu is so sweet, truly my little darling!”
She sat next to You Ruxu and opened the thermos. The rich aroma of chicken soup wafted out. Wu Xiulian asked, “Did you make this tonight?”
You Ruxu nodded: “Yes.”
Wu Xiulian sat beside her, sipping the soup, and said, “So comforting.”
She looked at You Ruxu and asked, “What’s wrong? You look a little down.”
“I have a bit of a cold.” You Ruxu said, “I’m fine now.”
“Did you take any medicine?” Wu Xiulian said, “The weather’s crazy, raining every day, it’s freezing, you should wear more layers.”
She adjusted You Ruxu’s jacket. You Ruxu nodded, “Mm-hmm.”
Wu Xiulian said, “Your boss is interesting, making you work even though you’re on leave. You should learn to say no sometimes.”
You Ruxu said, “I know, the work is just incidental.”
“Still, don’t overwork yourself.” Wu Xiulian finished the soup and sat on the sofa, asking You Ruxu, “How many days off for New Year’s?”
You Ruxu said, “They haven’t announced it yet, probably the same as last year.”
Wu Xiulian asked, “Are you coming home?”
You Ruxu nodded. She would be going back. She hadn’t known about Wu Xiulian’s health issues before, but now that she did, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t know. She had always assumed they were healthy, You Shu being robust and exercising regularly, Wu Xiulian having annual checkups. In her mind, they were both healthy, but Wu Xiulian’s words that day made her realize they were getting old.
They were starting to need her companionship.
Wu Xiulian nodded, “That’s good. Come back and stay with your aunt, I won’t be so lonely then.”
She had been alone for many years.
You Ruxu turned and asked Wu Xiulian, “Aunt, are you afraid of being alone?”
Wu Xiulian looked at her and said, “No.”
She said, “Being with the wrong person is far more terrifying than being alone.”
You Ruxu was silent.
The wrong person.
Was she the wrong person for Zhou Tianzui?
Zhou Tianzui just put down her phone. She had used the hospital as an excuse earlier, but after returning to her room, she really did receive a call from the hospital, asking her to participate in an online meeting, which lasted two hours. She hadn’t had dinner, but she wasn’t hungry at all, her stomach feeling full and uncomfortable. She lay on the bed, motionless, then picked up her phone and saw You Ruxu’s message.
Asking what she was having for dinner.
Zhou Tianzui wanted to reply, but then she remembered Wu Xiulian’s words.
“Ruxu is like that, always willing to suffer herself rather than inconvenience others. She endures it, gets used to it, and then develops this illusion that she doesn’t mind it, even likes it.”
“Like these scallions, she might eat them for a while and think, they’re not bad. But if she doesn’t eat them for a while, she forgets that feeling of being used to them, and her body naturally rejects the taste again.”
No one knew better than Zhou Tianzui how much You Ruxu could endure.
There were many times when she thought You Ruxu would explode, get angry, yell at her, but You Ruxu would just calmly accept all of her bad temper. So, what was she?
Cilantro?
Or scallions?
She remembered the first time You Ruxu had her scallion and egg drop soup. It was the second day after they got together. You Ruxu had fallen asleep, exhausted. Zhou Tianzui lay awake, staring at the ceiling all night. She woke up early the next day. You Ruxu was still asleep. After getting dressed, she was about to leave for the hospital when she looked back at You Ruxu, still sleeping soundly, and decided to make her some egg fried rice and egg drop soup, afraid she would choke.
You Ruxu sat at the table, quietly, not saying a word.
Zhou Tianzui said, “I’m going to work.”
You Ruxu finally spoke. She took a bite of the fried rice, smiled at her, and said, “It’s delicious.”
Then she took a sip of the soup and said, “The soup is also very good, thank you.”
They had been intimate the night before, yet the next day, they were distant and polite. It felt strange. Now that she thought about it, had You Ruxu actually drunk the soup, or poured it away?
Every time You Ruxu had scallion and egg drop soup after that.
What was she thinking?
Zhou Tianzui held her phone and scrolled through their chat history, seeing You Ruxu’s messages.
[Zhou Tianzui.]
[I’m at my aunt’s.]
[I had some wine.]
[I might say some nonsense later.]
What nonsense?
Was it about coming back to Yuhai?
Zhou Tianzui’s expression was cold and indifferent, her face devoid of emotion. She tossed the phone aside, her hand covering her forehead, the crystal chandelier above swaying slightly. She pulled the blanket over her head, muffling her breath.
You Ruxu didn’t receive any messages from Zhou Tianzui until late at night. Lying in her familiar bed, hugging her favorite teddy bear, which still carried Zhou Tianzui’s scent, she couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning.
Why not a single call, not a single message?
You Ruxu checked her phone repeatedly, the battery draining, but the message she longed for never arrived. She woke up the next day still clutching her phone and the teddy bear. The first thing she did was check her phone, no messages.
It felt like being forced to drink ice water straight from the refrigerator.
A chilling disappointment.
She put down her phone and went to the bathroom to wash up. Wu Xiulian was making breakfast. Hearing her, she looked over and said, “Ruxu, why are you up so early? Why don’t you sleep a little longer?”
You Ruxu said, “I’m not sleeping anymore.”
“Are you busy today?” Wu Xiulian followed her and asked. You Ruxu said, “Same as yesterday.”
Wu Xiulian asked, “Then can you drive me to work?”
You Shu, hearing this, chuckled, “Are you addicted to being chauffeured?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Wu Xiulian said, “I’m happy when my daughter drives me to work.”
You Ruxu said, “Alright.”
“Good.” Wu Xiulian said, “Then I’ll leave work early today, let’s go shopping, it’s been a while since we bought any clothes, and we can get something for your father too.”
You Ruxu nodded.
She went into the bathroom. Wu Xiulian said, “By the way, Ruxu, do you know what kind of clothes Dr. Zhou likes? She brought us gifts the last two times she visited, and we haven’t given her anything in return.”
You Ruxu thought of Zhou Tianzui, who seemed to like a particular niche brand, always checking for new arrivals. She said, “We’ll talk about it later.”
Wu Xiulian chuckled, “Okay, you go ahead.”
After washing up, You Ruxu had breakfast with Wu Xiulian and You Shu, then drove Wu Xiulian to the university. Finally, she drove to the summit venue. She was later than yesterday and didn’t know if Zhou Tianzui was still at the hotel. Just as she reached the hotel entrance, about to call Zhou Tianzui, she saw a familiar figure.
Zhou Tianzui walked out of the hotel, carrying her laptop bag, wearing a checkered jacket, brown pants, and high heels. She rarely wore high heels. There were only two pairs in her shoe cabinet at home, barely worn throughout the year. But high heels looked particularly good on her, elongating her legs, accentuating their slenderness, the taut muscles giving her a sharp and capable look. She walked towards the venue, her heels clicking against the pavement. Just as You Ruxu was about to roll down the window and call out to her, she saw Han Shuang walking beside Zhou Tianzui.
She pursed her lips and followed them at a leisurely pace.
The hotel wasn’t far from the venue, about a fifteen-minute walk. Zhou Tianzui and Han Shuang were talking as they walked, their topic unknown. Han Shuang was smiling, while Zhou Tianzui’s expression was calm and indifferent. They soon entered the hall.
You Ruxu sat in the car for a while before getting out and carrying her equipment inside.
Han Shuang was sitting in the same spot as yesterday. Seeing her, she waved, “Ruxu!”
You Ruxu lowered her head and walked over.
Han Shuang said, “I left early yesterday, but I asked Dr. Zhou to say goodbye to you.”
You Ruxu said, “Yes, she told me.”
Han Shuang smiled, “I also ran into Dr. Zhou at breakfast this morning.” She leaned closer to You Ruxu, grinning, “She’s quite popular, several men asked for her contact information.”
“I’m so envious of beauties like you, from university until now, I can count the number of times I’ve been approached on one hand!”
You Ruxu’s mood soured. She glanced in Zhou Tianzui’s direction. Zhou Tianzui’s back was to her, talking to a doctor beside her, their topic unknown. Everyone around them was laughing, including Zhou Tianzui.
That smile was particularly jarring, like a sharp spike piercing her heart.
A crack appeared, the recent moments with Zhou Tianzui now seeming like a mirage. Her restless night, her worry and anxiety, all amplified by Zhou Tianzui’s casual smile.
An unprecedented sense of distance washed over her, suffocating her.
She heard Han Shuang ask, “Hey, are you busy tomorrow?”
You Ruxu snapped back to reality, “What?”
“Tomorrow.” Han Shuang said, “Didn’t you schedule Dr. Zhou’s interview for tomorrow? She said you’re busy, so I moved my interview to tomorrow…”
You Ruxu’s ears buzzed, Han Shuang’s voice fading in and out.
The tightness in her chest intensified.
She lowered her head.
Her eyes were red.
Leave a Reply