Chapter 60: Sweetness
You Ruxu wasn’t very tired. Although she felt a little lightheaded from the alcohol, she wasn’t sleepy. The flannel sheets were comfortable. She turned over in Zhou Tianzui’s arms, facing her.
Zhou Tianzui’s eyes were closed.
She thought about what Zhou Tianzui had just said.
Hated her.
Hated her for many years.
She hadn’t known.
You Ruxu buried her face in Zhou Tianzui’s embrace, tears welling up in her eyes. Back then, she was just a child, a few years old, watching the man who came and went with her mother, thinking of her father, that horrible man. In her young mind, all men were like that.
Especially since her mother often cried.
She hated him even more.
This hatred blinded her, so when she found that notebook, the one detailing what happened to her mother, she couldn’t accept it. The hatred dissipated, replaced by an overwhelming sense of guilt. She couldn’t eat anything during that time, falling seriously ill. She didn’t dare tell anyone, afraid You Shu and Wu Xiulian would find out what a horrible child she was. She didn’t dare to reveal the truth.
She could only breathe in the shadows, feeling dark, selfish, and ashamed.
In the end, she didn’t come forward with the truth, but wrote everything down in a letter, along with Zhou Tianzui’s father’s notebook, and sent it to a reporter.
She thought the reporter would publish the story.
She waited and waited, but the reporter told her they hadn’t received anything.
You Ruxu held Zhou Tianzui tighter, noticing her frown slightly. Knowing she was a light sleeper, You Ruxu didn’t want to disturb her, so she carefully got out of bed. The door to the next room was open. Yu Qiao was reaching for something. You Ruxu quickly walked over and helped her, handing her the item. Yu Qiao said, “This leg is useless, it’s so inconvenient.”
“Where’s Xiao Tian?”
You Ruxu said, “She’s sleeping.”
Yu Qiao nodded, “Still asleep? She never used to nap, when she was young, we couldn’t get her to nap even if we tried.”
You Ruxu helped her out of the room and onto the sofa, “Either she wouldn’t sleep, or she wouldn’t wake up, so sound asleep you could steal her candy and she wouldn’t know.”
Was this Zhou Tianzui?
You Ruxu asked, “Is she always such a heavy sleeper?”
“Always.” Yu Qiao said, “When she was in kindergarten, even two alarm clocks wouldn’t wake her, we had to pull off the blanket.”
Yu Qiao’s face was wreathed in smiles, remembering Zhou Tianzui as a child.
You Ruxu felt a pang of bitterness.
Her alarm rang. Yu Qiao, thinking it was a phone call, said, “Go ahead, answer it.”
You Ruxu said, “I’m going to the school later, I’ll just go get my bag.”
Her bag was in Zhou Tianzui’s room. Yu Qiao nodded: “Go ahead.”
You Ruxu went to Zhou Tianzui’s room, glanced back; Yu Qiao was watching TV, a peaceful expression on her face. You Ruxu gripped her phone tightly, turned off the alarm, took her bag from the dresser, about to leave, then turned and looked at Zhou Tianzui, sound asleep.
“Either she wouldn’t sleep, or she wouldn’t wake up.”
“So sound asleep, even two alarm clocks wouldn’t wake her.”
Why was she such a light sleeper now? Even turning over would wake her. Was she afraid to sleep? Afraid something would happen to her mother while she was asleep? How did she endure all these years?
You Ruxu’s eyes reddened slightly. She walked to the bed, looked at the sleeping Zhou Tianzui, leaned down, and gently kissed her on the lips.
Zhou Tianzui didn’t wake up.
You Ruxu deepened the kiss.
Before, she had been so careful, afraid of waking Zhou Tianzui, but now, she kissed her as if to wake her, gently biting her lip, not gently at all, almost desperate and rough.
Zhou Tianzui opened her eyes.
She frowned.
Just as she was about to speak, You Ruxu’s tongue slipped into her mouth, silencing her.
“Mm…” Zhou Tianzui didn’t know what had come over her, but she didn’t mind being kissed, being kissed so fiercely by You Ruxu.
After a long moment.
You Ruxu released her.
Her lips were red and swollen. She didn’t say anything, just turned her back to Zhou Tianzui and touched up her makeup in the mirror.
Zhou Tianzui asked, “Where are you going?”
“To the school.” You Ruxu said, “I have something to ask Yao Zhao.”
Her tone was soft and gentle, as if the previous fervor hadn’t happened. Zhou Tianzui moistened her lips, about to speak, when You Ruxu stood up, turned around, “I’m leaving.”
Her makeup done, she looked as if nothing had happened.
Zhou Tianzui felt unsettled by the kiss.
She couldn’t help but ask, “When will you be done?”
You Ruxu smiled, “I don’t know, why?”
“Coming for dinner?” Zhou Tianzui looked at her, her desire to stay written all over her face. You Ruxu said, “No.”
Constantly coming over would make Yu Qiao uncomfortable. Although their relationship had taken a step forward today, she could still sense Yu Qiao’s slight reserve. Zhou Tianzui called out, “A Ran…”
You Ruxu walked over to the bed, leaned down, cupped Zhou Tianzui’s face in her hands, looked into her eyes, her lips parting slightly. Just as Zhou Tianzui thought she was going to kiss her again, You Ruxu released her hands and said, “I’m leaving.”
She left the room without a backward glance.
Zhou Tianzui glared at her retreating back.
Outside, Yu Qiao was watching TV. Zhou Tianzui saw the plate of fruit in front of her, took an apple, and munched on it listlessly. Yu Qiao asked, “When are you going back to the hospital?”
“Tomorrow.” Zhou Tianzui said, “Call me if you need anything.”
Yu Qiao nodded.
Zhou Tianzui said, “I’ll probably be busy, you can call You Ruxu if you can’t reach me.”
Now she had a legitimate excuse.
Zhou Tianzui smiled, the apple tasting extra sweet.
You Ruxu went directly to the school after leaving. They had lunch early, arriving at the school just as classes ended for lunch break. Boarding students went to the cafeteria, day students went home. Yao Zhao should have gone home, but there was no food for her there, and her father hadn’t given her any money for the cafeteria. So, every day, she brought a lunchbox, and after all her classmates left, she would add hot water to her cold rice, mixing it with pickled vegetables she brought from home, that was her lunch.
You Ruxu, reaching Yao Zhao’s classroom, saw her sitting alone at her desk, her head lowered, her book and lunchbox shielding her face.
The classroom was empty, leftover chalk marks on the blackboard. You Ruxu entered through the back door and called out, “Yao Zhao.”
Yao Zhao’s hand trembled, almost dropping her spoon. She turned around and saw You Ruxu.
You Ruxu was carrying a lunchbox, which she had just bought downstairs. She had come to the school earlier, then gone back out to buy the lunchbox before returning. Seeing Yao Zhao turn around, she walked over to her, moved aside the thick textbook shielding her face, and placed the lunchbox in front of her. She opened it; it was chicken and rice with two stalks of green vegetables, colorful and fragrant. Yao Zhao looked at You Ruxu.
Hearing her say, “Let’s eat together?”
Yao Zhao looked down.
You Ruxu switched their lunchboxes, placing the chicken and rice in front of Yao Zhao, who gripped her spoon tightly, her gaze fixed on You Ruxu. You Ruxu asked, “Do you mind?”
Yao Zhao’s grip tightened, her body tense, she didn’t say a word.
You Ruxu said, “Eat.”
Yao Zhao pushed the lunchbox back towards You Ruxu, wanting to retrieve her own. You Ruxu grabbed her wrist. Yao Zhao looked up, their eyes meeting for a few seconds. You Ruxu said, “Eat.”
Her tone was gentle, without a hint of coercion, yet her persistence gave Yao Zhao a strange sense of strength, as if saying, she could help her.
Yao Zhao’s hand relaxed. She stopped resisting, took the lunchbox, and started eating.
You Ruxu also didn’t speak. The classroom was quiet.
After a long while, You Ruxu asked, “What time do your classes start in the afternoon?”
“1:40.”
You Ruxu asked again, “What time do you finish?”
“6:00.”
You Ruxu said, “Those boys I saw last time, are they your classmates?”
Yao Zhao paused slightly and said, “Yes, they’re my classmates.”
Her tone was calm, as if she was used to such encounters. You Ruxu understood somewhat. Her mother wasn’t around, she only had her stepfather. If something happened, there was no one to protect her. As the saying went, “A rope breaks at its weakest point.” If this had happened before, Yao Zhao’s situation might have been better. Now, everyone knew she was being abused at home, which meant even her family didn’t care about her, making it easier for others to bully her without fear of consequences.
Those boys were probably thinking the same thing.
You Ruxu asked, “You’re not planning to press charges against your stepfather?”
Yao Zhao looked at You Ruxu.
Very few people referred to him as her “stepfather.”
Others would say, “Why is your father like this?” “It’s your mother’s fault, if she hadn’t run away, your father wouldn’t be angry, he only hit you because he’s angry.” “Your father provides for you, sends you to school, he only hits you because he wants you to succeed.” “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”
Even the reporter who interviewed her at the hospital said, “Your father, your father…”
Her father was dead, and she loathed that title.
Yao Zhao said, “He didn’t hit me.”
Just like in the previous interviews, Yao Zhao changed her story. The initial attention on the domestic violence case quickly died down because she claimed she had accidentally fallen and hit the table, that the injuries were from the fall. Although the police were still investigating, her words discouraged the reporters and TV stations, as they had seen countless similar cases.
You Ruxu nodded: “Mm-hmm.”
Yao Zhao looked at her: “Aren’t you going to scold me?”
You Ruxu tilted her head slightly, “Scold you?”
Yao Zhao was speechless. Others, hearing this, would call her crazy, or lecture her in exasperation, only You Ruxu remained calm.
You Ruxu said, “Why would I scold you?”
She packed up Yao Zhao’s lunchbox, put it in a bag, tied it up, placed it aside, and said to Yao Zhao, “I have a friend who was often beaten by her father when she was young.”
Yao Zhao’s heart clenched.
You Ruxu continued, “My friend was terrified of him.”
Yao Zhao fidgeted with her hands.
You Ruxu said, “Later, she told her mother she was scared and didn’t want to live with her father anymore, but her father refused to get a divorce, so her mother took her and left.”
Yao Zhao looked at You Ruxu and couldn’t help but ask, “What happened then?”
You Ruxu said, “Her mother died.”
Yao Zhao froze.
You Ruxu said, “Because they moved to a new place, and met someone even worse. Sometimes, my friend wonders, if they hadn’t run away, if they had come forward and reported her father, would her mother still be alive?”
And wouldn’t everything that followed have been avoided?
They wouldn’t have wrongly accused an innocent man, all these years.
You Ruxu looked at Yao Zhao, handed her a business card, and said, “Whatever you decide, it’s your choice. If you want to come forward, you can contact me.”
Yao Zhao’s hand froze.
She stared at the business card, like a lifeline, but did she dare take it?
Would it break?
Would she fall into another abyss?
A chill ran down Yao Zhao’s spine. She wanted to reach out, but hesitated. You Ruxu looked at her calmly. Yao Zhao heard footsteps outside, her classmates were back. She gritted her teeth and took the business card.
You Ruxu breathed a sigh of relief.
She left the school, threw away the lunchbox, and saw a message from Zhou Tianzui.
Zhou Tianzui: [Are you done?]
You Ruxu called her and said, “Just finished.”
Zhou Tianzui’s voice was warm, without its usual coolness, a low and slightly suggestive tone, “What are you doing this afternoon?”
You Ruxu said, “Going home to sleep.”
Zhou Tianzui: “Not coming over?”
You Ruxu chuckled, “No.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Alright, I have a question for you.”
You Ruxu, walking down the street, turned slightly and asked, “What is it?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Why did you kiss me today?”
You Ruxu choked, coughing a couple of times, “What?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “During your nap, at noon, why did you kiss me?”
You Ruxu bit her lip.
How could anyone ask such a question?
It was absurd.
She said, “Then why do you usually kiss me?”
Zhou Tianzui’s answer was matter-of-fact: “Because I like you.”
You Ruxu’s heart skipped a beat, a sweetness blossoming within her, spreading throughout her body. She wanted to speak, but her voice was also sweet, tinged with the same sweetness.
Zhou Tianzui: Making a note, my wife initiated a kiss today.
You Ruxu: …
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