Chapter 50

It was still dark when we returned to the hotel.

To avoid disturbing Aunt Zheng, who lived with her, Guan Ying tried to be as quiet as possible. When she entered the room, she realized Aunt Zheng wasn't there. Perhaps Aunt Zheng had stayed in the ward after delivering dinner to the hospital the previous night, swapping shifts with Qiao's mother. After all, Qiao Qi wasn't as distant at night as she was during the day.

Zhang Rong's words have been lingering in his mind, and Zheng Juyong will arrive this afternoon... With so many thoughts in his mind, Guan Ying couldn't fall asleep no matter what, so he simply moved a chair and sat in front of the window to think about countermeasures.

Early-rising sanitation workers were already on the streets, brooms in hand. Across from the hotel, a middle-aged couple were at the breakfast stall, rolling open the shutters and preparing a hot pot under the bright lights. Taxis, police cars, and the 120 ambulance whirred by.

Behind the city's whirlwind of activity are countless people toiling day and night, some trying to earn a living, others just to breathe. While the night offers a chance for new life, it also hides the traps of fate.

She thought about it over and over again, until the sky gradually turned blue, but she still couldn't think of a second possibility. She never expected that what Zhang Rong pointed out to her was the only way out at the moment!

The door was swung open with a "hiss". Aunt Zheng just walked in and saw her sitting in front of the window with dark circles under her eyes. She was shocked and exclaimed: "Oh my God!"

Guan Ying stood up and took Aunt Zheng's handbag: "Aunt, I scared you. Didn't you sleep all night?"

Aunt Zheng said tiredly, "Alas, I dozed off all night, and had to get up to check at the slightest movement. How could I sleep soundly? Her mother had to take care of her during the day, and I couldn't do anything by just staring. I could only do my best at night so that her mother could get a good night's sleep."

Although Aunt Zheng was not satisfied with this marriage, she was not vague when it came to the point where she was required to do her best.

Guan Ying helped her to the bedside: "Then you can catch up on some sleep in the hotel during the day. If there's anything at the hospital, I'm here for you."

Aunt Zheng struggled to support her waist and finally lay down flat. She sighed, "Oh my! At my age, I'm really useless. I've been sleeping less, so I should have been fine if I could just stay up all night. But I didn't expect my waist to give out first. Now it feels like it's falling apart. It's all twisted together, swollen and sore. I really can't hold on any longer."

Guan Ying knew that she had been feeling unwell recently, so she asked with concern, "Aunt, turn around, I'll give you a massage."

Aunt Zheng waved her hand. "No need to press it. The reclining chair in the hospital wasn't working. We've changed to a bed now. It's much more comfortable to lie down flat. By the way, Guan Guan, when did you come back? Why were you sitting by the window just now? Did you wake up, or were you still awake?"

Guan Ying rubbed her dry eyes and lied, "I woke up."

Aunt Zheng pulled her hand away. "No, you haven't even changed your clothes. Guanguan, let's both catch up on some sleep today. When you wake up, you should hurry back to Jingxi! You have to fly to the United States the day after tomorrow. Your parents are still waiting for you at home. Don't let things here keep you away."

Guan Ying shook her head. "The flight has already been rescheduled. It was originally scheduled a month earlier, so it's still in time if we postpone it."

"Changed your ticket? You kid!" Aunt Zheng patted the back of her hand, and then, not wanting to hurt her, she held it in her palm and rubbed it, "Alas, it's my fault that I've held you back. I'm really useless now." As she spoke, tears welled up in Aunt Zheng's eyes again.

The Zheng family has been through a lot of bad things lately, with Uncle Zheng suddenly filing for divorce. Aunt Zheng is a completely different person now, and I'm afraid any further disturbance will crush her. Guan Ying, worried about her, informed Old Guan last night to postpone her flight. After hearing about the situation in Guangzhou, her parents agreed.

"Aunt, don't think too much, go to sleep! I will listen to you and sleep too, just stay here with you." Guan Ying got up and closed the blackout curtains, changed her clothes in a hurry, and lay down next to Aunt Zheng.

With her by her side, Aunt Zheng felt much more at ease and fell asleep quickly, even snoring. It seemed that she was really tired from taking care of Qiao Qi in the ward last night.

Only after Aunt Zheng fell asleep did Guan Ying dare to gently turn over, saying they wanted to sleep together, but she still couldn't fall asleep. Qiao's mother and the agency were at the hospital during the day, so they didn't expect her to need anything. It was Zheng Juyong who was keeping her awake at the moment.

She tossed and turned until almost noon, and she couldn't calm down. She picked up her phone and sent a message: "Where are you?"

Soon, the other party replied: "Hong Kong."

Guan Ying: "When will you arrive in Guangzhou? I'll pick you up."

The other party took a long time to respond before replying: "Okay, we can arrive at Guangzhou South Station around 1:30."

There were still two hours before she met Zheng Juyong. Guan Ying got out of bed, tiptoed to leave a note, changed her clothes and went out.

At the exit of Guangzhou South Railway Station, cars full of passengers were pouring out, dragging large and small bags. Guan Ying had been standing outside the gate, eagerly waiting for a long time.

In the surging crowd, a tall, wheat-skinned man with a thick beard, wearing a black baseball cap and carrying a large mountaineering bag, stopped in front of Guan Ying in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

Guan Ying didn't recognize the person at first glance and thought she was blocking the backpacker's way, so she moved to the side, still looking at the exit.

Until I heard a familiar voice ringing in my ears: "Who are you waiting for?" As he spoke, the man took off his hat.

"Wow!" Guan Ying practically jumped up high, leaping a few steps behind her, and exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing?!"

It turned out that Zheng Juyong, the literary and useless scholar, had completely disappeared after more than half a month. The one standing in front of him was a strong, dark and rough man!

Zheng Juyong held the brim of his hat with one hand and nervously pulled his hair back with the other. It seemed his hair had grown longer, long enough to comb back, but it was a bit tangled and didn't look particularly fresh. Perhaps he hadn't had time to wash it, having rushed from Saudi Arabia to catch the train, or perhaps he simply hadn't bothered.

"What are you doing? It's only been over half a month, how could you not recognize me?" His voice was a little hoarse, and he still smelled of the salty and humid breeze from the Persian Gulf.

This made Guan Ying suddenly feel that he was both familiar and unfamiliar: familiar because of the sea flavor on his body; unfamiliar because this smell actually came from the "rich young master" Zheng Juyong?

"Not only me, even Auntie might not recognize it!" Guan Ying couldn't help but raise her hand and poke the beard on his chin. "Is your beard...real? Wow...you're imitating Louis Koo, turning white Gu Tianle into black Gu Tianle!"

Zheng Juyong turned his face away, avoiding her hand: "Dirty..."

She had been so worried about his condition that she had rushed over to pick him up. She had already prepared a bunch of things to say when they met, but his sudden change in appearance completely disrupted her flow! She even lost the mood to speak!

"Hey...it's so dusty...you look like this, why don't you find a place to wash first, so as not to scare people..." Guan Ying rubbed her fingers in disgust, feeling a hint of greasiness on her fingertips. How could this be the familiar, fair and clean Zheng Juyong?

Zheng Juyong shook his hat and asked, "Where's my mother?"

"In a hotel next to the hospital."

"Then go back to the hotel and take a shower."

He was not in a hurry to mention Qiao Qi, nor was he in a hurry to go to the hospital.

When the two returned to the hotel, they booked a new room and asked the front desk to coordinate and arrange for it to be on the same floor as Aunt Zheng's room.

As Guan Ying followed him up the stairs, she explained Aunt Zheng's situation: "I haven't told Aunt Zheng about your return yet. She stayed in the ward with me all night, and her waist is paralyzed. I probably still sleep in her room now. I left a note before I left, telling her to come back later."

Zheng Juyong nodded but said nothing.

When he reached the door of the room, he hesitated and turned around, calling Guan Ying: "Let my mother continue to sleep. Do you have something to say? Come in."

On the way back to the hotel, he could tell that Guan Ying had a lot to say, and he didn't want to disturb his mother for the time being.

The two of them walked into the room awkwardly, neither of them feeling as comfortable as when they had lived in the same room before.

Zheng Juyong placed his backpack on a chair, unzipped the side, and pulled out a small bag of personal toiletries. He also pulled a set of clean clothes from the front pocket. He seemed to be very used to this backpack, with every item clearly marked and memorized. Unlike before, when he would only carry a light briefcase for any long journey, buying other necessary items upon arrival, never packing anything, let alone digging anything out of his suitcase.

He asked her to come in, but when Guan Ying came in, her eyes were blazing, watching his every move like a detective, which made him want to hide again: "Ahem...you sit for a while, I'll wash up first."

As they passed each other in the corridor, Guan Ying asked him, "Is your bronchitis coming back?"

"Oh, no, my throat is just a little dry..." Guan Ying was attentive and understood him very well, so she made him run away to the bathroom.

The water washed over him, gurgling from head to toe. The internal and external pressures of the past few days surged through his mind, and Zheng Juyong drooped his head wearily in the shower. His arms, leaning against the wall, had lost their former whiteness; veins were now bulging. In his dejected state, he suddenly thought of Xiao Weiyan. He wondered if he could forgive Qiao Qi the way Guan Ying had forgiven Xiao Weiyan. He had thought it was simple at first, but now he felt the same way. Guan Ying's effortless effort was simply a facade.

How did she manage to be so magnanimous? Since we share the same pain, perhaps we could listen to her advice.

After a quick rinse, he came out with wet hair and saw that Guan Ying had already called room service to bring in soup and rice.

"I think you've been busy on your journey and haven't had your meal yet, right? Don't worry about whether it's time for dinner or not, just fill your stomach with food first!" Guan Ying separated the chopsticks for him and asked him to sit down to eat. The soup and rice he ordered were all his favorite flavors.

He was indeed hungry. During the more than half a month he had been in Saudi Arabia, he could not get used to the local food. He was busy at the port and often had no meals. He finally returned home and had to travel a lot along the way, so he was already starving.

Zheng Juyong, with his messy hair and full beard, picked up the bowl of soup and started to wolf it down without caring about his image at all. In front of Guan Ying, he was used to doing whatever he felt comfortable with.

Guan Ying couldn't help but complain, "Slow down... How long have you been in Saudi Arabia? How did you get yourself into this state? It's like you just came back from a war zone... I'm really impressed by you."

Zheng Juyong drank and replied, "It's been three weeks."

Guangzhou was also hot, so he changed into shorts after washing up. While talking, his knee accidentally hit the leg of Guan Ying who was sitting next to him. When he realized it, he quickly pulled it back, closed his legs, and sat awkwardly like a lady...which was really contradictory with his bronze-colored clothes and beard.

Guan Ying only felt that his knee bones were hard, like stones poking her. When people are eating in a hurry, it doesn't matter if they move a little bit, just a small scratch or bump. It can be seen that he is deliberately tightening his knees. Knowing that he minds, she consciously moved the chair outward to make a lot of space for him.

Seeing that he was still sitting uncomfortably, Guan Ying simply stood up from the chair, walked to the sofa by the window and sat down far away, feeling a little uncomfortable in her heart.

After all, he was engaged and had been [abstinent] from her for more than half a month. If it weren't for Qiao Qi's sudden incident, they might not have met again so soon. I'm afraid that when she comes back from Seattle a year later, she may not be able to see him again.

Guan Ying looked out the window. The midday heat had faded from the street outside the hotel, and men and women were all out on the street.

I think it is better to be a man in this world. You are naturally carefree, free to come and go, and can easily let go of things. Unlike women, it is difficult for them to even go out. They are always unable to let go of this and that in their hearts. The elderly, children, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, cats at home...all of them are entangled.