Chapter 9 The angry puppy pressed down his lips
"Are you telling me not to focus my energy on you so you can dump me and go on blind dates with other people?"
That summer, the cicadas' chirping was so annoying that it still filled my ears even through the window.
The boy in her memory lowered his head, the sweat on his forehead not yet completely gone. He pressed one hand against the door to prevent her from leaving the room, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his voice echoed behind her.
Cheng Guo's eyes flickered slightly. She swallowed hard, then looked away, avoiding his gaze. "Your career is just starting, and you're still in school. You should focus your energy on your career and studies. We're not—"
"I don't want to hear this."
Shen Zhui's lips pressed down heavily, his breath briefly invading hers, silencing her remaining words. His restless and reckless kiss swallowed her breath. The moment her back slammed against the door, his hand pressed down beside her, his other hand holding her neck in place. His long index finger brushed against the back of her ear, his thumb and forefinger gripping her chin. Her palms pressed against his hard chest, and in a slight feeling of suffocation, she was forced to tilt her head back, like a bound butterfly, unable to struggle, and pulled into his burning, dizzying kiss.
After a long while, he pressed his forehead against hers, their sweat mingling, their chests heaving, and he whispered, "Please don't go on any more blind dates, okay?"
"elder sister."
The voice so close to her pulled her back from her memories. Cheng Guo's eyelashes fluttered as she met Chen Zhui's gazing eyes.
"It's your freedom to date whomever you want."
She bent down to take off her shoes, walked around him to wash her hands, and said calmly amidst the pattering water, "I don't know as much about the entertainment industry as you do. I'm sorry, I was meddling too much just now. But you're staying with me temporarily, and I don't want to cause you any trouble, nor do I want you to cause me any trouble."
She turned off the water valve, smiled, pulled out a tissue to wipe her hands, and looked up to meet Chen Zhui's gaze in the mirror. "If you really have a girlfriend, move in with her."
In the mirror, Chen Zhui's Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes shifted several times, and finally, the corners of his lips curved into the same arc as hers. His voice carried a hint of playfulness, as if he were downplaying the problem, or as if he had just been joking, "My biggest problem right now is that I'm hungry. Can we go eat hot pot?"
Cheng Guo brushed his shoulder and went out, sitting down at the dining table.
Shen Zhui stood alone for a while, then followed Cheng Guo out with a smirk. Cheng Guo had already cooked the meat rolls. In the misty steam, her profile was calm, and there was no trace of unusual emotion on her face. It was unclear what she was thinking about his last question.
Frustration at his fruitless attempt and the regret of shooting himself in the foot filled his heart. At the same time, he felt resentful because of her apology and her words that he should move out now that she had a girlfriend. This anger surged up in waves, stuck in his throat, making him feel even more uncomfortable.
Without even looking, he picked up a piece of greens with his chopsticks and started to cook it. Only when he put it in his mouth did he realize it was chrysanthemum greens. The fishy and bitter taste that he hated most went straight to his brain. Chen Zhui felt uncomfortable and turned his head to cough. In the corner of his eye, Cheng Guo seemed not to hear him and continued to eat with his head down.
He didn't chew it anymore, swallowed it whole, gulped down some water, and then picked up another piece with his chopsticks to rinse it.
What should have been a light and enjoyable hot pot meal turned into a dull affair, with the two remaining silent throughout. Midway through, Cheng Guo's phone rang, and she returned to her room to answer it. As she closed the door, Chen Zhui put down his chopsticks and turned off the stove.
The caller was Yu Muying, and she was talking about her birthday the day after tomorrow, asking if she had called Cheng Fuyan to invite him over for dinner.
Cheng Guo had been so busy with the matter of Chen Zhui these past two days that he had completely forgotten about this incident.
She doesn't look forward to her birthday.
She didn't know the exact year her parents divorced, only that Cheng Fuyan remarried when she was in first grade. His wife was his childhood sweetheart and first love, and she had a half-brother named Jiang Heng.
When I went to my grandma's house with my dad, I overheard her telling my dad to have another child while he was still young. My dad replied that he had her and Jiang Heng, which was enough.
Jiang Heng was two years older than her and his excellence was obvious to all. From then on, she had a "goal to strive for". Her spare time went from more to less and then to none. She buried herself in her studies, trying to follow in Jiang Heng's footsteps and skip grades and take exams like him, but she still couldn't catch up with him.
This made Yu Muying anxious.
The phone rang twice before being answered. Cheng Fuyan's voice was gentle and refined, "My dear daughter."
He called her the way he used to when she was a child, “Dad has been so busy these past few days that I forgot to tell you. I’ve booked a restaurant to celebrate your birthday. I’d like to invite you and your mother to dinner.”
This relieved Cheng Guo.
Cheng Fuyan didn't want to go to her and Yu Muying's house.
She didn't want him to go either.
"I just heard from Jiang Heng that you switched back to cardiothoracic surgery this month. How are you doing? Are you adjusting well?"
Cheng Guo was taken aback and then explained her recent situation.
...
The phone call lasted half an hour, like a monthly summary. After hanging up, Cheng Guo called Yu Muying to tell her that Cheng Fuyan had made a restaurant reservation. Yu Muying was silent for a while, then hung up without saying anything.
Not knowing how the children in other divorced families felt, Cheng Guo only felt tired every time she acted as a messenger.
She still had a paper to read, and she smelled of hotpot from eating it. She put her phone on the table, opened the wardrobe, and saw several nightgowns neatly hanging on one side. She took off the nightgown from yesterday and prepared to take a shower.
Pushing open the door, she saw that the dining table had been cleared away, and only then did she notice the slight difference she had noticed when she entered.
A blue and white checkered tablecloth was laid on the table, with a few bright red cherries adorning the edges. The roses in the vase were gone, and pink baby's breath filled the mouth of the vase. No, the vase had been changed too; the glass had been replaced with white porcelain.
The once peaceful and unchanging life seemed to have been disrupted, and a sense of anxiety slowly crept into Cheng Guo's heart. After taking a walk, Cheng Guo discovered even more changes.
A new teacup footstool, its refreshing blue and yellow color scheme, sat on the living room carpet, its heavy phone buzzing. Several more cushions and plush toys appeared on the sofa: a fluffy dumpling, a square pillow with long rabbit ears, and a Samoyed with its tongue lolling out and eyes squinting. A low table had appeared in a previously unused corner of the balcony, two futons tossed beside it, and the missing roses lay on the table. And near her desk, a massage cushion had been placed in the chair.
She called out "Chenzhui" but no one answered, so she quickened her pace and went to the kitchen.
Several refrigerator magnets have appeared on the kitchen fridge, each featuring a Sakura character holding a magic wand. Goldfish swim slowly in the fish tank. The slippers she bought for Chen Zhui have arrived and are placed next to hers at the bottom of the shoe cabinet.
The bathroom was the "disaster area," with his razor, aftershave, facial cleanser gel, and so on, some neatly arranged on the countertop, and others crammed into the wall-mounted storage rack with hers.
The disposable cup she used as a toothbrush cup yesterday was gone from the table, as was his yellow toothbrush cup. In their place were a pair of toothbrushes with lined little dogs printed on them.
Cheng Guo opened the closet door, and the pink toothbrush cup she had put away yesterday was gone.
She opened the shoe cabinet, and the black slippers she had put away yesterday were gone.
A pair of old men's shoes that I had put inside were also missing.
The trash cans in each room were spotless.
A surge of anger welled up inside Cheng Guo. For the first time, she felt that letting Shen Zhui move in was a mistake. Her body trembled uncontrollably. When she heard the door open behind her, she turned around, unable to contain her fury, "Shen Zhui, what are you trying to do?!"
The sound echoed and swirled in the narrow stairwell.
The person at the door stood frozen in place, covered in sweat, looking at her helplessly. When they saw the open cabinet door, their lips drooped and their eyes dimmed. "I want you to look at me."
*^*
Cheng Guo didn't fall asleep until almost dawn. She got up when the alarm rang. Breakfast was already prepared. Chen Zhui's uneasy gaze kept looking at her. Cheng Guo was filled with a sense of powerlessness and quietly finished her meal.
As I entered the inpatient department office, I happened to run into my senior colleague Liu Xuejin, who had performed the last surgery. He went back and glanced at the schedule on the table by the door. "Isn't today the night shift?"
“Yes,” Cheng Guo smiled slightly, “I had nothing to do at home, so I thought I’d like to come and look at the documents.”
“Then you’re doomed,” Liu Xuejin winked at her and lowered his voice, “The director is short a second assistant for today’s surgery.”
Cheng Guo followed his gaze and saw Director Li closing his office door and walking this way.
"Xiao Cheng is here. I was just about to call you. Are you free this morning?"
Director Li's second assistant for today's surgery couldn't come because of a family emergency, and Cheng Guo was conscripted.
Therefore, he was able to concentrate fully on his work and banish the trouble from his mind.
The surgery ended at 2 p.m., and Cheng Guo finally got to eat the "late-night snack" that Director Li had owed her last time. Liu Xuejin felt sorry for her, saying, "You owe her another meal today."
"Go ahead, remember this," Director Li turned to look at Cheng Guo, looking delighted. "Little Cheng likes dogs, right?"
Seeing her surprised look, Director Li continued, "Your teacher said that when you went to his place last time, you hugged your teacher's wife's dog and wouldn't let go. I don't know if you went to see him or to see the dog."
"...It's not that exaggerated."
That time, Guo Shupu had undergone minor surgery, and she went to visit him with her fellow students. Afraid that Guo Shupu would nag her, she took her teacher's wife's Samoyed out for a walk twice during the three hours.
One hour each time.
"Teacher Du ran into your mother at a meeting yesterday. The two chatted, and your mother mentioned that you're currently single. It just so happens that Teacher Du's nephew recently returned to China and is also single, so he mentioned it to your mother."
Teacher Du is Director Li's wife, and like Yu Muying, she works in the education system.
Hearing this, Cheng Guo already had a headache.
“We shouldn’t cheat our own people. Teacher Du’s nephew is quite good-looking and has a few dogs at home,” Director Li said, opening his phone. “I have some photos here for you to take a look at first.”
"No, thank you," Cheng Guo waved her hand in refusal.
She had just finished a blind date, and now a cunning man named Chen Zhui was staying at her house, leaving her unsure of what to do. She had no interest in blind dates anymore.
"If you want to see them, come find me. The photos here are unedited."
Director Li tilted his phone towards Liu Xuejin, as if to ask for his opinion, "Take a look."
Liu Xuejin tilted his head, offering his assessment from a man's perspective, "He looks quite dashing."
185.
“This height is just right; any taller and it would be harder to find a partner.”
No, Shenzhui...
When the name popped into her mind, Cheng Guo was startled. What was wrong with her lately? She kept thinking of him at inappropriate times. She stopped listening to the two people's conversation and took out her phone to look at it.
Shen Zhui asked her what she wanted to eat that night.
Cheng Guo put her phone away, then picked it up again after a while and called him back: "[Working overtime tonight]".
After thinking about it, I transferred the money for breakfast for two days.
Regardless of where Shen Zhui got the money to buy that pile of stuff and shove it into her house without permission, she had already let him move in, and was just waiting for him to get through this. She was too angry to talk to him last night, and didn't have time for the next two days, so she'd talk to him properly the day after tomorrow.
He can only stay here until the summer vacation starts; two months will pass in a flash. When he leaves, let him pack up everything he bought and take it with him.
Cheng Guo had planned everything clearly.
Chen Zhui didn't take the money, and after repeatedly typing, he sent a message: "What time do you get off work tonight?"
Just then, Director Li and Liu Xuejin put down their chopsticks and stood up, and Cheng Guo put away her phone and followed suit.
Rain fell in Licheng at noon, temporarily chasing away the high temperature and sweltering heat that had lasted for several days. However, the number of patients in the hospital did not decrease. An umbrella bagging machine was installed at the entrance of the outpatient building and the emergency room. Anti-slip carpets were laid several meters from the entrance into the lobby to prevent patients from slipping as much as possible.
Cheng Guo ate her second meal at a moderate time, and in a small portion. She only noticed her stomach protesting when she had a moment to herself.
Across from the hospital is a residential complex with a row of shops on the ground floor. These shops close early, but a small alley off the street is particularly lively because of the barbecue stalls. An elderly couple often set up their stall at the corner of the intersection. Once, Cheng Guo drove out of the hospital after get off work with the window slightly open. While waiting at the red light, the aroma from the stall wafted over, tempting her to take a look every time she passed by, but she always gave up because it was inconvenient to take it while driving.
She didn't drive today, so I wonder if the elderly couple will come out in this weather.
The rain outside the window had stopped when Cheng Guo finished her shift and walked out with her bag on her back.
The hospital was eerily quiet at night, except for the brightly lit emergency room. Some people hurried about, while others leaned back in their chairs, fast asleep, enduring the long night. Because of the rain, the outdoor air was much fresher than when she went out in the morning. The faint scent of damp earth, combined with the slightly cool air, gave Cheng Guo the illusion of returning to spring.
Several cars were parked on the street, and the "Available" signs for taxis were up. When someone came out of the hospital, the driver looked up from his phone screen, rolled down his window, and asked where they were going.
There were almost no pedestrians on the street. Cheng Guo hesitated for a moment, but after seeing the faint lights and voices on the path ahead, she still started walking forward as planned.
Cars sped by, the hissing sound of tires rolling over the asphalt like a curtain being lifted by rain, the sound echoing in the quiet air.
As Cheng Guo approached the intersection, he finally saw clearly that the elderly couple hadn't come, but the barbecue restaurant on the side street was still open, with people sitting outside eating skewers and chatting.
Normally, she walks to work through the side entrance, which is closer to her home. Today, she had to take a detour from the main entrance, so going through this side path was like taking a shortcut. Cheng Guo turned in without hesitation and saw several tables of customers inside the brightly lit barbecue restaurant.
She walked a little further before realizing someone was following her.
The barbecue restaurant was getting further and further away, and the voices had been diluted to the point of being inaudible. The blue brick pavement underfoot was wet, and stepping on it felt like the soles of her shoes were stuck to the rain, and she had to pull them up with each step. Cheng Guo turned her head slightly and saw a figure behind her hidden in the shadows of the trees. He seemed to be drunk and was following her at a distance, not too close and not too far.
It's a man.
The path was long, and because of the rain, all the surrounding shops were closed, and the area was shrouded in mist. At her current pace, she could walk for another seven or eight minutes and then turn onto the main road with more traffic without any more worries.
It was past midnight, and the surroundings were extremely quiet. A gust of wind blew by, rustling the leaves and shaking the raindrops clinging to the branches, which dripped onto my shoulders with a refreshing coolness.
Cheng Guo shivered, considering the possibility of outrunning the other party.
She swallowed nervously, praying that he wasn't asleep yet. Cheng Guo took out a high-powered flashlight from her bag and gripped it tightly. With her other hand, she took out her phone and shared her location with the person closest to her.
The next second, the phone suddenly vibrated.
A lump formed in her throat for a moment, but Cheng Guo quickly answered the call. Before the other person could speak, she spoke first, her voice steady, trying to let the person behind her know that her friend was nearby, "I've been past the barbecue restaurant for a while, are you up ahead?"
There was a two-second silence on the other end, then Chen Zhui's voice was clear, "Don't be afraid, keep going forward, I'll be there soon."
Immediately following was the whooshing sound of wind pouring into the receiver.
A note from the author:
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Sorry for the long wait, the chapter on the emotional turning point was written a bit slowly.
See you tomorrow for the next chapter.
The cushions and fridge magnets mentioned in the article are all very cute; I've uploaded the pictures to VB.
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