Chapter 13. He was showing her his scars.
There were only the two of them in the long corridor.
One person was bent over, while the other stood there helplessly.
"come over."
He Yan barely managed to straighten up and spoke to her in a slightly hoarse voice.
In Wen Xue's mind, which was always concerned with self-preservation, there was absolutely no way she could get close to a drunk man, because that would often mean danger. But He Yan seemed to be an exception. Without further hesitation, she quickly walked to his side, hesitated, and reached out her hand, but it stopped in mid-air, unsure whether to help him.
He Yan had already subtly avoided the situation, handing her the key and chuckling, "Open the door for me."
Wen Xue hummed in agreement, took the key from his hand, and fumbled to insert it into the lock. In this quiet little world, even the slightest sound was amplified. Turning the key, the door creaked open. Perhaps he usually shaved by the mirror by the door, as if a crisp scent floated in the air.
Thanks.
He said, "Go back and rest."
Seeing that he arrived at the door safely, Wen Xue felt relieved. She nodded, but still kept looking back as she walked towards the stairs. Every time she looked back, He Yan was still standing at the door watching her.
She smiled, pursing her lips.
The hallway lights illuminated the path beneath her feet. She reached the third floor and had just stepped into her room when a familiar voice came from below in the quiet night, "Have you arrived yet?"
Startled, she quickly grabbed the railing and anxiously looked down.
Downstairs, He Yan was also peering up.
For some reason, she chuckled softly, "We're here."
There was silence downstairs. She listened intently and heard the door close. She breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and went inside. On the low table beside her were the desserts he had packed back. Although she didn't have much of an appetite, she still opened the paper bag, took out the box, and found a tempting chocolate cake that was beautifully packaged.
She paused for a few seconds, then found the fork.
I ate it slowly while sitting on the sofa. It was sweet but not cloying, and tasted great.
…
Wen Xue began to get used to life here.
These past few mornings, she's been going out for breakfast at 7:30 every morning, while also texting He Yan to ask him what he wants to eat. Sometimes it's soy milk and fried dough sticks, and sometimes he's curious about what's so special about the wontons she's been eating for days on end, and asks her to bring him some.
Then he would give her the car keys and have her wait for him in the car.
Li Jingru's whistling still rings out in the office every day, but the frequency has decreased significantly compared to the first day or two.
During her lunch break, she would join Sister Zhou and the others outside to sunbathe and eat sunflower seeds. She didn't feel that she was getting better, but she didn't feel that she was getting worse either. It was as if someone was supporting her and preventing her from falling.
He Yan is very busy with work, especially during this period. He has to collect payments before the Chinese New Year and maintain relationships with clients. Giving gifts is essential. He had just seen off President Zhou when he had to go on a business trip.
Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed Wu Yuejiang to help take care of Wen Xue.
Wu Yuejiang finally got annoyed by her nagging, "She's twenty, a twenty-year-old adult, not a two-year-old child!"
Despite saying that, after He Yan left, Wu Yuejiang took over his task, driving her to and from get off work every day. On this day, he finally found some time to take her out to eat. She was very quiet and reserved throughout the meal, eating the blanched vegetables in the hot pot.
"Wen Xue, I am actually very grateful that you came, not for business, but for personal reasons."
After finishing his meal, Wu Yuejiang put down his chopsticks, his tone carrying a hint of seriousness.
Wen Xue paused, looking at him with some confusion, not quite understanding what he meant.
Wu Yuejiang's gaze fell on the women's watch on her right wrist. If he remembered correctly, it was a nineteenth birthday gift from He Heng.
He Heng even asked him for advice at the time.
In the boy's eyes, his girlfriend's birthday was the biggest day, and everything else had to take a backseat. He spent a long time choosing and agonizing over it. He even considered blocking the brat. He was filled with resentment and asked, "If there's a grievance, there's a debtor. Why don't you go find your own brother?"
He Heng sighed, "My own brother is throwing money at me and telling me to get lost."
He burst into laughter.
Recalling this incident, a faint smile appeared in Wu Yuejiang's eyes, but he didn't mention it to Wen Xue. "What do you think of He Yan's condition?"
Wen Xue thought for a moment and said softly, "Very good."
He Yan was the most remarkable person she had ever met. Whether it was when He Heng was alive, he single-handedly shouldered the responsibility of raising her, or after He Heng passed away, he was able to swallow all the pain, straighten his back, and pick himself up again. These were things that ordinary people could not do, but he did them.
"Yeah?"
Wu Yuejiang looked lost and dejected. "The only thing that can keep He Yan now is responsibility."
While his group of friends were still only able to write the word "responsibility," He Yan had already taken it on his shoulders.
“It used to be He Heng,” Wu Yuejiang said slowly. “Now it’s the company and me. I told him that he was the one who brought me in, and this business is going to grow bigger and bigger. He asked me how much money I wanted to make, and I gave him an astronomical figure.”
Wen Xue listened quietly.
"I don't know how long I can keep him here, I'll just take it one day at a time." He smiled, unaware that the girl in front of him had also become part of He Yan's responsibility.
"Keep..." she hesitated, "What do you mean?"
“For a while, he often went to the temple. Actually, he didn’t believe in these things at all, but He Heng’s death made him particularly painful,” Wu Yuejiang said, trying to find humor in his suffering. “If he were in ancient times, he would definitely be labeled as a cursed loner. He felt very guilty. He always felt that he hadn’t taken good care of his younger brother, who was only twenty years old. To be honest, I think once he sees how much money I’ve made, he will definitely leave. He might even go to a temple to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist prayers.”
Wen Xue remained stunned for a long time.
She was trying to process these words; every single one pierced her heart, like shards of glass.
"Why?" she murmured.
Wu Yuejiang is not a sentimental person, but at this moment he turned his head away awkwardly. After a while, he smiled nonchalantly and said, "So, I said thank you. He was actually very happy after you came."
At this point, he poured her another cup of tea.
She picked up the cup and drank water, still looking somewhat dazed.
Ding-a-ling—
Wu Yuejiang's phone rang. He didn't even need to look to know it was He Yan calling. He answered it directly, put it to his ear, and said hello. The person on the other end asked, just like yesterday and the day before, "Did you take her home?"
"No, I'm having hot pot with my sister outside," he said.
Wen Xue hurriedly raised her eyes and looked at Wu Yuejiang sitting opposite her. Her intuition told her that the person on the other end of the phone was He Yan.
"Mmm-hmm," Wu Yuejiang replied impatiently. "I know, but why are you so long-winded now? By the way, your sister's here, don't you want to say a few words to her?"
Wen Xue immediately put down her cup and sat up straight.
It's like a model student facing the head of the teaching department.
"Alright then." Wu Yuejiang glanced at Wen Xue, put his phone away, ended the call, and smiled at her. "He's so busy, yet he still calls every day to check if I've taken you home. I'm impressed with him."
Wen Xue's shoulders relaxed.
Her eyelashes were lowered as she continued drinking water. After only a few sips, as Wu Yuejiang got up to pay the bill at the counter, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and saw a message from He Yan: "Go home and rest early."
Wu Yuejiang returned with the invoice. Before he even reached the table, a few steps away, he saw Wen Xue holding her phone with both hands, typing intently as if chatting with someone, a relaxed, faint smile on her lips.
-
He Yan drove himself on this business trip, which covered several hundred kilometers. He went there in one go, but was inevitably a little tired on the way back. He stopped in a city in between for one night and booked a room to sleep.
After taking a shower, I lay down on the bed and fell asleep. The heating was on full blast, making my mouth dry. I woke up at two in the morning, drank a bottle of water, and was completely awake. I grabbed my phone and car keys, went downstairs to check out, drove into the night, and sped along the highway.
After driving for more than three hours, in the misty morning air, he parked the car, but his gaze went through the windshield to the room on the third floor with the lights on. He raised his hand, and the dial of his wristwatch reflected a dim light, confirming that it was 5:40, not 6:40. At 7:40, he frowned almost imperceptibly.
He turned off the engine, got out of the car, and closed the door, seemingly afraid of disturbing someone, closing it much more gently than before.
After locking his car, he strode into the building and upstairs. As he got closer to the room, he slowed his pace, wondering if she might have forgotten to turn off the light before going to sleep. So he took out his phone from his pocket and tentatively sent her a message: "Are you awake?"
When the message was received, Wen Xue was curled up on the sofa with a hot water bottle.
A couple of days ago, she and Nana bought a strawberry plant while shopping at the night market.
She couldn't sleep when she woke up early, so she would stare at the potted plant, wondering when it would produce strawberries. She even suspected that she had been deceived, and that it might not be a strawberry plant at all, otherwise why would it not show any reaction after watering it for several days?
Suddenly, my phone vibrated.
She always puts her phone on the sofa to charge before going to bed.
She had blocked everyone she needed to, and her world was peaceful, but this was the first time she had received a message so early.
Who is it?
When she clicked on it, she thought she was seeing things. Why was it He Yan, who was on a business trip? Had something happened? For a moment, her heart jumped into her throat, as if she had returned to that summer night when she received a call from the police without warning.
From that night on, it was as if she had been dragged into a long, dark tunnel.
She sat up abruptly, replying nervously, her hands trembling: "You're awake? What happened?"
The next second.
Along with the rhythmic knocking came his reply: "Open the door."
Wen Xue rushed to the door and flung it open. The temperature outside was noticeably lower, and a chill crept in. He Yan, looking travel-worn, stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. His crisp trench coat had creases at the hem, but he didn't look disheveled. He tilted his head and said in a deep voice, "Wear something warm. I'm taking you somewhere."
A few minutes later, wrapped in a scarf and wearing gloves, Wen Xue followed He Yan nervously to the rooftop of the tenement building, a place she had never been before.
The door was bolted.
He Yan opened the door with practiced ease. The rusty door seemed about to collapse. He stepped out first, gesturing for her to follow. In the dead of winter, their breath almost froze into ice. On the huge rooftop, even the clothesline had broken and fallen to the ground in the wind and rain, creating a desolate scene.
Wen Xue followed him. He seemed very familiar with the place and went straight to a certain spot. "You can see the sunrise from here," he said.
She turned her head and gazed at his profile.
After watching for a while, she looked away, glancing at the crooked beer bottles scattered on the ground. She already had a guess in her mind: he was showing her his scars.
The two stood there, silently gazing at the horizon.
He didn't know how much time had passed; time flowed by silently. Then he said, "Here it comes."
As the sun rose, the thin sunlight pierced through the clouds, and Wen Xue's eyes lit up. She had seen summer sunrises before, but at this moment, she sincerely felt that winter sunrises were even more breathtaking.
So……
She glanced gently at He Yan. How many sunrises like this had he seen?
She exhaled white breath and didn't immediately follow him downstairs. She squatted down; there were beer bottles scattered all over the floor. She knew she couldn't carry them all today, so she would come back tomorrow. She carried two bottles in each hand, and the bottles clinked together, making a crisp sound. He Yan turned around at the sound, and their eyes met. She explained softly, "Trash... should be thrown into the trash can."
She can't control the garbage that other people create.
But he drank it.
He Yan remained silent, somewhat embarrassed, but also frankly admitted, "I should have, I lacked manners back then."
She chuckled, her eyes crinkling into crescents.
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