Chapter 26: Grievance, Pain, and Longing.
Three days after Xu Jialan was discharged from the hospital, Chen Yaoan received another call from Zhang Ting.
Zhang Ting is still in her hometown and has not returned.
He sounded a little anxious, "I've called Mr. Xu several times but no one has answered. Could you please go and check on him?"
Chen Yao'an was somewhat hesitant, but Zhang Ting spoke very politely, so she eventually agreed.
She went to Xu Jialan's house, but no one answered the door, so she called him.
It took three tries before someone answered the phone.
"Hello." The voice on the other end of the phone sounded weak.
"Why didn't you answer your phone, Mr. Zhang? I'm right outside your house."
The phone rang and then abruptly disconnected.
Chen Yao'an stood at the door for a long time, and just when she thought Xu Jialan wouldn't open the door, the door clicked open.
Xu Jialan's slightly pale face was visible from behind the door.
He was wearing pajamas, leaning against the doorframe, looking at her. "What are you doing here?"
"Mr. Zhang called me and said he couldn't get through to you, so I came to check."
Xu Jialan, completely unconcerned, turned and walked into the house, plopping down on the carpet in front of the sofa.
Chen Yaoan followed him inside and closed the door.
"What does Zhang Ting want with me?"
He's a little worried about you.
Xu Jialan twitched the corner of her mouth. "Why are you worried about me?"
Chen Yaoan circled the customer area and saw several takeout boxes scattered haphazardly on the coffee table, covered in a thick layer of oil.
"Is this all you've been eating these past few days?"
Xu Jialan responded with a faint "yes".
"These are unhealthy things; your body isn't fully recovered yet."
"What's it to you?"
He was ruthless in his words. She took a deep breath. He was always like this; at certain moments, he would raise his thorns and keep people at a distance.
"Zhang Ting is very worried about you."
Xu Jialan scoffed, looked up at her, and said, "None of your business! Trying to meddle again like last time?"
Chen Yao'an frowned slightly; something was wrong with him.
She crouched down to look at him, not holding his earlier words against him, "I really don't want to meddle in other people's business."
He turned to look at her. "Then why did you stop me from drinking that glass of wine last time in Ginno?"
Chen Yao'an hadn't thought about this question. "I guess I felt you shouldn't be that kind of person."
"So what kind of person should I be?"
"He should be a better person."
Xu Jialan laughed out loud and scoffed, "You think I'm a good person? What made you think that?"
"But you hesitated before drinking that glass of wine."
She saw the struggle and pain in his eyes.
Xu Jialan paused for a moment.
"At least it proves that deep down, you actually want to be a better person, not a worse one."
He's just using this method to escape something.
Xu Jialan's fingers, hanging by her side, trembled.
Her words were like a hand, gripping his heart tightly, sending a tingling sensation down his spine.
As the tingling sensation subsided, he lowered his eyelids, his voice tinged with grievance, "But they all say I'm not a good person."
Chen Yao'an didn't know who said these things, but he knew that they probably only believed what they saw on the surface and didn't want to take another step with him.
"The people who say these things to you are probably not good people either. They just want you to sink with them or belittle you."
"Whether someone is good or bad should not be judged by others, but by yourself."
Her voice was very flat, with little variation.
But it was like a nail, firmly driven into his heart.
After a long silence, he looked up at her, as if he had made a decision, "Okay, then I'll decide for myself."
The last rays of the sunset shone through the window, painting the living room red.
At some point, Chen Yao'an sat down next to him.
Xu Jialan rested her head firmly on her shoulder.
Chen Yaoan stiffened and reflexively dodged, while Xu Jialan collapsed to the ground, her face flushed.
Sensing something was wrong, Chen Yaoan reached out and touched his forehead.
I have a fever.
Chen Yaoan sighed, wondering how he had been tormenting himself these past few days.
"Xu Jialan, I'll take you to the hospital."
His speech became slurred, yet he remained remarkably stubborn: "I'm not going."
It took her a lot of effort to get the person onto the bed.
The medicine he brought back from the hospital was placed on the bedside table, and it looked like it hadn't been touched at all.
He wouldn't even take his medicine properly.
Chen Yaoan found a doctor who could come to their home to examine Xu Jialan's condition.
The doctor said it was because his stomach problem hadn't been properly treated that he had a fever.
The doctor gave Xu Jialan an IV drip and then left.
Chen Yaoan looked at the mess in the living room and thought about Xu Jialan's state just now.
This terrible situation made it impossible for her to ignore it.
She picked up the trash can next to her to tidy up the takeout boxes on the coffee table, but her eyes fell on the fragments of photos in the trash can.
This was clearly torn by Xu Jialan.
She picked up a few fragments and pieced them together. The photo showed three people, clearly a family portrait.
He had seen the man in the photo at the hospital that day, so the woman must be Xu Jialan's mother.
Although the photo is broken, it is still clear that Xu Jialan's mother was very gentle and beautiful, but unfortunately she passed away at a young age.
What exactly happened to cause such a cold relationship between father and son?
A sound came from the bedroom, interrupting her thoughts.
She put her things down and went into the bedroom.
Xu Jialan lay on the bed with her eyes half open.
Chen Yao'an walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and asked him, "Are you feeling better?"
"I feel so bad."
His face was half-buried in the pillow. He had lost a lot of weight in the past few days, and the veins on his forehead were bulging. His voice sounded like it had been sanded.
Seemingly in too much pain, he struggled a few times, and one of his hands actually grasped her hand that was placed on the edge of the bed.
Chen Yaoan struggled to pull away.
"……mom."
Her struggling movements stopped abruptly.
Feeling wronged, in pain, and missing someone.
This was the first time Chen Yaoan had so directly witnessed Xu Jialan's vulnerability.
After receiving the IV drip, Xu Jialan's fever subsided considerably, but his body could no longer withstand such abuse.
When Xu Jialan woke up, Chen Yaoan was cooking porridge in the kitchen.
He came out of the bedroom and saw her, somewhat surprised. "You didn't leave?"
Chen Yao'an explained, "You had a high fever just now and need someone to take care of you."
Xu Jialan seemed unconcerned. "Really?"
He sat down on the carpet in front of the sofa, in the same spot as before.
The coffee table was spotless.
Looking at the clean marble tabletop, Xu Jialan recalled their conversation.
She said that it should be up to him to decide what kind of person he wants to be.
He turned to look at Chen Yao'an, who was busy in the kitchen. She was bathed in the soft light, and her hair was shining.
His mind was filled with the sound of boiling soup, the sound of life.
But he still decided to be a good person.
In the kitchen, Chen Yao'an couldn't help but say, "You need to take good care of your health."
"knew."
This time his tone was very calm, which surprised Chen Yao'an for a moment.
The porridge was ready, and Chen Yaoan served him a bowl, along with a few light side dishes.
"Let's eat."
Xu Jialan sat down at the table and, seeing that she had only served him some, asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"
"I'll eat at home."
He stood up, went to the kitchen, took a bowl, filled it with porridge, and placed it opposite him.
He looked at her and said, "Have a meal with me."
Despite the seemingly ordinary tone, Chen Yao'an couldn't refuse.
The two sat down and ate a quiet meal.
During the meal, Xu Jialan received a call from Ma Qi.
He pressed the answer button.
Ma Qi's concerned voice came from the other end of the phone.
Ma Qi: "I heard you were hospitalized a few days ago, what happened?"
Xu Jialan replied indifferently, "It's nothing serious."
Mr. Ma: "Then let's go out for drinks together."
Xu Jialan twitched the corner of her mouth. "The doctor said I can't drink alcohol."
Macedonian paused for a moment, then said, "Then we can go out for a meal together."
Xu Jialan looked up at Chen Yaoan opposite him, and Chen Yaoan met his gaze with a puzzled expression.
Xu Jialan leaned back in her chair, her voice languid, completely losing interest. "The doctor also said that the restaurant was too heavy on meat and told me to eat a light diet."
Ma Qi realized that Xu Jialan was genuinely angry.
He was really drunk that night. It wasn't until he sobered up the next day that someone told him that he had belittled Xu Jialan in Yinye that night, and that someone had even recorded a video of it.
What surprised him even more was that Xu Jialan actually held back at the time.
He called him today to test the waters.
Ma Qi was in the wrong. "Don't be like that. We're brothers. I was really drunk that day. It was my fault for speaking recklessly. I'll apologize to you. You can do whatever you want with me."
Xu Jialan chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.
Ma Qi then tentatively asked, "How about we go out for a meal and chat? Would you do me the honor?"
Let's talk about it in a few days.
Ma Qi had no choice but to say, "Then you must contact me in a few days."
"good."
Chen Yaoan looked at him with suspicion, as if to say that he actually believed in a friend like Ma Qi.
After hanging up the phone, Xu Jialan didn't say much.
In the following days, Chen Yaoan did not go to Xu Jialan's house again, but she would send him a WeChat message every day to ask if he had eaten properly.
Then, Chen Yaoan's WeChat became his check-in point.
He would take pictures of his three meals a day and send them to her.
Chen Yao'an gradually calmed down.
After all, Xu Jialan she saw that day was really acting very strangely.
*
After staying home quietly for a while, Xu Jialan's health had almost recovered.
He contacted Maqi and arranged to meet him.
The two arranged to meet at a restaurant.
Perhaps to express his apology, Maqi was waiting there quite early.
There was another person sitting next to him, probably someone Ma Qi had called to act as a persuader, someone who had previously hung out with them.
Xu Jialan sat down opposite them, and Ma Qi poured him a cup of tea.
The two first inquired about his health, "Why didn't you tell us you were sick and hospitalized?"
“Yes, you don’t have any relatives or friends here, so it’s easier for us to go to the hospital to take care of you.”
Xu Jialan tapped the table casually with her finger. "No need, I have someone to take care of me."
Seeing his attitude, Ma Qi seemed to sense something. "Are you angry with me because of what happened that night?"
"I really didn't mean it that day. I was just drunk and talking nonsense. I don't even remember what I said. If you're still angry, you can hit me. We'll still be brothers."
After saying that, he looked at Xu Jialan and, seeing that he had no reaction, picked up the teacup in front of him again. "Since you can't drink alcohol, I'll make amends with tea instead."
Xu Jialan remained silent, watching him quietly, then picked up her teacup and drank the tea.
After finishing his tea, Ma Qi breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed to have worked. He couldn't afford to completely offend people; this connection with Jingbei would come in handy sooner or later.
Another person spoke up at the right moment, "Why don't we order first and talk while we eat? I was in a rush today and didn't prepare anything. I'll definitely make up for it with a big gift next time."
Xu Jialan stopped his hand from taking the menu, saying, "You don't need to eat."
The two paused, somewhat stiffening, "Why don't we need to eat anymore?"
"Since we don't like each other, let's part ways amicably. Consider that cup of tea as a farewell toast."
Both of them were stunned.
"Jialan, how can you say that? We've been friends for so long."
Xu Jialan looked at Ma Qi and, no longer pretending, said directly, "It seems you have indeed forgotten what you said in Yinye that day. You should know better than anyone how much sincerity was in those words."
He took out his phone as he spoke.
Maqi was getting a little anxious.
"It was indeed my fault, and I've already apologized to you."
That doesn't mean I'll forgive you.
He laid his phone screen out in front of the two of them; he had blocked both of them on WeChat and by phone.
"Let's not contact each other anymore."
Upon seeing the phone screen, Ma Qi immediately cursed, "Fuck!"
He suddenly sprang to his feet, grabbing Xu Jialan by the collar. "Xu Jialan, you called me out here just to mess with me!"
"It's just about making things clear."
"Since that's the case, you still expect me to humble myself and apologize to you!"
"Isn't it your duty to apologize?"
"Oh shit!"
Ma Qi swung his arm and punched Xu Jialan in the face, knocking over the dishes on the table, which shattered on the floor.
The commotion immediately alerted the people in the restaurant.
Before anyone could arrive, Xu Jialan dragged Ma Qi into the aisle and punched him.
Maqi fell directly into the arms of the restaurant manager who rushed over. He tried to get up and fight back, but the restaurant manager immediately pulled him back.
Several people followed closely behind and stood between the two to prevent them from fighting again.
"Let's talk this out, don't resort to violence."
"What the hell do you have to say?!"
Xu Jialan looked at Ma Qi, straightened her disheveled clothes, and said, "Now we're even. If we see each other again, just pretend we don't know each other."
Then he looked at the restaurant manager and said, "I'll take responsibility for any broken items."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
