Chapter 10 My Heart Aches, Do You Know What Want Want Rice Crackers Turn into in the Summer...?
Because she needed to go to the hospital to have a tooth extracted, Lin Yu and Zhou Ke woke up at the same time, which was quite unusual.
The morning light was bright, and the rising sun cast a thin golden glow that streamed into the bedroom through the half-open window, with tiny dust particles floating gently in the beams of light.
As early as yesterday, after Zhou Ke said he would take her to the hospital, Lin Yu had already made an appointment on her phone. It was still the same hospital where she had her tooth extracted last time, and even the doctor was the same.
Shortly after nine o'clock, Zhou Ke drove Lin Yu to the hospital.
The hospital was only three kilometers away from the neighborhood. Lin Yu's right eyelid had been twitching non-stop since before she left, perhaps because she needed to have a tooth extracted. She closed her eyes and felt a strange sense of panic, as if something bad was about to happen.
Even on a weekday, the hospital was still quite crowded. After parking her car, Lin Yu followed Zhou Ke toward the dental clinic.
Upon arriving at the dental department floor, Lin Yu took out her ID card and obtained a number from the self-service machine. She sat quietly in the lobby waiting for her number to be called. They had arrived early, and there weren't many people in the dental department at the moment. The surrounding walls were all white, and the air conditioning was blowing coldly on them. The voices around her could be heard intermittently. Lin Yu sat dazedly in the silver chair.
Zhou Ke turned his head, glanced at his sister who was lost in thought, and asked softly, "Are you scared?"
Hearing this, Lin Yu snapped out of her reverie and turned to meet Zhou Ke's deep, dark eyes, where a layer of worry was clearly rising. She paused for a moment, then said, against her true feelings, "A little."
Zhou Ke stared at her for a moment, then changed the subject and suddenly asked her a tangential question: "Do you know what Want Want Rice Crackers become in the summer?"
Lin Yu was taken aback, not understanding why Zhou Ke would ask this. She thought for a moment, what do Want Want Rice Crackers become in the summer? Summer... Lin Yu pondered these two words, the first thing that came to mind was the high temperature of summer. Could it be...? She tentatively answered, "Want Want Shaved Ice?"
Zhou Ke: "No."
Lin Yu couldn't figure it out. "What is it?"
Zhou Ke: "Want Want Rice Crackers".
Lin Yu froze, her long eyelashes blinking in confusion. She repeated Zhou Ke's answer two or three times before finally realizing it was a pun, "仙贝" (xianbei) sounding like "揭被" (jiebei). After realizing it, she suddenly laughed, the gloom that had been building up in her heart vanishing instantly. She raised an eyebrow and said, "What kind of lame joke is this?"
Zhou Ke gave a soft "hmm," his gaze falling on her face, a gentle smile in his eyes, and asked softly, "Are you still scared?"
Seeing her brother's serious expression, Lin Yu suddenly couldn't answer. She wasn't actually nervous, but when she saw the worry in his eyes for a moment, she didn't know why, but she just wanted to lie to him. She didn't expect that Zhou Ke, who seemed so composed, would tell her a lame joke in order to ease her tension.
Instead of answering, she asked, "Where did you hear that corny joke?"
Knowing Zhou Ke as she does, she wouldn't have deliberately looked it up online.
Zhou Ke recalled: "Once in the lounge of a bar, I overheard one of my employees talking to his girlfriend on the phone, using this lame joke to make her happy."
Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat at the mention of her girlfriend. Just then, her name was announced over the loudspeaker and on the large screen in the waiting area. She turned around and saw her name appear on the screen below the examination room. At the same time, a nurse came over and asked the patients in the waiting area if anyone had arrived. Lin Yu had no choice but to get up, hand her phone to Zhou Ke for safekeeping, and then follow the nurse into the examination room.
Pushing open the door, there was only one doctor inside. She looked up at Lin Yu, asked about her condition, and then put on gloves to examine the inflamed area. After confirming that she did need a tooth extracted, she asked the nurse to take her to the imaging room next door for an X-ray.
After receiving the results, the doctor looked at the images and had a brief discussion with her. Then, Lin Yu was taken to a cubicle inside the consultation room and lay down on the examination bed.
The incandescent light overhead suddenly shone brightly, and Lin Yu subconsciously squinted. The nurse handed her a glass of water and told her to rinse her mouth first.
After all the preparations were completed, Lin Yu lay on the bed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the nurses wearing gloves unpacking the tools needed for the tooth extraction. Her perception of pain was stronger than that of ordinary people. Lying on the hospital bed, looking at those cold and ruthless tools and the snow-white light above her head, she felt both fear of the unknown and a sense of identification with herself as a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
The nurse prepared the medicine, held up the needle, walked up to her, and gently said, "Open your mouth."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Yu suddenly shifted her arm, her fingertips gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her heart pounding faster and faster.
The needle of the painkiller was thin and long. When the needle tip pierced her gums, Lin Yu frowned suddenly. Her fingertips dug into her palm through the fabric of her clothes. The pain came quickly and sharply, and a layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on her back.
She closed her eyes, the hissing of machinery filling her ears, and the metallic taste of blood quickly filling her mouth.
Natural tears slowly welled up in my eyes. Painkillers can't guarantee 100% effectiveness; when I exerted force, I could still feel a slight pain and a pulling sensation.
"Relax, it will be over soon." The doctor's voice came through the mask, muffled and distant.
The smell of blood grew stronger and stronger. About twenty minutes later, the sounds in her ears suddenly stopped. The nurse picked up a cotton ball, used tweezers to hold it, and put it into her mouth, saying softly, "Okay, it's all done."
After saying that, she helped Lin Yu sit up from the bed. The anesthetic was still working, and her right cheek was numb as if she had lost all feeling.
The doctor removed his mask and gave her some more instructions: "Remember not to brush your teeth for 24 hours. When you get home, you can apply ice to reduce swelling. Remember to spit out the cotton ball after 40 minutes. If you feel unwell within three days, remember to come to the hospital for treatment."
With a cotton ball in her mouth, Lin Yu couldn't speak, so she could only nod in response.
Zhou Ke sat on a chair in the waiting area, his eyes fixed on the door of the examination room. When he saw Lin Yu come out, he almost immediately got up from the chair and walked to Lin Yu's side. He saw Lin Yu's pale face and trembling lips.
Zhou Ke frowned, his gaze sweeping over her pale face. Seeing the tear stains at the corners of her eyes, he spoke, his voice lower than usual: "Does it hurt a lot?"
Lin Yu shook her head and mumbled, "It's...okay, let's...go."
"Mm," Zhou Ke replied softly, and the two walked towards the elevator.
Upon reaching the first floor of the lobby, the two turned left and walked to the pharmacy in the corner. Zhou Ke glanced at her and said, "Wait here for me, I'll go get the medicine."
"good."
Zhou Ke walked to the window, handed over Lin Yu's ID card, and after the other party confirmed it, handed over the medicine that had been prepared in advance.
After taking the medicine, Zhou Ke turned around and suddenly noticed a hunched figure behind him. The person had gray hair, sallow skin, and wrinkles all over his face.
Jiang Huifang looked up, her cloudy eyes landing on Zhou Ke. However, upon seeing him, her expression froze instantly: "You..."
Jiang Huifang wasn't the only one shocked; Zhou Ke was also terrified. Of course, more than shock, Zhou Ke was afraid that Lin Yu would see her. He subconsciously shifted his gaze to Lin Yu, who was standing not far away. She was facing this way and could come over at any moment. Thinking of this, he stepped forward and used his body to block Jiang Huifang. After doing this, he lowered his head, trying to suppress his surging emotions, and called out to the person who came over: "Grandma."
After several years, Jiang Huifang looked much older. Time had not spared her; her once half-white hair was now completely white, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were even deeper. She held medicine that she had just taken from the pharmacy in her hand.
Zhou Ke didn't care why she was there; he just wanted to get Lin Yu away as soon as possible and absolutely prevent the two of them from running into each other.
However, things are often absurd; what you fear most is what comes to pass.
"Brother." Lin Yu walked up to Zhou Ke, intending to ask him if he had gotten his medicine, but when she saw the person standing opposite him, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. The last trace of color drained from her face, and a sharp pain suddenly shot through her heart, as if she had suffered some kind of PTSD. Her arms trembled uncontrollably, and her blood seemed to rush back to her head.
Memories of the past, like tiny needles, pierced her skin in an instant, disrupting her once even breathing.
Lin Yu bit her lip, and tears unexpectedly spilled from her eyes. Zhou Ke was so shocked by her tears that he felt his soul leave his body.
Jiang Huifang looked at the two of them, her thick eyes fixed on Lin Yu, and her throat tightened: "Xiao Yu."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Ke suddenly raised his arm and pulled his younger sister behind him, a protective instinct.
Zhou Ke had no interest in exchanging pleasantries with her. He took his sister's hand and found that Lin Yu's hand was as cold as ice. Without hesitation, he strode away with her, saying, "It's alright, don't be afraid, let's go!"
He could maintain the most basic respect for Jiang Huifang, but that was all. He didn't care why she was there; right now, he only cared about Lin Yu's reaction.
As the saying goes, every pitiful person has something hateful about them, and that probably describes her perfectly.
Back then, Lin Yu had nightmares every night, cried, had a high fever, and even had suicidal thoughts because of a few words she said.
Lin Yu lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the hand Zhou Ke was holding. Her brother's large, warm palm pressed against her cold one. She followed behind him as if she had lost her soul, holding his hand like a lighthouse guiding her way on the sea.
Since meeting Jiang Huifang, Lin Yu had even lost her instinctive walking reflexes. All the way out of the hospital, Zhou Ke held her wrist and walked quickly. Even after she was sitting in the passenger seat, she still couldn't shake off that trembling feeling.
Tears streamed down her face. Lin Yu curled up, her fingertips turning white from the effort. Her long hair clung to her ears, shielding her from the falling tears.
Zhou Ke turned to the side, looking at Lin Yu's trembling body. His brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and his originally dark eyes gradually filled with heartache and affection. His Adam's apple bobbed silently. He suddenly wanted to hug her. However, as he thought, he did it. He raised his wrist, and his rough fingertips touched her soft cheek, stroking the wet tear stain.
Lin Yu looked up, her vision blurred by tears. Through her hazy vision, she saw her brother with the same pained expression as he had back then.
"Brother..." she murmured, her lips trembling uncontrollably.
Zhou Ke stared at her intently, his voice hoarse and low: "It's alright, your brother is here."
If Lin Yu could still hold back her emotions just now, she could no longer help but burst into tears when she heard Zhou Ke's words.
Jiang Huifang's appearance successfully stirred up the most painful and agonizing memory that Lin Yu had kept hidden in her heart.
A note from the author:
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The next chapter will begin the flashback.
Note: The joke that Want Want Rice Crackers turn into Want Want Rice Crackers in the summer originated from the internet.
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