Chapter 97: Heartbeat
“The number you have dialed is not connected…”
The same number. Su Yu had almost lost count of how many times he had dialed it. There were not many phone numbers stored in his phone card. It was empty, and he could see the bottom without flipping the page.
The card that Gu Chuan had given him had been used up when he had paid the medical bills at the hospital. The money he had earned at the construction site had also been used up. He had searched all over his body but couldn’t find a single penny. Fortunately, the rent for this house had been paid for a whole year, so he was not homeless. But the cold fact was still bloodily in front of him.
Gu Chuan had disappeared as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth. The phone number he had left was unreachable. A certain sense of unease had taken root in his heart, and it was growing with the passage of time. One lie always needed thousands of lies to fill it. If he could lie to him once, why couldn’t there be a second time?
What was the purpose? Was it really out of guilt for him that he had chosen to betray him and save him? But if he couldn’t find a relationship of interest, Su Yu couldn’t think of a reason to overthrow all this.
He was too lonely in the quiet and deserted house. He was so lonely that he had nothing to do. He was thinking about things all day. He tried to find a connection from it. He had come to Lin’an for no reason, and he had just happened to meet…
“No, how could it be?”
Su Yu shook his head alone, not knowing who he was trying to convince.
He looked up at the clock on the wall, and his heart inexplicably began to beat faster. He stood up and walked to the refrigerator. He pulled open the cabinet door, and a wave of cold air rushed to his face, making him shiver. It was empty inside, with only a few eggs and a handful of rotten vegetable leaves.
The refrigerator, which had been full of ingredients, had only been enough for the two of them to eat for more than a week. The New Year was approaching, and it was not easy to buy vegetables… and they were expensive. He thought that Xia Qiange was so busy with work every day. How could he have the heart to ask her to come over and prepare meals every day?
Su Yu had taken over the cooking. Even if he was very careful with his money, the vegetables in the refrigerator were still running out. His pants pockets were empty. How could he bring up such an embarrassing topic to the girl?
It wasn’t that he couldn’t earn money. He didn’t even have to do manual labor at the construction site. Even without an identity, he had more than enough to support himself. But how could these things be so fast? The days were chasing him, and he couldn’t breathe. He thought about going to the supermarket downstairs tomorrow to ask if they needed any part-time workers. It would be better if it was a daily wage.
It was almost winter, and the sky was getting dark quickly. It was dark in the house before six or seven o’clock. He didn’t like to turn on the lights. He threw himself into the sofa. The news was playing on the TV in the living room, and the only light from the screen was flickering on his face.
His complexion had improved a lot these past few days, and his tanned skin from the construction site had also become much fairer. It was like a setting sun in the west that had been rejuvenated after a night’s rest, and it was rising with the vitality of the morning sun. He always had the illusion that he was about to get better.
He was slowly climbing up from the bottom of the valley. But he thought that it was always good to be able to see the end. But he had never thought about what would happen if he was exhausted halfway. What if the scenery at the top of the mountain was not as he had wished?
He had a dream with mottled colors. The girl’s confession on the phone was always echoing in that dream, which gave birth to the happiness and joy he had been craving. He really didn’t want to wake up. He could only let the time slip away from his fingertips.
The news ended on time. He looked up at the clock again. This time, the hands were pointing to seven-thirty.
“Ding-dong.”
The doorbell suddenly rang. The monotonous electronic sound tore through the silence of the darkness. His nerves were tensed by inertia at this moment. He hurriedly stood up and walked to the entryway. He didn’t forget to turn on the light on the way, and he also tidied up his messy black hair and clothes.
His palm was on the cold doorknob. After he had stood still, his heart began to pound uncontrollably.
A chaotic and complex emotion was growing wildly in his eyes. He hesitated for a while, and in the end, he opened the door with a trembling hand. A girl who was stained with some dust was standing outside the door. She had changed into a wine-red coat, suit pants, and thick-soled loafers. Her seaweed-like, thick and slightly curled hair had been washed of its original chestnut color, and it was a smooth and silky black.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he vaguely felt that the smile on the woman’s lips was a temporary one. It was as if her face had been expressionless a moment ago, and a smile had been squeezed out the moment she had opened the door.
Su Yu pushed aside those baseless and rootless speculations. Gu Chuan’s matter was weighing heavily on his heart and could not be dispelled, which had prompted his suspicion.
“Good evening.”
“G-Good evening.”
Su Yu took two steps back, leaving a little space for the woman to come in. However, he couldn’t help but regret it as soon as he had retreated. How many times had he wanted to shut the woman out, so that his hot and melting heart, which was pounding in his chest, could calm down for a while?
He couldn’t cross the line… it was no longer the same as before. He actually couldn’t muster a single bit of the courage he had had when he had been chasing the girl back then. What could he use to attract the girl’s attention? He was so old… and he was still having such a youthful and naïve… unrealistic and illusory dream. It would be better to extinguish it early.
He looked down at Xia Qiange. Rather than saying he was peeking, it was more like he was stunned and couldn’t take his eyes off her. The woman bent down without any scruples, and her hips and abdomen were tensed and she was leaning down. Her graceful and alluring curves were completely exposed in front of him.
She gently hooked the back of her shoe and freed her ankle, which was less than a handful, from its shackles. She half-bit her bright red lips and inadvertently let out a low and gentle moan, with a hint of a deliberately hidden shyness. Her small toes were stretched and curled up, and her fair and delicate instep was curved. The fine blue veins were swimming, and it was in a crescent shape, gently pressing against her round ankle.
Xia Qiange suddenly looked up at him, and their gazes met without any avoidance. This was a very clever angle. He was up and she was down. Her cheeks were slightly tinged with a blush of unknown origin. Her lips were half-pursed, as if she were biting them. Her eyes were evasive and she looked at him shyly, as if she had shed her scales and had exposed the softest part of her body to him.
And it was… only for him to see.
His heart was as if it had been tightened by a few thin threads. Every beat could make the force burst to its limit. The liquid that had melted into a pink color was frantically rushing in his blood vessels. This thought made him so happy that he was almost trembling.
The woman seemed to have some kind of indescribable magic, which had brought him back to the heartbeat of love at first sight. He had a mixture of greed, lust, and devout and complex emotions for this. They were as complex as love. He didn’t have to worry about not being able to sort out this emotion, and he could even feel an irresistible happiness from it.
So he could only open this door again and again and rush to the beautiful and fatal poppy group behind the door. He was too lonely, and he had surrendered to desire without any resistance and could not extricate himself.
“There’s something not quite right…”
Su Yu had just pushed aside his subconscious, which was reminding him that he was a little lewd at this moment. Xia Qiange had suddenly raised her head and was looking at him very seriously.
“Gu Chuan’s father is in some trouble. He’s missing now…”
