Chapter 100: Information
It was a rare sunny day after winter began. They escaped from the increasingly crowded crowd at the wet market. The turbid air, which was filled with the fishy smell of fish and meat, gradually faded away behind them, and they let out a sigh of relief as if they had escaped from a disaster.
The two of them were panting and were resting at the intersection. Their wet foreheads were clinging to their foreheads. The handles on both sides of the vegetable basket were held by one person each, and inside were their ingredients for the next few days.
Su Yu parted the bangs on his forehead, and his vision suddenly became much clearer. He looked at the girl, who was raising her long neck and squinting at the sun, which was hanging in the middle of the sky. The dazzling sunlight was falling down, and her porcelain-white and delicate skin was as transparent as if it had no color. He could even see the slowly pulsating blue veins.
He swallowed, and his prominent Adam’s apple rolled up and down. He stared at the girl’s flushed little face. Her lips, which were as translucent and moist as the pink cherry blossoms that had bloomed in early spring, were lightly pursed, and the corners of her lips were curved into a plain arc. It was as if a seed of a cherry blossom had fallen into his heart with the wind and had taken root.
“Hey, can we really finish all this? It’s not good to waste it.”
Xia Qiange glanced at the basket, which was full of vegetables and meat, and murmured with some worry, “Will it be a waste?”
Su Yu’s gaze was still fixed on the fair and slender hand that was holding the bamboo basket on the other side. Once a thought had started, it could no longer be stopped. It was only a dozen centimeters away. If the owner of this hand was willing to hold him, and from then on, continue to live a simple life of domestic bliss with him, he would be willing to water the flower in his heart with his blood.
“It’s still a while before the New Year. We haven’t even stored up the New Year’s goods yet. How can we not finish it?”
“Y-Yes, you’re right.”
Xia Qiange nodded, and her eyes almost imperceptibly dodged a little. But all of Su Yu’s attention was almost on her, and he could catch the slight change in her expression.
“What’s wrong?”
He raised his long, slender eyelashes, thinking that he had said something wrong. He couldn’t help but worry that the relationship that the two of them had managed to get close to these past few days had made him relax and be careless, and he would rarely carefully consider his words before he spoke.
“Nothing. We… let’s go back quickly. It’s better to put the vegetables in the refrigerator early.”
Xia Qiange looked away from him, and the corners of her upturned eyes slowly relaxed. Her whole person’s enthusiasm seemed to have been extinguished by cold water at that moment. He couldn’t tell which of her before and after was a disguise. Otherwise, how could she have changed so quickly?
“Then why did you just…”, he asked unwillingly.
“Su Yu.” Xia Qiange’s eyebrows furrowed, and Su Yu seemed to feel her invisible anxiety. She had never called him by his name so simply before. Now it sounded so raw, so cold. It was as if she were warning him of something, as if they had been together for so long, but they were just strangers who had nothing to do with each other.
Su Yu opened his mouth and honestly swallowed his words. He thought he should be able to imagine the girl’s appearance when she was working in court. Her whole person seemed to have changed, and she was so cold that it was irresistible.
Xia Qiange lowered her eyelashes, and in a breath, she had returned to her gentle and frail appearance. Her dark and inky eyes were filled with apology. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to talk about those unhappy things right now. I don’t know how to say it. Can you let me think about it again?”
“Yeah.”
Su Yu didn’t speak anymore. He held the handle of the vegetable basket in his hand tightly. Not long ago, he had fantasized about being able to hold the adjacent hand. But now he just felt that it was far away. It was as if a chasm had been forcefully inserted between them. The cold wind was blowing up from the bottom of the valley, and his hands and feet were cold.
“Let’s go back. I’ll make you some pork rib soup.”
But Xia Qiange acted as if nothing had happened and shook the vegetable basket in her hand. She tilted her head and got close to him, and she smiled at him with a fawning look, like a crescent moon. One of his arms was also shaking. He looked at that bright and moving face, and his whole heart was so soft that he had no aggression left.
…
On the way back, Su Yu had been thinking about what was between them. He had been racking his brains. Although he had a vague smile on his face, pretending that nothing had happened between them, he was still so restless because of this matter. He remembered that he had not been like this before. Now his whole person seemed to have become much more sensitive and fragile.
After all, he had had so much before. But now, how could he not care about the only reliance he had by his side? This relationship that he had carefully managed, he could not tolerate a single accident. By now, he still naively thought that this period in Lin’an was still very long.
“Su Yu, get me some ginger and garlic.”
Xia Qiange’s voice suddenly came from the kitchen. He hurriedly stood up from the sofa and walked to the refrigerator. He pulled open the refrigerator door, and it was full of fresh ingredients that he had bought from the wet market, which was enough to satisfy their dinner for a week. He suddenly felt at ease, but his heart was pounding. He was even a little worried that if this continued, it would cause a burden on his body.
He took the ginger and the peeled garlic and walked into the kitchen. The narrow space could not accommodate the two of them. He put down the things and retreated.
“Do you like stewed radish or lotus root soup? There’s even a pressure cooker here. It saves me a lot of effort.”
“Yeah, whatever you want. I’m fine with anything.”
“Alright then. Then let’s have stewed radish.”
When Su Yu left, he quietly turned his head and peeked at Xia Qiange’s busy back. His ears were as hot as a branding iron. He was happy because of this.
This house was really not very big. A long and narrow space could be seen at a glance. When Su Yu passed the dining table, he suddenly saw Xia Qiange’s phone on the table. It was not a high-end product, and it was not even as good as his. The transparent plastic cover on it was a little yellow.
The phone buzzed on the table for a few seconds, and his steps suddenly became unsteady. He secretly turned his head and looked. The sound of ginger and garlic being stir-fried in the oil pan was sizzling in the kitchen, which completely covered the low vibration in his hand.
He swallowed.
A certain emotion that he couldn’t even describe himself was in his heart. It was probably unease. He picked up the phone as if possessed and scrolled through it. He didn’t even have to try hard to unlock the phone. A few short messages came into his view.
“Xiao Xia, the case is over. Since you’re not leaving now, I’ll go back first…”
“Remember to go back to the capital early. We’ll see each other at the law firm then…”
…
The doubt that had been suppressed in his heart was finally answered at this moment. He had gotten the answer he had been hoping for. He had thought of many things but had never thought that it would be like this.
He should have taken a deep breath. The girl would not be happy to see his irrational and hysterical appearance.
He wanted to call for help.
But his throat seemed to be blocked, and his voice was so broken that he couldn’t make a sound.
He wanted to hold on to something.
He wondered what he had done wrong. Why was fate always staring at him?
Live a good life. Is it really so hard?
