Chapter 36: Heartache
Wen Qiuxian walked away high-profiledly, her high heels clacking loudly.
Ye Qizhen entered the apartment and closed the door, changing into cotton slippers in the entryway. Since she came over every few days, Wen Yu had specially prepared a pair of slippers for her.
Wen Yu wasn’t in the living room.
“Wen Yu.” Ye Qizhen called softly and walked inside. Stopping at the study door, she saw a puddle of water splashed on the old floor and a glass shattered into pieces, large and small shards scattered everywhere.
Based on what she saw and the sounds from the apartment earlier, Ye Qizhen guessed they had just had a fierce argument.
Wen Yu turned sideways and saw Ye Qizhen walking over. Ye Qizhen was wrapped in a heavy white down jacket, carrying an insulated lunch box in her hand. “Why did you come over?”
Ye Qizhen was stunned for a moment, then lifted the lunch box in her hand and said, “Dumplings.”
Wen Yu guessed Ye Qizhen must have run into Wen Qiuxian just now, but she didn’t mention it. Acting as if nothing had happened, she looked at Ye Qizhen’s rosy cheeks and smiled.
Seeing Wen Yu like this, Ye Qizhen didn’t know what to say for a moment.
Afraid Ye Qizhen would step on the broken glass, Wen Yu squatted down and started cleaning up. Seeing this, Ye Qizhen hurriedly put the insulated box on the desk nearby and squatted down with Wen Yu to pick up the glass.
“Argued with your mom?” Ye Qizhen asked very quietly.
“Mn.” Wen Yu responded indifferently. She took the glass shards from Ye Qizhen’s hand, looked up at Ye Qizhen, and laughed at her, “I’ll do it, don’t touch, be careful not to cut your hand.”
Only then did Ye Qizhen see the redness on Wen Yu’s left cheek. Her skin was cool white, so any mark was obvious; it looked like a mark from being hit. Ye Qizhen’s heart was suddenly wrenched, and she asked with more grievance than if she had been hit herself, “Did she hit you?”
Wen Yu brushed it off with a smile and quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor.
Still that nonchalant attitude. Seeing Wen Yu like this, Ye Qizhen felt genuine heartache and distress, unable to smile at all.
Wen Yu went to the bathroom to wash her hands, and Ye Qizhen followed. She stood silently behind Wen Yu watching. When Wen Yu finished washing her hands and turned around, she happened to block Wen Yu face-to-face in front of the sink.
In the narrow space, the two looked at each other silently. Since Wen Yu didn’t want to say much, Ye Qizhen didn’t ask much. Hesitating, she still couldn’t help reaching out to turn Wen Yu’s face for a careful check.
Wen Yu cooperated motionless. Her left cheek still stung slightly; Wen Qiuxian didn’t hit particularly hard, but a slap wasn’t light either. Now being gently stroked by Ye Qizhen’s fingertips added a tingling sensation.
“It’s fine.” Seeing Ye Qizhen worried, Wen Yu said softly.
Ye Qizhen’s fingers were still touching Wen Yu’s cheek. Staring into Wen Yu’s eyes, she blurted out, “It’s all red.”
Wen Yu gazed at Ye Qizhen’s face up close. Silent for a moment. So nervous, and that look in her eyes… I almost suspect she has a crush on me too. She smiled back at Ye Qizhen and said, “Feeling so sorry for me?”
Ye Qizhen fell silent. Wen Yu was right; she was feeling terribly sorry. She couldn’t smile right now, just saying seriously to Wen Yu, “Let’s apply a compress.”
Wen Yu: “Mn.”
Applying a cold towel to the face indeed helped dissipate heat and relieve pain. Ye Qizhen touched Wen Yu very carefully, afraid of hurting her, asking “Does it hurt?” while applying the compress.
Wen Yu didn’t think it needed a compress, but she liked seeing Ye Qizhen care about her. Ye Qizhen treating her like this made her heart melt.
After applying for a while, Ye Qizhen couldn’t help asking with concern, “Why argue so fiercely?”
“I have a bad temper, she has a bad temper too. We’re often like this, used to it.” Wen Yu explained lightly.
Hearing Wen Yu say she was used to it, Ye Qizhen felt a bit sour in her nose again. Having heard Zhao Lin talk about Wen Yu’s childhood before, she knew Wen Yu had it particularly hard. She could also understand why Wen Yu’s relationship with her mother was tense; after all, that incident in high school had too big an impact on Wen Yu. Although children couldn’t interfere with their parents’ love lives, a mother being a mistress to someone else would always cause a rift, right?
“…Does she hit you often?” When Ye Qizhen asked this, her heart was clenched too.
Wen Yu shook her head. This was the first time she saw Wen Qiuxian so angry today; must have hit a sore spot. Before, when Wen Qiuxian lost at cards or got drunk in a bad mood, she would only curse her as a burden or bad luck, or smash things at home, not hit her like today. Not wanting to think about those things anymore, she looked at Ye Qizhen. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming today?”
“Wanted to give you a surprise.” Ye Qizhen didn’t expect to encounter such a scene, but felt glad she came, otherwise Wen Yu would be staying alone gloomily again.
Wen Yu realized. When Ye Qizhen asked her on WeChat if she wanted to eat, she thought it was just a casual question. She didn’t expect Ye Qizhen to really deliver it.
“I want to eat dumplings.” Wen Yu remembered Ye Qizhen saying she liked hearing her act coquettishly, so looking at Ye Qizhen while saying this, she intentionally added a coquettish lilt to the end.
“Okay.” Ye Qizhen couldn’t resist Wen Yu treating her like this; whatever she wanted to eat was fine.
Unknowingly, night fell.
Ye Qizhen packed two lunch boxes of dumplings, each one wrapped by her own hands. The insulated box worked quite well; lifting the lid, they were still warm.
“I wrapped three flavors.” Ye Qizhen said triumphantly.
“Which three?”
“Taste for yourself.”
Wen Yu looked at the dumplings in the lunch box, then at Ye Qizhen. She propped her elbows on the dining table, leaned towards Ye Qizhen, and signaled Ye Qizhen with her eyes.
Ye Qizhen understood very quickly, picking up a dumpling and bringing it to Wen Yu’s mouth. “What flavor?”
“Didn’t taste it,” Wen Yu said.
“I wrapped them so seriously, and you eat so casually?” Ye Qizhen shouted with a smile.
Wen Yu took the chopsticks Ye Qizhen handed over and ate another dumpling, warmed to the bottom of her heart.
…
Amidst chatting and laughing, the two demolished both portions of dumplings. Ye Qizhen brought them over intending for them to be their dinner.
Stuffed at night, Ye Qizhen asked Wen Yu if she wanted to go out for a stroll to digest. Seeing Wen Yu sometimes cooped up in the room all day, she wanted to take her out for fresh air and relaxation. Wen Yu said yes. She knew Ye Qizhen would try every way to make her happy tonight.
Fully armed, the two went out, wandering aimlessly. Beilin on a snowy night was beautiful; walking and looking around aimlessly was even more pleasant. The streets were very lively during the Spring Festival. Although it was still snowing, there were families, couples, and groups of friends shopping.
Wen Yu used to hate being in such liveliness, always feeling it had nothing to do with her. Not anymore. It seemed that having Ye Qizhen with her was lively, whether there were many people or few.
She occasionally stole a glance at Ye Qizhen, lost in thought.
Is relying too much bad?
Walking near a shopping mall.
Ye Qizhen asked Wen Yu enthusiastically, “Want to drink milk tea?”
“Weren’t you out to digest?”
Ye Qizhen smiled at Wen Yu without speaking, expressing her craving with her eyes. Suddenly her heart skipped a beat because Wen Yu also looked at her with a smile, quietly took her hand, and pulled her towards the milk tea shop next door.
Standing in front of the milk tea shop, shoulders touching, arms pressing, fingers entwined, Ye Qizhen spaced out for a while. Only when Wen Yu asked her twice what she wanted to drink did she randomly order a hot milk tea.
After walking and digesting, on the way back, Ye Qizhen saw children playing with sparklers again. She brazenly went up to ask where they bought them, bought two boxes herself, and insisted on dragging Wen Yu to the rooftop to play together.
The rooftop of the old house was covered with snow, a quiet little world undisturbed by anyone. Snow was still falling at this moment, but much lighter.
Ye Qizhen lit one first, then used her sizzling sparks to carefully light Wen Yu’s. The overlapping sparklers crackled and burned.
Just like that, the two played one after another, smiling at each other while playing, finding their own behavior childish but enjoying it immensely. Like a world belonging only to the two of them, blooming a small firework show.
The wind blew, and Ye Qizhen blinked to dodge. Wen Yu thought she got something in her eye and hurriedly went to look.
“Tricked you.” Ye Qizhen smiled playfully at Wen Yu.
“Ye Qizhen, how old are you?” Wen Yu asked helplessly.
“Hmm, three years old,” Ye Qizhen said righteously.
Wen Yu laughed wantonly.
Smiling, Ye Qizhen took a step closer to Wen Yu, leaning her face in.
“What is it?”
“Check the face,” Ye Qizhen was still thinking about this matter, asking with heartache and seriousness, “Does it still hurt?”
Wen Yu stared blankly and didn’t answer. Just as Ye Qizhen leaned close, she lowered her eyelids and couldn’t help but gently kiss Ye Qizhen on the cheek…
