Chapter 35: Gonna Die Part 2

Now her mood was stuck in limbo, feeling awful.

When she left, Shi Sui hadn’t gone yet, but Qu Lele would send her home, right?

Jiang Ruoning replied half-heartedly. “So what if she’s back? You gonna throw her a party?”

Ye Yu let out a dry laugh. “Ruoning, are you mad?”

Jiang Ruoning didn’t think. “Nope.”

Ye Yu said, “You are mad though.”

Jiang Ruoning bit her tongue. “No!”

Only then did she realize she was bickering with a drunk. Might as well admit it. “Fine, fine, yeah I’m mad. I’m furious!”

Ye Yu heard this and said, “Ruoning, I’m mad too.”

Jiang Ruoning remembered Ye Yu’s words at the dinner table and got curious. “Mad about what?”

Ye Yu said, “I’m mad she only came back now.”

Jiang Ruoning: …

If you hadn’t said it, I’d think you two were close before.

Ye Yu said, “She’s such a jerk.”

Jiang Ruoning: …

That sounded a bit too intimate.

Jiang Ruoning said, “Maybe you should go to sleep.”

Ye Yu said, “No, I don’t wanna sleep.”

Jiang Ruoning coaxed, “Then what do you want to do?”

Ye Yu said, “I want to chat with you…” She looked out the window at the starry sky.

Jiang Ruoning asked, “What about?”

Ye Yu said, “Remember back in school, when my family bullied me and came to make a scene at school, you stood in front of me and yelled at them for me?”

Jiang Ruoning’s high school memories were often blurry. “Me?”

“Yeah.” Ye Yu said, “You even supported me singing, said once I became a big star, I’d make tons of money to spend on you.”

Jiang Ruoning chuckled.

Those were her words.

Ye Yu said, “I’ll transfer all the money to you.”

Jiang Ruoning nearly jumped. “No, no…” She stammered, “Don’t, don’t.”

Ye Yu said, “I wanna transfer it to you!”

Jiang Ruoning wanted to call Jin Man!

She said, “Transfer it and we’re done—friends no more!”

Ye Yu finally went, “Oh… no breaking up.”

Jiang Ruoning sighed in relief. “Don’t transfer it.”

Ye Yu said, “Break up with Shi Sui then.”

Jiang Ruoning heard her drunken voice mention Shi Sui and felt both angry and amused. She responded, “Okay, I’ll cut ties with her.”

“Really?” Ye Yu asked. “You’ll really cut ties with her?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Yeah, really.”

“Impossible,” Ye Yu said. “You like her so much.”

Jiang Ruoning froze.

Ye Yu continued, “You won’t cut ties with her.”

Jiang Ruoning’s tone turned listless. “How would you know?”

“I know. I know everything,” Ye Yu said. “I also know she’s a good person.”

Jiang Qin finished her shower and saw Jiang Ruoning sitting blankly on the sofa, neither watching TV nor playing on her phone, seemingly lost in thought. She walked over. “What are you thinking about?”

Jiang Ruoning snapped back. “Oh, nothing.” She set down her phone. “I’m going to shower!”

Jiang Qin watched her dash into the bathroom in three quick steps and called after her, “You forgot your pajamas!”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Mom, grab them for me.”

“Always so scatterbrained.” Jiang Qin grumbled as she fetched the pajamas. Jiang Ruoning took them through the crack in the door, turned on the shower, and stepped in.

“You won’t cut ties with her.”

“You like her so much.”

“She’s a good person.”

“She said she likes Ning-jie, likes her a lot…”

Jiang Ruoning irritably rubbed her hair.

This was so annoying! So annoying! So annoying!

Jiang Ruoning emerged from the bathroom with a sour face, wrapped in a dry towel. Jiang Qin called out, “Ningning, someone’s calling you.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Who?”

Jiang Qin said, “Don’t know. Didn’t pick up.”

Jiang Ruoning grabbed her phone from the coffee table. There was a missed call from an unknown number, no label, and a new WeChat message from Jiang Nuan: [Miss Jiang, are you there?]

Jiang Nuan?

What did she want?

Jiang Ruoning frowned but dialed the number anyway. It connected quickly, and the familiar voice confirmed her suspicion. She gripped her phone and headed to her room. Jiang Nuan’s tone was gentle. “Miss Jiang, sorry to bother you so late.”

Jiang Ruoning said, “It’s fine. What is it?”

Jiang Nuan asked, “Is President Shi with you?”

Jiang Ruoning’s heart jolted. She gritted her teeth. “No, she’s not.”

Jiang Nuan let out a soft “Ah…”

Jiang Ruoning knew she shouldn’t ask but couldn’t help it. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t reach her,” Jiang Nuan said, sounding a bit anxious. “I’ve been calling for half an hour, no answer.”

Jiang Ruoning recalled Shi Sui still drinking when she left. “Don’t worry. I’ll call and check.”

Jiang Nuan said, “Okay, thanks.”

Jiang Ruoning hung up and called Qu Lele.

Qu Lele frowned at the question. “Shi Sui? She left ages ago.”

Jiang Ruoning asked, “How did she leave?”

Qu Lele said, “She said a friend came to pick her up.”

Jiang Ruoning: “A friend? Which friend?”

Hadn’t Shi Sui said Jiang Nuan was her only friend? But Jiang Nuan couldn’t reach her.

Qu Lele said, “Didn’t see. She went out on her own.”

So Shi Sui had lied. Why lie?

Was she so upset she was thinking of doing something stupid?

Jiang Ruoning’s heart sank. She spat inwardly—no, she was being too narcissistic—but bad thoughts kept popping into her head.

She grew even more irritated.

Five minutes later, she messaged Jiang Nuan: [Have you reached her?]

Jiang Nuan: [Phone’s off.]

Jiang Ruoning couldn’t sit still anymore. She shot to her feet and called Zhou Man.

It was noisy on Zhou Man’s end, like she was eating out amid chatter. As soon as the call connected, Jiang Ruoning asked, “Sister Xiao Man, are you home?”

“Nope, out for dinner.”

Jiang Ruoning had guessed as much, but hearing it still bummed her out.

Zhou Man asked, “What’s up?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Nothing.”

Zhou Man pressed, “Really nothing?”

Jiang Ruoning insisted, “Really nothing.”

Zhou Man finally hung up.

Jiang Ruoning stared at her phone screen, hesitated, then called Shi Sui. As expected, no answer—powered off.

What did it matter to her if Shi Sui’s phone was off?

Why was she worrying so much?

While berating herself, she considered calling other friends.

Qu Lele: No clue.

Zhou Yueqing: Even less likely.

Qin Zheng was probably asleep.

Jiang Ruoning bolted upright in bed, tossed off the towel, changed clothes, and bumped into Jiang Qin on her way out. Jiang Qin blinked at her outfit. “Where are you going?”

“I… I left something at Zhengzheng’s. Going to get it.” Jiang Ruoning looked unnatural. Jiang Qin was still mulling over the day’s events and didn’t scrutinize her. “Coming back tonight?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Of course!”

Her face was a bit flushed, probably from the recent shower.

Jiang Qin said, “Then just say so—why yell?”

Jiang Ruoning blinked. “Mom, I’m off.”

Jiang Qin nodded.

Jiang Ruoning slipped on her shoes and bolted out.

Jiang Qin muttered behind her, “Out all hours, who knows what’s on her mind.”

Jiang Ruoning wanted to cuss out Shi Sui.

What was a phone for anyway!

Couldn’t even get through!

She hadn’t realized she had no standing, no right to care. As she got in the car, Jiang Nuan called. Her voice sounded truly anxious now. “Has Shi Sui contacted you?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “No. I’m heading to her place.”

Jiang Nuan said, “Okay, I’ll check the company.”

Jiang Ruoning heard the worry. “Don’t stress too much. Maybe she’s just tied up.”

“Her phone rarely shuts off,” Jiang Nuan said. “Once before, it did, and her mom freaked out searching everywhere. I heard it was because she’d had some dark thoughts in the past.”

Jiang Ruoning missed the implication. “What dark…”

Then it hit her. Her hands trembled on the steering wheel.

Had her fears come true?

Triggered by Zou Nian tonight?

What a jinx!

Jiang Ruoning froze.

Jiang Nuan added, “But that was ages ago, when she was immature. Surely not now.”

Jiang Ruoning tried to laugh along but saw her distorted face in the rearview mirror.

She couldn’t even ask when it happened.

High school?

College?

Around their breakup?

Or because she didn’t want to break up—a desperate act?

Was that falling incident really an accident?

If it was, why did Jiang Qin hate Shi Sui so much? Why did no one ever mention it? Not even Qin Zheng joked about it.

“Miss Jiang.” Jiang Nuan’s voice pulled her back. Jiang Ruoning responded, “Yeah?”

Jiang Nuan said, “If you reach her, let me know?”

Jiang Ruoning didn’t hesitate. “Sure.”

She hung up, her mind swirling with chaos. What dark thoughts had Shi Sui had? Self-harm? The idea burrowed in like a leech, overwhelming her emotions. Her grip on the wheel was white-knuckled, her tense body aching. She started the car and called Qin Zheng. It rang twice before a groggy “Hello?”

Jiang Ruoning called, “Zhengzheng.”

Qin Zheng squinted, rolled over in bed, and recognized the voice. “Ruoning?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Got a question.”

Qin Zheng yawned indifferently. “What?”

Jiang Ruoning asked, “Did Shi Sui ever hurt herself when we broke up?”

Qin Zheng jolted awake.

She sat up. “Who told you?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “So it happened?”

Qin Zheng said, “Ruoning…”

Jiang Ruoning was growing agitated. “Just say yes or no.”

Qin Zheng admitted, “Yes, once.”

Jiang Ruoning’s heart pounded painfully. “Got it.”

Qin Zheng asked, “What’s going on?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Nothing.” To ease her worry, she added, “Had a nightmare.”

Qin Zheng relaxed a bit. “Don’t overthink it.”

Jiang Ruoning replied, “I know. Hanging up.”

Qin Zheng acknowledged, and Jiang Ruoning ended the call. Her tongue hit her lip corner—sharp pain, faint metallic taste. When had she bitten it? She hadn’t noticed. She touched it; her fingertip came away warm. She wiped it casually with a tissue, leaving a red smear.

She arrived at Shi Sui’s place quickly, mind racing. She nearly scraped another car while parking.

Glancing around, no sign of Shi Sui’s car. Not back yet? Somewhere else?

She couldn’t deny the tension—her heart had raced the whole drive, ready to burst, especially with Qin Zheng and Jiang Nuan’s words, plus Shi Sui drowning her sorrows after seeing Zou Nian.

No rationality left.

Jiang Ruoning had none either.

She rushed to the elevator, cursing its slowness as floors ticked down, then up. She bolted out at Shi Sui’s floor and pounded on the solid wood door, fists clenched.

Bang bang.

Footsteps sounded inside abruptly.

Jiang Ruoning thought she’d imagined it, straining to listen. In the quiet hallway, her heartbeat thundered.

Mixed with footsteps from within.

The door flew open. Shi Sui stood there in pajamas, staring at her.

Jiang Ruoning’s face flushed with fury, eyes blazing. She roared, “Are you trying to die?! Why didn’t you pick up?!”