Chapter 47 Part 1

The hospital ward Yu Mo left behind was silent, without a single sound.

A dull pain spread from Shen Shuyu’s heart. The heavy sound of her breathing echoed faintly in the room. The loose hospital gown was clenched tightly in her five fingers, twisted into irregular wrinkles. The back of her hand, still taped with medical bandages, showed raised blue veins, the skin over her knuckles taut and pale.

Yu Mo had left again, because she had discovered the lie Shen Shuyu had told her. What would Yu Mo think of her now? Would she find her detestable? She seemed to have recalled events from their last life just now. Why did things always end up ruined…

Shen Shuyu’s emotions churned violently. Regret, self-loathing swirled in her heart. Like ferocious beasts, they mercilessly trampled the blooming flower field in her heart, tearing it to shreds. Petals scattered, broken and fragmented, flying chaotically in the sky.

Shen Shuyu felt as if something was stuck in her chest. Her body, already weakened from the forced Heat, trembled uncontrollably. Even a single breath came in waves of difficulty. Tears no longer spared her; they merely reddened her eye sockets, refusing to drop a single glistening bead. She bit her lip hard, a trace of blood seeping from the dry, cracked corner. The taste of rust spread in her mouth.

No one knew how long had passed. Maybe a second, or maybe a century. The silver light falling on the hospital room door handle flickered. The handle turned slightly, and a beam of light shone through the crack of the door being pushed open.

Shen Shuyu hastily concealed the grief on her face, frantically wiping the moisture from the corners of her eyes twice, and looked warily towards the door. Deep in the night, who would come to her ward?

The door was pushed fully open. The corridor light was dazzling for a moment, silhouetting an indistinct figure. Shen Shuyu stared at the doorway, feeling the figure was familiar. But she dared not believe it. Her heart was filled with hope she herself considered hopeless.

Then, the person casually turned on the light by the door. The room instantly brightened. Yu Mo, carrying a heavy-looking plastic bag, lifted her head into Shen Shuyu’s line of sight. Yu Mo’s lips were pressed tightly together. Perhaps exhausted from the day’s extreme ups and downs, there wasn’t much light in her eyes. Her expression was flat, even a bit cold, as she walked towards Shen Shuyu without a word.

Shen Shuyu couldn’t tell if she was still angry. Yu Mo had indeed been angry with Shen Shuyu when she left earlier. In the empty corridor, the lamps lit her way back one by one, every step she took filled with frustration. But as the elevator descended, the anger in Yu Mo’s heart gradually subsided. Hands in her pockets, she replayed everything that had just happened in her mind.

She felt her anger wasn’t entirely because of Shen Shuyu. Part of it was anger at herself for what she had said to Shen Shuyu back then. When she said it, it indeed held the intention of keeping a distance from her. But after getting along for over a month, she felt she could actually be friends with this Shen Shuyu. She had also gradually accepted this Shen Shuyu, who was different from her last life.

Actually, everything Shen Shuyu did started from a place of caring for her. For this Eldest Miss of the Upper City, whom everyone fawned over, to do something for her was somewhat unbelievable. Who would believe such a thing if told? Yet no matter how fantastical, this truly happened to her.

Yu Mo’s mind kept flashing the image she had just seen of Shen Shuyu sitting on the hospital bed. Her voice was hoarse and powerless, like a shattered glass bead. Her cascading long hair, the darker it was, the more it contrasted with her pale complexion. The violent onset of Heat had left her lips dry and cracked, unevenly colored on her originally delicate, refined lips. Anyone’s heart would ache seeing this.

Ding— The elevator reached the first floor. Yu Mo walked out somewhat dazedly. At the end of the corridor was the inpatient department lobby, a Bento Vending Machine glaring dazzlingly at Yu Mo’s eyes. Outside the lobby, it was pitch black. The early morning summer breeze, though warm, still carried a hint of coolness.

The small shop on the first floor glowed with dim light. The owner, negligent in his duty, lay on a rattan chair, leisurely sleeping. Only the Bento Vending Machine tirelessly flashed its flashy, colorful lights in the silent lobby.

Yu Mo inexplicably found herself standing in front of the machine. Inside, a dazzling array of frozen food was displayed. The scrolling large screen showed the operating instructions. Have to say, this Bento Vending Machine had this feature down really “Not Bad.”

Yu Mo chose a Japanese Rice Ball that looked relatively mildly flavored. After following the instructions and paying, the machine whirred to life. The noise of the machine operating wasn’t loud. Even on such a silent night, it wasn’t disturbing—couldn’t even drown out the snoring of the small shop owner next door.

“Your meal is ready, please take it, guest!” A playful cartoon voice sounded from the machine’s speakers. Yu Mo bent down and retrieved the already heated rice ball. The rice ball was a bit too hot; it was almost too hot to hold in her hand.

Taking advantage of the shop owner’s slumber, Yu Mo casually pulled a plastic bag from above his head and swiftly dropped the rice ball into it. A draft blew through the wide-open entrance of the inpatient department, billowing Yu Mo’s loose shorts and gently brushing the girl’s slender, straight legs.

Yu Mo looked out at the flower bed greenery rustling in the wind outside. The pitch-black sky was dotted with a dome full of stars. Various small insects hidden in the grass played a crisp melody under the night sky. In the near distance, a taxi slowly drove by. Yu Mo clearly saw its green “Available” light sign.

But Yu Mo just stood there, watching the taxi leave. Then she turned and walked back towards the elevator she had just come down on.

.

The bright light instantly dispelled the oppressive feeling that had filled the room moments ago. Yu Mo stood by the bedside table next to Shen Shuyu’s bed, placing the bag she was carrying onto it.

Shen Shuyu could hardly believe her eyes. The bright lamplight hung overhead between them, making her somewhat unsure if she was dreaming.

“Hungry?” Noticing from her peripheral vision that Shen Shuyu had been watching her, Yu Mo asked while unwrapping the rice ball she had just bought. Yu Mo’s voice was flat, even a bit too bland. Shen Shuyu didn’t know if she was feeling any better; she just obediently nodded: “A little.”

Gurgle~

If there was one thing in this world that was the most disobedient, it was probably the human stomach. It always growled untimely and uncontrollably. The sound wasn’t very loud, but it was enough to be embarrassing.

The ward was very quiet; Yu Mo clearly heard this honest protest from Shen Shuyu’s stomach. She raised an eyebrow and handed the unwrapped rice ball to Shen Shuyu: “Here, you haven’t eaten since noon. Just have something to tide you over first.”

Shen Shuyu took the rice ball from Yu Mo politely and cautiously, speaking very formally: “Thank you.”

“Mm.” Facing Shen Shuyu’s cautiousness, so unlike her usual aloof demeanor, Yu Mo felt a bit at a loss. She began to wonder if she had been too harsh on Shen Shuyu earlier, scaring her. This Little Princess of the Upper City, whom others would barely dare not to fawn over and hold in their palms. She, on the other hand, had given her a whole lecture right after she woke up from a coma. She probably scared her.

Yu Mo sighed ruefully, instructing: “Eat it while it’s hot.”

With that, Yu Mo pulled a stool over and sat down by Shen Shuyu’s bedside, casually pouring herself a glass of water from the kettle. Shen Shuyu subtly lifted her head, stealing a glance at Yu Mo. Only then did she notice Yu Mo hadn’t gotten a rice ball for herself. Shen Shuyu looked at the plastic bag on the bedside cabinet. It was still in its just-placed, untouched state, but now it was empty inside. Had Yu Mo not bought one for herself?

Shen Shuyu looked at the rice ball she had already bitten into and quietly broke it in half.

“Here.”

In the midst of her daze, Yu Mo saw Shen Shuyu handing her something extremely irregularly shaped. Yu Mo abruptly refocused her vision. It was the half of the rice ball she had just given Shen Shuyu. This baffled Yu Mo even more. “What’s this for?”

“You haven’t eaten either, right?” Shen Shuyu asked.

If Shen Shuyu hadn’t asked, Yu Mo might have even forgotten that she, too, hadn’t eaten for most of the day. She looked at that palm-sized rice ball, thinking of Shen Shuyu having just endured a fierce Heat, at her weakest physically. She reached out, pushing Shen Shuyu’s arm to make her take the rice ball back: “I’m not hungry. You eat it all.”

Gurgle~

Yu Mo’s stomach declared: No, it was hungry.

Perhaps it was this stomach growl that shrunk the tense, formal atmosphere between Yu Mo and Shen Shuyu just moments ago. Shen Shuyu chuckled softly, directly pressing the rice ball into Yu Mo’s hand: “Here, we each get half. Then we can both fill our stomachs a bit.”

Yu Mo looked at the rice ball with the jagged half-sheet of seaweed, and a warm current welled up in her heart. This was the first time she accepted a gift from Shen Shuyu.

Like a beggar who had never received alms, feeling an overwhelming warmth for the first passerby who offered her charity. Yu Mo murmured, “Shen Shuyu, why are you being so good to me now?”

Shen Shuyu looked at Yu Mo’s slightly lowered head, her heart filled with a bitter, sour feeling so thick it was almost tangible. She answered softly: “Because you are my friend.”

“Why would you want to be friends with someone like me?” Yu Mo pressed further, as if wanting to get to the very bottom of it.

Shen Shuyu’s thumb pressed a deep indent into the rice ball. Her eyes held a deep, undetectable sense of loss. Because I like you. But these words, I can only bury deep in my heart. Only daring to take them out and reminisce furtively on a quiet, secluded night like this.

Quietly, Shen Shuyu gathered and concealed these feelings, saying to Yu Mo: “Because you’re different from the people I’ve known all these years. The Upper City is sometimes too cold; the Lower City is actually warmer.”

Yu Mo, however, didn’t fully agree with Shen Shuyu’s words. She shook her head: “Actually, it’s not really an Upper City vs. Lower City problem. It’s the circle you’re in. Take Wei Lai, for example. Although she’s from the Upper City, she isn’t indifferent.”

Holding the rice ball, Shen Shuyu nodded lightly, indicating her agreement. In the past six months, her interactions with Li Qingqing, because she had gradually come to understand feelings, had become even closer than in her last life. So much so that their current relationship finally deserved the phrase people in their circle used to describe her and Li Qingqing in the last life—”close confidantes.”

The dark clouds obscuring the moon gradually drifted away. A round, bright moonbeam returned, casting its light into the ward. Shen Shuyu and Yu Mo both stopped talking, each holding their half of the rice ball and eating quietly.

The moonlight cast their silhouettes onto the clean white wall behind them. The dark shadows overlapped, foreheads gently touching, as if they were intimately nestled against each other.

The rice ball was piping hot, fairly fresh too, but somewhat flavorless. Yu Mo ate hastily. The sticky rice clumped in her throat; she needed some water to wash it down.