Chapter 45

The white walls of the hospital always exuded an even colder atmosphere imperceptibly, and the air was filled with a faint disinfectant smell. At that moment, Wen Zhixu and Tang Yuan were in the corridor. As they walked forward, Wen Zhixu’s steps slowed imperceptibly.

Tang Yuan had his hand in his pocket, his thick boots stepping lightly on the floor, trying to make no sound. His stubble extended to below his ears, making him look utterly haggard.

After stopping, he turned to Wen Zhixu. “After the old master is cremated, I’ll take him back. If you want to go, the day after tomorrow.”

Wen Zhixu hadn’t seen him for the last time. She raised her head and looked at Tang Yuan. “There was a traffic jam on the road. I came late.”

Tang Yuan glanced toward the end of the corridor, where Jian Shichu was waiting and now looking over at them.

“It’s fine. The old master didn’t leave any last words either.” Only then did Tang Yuan shift his gaze away from Jian Shichu. “You can discuss it with Wen Ru.”

Tang Yuan’s voice was hoarse, and his tone carried a hint of choking. The moment his eyes reddened, he looked up at the light overhead.

Wen Zhixu said, “I’ll ask the crew for leave.”

She didn’t look at Tang Yuan; her gaze also shifted to Jian Shichu. Seeing Jian Shichu made the emptiness in her heart less overwhelming. Death happens in an instant. Wen Zhixu didn’t cry. She’d mentally prepared herself in the previous period, but she still felt like something was missing, as if another door had suddenly opened in her heart.

Just as they were talking about this, Feng Xi arrived, still looking as refined, scholarly, and upright as last time. He stopped about a meter away.

“Your complexion doesn’t look good.” Feng Xi glanced sideways at Tang Yuan.

Wen Zhixu also turned her head to look. Tang Yuan indeed looked very pale, and without his glasses, he had a frail, sickly air.

Tang Yuan said, “I’m fine. Maybe I caught a chill.”

“I have some cold medicine at my place. Don’t wear yourself out.” Feng Xi’s expression was grave.

Tang Yuan had held on until now. After seeing off the old master, besides the grief, he could finally catch a breath. A lifetime is just constant leaping between meetings and partings.

Wen Zhixu’s voice slowly emerged, catching Tang Yuan off guard. There was no father-daughter warmth at all; her tone was like it had been scalded in boiling water, searing in an instant.

Wen Zhixu said, “Take some medicine. There’s still a lot to handle.”

She slowly turned toward Tang Yuan, her movement natural. Her gaze lightly fell on his face for just a second before shifting away.

“Uncle Feng, I’ll go with you to get it.” This time, Wen Zhixu’s initiative felt like unfamiliar sympathy to Tang Yuan.

Feng Xi nodded and led the way ahead. When Wen Zhixu passed by Jian Shichu, she paused, about to speak.

Jian Shichu said, “It’s fine. I’ll wait for you.”

At first, on the way here, she’d worried Wen Zhixu would be too upset to speak. But after arriving, she realized family could have another way of getting along.

As Wen Zhixu left, Tang Yuan slowly walked toward Jian Shichu, stopping five steps away from her.

Jian Shichu looked at Tang Yuan’s expression. It was strange but not malicious—he was just staring at her, his gaze briefly flicking toward the elevator door.

“Hello, Uncle.” Jian Shichu nodded lightly in greeting.

Tang Yuan looked at her. “I remember seeing you once.”

This was the first thing Tang Yuan said to Jian Shichu, but in her memory, she’d never met Wen Zhixu’s parents, not even seen photos.

Jian Shichu was slightly stunned. “When?”

Tang Yuan’s lips parted slightly as he exhaled. “Five years ago, when Xiao Xu was in university.”

Jian Shichu still couldn’t recall it. There are meetings where you don’t need to see each other. She only remembered that five years ago, when they broke up, it was snowing, snowflakes like willow catkins under the streetlights. That year, Wen Zhixu said she wanted to go back to Suzhou, but in the end, there was no news.

She’d recalled this process many times; before it became numb, it was all torment.

—

The end of the third floor of the hospital was Feng Xi’s office.

A large white coat hung by the cabinet. Feng Xi pulled open the cabinet door beside it; the key was still in the lock, and with a jingle, the sound shattered the silence.

“Is she a local from Chongqing?” Feng Xi’s nail tapped on the box as he pulled out a packet of cold medicine and placed it on the table.

Wen Zhixu took a disposable paper cup from nearby.

“Yeah, local.”

Her response was casual, but subconsciously, she felt this ordinary question carried some different undertone.

The sound of the packaging mixed with Feng Xi’s voice, each word stiff yet delivered in a gentle tone.

Feng Xi said, “So, Xiao Xu, do you like Chongqing?”

“I like it quite a bit.” Wen Zhixu fiddled with the water dispenser and pressed the switch. It beeped once.

Hearing the sound, Feng Xi came over in a few steps. “Let me.”

With a few quick operations, the water dispenser gurgled.

Feng Xi’s few questions were nothing improper, just casual chit-chat, as ordinary as asking if you like eating vegetables. Yet your answer determined his next words.

“Do you have any plans to stay in Chongqing?” Feng Xi pulled out a chair for her. The thick wooden chair scraped against the tiles with a harsh sound.

Wen Zhixu didn’t sit, staying by the water dispenser instead. “I’ll stay.”

The scene was both quiet and noisy. Feng Xi’s leg bumped the drawer key, the clink jarring her ears. Wen Zhixu was sensitive to sounds; the world really was so noisy.

“Have you talked it over with your mom?” Feng Xi asked, leaning against the desk, hands slowly slipping into his pockets as he raised his gaze to her.

“No.” Wen Zhixu replied.

Feng Xi nodded slowly. As the water dispenser’s sound grew louder, he stepped over and turned it off. Scalding hot water poured into the paper cup.

“Take your time communicating. Chongqing is a city—if you find it comfortable living here, you can consider staying.” Feng Xi’s attention was on the cup in his hand.

As his words fell, he handed the cup to Wen Zhixu, his tone carrying a subtle emotion.

Wen Zhixu listened and, upon taking it, her gaze slowly fell on Feng Xi’s ring finger. There was a silver band with an embedded diamond. The ring was beautiful—that was her first thought. It was a style she’d never seen before.

“I’ll head out first. Trouble you to bring the medicine up.” Feng Xi smiled faintly and gave her the wrapped capsules from his palm.

After delivering the medicine, Wen Zhixu left without lingering. Tang Yuan seemed unchanged, except for the vicissitudes of age etched on his face. “Father” felt like just a title.

In the car, Wen Zhixu didn’t speak. The old master was gone; from now on, the Tang Family only had Tang Yuan left. When she’d seen the body in the morgue, it lay like a dried corpse on the cold slab.

The taillights left trails of shimmering light in the night, the outlines of high-rises blurred.

Lights flickered dimly, the night swaying slowly amid the brilliant neon.

Wen Zhixu rested her head against the car window. Viewed this way, the city didn’t seem all that special.

” Mom and Dad didn’t used to fight. I forget when it started exploding, but I remember it was the year I had an allergic reaction to peanut milk and was hospitalized. He didn’t forget these things—he just never knew I was allergic to peanuts. Later, they divorced.” When Wen Zhixu talked about these matters, there was no sadness at all. It had been too long, numbed, no need for childhood healing.

Jian Shichu listened attentively while driving. Back when they dated, Wen Zhixu never brought these things up proactively. She’d only heard bits about the family, no details.

Wen Zhixu’s gaze was distant and lingering, fixed on the taillights ahead. “Now I almost forget how they fought. Grandma said Mom and Dad met on a trip and got married on impulse less than a month later. After the divorce, Grandma felt quite guilty. She told me that if she hadn’t pushed so hard, maybe they could’ve gotten to know each other better and not had me on impulse.”

Marriage is strange, like cicada cries—one sharp high note, the noise irritating, then suddenly ending low without warning.

“That feeling isn’t great. Later, Mom took me to change my name and transfer schools. I transferred many times; each time, I hadn’t memorized all my classmates’ names before having to move again.”

“So, I have no friends.”

When talking about these things, Wen Zhixu became very candid, tilting her head with a smile at Jian Shichu.

Jian Shichu smiled back slowly. “What about Peanut? Isn’t she your friend?”

There was no jealousy in her tone. It was all over the internet that Wen Zhixu had a short story plagiarized from a magazine back then—Wen Zhixu was young, and Wen Ru had handled it.

“She is. When I first met her, we talked about going to the same university, but later we lost contact. Actually, my memory is poor; I forget things easily.” Wen Zhixu sighed lightly here.

Just like no one mentioned it, she’d almost forgotten Peanut. Time is truly terrifying—it erases some memories from your mind in an instant.

“Why don’t you think that in university, she’d already met you?” Jian Shichu slowly drove the car into the garage. Her casual words might have hit the mark; it was just that Wen Zhixu hadn’t noticed back then.

Wen Zhixu stayed silent at first, only smiling afterward as she said, “I don’t know. When I was in high school, people online accused me of plagiarizing her. It blew up pretty big, and Peanut stopped writing too. I didn’t plagiarize—that magazine piece was written for her.”

Back then, Peanut had posted it online and hadn’t submitted directly to Jiuqu, which led to trouble later on.

Wen Zhixu’s life seemed so simple, with only one or two things worth counting.

Jian Shichu watched the rearview mirror while parking. The car, slowly reversing, suddenly stalled under her foot. Her eyes flickered for a moment, but she didn’t respond. Then, while Wen Zhixu remained oblivious, she resumed parking.

She took those words to heart.

Wen Zhixu slowly turned toward her and said leisurely, “I’m leaving the day after tomorrow to light some incense for Grandma. Do you have time?”

Jian Shichu hit the brakes and pulled the car over properly. She unbuckled her seatbelt and replied, “I do. I’ll drive you to the airport the day after tomorrow.”

“Come with me. Grandma said that once I have a partner, I should bring them to see her.” Wen Zhixu gripped the seatbelt. After saying that, Wen Zhixu looked at her, lips curving slightly.