Chapter 22 p2
The curtains in the living room were not closed. Pei Yunle was woken up by the strong light that she couldn’t escape.
Her lower body was on the floor, and her upper body was leaning against the pillow, her waist twisted like a pretzel.
The moment she moved, her whole body was sore. She took a breath and managed to sit up. Her brain was still forcibly booting up, a chaotic mess.
Pei Yunle suddenly remembered something. She crawled to the other side of the sofa on all fours to get her phone.
You could still buy bus tickets on 12306. There was only one bus from Anyang to Pingshun, and it was at 9 o’clock. She glanced at the time. It was already 7 o’clock.
She felt that she was quite amazing. She could still wake up so early after being drunk, without an alarm clock.
Fortunately, there was no luggage to move back. The only thing she needed to bring was that strawberry. She quickly bought a ticket online. There was a subway station at the entrance, and it would take about half an hour to get to the bus station.
It only took ten minutes to wash up. The clothes she was wearing were still wearable. Pei Yunle, in the spirit of being too lazy to change, simply wore them for another day.
She sat on the sofa, looking to see if she should order some takeout. Just some noodles to fill her stomach would be fine.
The yellow app was swiped and swiped. A message popped up.
When she opened it, it was a WeChat message from Lin Zilan, asking her to come to her room.
Pei Yunle looked up at the small hall on the second floor. There was no need to send a message for that, was there?
She drank the cold water on the table and walked up in her slippers. Lin Zilan’s room door was not closed. She leaned against the doorframe and looked in. “Mom, you called me?”
A lump was visible on the large bed. Lin Zilan lifted a corner of the quilt to reveal her face. “Why are you up so early? What are you rustling about?”
Pei Yunle didn’t hide it from her. “I’m preparing to go back to Pingshun.”
“Didn’t you used to wail every day about coming back? How come you’ve changed your tune after a few months?” Lin Zilan propped herself up on her arms and sat up from the bed.
“My things are all there. What will I use if I don’t bring them back? And Jimao is there too. I have to bring her back. Who told you to let Ji Mingzhu bring her in the first place?”
Lin Zilan pressed the remote control on the bedside table. The curtains in the room were slowly drawn open, revealing the boundless daylight.
“Are you still coming back?” She looked at Pei Yunle by the door with a calm gaze.
Pei Yunle frowned. Her words made her feel a little guilty. “Of course I’m coming back. Why wouldn’t I?”
Of course she would come back one day, but it was hard to say which day. A week, a month, or a year. She wouldn’t set a deadline for herself.
Lin Zilan just looked at her for a while. Pei Yunle didn’t dare to meet her gaze. She always felt that her mother knew everything.
After a long moment, Lin Zilan finally made another move. She extended her arm. “I drank too much yesterday and wanted to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I didn’t notice a small step at the entrance of the bathroom and fell. I think I sprained my foot. Come and take a look.”
Pei Yunle’s lips parted slightly. She tiptoed to her bed. The quilt was lifted, and the red and swollen bruise on Lin Zilan’s ankle was clearly visible in the bright light. There was also a scrape on her other leg, which had already scabbed over.
“Do you think I should go to the hospital?” Lin Zilan looked at her.
Pei Yunle squatted down. There was no obvious deformity in her ankle. “Can you walk on your own? Can you stand up normally or take a few steps?”
“It just hurts a lot, that’s why I sent you a message to come over.”
“You endured it all night?” Pei Yunle’s brows furrowed deeper.
“It didn’t hurt much at first. Maybe the alcohol hadn’t worn off yet. Later, I fell asleep and wasn’t very conscious, but I was woken up by the pain several times.”
“Let’s go to the hospital first. From what you’re saying, it would be troublesome if there’s a potential fracture. In high school, our school held a basketball game. My classmate jumped up to shoot, and when he landed, he sprained his ankle. He went to the hospital and found out it was a fracture. He had to wear a brace for a month.” As Pei Yunle spoke, she helped Lin Zilan up, putting her weight on herself. “And, you’re getting older, your bones are brittle. We can’t be careless.”
Lin Zilan glanced at her. She hated it when people said she was getting older. She suddenly stopped. “What, you’re not in a hurry to go back to Pingshun anymore?”
Pei Yunle was taken aback. She looked down at her leg. “Why do you sound a little sarcastic? Of course your leg is important. Can you not drink so much in the future? You fell so badly.”
Lin Zilan snorted coldly. “To be honest, I really don’t understand why we have to drink at dinner parties. I once drank until I had a stomach bleed and had to go to the hospital for a business deal. Now I’ve fallen again.”
“I don’t understand either. I almost slept with a stiff neck!” Pei Yunle felt that her neck was still sore.
“Oh right, I can’t drive. I’ll call a taxi first. Wait for me.”
With that, Pei Yunle’s upper body leaned back. Afraid that Lin Zilan would fall without support, she struggled to get her phone.
There was an elevator at home, so there was no need to struggle up the stairs.
The number 8:00 was clearly displayed on the screen.
Pei Yunle’s fingers paused the moment she saw the time. After a battle in her mind, she opened the app to call a taxi.
She avoided the long queue by making an appointment online. Looking at the number on the electronic screen, Pei Yunle watched people come and go and roughly calculated the time it would take to get to Lin Zilan.
She was destined not to be able to take the bus today, and she couldn’t go back. She couldn’t leave her mother alone in Anyang.
Pei Yunle briefly explained the reason to Chen Qingtang. Chen Qingtang replied quickly—Then you should stay with your aunt. When will you be back? The little dog misses you.
Pei Yunle didn’t know either. If there was no fracture, the recovery would be faster, but no one could say for sure how long it would take to recover from a sprained ankle.
After hesitating for a few minutes, Pei Yunle replied, “I’m not sure. We’ll see.”
Chen Qingtang: Oh, okay. Say hello to your aunt for me.
The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant, mixed with a strange bitterness, as if one end of life was being silently burned by disease.
Pei Yunle was a little amused. She put her phone screen in front of Lin Zilan. “Look, someone is saying hello to you.”
Lin Zilan glanced at it, her eyes rolling up slightly. She saw Pei Yunle’s note.
Pei Yunle followed her gaze and subconsciously wanted to cover it with her hand, but it was too obvious and would only make things worse.
Lin Zilan took in all the expressions on her face. “Which friend is this? Have I met her?”
“You have.”
She had indeed met her, although it was only a brief encounter. Pei Yunle felt that she hadn’t lied, just shifted the focus a little.
“Okay, don’t hang out with friends I haven’t met. Don’t always play with bad people.”
Pei Yunle pouted. She felt that Lin Zilan’s thinking was still so old-fashioned. Sometimes she felt that she was open-minded, and sometimes she was more stubborn than a donkey.
By the time they left the hospital, the morning was gone. Lin Zilan’s leg was not a big problem, but it was difficult to move. After getting some medicine, she was sent home.
…
Since injuring her leg, Lin Zilan hadn’t even gone to the hotel. If there was nothing important, she would just stay at home and recuperate, occasionally letting Pei Yunle spray some medicine for her.
Pei Yunle had nothing to do, but she also turned down her friends’ invitations to go out. The person she wanted to see was not around, so she had no interest.
Chen Qingtang didn’t seem to like video calls. She would only answer one out of ten calls.
When Pei Yunle asked her why, the other person wouldn’t say. After a few times, Pei Yunle forced herself to get used to it.
She set up a small calendar. For every day she was away from Chen Qingtang, she would cross out the date with a big red X.
One night, Pei Yunle calculated the time Chen Qingtang would close the store and sent her a message at that time.
Pei: Classmate Chen, someone wants to invite you to watch a movie online together.
Chen Qingtang didn’t know how to do this until Pei Yunle sent her an installation package for a software that allowed them to watch together and chat at any time.
Chen Qingtang was suddenly wary. She suddenly remembered that Pei Yunle had said the same thing last time, that they should watch a movie together.
In the end, the DVD player had played a porn movie.
Chen: Teacher Pei, is it a movie or a porn movie?
Pei Yunle fell into deep thought at this sentence. She even clicked on the movie first to make sure it was a normal romance movie between two people.
But Chen Qingtang’s question made her lose her confidence. Was she hinting at something?
Pei: Which one do you want to watch?
Chen: A movie. I’m afraid of getting caught watching a porn movie. I’d have to sell the store to bail you out.
Pei Yunle smiled at one end of the sofa. She felt that Chen Qingtang was so silly and cute.
There was a knock on the main door. Pei Yunle put down her phone and looked at the electronic display.
Ji Mingzhu was standing on the steps with a pile of things.
“What are you doing here?”
Ji Mingzhu stuffed the things into Pei Yunle’s arms with a sigh of relief.
“I heard your aunt fell. My mom asked me to send some Yunnan Baiyao and a brace.”
“Your family has a brace?” Pei Yunle looked at the two crutches with a shocked expression.
“Hai, my grandmother used them before she passed away. They’re just sitting there. Your family doesn’t mind this kind of thing, right? Otherwise, I’ll take them back.”
The Lin family were firm materialists. Pei Yunle took the things. “Do you want some strawberries? I’ll get you some.”
Ji Mingzhu waved her hand. “Forget it, it’s not like I’ve never had them before. Don’t make me carry things back again, I’m exhausted.”
Pei Yunle put the things in the entrance hall. “Okay, thanks. I won’t see you out.”
Ji Mingzhu held out a finger and pressed it against Pei Yunle’s shoulder. “I’ll say hello to your aunt, so she doesn’t think I’m rude.”
Pei Yunle was speechless. She tilted her chin towards the second floor.
“She’s in the middle room on the second floor. You can find her yourself.”
Ji Mingzhu changed into slippers. As if to prove that she had indeed brought the things, she insisted on carrying a box of medicine and the brace upstairs.
It was quiet again. Pei Yunle jumped back onto the sofa and knelt. Her phone showed that the other person had accepted the file ten minutes ago. She figured that the software should be downloaded by now.
Pei: Are you ready?
Chen: Okay.
Pei Yunle opened the app and searched for movie resources. The software was probably a small production, with a simple interface, which was a plus. But the downside was also obvious. It would often show that it was loading.
Pei Yunle was a little frustrated and paced around the living room a few times.
She didn’t know how long she had waited. Footsteps came from upstairs.
Pei Yunle followed the sound. “Are you leaving?”
Ji Mingzhu hadn’t taken off her sunglasses. Her lips were pursed into a straight line. She didn’t say anything or move. After a long time, she finally spoke, “You left Jimao there?”
Pei Yunle was taken aback. “It’s not that I left her there. My mom dragged me back. I’ll be back in a few days, it’s okay. Do you miss her?”
“A little.”
“Huo, when did you two secretly form a bond behind my back? If you really miss her, you can go and bring her back now.”
Ji Mingzhu wanted to say something else. She glanced at her, then turned and left. Only a rich fragrance was left in the living room.
“That’s what you call rude, you little brat.” Pei Yunle grumbled in dissatisfaction.
Pei Yunle watched the circle in the center spin for another half an hour. To be safe, she first fast-forwarded to the end to make sure it was “Carol” before she dared to invite Chen Qingtang into the room.
Pei Yunle had seen this movie before, so her mind was not entirely on it. She kept wanting to chat with Chen Qingtang while watching, until Chen Qingtang told her to be quiet. Chen Qingtang really wanted to watch the movie in peace.
Pei Yunle could only pout. It would be great if this app had a video call function. Unfortunately, it only had voice chat, which was better than nothing.
She curled up in front of the coffee table, holding her breath. But she couldn’t hear the other person’s breathing. Pei Yunle was a little disappointed. She always felt that Chen Qingtang was like a winter frost flower, visible but difficult to hold in her hand. She was there, but she was also fleeting.
That emptiness and fear made Pei Yunle uncomfortable.
For the first time, she felt that not being able to speak was a very painful thing.
Suddenly, a chill ran up her spine. Tens of thousands of goosebumps stood up on her skin, and she shivered.
The curtains were still open. The front yard was brightly lit by the streetlights. The fine rain floated in the light like embroidery needles. Pei Yunle was not rained on, but she felt as if the needle-like rain was piercing her skin.
She ran to the guest room on the first floor, pulled a blanket from the cabinet and wrapped it around herself, then went back to her room and hugged her little bear doll.
There was a chat box at the bottom of the movie. If you didn’t want to speak, you could type there. It was a private communication channel between the two of them, not open to the public.
Pei Yunle scrolled through the comments below. When the movie reached an exciting part, Chen Qingtang would post some heartfelt comments, either praising the main characters’ feelings or expressing surprise at the cinematography.
Pei Yunle read each one carefully, the corners of her lips couldn’t help but rise. How could this person be so simple and cute, like an elementary school student writing a book report? In her own world, she seemed to be the first.
There was half an hour left in the movie. Chen Qingtang suddenly left the room without giving a reason or saying goodbye.
Pei Yunle was curled up in the blanket. She just thought that the other person’s internet was too bad and she had been kicked out. After all, the internet in Pingshun was really terrible. That place was full of 4G beans.
The movie ending early was actually to her liking. Chen Qingtang went to bed early, so she could steal some extra time to chat with her.
Pei: Was it good?
Half an hour, the other person didn’t reply.
Pei: Is your internet that bad?
Chen Qingtang still didn’t reply. Pei Yunle waited eagerly. The rain outside was getting heavier. She was having a hard time enduring the boundless cold. She turned on the air conditioner in the room and raised the temperature to 30 degrees.
