TSMLI CHAPTER 14

Lin Chu got up early and went out, waiting quietly at the Chuqian Bus Station.

It was still early, and there weren’t many people around. The breakfast stalls nearby were filled with delicious aromas. She recalled her school days, how she would rush out of the dormitory area, buy tofu pudding, and share it with Ye Jing. By the time they reached the teaching building, they would have just finished eating and would then politely decline to take out the trash.

As soon as the school bell rang, a certain female classmate who slowly walked in wearing pajamas always sparked a new round of conversation among them. That female classmate was elusive and seemed to be asleep all day long. Lin Chu envied her “unrestrained” nature. Pajamas are so comfortable. A female classmate who dares to wear pajamas to class is a real man!

After class in the afternoon, Ye Jing dragged her to buy new pajamas. The two walked around and stopped, and then went to a self-service hot pot restaurant near the school to eat hot pot. She specifically snatched lamb rolls from the freezer, and didn’t care about the other dishes.

After eating until they were covered in the smell of hot pot, the two went out to buy hot cocoa. They drank it as they walked to the embankment to cool off in the cold wind. When it got dark, they returned to the dormitory area and strolled along the road lined with stalls. Back in the dormitory, they rushed to fill a basin with hot water to soak their feet, listen to music, watch movies, and chat with their two other roommates.

She didn’t think much of that time before, but every time she looked back on it after she started working, she cherished it immensely.

Ye Jing finally emerged from the station, and the first thing she said was, “Don’t scold me!”

Lin Chu didn’t scold her. She hailed a tricycle, and the two headed straight for Chuqian Hospital. The registration line was already incredibly long, and after finally getting a number, the consultation room was overflowing with people.

The two sat on plastic chairs next to the examination room while waiting for their appointments. Ye Jing asked with her head down, “We shouldn’t run into anyone we know here, right?”

Lin Chu leaned back lazily in her chair. “No way, who would come to Chuqian for no reason!”

Ye Jing gave a self-deprecating laugh before saying, “Actually, I waited for him last Sunday because I wanted to discuss this matter with him, but he avoided me.” She turned to look at Lin Chu and smiled. “Did you know that his son is already a month old?”

Lin Chu was taken aback and finally looked at her properly. Ye Jing slowly said, “I calculated the time, and it turns out they got on the train first and bought the ticket later. So, when he broke up with me, he should have already gotten together with that woman.”

Ye Jing used to tell Lin Chu that if you don’t have a relationship in college, you’ve wasted your college years. So, as soon as she joined the club, she and that boy hit it off.

Cheng Qiaoan, the student union president, came from a farming family. He was honest, handsome, and everyone liked him. After Cheng Qiaoan married the daughter of a nouveau riche, Lin Chu comforted Ye Jing: “To put it nicely, it’s ambition; to put it bluntly, it’s drive. There’s nothing wrong with a man having ambition. As for what means and methods he uses, that’s up to him. He didn’t kill or commit arson, nor did he rape or kidnap. He was just a heartless man once. Even if he’s still with you now, who can guarantee that he won’t dump you in two years when he can’t keep going? He’s just brought forward the timeline. You won’t waste all your youth on him.”

Cheng Qiaoan had clear goals and knew exactly what he needed. He strived for excellent grades and honors during his studies, had a campus romance with the girl he liked, and after graduation, he didn’t waste a single moment, using the fastest shortcut to achieve his goals. Lin Chu admired him immensely, though she also felt a bit of contempt for him.

But he ultimately made the biggest mistake a man can make: serving both the pot and the pan.

Ye Jing scoffed: “Guess what he said about his wife? He said that woman is like a pig, and after giving birth, she got so fat that she looks like a middle-aged woman. He said he could only lie on top of a pig every night!”

Lin Chu stared wide-eyed, and Ye Jing immediately said, “I know I was being mean. I actually laughed back then. You don’t need to lecture me; I know my own character. But Chu Chu, you’ve never been in a relationship before. You say having a crush is easy to say, but once you’ve actually been in love, it’s very, very difficult not to waver or compromise. When he came to me, even though I kept reminding myself and resisting, I could only surrender in the end. The reason for surrendering was half love and half resentment.”

Now she was about to pay the price for this half of her resentment with the most painful lesson of her life.

Lin Chu couldn’t understand Ye Jing’s so-called “love” and “resentment.” At this moment, she only felt disgusted. A third party could mock a wife who had gained weight after childbirth, and a husband could say such vicious things to his lover. Lin Chu suddenly felt that she had become great. She wanted to grab something and smash it hard at Ye Jing.

Lin Chu said coldly, “Do you think your love is so noble?”

Ye Jing was taken aback and remained silent.

After examining Ye Jing and taking X-rays, it was finally determined that she was fit for an abortion. Lin Chu took Ye Jing to the operating room, where many men and women were waiting on chairs outside. Lin Chu told Ye Jing to sit down first, and then went to get the scattered medications.

Someone inside seemed to be measuring her heartbeat; it was too fast for surgery, so they moved in another person. Ye Jing gripped Lin Chu’s hand, her palms sweaty. When it was her turn, she finally burst into tears, standing outside the door, sobbing uncontrollably. She handed her shoulder bag to Lin Chu, her face pale with nervousness: “Chu Chu, I’m going in now. Could you go buy me some sanitary napkins? I forgot.”

Lin Chu nodded, and only left after Ye Jing had been inside for a while.

There were no supermarkets near the hospital, so Lin Chu walked a whole street before finding one on the main street.

She wasn’t quite sure what she was buying sanitary napkins for, but then she realized it was probably because she would bleed. After buying the sanitary napkins, she also bought two bottles of water and some bread and fruit. As she walked out of the supermarket, a ray of sunlight suddenly shone in, stinging Lin Chu’s eyes and causing her to shed two tears. After taking a few steps, she left a trail of tears, her heart aching terribly.

At that moment, Shen Zhongxun came down from the second floor of the hospital and went to the pharmacy to get his medicine. He said into the phone, “I’ll be there later. I haven’t left yet.”

Wen Peiru said, “Then we definitely won’t make it for lunch. How about afternoon tea, or just have dinner?”

Shen Zhongxun said, “Whatever, you decide!”

After hanging up the phone, he raised his right hand and looked at the wound again. He had been convinced that the wound had healed for the past two days, but it had unexpectedly reopened and bled again last night. When he got up this morning, worried that the wound would relapse and delay the healing process, he decided to come to the hospital again.

When he reached the lobby, he put his hand down and looked up to see Lin Chu walking towards him. She was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, dark denim shorts, and flat sandals. She was wiping her face as she walked, her eyes were red, and tears could be seen on her long eyelashes from a distance.

Shen Zhongxun frowned, watching Lin Chu walk straight past him, ignoring him. After a pause, he involuntarily followed her, wanting to call her name several times, but the name remained unspoken until Lin Chu stopped outside an operating room. Only then did he swallow the name, leaving it stuck in his throat like a fishbone.

Lin Chu took a few deep breaths and finally stopped crying. The chairs outside were all full, and Ye Jing hadn’t come out yet, so she simply stood at the door of the operating room, glancing inside every now and then.

Girls came out intermittently, some chatting and laughing, others looking ashen-faced, all sitting on the green armchairs around the entrance putting on their shoes. Lin Chu couldn’t see the situation in the two operating rooms around the corner, only in the office behind the armchairs, where a doctor in a white coat was eating a mango. Perhaps to avoid being seen, the doctor had hidden in a corner.

A stylish and pretty girl came out, and her friend handed her her bag, saying, “This is the third time. You’ve learned your lesson, haven’t you?” The pretty girl smiled nonchalantly.

Another pretty girl, who looked like a student, came out, bent over and clutching her stomach, walking with difficulty. Lin Chu stepped aside to make way, and a man ran out from the side. The girl immediately rushed over to him, and the man hugged her tightly, his eyes filled with tears. The girl started to sob.

The man helped the girl to a seat, went to the tea room to get a cup of hot water, handed it to her, and then hugged her in his arms. He lowered his head and said something, wiping away her tears from time to time.

Lin Chu finally couldn’t hold back anymore. She bit her lip to suppress her tears, which still streamed down her face. As she cried, she hid in a corner against the wall, her tears flowing freely.

Suddenly, her wrist was tightened as someone grabbed it hard, causing her shopping bag and purse to fall to the ground. Lin Chu cried out in pain, forcefully pulling her wrist away and turning around. Through her teary eyes, she saw someone who looked like Shen Zhongxun leaning closer, stepping on a pack of sanitary napkins that had rolled to the side.

The crying stopped abruptly, and Lin Chu heard him say in a low voice, “Abortion?”

Lin Chu was taken aback, not expecting this person to really be Shen Zhongxun. Another tear slid down her cheek, and Lin Chu raised her hand to wipe it away: “Manager Shen?”

Shen Zhongxun only asked: “Abortion?”

Lin Chu’s heart pounded, and she stared blankly, speechless. Shen Zhongxun asked again, “Where’s your boyfriend?”

Lin Chu then spoke hesitantly, “No…”

She raised her hand to wipe away her tears again, and her vision finally cleared. She saw that Shen Zhongxun’s face was gloomy and his eyes were sharp as blades. He glanced down at the sanitary napkin at his feet and a pile of hospital receipts that were half-exposed.

The two were inexplicably locked in a stalemate when suddenly a helpless voice called out, “Lin Chu, Chu Chu, Lin Chu!”

Lin Chu immediately snapped out of her daze, shoved Shen Zhongxun aside, and ran toward the operating room around the corner. Ye Jing, pale-faced, stood alone at the door. Upon seeing Lin Chu, she grabbed her and threw her entire weight on her, trembling and sobbing uncontrollably.

Lin Chu gently patted her back, and amidst the various suspicious, disdainful, or indifferent glances from those around them, led her to an empty chair. Ye Jing cried as she said, “Sanitary napkins…”

Lin Chu then remembered and immediately turned around, only to see Shen Zhongxun standing behind her, carrying her shopping bags and purse. Lin Chu snatched them away, silently took out a sanitary napkin, and helped Ye Jing to the restroom. A moment later, the two came out, but Shen Zhongxun was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Chu asked her, “Can you walk?”

Ye Jing nodded weakly, feeling drowsy and wanting to sleep, her voice barely audible: “Tired…”

Lin Chu smoothed her long hair and supported her firmly: “I’ll find you a hotel. Stay here tonight, and we’ll see how things go tomorrow!”

Ye Jing gave a soft “hmm,” her lips pale and cracked. Lin Chu unscrewed the mineral water bottle and let her take a small sip.

The two slowly walked out of the hospital. Lin Chu looked around and immediately reached out to stop the tricycle when she saw it. However, the bag in her other hand was suddenly snatched away. Lin Chu was startled and instinctively tried to pull it back, but her grip suddenly stopped.

Shen Zhongxun said, “Let me take you there!”

Lin Chu refused in surprise: “No need, Manager Shen, what are you doing…” As she spoke, she tried to take the bag back, but her hand was suddenly grabbed by Shen Zhongxun as soon as it touched the plastic bag.

Shen Zhongxun looked at Ye Jing, who was pale and looked utterly astonished, and nodded, saying, “My name is Shen Zhongxun. It’s very sunny, so I’ll see you off!”

After speaking, without saying another word, he pulled Lin Chu toward the car by the roadside. Lin Chu staggered a couple of times, then struggled to break free and pulled Ye Jing back, shouting, “Manager Shen, no need, no need, let go!”

Ye Jing couldn’t withstand the pulling and swayed as she was about to fall, weakly calling out to Lin Chu, “No, Chu Chu!”

Lin Chu was startled. Shen Zhongxun released her and immediately caught Ye Jing, who was falling backward.

The air conditioning in the car was turned down a bit, and the vents weren’t blowing directly onto the back seats. Ye Jing lay drowsily in the back, only saying she wanted to rest for a bit. Lin Chu, sitting in the passenger seat, turned her head and saw that Ye Jing’s eyes were closed before turning her gaze to Shen Zhongxun.

Shen Zhongxun didn’t look at her, and said softly, “Give me directions and tell me which hotel to go to.”

Lin Chu looked away, glanced at the roadside, pointed ahead and told him to turn right. After navigating two traffic lights, they finally arrived at a hotel. Lin Chu woke Ye Jing and helped her inside. Shen Zhongxun checked them in and, carrying the bags, followed the waiter.

They arrived at a room on the third floor facing the street shortly after. Ye Jing immediately lay down to rest, too exhausted to speak. Lin Chu turned on the air conditioning, tucked her in, and then beckoned Shen Zhongxun to come out, saying, “Thank you, Manager Shen. I need to take care of my friend now. I’ll treat you to a meal to thank you next time!”

Shen Zhongxun nodded and told her to go inside quickly, and Lin Chu breathed a sigh of relief.

Back in her room, Lin Chu looked through the instructions for the anti-inflammatory medication and then turned on the computer on her desk to look up various precautions for miscarriage. Before she knew it, it was evening. Her mother called to ask what was wrong, and Lin Chu only said that Ye Jing had asked her to go shopping before quickly hanging up.

Shen Zhongxun sat in the lobby downstairs smoking. The hotel was busy on Sunday, with couples coming and going. He held up his phone and said, “I’m not going on any blind dates for now.”

Wen Peiru said unhappily, “You can’t do this. This time, your father has his eye on it. At least come back and take a look!”

Shen Zhongxun took the last drag of his cigarette, stubbed it out in the glass ashtray, and said slowly, “I’ve taken a fancy to a girl. Let’s get to know her first.”

Wen Peiru thought she had misheard and asked twice, “What did you say?” Shen Zhongxun had no choice but to repeat, pretending to be calm, “I’ve taken a fancy to a girl, and I’ll get to know her first.” His face flushed red, as if someone was watching him.

An incredulous laugh came from the other end of the phone. Before he could ask any questions, Shen Zhongxun slammed the phone down, stood up, paced back and forth, and ordered the front desk to order some takeout to be delivered to the room on the third floor.