TSMLI Chapter 32

Lin Chu sat blankly on the edge of the bed for a while, probably another half hour, before she went to the kitchen to bring out the cured meat and rice and nestled into the room to eat.

She was clearly starving, but now she lost her appetite after eating for only a short while. Fortunately she had not steamed much, so she managed to finish it all.

After washing the dishes and taking a shower she came out of the steamy bathroom, drenched in sweat again. She stood under the air conditioner for a long time before she recovered, but her phone remained silent.

The artificial rainmaking in Nanjiang City lasted for three days, with rain only falling in the evening and the daytime remaining sunny.

Last night was filled with thunder and lightning, and the morning was indeed much cooler. However by noon time seemed to have rewound. Lin Chu wandered around the office building, going from office to office collecting materials on exemplary deeds. After being caught by a leader she became a mail carrier, so busy that she did not even have time for lunch. When she went to the canteen she could only eat some leftovers to fill her stomach.

Sometimes when she saw her colleagues leisurely drinking tea and reading newspapers in the office she would feel resentful. Those people were either from good families or married well, and they were assigned to positions with only the size of her little finger, while she had to use all ten fingers to survive there.

But as she stood by the window, holding a teacup and drinking water, she calmed herself down. Her respectable job was something many people would envy. The workers downstairs had to endure the scorching sun, and when their superiors came to visit they had to say things like, “It’s not hard work,” “The company is good,” and “Protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility.” Thinking of this Lin Chu could not help but laugh out loud, but then she felt exhausted and powerless.

Lin Chu’s phone had been quiet all day, but it rang loudly when she got off work. She frantically rummaged through her bag to find it and was disappointed when she saw the caller ID.

Ye Jing exclaimed, “Come shopping with me for clothes tomorrow! I haven’t bought any new clothes in a month!”

Lin Chu did the math. Ye Jing had borrowed money from her four or five times since after the New Year. After deducting the post-abortion expenses Ye Jing still owed her seven or eight hundred yuan. Lin Chu reminded her, “Sister, you still have seven or eight hundred yuan in debt. Pay me back first if you have the money. I’m living on a tight budget now, and all my savings are gone!”

Ye Jing said, “Hey, then you should skip a couple of movies. I haven’t bought any clothes in a month, and I finally managed to save up this little bit of money!”

Lin Chu said angrily, “You’re so shameless!” Ye Jing chuckled, and Lin Chu said helplessly, “I’m busy during the day, but I can go shopping at night.”

The two agreed on a time and place to meet, and the bus had already arrived.

Lin Chu found a seat, waving her phone in her hand, hesitant. The bus kept stopping and starting, and the driver seemed to like to brake suddenly. Lin Chu lurched forward twice, feeling nauseous. She could not help but think of Shen Zhongxun. No matter how fast the bus went Shen Zhongxun could drive steadily, as if nothing could make him anxious. He was also always thorough in his work.

Such a composed person should not have been left without explanation, and the woman who answered the phone tried her best to convince herself that the other party and Shen Zhongxun had no other relationship.

Lin Chu gritted her teeth and finally made up her mind to dial the number. Listening to the regular “beep beep” sound her heartbeat also pounded rhythmically.

The longer the dial tone went on the heavier her heart sank. Just as it was about to go dead a voice finally came through the receiver. Lin Chu’s heart skipped a beat, and she tentatively asked, “Hello?”

“Lin Chu.” Shen Zhongxun’s voice was terribly hoarse, completely lacking its usual deep tone.

Lin Chu breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that the voice was not his. “Why didn’t you come last night?”

Shen Zhongxun said wearily, “I’m sorry. Something happened and I didn’t have time to tell you. I just closed my eyes for a while.”

Lin Chu scratched at the car window, leaving fingerprints on the glass. She wiped them away, but the fingerprints only became more chaotic. Lin Chu asked in a low voice, “What happened? Is it convenient to tell me?”

Shen Zhongxun paused, seemingly hesitant or preoccupied with something else. After a long while his breathing came through the receiver. Lin Chu heard him reply, “Jiang Jin is hospitalized. He was stabbed and had surgery last night.”

Lin Chu paused, her finger stopping on the glass.

Jiang Jin disappeared last week to go undercover at a black workshop in the suburbs. Yesterday he was taken to the hospital by a kind passerby. It is said that he was found in a grove of trees in the far suburbs of the city. He was injured in the abdomen and covered in blood, so much so that even the mud had turned dark red.

Shen Zhongxun received a call from home halfway there and immediately changed direction to head to the First Provincial Hospital. Shen Zhonghe was away on a business trip, and Shen Hongshan fainted immediately upon hearing the news. He was the only one in charge at home, having to deal with the police and communicate with the doctors at any time, so he had no time to notify Lin Chu. He finally managed to get an hour of sleep, only to be woken up by Lin Chu’s phone call.

Lin Chu asked worriedly, “How is it now?”

Shen Zhongxun sighed. “The surgery went relatively smoothly. He woke up once before, but he’s been sleeping ever since.”

Shen Zhongxun explained the situation in a low voice. The suspect should be someone from the illegal workshop. The police have started an investigation. Colleagues from the newspaper have also come to visit him one after another today. After Shen Hongshan woke up he immediately called the newspaper and resigned on Jiang Jin’s behalf. When Jiang Jin woke up he did not know how things would turn out.

Lin Chu was hesitating about whether to go to the hospital to see Jiang Jin when Shen Zhongxun spoke up. “If you’re free tonight, why don’t you buy some fruit and come to the hospital?”

Lin Chu’s relationship with him was already semi-public, and besides she was also friends with Jiang Jin. Logically and emotionally Lin Chu should have come over.

Lin Chu had not thought about the relationship aspect. She only felt that Jiang Jin was her friend. She hesitated because she was worried that Shen Zhongxun would be unhappy. Upon hearing this she breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as the bus arrived at the next stop she got off and transferred to a bus heading to the Provincial First Hospital. She bought a fruit basket at a fruit shop near the hospital before going to the floor that Shen Zhongxun had indicated.

Lin Chu glanced at the room number, then gently knocked on the door. The door opened, revealing a striking woman’s face. She was momentarily stunned. The woman said, “You must be Lin Chu? Come in!”

Lin Chu stepped into the ward and politely introduced herself. The woman said, “Ah Xun went to see his father. I just remembered that I forgot to tell Ah Xun that you called him. I’m sorry!” She added, “Oh, right, I forgot to mention. I answered your call last night. I’m Ah Xun’s sister-in-law. He left his phone in the doctor’s office last night, and you called just as I went to get it for him!”

Lin Chu smiled and said, “Hello, sister-in-law!”

Wen Peiru told her to sit wherever she liked and then talked about Jiang Jin’s condition. Jiang Jin’s injuries were quite serious, but fortunately they were discovered in time and he was taken to the hospital quickly, so it did not cause any major problems. However he was still unconscious after the anesthesia wore off. “The doctor said he’s fine. In the middle of the night I thought he had a fever, which made everyone busy for nothing. A-Jin has always been in good health, so he will definitely pull through.”

Jiang Jin, lying on the hospital bed, was pale and lacked his usual vigor. Lin Chu sighed inwardly and offered a few words of comfort. After a long while Shen Zhongxun returned from outside. Wen Peiru quickly got up and asked, “How is Dad?”

Shen Zhongxun shook his head. “He’s not feeling well. Something came up at the company today, and he rushed back. He said he’d come over tonight.” He walked over to Lin Chu and whispered, “You’re here?”

Lin Chu was momentarily stunned when she saw his haggard face and unshaven beard. She only came back to her senses when he grabbed her hand. Wen Peiru, who was standing next to her, said, “I’ll go buy some food and ask Aunt Zhu if she has cooked. You two chat first!”

The ward fell silent. Shen Zhongxun leaned back on the sofa, holding Lin Chu’s hand tightly. Lin Chu whispered, “Are you exhausted?”

Shen Zhongxun responded softly, “It’s alright. I feel much better after a nap.”

When Lin Chu saw Wen Peiru she could still offer a few words of comfort, but when she saw Shen Zhongxun she could not utter a word. Although she knew they were uncle and nephew, because they were close in age and their interactions were lukewarm, Lin Chu had never taken this relationship to heart. Now, seeing Shen Zhongxun like this, she suddenly realized that blood ties were truly special, and that Shen Zhongxun was worried sick about Jiang Jin.

Lin Chu said, “Don’t worry. Jiang Jin is fine now. You should go and rest. His parents should come and take care of him, right?”

After Lin Chu asked her question Shen Zhongxun did not respond for a long time, which puzzled her. She turned her head and saw Shen Zhongxun frowning, looking down at her hand, squeezing and rubbing it. He seemed a little lost in thought. After a long while she heard him speak in a hoarse voice. “He doesn’t have parents!” Shen Zhongxun looked at Lin Chu and said in a low voice, “When I saw A-Jin last night I realized how much of a jerk I was. The last two times I saw him, once it was during a fight, and the other time I didn’t even get a clear look at his face. I can’t imagine what would have happened if something had really happened last night!”

Only a small lamp was lit in the ward, and the curtains were tightly closed. The daytime had just ended, and it was unknown whether the afterglow still lingered. In the dim room only Shen Zhongxun’s low voice echoed.

“Yesterday, while I was waiting outside the operating room, I kept thinking about when the last two fights I had with A-Jin were. I remembered it was the summer after his middle school entrance exam. He brought a girl home and hid in his room…” Shen Zhongxun paused, then continued, “I chased the girl away, and he got angry and hit me. A-Jin has a bad temper. He was always insecure as a child, and that insecurity eventually turned into arrogance and swagger. Nobody in school dared to bully him. He was the boss. Later, even after he improved his grades, he was still very competitive. He liked to show off and be famous, and none of us could control him. In the end he almost risked his life. But did he even know how precious his life was?”

Shen Zhongxun squeezed Lin Chu’s hand tighter and tighter. Lin Chu could not help but squeeze back and looked at Jiang Jin, who was unconscious on the sickbed. Could it be that his mother had a difficult childbirth and he was an orphan since childhood?

Lin Chu tentatively asked, “His mother…”

Shen Zhongxun smiled faintly. “His mother is my eldest sister, my parents’ first child. My father started working in the government when he was twenty-one, and my eldest sister was born not long after. She was very precious to him!”

Shen Zhongxun recounted many childhood memories. His childhood was the opposite of Lin Chu’s. It was carefree, sunny, and he reigned supreme in the compound. Jiang Jin’s personality was actually quite similar to his. However Shen Zhongxun grew more and more serious as he grew up, and his childhood playmates could hardly believe that he was the same person.

Lin Chu covered her mouth and chuckled softly, finding it hard to imagine how he had grown into such a serious and unsmiling person. Shen Zhongxun confided in her for a while, and his mood relaxed slightly. The two sat in silence for a while longer before Wen Peiru and Aunt Zhu entered the room together, carrying two bags filled with food.

Lin Chu felt embarrassed to eat with them, but could not resist Wen Peiru’s enthusiasm, so she sat down at the small table. After taking a couple of bites she noticed movement on the sickbed. Shen Zhongxun immediately put down his bowl and called the doctor. A group of people gathered at Jiang Jin’s bedside.

Jiang Jin slightly lifted his eyelids and said weakly, “Why are you like a wall? Move aside!”

Everyone could not help but laugh, and even the doctor could not help but chuckle. They had finally made it through.

After asking a few questions Jiang Jin was too tired to answer them all. After a while he looked at Lin Chu and laughed. “Why did you come here too? At least you have a conscience!”

Lin Chu smiled and said, “Say less. You’re panting as you talk!”

Jiang Jin needed to rest. Although the hospital bed was separated from the small hall outside it could not withstand so many people crowding together. Wen Peiru sent Shen Zhongxun and Lin Chu away, saying that she would stay with Aunt Zhu tonight and hire another caregiver tomorrow. She did not need Shen Zhongxun to come here all day.

While Jiang Jin was still unconscious Shen Zhongxun was restless. After he woke up he was indifferent again, only telling Wen Peiru to call him if she needed anything before leaving.

After dropping Lin Chu off at Guanjin Garden Shen Zhongxun had to rush to Chuqian. He would not have time to return to the city for the next couple of days, so he could only spend this little bit of time with Lin Chu today. After unbuckling his seatbelt he hugged Lin Chu. Perhaps Jiang Jin’s accident had affected him somewhat, as he seemed listless.

Lin Chu gradually got used to his intimacy, her face only flushed slightly, and she no longer felt awkward. Shen Zhongxun patted her head, hugged her tightly again before letting go, and then drove away in the blink of an eye.

The next day Lin Chu went to a training class. After class she ate something nearby and waited for Ye Jing, who was late, for a while. The two of them then went to wander around a nearby building.

Ye Jing spends money like water. When she was in school her living expenses were high, and she spent them without restraint. After she started working her family no longer provided her with pocket money, so she had to tighten her belt from time to time, but she still often had to borrow money from her friends.

She believes that life should be enjoyed, and no matter how hard or tiring it is the quality of life should not be lowered. “I often advise my parents that money is something you can’t take with you when you die, so you should spend it when you need to. Don’t hoard it all day long and be stingy. Our family isn’t dirt poor. Buying clothes and traveling are the pleasures of life. Spending money on these things is the right way!”

Lin Chu glanced at the price tag on the clothes, immediately let go of her hand, and glanced at her, saying, “You said before that you couldn’t even afford an affordable housing unit. How come you have so much money to burn now!”

Ye Jing pouted. “I’ve decided to stay at home for the rest of my life!”

Lin Chu glared at her, annoyed.

After rummaging around for a while Ye Jing pulled out a high-waisted dress. Its unique design and elegant color suited Lin Chu perfectly. She pushed Lin Chu into the dressing room, saying, “Let me see you in this!”

Lin Chu also fell in love with the dress at first sight. Although she was tempted she had self-control. After changing into it and looking at herself in the mirror she was about to take it off and put it back when Ye Jing grabbed her and would not let go. “It’s so pretty. Why take it off? I’ll buy it!”

Lin Chu brushed her hand away and said in a low voice, “Are you kidding me? That’s two months’ salary for me!”

Ye Jing smiled and said, “I bought it for you. The money I owe you is in the skirt!”

“You’re really kidding? You won the lottery?”

Ye Jing rolled her eyes. “I saved up two months’ salary, just waiting for this day to buy you a dress!” She blushed slightly and muttered, “Isn’t this to thank you for taking care of me for four years? So that you won’t ever look down on me again, I’ll flatter you first!”

Lin Chu was silent for a moment, then scoffed dismissively. Ye Jing had many quirks, but so did she. Neither of them disliked the other. It was simply due to their personalities. Although Ye Jing was lively she had very few close friends, and only Lin Chu had remained steadfastly by her side, which Ye Jing cherished dearly. After what had happened before she was afraid that Lin Chu would harbor resentment toward her, so she came up with the idea of sending clothes to make amends.

Lin Chu knew Ye Jing’s personality. If she did not accept the gift Ye Jing would definitely overthink things. Only by accepting it could she put her mind at ease. Therefore she had no choice but to agree. She even added an extra five hundred yuan herself, so that they would split the money exactly. She suppressed her heartache and started planning to save two months’ salary to give Ye Jing other things. Thinking about this she felt even more heartbroken.

Jiang Jin was hospitalized, and Lin Chu could not visit him often. She only called twice to check on him, and she informed Shen Zhongxun before each call. Shen Zhongxun did not say anything, but he was very satisfied. He was exhausted these past few days, and only when he talked to Lin Chu on the phone could he relieve his fatigue.

The effects of artificial rainmaking were limited, and the weather remained scorching hot. However the height of summer was over, and the temperature in the mornings and evenings was already somewhat cool. Lin Chu kept the dress as a precious possession, reluctant to wear it to work. She said to Shen Zhongxun, “This dress is very expensive. It’s the first time I’ve bought such an expensive dress. But it’s okay. I really like it. Ye Jing has good taste!”

Shen Zhongxun chuckled softly, recalling Lin Chu’s appearance in a long dress in his mind. He suddenly felt an intense urge to see her. “Lin Chu, shall I pick you up on Saturday? You should be going home this Saturday!”

Lin Chu replied, “I’m going home now. Won’t it be inconvenient for you? Don’t always come all the way to pick me up!”

Shen Zhongxun made an excuse. “It was just a side trip. I had some business to attend to in the city!”

Lin Chu did not know if he was telling the truth or not. She opened her computer to search for information and was busy preparing a presentation. She chatted with Shen Zhongxun casually. When she clicked on Shen Hongshan’s information she paused. She suddenly remembered what Shen Zhongxun had said. Shen Hongshan had given birth to his eldest daughter when he was twenty-one. Now Jiang Jin was twenty-two. Shen Hongshan had not yet retired. How could he have such a big grandson?

Lin Chu’s heart stirred slightly. Every family has its own troubles, so she decided it was best not to go and investigate.

An event will be held in the city in early September, and the company needs to form a team to go. Lin Chu will have to start rehearsing for the choir again.

As a result her get off work hours were delayed, and Lin Chu weaved through the evening rush hour. She had worked so hard during rehearsals that her voice was a little hoarse. On Saturday Shen Zhongxun picked her up and bought her two packs of throat lozenges on the way, laughing and saying, “You’ve turned into a duck!”

Lin Chu ate a throat lozenge and finally felt a little better. The two chatted all the way to Chuqian, and Shen Zhongxun dropped her off on the street as usual.

While Lin Chu rested at home for a day and a night Shen Zhongxun spent the rest of his time running back and forth between the two places.

The perpetrators have been identified by Jiang Jin as the head of the illegal workshop and his relatives. After giving two statements Jiang Jin also learned about his “forced resignation” and immediately started making a scene. However Shen Hongshan ignored him and, seeing that he was alright, spent all his time at the company and rarely appeared at the hospital, leaving Jiang Jin with no way to complain.

This incident became news again, and reporters often staked out the ward. Shen Zhongxun taught Wen Peiru how to deal with it, and he also had to put on an elder’s attitude from time to time to lecture Jiang Jin. After leaving the hospital he had to go out to socialize. After a few days his body could not bear the burden and he finally fell ill.

Unaware of the danger Lin Chu returned to work and rehearsals after returning to the city. Before she knew it the day to go to the neighboring city arrived. After packing her luggage she made a phone call to inform her parents and Ye Jing, and also informed Shen Zhongxun.

Shen Zhongxun’s voice sounded somewhat cold on the phone. He only answered one sentence for every three sentences Lin Chu spoke. Because he pretended to be nonchalant Lin Chu could not tell that he was listless. After hanging up the phone Lin Chu felt strange and could not help but feel a little disappointed.

The next day everyone was ready to go. Three hours later they checked into a hotel in a neighboring city. Lin Chu and Yang Chunbei were assigned to the same room. After resting for a while they went downstairs to have lunch with everyone. After the afternoon rehearsal Lin Chu was covered in sweat. After taking a shower she received a call from Xiangyang. “Your dad said you’re in the neighboring city? I arrived here the day before yesterday. When are you free to come over for dinner?”

Lin Chu was delighted and immediately replied, “The day after tomorrow. My performance ends the day after tomorrow!”

The two arranged a time, but unexpected changes occurred the day after tomorrow.