Mi Cai drove me here at a speed of 100 miles per hour for 20 minutes, which means that I am at least 30 kilometers away from my residence now. I feel like dying. Why do I always encounter these absurd things recently?
I picked up my slippers from the ground, adjusted my clothes, and looked up. Fortunately, the North Star was still twinkling. I found the brightest star, Jade Balance, and determined the directions. I walked towards the dim lights in the distance, like a lonely escape.
After half an hour, I finally saw a road with cars passing by. I took a closer look and wanted to strangle that wicked woman. It was the intersection of the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway between Suzhou and Wuxi.
…
After struggling until dawn, a kind passerby finally drove me to the city. I took a taxi back to my place, but because I didn’t bring my wallet, I didn’t even pay for the fare. I just threw the half-finished pack of cigarettes to the driver and ran away.
As I entered the residential area, the flames of anger started burning inside me. I wanted to talk to Mi Cai, not about life or ideals, but about why she treated me like this.
I put the guitar on the table in the living room and went to Mi Cai’s door. I knocked on it vigorously, venting my frustration, “Is it fun to play with me? Do you know that I have to go to work tomorrow…” I looked at the sky outside the window, which was already getting bright, and corrected myself, “No, it’s today. You’ve been messing with me all night. How can I go to work in this state? If the boss is unhappy and fires me, will you support me?”
I kept talking, but there was no response from inside the room.
“If you want me to curse even more harshly, just keep pretending not to hear me.” I said and knocked on the door again.
There was still no response from inside.
“Could it be that she hasn’t come back?” I wondered as I twisted the doorknob, only to find that it was locked.
Anyway, in Mi Cai’s eyes, I am scum. It wouldn’t make much difference if I committed the crime of breaking into her room at night. I found the key to her room from a bunch of keys, and then opened the door. I didn’t care if she was sleeping or not, I had to talk to her.
I turned on the light and finally saw Mi Cai lying on the bed with her back facing me, covered with a quilt, still silent.
“You sleep so soundly. Have you ever thought about the suffering I’ve been through?… The wind blew my nose all the way…” I sneezed, rubbed my nose, and angrily said, “Let me tell you, I’ve been alive for more than 20 years, and I’ve never seen anyone like you, so sneaky, so unkind!”
I kept scolding, but she remained as calm as Mount Tai, motionless!
Just as I was about to pull her up from the bed and confront her face to face, she suddenly had a severe coughing fit…
Based on common sense, if my sneeze just now was a cold, then her coughing definitely indicated a fever. She must have caught a cold last night.
…
I was stunned for a moment, then cursed, “Heaven has eyes!… You’re getting your retribution!”
Mi Cai coughed again, but didn’t say anything to me. I didn’t know if she ignored me on purpose or if she was too weak and in pain due to the fever.
“Get out.” After a while, Mi Cai spoke coldly to me.
“No need to remind me. I like to see others suffer without helping. It would be great if you coughed to death!… You deserve it, retribution…” I said and walked out of Mi Cai’s room in big strides.
I was ready to take a hot shower and then take a nap, but I heard intermittent coughing coming from Mi Cai’s room.
I stopped in the bathroom and suddenly found myself struggling for no reason. I felt like I was the only man in this house, and she was coughing so helpless. Should I just watch her like this?
“Never mind. I’ve been scum for so long, let me do a good deed for once. Consider it accumulating some virtue.” I said to myself.
…
I placed the towel on the sofa and went to the kitchen. I found a piece of ginger and a bag of brown sugar, lit the gas stove, and started boiling ginger brown sugar soup.
I was already so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. I lit a cigarette to stay awake, and then numbly watched the ginger brown sugar soup boiling in the pot.
The first rays of sunlight had already leaked through the window on the eastern side, and a gentle breeze brushed through the hanging spider plants on the balcony. A new day was filled with the vitality and freshness that had been going on for billions of years. I was a bit fascinated. The world at this moment was enchanting, as if it belonged only to me… Perhaps, compared to this rare morning, I didn’t really like the nightlife with its lights and revelry.
Mi Cai’s cough brought me back from my trance. I realized that the ginger soup had been boiling for quite a while. I turned off the gas stove, scooped a bowl, and walked towards Mi Cai’s room.
…
“I made a bowl of ginger soup. Drink it.” I stood by Mi Cai’s bed and said to her.
“No need to be so kind.”
“Who’s being kind to you? I’m just afraid that your coughing will disturb my sleep!” I said discontentedly.
Mi Cai said ungratefully, “Move out, then you won’t hear it anymore.””I’m moving out. If you die coughing at home, no one would know… Enough with the nonsense, drink the ginger soup now!” I said, putting down the bowl in my hand and propping up Mi Cai’s pillow, then roughly helped her sit up.
I touched her forehead, indeed she had a fever. I picked up the bowl from the bedside table and handed it to her, “Drink the ginger soup first.”
Mi Cai stopped fighting with her body and took the ginger soup from my hand to drink. Although she remained silent, her expression was not as cold as before.
“After you finish drinking, sleep under the blanket. Leave the bowl, I’ll come back to collect it later. You have a mild fever, take some antipyretics, sweat a bit and you’ll be fine.”
…
Afraid of worsening my cold, I put on a thick coat before going out. I rarely get sick and don’t have any common medicines at home, so I had to go to the pharmacy to buy some antipyretics and cough medicine for Mi Cai.
It was still too early, and the pharmacies hadn’t opened yet. I had to travel several stops before I found an open clinic. After buying the medicine, I immediately took a taxi back home. After all the hassle, it was already 7:30.
When I returned to the apartment and entered Mi Cai’s room, she was already asleep. Seeing her breathing evenly with a peaceful expression, I didn’t wake her up.
I found her phone in her bag, dialed my number, and left a note on her bedside table: “Remember to take the antipyretics and cough medicine when you wake up. If you have any problems, call me. The number is already saved in your phone… The scum in your eyes, the angel in mine – Zhao Yang.”
After tucking her in gently, I left her room.
…
After taking a hot shower and not having time for breakfast, I caught the bus to the company and started a day of work in a state of exhaustion.
I was so sleepy, yawning one after another, and finally fell asleep in a technically perfect posture with one hand propping up my chin. Unless you came close, you wouldn’t notice I was sleeping.
Circle, who was busy preparing for his wedding, didn’t arrive at the company until almost ten. He woke me up with a slap, “Did you go clubbing again last night?”
Thinking of last night’s events made me angry, but there was no point in taking it out on Circle. I yawned and replied, “I didn’t sleep well, it was a restless night!”
Circle misinterpreted my words, saying, “You need to take care of your kidney, even though you’re young, you can’t handle messing around with women without restraint!”
“We’re both educated people, can we speak more subtly?”
Circle laughed helplessly, then asked me, “Did you finish the GUCCI counter proposal for me yesterday?”
“It’s done, I saved it in your D drive.”
Circle nodded and handed me a note, saying, “Zhao Yang, I’ll ask the manager for a leave of absence for you later. You accompany Yan Yan to the mall and buy everything on this list.”
“Are you getting married or am I? You want me to accompany Yan Yan to go shopping!” I asked with a smile.
Circle sighed, “I have no choice, there’s so much to buy, Yan Yan can’t carry it all by herself. I have to go to Shanghai with the business development team to discuss setting up a GUCCI counter in our mall. I can’t let my personal affairs affect the company’s business plan that has been prepared for several months, right?”
“Alright.” I agreed, but yawned again. I had walked half the night and hadn’t slept, how could I not be tired!
Circle patted my shoulder, “Hang in there, I’ll treat you to dinner tonight.”
I waved at Circle, “Go do your thing, I’ll take a quick nap!”
“Don’t nap, Yan Yan is waiting for you downstairs at the company! …” Circle paused, then whispered in my ear, “By the way… Jian Wei replied to the email. There’s an eighty percent chance she’ll come back from the U.S. for my wedding!”
I stared at Circle, my sleepiness completely gone, suddenly feeling like I was caught between ice and fire. After three years, was she finally coming back?