On the Wedding Night, I Transmigrated to After the Divorce – Chapter 43
by Little PandaYu Yan is Very Smug
Her cousin still likes her
Yu Yan hadn’t expected Li Tong to have returned to Yuncheng for work.
She distinctly remembered her cousin having plans to settle down in the Imperial Capital.
“My office is right nearby. I was working overtime when I saw your WeChat Moment and got a shock. I was a little worried, so I thought I’d come see you. How did your fever get this bad? And why are you all alone? Aren’t you living with Lu Yu?”
“I… Lu Yu went to get something to eat.”
“Have you eaten, then?”
“Not yet…”
“Well, what do you want to eat? I can go buy it for you.”
Li Tong had changed so much in three years. Her face was thinner, and she’d let her hair grow longer. It was still undyed and unpermed, a thick, dark mane tied back in a low ponytail. She wore no makeup, giving her a very clean look. She seemed to have become gentler and more mature, dressed in a shirt and a black overcoat that gave her an air of grace and mellow poise.
This was the first person from before the time skip, besides Lu Yu and Fu Yunqing, that Yu Yan had met face-to-face. It felt so strange, so unreal, and she found herself staring at Li Tong for a long time, taking her in.
Li Tong was entirely patient under her scrutiny, only worrying that she was hungry and wanting to go buy her food. Yu Yan shook her head gently. “I don’t have an appetite. I don’t want to eat.”
“You’re not hungry? It’s almost seven o’clock.” Li Tong reached out and smoothed Yu Yan’s long hair, a gesture that had once come naturally to them. Yu Yan blinked. Her cousin hadn’t changed. She wasn’t distant, like everyone else.
Aside from a few bites of porridge at noon, Yu Yan hadn’t eaten all day, but she truly didn’t feel hungry. Perhaps she was past the point of hunger. She just felt dizzy, her eyes were dry, and her body felt heavy and tight in the chest. She had no appetite at all.
“I don’t want to eat.”
Li Tong didn’t press her. “Then I’ll sit with you for a while. If you get hungry, just let me know, okay?”
Next to the infusion chair was a small, round companion stool. Yu Yan hated backless chairs the most; they were so uncomfortable, and just looking at them was unpleasant.
Someone like her, who seemed to have no bones and wanted to lean on something everywhere she went, felt her back ache just looking at a chair like that. But Li Tong didn’t seem to mind. She sat with her back straight, her posture perfect, emanating an air of utter reliability.
“Is it okay for you to stay with me like this?” Yu Yan remembered her saying she had to work overtime.
Li Tong smiled. “It’s fine. Work can wait.”
Work can wait. What a reassuring thing to say. A more mature cousin seemed even more of a heavenly dish1 than before.
“Alright, why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll wake you when the IV drip is finished.”
Li Tong didn’t choose this moment to reminisce. She simply watched over the IV bag and kept her company. Yu Yan, for her part, accepted the companionship as a matter of course, closing her eyes in blissful contentment. But then, a thought suddenly struck her—the person she was supposed to be baiting was Fu Yunqing.
It hit her with a jolt. It had been almost an hour since she’d posted to her Moments. Had Fu Yunqing seen it? Probably not, right? Otherwise, how could there be absolutely no response?
Yu Yan’s heart instantly sped up. After a moment of hesitation, she chose to delete the post. Now that her cousin was here with her, even if Fu-jiejie came, she wouldn’t be able to proceed with her plan.
And if Fu-jiejie did show up and saw her cousin here, what if she misunderstood?
She deleted the post, making it as if it had never existed. Looking at the blank screen of her Moments and the silent chat window with Fu Yunqing, Yu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
She definitely hadn’t seen it. Otherwise, knowing how much Fu-jiejie cared about her, she would have been frantic by now.
Immensely relieved, Yu Yan sent a message to Lu Yu: 【Just go home and rest after you eat～ My cousin’s with me. She’ll take me back later】
Lu Yu: 【Li Tong?】
Yu Yan: 【Mhm】
Lu Yu: 【How did she end up there?】
Yu Yan: 【She saw my Moments post and came over. Her company is nearby】
Lu Yu felt a vague sense of unease. 【Fine, fine】
After their chat, Yu Yan stuffed her phone back into her pocket. Leaning against the uncomfortable chair, her consciousness quickly melted away in the chaotic haze of her high fever.
As the medicine dripped into her body, her temperature slowly fell to a reassuringly safe level. She slept fitfully, occasionally waking up to exchange a few words with Li Tong. By nine o’clock that night, the crowd at the Fever Clinic had grown instead of shrinking. Yu Yan heard someone call her name and opened her eyes to see Li Tong helping a nurse remove the needle from the back of her hand.
Once the needle was out, Li Tong steadied her hand, pressing a cotton swab against the puncture wound to stop the bleeding. “It’s done. Your temperature is down. We can go home now.”
“Mm…” Yu Yan was still groggy. She rubbed her eyes. She didn’t like this place at all, and the moment she heard they could leave, she stood up. But her body was weak, and she swayed. Li Tong steadied her, afraid she might fall. She looked down and asked, “No need to rush. How are you feeling? Still dizzy?”
“Not anymore,” Yu Yan replied, instinctively leaning against Li Tong. Her voice was hoarse, thick with the drowsy softness of someone who had just woken up. “So thirsty.”
“Sit down for another minute. There’s a water dispenser over there. I’ll get you a cup of hot water.”
The night was cold and damp, the wind biting. Yu Yan stood by the roadside outside the hospital entrance, the hood of her down jacket pulled up, her body hunched against the chill. In her hands, she held the cup of hot water Li Tong had gotten for her from the dispenser, taking small sips.
Another Yuncheng winter had truly arrived. Was it because her jacket was poor quality? She had only been standing there for two minutes, but the hands that had been so warm in the hospital bed were already cold again. She tossed the paper cup into a nearby trash can and blew hot air into her palms to warm them. The hospital was still bustling at night. An ambulance came screaming back with a patient, kicking up a gust of wind. Yu Yan’s gaze followed it, and she noticed a black car parked by the road up ahead.
It looked so familiar. Was it the same model Fu-jiejie drove? She couldn’t see the logo; all SUVs seemed to look the same anyway.
Yu Yan was lost in thought, so much so that she didn’t even notice Li Tong’s car pull up in front of her.
Her cousin got out and opened the passenger door for her, her eyes gentle. “What are you spacing out about?”
“An ambulance just went by,” Yu Yan said.
“It’s peak flu season. A lot of people are getting sick.” Seeing her huddled inside her hood, Li Tong thought she looked adorable and reached out to adjust the brim. “Are you cold?”
“Not at all.”
Her cousin was so gentle, just like before, so good to her and so concerned. Yu Yan enjoyed being cared for so comfortably. She shook her head. “You’re the one who’s dressed so thinly.”
“I have a fleece-lined vest on underneath. It’s very warm.”
“Really?” Yu Yan reached out to touch her hand. It was warm. It really wasn’t cold at all. Why were her own hands so icy even in a down jacket? It must be poor circulation. Her health was really getting worse and worse, she sighed internally.
Li Tong’s fingertips stiffened for a second before she clasped Yu Yan’s hand in return, giving it a little tug. “Get in the car, quick. Don’t get chilled.”
“Are you hungry? Is there anything you want to eat? You have to eat something, even a little. That’s how your body gets the strength to fight off the virus.”
“Hmm… I can’t think of anything. You can decide, Cousin.”
“Then I’ll take you to a restaurant I go to often. I think it’s quite good. I’ve been wanting to ask you to go for a while, but I never found the chance.”
“Mm~ okay.”
The heater was on in the car, and Yu Yan’s hands quickly warmed up. They drove past the black SUV and sped away into the night.
Li Tong took Yu Yan to a nearby Chinese restaurant. Not in the mood for anything too greasy, Yu Yan ordered a bowl of porridge, and Li Tong added two lightly stir-fried dishes for her. She sat across from Yu Yan, quietly watching her eat.
“Aren’t you eating?”
Li Tong shook her head, smiling. “I already ate at the company cafeteria.”
“Oh…” Yu Yan didn’t feel uncomfortable being watched. She simply took a couple sips of her porridge, then looked up at Li Tong again.
“What is it?”
Yu Yan hesitated for a moment before asking, “I wanted to ask… Cousin, do you know where my mom went?”
Li Tong looked a little surprised. “You don’t know where she is?”
“I don’t. She didn’t tell me, and I can’t get in touch with her now. Her phone won’t connect, and she doesn’t reply to texts.”
“I see… She might have changed her number,” Li Tong said after a moment of thought. “I’ll try to ask around later. Don’t worry. She’s probably in the United States right now. Don’t be scared, she’ll be fine.”
What could possibly happen to her? She’d scammed everyone, run off with the money, and couldn’t be bothered with a useless daughter like her. She was probably living it up abroad, carefree and comfortable. What could possibly be wrong? Yu Yan wasn’t worried about her well-being in the slightest.
She pursed her lips and lowered her head to drink her porridge. Li Tong saw the grievance written all over her face and tried to comfort her. “Yanyan, have faith in Auntie. Once she’s dealt with her affairs, she’ll contact you.”
“She’s your mother. How could she abandon you?”
“…”
It was entirely possible.
Yu Yan no longer held out any hope. “I… hope so,” she answered listlessly. Being sick had made her pessimistic, and mentioning this topic only deepened her gloom. “What about you, Cousin? How have you been lately?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I’m doing well,” Li Tong said. “Just a bit busy with work recently. I often have to work overtime.”
“That sounds so tiring.”
Li Tong smiled. “It’s not so bad. When you live alone, staying busy can make you feel fulfilled.”
Li Tong wasn’t one for socializing, nor did she have a wide range of hobbies. Besides work, there didn’t seem to be much else for her to do.
Living alone? Yu Yan wondered, Is my cousin living alone now? Does she mean she’s living alone right now, or that she has been living alone for the past three years? In these three years, has my cousin dated anyone? Yu Yan was very curious.
So curious, in fact, that she couldn’t help but ask boldly, “Cousin, have you been single this whole time?”
Li Tong answered, “Mhm.”
“Oh,” Yu Yan said, nodding.
“What are you thinking about?” Li Tong chuckled. “You’re this sick, and you’re still worried about whether I’m single?”
“I’m just curious. You’re so outstanding, there must be a lot of women who like you. It makes people really curious about your love life,” she said, starting to act cute again.
What could she do? Yu Yan was just gossipy2.
Besides, she was possessive of her cousin, okay? In the past, her cousin had only liked her. She was her cousin. If she really had bumped her head, taken a nap, and woken up to find her cousin was already someone else’s girlfriend, she would have been absolutely heartbroken.
Li Tong looked at her, her eyes full of tenderness and a hint of resignation. “I haven’t met anyone who’s made my heart flutter,” she said. “Being alone is fine, too. You don’t have to be in a relationship.”
“Mhm, mhm, that’s right. You’re right, Cousin.” That made her happy. Whatever Li Tong said was fine with her. Yu Yan lowered her head and took a few more sips of porridge. She felt warmer now, and maybe a little less miserable.
She was just smug. Blatantly smug.
Her cousin definitely still liked her. Even though she’d been married and divorced, her cousin’s feelings for her had never changed, right?
Her cousin was so wonderful.
Yu Yan really wanted to reach out, pat her on the head, and praise her.
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