In the emergency room that day, the doctor prescribed her three days of IV drips. Lin Xian felt that she didn’t have a fever and had gotten much better; she had no intention of going back, but Xiao Wanqing was worried and insisted she at least go one more time.
Because Xiao Wanqing had said she would come to the school to pick her up for the IV treatment in the afternoon, Lin Xian didn’t ride her little sheep (scooter) and left home a bit earlier than usual, taking the public bus outside the community to school, something she hadn’t done in a while.
When she arrived at the classroom where her college class was to be held, the previous session had just ended. Students were swarming down from their classes, changing classrooms or leaving school, making it impossible for Lin Xian to go up against the tide. She had no choice but to wait next to the staircase for a few minutes until the flow of students coming down subsided before she could continue upward.
She thought she had arrived early enough, but to her surprise, as soon as she entered the classroom, she saw Shi Man already there, saving their usual seats amid the sparsely occupied room.
With a good mood, Lin Xian felt the leisure to tease Shi Man. She tiptoed towards Shi Man, stealthily stood behind her, reached out with her right hand to pat Shi Man on her right shoulder, looking forward to Shi Man being tricked into looking back over her right shoulder.
Unexpectedly, Shi Man didn’t hesitate for a moment and accurately turned her head to gaze over her left shoulder. Her usually lively peach-blossom eyes were dark and unfathomable as she looked at Lin Xian, delivering a sentence with calm indifference: “Childish, boring.”
Lin Xian was momentarily speechless, then chuckled lightly, not taking it to heart. She sat down beside Shi Man and asked with concern, “Sister Zhijin said you had a fever the day before yesterday, are you feeling better now?”
The mention of Xia Zhijin caused Shi Man’s expression to darken a bit more. She sighed almost imperceptibly, replying listlessly to Lin Xian, “I’m mostly better.”
Lin Xian finally noticed something was off. She pulled out her textbook from her bag, propped her face with one hand, and calmly surveyed Shi Man. She poked at Shi Man’s slightly puffed cheek and asked gently, “What’s wrong with you today? You seem a bit off, don’t you?”
Shi Man avoided Lin Xian’s hand, put her head down, and buried her face in her arms. After a while, she replied in a muffled voice, “I had an argument with her. I came to school by myself this morning.”
Lin Xian didn’t have to ask to know that the “her” Shi Man referred to was Xia Zhijin. She withdrew her hand, paused slightly, and set aside her smile to ask earnestly, “What happened?”
While keeping her head down, Shi Man turned her face towards Lin Xian and bit her lip: “I don’t know if it was just me being unreasonable.”
The other night, Shi Man had come down with a high fever, and Xia Zhijin had called the family doctor over to their house to treat her. Afterwards, while Xia Zhijin was accompanying her as she received her IV drip, she took a call from Auntie Xiao and had to go out. Shi Man felt incredibly unwell, but she didn’t hesitate at all to let Xia Zhijin leave.
But last night, her fever had completely subsided, leaving only a slight nasal congestion and a sore throat. As she lay in bed continuing the IV drip as a precaution, Xia Zhijin held her and watched a movie together with her. Halfway through the movie, Xia Zhijin told her that it was about time for her to leave to tutor a student.
Shi Man has always disliked how Xia Zhijin was always busy working extra jobs during the precious hours after classes, hardly leaving much time to be with her. Shi Man had discussed with Xia Zhijin about reducing her workload, but Xia Zhijin would always remain silent and refuse to budge. After such confrontations would inevitably lead to a gloomy atmosphere, over time, Shi Man also suppressed her feelings and rarely spoke of it again.
Last night, perhaps because she was ill and hoped that Xia Zhijin would show her a bit more pity, Shi Man could not help but lower her stance, coquettishly and pitifully hoping that she would keep her company and take the day off from tutoring.
She could see that Xia Zhijin was somewhat swayed, but ultimately, she still refused her.
In that moment, not knowing where it came from, a petulance arose, and she suddenly felt incredibly fragile and aggrieved. She withdrew her warmth, her face turning cold, and couldn’t suppress the dissatisfaction and grievances that had been bottled up inside for so long. She spoke harsh words to Xia Zhijin, irrational: “Fine, I get it, you go then. After all, I know that in your heart, money will always be more important than me.”
Her mind was buzzing, roaring inside, she was truly fed up, had enough!
When she was younger, Shi Jinglan always left home for the sake of money. Whenever she needed her, when she was sad, when she was bullied, Shi Jinglan was never by her side. When she had been younger, she also begged Shi Jinglan to spend more time with her, only to be met with her indifference, continuing on her own way. Eventually, she gave up on the idea of maternal love.
Is it a curse? Now, her lover has also begun to behave like her mother, running around for money and leaving her in the dust.
Is money really that important? She also has a lot of money, can’t she give it to her?
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As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Xia Zhijin, whose face turned as pale as paper while sitting beside her bed.
She released the hand she had been grasping for comfort and sat up straight, turning her head away from Shi Man, not looking at her. Xia Zhijin’s cool and handsome profile was tense, and after a long while, she restrained her grievances and sorrow, whispering with endurance: “Manman, you don’t understand at all.”
Shi Man, seeing her pale face, felt a sting in her heart and some regret. But she also felt very wronged herself, and the impulsive words bypassed her brain, slipping out again: “I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you insist on keeping such a clear line between us. I don’t understand why you have to be so precise in your accounting with me, down to the last cent. Is my money poisonous? Will it dirty your hands?”
It’s quite laughable when one thinks about it. Since they started dating, every bill for every meal they had, the price of each gift Shi Man gave, Xia Zhijin kept a record of it all. Shi Man almost wanted to laugh out of exasperation when she stumbled upon this. Which couple does this? Did she record everything with the intent of calculating when to pay her back?
Xia Zhijin hung her snow-white neck, a lump forming in her throat, bitterly thinking: Shi Man really doesn’t understand, money is indeed very important.
Shi Man was clueless about how her wealthy friends would snide and make veiled insults about Xia Zhijin when she wasn’t around. She didn’t know the kinds of stories they spun behind her back, or even, how they would humiliate her.
Sometimes Xia Zhijin couldn’t understand; when one shouldn’t measure a person’s worth by money or family background, she considered herself not mediocre and certainly not unworthy of Shi Man. But just because of money, because she was poor, in the eyes of the people from Shi Man’s social circle, she wasn’t fit to be Shi Man’s romantic partner, wasn’t fit to be the person Shi Man liked, only fit to be an object maintained by Shi Man’s wealth.
However, what others thought, she couldn’t control. She told herself, as long as she worked hard and could do so with a clear conscience, that was enough.
Shi Man was unaware that money is indeed important, but to Xia Zhijin, it can never outweigh her importance.
So important that she would rather bend her own spine to embrace her.
Since childhood, she was reserved, always sporting a cheerful facade to relieve her mother’s worries and to soothe her sister’s heart, hiding her own troubles. As the years passed, she grew more accustomed to silence. There were many things she couldn’t voice out. She also doubted whether voicing them would lead to understanding from Shi Man, or just add to her own embarrassment.
Xia Zhijin bit her lip, suppressing her sense of grievance and sadness. She turned around, gazing long at the girl she should have rejected, should have stayed away from, then suddenly she bowed her head, cupped Shi Man’s delicate face in her hands, and with a heart full of love kissed her, sealing all her resentment and interrogations.
At first, Shi Man tried to push her away but soon found herself with flushed cheeks and a racing heart, totally swept away by the kiss.
Before she could collect her thoughts, Xia Zhijin had already left.
When she came to her senses, Xia Zhijin hadn’t answered any of her questions, nothing had been resolved, and yet she herself had been pacified with a kiss. Shi Man was so angry that her chest hurt.
However, in the evening when Xia Zhijin returned, Shi Man still remembered the quarrel from the morning and wanted to regain some face, so she acted out a bit of a tantrum. When Xia Zhijin turned on the light and came in, pulling her to turn around, Shi Man stubbornly kept her back to Xia Zhijin, refusing to look at her. Xia Zhijin, at her wit’s end, actually just took her ear temperature with an electronic thermometer, then bid her goodnight and went straight out of her bedroom, naturally deciding to sleep in separate rooms!
Shi Man was immediately furious. She didn’t get a wink of sleep all night, and the next day, as soon as it was light, she stormed out of the house to school without even having breakfast.
She didn’t need to prepare breakfast anymore! She didn’t need to send her off anymore! Didn’t she not want to share a bed with her anyway!!!
With the intention to open up, Shi Man sorted out the events in her mind. She admitted her faults — making a fuss about Xia Zhijin not going to the tutoring job was indeed unreasonable. Yet she felt that Xia Zhijin’s decision to sleep in separate rooms without any concession or attempt to coax her was too much!
She was just about to discuss this briefly with Lin Xian when Chen Zhi and Tang Mo arrived, one after the other, making Shi Man feel awkward to speak up.
She sighed, skipping over her own problems and instead showed concern for Lin Xian by saying, “Let’s talk about it later. How are you?” After finishing her question, recalling how Lin Xian had just teased her and seeing Lin Xian’s shy and joyous expression upon being asked, Shi Man had a rough idea and playfully joked, “Yo yo yo, look at you, all blooming with the airs of spring—is it…eh?”
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Lin Xian, with the thought of Xiao Wanqing, couldn’t suppress the rising smile on her lips. Chen Zhi and Tang Mo were also present; she couldn’t be too explicit and just murmured an ambiguous “En” softly.
Hearing that her friend’s wishes had come true, Shi Man immediately rejoiced. She temporarily forgot her worries and sorrows, her eyes sparkling with joy as she patted Lin Xian on the shoulder, exclaiming with laughter, “Wow, Lin Xian, looks like you’ve done well.” She couldn’t wait to ask more, “So, we can all go camping together, right?”
Lin Xian smiled, as if a thought had sparked joy in her eyes. She started discussing with Shi Man, “Sure, we’ll go. But we might need to pick a new date. I’ll explain the details to you later and see if you can help me out.”
Tang Mo and Chen Zhi had been all ears during the conversation, puzzled. “What kind of riddle are you two trying to crack here?”
Lin Xian pursed her lips in a shy smile. She thought of the promise she had made with Xiao Wanqing and hesitated a moment before sharing half the story with an open heart, “I won’t be celebrating Singles’ Day anymore.”
Tang Mo and Chen Zhi were stunned for a second, not quite understanding how Singles’ Day had entered the conversation. A second later, they caught on, their exclamations of “Ah! Ah! Ah!” bursting out in cheer.
They grabbed Lin Xian, eager to dig deeper, but the school bell rang just in time to save Lin Xian from further interrogation.
Long after, Lin Xian received a notebook from Chen Zhi with a few hesitantly written words: “May I ask? Is it a boy or a girl?”
Lin Xian turned her head, and across Shi Man, she exchanged glances with Chen Zhi. She saw that her friend was giving her an untroubled smile, her eyes filled with sincere friendliness.
She slightly hooked her lip, bowed her head, and without hiding anything, she wrote down “It’s a girl,” and passed the notebook back to Chen Zhi.
Inside the Shi family’s mansion, Xia Zhijin was blushing with a feverish complexion, frowning as she stood in front of the water dispenser to get some hot water. When she drove back last night, she realized she might have a fever. Fearful of secondary infection, she chose not to sleep together with Shi Man in her bedroom.
Unexpectedly, after taking antipyretic medicine and setting an alarm, she woke up to find the fever had worsened.
Xia Zhijin got up with a headache to prepare breakfast for Shi Man, only to find that Shi Man had already disappeared. Her heart became a mess for a moment, and she sent a text message to Shi Man in a flurry of nerves. After a long delay, Shi Man replied to her with 3 cold words: “Went to school”
Xia Zhijin understood Shi Man all too well—the missing period was a clear indicator to her: I am very angry right now, I don’t want to talk too much with you.
For a moment, Xia Zhijin suppressed the nausea that bubbled up in her stomach. Gazing at the empty expanse of the Shi family’s mansion, she felt an emptiness in her heart too. Her body alternated between chills and fever, and all of a sudden, she was overtaken by a wave of sadness. Biting her lip with a sour nose.
In a rare moment of vulnerability, she wanted to show weakness to Shi Man, to tell her: “I have a fever, and I feel terrible.”
But she edited and deleted the text message over and over again, and in the end, she didn’t send it out.
The wooden door downstairs was shut forcefully, emitting a loud sound. Xia Zhijin’s heart stirred, guessing whether Shi Man might have not seen her return by noon.
Holding a cup of water and with a bit of unconscious anticipation, she left the living room and headed toward the staircase.
Unexpectedly, and to her disappointment, the person who came back was not Shi Man.
It was Shi Jinglan, who had not returned for a long time.
Shi Jinglan appeared as if she had just stepped off a high-profile meeting, dressed in an elegant black long skirt with a crisp long blazer over it. Her hair was neatly coiffed into a high bun, exuding an imposing presence.
Hearing the footsteps above, Shi Jinglan looked up, quietly gazing toward the source of the sound. Seeing that it was Xia Zhijin, she asked in a tone neither warm nor cold, “Why are you at home at this time?”
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Since Xia Zhijin had been with Shi Man, their alone time together had made her somewhat unsure of how to act. She bit her lip and softly answered, “I took a leave of absence.”
Hearing her response, Shi Jinglan’s brow slightly furrowed. She carried her bag up a few steps, then gave Xia Zhijin a serious once-over and calmly stated, “You have a fever.”
Xia Zhijin cast her eyes down in acknowledgment, “I know.”
“Have you called a doctor?”
Her tone was very calm, as if laced with a hint of concern. Xia Zhijin almost forgot how she had, from her high position, repeatedly used money to humiliate her. Xia Zhijin lowered her gaze, finished the slightly cool hot water in her hand, and quietly refused, “There’s no need to trouble yourself.” Having said that, she turned around, resistant, “I will go rest first.”
Shi Jinglan watched the girl’s tall, slender, yet stubborn and lonely figure retreat. She slightly narrowed her eyes, neither angry nor annoyed, her gaze faint as if carrying a hint of understanding and compassion.
Leaning against the banister, she took out her mobile phone from her bag, sent Shi Man a text message, and then, made a call to the family doctor.
LP: I don’t know how to feel about Shi Jinglan. Does she care for Shi Man and Xia Zhijin genuinely or not? I can’t tell… Also, Shi Man and Xia Zhijin, you two should work on your communication skills!