Disturbed a lake of still water.
Perhaps Jiang Huaixi’s medicine had a sedative component, as Lu Zizheng slept particularly soundly. When she woke up, the sky was already slightly bright — it was a long-lost good sleep.
She rubbed her eyes and faced the unfamiliar environment in front of her, feeling somewhat bewildered for a moment. After a while, she realized that this was Jiang Huaixi’s place. Getting out of bed, she grabbed the clothes prepared by Zhang Ma on the coat rack beside the bed, and Lu Zizheng went into the bathroom to wash up.
She was thinking about Jiang Huaixi’s pale face when she came in yesterday, worrying that she had caught a cold and gotten sick. So she quickly finished washing up, tidied herself, and hurried downstairs, thinking that Jiang Huaixi was probably getting up soon too.
As soon as she reached halfway down the stairs, she heard Zhang Ma’s slightly raised, anxious voice: “Oh my young lady, you still have a fever, how can you touch water? Leave this to me, Zhang Ma, to do…” Lu Zizheng’s heart tightened, and she immediately frowned.
She continued walking down, following the sound, and heard Jiang Huaixi’s voice, different from usual. Though it was always calm and emotionless, it was now hoarse: “Zhang Ma, when Zizheng comes down, don’t mention my fever to her.”
Zhang Ma replied, distressed: “Miss, your face is burning red, Miss Lu will notice without me saying anything. Let Doctor Jiang come again.”
Jiang Huaixi was silent for a moment, then gave a hoarse order: “Zhang Ma, go see when Zizheng gets up. If she’s up, you come down, and bring me an ice towel.”
Zhang Ma was still puzzled, but Lu Zizheng’s heart ached, feeling both anxious and angry, both warm and pained. Using an ice towel to reduce the fever and cover up the complexion, truly not knowing to take care of herself. But this fool who doesn’t know to care for herself, it’s obvious she’s afraid of making her worry and feel guilty…
Taking the opportunity before Zhang Ma came out to check, she deliberately made heavy footsteps, making noise, and quickly reached the kitchen where Jiang Huaixi and Zhang Ma were.
What she saw was Jiang Huaixi standing by the cutting board, wearing an apron and looking at her sideways, with one hand naturally placed on the board, her face unnaturally flushed, even her eyes were a bit red. Seeing Lu Zizheng, a flash of panic crossed her eyes. Zhang Ma stood beside Jiang Huaixi, her face full of anxiety.
Lu Zizheng stepped into the kitchen, Jiang Huaixi turned around, slicing the mushrooms on the cutting board one by one, her voice emotionless: “Woke up so early, did you not sleep well last night?” Lu Zizheng could tell that she deliberately slowed and softened her voice, yet it was still hard to hide the hoarseness.
She walked up and stood beside Jiang Huaixi, reached into the water to help wash the vegetables, her voice naturally responding: “I slept quite well. But you, did you not sleep well? Your voice is so hoarse.”
Jiang Huaixi placed the sliced mushrooms into a dish beside her, replied lightly: “Well, maybe I had insomnia in the middle of the night, got up and stood by the window for a while, caught a bit of a cold from the wind.”
She spoke steadily, as if stating a fact. Lu Zizheng also pretended naturally, not exposing her thoughtful intentions, teased her: “Miss Jiang, how interesting you are at night, enjoying the scenery at midnight, it must have a unique flavor.”
Jiang Huaixi snorted lightly, a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips: “I sincerely invite Miss Lu to enjoy it together.”
Lu Zizheng let out a light laugh from her nose, gently pushed Jiang Huaixi, and said: “The injured person should rest well aside, leave the battlefield to me.”
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Zhang Ma, standing aside, quickly seized the opportunity to chime in: “Yes, Miss, leave this to Miss Lu.”
Jiang Huaixi stopped her action of slicing the meat, glanced at Lu Zizheng with interest, and said: “It sounds like you know something, but first, labor Miss Lu, who has never touched household work, to tell me, do you know what I am making?”
Lu Zizheng glanced at the ingredients on the counter and the rice soaking in water beside it, smiled knowingly, not underestimating her, raised her eyebrows: “Isn’t it century egg and lean pork congee?” This was the first dish Jiang Huaixi learned from Mother Lu, and it was Lu Zizheng’s favorite breakfast. She had never made it herself, but had often seen her mother cook it.
Jiang Huaixi became interested as well, smiled and said: “It sounds like you really know how.”
Lu Zizheng pushed Jiang Huaixi aside, standing at the cutting board herself, took the kitchen knife from Jiang Huaixi’s hand, and assumed a skilled posture: “Whether I really know how, you can see for yourself.”
Jiang Huaixi stepped back behind Lu Zizheng, obediently letting go, allowing Lu Zizheng to take the knife from her. Her fever-reddened eyes were full of laughter. She was slightly taller than Lu Zizheng, and when she lowered her head behind her, she could see Lu Zizheng holding the knife, cutting the meat one slice at a time, clumsy yet with a semblance of form.
Zhang Ma, seeing Jiang Huaixi finally step back, breathed a sigh of relief, and brought a small basin of hot water to Jiang Huaixi.
Jiang Huaixi carefully washed her hands, took off her apron, reached out and gently tugged at Lu Zizheng, signaling her to turn around.
Lu Zizheng moved her feet slightly, still holding the knife in her hand, turned slightly with a puzzled expression.
As Lu Zizheng turned, Jiang Huaixi handed her the apron, stepped closer, and lowered her head, gently tying the strap around her neck.
Her actions were so sudden that Lu Zizheng’s body stiffened, feeling Jiang Huaixi’s breath and loose hair lightly tickling her neck, not daring to move an inch.
Jiang Huaixi finally tied the strap around Lu Zizheng’s neck, smiled and stepped back, her hand still resting on Lu Zizheng’s shoulder. She looked down at Lu Zizheng, only to see her staring up at her, with an unreadable expression. When their eyes met, Jiang Huaixi momentarily lost her composure, forgetting to lift her hand from Lu Zizheng’s shoulder, instead, unconsciously, tightening her grip.
Lu Zizheng only felt that Jiang Huaixi’s hair smelled so good, her face so beautiful, and her eyes, she didn’t want to look away from her face for even a moment…
It seemed as if there were hidden currents in the air, disturbing a lake of still water…
It was Jiang Huaixi who lightly coughed, moved her eyes away, and calmed the inexplicable undercurrent.
Lu Zizheng also collected her scattered thoughts, turned her face, and Zhang Ma had already silently retreated at some point.
Jiang Huaixi bent down, quickly tied the apron strap around Lu Zizheng’s waist, stepped aside, and said with a smile: “Please, Miss Lu, show your skills.”
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Lu Zizheng curled her lips, turned back, and slowly but steadily moved the knife over the meat, calm and composed: “Just don’t be too surprised.”
The reality always differs from imagination; watching someone cook is one thing, doing it yourself is another. When she really started cooking, Lu Zizheng became somewhat flustered, not clear about the sequence. Fortunately, although Jiang Huaixi stood by gloating, she still gave a few pointers in between. In the end, the century egg and lean pork congee was successfully cooked without any mishaps.
At the dining table, Lu Zizheng ate the congee in her bowl in small bites, secretly glancing at Jiang Huaixi. She felt that the taste was not bad, but seeing Jiang Huaixi frown slightly, she became somewhat uneasy.
Fortunately, Jiang Huaixi, after frowning slightly, admitted: “Unexpectedly, although the appearance is not great, the taste is actually quite good.”
Lu Zizheng couldn’t help but smile with joy: “See, Miss Jiang, you underestimated me.”
Jiang Huaixi took a small spoonful and put it in her mouth, chuckled lightly but did not respond.
Lu Zizheng had been worried that Jiang Huaixi, with a fever, would have a poor appetite, but seeing Jiang Huaixi finish the bowl of congee completely, she felt slightly relieved, with a sense of satisfaction filling her heart. For a moment, she even thought of going back and learning to cook from her mother.
After breakfast, Zhang Ma cleared the table and washed the dishes, then took the medicine and brought a cup of hot water to Jiang Huaixi, saying: “Miss, take your medicine.” After speaking, she glanced at Lu Zizheng, recalling the scene she had seen in the kitchen, her old face slightly red, stammering: “Miss Lu, would you, would you also like to take some medicine to prevent a cold? Be careful, be careful not to catch it from Miss…” As she spoke, her voice grew quieter.
Lu Zizheng looked at Zhang Ma’s embarrassed expression, her eyelid twitched; did Zhang Ma misunderstand something?
She waved her hand, pretending to be natural, and said: “No need to trouble yourself, just having a meal together, it’s not so easy to catch a cold.”
Zhang Ma was still somewhat worried, but seeing Jiang Huaixi’s calm demeanor and lack of words, she said no more. Since Miss was not worried, it seemed it was not a big deal.
Lu Zizheng knew that Jiang Huaixi did not want her to know about her fever, and realizing that her presence would only hinder Jiang Huaixi’s treatment, she sat idly for a while and then took her leave to go home.
Jiang Huaixi made Lu Zizheng feel a surge of frustration; she even wanted to drive her home, not considering her own condition. Suppressing the urge to drag Jiang Huaixi back to her room and throw her onto the bed, Lu Zizheng’s face turned a bit cold as she firmly refused Jiang Huaixi: “Didn’t you get enough wind last night? Do you think your throat isn’t hoarse enough?”
Seeing Lu Zizheng’s serious expression, along with feeling a bit dizzy herself and worrying about driving safely, Jiang Huaixi compromised: “Alright, then let the driver take you home.” However, she insisted on seeing Lu Zizheng out and watching her get into the car.
The snow in the courtyard from last night had been cleared, and the snowman had melted away, leaving only wet patches on the ground, along with four lonely branches, a few beads, and two carrots…
Daylight had come, dreams had ended, and the laughter and fun from last night seemed like a lifetime ago. The snowman, who had witnessed it all, had also melted away, evaporating in the sunlight, leaving only some regrettable traces.
The red face bids farewell to the mirror; the flower bids farewell to the tree, the most cherished things in life are the hardest to keep.
Lu Zizheng’s eyes were hazy, staring at that pile of remains, standing still and forgetting to move.
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A photo appeared enlarged in front of Lu Zizheng’s eyes.
“Here…”
Under the hazy lights, amidst the drifting snowflakes, two snowmen held hands, grinning, smiling into the wind under the vast night sky…
Jiang Huaixi’s voice was hoarse yet gentle: “The flowers watered with happiness will never wither.”
At that moment, looking at Jiang Huaixi’s calm and determined expression, Lu Zizheng almost believed it to be true.
Could she, could she believe once more, believe once more in the eternity Jiang Huaixi spoke of?
LP: Re-translated on August 02, 2024