STT – Chapter 70

Meeting you is destined by fate.

In the elevator, Lu Zizheng was somewhat tired, obviously no longer as calm and relieved as when she was just standing in front of Lian Xuan. She slightly closed her eyes, leaning against the wall silently, only feeling that the past with Lian Xuan was like a revolving lantern, rapidly flashing and rotating in her mind. Her heart, for her former self and Lian Xuan, felt a faint, almost imperceptible pain and regret.

Zhang Ailing said: “Meeting the right person at the right time is a kind of fate; meeting the wrong person at the right time is a kind of misfortune; meeting the right person at the wrong time is a kind of helplessness; meeting the wrong person at the wrong time is a kind of cruelty.”

Lian Xuan, which kind do we count as?

The elevator slowly descended, finally opening after a “ding-dong” sound. Stepping out of the elevator, as she walked towards the room where Jiang Huaixi was resting, Lu Zizheng’s lips gradually revealed a trace of a faint, relieved smile.

Lian Xuan, maybe it is heaven’s will, maybe it is destiny, we are destined to miss each other. Thank you for initially letting me know what love is, and finally telling me that the human heart and feelings are not so ugly and changeable. You will eventually find that right person, and I have also already found the person I love the most.

So, let’s go forward together.

In the room, Jiang Huaixi heard the sound of the door opening, turned off the TV, and turned her head to look at Lu Zizheng, her eyes full of a silent smile.

Lu Zizheng entered the room, sat down beside Jiang Huaixi, grabbed her arm, and gently rested her chin on her shoulder, softly apologizing: “Sorry for making you wait this long.”

Jiang Huaixi restrained her impulse to lower her head and kiss her forehead, only gently lowering her head and rubbing Lu Zizheng’s forehead with her cheek, with a faint smile, she said: “If making me wait really makes you sorry, then next time before you go out, can you choose clothes and change faster?”

Lu Zizheng immediately giggled out loud, released Jiang Huaixi’s arm, and argued dissatisfiedly: “That is all normal time needed, ah.”

Jiang Huaixi raised an eyebrow and asked in return: “Are you sure?”

Lu Zizheng hesitated for a moment, lost confidence, lightly hummed, stood up and changed the topic, saying: “Hmm, let’s go, it’s almost time to go home.”

Jiang Huaixi saw Lu Zizheng’s guilty yet unwilling to admit cute expression, couldn’t help but curl her lips, let her go, and agreed, saying: “Mm, let’s go. Parents left us a driver, and they, along with Grandma and Huaichuan, have already gone back first.”

On the way to Jiang’s home, Lu Zizheng noticed that Jiang Huaixi remained calm and composed, not at all curious about what she had just done, and couldn’t help but ask: “Huaixi, aren’t you curious about what I just went to do?”

Jiang Huaixi squinted at Lu Zizheng, her eyes full of a mischievous smile, and confidently said: “Because I know you definitely won’t be able to help but tell me.”

Lu Zizheng immediately pressed her lips tight, darkened her face, and turned her head to look outside the car window, saying nothing. This feeling of being taken for granted really makes one inexplicably ashamed and annoyed! This time, if Jiang Huaixi doesn’t ask, she definitely won’t say anything! She just doesn’t believe that Jiang Huaixi truly has no curiosity at all.

However, after a long time, Lu Zizheng still didn’t receive any proactive goodwill or inquiry from Jiang Huaixi. She secretly turned her head to glance at Jiang Huaixi, only to see Jiang Huaixi slightly raising her head, eyes closed, with an expression that seemed somewhat tired.

Lu Zizheng’s heart suddenly twinged, and she suddenly lost interest in deliberately sulking with Jiang Huaixi. She reached out and gently supported Jiang Huaixi’s head, leaning it on her own shoulder, softly compromising: “Alright, you were right, even if you don’t ask, I still want to tell you. Huaixi, there are no secrets between you and me.”

Not sure if it was an illusion, Lu Zizheng felt Jiang Huaixi’s head gently tremble once.

In a warm, soft voice, Lu Zizheng told Jiang Huaixi the whole story of Lian Xuan’s explanation and apology. She said with relief: “Huaixi, I was once very concerned about why I would have liked someone as hypocritical and fickle as Lian Xuan, and even once doubted whether I understood people’s hearts. Fortunately, Lian Xuan finally untied this knot in my heart. Huaixi, frankly speaking, finally knowing that a past infatuation wasn’t wrongly placed has allowed me to completely and calmly let go.”

Jiang Huaixi slightly raised her head, looked at Lu Zizheng, her gaze deep, her expression somewhat dark and difficult to understand. After a long time, she hesitated with her wording and softly asked Lu Zizheng: “Zizheng, if… if you hadn’t met me, would you forgive Lian Xuan and be with Lian Xuan?”

Lu Zizheng’s body slightly stiffened, then she lowered her head and gently kissed Jiang Huaixi’s hair, smiling gently: “Huaixi, life has no ‘if,’ right? I can’t be sure what things would be like if there were ‘ifs.’ Meeting you is destined by fate. I can only be sure that my present and future will only be with you, and I only want to be with you.”

Jiang Huaixi seemed to sigh almost inaudibly, then softly responded to Lu Zizheng: “Mm, I know.” She adjusted to a comfortable position, leaned on Lu Zizheng’s shoulder, and closed her eyes again, falling into deep thought.

After returning to Jiang’s home, Jiang Huaixi sent Lu Zizheng back to her room, with a slight smile, she reminded her: “Rest early, good night. I’ll talk to my parents later about us going to X City in two days, and tomorrow morning when we get up, I’ll be able to give you a satisfactory answer.”

Lu Zizheng reached out and held Jiang Huaixi’s hand, hesitated a bit, then still asked: “Can we sleep together tonight?” She lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed to look at Jiang Huaixi.

Jiang Huaixi smiled, her eyes filled with some affection, and teased her: “Are you having sleepless nights alone with just one pillow?”

Lu Zizheng, hearing this, responded stubbornly with shame and annoyance: “I’m afraid you’ll be too lonely alone, okay?” In the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a large area of redness and swelling on Jiang Huaixi’s arm, which was particularly shocking on her fair skin, and immediately stared at it, nervously asking Jiang Huaixi: “Huaixi, what happened to your arm?”

Jiang Huaixi lowered her head, looked at the redness and swelling, her eyes slightly dimmed, then immediately smiled calmly and explained: “This is a reaction from yesterday’s check-up. Look, your hand should have it too.”

Lu Zizheng, half-believing, raised her own hand and carefully observed it, finding only a barely noticeable small spot like a mosquito bite: “Is it this? But mine is so small…”

Jiang Huaixi saw the barely visible reaction on Lu Zizheng’s hand, gently smiled with curved eyebrows and eyes full of joy. Zizheng should be fine, really, that’s great. She smiled and comforted Lu Zizheng, saying: “No problem, I’m the same as you. This is all within the normal range.”

Lu Zizheng saw her speak calmly and seriously, then did not doubt her, felt relieved, and her attention returned to the topic of wanting to keep Jiang Huaixi.

Jiang Huaixi seemed to see through Lu Zizheng’s thoughts, gently shook her head and said: “Zizheng, not yet, I can’t be assured. Wait a bit longer, wait for me, okay?” As she spoke, Lu Zizheng seemed to see sadness and wistfulness flash through Jiang Huaixi’s eyes, but when she tried to look deeper, she only saw the usual smile in her eyes. Lu Zizheng thought she might have been mistaken and, although somewhat sullen, still nodded in agreement.

Jiang Huaixi helped Lu Zizheng gently close the door, standing blankly in front of it for a long time, her mind heavy. After a while, she turned her head and walked heavily towards Father Jiang and Mother Jiang’s room.

Standing still at their room door, she raised her hand and gently knocked, saying: “Father, Mother, it’s me, can I come in?”

Father Jiang and Mother Jiang had already changed clothes, ready to sleep, and were somewhat surprised that Jiang Huaixi came to find them at this time. They exchanged a glance, seeing unease in each other’s eyes. “No problem, come in.”

Jiang Huaixi gently closed the door and sat on a chair in front of their bed. She frowned, looking at her somewhat anxious and nervous parents, and after being silent for a long time, was just about to speak when Mother Jiang, surprised and nervous, asked her: “Huaixi, what happened to your arm?”

Jiang Huaixi lowered her head, looked at the redness and swelling on her arm, took a deep breath, and looked straight into her parents’ worried eyes, candidly saying: “This is the result of a check-up from a few days ago. Such a large area of redness and swelling indicates a strong positive PPD.”

Father Jiang and Mother Jiang’s hearts “thumped,” nervously saying: “Huaixi, explain clearly, what’s going on?”

Jiang Huaixi calmly explained: “I previously had a period of frequent coughing, with pain in one side of the chest cavity and ribs. A few days ago, feeling uneasy, I went to the hospital for a check-up. I originally thought it might be a leftover issue, but after checking, Director Wang said it wasn’t. He said it should be pleurisy, with effusion in the chest cavity submerging more than half of a lung. The specific cause of the effusion needs to wait for drainage and pathological analysis to know. But seeing the PPD result now, I roughly understand it should be caused by tuberculosis as Director Wang said.” She paused for a moment, then said: “Father, Mother, don’t worry too much, Director Wang said this is not an incurable disease. However, I want to ask you to help me hide it from Zizheng for now, please don’t tell her about this yet.”

Hearing this, Mother Jiang was already in chaos, worried. But upon hearing Jiang Huaixi still wanting to hide it from Lu Zizheng, she immediately calmed down, frowned, and disapprovingly said: “Huaixi, no, how long do you want to hide it from Zizheng? Paper can’t wrap fire forever; we’ve already felt very guilty for hiding it from her until now.”

Father Jiang also frowned, his voice low and solemnly said: “Huaixi, this isn’t fair to Zizheng. She is your partner, the person who’s supposed to spend her whole life with you. She has the right to know these things, and you should have told her everything earlier.”

Listening to her parents’ questioning, Jiang Huaixi painfully bit her lip and explained: “I don’t want to always hide things from Zizheng. I just want to wait for a more appropriate time to tell her.” She continued: “Father, Mother, how can I not feel guilty, being with her selfishly without telling her anything, what’s the difference between me and those marriage fraud scum?”

Father Jiang sighed and asked: “Since you know, why do you still want to make mistake after mistake? Huaixi, telling one lie means you must use countless lies to cover it up.”

Jiang Huaixi lowered her voice and pleaded: “But, Father, I don’t want Zizheng to worry and be afraid for me when everything is still unknown and uncertain now. I’m more afraid that Zizheng won’t let go of me and will personally involve herself during treatment, getting infected. If Zizheng got infected, I wouldn’t be at peace for my entire life. Father, Director Wang said that after one month of treatment, even if it’s contagious, it can be controlled, allowing relatively safe contact. At that time, I will definitely confess everything to Zizheng and seek her forgiveness. So, could you give me a little more time? I don’t know if this way is really good for Zizheng, but this is the best way I can think of. Please help me…” At the end of her words, she was already faintly choking with a crying tone.

Mother Jiang’s eyes also became faintly wet, looking at Jiang Huaixi’s thin yet stubborn figure, her heart ached beyond words. She sighed heavily, finally compromising, extended her hand, pulled the stubborn Father Jiang, and gently shook her head at him…

Early the next morning, after eating, Jiang Huaixi told Lu Zizheng that Father Jiang and Mother Jiang agreed to their going to X City, but the company now has a little issue; Huaichuan needs to be busy going abroad to handle it, and father needs to stay in Linzhou, so the Jiangbei side needs her help.

Jiang Huaixi said: “Father hopes I can slightly delay the time to go to X City, first go to Jiangbei to handle things, and then go.”

Lu Zizheng didn’t want Jiang Huaixi to be troubled at all and advised without hesitation: “It’s okay, we’re not in a hurry, we can delay the time first.”

Jiang Huaixi hesitated a bit, worriedly said: “Only, I’ll be going to Jiangbei on a business trip next, which might take at least ten days to half a month. During this period, leaving you alone at home, I’m somewhat uneasy.”

Frankly speaking, Lu Zizheng was also somewhat worried. Her sense of belonging to the Jiang family was mainly because Jiang Huaixi was there. If Jiang Huaixi wasn’t there, she would still be somewhat timid and uneasy. However, she still softly joked: “What are you worried about? Grandmother, uncle, and aunt won’t take advantage of your absence to eat me.”

Jiang Huaixi tilted her head and deliberately followed her words, saying: “Oh, that’s hard to say.” After speaking, she smiled and seriously suggested: “Zizheng, I thought about it, how about you go to X City first? Anyway, I’ve arranged and prepared everything over there. You’ll be more free and comfortable, and you can first familiarize yourself with the environment. Once I finish handling things in Jiangbei, I’ll come over to join you, and this way I’ll feel more at ease, okay?”

Lu Zizheng hesitated and declined: “It’s okay, I’ll wait at home to go together with you.”

Jiang Huaixi softened her gaze, pulled Lu Zizheng to sit in front of her, hugged her tightly in her arms, and said softly: “Zizheng, don’t make me worry, okay?”

Jiang Huaixi’s voice was too gentle, with some fatigue, making it impossible for Lu Zizheng to refuse. Although Lu Zizheng was somewhat puzzled by Jiang Huaixi’s rare insistence, she was eventually convinced by Jiang Huaixi and agreed to go to X City first to familiarize herself with the environment. She even joked that when Jiang Huaixi arrived in the unfamiliar X City, she would fully rely on her.

The night before departure, while in a dream, Lu Zizheng felt someone approach her, gently hug her, and softly say something in her ear. In her daze, Lu Zizheng seemed to hear: “Sorry, wait for me…”

But when she struggled to wake up, there was nothing beside her, only the heavy night outside the bedside. However, the warmth of that embrace was a bit too real.

When sending Lu Zizheng out the door, Lu Zizheng felt that Grandmother Jiang and Mother Jiang both seemed like they wanted to say something but stopped, her doubts grew bigger and bigger, feeling somewhat strange, but it wasn’t appropriate to delve deeply.

In the end, Mother Jiang just held her hand, gently patted it twice, and warmly instructed: “Zizheng, take good care of yourself. We will certainly have Huaixi quickly handle her own matters.”

Jiang Huaixi sent her to the airport, and all the way, Lu Zizheng didn’t say anything, always feeling some inexplicable unease in her heart.

When getting out of the car, Jiang Huaixi couldn’t help but smile and ask her: “Don’t you have anything more to say to me?”

Lu Zizheng looked seriously at Jiang Huaixi, with some probing. Under Lu Zizheng’s gaze, Jiang Huaixi’s smile slightly restrained, and then she quietly avoided her gaze.

In the end, Lu Zizheng still didn’t ask anything. She just reached out and hugged Jiang Huaixi, firmly saying in her ear: “Huaixi, I’ll wait for you, take care of yourself.”

Jiang Huaixi’s voice slightly hoarse, softly agreed with her.

On the plane, thirty thousand feet above the ground, despite leaning against the window, Lu Zizheng didn’t dare to look down. The farther she got from Jiang Huaixi, the more empty and uneasy her heart felt, fear slowly swallowing her.

She silently recited Jiang Huaixi’s name in her heart, trying to let herself feel a bit at ease. Fortunately, her heart really did, bit by bit, calm down.

For consecutive days, Lu Zizheng somewhat noticed the unusual behavior of Jiang Huaixi and the Jiang family members. She didn’t know exactly what happened, and if Jiang Huaixi didn’t want to tell her, she also didn’t want to force Jiang Huaixi. She always believed that all the arrangements Jiang Huaixi made for her were for her good.

After getting off the plane, outside the airport, there was already someone arranged by Jiang Huaixi to pick her up. Indeed, as Jiang Huaixi said, everything in X City had been arranged and prepared well for her.

The driver first took Lu Zizheng to the apartment near X University and introduced the nanny who was preparing dinner for her there, saying that this nanny would be responsible for her three meals a day in the future. Then, he told her to have a good rest that night, and tomorrow he would come to take her to X University to stroll around and familiarize herself with the environment.

In the house, there was already a thoughtfully and carefully prepared stack of professional books and other various books. After Lu Zizheng ate and arranged the clothes from her luggage, she sat at the study desk, casually flipping through books while calling Jiang Huaixi.

She smiled and said: “Huaixi, everything here is good. If you were here, it would be even better.”

Jiang Huaixi’s voice was somewhat light as she teasingly smiled: “It’s rare to regain some single free days. If you don’t cherish them well, when I arrive, you will regret it.”

Lu Zizheng smiled and responded: “That’s true, I’ll ask the driver tomorrow if there are any interesting and lively bars nearby to see how X City’s nightlife is.”

On Jiang Huaixi’s side, there seemed to be the sound of glass bottles clinking, followed by a gentle female voice calling: “Miss Jiang, it’s time…” Lu Zizheng didn’t hear clearly and just heard Jiang Huaixi say to her: “Zizheng, I have something to do, I’ll hang up first. You rest early, good night.”

Lu Zizheng considerately said: “You too, when you’re done with things, rest early.” After hanging up the phone, she, however, supported her chin with one hand and silently pondered motionlessly for a long time.

The next day, she followed the driver to school. The driver dutifully acted as a tour guide, introducing the school and its surrounding environment and gave her a campus card for her convenience in entering and exiting, as well as a class schedule, so she could attend classes according to her time and needs.

Thus, in the following days, Lu Zizheng was running between the school and the apartment. Every day during the daytime, she listened to classes, read books, and soaked in the library. In the evening, she called Jiang Huaixi, and the days indeed seemed like a return to that kind of simple, carefree student era.

However, she always found herself wanting to turn her head and discuss with Jiang Huaixi whenever she heard something wonderful or had thoughts during a class, only to remember that Jiang Huaixi was not by her side. Also, she always thought of Jiang Huaixi when passing the lawn in front of the library in the evening and seeing couples sitting in twos and threes on the ground. Even more so when she was flipping through X City’s travel maps and guides, she secretly resolved that when Jiang Huaixi came, they must go here and there together…

She was always looking forward to the day she would open the apartment door and see Jiang Huaixi sitting on the sofa, looking at her with a calm smile, giving her a surprise.

However, two weeks passed, and she still did not get the surprise from Jiang Huaixi that she hoped for. Instead, in the third week, she unexpectedly received a surprise from Lian Xuan.

That morning, at her usual time, she prepared to go to X University to attend class, opened the door, turned around to close it, then turned around and lifted her head, and unexpectedly saw Lian Xuan walking out of the opposite apartment…

In that moment, Lu Zizheng and Lian Xuan both involuntarily froze.

After reacting, Lu Zizheng smiled and greeted Lian Xuan: “Lian Xuan, what a coincidence, how are you here?”

Lian Xuan’s eyebrows and eyes curved, her lips hooked up, revealing a shallow sweet dimple, and with a gentle voice, she said with a smile: “I came here to unwind, did not expect to so coincidentally meet you.”

She looked at Lu Zizheng’s delicate and pretty face, her face expressionless, but in her heart, she silently promised Lu Zizheng: “Zizheng, I finally can fight for myself once, this time, I will not let go again.”

LP: Re-translated on October 10, 2024