Troublesome – Chapter 100

The Kiss

She fiercely kissed Lu Zhenqiu.

Jin Shuilan helped her put on her shoes, then took off her own down jacket and put it on Lu Zhenqiu. Lu Zhenqiu’s eyes were red, the corners glistening. Jin Shuilan reached out to brush away her tears and asked, “Why are you crying again?”

Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head. “The wind is too strong.”

Such a lie was heart-wrenching. The current Lu Zhenqiu was heart-wrenching. Jin Shuilan stood opposite Lu Zhenqiu, meeting her gaze. She grasped Lu Zhenqiu’s arms with both hands. Lu Zhenqiu buried herself in her embrace first. Warmth washed over them, and even the cold wind seemed to gain some heat. Lu Zhenqiu hugged her, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her knitted shirt, her face buried in her collarbone. In a short while, the spot grew damp. Jin Shuilan called out, her voice full of pain, “Qiuqiu.”

Lu Zhenqiu’s voice was very light and hoarse. “Mm, let’s go inside.”

She was worried Jin Shuilan would be cold and wanted to pull her inside, but Jin Shuilan reversed the grip, tightening her arm around her waist and not letting her move. Lu Zhenqiu had a high fever all night and had no strength in her body. Now, being held, she couldn’t exert any force at all, allowing Jin Shuilan to hold her tightly in her arms.

It was as if they had merged into one, yet it was just right, without hurting her.

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t care if it hurt or not. She just hugged Jin Shuilan desperately, desperately holding onto her, like a person who had been drifting at sea for a long time and suddenly found a piece of driftwood, refusing to let go no matter what.

Ji Zibo, who had bought some fruit, saw the two hugging under the tree. She was about to step forward, then paused. Unable to resist, she snapped two pictures before finally walking over. “What are you two doing? Are you planning to stay in the hospital together?”

One hadn’t recovered from a cold, and the other hadn’t rested for several days in a row, her face even paler than the one with the cold. Hearing the voice, Jin Shuilan released Lu Zhenqiu and turned to look at Ji Zibo, taking a breath. “Come here.”

Ji Zibo walked over. “What’s wrong?”

“Help Qiuqiu for a moment,” Jin Shuilan said. Ji Zibo was confused. “What’s wrong with you?”

Jin Shuilan said, “I’m a little dizzy.”

It was probably a side effect of staying up for several days. She had been too excited upon seeing Lu Zhenqiu just now, and she still felt a bit faint. Ji Zibo shot her an annoyed look and helped Lu Zhenqiu back. The three of them walked together. Ji Zibo glanced at her shoeless feet and then at the shoes on Lu Zhenqiu’s feet. She looked between the two of them, momentarily at a loss for words.

It was much warmer inside the hospital room. Jin Shuilan soaked her feet in hot water and also took off Lu Zhenqiu’s shoes. Seeing the two of them soaking their feet face to face, Ji Zibo found it amusing. “You two are really something.”

When other couples met, wasn’t it all kisses and hugs? But them? They were soaking their feet together.

Jin Shuilan ignored her teasing. Ji Zibo asked, “Are you done with things on the film set?”

“Not yet,” Jin Shuilan said. “I took two days off.”

Perhaps because she had been too tired during this period, the director approved it directly. Hearing this, Lu Zhenqiu looked at Jin Shuilan and realized she had become much thinner than herself. The two hadn’t seen each other since their last falling out. They had called a few times, but each call ended in a hurry. Lu Zhenqiu now sat silently beside Jin Shuilan, listening to her conversation with Ji Zibo, occasionally turning her head to glance at her.

An incomparable sense of peace.

Jin Shuilan soaked for over half an hour, changing the hot water several times. Lu Zhenqiu felt the soles of her feet grow very warm. Seeing Jin Shuilan airing her legs, she also pulled her feet out of the basin. Jin Shuilan asked, “Done soaking?”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded. “Done soaking.”

As she finished speaking, she let out a muffled cough. The heartache in Jin Shuilan’s eyes was obvious. She set the basin aside, held Lu Zhenqiu’s calves, and placed them on her own knees. Lu Zhenqiu was caught with no time to defend¹, and glancing at Ji Zibo, who was still there, her pale face instantly flushed red. She bit her thin lip, and the corner of her lip, bitten and then released, was a conspicuous red.

Jin Shuilan tilted her head to look at her lip color, her breathing quickening for two seconds before she lowered her head and continued to dry her feet. Ji Zibo, still lacking tact, said, “Hey, I’m telling you, you need to take care of your own body too. You can’t revise a script like that.”

“The matter emerged with a cause²,” Jin Shuilan said. “There was a problem with the script’s premise.”

Ji Zibo pouted. “Fine, Qiuqiu, you have to keep her in check.”

Hearing them talk, Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head and smiled. Her eyes were still swollen, but her complexion was much better than when they had first met. Her lips were bitten red. Jin Shuilan glanced at her, feeling both heartache and amusement.

She asked Lu Zhenqiu, “Are you still angry?”

Lu Zhenqiu looked up at her. Sensing Jin Shuilan’s scorching gaze, she said, “Don’t look at me.”

She covered the corners of her eyes with her hand. Although she hadn’t looked in a mirror, she had a rough idea of her current appearance. Hearing the two of them talking back and forth, Ji Zibo finally felt that perhaps she should make herself scarce. She took a piece of fruit from the bag and said, “I’m heading back first. I’ll come again this afternoon.”

Without waiting for a reply, she left very tactfully. The room fell silent, leaving only Lu Zhenqiu and Jin Shuilan. Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head, her hand shielding the corner of her eye. Jin Shuilan reached out, took her hand, and said, “I already saw it just now.”

Lu Zhenqiu let out an “oh,” her spirits a little low. She coughed muffledly twice, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. Jin Shuilan got a tissue. Lu Zhenqiu snatched it from her hand and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. It stung sharply, so much so that she squinted.

Jin Shuilan was quite persistent. “Are you still angry?”

Lu Zhenqiu replied sullenly, “Yeah.”

“I’m angry.”

Jin Shuilan’s breathing became slightly disordered, her chest rising and falling noticeably. She placed her hands on her knees, also wearing the hospital slippers. Lu Zhenqiu stared at her slippers and said, “Why didn’t you tell me anything?”

Sanshui was hers, she didn’t say.

The matter of the ginger tea, she also didn’t say.

Lu Zhenqiu wasn’t angry at her; perhaps, she was more angry at herself. If two years ago, she hadn’t mistaken the person…

Just this thought caused a fine, dense pain to spread from the bottom of her heart, her nerves pulled taut with anguish. Lu Zhenqiu couldn’t suppress her coughs, each one more urgent and violent than the last, until her whole body was trembling. Jin Shuilan quickly sat beside her, held her, and patted her back, soothing Lu Zhenqiu’s emotions.

Lu Zhenqiu leaned on her shoulder, breathing rapidly, her face pale. Jin Shuilan lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”

Before coming, Ji Zibo had already told her that Lu Zhenqiu knew about the ginger tea. She must have found out last night, which was why her eyes were swollen from crying.

Jin Shuilan’s eyes were filled with pain. She held Lu Zhenqiu, kissed her forehead, and said again in a low voice, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s me who should be sorry.” Lu Zhenqiu felt like crying again. She shook her head. “I…”

“Qiuqiu,” Jin Shuilan interrupted her, calling her name softly. Lu Zhenqiu looked up, her vision misty. She couldn’t see clearly, but the warmth of Jin Shuilan’s breath was right in front of her. She tilted her head up, resting in Jin Shuilan’s embrace. Jin Shuilan placed one hand on the corner of her eye, her fingertip warm. She lowered her head, and just as her lips were about to touch Lu Zhenqiu’s, there was a knock on the door, followed by a nurse’s call, “Miss Lu?”

Lu Zhenqiu startled and let go of Jin Shuilan, stammering in reply, “Here, I’m here.”

Her face was completely red.

The nurse came in and said, “It’s time to take your temperature. You didn’t have a fever this morning, did you?”

Lu Zhenqiu shook her head. “No.”

The words had barely left her mouth when the nurse said, “Why is your face so red? Are you running a fever again?” As she spoke, she handed the thermometer to Lu Zhenqiu, preparing to take notes. Lu Zhenqiu said, “I don’t think so, it’s just a little hot.”

After she said that, Jin Shuilan glanced at her. Lu Zhenqiu happened to be glancing at Jin Shuilan as well. Their peripheral visions met. Lu Zhenqiu blinked. The nurse said, “Let’s take your temperature first.”

As she spoke, she asked about Lu Zhenqiu’s condition in the morning, and finally said, “You can take it out now.”

Lu Zhenqiu handed the thermometer to the nurse. The nurse looked at it and said, “Good, no fever. You have an IV drip at eleven, don’t leave the hospital.”

“Okay,” Lu Zhenqiu nodded. The nurse packed her things and left. As soon as Jin Shuilan sat down next to her, Lu Zhenqiu asked, “Did you pull an all-nighter last night?”

Jin Shuilan said, “Just last night.”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “But you haven’t rested well for the past few days either.”

Jin Shuilan didn’t hide it and nodded. Lu Zhenqiu said, “Do you want to sleep for a while?”

“Now?” Jin Shuilan looked at her bed. Lu Zhenqiu was stumped by her question and nodded. “Aren’t you tired?”

The tips of Jin Shuilan’s ears, hidden behind her hair, turned red. She was indeed very tired and sleepy, having not had a proper rest for a long time. She had even felt faint when she first saw Lu Zhenqiu, only feeling a bit better after a short rest in the room. But since Lu Zhenqiu had said so, she nodded. “Tired.”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “Then sleep for a while.”

After she said that, Jin Shuilan started walking towards her bed. Lu Zhenqiu said, “This chair can be flattened into a bed.”

Jin Shuilan’s straight path took a turn, her profile flushed with heat. She lowered her head. “Got it.”

Walking over to the chair, she flattened it. It was a chair designed for accompanying guests, so it was quite wide, but Jin Shuilan still tossed and turned twice. Lu Zhenqiu asked worriedly, “Is it too hard?”

Actually, the firmness was fine, but Jin Shuilan still nodded. “A little.”

After speaking, she looked at Lu Zhenqiu. “I can’t sleep if it’s too hard.”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “Why don’t you sleep on my bed.”

Jin Shuilan was silent for two seconds. “Can I?”

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t mind. “Of course.” She moved over to make some space. “This bed is quite big.”

The bed in a private room was a bit larger than those in ordinary wards. Jin Shuilan was thin, so sleeping there was no problem at all. But she had overlooked something: this was Jin Shuilan, the person she liked, the person whose proximity and clean, crisp scent made her feel completely disoriented.

As she walked over, Lu Zhenqiu’s heart pounded, fast and urgent. The blush that had not yet faded from her face reappeared. But she had already said it, so she couldn’t very well make Jin Shuilan sleep on the chair again.

Jin Shuilan walked to her bedside and had just sat down when Lu Zhenqiu quickly sat up, lifted the covers, and said, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Just as she was about to leave, Jin Shuilan grabbed her wrist. Jin Shuilan pulled her from across the bed, and with a slight exertion of force, Lu Zhenqiu fell sitting onto the hospital bed. She turned her head; Jin Shuilan’s breath sprayed beside her ear.

They were very close. Lu Zhenqiu’s eardrums were filled with the sound of a heartbeat. She couldn’t tell if it was Jin Shuilan’s or her own, only that it was very, very fast. Jin Shuilan turned her head, the hand holding Lu Zhenqiu’s applying more force, her voice gentle, “Qiuqiu.”

Lu Zhenqiu felt mesmerized and turned to look at Jin Shuilan. Their gazes collided, their breaths intertwining. Lu Zhenqiu’s nose was filled with Jin Shuilan’s scent—warm and reassuring. She watched as Jin Shuilan leaned closer and closer, her soft lips pressing over with the warmth of her breath. Lu Zhenqiu held her breath, her breathing stopping for two seconds, when suddenly a sound came from outside the door.

It was a knock, and He Jinmei’s voice, “Qiuqiu…”

Lu Zhenqiu quickly pushed Jin Shuilan away. Seeing her tense jaw, she inexplicably wanted to laugh a little. Interrupted twice in a row. Jin Shuilan took a deep breath, got up, and walked towards the door. Lu Zhenqiu turned her head to watch her figure, which was almost at the door, suddenly turn around and stride quickly back towards her, her eyes blazing, walking with a fire that could burn everything. Just one look and Lu Zhenqiu’s blood began to clamor. She stared straight at the rapidly approaching Jin Shuilan. Suddenly, her cheeks were cupped by a pair of warm palms.

Jin Shuilan knelt with one leg on the hospital bed, holding Lu Zhenqiu’s face, lowered her head, and fiercely kissed her.

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The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes, memeda!

Lu Zhenqiu: Jin Shuilan, your mother is here.

Jin Shuilan: Where? I have no idea.

Lu Zhenqiu: …

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