Troublesome – Chapter 99

Thinking of You

Qiuqiu, I miss you.

Lu Zhenqiu developed a high fever in the middle of the night. It was only when He Jinmei was about to rest and went to knock on her door to see if she was feeling any better that she found her. After knocking several times with no answer, He Jinmei grew anxious and simply opened the door. Turning on the light, she saw the young woman’s room was elegantly arranged, with everything placed neatly. On the desk used for streaming, there was only a single water glass. He Jinmei glanced around hurriedly before walking to Lu Zhenqiu’s bed and leaning down to ask, “Qiuqiu?”

“Qiuqiu, how are you feeling?”

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t reply. She just kept her head covered by the blanket, her entire body curled up underneath. Afraid she would be uncomfortable, He Jinmei lifted the blanket, only to see Lu Zhenqiu trembling. Her face was damp, it was hard to tell if it was from a cold sweat or something else. Her eyes were shut tight, and she didn’t react no matter how many times she was called. Panicked, He Jinmei frantically called her name, but Lu Zhenqiu was deep in sleep and didn’t wake.

In the end, He Jinmei called security to help her carry Lu Zhenqiu to the car and rushed to the hospital. The doctor quickly examined her and put her on an IV drip. Sitting on a bench in the hallway outside, He Jinmei let out a soft breath of relief when the doctor told her everything was fine.

Jin Wei arrived at the hospital just as He Jinmei had sat down. He walked over. “How is she? What’s the situation?”

“She’s fine, just a fever,” He Jinmei said. “It’s already gone down.”

Jin Wei nodded and sat down with He Jinmei, then turned his head. “Have you told Lanlan?”

“Not yet. Lanlan has been very busy lately. She said tonight she had to pull an all-nighter to revise a script,” He Jinmei said.

They didn’t understand Jin Shuilan’s work, so they rarely interfered, but they knew she was busy. Jin Wei thought for a moment. “We should still tell her.”

“Let’s do it tomorrow,” He Jinmei said. “If she hears about this tonight, she’ll definitely rush over. I heard she hasn’t rested for several days. We’ll have her take a taxi here tomorrow.”

It was so late, and Jin Shuilan was already sleep-deprived. He Jinmei didn’t feel comfortable letting her drive over. Jin Wei didn’t say much more and just nodded. With everything arranged, He Jinmei urged Jin Wei, “You should go back. I’ll watch over things here. The fever has broken, so it shouldn’t be anything serious.”

Jin Wei didn’t feel at ease, so the old couple simply decided to keep watch together.

Lu Zhenqiu was in a deep sleep all night, and that night she had countless dreams. She dreamed of being a child, cooking with her mother. Her mother said, Qiuqiu needs to eat more, so you can earn money to support Mommy in the future. She smiled and said okay. Then, her mother took a man’s hand and said decisively, Qiuqiu, you should go. Mommy doesn’t want you anymore.

She wandered helplessly, lingering at a street corner, with no idea where she was supposed to go. Then someone walked up to her, holding a cup, and said, Qiuqiu, come with me. I’ll treat you well. She believed them, but just as she was about to leave, another person called from behind her, Qiuqiu.

She turned her head and saw a figure in the mist walking closer and closer, until they stood right in front of her.

For the first time in her dream, she spoke, calling out, “Jin Shuilan.”

“Jin Shuilan…” A broken voice spilled out. He Jinmei, who had been dozing by the bed, looked up. Jin Wei had gone to buy breakfast. She thought she had just heard someone call Lanlan’s name. Listening more closely, she realized it was Lu Zhenqiu.

He Jinmei called out, “Qiuqiu?”

Lu Zhenqiu slowly opened her eyes to a world of white. Her eyes were dry and hurt terribly, she wondered if they were swollen. Her vision was blurry. Lu Zhenqiu subconsciously tried to rub her eyes, but He Jinmei stopped her hand. “Don’t move.”

“I just put some medicine in your eyes, you can’t rub them,” she said.

Lu Zhenqiu blinked. There was a slight cooling sensation. She spoke, “Thank you, Auntie.”

Her voice was coarse and raspy. “It’s nothing,” He Jinmei said. “It’ll be better in a little while, just bear with it.”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded and closed her eyes again. This time, she could clearly sense the atmosphere of the hospital room. Before she could ask, He Jinmei explained, “You had a persistent high fever last night, and I didn’t know what to do, so I brought you to the hospital. The fever’s mostly gone now. We’ll observe for another day, and if there are no problems, we can go home tomorrow.”

“You still need to take your medicine, and breakfast should be light. We’ll have some plain congee in a bit…”

Lu Zhenqiu listened to her speak, nodding from time to time, her emotions much more stable. After a while, she asked, “Auntie, did you bring my phone?”

“No, I forgot,” He Jinmei said. “Who do you need to call? You can use Auntie’s phone.”

Lu Zhenqiu recited a string of numbers. “It’s for Ji Zibo.”

“I’ll dial for you.” He Jinmei dialed the number and handed the phone to Lu Zhenqiu once it connected. Lu Zhenqiu first apologized, as her cold would definitely prevent her from joining the production on time. Ji Zibo said, “It’s fine, it’s fine, you just focus on getting better.”

Lu Zhenqiu felt very apologetic. After a few more words, she returned the phone to He Jinmei. He Jinmei took the phone and stepped out. Lu Zhenqiu’s eyes felt a little better, but things were still a bit blurry. After He Jinmei left the room, she got out of bed to go to the bathroom. Her foot hit the corner of the bed, and a piercing pain shot through her toes. She bit her lip, forcing herself to endure it.

She slowly felt her way to the bathroom, washed her face with her eyes closed, and brushed her teeth with a disposable toothbrush. When she came out, there was another person in the room.

“Teacher Ji?” Lu Zhenqiu asked, puzzled. “Why are you here?”

Ji Zibo smiled. “I live nearby, remember?”

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t even know which hospital she was in, so she certainly didn’t know Ji Zibo lived nearby. She nodded, a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I…”

“A cold is something no one can control. What’s there to be sorry about? You should just rest well.” As Ji Zibo spoke, she walked to her side and asked with concern, “What happened to your eyes? They’re so swollen.”

Lu Zhenqiu wanted to touch them but remembered He Jinmei’s words. She gave a wry smile. “It’s nothing.”

Ji Zibo tactfully didn’t press the issue. Instead, she helped her back to the bed. After watching her lie down, she said, “Did you catch a chill at the dinner party?”

After all, she had been perfectly fine before the party, and now she was sick in the hospital.

Lu Zhenqiu shook her head, her tone gentle. “My constitution is just weak.”

“You’ll be fine after some rest.” Just as Ji Zibo finished speaking, they heard the voices of He Jinmei and Jin Wei. They had returned with breakfast. For Lu Zhenqiu, it was just a bowl of plain rice congee with a side of pickles. Ji Zibo laughed, “This looks like they’re torturing you.”

He Jinmei let out a pfft of laughter. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Lu Zhenqiu was also amused, and the atmosphere in the room became warm. Ji Zibo hadn’t eaten breakfast either and was munching on a flatbread. “This place’s flatbread is still the best.”

“It’s been around for ages,” He Jinmei said. “This shop was here when we were young. At least thirty years. You kids weren’t even born yet.”

Ji Zibo clicked her tongue in amazement. “No wonder it tastes so authentic.”

Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head and took a sip of congee, listening to their conversation. Though her vision was blurry, she could hear them clearly, chatting about the trifles of daily life, the mundane matters of firewood, rice, oil, and salt¹. She lowered her head, her eyes turning slightly red.

After finishing breakfast, Ji Zibo clapped her hands together and said to He Jinmei, “Uncle, Auntie, you two should go home. I’ll stay here with Qiuqiu.”

He Jinmei and Jin Wei were getting on in years, and staying up all night was tiring. Hearing Ji Zibo’s offer, they nodded. “Alright, we’ll come back this afternoon then. You keep an eye on her.”

Ji Zibo nodded. “No problem. When Shuilan was hospitalized before, wasn’t I the one who took care of her? Don’t worry.”

He Jinmei felt relieved. She said a few more words to Lu Zhenqiu and then left with Jin Wei.

Lu Zhenqiu heard Ji Zibo sit down beside her and asked, “Jin Shuilan… has been hospitalized before?”

“Yeah, her sickness was really serious, she was in for several days. Qiuqiu, let me tell you, you have to keep her in check. Once she starts working, she never stops. No one can persuade her otherwise.”

Lu Zhenqiu asked worriedly, “What kind of sickness?”

Ji Zibo said, “A cold.”

Lu Zhenqiu: …

If she could see clearly, she was sure she would have seen a teasing look on Ji Zibo’s face. Ji Zibo laughed. “Just kidding. She’s in great health. It was just a cold before, same as you, a high fever. She said she could tough it out. Back then, we were in post-production for a radio drama, and I couldn’t handle it all by myself. She wanted to help me, and ended up helping me all the way to the hospital.”

“So, you see, you have to treat an illness,” Ji Zibo said. “Whether it’s physical or mental, once it’s treated, everything will be fine.”

Lu Zhenqiu caught the hidden meaning in her words. She bit her lip for several minutes until it turned pale. She turned her head and asked, “You knew too, didn’t you?”

Ji Zibo asked, “Knew what?”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “About her giving me the ginger tea.”

“Uh…” Ji Zibo was trying to think of an explanation, but her silence betrayed her. Lu Zhenqiu said, “I didn’t know.”

She lowered her head, her voice soft. “I really didn’t know.”

Ji Zibo was curious. “Then how did you come to think it was from Tang Yingxia?”

Lu Zhenqiu fell silent for two seconds upon hearing the name. “She told me.”

“I went back to get my key card and ran into her. She was holding the cup.” Lu Zhenqiu took a deep breath, her eyes burning. Her vision blurred once again. She breathed deeply, then deeply again, her fingernails digging tightly into her palm, a stinging pain. Lu Zhenqiu said, “I asked her if she was the one who left it, and she said yes. I asked her why she didn’t tell me, and she said she was afraid I wouldn’t accept it, so she didn’t dare.”

Lu Zhenqiu’s voice choked with a sob, and she let out a few muffled coughs. Listening to this, Ji Zibo rolled her eyes, cursing inwardly, Scumbag.

She and Jin Shuilan had considered a hundred possibilities, but they had all assumed it was a misunderstanding, an accident. They never imagined Tang Yingxia had done it on purpose.

Thinking back to that period when Tang Yingxia’s radio drama clashed with Jin Shuilan’s and was being suppressed from all sides, could she have…

Ji Zibo shook her head, not saying another word. She said to Lu Zhenqiu, “Don’t think about it. I’m going to go buy some fruit. When I get back, we can chat about the script.”

Lu Zhenqiu agreed, then called out, “Teacher Ji, could I borrow your phone for a moment?”

Then she bit her lip.

Even if I borrow it, what would I say? If I call Jin Shuilan, will it just make her more worried? But I didn’t reply to her last night, and I missed her call. Lu Zhenqiu felt conflicted.

Ji Zibo said, “Sure.” She handed over her phone. “Calling her? You really should give her a piece of your mind. I wasn’t wrong just now. Did you know she’s only slept five or six hours this week? Five days, only five hours of sleep! And last night she pulled another all-nighter revising the script!”

No wonder she called me in the middle of the night.

Lu Zhenqiu became even more hesitant.

In the end, she handed the phone back to Ji Zibo. Ji Zibo assumed she had sent a message and didn’t think much of it, turning to leave to buy fruit. Lu Zhenqiu sat alone on the edge of the bed. Her eyes weren’t as sore anymore. He Jinmei had told her how to use the eye drops, and after talking with Ji Zibo for so long, the swelling had gone down a bit, and she could see things clearly now. After Ji Zibo left, Lu Zhenqiu got up to use the restroom. With no phone, she was bored and decided to look out the window. Her bed was next to it, so a simple turn of her head revealed the withered trees outside, covered in frost and snow. Now and then, a gust of wind would send the snowflakes scattering in a flurry, a world of white filling her vision.

Lu Zhenqiu was on the second floor, in a private room. It was quiet inside, with only the sounds from outside the window drifting in: a crying child, a pedestrian walking briskly by, an elderly person being supported, trembling as they walked. She kept watching, until a black car passed in her peripheral vision. The model was very familiar to her. Even though she knew it couldn’t possibly be Jin Shuilan, her heart still fluttered at the sight of the familiar car. Lu Zhenqiu immediately sat up, threw off the covers, and got out of bed, watching as the car drove into the parking garage.

The license plate was also one she knew.

Jin Shuilan parked the car and immediately pushed the door open. She hadn’t been the one driving on the way here; a colleague had come back with her. After dropping the colleague off at home, she drove straight over. She hadn’t been able to contact Lu Zhenqiu last night and was worried about the cold she’d mentioned. At three or four in the morning, she couldn’t stand it anymore and decided to come back. Her colleague said they needed to pick something up from home, so they traveled together. When Jin Shuilan got home and didn’t see anyone, she was just about to call He Jinmei when she received a message from Ji Zibo telling her Lu Zhenqiu was in the hospital.

Her mind went blank for a moment. She sat in the car for a long time before her senses returned, and then she rushed over immediately.

A cold wind hit her as soon as she got out of the car, blowing the snow from the trees. Jin Shuilan paid it no mind and walked forward. From a distance, she saw a person standing under a tree, looking right at her. Jin Shuilan’s hand, holding the car keys, tightened.

Lu Zhenqiu was wearing a hospital gown. It was loose, and the wind pressed it against her body. Her eyes were red as she stared at the person walking out of the parking garage. It wasn’t her imagination. It was real. It was Jin Shuilan. The blood in Lu Zhenqiu’s body began to surge, and she no longer felt the chill of the wind. Jin Shuilan met her gaze for two seconds, taking in her red, swollen eyes, the tip of her nose reddened by the wind, her pale, bloodless lips. The thin hospital gown clung to her body, making her look frail and slender. Then her gaze moved down, and she saw Lu Zhenqiu’s bare feet standing in the snow, the same color as the snow itself.

Jin Shuilan hurried over, frowning as she asked, “Why aren’t you wearing shoes?”

Lu Zhenqiu looked down at her own bare feet on the snow. She curled her toes and said, “I forgot.”

Jin Shuilan gave her a deep look but didn’t ask further. She simply took off her own shoes, bent down in front of Lu Zhenqiu, and took hold of her calf with one hand. It was cold, an icy, bone-chilling cold. The wind blew snowflakes down, which fluttered around them. Lu Zhenqiu asked in a hoarse voice, “Why did you come?”

Jin Shuilan didn’t look up, still helping her put on the shoes. Her voice was gentle as she said, “I missed you.”

Lu Zhenqiu’s movement as she put on the shoe paused. She looked down, and her gaze met Jin Shuilan’s as she looked up. Their eyes locked. Jin Shuilan said, “Qiuqiu, I missed you.”

A sourness pricked at the tip of Lu Zhenqiu’s nose.

She missed Jin Shuilan too.

So, so much.

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The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes, memeda!

Teacher Jin is finally back, hurry and hug our Qiuqiu.

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