Chapter 19

After Qiao Yumi left, Jiang Caifu was feeling very anxious and couldn’t just sit in the private room waiting for him to return.

But she didn’t know what else to do; after all, she couldn’t go into the men’s restroom. After thinking for a moment, she decided to go to the front desk to cancel the food they had ordered.

“Excuse me, miss, if I understand correctly, one of the guests in your private room mistook the lemon water we provided for plain water, had an allergic reaction, and now you would like to cancel the meal and go to the hospital, is that right?”

“Yes, your lemon water looks just like plain water at first glance, and it doesn’t even have lemon slices in it…”

Had Qiao Yumi not reacted badly to it, she would have thought it was just plain water too.

“We are very sorry. The complimentary drinks we provide are lemon water and eight-treasure tea. Our staff should have introduced them to you when guiding you to the private room.”

The receptionist adjusted her glasses and started looking something up on the system. “So, the staff who served you did not explain this in advance? If that’s the case, we will take appropriate action with the relevant staff.”

Jiang Caifu, feeling impatient with the formalities, pinched the bridge of her nose and suppressed her anxiety. “Just cancel the food, and we can talk about the rest when my friend comes out.”

The receptionist smiled. “Okay.”

As more guests arrived in the hall, Jiang Caifu sat on a sofa in the waiting area, occasionally glancing at the time. It had been five minutes since he went to the restroom, and she wasn’t sure what was happening…

She sat there, staring blankly, taking a deep breath, and exhaling heavily.

The situation had developed in such an unexpected way that she was completely unprepared, and the words she had originally wanted to say to him now seemed impossible to express. For some reason, when she realized this, she felt a subtle sense of relief deep inside.

She picked up her phone and sent her grandmother a message saying she would be home later than planned.

[Grandmother: Are you going out with friends? How late will you be out?]

[Jiang Caifu: Not QWQ, my friend had an allergic reaction, and I’m taking them to the hospital.]

Without thinking, she referred to Qiao Yumi as a ‘friend,’ using a gender-neutral term.

[Grandmother: Just you accompanying her?]

Seeing that her grandmother assumed this ‘friend’ was a female, Jiang Caifu felt a bit guilty but still continued the conversation: [Yes, she’s all alone with no family in City A and no other friends. If I don’t go with her, she’ll have to go to the hospital alone.]

[Grandmother: So pitiful? Alright, take good care of her. It’s not easy for a girl to struggle alone outside.]

[Jiang Caifu: … Mm.]

Take care?

She, with her clumsy hands, can’t even peel an apple properly when visiting someone in the hospital, how could she take care of them? Just getting them safely to the hospital would be the best she could do.

She stared at her phone for a while, feeling restless. She decided to search online for allergy symptoms—she found the search function on a certain website much easier to use than the search engine.

Swelling of the face or eyes, hives or red marks on the skin, abdominal pain or vomiting…

The related posts on the topic scared her as she imagined Qiao Yumi’s flawless face covered in rashes, and she couldn’t help but rub her arm.

So tragic…

If his bad luck today had just been a minor stumble on the street, she might have teased him, but with something this serious, all she felt was pity.

Another group of new customers entered the hall. From her glance, it seemed like a family gathering, with at least five or six people of all ages.

Jiang Caifu briefly looked over but soon lost interest.

Just as she shifted her gaze, she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

“Jiang Caifu?”

She froze for a moment, then turned her head stiffly to meet Yuan Che’s gaze.

She watched as he whispered something to the elder next to him, then smiled and walked toward her.

“Are you here to eat too?” He bent down, resting his hands on his knees, looking at her at eye level. “But why are you sitting here?”

Jiang Caifu scratched her cheek, forcing a bitter smile. “I was originally here to eat, but something unexpected happened, so I’m leaving soon.”

She pointed toward the restroom. “I’ll leave as soon as my friend comes out.”

“I see,” Yuan Che nodded seriously, then smiled and explained, “I’m here for a family dinner.”

Jiang Caifu gave a small sound of acknowledgment. “I can tell.”

His family was still slowly walking through the hall. When she looked over, a young girl, clearly still in elementary school, waved her hand and showed her a toothy grin, full of energy.

Jiang Caifu, having not interacted with children for a long time, smiled awkwardly and waved back, though she felt a bit uncomfortable.

Yuan Che noticed her unnatural smile and made a shooing gesture toward the girl, who responded with a playful face.

He laughed helplessly and explained to Jiang Caifu, “That’s my sister. She’s a bit of a social butterfly, very friendly with everyone, so don’t mind her.”

Jiang Caifu shook her head. “It’s fine, she’s cute.”

Although she claimed not to like children, she couldn’t help but feel fond of this little girl with round eyes and a wide smile.

Yuan Che sighed in relief. “Good.”

He then sat on the other end of the sofa, leaving a noticeable distance between them.

Jiang Caifu asked him, “Aren’t you going to join your family?”

“Are you not going to eat with your family?”

Yuan Che leaned on the sofa and smiled at her. “You must be feeling uncomfortable sitting here all alone, right? Since the dishes we ordered won’t be served right away, I might as well stay here and chat with you. When your friend arrives, I can leave without delaying anything.”

He reached over and picked up a small plush toy from the sofa, casually rubbing it. “With me here to share the pressure, you won’t feel like everyone coming in is staring at you, right?”

Jiang Caifu was moved by his thoughtful gesture and couldn’t help but praise, “Thank you, you’re such a good person.”

She received a good person card out of the blue.

Yuan Che widened his eyes, laughing even more happily, but he replied seriously, “Thank you for the compliment.”

He coughed lightly, clearing his throat, and changed the topic abruptly. “By the way, did you know that Meng Yun is getting married?”

“I know,” Jiang Caifu sighed with emotion, heartbroken. “He’s getting engaged at the end of the year, and getting married on Labor Day next year. He’s only 23!”

Why is he getting married so young?

Her mother had become so anxious about it that she kept mentioning she wanted to find her some good blind date candidates.

Yuan Che cautiously observed her expression, sensing that her complex emotions didn’t include regret, but rather a sense of “what a waste.”

Confused, he said what had been on his mind for a long time. “… I thought you two would get together after high school, but who would’ve thought one went to City S, and the other went to City T?”

He remembered that during their senior year of high school, Meng Yun had always sworn that Jiang Caifu would apply to A University, and that he would follow her there… In the end, though, only Yuan Che had actually gone to A University.

“Get together?” Jiang Caifu took a moment to react, thinking he meant that she and Meng Yun would attend the same university. “No, with his grades, he wouldn’t get into A University unless he performed exceptionally. As for me, my parents did want me to apply to A University, but I didn’t want to, so I applied elsewhere.”

“No,” he scratched his head, looking a bit at a loss for words, “I always thought you two secretly liked each other, and I thought after the college entrance exam, you’d…”

Under Jiang Caifu’s startled gaze, Yuan Che’s voice got quieter and quieter, until it was barely audible. “… Wasn’t that the case?”

“How could that be? We’re relatives!” Jiang Caifu thought Meng Yun had probably used her to make it seem like he was popular with girls, feeling somewhat speechless. “Did he tell you I liked him? What a shameless guy!”

Yuan Che: …?

He was mentally overwhelmed by the word “relatives,” and mechanically shook his head, awkwardly denying it. “He never said that, but when you came to watch us play basketball, you only gave him water and joked with him, so I thought…”

“He just envied you all having girls give you water, so he asked me to go. Besides, he’s the only one I know—if I’m not talking to him, who else would I talk to?”

“Is that so? He never told me you two were relatives…”

He stared at Jiang Caifu, his eyes filled with disbelief, but also with a sense of relief as if some mysteries were finally unraveled. “No wonder sometimes I felt like you two look a little alike.”

“Really? I don’t think so,” Jiang Caifu touched her face, looking horrified. “We’re just cousins; we shouldn’t look too similar. I’m much more delicate and good-looking than him!”

Yuan Che chuckled. “Right, you’re much more attractive than him.”

He lowered his head and tugged at the fluff on his knitted jacket, muttering to himself with an inexplicable sense of melancholy, “Cousins, huh…”

Jiang Caifu glanced at him strangely, suddenly reminded of something Lu Jianlan had once said. She wondered if this person might actually like her.

Could it be that he had liked her in high school but had always thought she and Meng Yun liked each other, so he buried his feelings deep in his heart?

…What a clichéd, melodramatic development.

Jiang Caifu couldn’t help but laugh at her own overactive imagination and quickly ordered herself to stop thinking that way. She also inwardly mocked her own excessive self-love.

She then checked her phone again, finding there were no new messages. She glanced at the time in the top-right corner.

It had been ten minutes since Qiao Yumi went into the restroom to vomit, and he still hadn’t come out. Could he have passed out in there?

Noticing that she kept glancing at her phone with a worried expression, Yuan Che asked curiously, “Did something happen to your friend?”

Jiang Caifu was about to shake her head, but then seemed to remember something. When she looked back at Yuan Che, her gaze flashed with hesitation and struggle. “Um, there’s something I might need your help with.”

Yuan Che leaned closer, listening attentively. “What is it?”

Jiang Caifu scratched her nose and hesitated. “Could you possibly go to the restroom and check if there’s a man in there, wearing a gray-black scarf, a plain black coat with a single-breasted design…?”

Yuan Che tilted his head slightly, squinting his eyes as he finished her sentence. “A man wearing a matching-colored suit and boots, about 190 cm tall?”

How did you know?!

Jiang Caifu suddenly realized something and quickly turned her head. Sure enough, she saw Qiao Yumi standing silently behind them at an angle.

Seeing his condition, her eyes widened, and a deep sense of sympathy filled her heart—it wasn’t that she still had lingering feelings for this ex-boyfriend, nor was it out of excessive maternal sympathy. It was simply because he looked so miserable and pitiful.

His once meticulously styled hair was now damp, hanging down to cover his forehead and most of his eyebrows. His scarf was pulled up high, covering the lower half of his face, and all Jiang Caifu could see were his eyes.

“You’re finally out!”

She quickly stood up and walked over to him, circling him twice, anxiously asking, “How do you feel? Do you still feel nauseous? Is there a rash on your skin? And also…”

The round droplets of water that seeped from his hair tips trickled down along his high, prominent brow bones, soaking his clustered eyelashes once again.

He stared at her silently for a long while, so long that Jiang Caifu thought he had spaced out. Then, she heard his hoarse voice emerge from beneath the scarf, muffled, like a rusted, dull blade.

— “Who is he?”