CH 5

Xu Zhi lived in her grandmother’s old house, a small three-story building in the village. The house was very big and had no air conditioning, so during the day, the house was stifling hot and felt like a steamer. Xu Zhi entered the door and dropped her backpack and keys and went straight to the bathroom, she held the toilet for half a day without throwing up anything.

Then she stood in the hot bathroom for a while, her back was wet with sweat, the sticky feeling of summer attached to every inch of her skin, making her breathless.

Xu Zhi took off her clothes and stood n-aked under the shower in the first floor bathroom and took a cold shower. The cold water poured over her head, making it feel like she was sinking into the water, she was unable to open her eyes to see anything.

Ten years ago, she really sank into the water once. She fell into the water, and the water came in all directions and flooded her senses, she sank into the darkness.

A person broke through the infinite darkness, with a loud sound, with a light righteousness, he took her hand and brought her out of the cold river.

That person was Lu Ming.

Xu Zhi once regarded him as the light, ridiculous, Lu Ming was just another ‘father’.

Her father was a scum, and his mother learned the truth during the confinement period. She decisively divorced and kicked her father, but also threw Xu Zhi away.

Xu Zhi was born in the wrong place, and no one wanted the orphan.

Xu Zhi took a long cold shower until her blo-od felt completely cold and her brain became icy cold. Her skin was rubbed red before she stopped then she pulled a bath towel and left the bathroom.

She went up the stairs to the third floor, a large empty room with no partitions and no windows, only a glass door at the entrance. After her grandmother’s death, she opened up the entire third floor, and the windows were wrapped up and made completely soundproof.

Silence and safety, belonging to her world alone.

There was a piano, a computer on the table, and a single bed.

Xu Zhi didn’t turn on the lights, she found the bed accurately by the faint light in the corridor and pulled up the quilt to wrap herself in the rolling heat and curled up tightly.

Absolute silence in the world, time was still. There was no control, no reference, and time was lost.

Xu Zhi woke up in severe pain, her abdomen hurt and she was nauseous, pain came in bursts, so she curled up under the covers trying to escape the overwhelming pain, but the pain didn’t stop attacking her just because she buried her head in the sand, it intensified.

The desire to survive made her get up from the bed, as she stood up, she couldn’t straighten her back from the pain, her cerebral cortex buzzed, she pushed open the glass door and outside was covered with the sound of rain, it was raining.

It was still night, but somewhat early.

Xu Zhi opened the corridor lights, holding the stair handrail, she moved step by step to the second floor, then she changed clothes in the master bedroom and went downstairs to find the phone. The rain was pouring down outside, and the distant lights of the stars were covered by the rain in a foggy haze. The windows on the first floor were left open, rainwater dripped into the living room, her cell phone was on the table, but it was turned off.

She was in pain and felt like she was dying but she found the charger to plug in the phone then moved to close the windows.

The phone turned on and made a sound, followed by the phone ringing.

The window was the most primitive push-pull type, Xu Zhi’s fingers didn’t seem to have any strength, the window didn’t even move. Instead, the rain hit her hair and face, Xu Zhi gave up closing the window, anyway, after the death of her grandmother, the first floor wasn’t used.

She walked back and picked up her cell phone, the caller was an unfamiliar number.

Xu Zhi hesitated for a moment and picked up the phone, “Hello.”

“Miss Xu is trying to burn the bridge after crossing it?”

His cold voice rang out, overwhelmed by the pain, it took a while for Xu Zhi to remember who it was, “Hello, is this Mr. Qi? Sorry.” Xu Zhi gasped in pain, one hand pressed hard on the spot, she almost couldn’t hold the phone, “I’m a little uncomfortable …… When I get better, I’ll do it, I won’t go back on my word …… ”

“What is your address? Tomorrow I’ll have Lin Li go to you to talk about specific cooperation.”

Xu Zhi held her phone and sweated in pain, unable to sit still. She slid down the chair and curled up in a ball. Difficultly reporting the address, she suddenly asked, “What caused pain in the lower right abdomen?”

“Do you have a fever?”

“Probably a fever.” Xu Zhi was cold, so she probably had a cold.

“Appendicitis?”

“Can it kill?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks.” Xu Zhi took a very deep breath to move past the pain, “I know.”

Hanging up the phone, Xu Zhi curled up on the leg of the chair, searching for appendicitis symptoms, six missed calls popped up on her phone, one from Qin Cai, five were unknown.

It was 9:00 p.m. on the 23rd, a day and a night after the graduation ceremony. She searched for appendicitis symptoms against Baidu and got an eighty percent correct diagnosis, the probability of appendicitis was high.

Xu Zhi held the phone for five minutes of silence, the desire to live made her open the taxi software, and search for nearby vehicles.

After ten minutes of searching, no one took the order even though she was almost fainting from the pain. The rainstorm and her place was too remote, Xu Zhi changed three taxi apps, all of which were unanswered.

She had to return to the first taxi app and enter the address to search again.

The doorbell rang, and Xu Zhi wanted to sit up, but was unable to do so. She sat in the living room, listening to the doorbell ringing for the third time, her phone rang, but it was still a strange number, it was really bad timing, Xu Zhi picked up the call, “Mr. Qi–”

“Should I kick in the door?”

Xu Zhi paused briefly, “Is it you who is ringing the doorbell? The password is 200701 …… room door is also this password.”

Soon Xu Zhi heard the sound of the password being inputted, and she tried to sit up to keep the last decency, but she really had no strength.

How did Qi Cai come over? He came to the door to get the manuscript?

The tall figure entered the door, Qi Cai wore a white shirt and black pants, his clothes were wet and he walked in stride. Xu Zhi’s vision blurred, “Mr. Qi…”

Qi Cai picked up the drenched Xu Zhi horizontally, “Where is your ID card?”

“The backpack at the door.” Xu Zhi was held horizontally for the first time, the shock relieved her pain for a moment, “You …… I can walk by myself.”

Qi Cai held Xu Zhi, when he passed the doorway, he picked up Xu Zhi’s backpack and took a big step out the door, Xu Zhi still wanted to talk, the dense rain fell hard so she couldn’t open her eyes, but she also couldn’t open her mouth.

A black sports car was parked at the entrance, the door was wide open and the headlights were bright.

Thunder boomed overhead, and a bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating a distant ridgeline. Tall trees swayed in the storm, seemingly about to be pulled up from the ground.

Xu Zhi was tucked into the passenger side of the sports car, Qi Cai’s handsome face flashed above her head, his nose was high and his thin lips were curved just right. He stuffed the backpack into Xu Zhi’s arms, his fingertips were damp and slightly cool against Xu Zhi’s skin.

The door of Xu Zhi’s house was violently shut by the wind, he braved the rain and went around to the driver’s seat and sat in. Xu Zhi pulled on the seat belt and desperately stretched her body to keep herself from curling up in pain, “Thank you.”

“Appendicitis may require surgery, contact your family as soon as possible.” Qi Cai’s tone was flat, and his rain-soaked face was coldly etched. He had a pair of piano-playing hands, and the back showed faintly visible blue veins because he gripped the steering wheel too tight.

He stepped on the gas and pulled the steering wheel, and the car quickly backed up.

“Can I do the surgery without family?” Xu Zhi breathed slowly, gritting her teeth to endure the pain, “My mother is in America, I don’t have a father.”

Qi Cai looked at her, Xu Zhi’s long black hair was soaked through, plastered on her pale face, her entire body was wet, fragile like a tiny flower growing on a clear lake, thin and transparent, like she would break at a single touch.

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

“Gone.” Xu Zhi raised the corners of her pale lips, despite the pain, “Can I still seek medical attention?”

The car sped through the torrential rain, dark clouds pressed heavily overhead, churning like a giant beast ready to strike. Another bolt of lightning streaked across the city above, exploding into the darkness.

Qi Cai stepped on the brake in front of the red light, and the windshield was covered in rain. Wherever the headlights reached, the rain lines were dense, and the ground was trapped in mist. He turned around and took a blanket from behind to cover Xu Zhi. “If you can’t sit still, don’t sit, lie down.”

Xu Zhi heard Qi Cai’s cold and emotionless voice in the darkness, informing Lin Li to rush to the hospital as soon as possible.

Tears suddenly welled up in Xu Zhi’s eyes, she didn’t cry when she broke up with Lu Ming, and she didn’t cry when she heard Lu Ming’s words, she thought she shouldn’t cry.

The appendicitis was really painful, very painful, her internal organs felt like they were displaced.

She buried her face in her knees and shrunk herself into a ball, shrinking into the shape of her birth. She silently cried and small tremors shook her small frame.

It was Acute appendicitis, if they came a little later it would have perforated. She was operated on in the early hours of the morning, Lin Li signed the papers, and Qi Cai took her to the hospital and left.

Xu Zhi laid in the hospital for three days.

During the three days, Weibo was buzzing with hot searches. First, Lu Ming and Qin Zhen were photographed by reporters on vacation in Thailand, and it was rumored that they were together.

Then Lu Ming and Qin Zhen revealed themselves to be single.

In the early hours of the morning, a marketing page wrote a small post about the love triangle between Lu Ming, Qin Zhen and Yu Mu, making it known that his ex-girlfriend was songwriter Yu Mu. Lu Ming was involved with Qin Zhen while being with Yu Mu. Yu Mu invited her boyfriend to the graduation ceremony, but he turned around and got together with Qin Zhen. Qi Cai appreciated Yu Mu’s music, and the two were friends, so he went to the University in order to set the scene for his friend, the blogger added the photo of the hug with Yu Mu.

The logic closed the loop for netizens, who ran to scold both Lu Ming and Qin Zhen.

At 9 am, Lu Ming was interviewed by reporters at the airport, saying that he wasn’t with Qin Zhen and he had never been with Yu Mu.

“Yu Mu? Who is Yu Mu?” The camera Lu Ming smiled and asked the assistant beside him, the assistant said something in his ear, he nodded and smiled more sincerely, facing the camera with poise and ease, “oh, I met her a few times, and we’ve talked several times because of our cooperation. Don’t mention it, save some face for the little girl. If we’re really together, I’d have announced it. Tomorrow Media has ended their cooperation with her, and both parties have friendly relations.”

“Do you have evidence that you were together? A photo together? Couple gifts or something.” Xia Qiao sat in front of the hospital bed waving a fruit knife, more excited than Xu Zhi, “I’ll hang him, let him die, dog scum.”

“Did you write that little post? Put the knife down.” Xu Zhi carefully moved her waist, the wound still hurt, when Xia Qiao found out she was hospitalized yesterday, she carried her luggage and rushed over to accompany her, Xia Qiao was her only friend, “Don’t make those posts in the future.”

“Huh? You’re just going to let them off the hook?” Xia Qiao put down the fruit knife, handed the peeled apple to Xu Zhi and turned off the phone screen, “Let them throw dirty water on you?”

“When I fell into the water when I was thirteen, he saved my life. After all these years, it’s time to pay it back.” Xu Zhi held the apple but didn’t eat it, she looked past Xia Qiao and looked out the window, outside had clear white clouds floating on the blue sky, that drifted with the wind, it was unexpectedly calm. They had been together for so long, yet there wasn’t even a photo to prove their relationship, it was ridiculous, “Everything is in the past, he is like my appendix, it’s been cut off and no longer has anything to do with me.”