CH 23

Overgrown Grassland

23. Chapter 23

23  

While they didn’t end up finding any inspiration, they did have fun. After they’d had enough of walking through the museum, Boss Li generously treated Zhu Yun to a meal. Full service. Under Li Xun’s contemptuous gaze, Zhu Yun chose a Korean restaurant. And again, under his contemptuous gaze, she ordered bibimbap.

“You have a pretty big appetite,” Li Xun said, sitting across from her.

Zhu Yun looked up and asked,”You’re not eating?”

Li Xun shook his head.

“You use your brain so much. How do you not get hungry?”

He didn’t say anything.

With a mouth full of rice, she clicked her tongue. “High efficiency and low consumption. Your system truly defies the natural order.”

“Have some taste, won’t you? Swallow your food and then talk.” He glanced at her before looking out the window.

A hot headed guy like him was trying to fake being a civilized and cultured person?

The two sat next to a window. After starting outside a bit, Li Xun asked, “Mind if I smoke?”

“Go ahead.” She looked around. The school was on break, so the entire college town was deserted. They were the only two inside the small restaurant.

Li Xun lit a cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke. When Zhu Yun heard the sound, she suddenly recalled something she’d read while researching traditional Chinese medicine: Mental stress affects the spleen and stomach, affects sleep patterns, and causes lack of appetite.

Looking out the window, Li Xun’s face was blank and uninviting, as if he were deep in thought. The city was empty. What was there to look at? Everyone had already left.

Zhu Yun thought back to the scene when Gao Jianhong was leaving. He’d playfully punched Li Xun’s shoulder, and Li Xun smiled on lightly, as always. All the members who were working on their project went home for New Year’s, and she was planning to do the same.

Nobody had considered the possibility that their project would fail, as if the idea of failing was completely unfathomable. With him there, how could they fail. But, what did he think?

This was the first time that she’d thought of this. Had he considered that they might fail? Had he been very stressed about it? She quickly reasoned out that, of course he had. As if being a genius would have affect that.

“Um…” Zhu Yun swallowed the rice in her mouth, and then she started again, “Li Xun—”

At the sound of her voice, the person across from her laughed, his face loosening up. Her words had been cut off by his laugh. Li Xun pointed out the window with his chin. “Look.”

Zhu Yun turned. It was snowing.

The first snow that season had come rather late. It arrived slowly, unhurried, after everyone had already gone. Those who remained were immediately attracted by it. The snowflakes were small and delicate, carried by the wind, unwilling to land. The sky was bleak and overcast, but the dancing snowflakes brought a gentle calmness.

“What were you going to say?

“Oh. I’ll go with you.”

“Where?”

“To Languan.”

Li Xun paused. Then, quietly, he replied, “Forget it. Hurry and get home.”

“My family lives very close,” Zhu Yun said. “It’s only a few hours by train, so there’s no need to rush. Moreover, a second person brings a bit more strength.”

Li Xun laughed. “Strength? The strength to carry a bag?”

“Sure, carrying a bag is still something.”

Li Xun looked at her.

“It’s decided,” Zhu Yun said, before shoving her head back into her food.

Li Xun was quiet awhile. He tapped the ash off his cigarette, and then he said, “I really admire you.”

It was afternoon when they left the restaurant. Li Xun pushed open the door, stepped out, and then shivered. “Why’s it so fucking cold?!” He started walking with large steps, but not before shoving Zhu Yun back inside. “Wait inside. I’ll hail down a taxi.”

My clothes are thicker than yours, okay?

Getting a taxi wasn’t easy in the snow. Zhu Yun stood inside the restaurant and looked out at the tall Li Xun. She saw his shoulders shrink inward. After five minutes, she went out to relieve him. Li Xun’s lips had already turned purple.

They finally got a taxi. When they returned to the campus, the snow was falling heavily and the wind was blowing ferociously. Li Xun finally gave up his act. He left the car and, like a wisp of smoke, disappeared towards the project base. From behind, Zhu Yun roared with laughter. Then she blew out a breath as she looked up towards the grey sky.

A kimchi-scented first snow. How wonderful.

—

The next day, Li Xun caught a cold.

“You deserve it…” Zhu Yun scoffed as she looked at Li Xun.

After getting sick, his temper got worse. She could see the blood in his eyes, as if he wanted to devour her whole.

Zhu Yun handed him the medicine she bought. “Take three tablets.”

Li Xun grabbed the medicine and swallowed an entire row of five tablets.

Shocked, Zhu Yun cried out, “What are you doing?!”

“It won’t kill me!” Impatiently, he said, “Taking a larger first dose—don’t you even have that much common sense?”

Which planet’s common sense was that???

He truly didn’t have the energy to work, so the logo design was left to Zhu Yun to handle. Boss Li lied down across a makeshift bed of four chairs to recuperate. The project base was extremely quiet. Only the mouse, keyboard, and their breathing interrupted the silence.

Eyes closed, he spoke up, “Just get something done roughly. It doesn’t affect the actual program in the end. I’ll have someone re-do it later.”

Zhu Yun had thought that he’d fallen asleep. So he’d just been resting.

With the design software on the screen, Zhu Yun rested her chin in her hands as she thought. Soon, she drifted into a bit of a trance until Li Xun’s sneeze pulled her back to reality.

Since it would be changed later, she would just throw something together for now. She looked around the room, and her eyes caught on the bamboo grove outside the window. From that image, Zhu Yun started looking up materials.

She truly wasn’t good at this. It took her more than an hour to complete the logo design. This was ten thousand times harder than programming.

“It’s really fucking ugly…” Li Xun had apparently woken up at some point. He had his arms crossed while he stood behind her, critiquing. “The colors clash and the composition is poor.”

Zhu Yun clenched her teeth.

Li Xun said, “Are you really a girl?”

She shoved aside the mouse and turned around to him. “If you don’t like it, do it yourself!”

Li Xun looked at her with sleepy eyes. As if glossing over the situation, he simply said, “Add it in.”

He just knew how to talk big…

While she added the logo to the program, behind her, Li Xun coughed several times. His coughing was getting more serious, as if wanting to force away the discomfort.

She’d spent four hours designing the logo, and it only took four minutes to get it into their program. Zhu Yun worked quickly. When the logo was set, she tested the program again, and then she turned around. “I’m going to go out real quick. Wait for me.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll buy you some cough medicine. If you keep coughing like this, your throat will suffer.”

“There’s no need.”

Zhu Yun didn’t bother listening to him. She grabbed her coat and said, “Just wait a bit. I’ll be right back.”

“Hey!” As Zhu Yun ran out, she heard Li Xun calling behind her. “Come back! I’ll give you the money!”

As if I couldn’t afford some cough medicine? You’re really looking down on me too much!

Zhu Yun ran over to the pharmacy. At the nurse’s recommendation, she bought some cough syrup.

She genuinely prayed for Li Xun to recover quickly. They were going to Languan tomorrow. If he couldn’t speak then, was she going to be responsible for the presentation? No way. She wasn’t like him. She couldn’t handle that kind of pressure. Zhu Yun wished that he’d get well soon, but she couldn’t help thinking that he deserved this all the same.

“If you try to act cool, you’ll incur the wrath of lightening…” Zhu Yun grit her teeth.

Suddenly, her cellphone rang. Her mother was calling. She stopped walking and answered, “Hello?”

In a concerned tone, her mother asked, “Zhu Yun, how are things going with the class representative?”

“We’ll be done in two days.”

“Forget it. Hurry home. Just help a bit and be done with it. If you put this much work into it, are you even going to celebrate the new year?”

“I—”

“Your Auntie Jiang is here. We’re having dinner together tonight.”

“Dinner?” Had she misheard? “Tonight?”

“Yes.” Her mother laughed. “Auntie Jiang’s son has come back from abroad too. Do you remember him? Truly a scholar at a famous school. It’s different from a school in our country. When you get back, you should talk to him, absorb some of his experience and prepare for your future.”

“Tomorrow. I can’t make it back tonight no matter how much I rush. I haven’t even bought a train ticket yet.” Zhu Yun started calculating in her head. “I’ll be home before tomorrow night, for sure.”

“Don’t worry,” her mother replied, calm and composed. “Your dad’s over that way. He’s got a meeting today, but he’ll be done afterwards. I told him to pick you up on the way home. Make sure you explain to your class representative. The work was very sudden anyway. It took a lot to invite Auntie Jiang over. And your (older) cousin is very busy with school as well. He made time out of his busy schedule to come see you. See how great your reputation is? Pack your things quickly. Your dad will be there soon, so don’t make him wait.” After saying all she had to say, Zhu Yun’s mother hung up.

Zhu Yun kicked at the ground.

One day. Off by just one day. Wang Yuxuan, why couldn’t your plane have crashed?!

Half an hour later, Zhu Yun got another call. Unhappily, Li Xun asked, “Where did you go? How does it take this long to buy medicine?”

She dropped her third cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. “I’ll be right there.”

After she hung up, her father, Zhu Guangyi, called. Zhu Yun really wanted to smash her phone. Without answering the call, she ran back to the project base. At the least, she had to deliver the cough medicine.

Li Xun was sitting at the desk, testing the program. Gasping for breath, she ran over to him and put the cough syrup down in front of him.

Focused on the computer screen, Li Xun spoke like a grand young master, “Get me a cup of water.”

Zhu Yun didn’t move.

Li Xun looked over at her suspiciously. “Are you telling me to take this without water?” His voice was hoarse. His ordinarily beautiful voice had become so rough.

“What is it?” He quickly sensed something was wrong.

“Li Xun, at home…” Zhu Yun’s voice trailed off and Li Xun’s brows jumped up.

“At home… It’s a bit urgent… I have to head back first.”

The bamboo trees outside were still. After a moment, Li Xun said, “It’s nothing serious, is it?”

Don’t ask with such concern. I’m just going home to have dinner with a student studying abroad.

She shook her head.

Li Xun relaxed. “That’s fine. There’s nothing much left to do. Go home and celebrate,” he replied quietly as he grabbed a cigarette. She wanted to advise him not to smoke, but the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth.

Her phone was ringing again. Li Xun signaled to her, “Your phone. Why are you zoning out?”

Zhu Yun answered her phone. It was her father. “Zhu Yun, why didn’t you answer my call earlier?”

“The ringer was on silent.”

Li Xun reached for his coat.

“Your mom already told you, right? I’ll be there soon. Meet me at the school gate in half an hour.”

“Mmh.”

When she hung up, Li Xun had already put on his coat. “Let’s go. I’ll send you to the train station.”

“That’s okay, there’s no need,” Zhu Yun replied. He looked at her, but she didn’t return his gaze.

Li Xun quickly took off his coat. “Be careful on your way home.” He sat down and continued pounding on the keyboard, endlessly.