CH 74

TL: Hua

The two were silent for a while, and finally Xia Shu’an lifted the thermos bucket in his hand and said, “At least we have dinner, don’t we? Aunt Yu makes good soup, I promise.”

Chu Wenzhi could only compromise: “Well, at least there is soup.”

Then he completely forgot about complaining when the lid of the soup was lifted.

……

It would be okay if things ended here. The next day, on Monday, the two of them went to work as usual. When Chu Wenzhi came home, they found that there were not only more health nursing soups at home but also various kinds of things.

Xia Shu’an has been living outside for almost a week. The good news is that he finally stopped Auntie from delivering soup every day. The bad news is that he can’t stop other people from “giving gifts.”

Most of the food delivered was food with a short shelf life, such as fruits, milk, etc. Because the quantity was too large, Xia Shu’an sometimes had to give it to his neighbors. Because of this, his neighborhood relations had a qualitative breakthrough in just one week.

On Friday, he contacted Shen Boyan and asked him when he would come back. If possible, he wanted to take all his things away from that place.

He used to only know that stealing other people’s things would make him wary and uncomfortable every day, but it turned out that leaving things in other people’s places was also equally unpleasant.

He thinks he will definitely not be a turtledove in his next life because he doesn’t have such strong psychological qualities.

But Shen Boyan didn’t answer the phone. This whole week, every time Xia Shu’an called Shen Boyan, he couldn’t get through. But if he sends a message, he will simply reply.

For example, “When will you come back?” “Wait a while.”

After another meeting, Assistant Qi called him back and said very officially that the work in Beijing was not over yet. They still needed some time to appease the employees. If they came back, they would notify Xia Shu’an as soon as possible.

Xia Shu’an: “Can I speak to Shen Boyan?”

Assistant Qi remained calm and composed: “It’s not convenient now. President Shen is in a meeting.”

Good, he’s in a meeting 24/7.

Shortly after ending the call, his door was knocked on again, and there was still a familiar courier outside the door.

The young man smiled and showed eight white teeth: “Hello, your express delivery!”

Xia Shu’an: “….”

He’s added a lot to their business since he’s been here.

On Saturday, Xia Shu’an came home and saw someone moving furniture into the house next door and bringing in new things. Although Xia Shu’an has only been here for a short time, he has also joined the building group and added the WeChat accounts of residents on the same floor.

He asked, “Is the house next door being renovated?”

[403 Sister Ru: It seems that there is a new resident.]

[401 Xiaoxia: I see.]

Unexpectedly, residents in this community change quite frequently. He thought that high-end communities generally did not change residents very often.

Xia Shu’an didn’t take this matter to heart until he came back the next day and found a handkerchief that didn’t belong to him floating on his balcony. The beautifully patterned handkerchief had letters and symbols embroidered on it.

x&y.

The two balconies are quite far apart, so Xia Shu’an couldn’t throw it back.

[402: I’m not at home; just tie it to my doorknob.]

[401 Xiaoxia:…Okay.]

He thought the conversation would end, but he didn’t expect another message from the other side:

[402: Did you pick it up? Thank you; this is a precious memory for my wife and me. I really don’t know what I’d do if I lost it.]

Xia Shu’an didn’t know why the topic turned to this, which made him a little at a loss as he was not good at conversation.

[402: Won’t you ask me what happened to me and my wife?]

[401 Xiaoxia: What happened to you guys?]

The man’s words are full of sadness:

[402: My wife went back to his/her parents’ home after we had a fight. ]

Mfn: The Chinese text didn’t specify gender.

“Oh.” Xia Shu’an could only say dryly:

[401 Xiaoxia: My condolences; take care. ]

The man said to himself:

[402: I miss my wife very much.]

[402: What should I do to make my wife come back?]

“…”

Probably noticing his resentment, the man hastens to apologize: [402: Sorry to bother you.]

Xia Shu’an quickly replied, “It’s okay; I tied the handkerchief to the door for you.”

Later, after washing up, Xia Shu’an was lying on the bed and thought:

Some people miss their wives when their wives leave, while some people don’t want their wives at all. The joys and sorrows of human beings are not the same.

Shen Boyan still hasn’t come back this week.

Xia Shu’an has become accustomed to the new route to and from work. There is a delicious noodle restaurant on his way back. The carefully cooked bone soup is light and delicious, which suits his taste very well.

In the evening, it is very pleasant to slowly sneak outside the neighborhood for a walk, have a soup and a bowl of noodles, and then walk home with the cool evening breeze.

In the season of April, everyone has taken off their heavy coats and replaced them with sweaters or light coats. In the central square of the community, many people come out every night, either for walks or sports. Under the white light of the street lamp, a little boy squatted in front of the flower bed.

In front of him was a very delicate-looking British shorthair cat. The cat stood gracefully on the edge of the flower bed. Its owner was a young girl who was smiling as she watched the child reach out to touch the cat.

Several adults stood by and watched this scene, talking and laughing. The scene was very harmonious. The child first stretched out his hand and touched it tentatively. Seeing that the cat didn’t resist, he finally touched it boldly and confidently. The cat tilted its head and flicked its tail, looking arrogant, like, “I’ll do you a favor.”

A moment later, both the cat and the child let out a pleasant purr, and Xia Shu’an stood by the side, also revealing a look of satisfaction.

After passing the square, Xia Shu’an slowly walked home. The scene just now reminded him of high school.

For a while, he often goes to the alley with a boy to play with cats on his way home. In fact, it was the boy who petted the cat, and he was watching from the side. To this day, the image of the boy has faded into only a vague shadow in his memory.

Xia Shu’an only remembers that the boy was very silent and very tall. He seemed to be half a head taller than himself. Because he was always cold and kept away from strangers, Xia Shu’an was a little embarrassed to speak at first.

But the boy quickly agreed to his first desperate request. On the second and third days, the boy would appear there at about the same time. One time, Xia Shu’an arrived late after school and saw the boy waiting there.

They might have exchanged a few words, but Xia Shu’an himself had forgotten them. Anyway, they were just trivial daily things. He might have asked him which class he was in, or he might have complained about the teacher’s habit of dragging the class, but he didn’t answer any of them.

No matter how much he recalled it, it was just a vague shadow, so Xia Shu’an simply doesn’t want to think about it.

After arriving home, Xia Shu’an had to face new troubles all over again. His neighbor, whose wife had run away, was making a lot of noise in the house, and he could hear it every time he was on the balcony, but the man never came out, like a mysterious person in some horror story.

Yet he was very polite:

[402: Sorry, did I disturb you?]

Xia Shu’an also responded politely:

[401 Xiaoxia: A little bit.]

The man’s words are full of self-abasement:

[402: I can’t eat well at night. I want my wife’s cooking.]

Xia Shu’an had to remind him of the reality: “Your wife may not know how to cook.”

Today’s young men always assume that the wife they find can cook, when the truth is that they can’t even do it themselves.

[402: It’s okay; I’ll cook for my wife.]

[401 Xiaoxia: No need! ! ]

The next day was the weekend, and Xia Shu’an was thinking about whether to go back and get his clothes. In just a week, the weather quickly warmed up, and even the peach blossoms in school were in full bloom. On the road full of pink and bright red petals, the behavior of couples became much bolder.

Xia Shu’an has been able to face that incident relatively calmly. Except for the fact that his fists itch every time he thinks about it, the sense of absurdity and anger in his heart has been reduced a lot. His new neighbor still sends him messages every night, seemingly treating him as a free tree hole.

Mfn: A place to hide secrets and private affairs.

[402: We met under a camphor tree. I suddenly looked back and saw him smiling under the tree. At that moment, my heart skipped a beat.]

That day, Xia Shu’an went to the experimental field. When he returned home, his eyes were drowsy, and he replied:

[401 Xiaoxia: Sorry, not interested.]

……

The next day, the neighbor still looked for him as if nothing had happened.

[402: Do you think if I apologize, will my wife forgive me?]

The next next day, even though his face looked slightly haggard, Xia Shu’an raised his eyebrows:

“Hello, neighbour.”