CH 14

So Yu Zhou sometimes wonders how Su Chang would see her.

Was she an irresponsible and flaky woman who stopped loving just like that, or did she notice the subtle sadness when she said “yes” back then?

She was genuinely sad at the time; Su Chang was her first love, and she was Su Chang’s too. She had initially thought they could go all the way together.

However, she had managed to recover from it without resorting to traditional Chinese medicine [1], hahaha.

The group enjoyed a lively meal together, it was just six o’clock when it ended.

They walked towards the elevator together; Peng Xiangzhi, wearing high heels and carrying a small bag, went ahead to press the elevator button.

“Did you come on your electric scooter again?” she asked Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling, who was petite and looked very much like a cute anime character, replied, “Yes.”

“Then you go to the first floor,” she gestured for the others to join her in the elevator and pressed the button for the second basement floor, “Susu will give us a ride.”

Su Chang, accustomed to her straightforwardness, stood in the innermost part of the elevator with her hands in her pockets.

Yu Zhou said, “I’ll take a taxi instead, so I won’t bother Miss Su.”

“Author sama, if you don’t take her car, I’ll feel so embarrassed,” Peng Xiangzhi joked. “Don’t be so polite. You just said it took you 20 minutes to get here by taxi, so it’s not far, and also on her way. Right, Susu?”

From behind Yu Zhou, Su Chang replied, “Yes. It’s no bother.”

Yu Zhou didn’t have much to say after that. Refusing again would seem contrived, so after saying goodbye to Zhou Ling, she followed the two to the underground parking lot.

The car was parked close to the elevator, so they walked over in a few steps. Su Chang got in first, then Peng Xiangzhi opened the back door and got in too.

As Yu Zhou was about to follow, she heard Su Chang, looking at the back seat through the rearview mirror, said, “Miss Yu, sit in the front. Xiangzhi needs to get off first later.”

Yu Zhou paused for a moment, noticing that Peng Xiangzhi wasn’t moving further inside. She closed the car door and opened the passenger side door to sit down.

After she buckled her seatbelt, Su Chang began to reverse the car.

Suddenly, Peng Xiangzhi leaned forward, hugging the back of Yu Zhou’s seat, then asked Su Chang, “How did you know I’d be getting off first?”

The half-suspicion in her question was – how did you know where Author lives?

As Su Chang watched the reversing camera while turning the steering wheel, she replied, “You told me.”

“?”

“Her place is 20 minutes away, and yours is 10 minutes away. Of course, I’d drop you off first.”

Alright then, Peng Xiangzhi sat back and leaned against the seat, playing with her phone.

Yu Zhou’s phone was in her hand, occasionally hitting her thigh. Her thigh was a bit red from the scrapes. Su Chang glanced at her before casually looking back at the road.

How could ten minutes feel so long? Yu Zhou turned her head, wanting to look out the window, but her gaze was unconsciously drawn to the amulet hanging under Su Chang’s rearview mirror.

It was shaped like a zongzi, very rustic, which seemed completely out of place in the sophisticated Su Chang’s car. It looked like it was from the Dragon Boat Festival gift box Yu Zhou’s company had distributed two years ago. At that time, she was sitting in the passenger seat, opening the gift box and casually hung it in the car.

“Memories could be painful”, Yu Zhou suddenly felt like singing this song, but she couldn’t remember the tune or even if such a song existed.

Peng Xiangzhi quickly got out of the car, leaving the two of them awkwardly alone in the confined space with a “bang”.

Ahahaha, Yu Zhou suddenly felt like laughing out loud.

Su Chang didn’t seem to be acting differently, driving as usual. Yu Zhou used to think that women looked really cool when they were driving seriously, even the clicking sound of the turn signal seemed to complement them more than classical music. But after seeing it many times, she realized it was just Su Chang who looked cool while driving.

After all, her fingers and wrists were long and delicate, holding the steering wheel as if she were casually caressing her lover.

Yu Zhou heard her breathing. After two slow breaths, Su Chang spoke: “The small blanket is still in the front compartment. You can take it out to put on your lap.”

Yu Zhou didn’t know if Su Chang was worried about her being cold or had noticed that she had scraped her thigh red with her phone earlier.

Yu Zhou remained quiet for a while before speaking, “No need, we’ll arrive in just a few minutes.”

The moment the words were spoken, they encountered a red light so the car stopped.

Su Chang’s fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel. She would do this when she was annoyed or hesitant.

Yu Zhou sniffed twice, feeling a bit itchy. She rubbed her nose, and then focused on counting the traffic light.

As she counted, her lips unconsciously moved along, making it quite obvious.

That’s when she heard Su Chang’s soft voice, “Are you in such a hurry?”

It was hard to tell if she was happy or unhappy, as if she had just casually asked a question.

Yu Zhou’s heart faltered, suddenly feeling as if she had been struck by a hammer. Normally, she wouldn’t bother to write such a clichéd and melodramatic line in her story, but when Su Chang just said it, it felt very natural to her, so natural that it made Yu Zhou feel a little sad.

Maybe there was also a hint of sadness in Su Chang’s voice.

Yu Zhou sighed, gently tapping her phone with her palm while saying, “No, I’m not in a hurry.”

She felt that something needed to be said, so she hesitated and opened her mouth, “Actually…”

“Actually,” Su Chang’s clear voice interrupted her in a timely manner. It didn’t sound like an attempt to stop her, but rather like a soothing gesture.

As the yellow light turned green, she accelerated the car and continued to speak while looking straight ahead, saying, “Actually, there are many things I want to ask you, but I feel like I should wait until our collaboration is over.”

Yu Zhou suddenly had an odd feeling that Su Chang was probably using a considerable amount of effort to restrain something, maintaining her professional and calm demeanor that she took pride in.

In any case, she wanted to do a good job with this project.

Yu Zhou lowered her head, rubbing and wiping her worn-out phone screen, “Okay.”

Her hands were sweaty, making the screen even smudgier. Damn it.

With familiar turns, they entered the residential complex’s underground parking garage and stopped at the elevator closest to Yu Zhou’s building. Su Chang watched Yu Zhou get out of the car, nodded to say goodbye, then drove away without looking back.

Yu Zhou didn’t look back either, taking a few steps to avoid a puddle next to the elevator, then pressed the button to go home.

As she opened the door, she was startled to see Xiang Wan and kitten Wan wan, one big and one small, both standing by the door to greet her.

“What’s going on?” She closed the door, finding their welcome rather grand.

Xiang Wan glanced behind her.

Wan wan meowed to her hand.

Seeing her hands empty, Xiang Wan looked disappointed. Usually, when Yu Zhou went out shopping, she would bring something back, like a watermelon or a bag of oranges.

But today, she had been out for six or eight hours, and came back empty-handed.

Xiang Wan looked down, beckoned Wan wan, who followed her with a meow, then the two went to the bedroom.

Yu Zhou went through the hallway after changing her shoes, leaning against the door to watch Xiang Wan, who was holding Wan wan as if she were Chang’e holding the Jade Rabbit. Even in her casual home clothes, she exuded an air of elegance.

Yu Zhou said, “Let’s eat that watermelon from yesterday.”

Xiang Wan’s eyes lit up. She put down the cat, clapping her hands before pointing a finger to the sky, “Great!”

“Don’t imitate me,” Yu Zhou frowned, finding it too childish, “That doesn’t suit you. Just hold the cat and be dignified.”

As she walked to the kitchen, she continued, “After eating, you get some work done, take a shower and go to bed early. I’ll take you to the police station tomorrow.”

Xiang Wan nodded, leaning her head against the doorframe, “Give me one of those ex-boyfriend masks.”

“?”, Yu Zhou shook her head, “You don’t need it.”

“Your skin is already so tender it’s almost bursting.”

“Besides, if your skin is too delicate, it might be difficult to get your household registration done.”

Xiang Wan waited for her to finish, then smiled and asked, “Anything else?”

Where did such a cunning girl come from? Yu Zhou handed half of the watermelon to her, “That’s very expensive.”

“I still have a few more recordings to listen to.”