TPIL - 30

In the Big Bang theory, which Luo Chuishun also supported, there was a period when the universe was constantly expanding. Galaxies were moving further and further away from each other, becoming increasingly difficult to reach. He firmly believed that the same was true for people. When he jumped into the lake, Louis’s hands were empty. His suicide note was written on draft paper filled with physics equations, leaving his father and mother with “What I can do, Elder Sister will do even better?”, while the message to Luo Andi was a brief English phrase: “love yourself as love me”.

After his death, the already struggling Luo family found themselves in an even more hopeless situation. The blueprint of the son taking over the family business instantly turned into a pipe dream. The tragedy was irreversible. Boss Luo began to drink heavily day and night, unable to extricate himself from grief. Mrs. Luo ran around everywhere, but it was all in vain. Debt, bankruptcy – everything followed like a boat going downstream. Falling from heaven to hell was nothing more than this. Moreover, misfortune never comes singly perfectly described this situation.

The number of passengers on the bus gradually decreased, and in the end, only Luo Andi went to the cemetery.

She brought flowers and drinks.

After sweeping the grave, Luo Andi returned the same way she came, but she didn’t take the bus directly home. Instead, she stopped along the way and took a detour for more than twenty minutes to eat a bowl of cold Korean noodles at a restaurant.

That was still a family tradition from before. Although they always drove then, detouring was also convenient. Her parents both liked sweet and sour flavors, and since cold food itself had a meaning of remembrance, they would always come to eat it after sweeping the graves of their grandparents.

Luo Andi was eating noodles when her phone vibrated. She picked it up from the table and checked it while eating the noodles, discovering a message from Su Yining asking for her current location. She casually replied. Unexpectedly, when she finished her meal and stepped outside, he was already waiting at the door in his car.

“What’s wrong?” she was a little surprised.

“I originally planned to have dinner with you, but I didn’t expect you had already eaten. So I thought I’d at least come to pick you up.” He got out of the car, opened the door for her, carefully tucked in her skirt, and told her with a smile.

Luo Andi didn’t think too much about it: “Thank you.”

He got into the car and then began to apologize for his previous disturbance.

“I’m sorry. I was drunk at the time, and I don’t even know how I really contacted you.” His voice gradually lowered. Su Yining looked at her with self-reproach. Both his tone and mood were completely immersed in apology. “Did I cause you trouble?”

Luo Andi laughed and quickly comforted him: “No...actually, most of it wasn’t done by me.”

She sold out Qi Xiaochuan.

Then she watched as Su Yining’s attitude changed from shame to suspicion, from suspicion to subtlety, and finally he completely fell into a state of speechlessness.

He let out a long sigh, then sighed with an ambiguous meaning: “Oh, that person—”

“He originally planned to have you ride in his car and drive you back himself. I saw that you weren’t in a good state, so I called a taxi,” Luo Andi recounted slowly. “Otherwise, Xiao Xiao would have actually taken you home.”

“He? When I was that drunk?” Su Yining couldn’t believe it and repeatedly confirmed, “He proactively offered to drive me?”

Qi Xiaochuan was actually this kind of warm-hearted person. Su Yining couldn’t believe it, but Luo Andi had no need to lie about such a small matter. Surprise overwhelmed his senses, and at the same time, he felt a little shocked. It seemed he had a biased and narrow view of him.

Su Yining couldn’t help but ask, “Is Qi Xiaochuan this kind of person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside?”

“Um...I’m not too sure about that either,” Luo Andi smiled and thought for a moment, “Maybe he is.”

Qi Xiaochuan, far away in the office, was probably sneezing violently. Just thinking about it felt quite amusing.

Su Yining drove Luo Andi to the store. She went straight to work, while he should have gone back to the company. To be honest, Su Yining’s importance to his own company was naturally not comparable to Qi Xiaochuan’s importance to his company, and the degree of busyness was also incomparable. His father often used Qi Xiaochuan, who was about the same age as Su Yining, to criticize him – no matter how old you were, other people’s children were always in vogue. His dislike for Qi Xiaochuan didn’t entirely stem from this, however, suddenly hearing about his kind side was quite a strange experience.

Based on previous experience, the labels on Qi Xiaochuan should have been “sour face,” “mouth so cheap it’s deadly,” or “even the male protagonists in Stephen Chow movies aren’t as grassroots or as fierce as him.” Unexpectedly, the reality was “helpful” and “a knife mouth with a tofu heart.” What kind of contrast was this? What kind of personal charm was this? Did he think he was like most of the female characters in “My Fair Princess”?

Unable to restrain the wild thoughts in his heart, his body still drove to the entrance of Qi Xiaochuan’s company. He hadn’t originally planned anything. Just as he was about to leave, he happened to see Qi Xiaochuan walking out.

Lowering the car window, Su Yining offered a smile: “Mr. Qi isn’t driving?”

“What are you doing here?” Qi Xiaochuan didn’t hide his disgust at all, nor did he answer his question. He had only come out for a meal, so he hadn’t called his driver. “Is President Su planning to build a children’s amusement park in front of my company’s office building? You’re running over here every day.”

He actually guessed that he had come for Luo Andi, but precisely because of this, it was even more worthy of sarcasm. However, Qi Xiaochuan probably wouldn’t have dreamed that this time, Su Yining had truly come for him.

Sure enough, facing his tricky words, Su Yining was indeed a little choked, but he quickly asked, “Have you eaten? I’m going to the restaurant over there, want to join me?”

Qi Xiaochuan had always believed in the old saying “no good deed goes unpunished,” so he looked at him warily.

Su Yining added, “My VIP card at their restaurant is a bit short on points. Ordering together is more cost-effective.”

Qi Xiaochuan sat in the car with peace of mind.

Zhu Peijie had no interest in handicrafts, nor did she have the leisure to care about them. If she did any needlework herself, it must be because repairing it at a tailor shop was too expensive. In her twenty or thirty years of life, the number of times she had appreciated handicrafts could be counted on one hand. The last time was probably when her cousin’s daughter participated in the kindergarten art exhibition and made a simple underwater periscope, if that even counted as a handmade item.

On her way home from work, she was accidentally forced to take a coupon for a trial class by a male shop assistant who looked foreign. When she brought it home, her younger sister spotted it, and they immediately agreed to go together on their day off.

Companies with two-day weekends were unwilling to hire her. Her current position only had one day off per week. Usually, she would lie in bed and scroll through short videos all day long, or, if she was unlucky, she would receive various requests from her younger sister, forcing her to run errands for her. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had a proper weekend. Zhu Peijie dug out her wrinkled clothes, roughly pressed her short hair down with a hairband, and looked dejectedly in the mirror before finally going out.

This shop was called “Paradise Handcrafts.” The soft decorations, the lukewarm lighting, and the quiet atmosphere seemed so out of place in the fast-paced city.

From the very beginning, Zhu Peijie regretted it.

She didn’t want to make anything, didn’t want to make anything for herself, and didn’t have anything she wanted to make and give to others. There was no such person, no such thoughts, and no such interest in life.

After entering, she submitted the trial coupon, while her younger sister beside her skillfully showed her membership card, indicating that she had purchased courses.

“When did you get this?” Zhu Peijie couldn’t help but furrow her brows. “Where did you get the money?” The monthly allowance she gave her younger sister was already large enough, but she had never heard of her being interested in handicrafts.

Her younger sister smacked her lips nonchalantly: “All my classmates are coming now. If I don’t come, won’t I be out of place? Don’t worry, I used the money I used to play Jian Wang III to get it.”

She vaguely remembered that it was a game her younger sister played. The money spent on recharging and buying various electronic items each month was like throwing it into a pond, making no sound. In any case, it was still spending money. Zhu Peijie couldn’t help but nag: “Spend more money on food, growing up is important, don’t lose weight. Put shoes, games, and stuff like that aside for now.”

“Okay, okay, I got it—”

The two sisters were about to argue when they didn’t expect a shop assistant to come over. The woman said with a smile, “Please come this way.”

Zhu Peijie wasn’t deliberately looking at her. It was just that this shop assistant did have a strange attraction. Just seeing her face made it impossible to look away. She walked directly in front of them, guiding them inside, and when seating them, she thoughtfully asked, “Black tea or green tea?” without giving anyone any unpleasant feeling.

In that class, they made woven accessories. Zhu Peijie made a brooch, and her younger sister made a hair clip.

Zhu Peijie quickly learned to use the crochet hook to weave the yarn, but her movements weren’t skillful enough, so she could only do it slowly. Her younger sister, on the other hand, was a bit clumsy, making mistakes several times and causing the yarn to knot. Seeing this, Zhu Peijie immediately put down her own work to help, but her own was only halfway done, so she left it as it was. Then she had to help her younger sister unravel it. The more anxious she got, the easier it was to make mistakes, wasting a lot of time.

“Let me help.” It was that smiling lady again, wearing the shop’s uniform, gently leaning down, her soft, naturally curly braids coiled behind her head, with a few stray strands falling out. When taking things from others, she neither appeared forceful nor did her fingers touch theirs.

Luo Andi moved the crochet hook, neatly arranging the yarn together. The patterns on the diagrams were easy for her. Even so, it didn’t give the impression of someone who had practiced many times, only making people feel it was innate, just like swifts were born knowing how to build nests.

When the cherry blossom brooch was returned, Zhu Peijie couldn’t help but stare blankly. Even the petals were decorated with blue thread to resemble water droplets, exquisitely detailed. She reached out to take it and accidentally knocked over the teacup. The tea immediately spilled out, staining her sleeve. Zhu Peijie subconsciously rolled it up, completely forgetting the dense scars from the blades on her wrist. Her younger sister was right beside her, the only person in this world she didn’t want to reveal any weakness to. In a flustered attempt to cover them, a handkerchief suddenly fell into her hand.

Luo Andi said, “I’m so sorry, it was my mistake. Would you mind if I help you take care of it over there?”

Zhu Peijie quickly stood up and followed her to the rest room, leaving her younger sister sitting there, completely unaware of what had happened.

Luo Andi handed over wet wipes and absorbent paper, and then brought over fabric refresher. Throughout the entire process, she didn’t rashly offer to help, giving Zhu Peijie a full sense of security. Zhu Peijie looked at her and thanked her awkwardly. She shook her head.

“Your sister often mentions you,” Luo Andi smiled, slightly pursing her lips, “She says her older sister has done a lot for her and often contributes to the family in her own way. I have a younger brother, so I understand your feelings very well.”

Zhu Peijie looked at her, finally able to comfortably roll down her sleeve. She tentatively asked, “You and your younger brother... are you close?”

“Yes, very close.”

“That’s still different. My sister and I often quarrel. There are many things I don’t want her, a child, to bear.”

Luo Andi looked at her, her sincere and warm eyes fixed on her face. “But no one knows what will happen in the future. Sometimes, if possible, just sit down and chat. Maybe she doesn’t want to appreciate it, and you feel very tired, but continuing like this isn’t good for anyone.”

She walked out first, giving Zhu Peijie plenty of time to tidy up.

By the end of the day, her younger sister’s wrinkled and not-so-pretty hair clip was still finished.

Her skin was much thicker than Zhu Peijie’s. She persistently pestered Luo Andi to help her modify it, and only stopped when it was finally adjusted to be somewhat presentable.

When seeing them off from Paradise Handcrafts, the shop assistant said with a smile, “Hope to see you again.”

When Zhu Peijie asked, her younger sister nonchalantly admitted that this was her last class she had ordered.

“I still don’t seem to have any talent. I was thinking of making a gift for my sister,” the little girl sighed. “The ones made by an uncle I saw in the display case before were better than mine.”

Zhu Peijie had been preoccupied with walking forward. Hearing this, it took a moment for her to come back to her senses. “What?”

“Here, for you.” Her younger sister tossed the gift over, saying without any ceremony, “I booked the classes with my student ID, they weren’t actually very expensive.”

“This is for me?”

“Don’t you like it? If you don’t, give it back!”

“No, no...” It was hard to believe that her younger sister would actually give her a gift one day. Zhu Peijie clutched the hair clip in her hand and couldn’t help but say, “But it’s really not very pretty.”

“Then give it back to me!”

When it was time for the shift change, Luo Andi greeted her colleague on duty, went inside to change her clothes, took off her work badge, and clocked out before leaving.

She passed by the next room when leaving. It was said to be the men’s rest room, but currently, Zhong Shiwei was the only male employee in the shop, so it was considered his private room.

She saw him sitting with his back to the door, intently focused on something. Hearing that the school was about to have final exams, Luo Andi walked in, originally intending to exchange a few pleasantries. Unexpectedly, as soon as she spoke, Zhong Shiwei reacted as if he had seen a terrifying ghost, and the Kindle in his hand fell to the ground, face up. The page displayed was a paper, with the following paragraph clearly presented in small size four bold font on a white background: “White Knight Syndrome, a common name for a branch of Munchausen syndrome by proxy—”

The sentence broke off after “satisfying personal rescue desires,” and the remaining content was hidden at the page turn, yet it added to the space for imagination.

Luo Andi bent down, picked up the e-reader, and began to read calmly. She browsed quietly.

What to do? What would be best to do? Zhong Shiwei instantly transformed into a stiff Pinocchio, not knowing whether to snatch it back. He wanted to say something, but everything he said sounded convoluted: “Uh, this, it’s not... I was studying for a group assignment. I wasn’t investigating anyone, really... Andi.”

She smiled, her gaze withdrawing from between the lines, and then returned it to him.

“It’s really not because of you... it’s not...” Not having much experience interacting with people, especially in such a situation that required quick thinking, Zhong Shiwei struggled. Clearly, the other person had no reaction, but he still collapsed. “Okay... I just thought it was a bit like it. Sorry.”

Luo Andi shook her head.

“It’s okay, maybe it is a little bit, I think so myself too,” the woman said lightly. Like a small boat, whether it was a calm pond or a rushing waterfall, she went with the flow, “Besides, it’s not the first time someone has said that to me.”

A long, long time ago.

A long, long time ago, so long ago that princesses still lived in castles. Someone had asked her this.

“Do you ever need others?” Qi Xiaochuan lived a life vastly different from hers. He was the kind of person who was constantly preparing for the future, always planning ahead, accustomed to instability. Faced with Luo Andi’s kindness, he was annoyed and finally asked her, “I heard about my background from the adults, so you’re helping me so I can realize my own value. Isn’t that all your liking is about?”