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Psst! We're moving!
Lu Zhou pressed his temples, clutching his phone.
After a while, he replied: “What?”
Cherry: “Your clothes and umbrella are at my place. When should I return them to you?”
He replied: “I’ll come find you tomorrow.”
“Tsk,” Shen Yihuan pursed her lips, dissatisfied. The conversation was dead-ended. He didn’t even ask when she was free or where they should meet.
She wouldn’t give up. After thinking for a while, she sent another message: “What are you doing?”
He didn’t reply, perhaps finding her question too boring.
After waiting for two minutes, Shen Yihuan sent the same emoji again: “Brother, are you there?”
Still no reply.
Why is this person’s temper so strange?
This time she sent a voice message, her voice soft and deliberately coaxing, yet with an unusual hint of uncertainty: “Brother, are you there?”
________________________________________
The girl’s soft, delicate voice echoed in his ear. Lu Zhou’s entire nervous system instantly tensed. His muscles flexed, and his increasingly rapid breathing made his chest vibrate, though he dared not make a sound.
Shen Yihuan’s whole burst of enthusiasm was completely extinguished by a single cold reply.
He said: “I’m returning to Xinjiang the day after tomorrow.”
Without a head or a tail.
I didn’t even ask you where you’re going the day after tomorrow, Shen Yihuan thought indignantly.
Yet, she understood what Lu Zhou’s sudden statement meant. It was nothing more than: Don’t bother me anymore, I’m leaving soon.
Shen Yihuan closed her eyes, collapsing exhaustedly onto the bed.
She remembered three and a half years ago, when Shen Fu’s company went bankrupt overnight. The once prominent figure in the business world jumped from the top floor of his company in the early hours before dawn. Shen Yihuan didn’t witness the cruel sight firsthand, but she couldn’t escape the photos on the internet—a bloody, mangled mess. Her father.
In the past, Shen Yihuan’s name was often spoken. When mentioned, people would say she was a rich second-generation who would never have to worry about food or clothes in her life.
Her grades weren’t good, her temper wasn’t good, and her popularity wasn’t great either; she had as many bad friends as people who disliked her.
But so what?
She was radiant, an undeniable presence in any crowd.
She had a beautiful face, a figure enough to drive men wild, a boyfriend everyone thought was a prodigy with a boundless future, and inexhaustible money and time.
She was destined to be extraordinary.
Shen Yihuan once believed this, which is why she was arrogant, disdainful, extravagant, and spoiled.
Shen Fu’s death was like a sharp blade, revealing to her what the world was truly like: cold, heartless, selfishly twisted, and dark.
Relying on her young and beautiful face was not entirely unhelpful during that period.
There were always some people, using vulgar words, who wanted to exchange money for her.
She heard it so often that she even got used to it. The sharp edges and fiery temper that no one could smooth out before were effortlessly pacified.
Her pride, her brilliance, shattered and disintegrated in those few short months.
After piecing her broken self back together, she began to drift along, to swallow her anger, to become timid and retreat, to prefer avoiding trouble.
But who the hell wants to live like this?
Who the hell wants to live such a frustrating life?
________________________________________
The dark bedroom lit up with a light the size of a phone screen.
Shen Yihuan found Zhou Yishu’s phone number in her contacts and dialed it.
“Hello?”
“Boss Zhou, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“I’m at the beauty salon. What do you want at this hour?”
No wonder her voice was muffled; she was at the beauty salon.
“I want to request some time off.”
“How long?”
“One month, is that okay?”
“One month!? Are you taking maternity leave?!” Zhou Yishu must have sat up and said a few words to someone beside her. “Don’t you know the studio is short-staffed these days?”
“I know. My area of responsibility is the simplest. I can ask other photographer friends I know to help out. It won’t affect the progress.”
“No, tell me first, why are you taking such a long leave?”
She fell silent.
She didn’t know what she was doing either.
Rebelling? She seemed to have passed that absurd rebellious phase. Resisting? Not exactly, it felt more like escaping, not wanting to get entangled in the messy affairs here.
Receiving no reply, Zhou Yishu cursed her. “Idiot.”
“...” Shen Yihuan still didn’t know what to say. After a pause, she pursed her lips. “If not, I’ll resign.”
“Has your contract expired for you to resign? Do you want to pay a breach of contract fee?” Zhou Yishu reprimanded her. “Tell me first, what are you taking leave for?”
“I’m going to Xinjiang.”
As she spoke the words, Shen Yihuan suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of relief, as if she had finally broken free from the shell she was in.
She hung up the phone.
Zhou Yishu still didn’t give her the time off, but she reassigned her a task, changing her from the easiest local food photography to Xinjiang food photography.
That job was originally assigned to a newcomer. It was a tough assignment that none of the senior staff at the studio wanted, so they all pushed it away, and it ended up on the least experienced newcomer.
Shen Yihuan wasn’t one to pay much attention to others, but she vaguely remembered that it was a girl who looked very young, with a timid personality, afraid to refuse people. It was no wonder she took the job.
She didn’t hesitate and directly agreed to the task reassignment, which even made Zhou Yishu gasp in surprise.
________________________________________
The next day.
Dusk had fallen. It had just rained at noon, and now the weather was sticky, humid, and muggy.
The taxi drove into the villa area, a place where every inch of land was worth a fortune, and even the driver’s gaze towards Shen Yihuan held admiration.
He chattered incessantly along the way, and Shen Yihuan responded casually, not really processing his words.
She turned her head, looking out the window, her thoughts wandering. She might truly be destined to attract wealth; Shi Zhenping’s company was indeed growing larger and larger.
“Stop at the gate of that compound ahead.”
The car stopped.
As Shen Yihuan got out, her mother happened to emerge from the garage in the yard, likely having arrived almost at the same time. Seeing Shen Yihuan there, she froze. “What are you doing here?”
Shen Yihuan frowned, staring at the side of her mother’s face. Her mother seemed to suddenly remember something and slightly averted her face.
The fights she had as a child weren’t for nothing; she couldn’t possibly fail to recognize what that red mark on her mother’s left cheek was.
Shen Yihuan said coldly, “Did he hit you?”
Her mother waved her hand. “How could that be? Come, come on, let’s go inside. Why are you suddenly here today?”
Shen Yihuan stood still, raising her hand to push her mother’s hand away. As her mother drew closer, she saw it more clearly: it was a distinct slap mark.
“Tell me first, how did you get that on your face?”
“I just bumped it!” Her mother grew impatient, frowning, her tone not good. “Why are you so stubborn?!”
“You can’t get a bump like that from just bumping it! Do you take me for a fool?”
“We just had an argument,” her mother sighed. In these years of two marriages, her assertiveness had long been worn away. Only in front of Shen Yihuan could she still speak her mind.
Inside the house, Shen Yihuan took a glass of warm water from the housekeeper.
Her mother waved for all the servants to leave the room.
“It’s nothing serious, it’s just that your uncle has been sorting out his assets lately. I mentioned a few times to him about preparing some dowry for you, so you won’t lose face when you get married later. He promises well, but when I ask to see which houses, stocks, or funds he’s transferring to your name, he gets evasive.”
Shen Yihuan tightly gripped the water glass, her temples throbbing faintly.
“I never wanted any of Shi Zhenping’s property. Aren’t you aware of how much everyone in this family, from top to bottom, is guarding against me taking Shi family assets?”
“What kind of talk is that?!” The woman’s voice became sharp. “I painstakingly plan your future, and this is your attitude?!”
Shen Yihuan suppressed her anger and asked, “And then he hit you?”
“Yes!” she said ungraciously, very impatiently.
“Mom, you should divorce him,” Shen Yihuan said calmly and with restraint. “I can support you now. I have a job and can earn money. Why should you let someone hit you?”
The woman’s face showed shock. “What are you saying?! Do you really think that little money you earn is so great? Don’t you see who provided you with such good conditions since you were little? Without your Uncle Shi, you wouldn’t even have finished college! And you’re thinking of having us divorce, that you’ll support me? Can you even support yourself? I see you just messing around with those useless things all day!”
Shen Yihuan was silent for a few seconds, then finally simply laughed.
“Mom, are you really so dependent on money in this life?”
Her tone was calm, but her words were like a barrage of knives.
“I never lacked money growing up, but did you raise me? The money was from my dad, and the person who raised me was my grandma. What does that have to do with you?”
“Don’t mention your grandma to me!” the woman suddenly snapped.
As soon as her words fell, the sound of the front door opening came from the entrance. Shi Zhenping’s voice: “Oh, it’s so lively at home!”
“You’re back. Yihuan’s here today too,” her mother instantly smiled, as if changing faces.
Amazing.
“Oh, why is Yihuan here today? Is work easier recently?”
Shi Zhenping spoke quite amiably. If it weren’t for the obvious red mark on her mother’s face, one would truly believe this was his genuine self.
Shen Yihuan didn’t answer.
Her mother pinched her, forcing a smile. “What could her work be busy with? A bunch of uneducated people. I told you long ago to find her a position in the company so she could learn, it would be better than now.”
“Then you also have to ask Yihuan if she’s willing to deal with those tedious documents,” Shi Zhenping handed his suit to the maid and instructed, “Call Miss down, it’s time for dinner.”
Her mother nudged her, whispering, “Quick, say you’re willing.”
Shen Yihuan said, “No, I’m not here to eat with you today. I just came to tell you that I won’t be here for a while.”
Her mother was stunned. “Where are you going?”
“Xinjiang.”
At this, even Shi Zhenping’s movements paused.
Shen Yihuan spoke before her mother could. “Also, I won’t take a single cent of the Shi family’s property. Stop being so guarded all the time, like a parvenu. Don’t think everyone in the world is coveting your money.”
She looked at Shi Zhenping, calmly. “A wife is not for hitting. If I find out you hit her again, just try me.”
Shi Jin came down from upstairs, just in time to hear her words, and sneered, “Then pack your bags and get out.”
Accompanying Shi Jin’s sneer was the very apt sound of a crisp slap.
Shen Yihuan’s head turned to the side.
Her mother pointed her index finger at her. “Shen Yihuan! Apologize to your uncle!”
________________________________________
The night wind was cooler than during the day. The sky above was studded with stars, not very bright, just faintly glowing, and even the moon was hidden in the haze.
She couldn’t get a taxi here, so Shen Yihuan walked a long way.
Her high heels hurt her feet; her heels were all red.
She sat down on a stone chair in the nearby lawn.
Her phone vibrated.
Lu Zhou: Are you home? I’m coming to get my things.
Shen Yihuan sniffled, suddenly feeling a pang of sadness. She blinked, pushing back the wetness, and replied: “I’m not home. Come find me.”
Lu Zhou: “Where?”
She sent him a location.
As soon as she sent it, her phone died and turned off. WeChat’s location was only an approximate one, and the villas in this area all looked identical. She wasn’t sure if Lu Zhou would be able to find her.
But she was too tired and didn’t want to move.
She suddenly remembered high school, when it seemed Lu Zhou was always waiting for her.
Waiting for her to finish playing games so they could eat together, sometimes patiently waiting for her at the door when she was held back after class, and waiting for her during track practice.
She half-closed her eyes, thinking about the past, until a beam of light pierced through the darkness.
Shen Yihuan raised her hand to shield her eyes. Through her fingers, she saw a tall figure in white shirt and black pants, walking towards her through the dust motes dancing in the light, his feverish aura tinged with starlight.
“Shen Yihuan,” he called her name.
Tch, again with the full name. She looked up. She was sitting, Lu Zhou was standing. Looking up at him, she could see his deep-set eyes, his firm, smooth jawline.
“Lu Zhou, do you think I’m pretty?” she asked inexplicably.
His dark eyes looked down at her. After a moment, he spoke, “Been drinking?”
“Bullshit, not a drop.”
“Why is your phone off?”
Shen Yihuan took out her phone, pressed the main button to show him. “Battery died.”
“Where are my umbrella and clothes?”
“At home.”
He didn’t speak again, being incredibly awkward.
Shen Yihuan: “You take me home, I’ll give them to you.”
Lu Zhou’s expression was rigid. He gripped her wrist, exuding an aura of impending storm. “Is playing tricks fun?”
“I’m not playing tricks on you.”
“Lu Zhou.” With just those two words, Shen Yihuan’s voice, which she had finally managed to calm, suddenly choked up. She felt the grip on her wrist suddenly tighten.
She looked up, her eyes quickly reddening.
“I got hit,” she added. “A slap.”
Lu Zhou paused, his gaze shifted to her face, and he involuntarily bent down.
A jade pendant fell from his neck, black string, white jade.
The man had spent four years in military academy and many years enduring the wind and sand in the frontier. His fingertips were somewhat rough, gently brushing her cheek, carrying warmth and a blush-inducing friction.
When he bent down, his lips were very close to Shen Yihuan’s ear.
His voice was deep: “Does it hurt?”
She nodded: “It hurts.”
“Who hit you?”
“My mom.”
Lu Zhou looked into her eyes. The proximity made her heart race easily.
Shen Yihuan only felt her heart suddenly speed up. Lu Zhou had a pair of beautiful, sharp eyes, narrow eyelids, long and slender at the corners, with dense but not long eyelashes.
“Why did she hit you?”
“To vent her anger.”
Lu Zhou frowned, as if suppressing a precarious calm.
“There are mosquitoes. Let’s get in the car first,” Shen Yihuan said.
...
Lu Zhou slammed the car door shut, then reached up and turned on the dim yellow sensor light. He pulled out a paper towel and handed it over.
Shen Yihuan froze, touched her face. It was dry; she hadn’t cried. She turned her head to look at Lu Zhou, but he wasn’t looking at her, so she took the paper towel.
He picked up her phone, plugged it into the car’s USB port, and set it aside.
Shen Yihuan fiddled with the tissue between her index fingers, idly pulling it apart. Both were silent, the car quiet, and he wasn’t in a hurry to drive.
A cigarette dangled from his lips, unlit, as he turned his head to look out the window.
Buzz. Her phone automatically turned on, followed by a burst of music. Her mother was calling.
“...”
Shen Yihuan stared at the lit screen, unmoving.
She was hesitating whether to answer when a hand reached over, an arm with smooth, muscular lines, and crisply hung up the call.
Shen Yihuan naturally turned her head to look.
Lu Zhou’s face was quite grim. He leaned lazily back in the car seat, his eyes filled with a brooding anger.
Shen Yihuan had always felt that Lu Zhou was a walking contradiction of rogue and righteous. To outsiders, he had a good temper, was a model student, and his face was so upright it seemed pure, easily deceiving people.
But he was also obsessive and violent. In the past, he could suppress his extremes, but now it seemed he was becoming increasingly uncontrollable.
He bit the cigarette, his voice muffled, “Does she often hit you?”
“Huh?” “Your mom.”
“Today was the first time.”
Lu Zhou glanced at her, as if to confirm the truth of her words.
Shen Yihuan lowered her head, suddenly feeling an uncontrollable sadness.
Her mother had indeed never hit her before, nor did she have the time to. Even when she was such a scoundrel back then, she never heard her mother or Shen Fu scold her.
Back then, the one who hit her, scolded her, and disciplined her was another person—her grandmother.
The little old lady was very small. Her grandfather had passed away very early, and she had been lonely for half her life. Every day, she would lecture Shen Yihuan for a long time about her bizarre ripped pants and excessively flashy nails.
She had been a teacher for a few years when she was young and still had a ruler. Shen Yihuan, of course, wouldn’t obediently hold out her hand to be hit, so the old lady would hit her back.
Whack, whack, whack, the sound quite loud.
But it didn’t hurt at all. Her back wasn’t easily hurt, and besides, her grandmother didn’t have much strength and couldn’t bear to hit her hard.
So Shen Yihuan didn’t care about being hit by her and still loved her grandmother very much, often going to see her after school.
________________________________________
“Lu Zhou, do you still remember my grandma?” she suddenly asked.
Lu Zhou nodded. “I remember.”
“She’s gone,” Shen Yihuan said. “Less than a month after my dad died, she passed away too.”
Lu Zhou paused, looking at her.
In high school, Lu Zhou would sometimes accompany her to her grandmother’s house. The old lady would lecture her granddaughter every day but was exceptionally fond of Lu Zhou, which sometimes made Shen Yihuan jealous.
Shen Yihuan gently curved her lips, then quickly straightened them. “But it’s fine, it wasn’t some torturous illness that killed her.”
“My dad had just died back then, leaving behind a pile of debt. All the real estate was repossessed by the bank, and the money was gone. My mom told me to go to my grandma to borrow money, saying she definitely had savings. So I went. My grandma didn’t lend me any money.”
Lu Zhou remained silent, listening intently.
“I didn’t mind. I just sat with her in front of the small vegetable patch outside and chatted. She was in a good mood that day, not crying anymore. I wanted to cheer her up, so I kept telling her jokes, and she kept laughing joyfully.”
“Then I told another joke, and this time there was no sound. I turned around and saw her leaning her head to the side on the lounge chair.”
“She was already gone.”
The tears fell without warning, plop, right onto the phone screen.
Shen Yihuan couldn’t hold back the tears she had suppressed all night. She wasn’t inherently strong, and as she cried, she lost control even more, her breathing becoming unsteady.
Her entire face, including her palms, was drenched with tears.
Her grandmother never gave them the money until Shen Yihuan passed her 23rd birthday. A lawyer then contacted her, saying that the old lady had instructed them to only give her the money when she was truly grown up.
There was also a letter, which read, “Our Yihuan has suffered these past few years. Grandma didn’t want you to suffer, but if I had given you the money then, your mother would surely have squandered it all. This money isn’t much, but it’s enough for you to live comfortably for a while and pay back the favors you owe.”
Shen Yihuan took the passbook and repaid the money Shi Zhenping had given her to finish college.
She rented an apartment and moved out of the Shi family’s house.
________________________________________
Lu Zhou looked at Shen Yihuan through the dim overhead light. The young girl’s face was pale, large tears rolling down, her eyelashes wet and clumpy.
He didn’t know how he had managed during the days after Shen Yihuan left.
He had even entertained terrifying thoughts of simply grabbing her back, breaking her legs, and keeping her confined at home.
When he was sad and hurting, he countless times resented why Shen Yihuan could be so carefree, so nonchalant, and leave so cleanly.
Now he finally saw it.
His little girl.
Crying, her whole body trembling, as if trying to release all the grievances she had endured over the years, her words incoherent.
He clenched his fists, his voice low and hoarse. “Don’t cry.”
Shen Yihuan cried even louder, pressing the heels of her palms against her eyes, crying so hard that she bent over, her forearms pressed against her thighs.
“You, you... do you still remember the lollipops I really liked to eat when we were in school?” she suddenly said.
Lu Zhou said, “I remember.”
It was a lollipop with individual packaging. You’d tear it open, and there was a lollipop inside. It wasn’t as hard to open as old-fashioned lollipops, and it had a strong milky flavor.
Shen Yihuan pulled out a tissue to wipe her tears, hiccuping and sniffling.
“Back then, they would all pinch the wrapper, and then it would ‘pop!’ open. Mine never did.”
She was utterly wronged, even demonstrating with her hands in the air. “Why? Only mine couldn’t pop open. I wanted it to ‘pop!’ too...”
Lu Zhou: “...”
Shen Yihuan was so incoherent she didn’t know what she was saying anymore.
She kept repeating past trivialities, all for inexplicable reasons, yet she cried so earnestly and aggrievedly. Anyone else listening would surely be torn between laughter and tears.
Lu Zhou didn’t laugh. He silently started the car.
Shen Yihuan thought he was taking her home. Only when the car stopped did she realize they were in an unfamiliar place. She froze, and the man beside her had already slammed the door and gotten out.
The next second, the car doors locked.
In less than two minutes, he returned.
He tossed a large bag of pink-packaged items onto her lap.
It was a bag of lollipops, a 24-pack, the exact kind she had loved in high school.
Lu Zhou said.
“You pinch it.”
“Pinch until it pops.”
“If this bag doesn’t work, I’ll buy more.”
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