Food Supplements - Chapter 2

The city was enormous. The taxi passed through countless traffic lights, and the meter ticked upward again and again, yet all they had done was travel from one bustling district to another.

When Qin Cheng got out at her destination, the middle-aged driver could not help saying, “You’re a very pretty young woman, but you look far too pale. Don’t lose any more weight. Your health is what matters most.”

He did not know that, given the choice, she would have paid any price to regain her health and put some flesh back on her body, rather than struggle to swallow anything, suffer frequent abdominal pain and diarrhea, and even develop fluid buildup in her abdomen.

Still, his words came from kindness, so Qin Cheng did not explain. She even smiled at him gratefully.

After getting out of the taxi, she went to a nearby convenience store and bought several boxes of pastries and a cup of hot coffee. Then she picked up a newspaper from a newsstand and found a clean flower bed where she could sit in the sunlight. She spread the newspaper beside the green leaves and flowers, sat down calmly, opened one of the pastry boxes, and began eating at a leisurely pace.

Sitting there like this, Qin Cheng looked no different from any other young person taking a break after a tiring day of shopping. It was almost as if she had taken a taxi all this way simply to bask in the sun and enjoy something to eat and drink.

But Qin Cheng, who calculated every cent she spent, would never have traveled so far just to sit in the sun.

Although she appeared relaxed as she slowly ate and drank, her eyes remained fixed on one particular place without blinking, a trace of anticipation in her gaze.

Not far from her stood a high-rise office building. Beside its towering main structure was a semi-detached annex, an elegant and imposing three-story building covered in glass curtain walls. It complemented the surrounding greenery, offering both privacy and security while still giving off a lively, energetic atmosphere.

Qin Cheng was not the only person nearby showing an interest in the building. Quite a few young people watched it with varying degrees of curiosity, and several people carrying cameras repeatedly loitered around the area in a suspicious manner, only to be kept outside by the diligent security guards.

They were watching because of the glittering stars and entertainment gossip inside.

Qin Cheng was watching because of one person.

A person who had almost single-handedly created all that dazzling starlight.

And she had done it in only four short years.

Naturally, someone like that could not be seen simply because one wished to see her. Even though Qin Cheng had already found the best vantage point and waited with extraordinary patience for four or five hours, she still came away empty-handed.

When the pain began, she had no choice but to swallow a large handful of pills and quietly call a taxi home, lest she attract any unnecessary attention or concern.

The minor setback did not seem to discourage her.

She returned the next day, even earlier than before.

She was clearly familiar with the surrounding area. At the very least, she knew where the restrooms were, where to find convenience stores, which spots were hidden from view, and which places offered the best view. Had her body not held her back, she probably could have staked out the place for an entire day, rivaling even the most dedicated paparazzo.

But luck still was not on Qin Cheng’s side.

Although she arrived earlier on the second day and waited with even greater patience and concentration, the person she wanted to see simply did not appear.

By the time she returned home late that night, her already poor complexion had worsened.

Qin Cheng did not go on the third day.

It was not because she did not want to. She simply could not.

She could not even leave her room.

Perhaps because she had exhausted herself over the previous two days, she slept terribly that night. She woke several times, nearly every half hour.

Worse still, persistent abdominal pain began in the latter half of the night. At one point, the pain even radiated into her lower back. Swallowing handfuls of painkillers brought no immediate relief. She suffered until morning light filled the room before the pain gradually began to ease.

The result was that Qin Cheng spent the rest of the day drifting in and out of sleep. She barely got out of bed, did not eat a proper meal, and survived only on two pieces of fruit the landlady kindly brought her.

Even after putting herself through all that, Qin Cheng still forced herself out of bed on the fourth day.

She slowly washed and dressed, then took a taxi back to the same place.

After getting out, she even made a special trip to a nearby bakery and bought two small strawberry cakes.

The weather was once again mild and sunny.

Holding the little cakes, Qin Cheng sat beside the flower bed until the afternoon. Finally, a little after three o’clock, she saw a familiar business van slowly turn off the road ahead and pull up in front of the three-story building.

The security guards at the entrance immediately went to greet it.

Qin Cheng shrank back, curling herself into an even less noticeable spot behind the flowers and shrubs.

The vehicle door opened, and a man and a woman stepped out.

The man looked to be in his thirties or forties. He was tall and fairly handsome, dressed in a suit with the polished bearing of a gentleman.

The woman was relatively young. Her elegantly tailored outfit complemented her refined yet aloof features. Even walking beside the man, she did not lose the slightest bit of presence.

After getting out, the two chatted as if no one else were around while walking unhurriedly toward the building.

Although Qin Cheng could not hear what they were saying, their conversation appeared relaxed and natural. Every so often, the man made some exaggerated gesture, and each time, a faint smile appeared on the woman’s lips.

From the shadow of the flower bed across the road, Qin Cheng gave the man only a casual glance.

After that, her gaze remained locked firmly on the woman.

Her usually dull, shadowed eyes were now bright and alive. A torrent of complicated emotions churned visibly within them, so intense that moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes.

Unfortunately, it did not take long to walk from the vehicle to the entrance.

After watching the figure disappear inside, Qin Cheng finally looked away and stood up.

She opened one of the cake boxes, held the cake in her hands, lowered her head, and softly hummed a cheerful song.

It was a song known by everyone from three-year-old children to elderly people in their nineties.

The melody was simple, and the lyrics were even simpler. From beginning to end, they contained only six Chinese characters:

Happy birthday to you.

Qin Cheng lowered her head and hummed it softly several times.

At last, she looked toward the building again and murmured, “Happy twenty-ninth birthday, Chu Qinyi.”

Then she placed the cake on the edge of the flower bed, turned around, and staggered away without looking back.

She had given away one cake, but she still had another.

After returning to her lodgings, Qin Cheng cut the remaining cake into three pieces.

She took one piece to the young couple on the second floor to thank them for lending her hot water earlier. She gave another to the landlady to thank her for the fruit she had brought the day before.

“It’s my friend’s birthday cake. There was extra, so I brought some back to share with everyone. Good fortune only grows when it’s shared,” she explained.

But Qin Cheng knew that her gratitude was only an excuse.

She simply wanted to share the cake so she could pretend that she had truly celebrated the other woman’s birthday.

“Oh, you’re such a polite young lady. Thank you.” The landlady accepted the cake with a broad smile, then wiggled her eyebrows and asked, “What kind of friend? Your boyfriend?”

In some ways, the landlady was much harder to deal with than the young couple—and far more nosy.

Normally, Qin Cheng would dodge the question, but for some reason, she suddenly felt like talking to someone that day.

After hesitating, she answered honestly, “Not a boyfriend, but… I suppose you could call her my ex.”

The landlady’s smile froze for a moment.

Then it widened even further as she comforted her, “Your ex? Good! You did the right thing! You’ve been sick for so long, and he never once came to take care of you. Clearly, he was no good. You should have dumped someone like that ages ago! Once you’re healthy again, I’ll introduce you to someone better. Don’t worry, I know plenty of people!”

She did not know the truth about Qin Cheng’s illness.

She only knew that the young woman had some chronic condition that sent her to the hospital every few days and occasionally required longer stays. She had no idea it was terminal, which was why she spoke so casually.

Qin Cheng gave a bleak smile.

Her sudden desire to talk vanished like the receding tide.

After exchanging a few polite words, she said goodbye and returned to her room.

Perhaps she really was suited to being a vicious little villain.

She had betrayed someone and hurt her, yet here was another person defending Qin Cheng and cursing the other woman for being no good.

After returning to her room in low spirits, Qin Cheng did nothing except sit at the table and eat the final piece of cake one bite at a time.

The strawberries were bright red, and the cake smelled sweet, yet everything tasted bitter in her mouth.

Perhaps she had taken too much medicine. At some point, her sense of taste had gradually dulled. Most of the time, she could barely taste anything at all. She could only chew and swallow mechanically.

When she was unlucky, she would become nauseated and vomit after eating.

This time was no different.

Soon after finishing the cake, nausea swept over her. Qin Cheng bent over and crouched down, clutching her abdomen as she struggled not to throw up.

In the end, however, she could not overcome her body’s instinctive reaction.

Looking at the mess in the trash bin, the woman closed her eyes.

Finally, she curled her lips into a self-mocking smile.

“That’s right. I never had the right to eat your birthday cake…”

I’m sorry I betrayed you.

I’m sorry I hurt you.

I’m sorry I turned our hearts into something that could be bought and sold.

I’m sorry that even now, after everything, I still don’t truly regret it.

At some point, Qin Cheng had begun looking at herself in the mirror only when the bathroom was filled with its thickest steam.

The reflection was still her, yet it was no longer her.

The person in the mirror was frail and shriveled. Every rib stood out clearly beneath her excessively thin body.

Her once smooth, black hair had become dry and brittle from malnutrition, resembling withered weeds.

And the pale skin that someone had loved most back then was now covered in an unhealthy waxy yellow hue, the lingering mark of jaundice.

That was not even the worst of it.

At her worst, fluid buildup in her abdomen caused her lower belly to swell outward. Combined with her emaciated frame, she looked as horrifying as a starving ghost from hell.

Whenever a family member saw someone in such a condition for the first time, fear and unease inevitably appeared in their eyes.

There was no such thing as an elegant patient.

There was no such thing as a beautiful death.

Even the brightest and loveliest flower became yellow and withered after it died.

For most people, the appearance of someone hovering between life and death could only be called ugly.

Qin Cheng had no intention of enduring that ugliness.

She wanted things to be quieter.

More peaceful.

Perhaps even a little more within her own control.

Now, everything had been settled.

That night, after taking a long, comfortable shower in the ground-floor bathroom, Qin Cheng returned to her room feeling completely at ease.

She dried her hair and changed into her favorite, most comfortable pajamas.

Then she switched off the overhead light, leaving only the small lamp on the bedside table.

Warm yellow light filled the entire room.

Under that cozy glow, Qin Cheng first adjusted her digital alarm clock.

Early the next morning, it would ring once every ten minutes.

The old building’s walls were not particularly soundproof. After the alarm went off several times, the landlady would surely come knock on the door, then use her spare key to enter and check on her.

After setting the time, Qin Cheng placed two envelopes beside the alarm clock.

One was thick and addressed to the landlady.

Her selfish decision would undoubtedly cause the older woman tremendous trouble and perhaps even terror. Therefore, in addition to an apology letter, Qin Cheng had left more than ten thousand yuan in cash inside.

She believed that would adequately compensate the woman for the shock she was about to endure.

The other envelope was thinner and addressed to her parents.

There were not many words inside.

No amount of writing could comfort parents who had lost their only daughter.

Although Qin Cheng had deliberately kept her distance from them over the past few years, she knew they loved her, just as she loved them.

The only thing she could do was try to lessen the guilt and regret they would feel after learning the truth.

Those emotions, like grief, could ruin a person’s health.

After arranging everything, Qin Cheng poured herself a cup of warm water.

Then she swallowed every pill in her medicine bottles in several batches, including an entire bottle of sleeping pills that she had secretly saved for a long time.

She switched off the bedside lamp and lay down fully dressed on the soft bed.

Before closing her eyes, she even smoothed every wrinkle from her clothes.

This is the end.

I’m so tired…

After that hazy thought, her consciousness gradually began to dissolve.

Only by experiencing it firsthand did she learn that losing consciousness did not happen in an instant.

It was a process.

And in her dazed state, Qin Cheng even found herself enjoying it.

Perhaps it was because the medicine she had taken included a large quantity of painkillers. With her mind growing foggy, she felt as if she were floating among the clouds.

She was relaxed and comfortable.

Her body, long tormented by illness, became light and weightless, as though it too had transformed into part of the clouds and would never torture her again.

Lightness.

Relief.

Peace.

Security.

Long-forgotten sensations returned one after another.

Surrounded by them, she seemed to have entered heaven, where she would remain forever.

She had already lost all sense of time.

Yet at some unknown moment, a faint sound pierced the clouds from far away.

It was muffled and weak, but it echoed stubbornly, disturbing the tranquility of her white heaven.

What was that sound?

The last remnants of her consciousness slowly gathered.

Why did it seem so familiar?

Why did she miss it so much?

It bothered her too deeply to ignore.

Her hazy consciousness drew together bit by bit until, at last, it condensed into a thread of clarity.

It was a phone ringtone.

A specially assigned ringtone.

A ringtone belonging to one particular person.

A bright, clear melody that had not sounded in years.

A melody that person had once played herself.

The moment Qin Cheng realized this, heaven vanished.

Her eyes flew open, and she plunged back into the darkness of reality.

Why was this melody playing?

Why today?

Was it really her on the other end?

Had she called to say one final goodbye?

The medication had already taken effect. Although a shred of clarity remained, most of Qin Cheng’s mind was chaotic, like a pot of boiling porridge.

Her body felt paralyzed, completely numb and almost impossible to move.

Even so, she managed to regain a little control.

Her trembling arm reached out blindly.

The ringtone continued to echo with stubborn persistence, just as it had when they first separated.

Back then, Qin Cheng had forced herself not to answer.

But now, with only the final thread of her life remaining, she no longer had the strength to consider the consequences.

She only wanted to hear that voice one more time.

Even if all she heard was the sound of breathing.

A little farther.

Just a little more.

Almost there…

Her phone was inside the small backpack she usually carried, and the backpack was beside the bedside table.

Normally, it was within easy reach.

Now, however, the distance felt like crossing thousands of mountains and rivers.

At last, she managed to touch the bag, but she did not even have the strength to lift it.

She could only reach inside and feel around.

Where was it?

She could clearly feel the vibration of the ringing phone.

Where was it?

The small backpack suddenly seemed as vast as a warehouse. Her fingertips searched again and again, yet could not touch what she wanted.

Qin Cheng’s vision was blurred.

The consciousness she had struggled to gather began fading once more.

Even the ringtone seemed to drift farther away, becoming vague and uncertain.

In despair, she made one final effort.

She abruptly forced herself upright and reached deeper into the bag.

For one brief second, she thought she truly felt the vibrating phone beneath her fingers.

But in the next instant, disaster struck.

She had used too much force.

Her uncoordinated limb knocked the backpack from the bedside table.

In the darkness came a chaotic clatter as its contents spilled across the floor.

Immediately afterward, there was a loud thud.

Then everything fell silent.

The ringtone stopped.

The sound of breathing stopped.

Every chaotic noise disappeared.

In the darkness, only the contents of the backpack lay scattered across the floor, along with a thin, frail body that had fallen from the bed and collapsed over them.

Before long, dark red liquid slowly seeped out from beneath her body.

It spread across the floor, gradually forming a thick, winding stream.

What a pity…

She felt very little pain, so Qin Cheng did not care what sharp object had pierced her body when she fell.

At that moment, her chest was filled with only endless regret.

Then the last faint glimmer in her eyes went out completely.