No One Loves Me (GL) - Chapter 7

After Tangyuan’s neutering surgery, he was still under anesthesia. The doctor had placed his tongue so that it was sticking out of the side of his mouth, and he looked very funny.

Xie Zhitang couldn’t help but take a few pictures of him. “Sister, he’s so cute.”

Xin Geling stood beside her, watching her snap photos. She looked at Tangyuan after he had been neutered, and the corners of her lips also turned up in a smile.

“After the neutering, Tangyuan won’t have heat cycles or pee everywhere.”

“When will Tangyuan be fully recovered?”

“In about ten days. The doctor said we need to keep the Elizabethan collar on him during that time, or he’ll lick his wound.”

Xin Geling waited for Xie Zhitang to finish taking pictures before gently placing the motionless Tangyuan into his carrier. She zipped it up and carried him back to the shop.

Xie Zhitang held the pet hospital’s glass door open for her. As they were about to go down the steps, two people wearing the hospital’s uniforms walked past them.

“We finally dealt with those two kittens. The person who adopted them seems pretty good. They’ve even been a customer here before.”

“As long as someone’s willing to adopt them, we shouldn’t worry about it too much.”

“I know. People keep abandoning kittens at our door every few days. What do they think this place is?”

The two people’s conversation faded into the distance and disappeared behind the glass door.

Xie Zhitang followed Xin Geling back to the Cat Paws pet grooming shop. After confirming that Tangyuan was okay, she got into her car and drove away.

That night, Lingzhang Street was even more crowded. Not only were there more people, but there were also more cars—sedans, buses, and electric bikes were mixed in. Xie Zhitang’s car moved at a snail’s pace.

Walking would have been faster than driving.

Suddenly, Xie Zhitang saw a familiar figure dart across the street in front of her car.

It was the girl who had given her the cake.

She had gotten her cat’s vaccine much earlier than they had, so she had left the pet hospital long before them.

Xie Zhitang hadn’t expected to see her here again.

The girl and her friend crossed the street and went to a small food stall to buy stir-fried tofu.

“Boss, one portion of stir-fried tofu, please.”

“Coming right up!”

“The money’s been transferred.”

“Okay, got it!”

The two girls waited at the food stall after they had paid.

“Why did you get off work so early today?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I had to take Kele to get his vaccine.”

“Oh, right, I remember now.”

“I have to tell you, I met a very beautiful woman today.”

“Ew! No wonder you’re suddenly treating me to stir-fried tofu today.” The girl’s friend squinted, with a look that said, “I knew it.” “How beautiful is she?”

The girl gave her a look, a little shyly. “I’ll take you to see her in a bit.”

“You’re not serious, are you? You’re going to meet her directly?” the friend asked.

The girl playfully chided her. “It’s not what you think. She works at that Cat Paws pet grooming shop. I’m going to go buy some canned cat food there later, and you can see her then.”

The friend winked. “You’ve already planned it out, so what can I say?”

The girl hit her friend. “Stop it. I’m not buying you stir-fried tofu anymore.”

The friend teased, “No way. I’ll help you get her WeChat later. Is that good enough? I won’t eat your stir-fried tofu for nothing.”

The girl smiled and remained silent.

Suddenly, a car horn blared beside them, startling the two girls. They turned and saw that a white car next to them hadn’t moved for a while and was being impatiently honked at by the car behind it.

But after the horn sounded, the white car started to move forward. The two girls didn’t think much of it. They took the stir-fried tofu from the vendor and walked away.

At the Cat Paws pet grooming shop, Xin Geling was bathing a cat. She had just finished and put it in the dryer box when she received a call from Xie Zhitang.

“What’s wrong?” Xin Geling asked.

“Sister, I think I sprained my ankle.”

Xin Geling looked up at the street outside the door. “Where are you?”

“Right under that big banyan tree.”

Xin Geling looked at the time. It was almost time to get off work. She turned to the owner. “Boss, I’m almost done. The customer is coming to pick up this cat in a bit. I have to leave early.”

The owner looked at the cat in the dryer box. “Okay, you can go home.”

As soon as Xin Geling left, the two girls came in. When they didn’t see Xin Geling, they whispered to each other, bought a can of cat food, and left, disappointed.

Xin Geling walked to the big banyan tree based on her memory. Xie Zhitang was sitting on the brick planter box at the base of the tree, rubbing her ankle, slightly bent over.

“How did you sprain your ankle?” Xin Geling crouched down in front of her and reached for her ankle, trying to massage it for her.

When Xie Zhitang saw her, she explained helplessly, “I thought I saw a cat here and wanted to come over and check it out. I didn’t see a cat, but I sprained my ankle instead. I’m sorry to cause you so much trouble again.”

Xin Geling massaged her with a little more pressure and asked, “Why did you suddenly want to look at cats? The cats outside might be strays.”

“I want to adopt one,” Xie Zhitang said.

Xin Geling looked up in surprise. “You want to adopt one?”

Xie Zhitang looked at her gently. “Yes, I’m thinking about it. I don’t know which cat I’m fated to meet.”

“Do you have a favorite breed?” Xin Geling asked.

“Not really.”

“I thought you would like purebred cats.”

“No. I’ll just see what happens.”

Xin Geling looked at the slender, porcelain-white foot in her hands. The skin was as white as snow, a slight contrast to her own hands. In prison and now at the pet grooming shop, she had to work with her hands, so her palms were a little rougher than others her age.

She massaged it for a while. “Does it still hurt?”

Xie Zhitang pretended to feel it. She frowned, and with her finger, she pointed to a spot just above her ankle. “It still hurts a little here.”

“Okay,” Xin Geling said. She massaged the spot she was pointing to. “If it hurts too much, you should go to the hospital.”

“No need. It’s just a sprain,” Xie Zhitang said. “With you massaging it, it’s already gotten a lot better.”

“Let’s hope so.”

A moment later, Xie Zhitang pulled her hand away. “It doesn’t hurt much anymore. I’m going to try to stand up.”

Xin Geling straightened up and watched her stand on her high heels. “How is it?”

Xie Zhitang smiled. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. I have to go back now. Thank you again today, Sister.”

“You’re welcome. Be safe on the road.” Xin Geling watched her get into the car and drive away, then turned and walked home.

As soon as Xin Geling was gone, a pair of children eating kebabs came out from behind the big banyan tree.

“Don’t adults say lying is bad? Why did that pretty lady lie? She didn’t even sprain her ankle.”

“Hmph, I guess adults lie too. But she’s really pretty, prettier than our language arts teacher.”

“Yeah! I guess it’s not a big deal if a pretty lady lies.”

When Xie Zhitang got home, she had just put down her keys when her younger brother, Xie Zhengxu, called.

“Hello?”

“Dad fainted again today and is back in the hospital,” Xie Zhengxu said on the phone. “When are you coming to see him?”

Xie Zhitang’s father had been a heavy smoker when he was young and had a moody personality. In his old age, he suffered from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and had been in and out of the hospital three or four times this year.

Xie Zhitang put down her bag, her tone almost cold. “I’m busy with work. I don’t have time.”

“What about the medical expenses this time?” Xie Zhengxu asked.

“How much?” Xie Zhitang asked.

“Fifteen thousand…”

Xie Zhitang looked down and transferred five thousand yuan to him.

After receiving the money, Xie Zhengxu immediately called her back. “Five thousand isn’t enough, Xie Zhitang!”

“Don’t you and our third brother have any money?” Xie Zhitang asked.

Xie Zhengxu gritted his teeth on the other end of the line. “Our third brother just bought a car, so he’s tight on money. He can’t spare that much.”

“What about you, then?”

“Mom told me to save for a dowry. I really can’t spare a single cent.”

Mom told him to save for a dowry…

In other words… her mother had thought it through and still chose to have him call her to ask for money.

The love some people had for her was so little, not even a third of the love they had for her younger brother. So the love she returned could only be a third as well.

“That’s not my problem, then,” Xie Zhitang said.

“Xie Zhitang, you’re our older sister. How can you be so heartless?”

“If five thousand is too much, you can transfer it back. I worked hard for that money.”

Xie Zhitang hung up the phone with a detached look, ignoring his fury.

In her freshman year of college, she had a toothache. She was young then, and in high school, she had been so controlled that she barely touched any electronic products. In college, she was still trying to figure things out. She didn’t know what to do and was in so much pain that she couldn’t sleep for two nights. She called her parents.

But her parents said she probably had too much internal heat and told her to drink some herbal granules to clear the heat and detoxify her body.

She did as they said, but it still hurt a lot. It was only after a classmate’s suggestion that she realized it might be a wisdom tooth. She went to the school nurse, but all they did was give her some painkillers and tell her to go to a top-tier hospital to get it pulled out.

She thought her parents would support the extraction, but they told her, “Why pull it out? It’s just a wisdom tooth, not a cavity. There’s no need to pull it out.” Their words stopped her from going to the hospital.

The wisdom tooth hurt for two days and then stopped, and she naively thought she didn’t need to get it pulled.

Until half a month later, she was woken up in the middle of the night by the pain. It was so bad that her mind was buzzing, and she felt like she would rather die.

The wisdom tooth was hurting again.

She called her parents in tears, but they still told her to take some painkillers and endure it.

And so, she endured the pain of her wisdom tooth for a second time.

She never knew her tolerance for pain could be so high.

Three days after the pain subsided, she started tutoring to save money. After more than a month, she finally went to the hospital to get the wisdom tooth that had caused her so much pain extracted.

She could have endured the darkness if she had never seen the light.

That same year, her younger brother, who was five years younger than her, developed rhinitis. The whole family went all out, even quitting their jobs to take him to find folk remedies. Her grandmother even started a vegetarian diet and prayed for his well-being.

Her brother was lucky and recovered soon after.

Xie Zhitang sat on the sofa and gave a self-deprecating smile.

Xin Geling took the cake back to her mother.

“A customer gave it to me,” Xin Geling explained the whole story to her mother.

“Why didn’t you eat it, then?” Lin Huilan asked.

“Of course, it’s because I wanted to eat the food you made,” Xin Geling said.

Lin Huilan couldn’t hide her smile. She didn’t stand on ceremony and barely ate any dinner, choosing to eat the cake instead.

“What did you do today, Mom?” Xin Geling asked casually.

Lin Huilan’s hand, which was holding the cake, paused. “Nothing much. I just chatted with the older folks.”

Xin Geling didn’t suspect anything. “That’s good.”

Just then, there was a loud thunderclap outside.

“It’s going to rain,” Xin Geling said, looking out the window. She put down her bowl and chopsticks and went to the balcony to bring in the clothes.

When she was done, she went back to the dinner table but didn’t see her mother. Xin Geling was confused. “Mom?”

“Lin Huilan? Where are you?”

Xin Geling called out as she searched the house, but she couldn’t find her. Half of the cake was still on the table.

She looked at the door, and a guess formed in her mind. Could her mom have gone out?

Why would she go out?

Xin Geling, filled with doubt, opened both doors and went downstairs.

As she got closer to the first floor, she heard her landlord’s voice.

“Teacher Lin, I’ve told you how many times. You can’t put things in the stairwell. When it rains, everything gets damp. Why are these cardboard boxes here again? It’s going to rain so hard tonight; they’ll be soaked in no time. Then there will be cockroaches and bugs everywhere. How are other people supposed to live here?”

“I know. I’ll move them now. Just give me some time. I didn’t have time to sell them today, so I temporarily put them here.”

Xin Geling’s feet stopped dead in their tracks. She was just at the bottom of the stairwell.

“Didn’t your daughter get out of prison? Why are you still doing this? Hasn’t she found a job?”

“She has, she has. I’m just trying to lighten her burden.”

“Fine. Just make sure you move all these cardboard boxes tonight. Don’t leave them here.”

“Okay.”

The landlord turned and went into her apartment. In the old stairwell, a dim light shone on Lin Huilan’s back.

She looked embarrassed as she watched the landlord close the door. She was about to start organizing the cardboard boxes when she looked up and saw her daughter standing on the stairs.

“My daughter…” Lin Huilan rubbed her dirty hands together. “Mom was just—”

Before she could finish, Lin Huilan saw her daughter walk over, crouch down in front of her, and silently start stacking the scattered cardboard boxes on the floor. Once the stack was high enough, she tied them up with a rope.

Xin Geling went further into the stairwell. Some of the boxes were new and sturdy, while others were tattered and looked like they had been taken out of a trash can, with the sour smell of leftover food clinging to them.

“Are these all of them?” she asked calmly.

Lin Huilan stood behind her daughter, suddenly feeling a little flustered. When she heard her daughter’s question, she could only nod. “Yes, they’re all from today. The recycling center closed early, so I didn’t have time to sell them.”

“Okay.”

Xin Geling reached into the corner and pulled out more cardboard boxes, stacking them again.

After she organized everything, she had three large bundles of cardboard.

Each bundle was as tall as her thigh.

After Xin Geling had tied the bundles, she lifted one from the bottom and hoisted it onto her shoulder. “Do you want me to take them home?”

“Yes,” Lin Huilan said. When she saw her daughter putting the bundle on her shoulder, she couldn’t help but reach out to help her. “Be careful.”

“It’s okay. They’re not very heavy,” Xin Geling said, walking toward the stairs. She thought of something and stopped, turning slightly to look at Lin Huilan in the stairwell. “I’ll come back down for the rest. Don’t try to lift them. You might hurt your back.”

When Lin Huilan heard this, she immediately took back her hand, which was about to lift another bundle of cardboard, and promised her daughter, “Okay, I won’t. You be careful.”

When Xin Geling saw that she was being obedient, she started to climb the stairs again. Their apartment was on the third floor, and the stairs were narrow. With such large bundles of cardboard, it was easy to hit the wall, lose her balance, and fall.

But Xin Geling walked steadily, carrying the bundle safely from the first to the third floor. She put the cardboard by the door and went back down for the remaining bundles.

After she had brought all three bundles to the door, Lin Huilan went inside with her.

“Bring them in here, here.” Once inside, Lin Huilan gave her daughter directions, pointing to the small space next to the living room where she could temporarily put them.

So, Xin Geling carried the three bundles of cardboard inside, one by one, to keep them from getting damp.

Lin Huilan closed the door, relieved. She poured a glass of water for her daughter. “Daughter, have some water.”

Xin Geling took a drink and glanced at the three bundles of cardboard. “When does the recycling center open?”

Lin Huilan poured a glass for herself and took a sip. “It opens at 8 a.m. I don’t know when the rain will stop tonight. If it’s still raining tomorrow, we won’t be able to sell them. We’ll have to wait a couple of days.”

“Okay. I’ll take them to the recycling center for you as soon as the rain stops tomorrow.”

Xin Geling looked at the three bundles of cardboard again. They were leaning against the wall, where there was a clear indentation on the plaster. It was a mark that had only been made from things being stacked there for a long time. She had seen it when she was cleaning the house, and she had wondered what had been piled there.

She never thought it would be cardboard.

“Mom, are you going to keep collecting cardboard?” Xin Geling asked her calmly.

Lin Huilan’s face was once again filled with embarrassment. She didn’t dare to look her daughter in the eye. “I want to help you lighten your burden.”

“But you’re a teacher,” Xin Geling said.

Her mother used to be so concerned with her reputation. Before the divorce, her mother had endured domestic abuse to maintain her dignity and respect in front of her students, never allowing a single bad word to be said.

But now, the landlord called her “Teacher Lin” to her face, sarcastically alluding to the fact that she had fallen so low as to collect trash.

And all she could do was nod submissively and say she would “move them immediately.”

When Lin Huilan heard Xin Geling’s words, she initially tried to act nonchalant. “I… I’m not a teacher anymore. I’m just a… a collector—”

But before she could say the last two words, Lin Huilan’s voice broke, and she began to sob uncontrollably.

Xin Geling’s expression softened. Her throat tightened, and she pulled her mother into a hug to comfort her.

“Teacher Lin, you will always be the outstanding and excellent Teacher Lin. You are not a trash collector.”

Lin Huilan wept like a child.