To Covet (GL) - Chapter 34

The second bottle of antibiotics was nearly empty. Xu Lanlan’s stomach was already rumbling loudly, and with the nurse’s permission, she couldn’t wait to drag me out for a good meal.

“Sister, do you want to come downstairs to eat lunch with us later?” Xu Lanlan called Yu Zhouwan “sister” with effortless ease.

Even though it was lunchtime and the scent of food was in the air, the hospital food smelled completely unappetizing. I ached everywhere and was too lazy to go downstairs, so I told her to just bring me a takeout box after they finished eating.

“Sorry, I can’t. I already ordered delivery,” Yu Zhouwan politely declined.

With Xu Lanlan gone, Yu Zhouwan and I were left facing each other in awkward silence again.

We had nothing to talk about at the moment. I flipped through every social app on my phone. She had turned on the air conditioning, took off her woolen coat and draped it over a chair, and was hunched over a book, writing and sketching with her back to me.

I tossed and turned, making the bed frame creak.

She turned to look at me, so I casually tried to find a topic, asking, “Did she tell you how many days she’ll be gone?”

“I’m not sure, a week at most.”

A thick, English-only book was spread open on her lap. I glanced at it. The content was beyond my current foreign language level, but based on the large title on the cover, I guessed it was some kind of professional textbook.

“Yu Zhouwan? Hey,” I struggled to move my sore shoulder and brazenly struck up a conversation. “Say, do you know what Auntie Shi’s position is at the company?”

“Hmm… I know. General Manager of the Sales Department. She started the company with a few other people, so she should still hold some shares.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Yu Zhouwan’s right hand pressing down on a small, folded piece of paper. I leaned in to look closer, and she immediately snapped the book shut.

I threw off the blanket and sat cross-legged on the bed, muttering to myself. If she was rich, capable, and a decent person, why did she marry Yu Hanyang?

I regretted not asking her in detail this morning. After all, I didn’t care what attitude Shi Yunya had toward me. Knowing Yu Hanyang’s current standing would make it easier for me to extort a sum of money from him. Even if I couldn’t break up the couple, I wouldn’t leave empty-handed.

“When did Auntie start the company?” I still remembered the logo printed on Shi Yunya’s work badge. I typed it into my phone and searched, gossiping. “2010?”

“To be precise, it was 2008,” Yu Zhouwan corrected me. “It was originally a company started by a friend of hers. It was failing because it was targeted by a competitor. Then Mom came back from abroad, took over, and rebranded it for operation.”

“Then she’s pretty amazing.” I gained a little more admiration for Shi Yunya, who built a business from scratch and won a business war. “How old were you then? Six or seven? Who is this friend you mentioned? Is she still at the company?”

Yu Zhouwan didn’t answer a single one of my rapid-fire questions. Her fingers tapped the reflective book cover like a piano for a few beats, then stopped.

What I really wanted to know was whether Shi Yunya knew that her relationship with Yu Hanyang was based on an affair, but I didn’t want to ask Yu Zhouwan directly. After all, that was her mother—any insinuation about a “third party” was bound to offend her.

Yu Zhouwan silently got up and sat on the edge of my bed, selectively forgetting our conversation.

I didn’t press her, honestly keeping my mouth shut.

A second ago, she was far away; now, she was suddenly very close. Her thick winter clothes masked her pleasant scent. I practically had to press against Yu Zhouwan to catch a faint fragrance.

It had only been one night, yet I had already forgotten how to specifically describe it. I had to bring my nose close to her hair to recall it.

Yu Zhouwan shifted her shoulder, subtly pushing away the weight pressing on her. She grabbed her coat and opened the door, running head-on into Xu Lanlan, who had rushed in.

“Sister, where are you going?” Xu Lanlan shook the fragrant takeout box in her hand. “Do you want to eat with us?”

“To grab my takeout.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, worried she was so disgusted that she felt she needed to take a shower every time I touched her.

Xu Lanlan enthusiastically extolled the virtues of the rice noodles she had carefully selected. However, when she finished her promotion and lifted the lid, my hopes were dashed.

“You really outdid yourself, Xu Lanlan…” I chewed on the only edible item, a small piece of crispy fried pork. “I’m allergic to beef. There are so many good places on the snack street, and you had to pick the beef one.”

“Ah… I’m sorry, but their rice noodles are really good,” Xu Lanlan nervously fiddled with her fingers. “It’s not my fault. You didn’t tell me you were allergic. Look, I was worried you were hungry, so I even brought my portion back to share with you.”

Eating it would lead directly to the emergency room upstairs.

I pretended not to smell the tempting food and picked up my phone to order something new.

“Sister Yu, I’ll go buy you something else downstairs,” Xu Lanlan put down her chopsticks.

“No need to bother. I’ll just get something from the hospital cafeteria later,” I grabbed Xu Lanlan’s hand to stop her from impulsively rushing out. “We have a math quiz this afternoon. Finish eating quickly and go back. Don’t let Mr. Gao catch you again.”

Hospital food was inherently bland. I was late, too, so the only options I had were stir-fried greens with mushrooms, steamed egg custard, and white rice.

Xu Lanlan glanced at the monotonous dishes on my tray, looked at my expressionless face chewing the white rice, then guiltily wolfed down her beef rice noodles. She grabbed her school bag and left.

I tuned back into yesterday’s cartoon, sipping the egg custard while watching the main characters get beaten up.

“You eat this. I’ll just eat the rice noodles,” Yu Zhouwan pushed her ordered food toward me. “Mom told me to take care of you. I can’t let you starve.”

“Yu Zhouwan, you’re really good to me.”

It was meant to be a thank you, but my tone was dry and emotionless, sounding somewhat insincere. Since I couldn’t tell what Yu Zhouwan really meant by her words, I responded with the same attitude.

Was she truly unwilling to see me starve, or was she simply completing a task assigned by her mother, afraid that I would tell Shi Yunya on her?

I guessed the latter, but I didn’t want to confirm it.

Yu Zhouwan took a sip of the rice noodle soup, not even bothering to hum a reply.

Xu Lanlan, who should have been back at school, suddenly rushed back in, breathless, and shoved a hot, rolled pancake in my hand.

“Sister Yu, this was the fastest thing I could get. Eat quickly.”

Before I could say thank you, her shadow was already gone outside the door.

The food in front of me suddenly became too much. I rounded up the amount when transferring money to Xu Lanlan on my phone, considering it a thank you fee for running errands twice.

“Yu Zhouwan, do you have plans this afternoon?” I offered her a piece of chicken.

“Yes.”

I held out my chopsticks for a long time, but Yu Zhouwan still didn’t take it. I had no choice but to place the meat on the plastic bowl lid next to her.

“Then hurry and go. I’ll head back myself after my check-up,” I regretted saying it as soon as the words left my mouth. “What kind of plans? Art class?”

“I’m going to see someone.” She efficiently packed up the leftovers, including the uneaten chicken, and threw the bag into the trash.

“See who?” I pressed her.

Yu Zhouwan walked too quickly and didn’t hear my last question.

After the IV drip in the afternoon, I got a blood test. The inflammation had mostly subsided, and my temperature was normal.

I used the excuse that I couldn’t interrupt my studies and wanted to go home to recover. The doctor couldn’t argue with me and instructed me to come back for another IV drip tomorrow and to closely monitor my temperature, returning to the hospital immediately if the fever spiked again.

Free once more, I eagerly took a taxi home, desperate to instantly teleport into a steaming hot bathroom, fill the tub, and soak away the smell of disinfectant.

“I’ve been discharged,” I messaged Xu Lanlan.

Xu Lanlan accepted the transfer and sent a voice message: “Sister Yu, get some good rest. And don’t worry about the lunch thing. Just let me see your Physics homework this week, and we’ll call it even.”

Her tone sounded completely defeated. She probably failed the math quiz again.

I pushed the door open. The house was dark. Yu Zhouwan hadn’t returned yet.

I turned on the air conditioning in the living room and bedroom, dropped my school bag, and went into the bathroom to run the water. I soaked for over an hour before coming out.

It was getting late. I called Yu Zhouwan.

She answered, but immediately hung up.

I was confused and even a little anxious.

Time ticked by in this state of anxiety. I lay on the bed, fighting sleep while reviewing my study materials, until I heard the sound of the lock turning at the front door.

I tossed the book aside and climbed out of bed, walking into the living room.

Yu Zhouwan was wearing a mask. The exhaustion in her eyes was more dramatic than mine; she looked like she might collapse at any moment.

“Where were you?” I yawned.

Yu Zhouwan ignored me and headed straight for her bedroom.

“Hey, Yu Zhouwan?” I quickly followed, feeling confused, and reached out to grab her.

Slap. Just as my hand was about to touch her wrist, she batted it away.

In the blink of an eye, I was stunned in place, and Yu Zhouwan had reached her bedroom door.

Initially, I didn’t want to engage, but her deliberate avoidance triggered my rebellious side. Just as she was about to close the door, I rushed forward, pushed it open, and, ignoring her struggles, yanked her sleeve sharply up.

Yu Zhouwan was in so much pain she almost screamed. She instantly snatched her hand back, swallowing everything, the only giveaway being her tightly pressed lips.

I unconsciously squeezed my palm, as if afraid the patches of bruises would be contagious through contact.

“Where were you?”

Yu Zhouwan lowered her head and stayed silent, trying to go around me to leave the room. I blocked the closed door before she could.

Through the thick sweater, I squeezed her arm. As the pressure in my hand steadily increased, her lips pressed tighter, the already pale area turning into a conspicuous white patch.