To Covet (GL) - Chapter 55

Yu Zhouwan was unwilling to speak much and dozed off leaning against the car window after we got in.

“Where did you get that flower?” I scrutinized the bouquet she was cradling. “Did you buy it? Did someone give it to you?”

“Do you think it’s nice?” I couldn’t discern her tone.

I have no aesthetic appreciation for flowers.

“It’s okay, I guess. Pretty average.”

“Mhm, it is pretty average,” she clenched her fingers, and the plastic wrapping paper crinkled loudly. “I didn’t buy it. Someone gave it to me.”

“Who goes to the trouble of inviting someone out and also gives them flowers?” I casually teased. “Yu Zhouwan, did someone try to confess to you?”

“Maybe… you could say that.”

Yu Zhouwan squinted, remaining largely uninterested in my string of questions.

“Did you refuse or accept?” I saw the flowers in her hand through the elevator mirror. The edges of the petals showed obvious signs of wilting and yellowing. “It’s not nice. It looks like the kind they sell for $9.99 outside a flower shop. Using that for a confession is too perfunctory.”

Yu Zhouwan said nothing. As we passed the trash can in the hallway, I thought she was going to throw the bouquet away, but she merely shook the curling ribbon on the petals and carried it to the front door.

She seemed very unhappy with my negative evaluation of the flowers.

I couldn’t help but secretly criticize her for being overly sentimental. Who still goes for this ‘giving flowers’ routine in this day and age?

“Did you go out today just to see this person?” I unconsciously raised my voice. “Yu Zhouwan, if you really like someone, then you…”

I wisely shut up.

The bond between Yu Zhouwan and me was entirely one-sided coercion. Even if I believed the hazy expression on her face in bed meant she was enjoying the pleasure, it didn’t negate the fact that she had probably scorned my indecent behavior thousands of times in her heart.

Staring at Yu Zhouwan’s profile, I deliberately ignored complimentary adjectives for appearance, trying to detect other emotions on her face. However, I could sense nothing but her unchanging calmness and composure.

Sometimes I think that if I were smarter, or more socially adept, at least I would be able to read people’s micro-expressions and understand the hidden meanings in their words. Then maybe I wouldn’t be constrained by superficial things.

…

“I told you I could win it back. You didn’t believe me.”

Yu Hanyang was smiling happily with his legs crossed.

Shi Yunya had just brewed a cup of coffee and was about to retort to Yu Hanyang when she saw Yu Zhouwan and me pushing the door open. She immediately redirected the conversation toward her: “Where did you go?”

“Out.”

She put down the flowers in her hand.

Before I could even react, a tense atmosphere was already brewing.

“Where did those flowers come from?”

“Someone gave them to me.”

“A boy or a girl?”

Yu Zhouwan sighed, looking at her quietly, with an attitude of complete indifference to being disciplined.

Shi Yunya walked forward and threw the flowers into the trash can, neither angry nor furious, treating it with the same casualness as tossing an orange peel.

Yu Zhouwan didn’t even glance at the flowers in the bin. When Shi Yunya asked her why she didn’t answer her phone, she couldn’t be bothered to explain.

I leaned against the sofa, glancing at the petals scattered on the floor. I thought these mother and daughter had completely identical poker faces. If the sound of the door closing when Shi Yunya pulled Yu Zhouwan into the study wasn’t louder than usual, I wouldn’t have been able to tell she was angry.

“Nannan,” I was about to go back to my room when Yu Hanyang suddenly spoke. “How was your exam?”

“It went well.” I smiled at him.

“For the New Year, are you staying in Linzhou with me, or going back to your grandma and uncle?”

“Going back, um,” Recalling the secretive conversation I had with Gao Rui the other day, and the untouched personal belongings of Yang Chun, I decided to go back and check. “I won’t come back to Linzhou after the winter camp ends. I’ll take the high-speed train directly. You don’t need to come pick me up.”

I guessed Yu Hanyang was relieved. His relationship with Shi Yunya hadn’t been great lately, and he probably found me bothering him to be bad luck.

If it weren’t for the money, I wouldn’t be living with him either. Yu Hanyang was clearly aware of this himself.

If he were a bit more generous and threw two million at me to stay out of his life, I might actually consider packing up and leaving.

“Did you find that contract?” I tried to probe him.

“What contract?”

“The one you were looking for in the study that day.”

“Oh, you mean that one? Found it. It’s already been signed. Your Aunt Shi asked me to hand over a client that day, and I was all set to go when I realized I hadn’t brought the contract. I rushed back to find it.” Yu Hanyang brushed it off with a hollow laugh. “It’s late. Aren’t you supposed to get up early to travel tomorrow? Go get some rest.”

There was water on the floor, which had leaked out of the trash can. I pinched my nose and threw the trash bag out, only then realizing the water bag at the bottom of the bouquet had burst.

Under the light, these few flowers were actually quite pretty, with creamy white petals and edges that gradually faded to pink. I originally wanted to take a picture and search for its name, but it was too cold outside. I hastily tossed it and turned to go back inside.

Lying back in bed, I confirmed the meeting time with Gao Rui for tomorrow. My finger accidentally slipped and clicked on the search app.

The first suggested search was “Bureau Director of XX City Medical Administration Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Profiting from Selling Unlicensed Drugs.” I clicked it, scrolled through, and then entered the name of the defunct pharmaceutical company.

There were overwhelming advertisements. I didn’t expect to find any useful information, but when I clicked on a link to an old forum, I discovered some unbelievable things. Although many comments had been wiped out due to account deletion, the remaining few pieced together the public’s perception of it.

…

“Serves them right! Good riddance! Selling fake drugs should be a death sentence.” “My grandmother also had heart disease. She believed their advertisement and bought a lot. It cost tens of thousands.” “Luckily, she didn’t remember to take it. Heart attacks happen so fast. She would have been gone in an instant. My dear, life is more important than money.” “They tested it on rats and put it on the market. Can that drug be given to people? What a menace.”

…

I exited and checked other links, finding nothing else truly useful. Clicking back into the comments from years ago on the forum, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Terrifying speculations came one after another. Finally, unable to fight the exhaustion any longer, just as I was drifting off, I suddenly felt a chill down my back. I realized the bedroom door had been blown open by the wind. I immediately got up, rushed to the door barefoot, and closed it.

It was still dark when I left in the morning. The study door was open. I didn’t know how late Shi Yunya had kept Yu Zhouwan talking last night.

The cleaning lady was tidying up. The flowers I had thrown away last night were being stuffed into a large garbage bag, mixed with instant noodle soup and takeout residue.

“This is Qian Xinming,” Gao Rui introduced the girl accompanying her. “The other two boys are going on their own tomorrow. We’re leaving now.”

Qian Xinming smiled with squinted eyes. She was a head taller than me and easily visible in a crowd from a distance.

“Are we meeting the teacher first or dropping off our luggage first?” Qian Xinming had braces and spoke with some difficulty.

“Let’s go.”

I took a picture of the office buildings seen from the high-speed rail window and sent it to Yu Zhouwan. Everything looked warm in the winter morning light.

“Have a safe trip.” She replied before the photo had even finished sending.

I asked her why she was awake so early. The text “The other party is typing” flashed in the notes field several times, but in the end, she didn’t reply. I sent a question mark, but there was still no response from her side.

Curious about what Shi Yunya had talked about with her last night, I put on my headphones and dialed her on a voice call.

No answer.

Maybe she had fallen asleep.