Chapter 44: Love rivals
Ye Zhengchen dropped me back to the hospital and left. For the next two days, I did not see him nor hear anything from him. On several occasions, I keyed in his number , but good sense prevailed and I did not complete the call.
On the third day, I was at the doctor’s office perusing the medical reports when he suddenly appeared in front of me. He looked tired, his uniform was dishevelled and crumpled. It looked like he had a tough two days.
As soon as he entered, he went straight to the point. “ Things are looking good. He will be released tomorrow. I will drive you there so you can pick him up.”
The expression on his face was both weary and icy, and somehow it deterred me from expressing my gratitude. Instead, in a low voice, I said, “ Your uniform is dirty. Let me wash it for you.”
A brief light flashed in his eyes. Ye Zhengchen sat down on the chair opposite me and in a tone that was softer than before, he said, “ I had to run twice to the place they were detaining him. I am exhausted. I just need a place to rest.”
“ There are no five star hotels in Nanzhou.” And I knew Ye Zhengchen’s obsession for cleanliness meant he would not sleep in a hotel that wasn’t a five star one.
“Come on, let’s go to my apartment.”
His eyes dazzled with mirth and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
“ Girl, you know me best.”
I capped the pen in my hands, closed the medical records I was examining and smiled a bit self consciously.
The resentment and helplessness that I felt only two days ago already seemed part of a past life.
****** ******
I took Ye Zhengchen to my apartment.
Once he entered, he casually glanced around the thirty square metres of space I called my apartment.
“ Don’t you live with your parents?” , he asked. The way he was enquiring sounded a bit strange to me, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what was strange about it.
“ This is the accommodation provided by the hospital. Sometimes, I stay here”. Then I leaned over to hand him over a pair of men’s slippers for him to wear in my home. Suddenly, I realised this behaviour was strange. He would never wear Zhong Tim’s slippers. Instead, I pulled my hand back.
“ You don’t need to take off your shoes. Anyway, the floor is dirty.”
He looked at me as I put the slippers back. His eyes swept over the pair of floor cushions and the pair of cups on the table. Then he peeked into my bedroom and noted the double King sized bed I had in there
His face became gloomy.
I quietly took a step back, debating in my mind whether I should explain that the double bed had been bought purely so I could sleep comfortably.
Without waiting for me to speak, Ye Zhengchen went ahead and opened the door of the en-suite bathroom
When he saw a lone towel and toothbrush, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile.
He was clearly worthy of his military intelligence credentials, he had first class insight.
Zhong Tim occasionally came here to chat or have dinner with me but he had never spet the night here.
I led Ye Zhengchen to the cabinet and found him a unisex bathrobe to wear.
“ Wear this and give me your clothes.”
Ye Zhengchen immediately stated unbuttoning his uniform.
As he unbuttoned it one by one, I started blushing. I hurried out of the bedroom and closed the door.
In the small en-suite bathroom, I washed the uniform by hand. Ye Zhengchen leaned against the door jamb and watched me.
I felt uncomfortable under his gaze. So I asked, “ Are you not tired?”
“ I’m not feeling tired anymore.”
“ ..”
My fingertips stilled as my heart started beating rapidly.
We didn’t talk anymore. I concentrated on washing and he concentrated on watching me. Sometimes silence was the best form of communication.
After I had washed the clothes, I hung them up in the balcony to dry.
By the time I had finished, it was already dark outside. I went to the kitchen to cook some noodles for the two of us.
When I placed the two bowls of noodles on the table, Ye Zhengchen had just finished his bath and come out. Crystal clear water drops condensed on his body, giving it a sheen and my nerveless hands nearly dropped the chopsticks I was holding.
His expression turned strange when he looked at the noodles on the table.
“ You must be hungry”, I said.
He sat at the dinner table and bent down to smell the food. Then he picked up his chopsticks, put the noodles in his mouth and chewed on it for a long time.
“You don’t like it?”, I asked.
He shook his head.
“After you left, I went to many noodle shops. But they could never recreate this exact taste.”
“ There is a lot of delicious food in the world. You may not have tried them all.”
“ I have tasted a lot of delicious food”, he looked up and stared into my eyes, ”what I missed most was your unique touch.”
Hearing him say this, I accidentally swallowed a piece of chilli. The spice felt like fire as it travelled down my throat. I tried to abate it by swallowing some soup, but that was just adding fuel to the fire.
He stretched out his hand and patted me on the back.
I discreetly moved out of his reach and murmured quietly, “ You will get tired of this touch if you have this food everyday.”
He raised his eyebrows.
…… …
The night was utterly silent and cold.
Ye Zhengchen and I held two cups of tea and were leaning against the window sill
On the street in front of us, our shadows were light and elongated.
I struggled to find a topic to talk about. Pointing out at the street, I said, “ This is the People’s Street, that one is Iron Road, this is the old area in Nanzhou.. I used to love there..”
“ I know.”
I was momentarily nonplussed. “ You know?”
“ I even know that Zhong Tim used to live nearby, that he often played with you when you were both children, that he had a crush on you for a long time but you only ever saw him as your elder brother.”
“ How do you know all this?”
“ I know a lot of other things..” Ye Zhengchen smiled and sipped his tea.
“ After you returned home, Zhong Tim treated you really well.Butyou never responded to his affections. Suddenly, three months ago, you decided to accept his proposal out of the blue..”
He seemed to know everything! Did he have men watching me secretly?
He sipped the tea and looked away.
“ I was originally planning to return home in December. But when I heard the news, I applied for an early release. As soon as all the procedures were completed, I flew directly from Japan to Chengdu.”
My fingers gripped the cup tightly. My mouth had a bitter taste.
“ When I glimpsed you in the bridal salon, had you just returned home?”
“ Yes. Unfortunately, I was too late.”
Yes, he was too late.
“ You haven’t had a boyfriend in three years. You had no relationships with any man. I thought you were waiting for me. I thought you were unwilling to let go of the feelings we had for each other. But when I saw you in the wedding dress, looking so happy in his arms, I just…”, he shook his head with a sad smile on his face.
“Suddenly I realised that I had been over-confident!”
Ye Zhengchen had not been overconfident. He had confidence in both me and himself. But I did not have enough confidence in him to wait.
I felt a spasm in my heart. I gulped down all the tea in one go to alleviate the pain, but the pain persisted.
He said, “ I don’t want to force you or even to destroy your happiness. But you can’t ask me to willingly allow the woman I love to walk into the arms of another man. I have more power and wealth than him, how can…”
I looked up to the stars in the sky but my vision was blurred.
“I am going to get married to Zhong Tim”, I mumbled softly. I wasn’t sure if these words were meant for me or for him.
Chapter 44: Love rivals
Ye Zhengchen dropped me back to the hospital and left. For the next two days, I did not see him nor hear anything from him. On several occasions, I keyed in his number , but good sense prevailed and I did not complete the call.
On the third day, I was at the doctor’s office perusing the medical reports when he suddenly appeared in front of me. He looked tired, his uniform was dishevelled and crumpled. It looked like he had a tough two days.
As soon as he entered, he went straight to the point. “ Things are looking good. He will be released tomorrow. I will drive you there so you can pick him up.”
The expression on his face was both weary and icy, and somehow it deterred me from expressing my gratitude. Instead, in a low voice, I said, “ Your uniform is dirty. Let me wash it for you.”
A brief light flashed in his eyes. Ye Zhengchen sat down on the chair opposite me and in a tone that was softer than before, he said, “ I had to run twice to the place they were detaining him. I am exhausted. I just need a place to rest.”
“ There are no five star hotels in Nanzhou.” And I knew Ye Zhengchen’s obsession for cleanliness meant he would not sleep in a hotel that wasn’t a five star one.
“Come on, let’s go to my apartment.”
His eyes dazzled with mirth and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
“ Girl, you know me best.”
I capped the pen in my hands, closed the medical records I was examining and smiled a bit self consciously.
The resentment and helplessness that I felt only two days ago already seemed part of a past life.
****** ******
I took Ye Zhengchen to my apartment.
Once he entered, he casually glanced around the thirty square metres of space I called my apartment.
“ Don’t you live with your parents?” , he asked. The way he was enquiring sounded a bit strange to me, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what was strange about it.
“ This is the accommodation provided by the hospital. Sometimes, I stay here”. Then I leaned over to hand him over a pair of men’s slippers for him to wear in my home. Suddenly, I realised this behaviour was strange. He would never wear Zhong Tim’s slippers. Instead, I pulled my hand back.
“ You don’t need to take off your shoes. Anyway, the floor is dirty.”
He looked at me as I put the slippers back. His eyes swept over the pair of floor cushions and the pair of cups on the table. Then he peeked into my bedroom and noted the double King sized bed I had in there
His face became gloomy.
I quietly took a step back, debating in my mind whether I should explain that the double bed had been bought purely so I could sleep comfortably.
Without waiting for me to speak, Ye Zhengchen went ahead and opened the door of the en-suite bathroom
When he saw a lone towel and toothbrush, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile.
He was clearly worthy of his military intelligence credentials, he had first class insight.
Zhong Tim occasionally came here to chat or have dinner with me but he had never spet the night here.
I led Ye Zhengchen to the cabinet and found him a unisex bathrobe to wear.
“ Wear this and give me your clothes.”
Ye Zhengchen immediately stated unbuttoning his uniform.
As he unbuttoned it one by one, I started blushing. I hurried out of the bedroom and closed the door.
In the small en-suite bathroom, I washed the uniform by hand. Ye Zhengchen leaned against the door jamb and watched me.
I felt uncomfortable under his gaze. So I asked, “ Are you not tired?”
“ I’m not feeling tired anymore.”
“ ..”
My fingertips stilled as my heart started beating rapidly.
We didn’t talk anymore. I concentrated on washing and he concentrated on watching me. Sometimes silence was the best form of communication.
After I had washed the clothes, I hung them up in the balcony to dry.
By the time I had finished, it was already dark outside. I went to the kitchen to cook some noodles for the two of us.
When I placed the two bowls of noodles on the table, Ye Zhengchen had just finished his bath and come out. Crystal clear water drops condensed on his body, giving it a sheen and my nerveless hands nearly dropped the chopsticks I was holding.
His expression turned strange when he looked at the noodles on the table.
“ You must be hungry”, I said.
He sat at the dinner table and bent down to smell the food. Then he picked up his chopsticks, put the noodles in his mouth and chewed on it for a long time.
“You don’t like it?”, I asked.
He shook his head.
“After you left, I went to many noodle shops. But they could never recreate this exact taste.”
“ There is a lot of delicious food in the world. You may not have tried them all.”
“ I have tasted a lot of delicious food”, he looked up and stared into my eyes, ”what I missed most was your unique touch.”
Hearing him say this, I accidentally swallowed a piece of chilli. The spice felt like fire as it travelled down my throat. I tried to abate it by swallowing some soup, but that was just adding fuel to the fire.
He stretched out his hand and patted me on the back.
I discreetly moved out of his reach and murmured quietly, “ You will get tired of this touch if you have this food everyday.”
He raised his eyebrows.
…… …
The night was utterly silent and cold.
Ye Zhengchen and I held two cups of tea and were leaning against the window sill
On the street in front of us, our shadows were light and elongated.
I struggled to find a topic to talk about. Pointing out at the street, I said, “ This is the People’s Street, that one is Iron Road, this is the old area in Nanzhou.. I used to love there..”
“ I know.”
I was momentarily nonplussed. “ You know?”
“ I even know that Zhong Tim used to live nearby, that he often played with you when you were both children, that he had a crush on you for a long time but you only ever saw him as your elder brother.”
“ How do you know all this?”
“ I know a lot of other things..” Ye Zhengchen smiled and sipped his tea.
“ After you returned home, Zhong Tim treated you really well.Butyou never responded to his affections. Suddenly, three months ago, you decided to accept his proposal out of the blue..”
He seemed to know everything! Did he have men watching me secretly?
He sipped the tea and looked away.
“ I was originally planning to return home in December. But when I heard the news, I applied for an early release. As soon as all the procedures were completed, I flew directly from Japan to Chengdu.”
My fingers gripped the cup tightly. My mouth had a bitter taste.
“ When I glimpsed you in the bridal salon, had you just returned home?”
“ Yes. Unfortunately, I was too late.”
Yes, he was too late.
“ You haven’t had a boyfriend in three years. You had no relationships with any man. I thought you were waiting for me. I thought you were unwilling to let go of the feelings we had for each other. But when I saw you in the wedding dress, looking so happy in his arms, I just…”, he shook his head with a sad smile on his face.
“Suddenly I realised that I had been over-confident!”
Ye Zhengchen had not been overconfident. He had confidence in both me and himself. But I did not have enough confidence in him to wait.
I felt a spasm in my heart. I gulped down all the tea in one go to alleviate the pain, but the pain persisted.
He said, “ I don’t want to force you or even to destroy your happiness. But you can’t ask me to willingly allow the woman I love to walk into the arms of another man. I have more power and wealth than him, how can…”
I looked up to the stars in the sky but my vision was blurred.
“I am going to get married to Zhong Tim”, I mumbled softly. I wasn’t sure if these words were meant for me or for him.
