Ji Nuan originally planned to leave the next afternoon. However, her grandmother abruptly fell sick and her aunt instructed Ji Nuan to send her to the hospital for a check-up. Her intentions were naturally for Ji Nuan to pay for the medical bills.
Ji Nuan did not mind this. She saw that her grandmother was seriously ill and called for an ambulance.
After a day of work, she finally returned home at night. Her grandmother was only suffering through some ailments related to old age. As it was the beginning of autumn, her body also suffered a little from the chill. It wasn’t a big concern.
Ji Nuan returned from the hospital and alighted from the car to see her aunt hanging clothes up to dry. Two of the pieces she had washed were the dresses the sisters had taken from Ji Nuan. They had likely dirtied them and they had to be washed directly.
These two pieces needed to be dry cleaned, and could not be washed with water. Although they could still be worn, they wouldn’t retain their original shape. In other words, they would become extremely ugly.
Ji Nuan only glanced an eye at her and did not say more. When her aunt saw that she had returned, she asked about her grandmother. After learning that she was fine, she did not ask further.
Ji Nuan supported her grandmother back to her room to rest, and when she stepped out, she saw that Song Keke was standing there with a lollipop in her mouth. It wasn’t clear what she was looking for, but when she noticed that Ji Nuan had returned, her expression immediately turned dumbstruck.
Ji Nuan seemed to have caught something from her eyes and abruptly approached with rapid steps. She pushed open Song Sisi’s room door and saw that Song Sisi had actually placed Ji Nuan’s laptop on her table. However, the two sisters did not manage to figure out Ji Nuan’s laptop password and had even spilled a cup of water onto the keyboard. The screen had darkened and the keyboard was wet. Ji Nuan’s temple immediately began to twitch.
“Cousin…” Song Keke saw that Ji Nuan’s expression was poor and remained standing by the door side. She did not dare to say more.
Song Sisi frantically backed away from the laptop. She turned to see that Ji Nuan was approaching expressionlessly, and rushed to say: “Cousin, I was just curious. I’ve only seen such an expensive laptop featured in advertisements. However, I didn’t unlock it. We didn’t see your work documents. But this water… I really didn’t spill it intentionally. The blame is all on Keke. She insisted on snatching it from me, and we accidentally…”
Ji Nuan pursed her lips, picked up the laptop, and turned to leave.
When they saw that Ji Nuan had left, the two sisters had shared disappointed glances. Song Sisi even muttered softly: “Tsk, acting so high and mighty.”
Ji Nuan had already locked the connecting doors. To return to her mother’s room, she needed to step outside. Her aunt was still busy when she turned to see that Ji Nuan was holding the laptop in her hands. She understood immediately but did not apologize for her daughters’ actions. She even spoke unhappily: “Aiya, we’ve never been able to buy a computer. Sisi and Keke were just curious, so they took it to have fun. I heard that you even set up a password so they couldn’t use it. Haven’t you already retrieved it? Is there a need to put on such an ugly expression?”
Ji Nuan stepped past her expressionlessly, appearing as though she did not hear anything. After returning to the room, she scanned her mother’s items arranged neatly in her luggage.
It could be said that she had seen her grandmother for the last time. Her grandmother had abruptly felt unwell, and she had personally sent her to the hospital. She even took care of her for the entire night without sleeping or eating. She had fulfilled her duties to this family.
She could leave now.
The documents stored in this computer wasn’t that big of a deal. There were spare copies in the company. However, now that her laptop had touched the water, it wasn’t clear if it could be used again. She had to wait until it dried before she could check. Although it could affect her work progress, it wasn’t serious.
However, at this time, there would only be train tickets from Ji City to the airport for tomorrow morning. Even if she arrived at the airport, in a small city like Ji City, there was only one flight to Hai City every day. It was set for the afternoon, and she had already missed it.
Ji Nuan decided to tolerate a little more and leave tomorrow morning.
Yesterday, when she took care of her grandmother in the hospital, she saw too many sick elderly people. The bed spaces were limited, and more than ten patients were cramped in the room. The person by her side kept coughing, and the air was stifling. She guessed that she must have caught a cold from them. Or perhaps, it was because she didn’t rest well last night. Her brain felt heavy and dazed, and she did not join them for dinner. She only retrieved some hot water and wiped her body down simply. Before she could even complain about how inconvenient it was to shower in this place, her aunt began ranting that she was too mysophobic and that she was constantly wasting hot water.
It had rained this evening. Although Ji City wasn’t as cold as Jing City, autumn had also begun here. The night weather was still chilly.
There was no heater or air conditioning in this room. Last night, Ji Nuan had caught a cold virus in the hospital. It had also only been a few days since she had a high fever.
At nine in the evening, Ji Nuan’s stomach felt uncomfortable. However, no one in this home saved dinner for her. She decided to get up and stepped out of the house with an umbrella. She walked a long way before she found a small supermarket and bought a small bowl of instant noodles to eat at home. It wasn’t easy to tread through the rain, and the ground was muddy. Her pants were soaked and clung against her skin uncomfortably. The rain had also soaked through her shoes. The autumn rain was piercingly cold, and Ji Nuan trod through the mud to return home. This family slept early, and although it wasn’t even ten in the evening, all of the lights were turned off.
Ji Nuan could not imagine how her mother had lived in such a place twenty years ago, and the sort of difficulties she had to experience. She also could not fathom the stories that laid behind her mother’s past with Ji Hongwen and Xiao Zhenjun. This place strangely made her feel trapped. The heavy rain and the dark path was akin to a heavy cage, and countless people had their lives stuck in this place.
By the time she rushed back, Ji Nuan was entirely soaked. The rain was far too heavy. She dragged her cold body forward and regretted traveling so far. She hesitated to look for a kettle to boil some water for the noodles when she suddenly sneezed. Ji Nuan rubbed her nose and took off her clothes, wiping off the rainwater. She snuggled into the blankets and thought it was better to warm up her body first.
However, right after laying down, she felt her body alternating between hot and cold. The familiar dizziness and weakness against the cold returned to her.
She wasn’t sure how much time had past. In her dazed state, Ji Nuan vaguely registered that her phone was ringing. She trembled under the blanket and tried to open her eyes. However, her body was freezing up and burning at the same time. It was impossible for her to open her eyes.
——
The rain went on for the whole night and only stopped in the early morning.
On the small road, a black car approached.
The place was vacant at this time. The brightening skies reflected it’s chilly light on the surface of the car.
Shen Mu double-checked the indicated address on his phone as he drove. He carefully scanned the doorplate number on each house and directed the car forward for a short period before turning to the man who was catching some shut-eye in the back: “CEO Mo, we’ve arrived. It’s the house in front—”
Ji Nuan originally planned to leave the next afternoon. However, her grandmother abruptly fell sick and her aunt instructed Ji Nuan to send her to the hospital for a check-up. Her intentions were naturally for Ji Nuan to pay for the medical bills.
Ji Nuan did not mind this. She saw that her grandmother was seriously ill and called for an ambulance.
After a day of work, she finally returned home at night. Her grandmother was only suffering through some ailments related to old age. As it was the beginning of autumn, her body also suffered a little from the chill. It wasn’t a big concern.
Ji Nuan returned from the hospital and alighted from the car to see her aunt hanging clothes up to dry. Two of the pieces she had washed were the dresses the sisters had taken from Ji Nuan. They had likely dirtied them and they had to be washed directly.
These two pieces needed to be dry cleaned, and could not be washed with water. Although they could still be worn, they wouldn’t retain their original shape. In other words, they would become extremely ugly.
Ji Nuan only glanced an eye at her and did not say more. When her aunt saw that she had returned, she asked about her grandmother. After learning that she was fine, she did not ask further.
Ji Nuan supported her grandmother back to her room to rest, and when she stepped out, she saw that Song Keke was standing there with a lollipop in her mouth. It wasn’t clear what she was looking for, but when she noticed that Ji Nuan had returned, her expression immediately turned dumbstruck.
Ji Nuan seemed to have caught something from her eyes and abruptly approached with rapid steps. She pushed open Song Sisi’s room door and saw that Song Sisi had actually placed Ji Nuan’s laptop on her table. However, the two sisters did not manage to figure out Ji Nuan’s laptop password and had even spilled a cup of water onto the keyboard. The screen had darkened and the keyboard was wet. Ji Nuan’s temple immediately began to twitch.
“Cousin…” Song Keke saw that Ji Nuan’s expression was poor and remained standing by the door side. She did not dare to say more.
Song Sisi frantically backed away from the laptop. She turned to see that Ji Nuan was approaching expressionlessly, and rushed to say: “Cousin, I was just curious. I’ve only seen such an expensive laptop featured in advertisements. However, I didn’t unlock it. We didn’t see your work documents. But this water… I really didn’t spill it intentionally. The blame is all on Keke. She insisted on snatching it from me, and we accidentally…”
Ji Nuan pursed her lips, picked up the laptop, and turned to leave.
When they saw that Ji Nuan had left, the two sisters had shared disappointed glances. Song Sisi even muttered softly: “Tsk, acting so high and mighty.”
Ji Nuan had already locked the connecting doors. To return to her mother’s room, she needed to step outside. Her aunt was still busy when she turned to see that Ji Nuan was holding the laptop in her hands. She understood immediately but did not apologize for her daughters’ actions. She even spoke unhappily: “Aiya, we’ve never been able to buy a computer. Sisi and Keke were just curious, so they took it to have fun. I heard that you even set up a password so they couldn’t use it. Haven’t you already retrieved it? Is there a need to put on such an ugly expression?”
Ji Nuan stepped past her expressionlessly, appearing as though she did not hear anything. After returning to the room, she scanned her mother’s items arranged neatly in her luggage.
It could be said that she had seen her grandmother for the last time. Her grandmother had abruptly felt unwell, and she had personally sent her to the hospital. She even took care of her for the entire night without sleeping or eating. She had fulfilled her duties to this family.
She could leave now.
The documents stored in this computer wasn’t that big of a deal. There were spare copies in the company. However, now that her laptop had touched the water, it wasn’t clear if it could be used again. She had to wait until it dried before she could check. Although it could affect her work progress, it wasn’t serious.
However, at this time, there would only be train tickets from Ji City to the airport for tomorrow morning. Even if she arrived at the airport, in a small city like Ji City, there was only one flight to Hai City every day. It was set for the afternoon, and she had already missed it.
Ji Nuan decided to tolerate a little more and leave tomorrow morning.
Yesterday, when she took care of her grandmother in the hospital, she saw too many sick elderly people. The bed spaces were limited, and more than ten patients were cramped in the room. The person by her side kept coughing, and the air was stifling. She guessed that she must have caught a cold from them. Or perhaps, it was because she didn’t rest well last night. Her brain felt heavy and dazed, and she did not join them for dinner. She only retrieved some hot water and wiped her body down simply. Before she could even complain about how inconvenient it was to shower in this place, her aunt began ranting that she was too mysophobic and that she was constantly wasting hot water.
It had rained this evening. Although Ji City wasn’t as cold as Jing City, autumn had also begun here. The night weather was still chilly.
There was no heater or air conditioning in this room. Last night, Ji Nuan had caught a cold virus in the hospital. It had also only been a few days since she had a high fever.
At nine in the evening, Ji Nuan’s stomach felt uncomfortable. However, no one in this home saved dinner for her. She decided to get up and stepped out of the house with an umbrella. She walked a long way before she found a small supermarket and bought a small bowl of instant noodles to eat at home. It wasn’t easy to tread through the rain, and the ground was muddy. Her pants were soaked and clung against her skin uncomfortably. The rain had also soaked through her shoes. The autumn rain was piercingly cold, and Ji Nuan trod through the mud to return home. This family slept early, and although it wasn’t even ten in the evening, all of the lights were turned off.
Ji Nuan could not imagine how her mother had lived in such a place twenty years ago, and the sort of difficulties she had to experience. She also could not fathom the stories that laid behind her mother’s past with Ji Hongwen and Xiao Zhenjun. This place strangely made her feel trapped. The heavy rain and the dark path was akin to a heavy cage, and countless people had their lives stuck in this place.
By the time she rushed back, Ji Nuan was entirely soaked. The rain was far too heavy. She dragged her cold body forward and regretted traveling so far. She hesitated to look for a kettle to boil some water for the noodles when she suddenly sneezed. Ji Nuan rubbed her nose and took off her clothes, wiping off the rainwater. She snuggled into the blankets and thought it was better to warm up her body first.
However, right after laying down, she felt her body alternating between hot and cold. The familiar dizziness and weakness against the cold returned to her.
She wasn’t sure how much time had past. In her dazed state, Ji Nuan vaguely registered that her phone was ringing. She trembled under the blanket and tried to open her eyes. However, her body was freezing up and burning at the same time. It was impossible for her to open her eyes.
——
The rain went on for the whole night and only stopped in the early morning.
On the small road, a black car approached.
The place was vacant at this time. The brightening skies reflected it’s chilly light on the surface of the car.
Shen Mu double-checked the indicated address on his phone as he drove. He carefully scanned the doorplate number on each house and directed the car forward for a short period before turning to the man who was catching some shut-eye in the back: “CEO Mo, we’ve arrived. It’s the house in front—”
