Chapter 121: Yesterday Once More |
His phone was ringing.
"Sorry, I need to take this call."
Zhang Shutong said apologetically.
He turned and left the hospital room again, almost able to hear the young nurse's resentful inner voice:
—This is the fourth time you've run off. Good thing I haven't hooked up your IV yet.
But Zhang Shutong didn't plan to flee this time—just to answer a call. He could actually guess what Ruoping wanted to say. The few of them had stayed in constant contact, and while he was getting his IV drip, the three of them would occasionally chat a few lines on QQ.
"What's wrong?"
Gu Qiumian also stood up. Zhang Shutong explained:
"You sit for a bit. My friend is asking if my cold's gotten better. I'll just say a few words and come right back."
"You made it to the hospital?" Ruoping sounded a bit tired too.
"Yeah. Lu Qinglian still left?" Zhang Shutong knew the purpose of her call.
After saying goodbye at noon, Ruoping had invited Lu Qinglian to visit her home, and the two had stayed together until evening.
According to the original plan, Zhang Shutong was supposed to remove his IV around eleven, pick up Lu Qinglian, and rush to the villa to stake out the culprit. Their cooperation was based on different purposes but shared a common goal—
Zhang Shutong wanted to protect Gu Qiumian, while Lu Qinglian wanted to find that person.
But now the situation had changed again. Gu Qiumian had been very suddenly brought out by him, so earlier at the supermarket, Zhang Shutong had taken the opportunity to inform the other two of this news.
"She left. I couldn't convince her to stay." Ruoping complained. "This is your fault, you know. You said you had something tonight, and she waited so long, but then at the last minute you changed plans."
Zhang Shutong could only apologize repeatedly—who could help it that plans couldn't keep up with changes?
"What good does apologizing to me do?" Ruoping continued. "I just feel that Qinglian seemed, how should I put it, a bit lonely. I wanted to go see her off, but she said it wasn't necessary, that being able to rest at my house for an afternoon was already something to be grateful for."
Hearing this, Zhang Shutong felt a bit guilty. He'd agreed to help Lu Qinglian find that person—he'd been the one to propose cooperation. She'd accompanied him for two days running around on a sprained ankle, fulfilling every promise, and even though she was half-skeptical about the "fake Lu Qinglian" theory, she hadn't complained. And yet he was the one breaking his word first.
His previous call had urged Lu Qinglian to just leave this matter to her bodyguards, but Lu Qinglian hadn't agreed. She hadn't said it explicitly in front of Ruoping, but Zhang Shutong knew—finding that person was temple business, and she was the temple keeper. Whether or not Gu Qiumian had been brought out, she wouldn't give up.
Just like last Saturday when Zhang Shutong rode his bike home, he'd similarly encountered Lu Qinglian traveling alone in the night, her long robes fluttering.
So around eleven o'clock, she'd left Ruoping's house and gone alone to the area near the villa.
His friends' homes were in the northern part of the small island, the villa in the south. Walking there purely on foot required over an hour of travel time.
Zhang Shutong couldn't escort her either—never mind that his motorcycle was out of gas, he himself couldn't be in two places at once.
"Did she say anything else?" Zhang Shutong asked.
"What could she say? You know Qinglian's personality. She just nodded calmly and said she never counted on you in the first place anyway, that you'd just be a burden if you went."
"You added that last part yourself, right?"
"You actually caught on."
Zhang Shutong pinched the bridge of his nose:
"I'll see how things go and try to make another trip there."
"Forget it." Ruoping's eye-roll was practically visible through the phone. "Don't blame me for being harsh, but what could you do if you went now? Didn't Qingyi tell you that taking everything on yourself is a sign of arrogance? Please recognize your own situation, would you?"
"Fine..."
"So where are you now?" Ruoping asked.
"Already settled. Just found a place to rest."
"Oh? Share the experience of eloping with a girl?"
"What experience is there? Nothing but exhaustion and cold. Besides, who elopes to a hospital?"
Zhang Shutong said helplessly.
He turned to look at the hallway. People occasionally passed by. The dark green terrazzo floor looked very dark at night, appearing from a distance as if swallowed by shadows. But for someone who'd just returned from the freezing cold outside, it already provided an enormous sense of security.
"Want to hear a bedtime joke?" Zhang Shutong finally had the mood to crack a joke.
"What?"
"Going to a private hospital would be eloping. At most, mine is just... public running."
"Uh, not funny."
"Come on..."
Only then did Ruoping laugh:
"Looks like you really are okay now."
"Yeah, go to sleep. I can handle the rest myself. The hospital is very safe. Don't stay up anymore."
In fact, it wasn't just him waiting this evening—his friends were waiting too. Du Kang was off the island waiting for Old Song, while Ruoping and Qingyi had stayed up until now.
Everyone was yawning from exhaustion.
"Fine, fine, fine." Ruoping said helplessly. "I shouldn't have stayed up this late with you. Waited all afternoon and nothing happened—false alarm. Before Old Song left, he said you were having a nervous breakdown and told us to be more understanding. Are we being understanding enough now?"
"Enough, more than enough."
"Alright, you sound like you can barely stand. You've been running around since yesterday, and now you've finally gotten your wish." Ruoping said with concern. "Rest easy for a bit. Qingyi and I will visit you at the hospital tomorrow, but don't expect any fruit baskets."
"Wouldn't dare expect any. Good night."
The two hung up.
Zhang Shutong yawned and found Qingyi's QQ, originally intending to borrow a vehicle from him—his family had a motorcycle. But it was so late, coming out to deliver a vehicle would be very troublesome. He couldn't very well have Qingyi walk back home either, so he gave up on that idea.
Zhang Shutong carefully recalled—on Thursday he'd gone back to the villa with Old Song, and Friday he'd been running around outside, which meant his bicycle was still parked at school.
He planned to rest a bit then go to school to get his bike. The hospital wasn't too far from school—less than ten minutes on foot.
And though a bicycle was much slower than a motorcycle, there was no time to rush. He just needed to get Gu Qiumian there before dawn.
Decision made.
He exchanged a few more words with Qingyi, who replied with good night. Zhang Shutong put away his phone and returned to the hospital room.
Inside, the young nurse was talking with Gu Qiumian. Seeing him walk in, she waved and stood up.
"Really sorry for the trouble." Zhang Shutong thanked her again. "Where can I get hot water?"
"Oh, there's a thermos in the pharmacy room. Find a cup later and get it yourself." The nurse said. "Come with me first. While it's not busy, I'll take you two over there."
After speaking, she led the way, her low-heeled nurse shoes stepping like a light, cheerful drumbeat. In the monotonous night shift life, she hadn't encountered something this interesting in ages. Though it was a bit troublesome, it was still much better than dealing with those drunks whose airways were blocked by vomit—much, much better.
This reminded her of her student days. Every girl dreams of a Prince Charming coming to get her, every boy hopes to take the girl he likes to the ends of the earth. Of course, these things rarely come true.
She used her peripheral vision to curiously observe the girl behind her.
What a very beautiful and bright young girl, with jet-black hair and fair skin. Though wrapped in several thick layers of clothing, her special temperament was hard to conceal, completely out of place in this shabby hospital room.
This type of girl would naturally become the focus of attention even standing in a crowd. Yet now she was wearing a pair of cheap cotton slippers, bright red ones. Those slippers had probably just been unwrapped—you could still smell a faint plastic odor.
She'd thought this would be a very well-behaved girl, like the little sister next door, who must be sneaking out behind her family's back to be here in the middle of the night, who'd be nervous and scared being with a boy. The young nurse had wanted to sit down and comfort her with a few words, but she discovered she was wrong.
That girl just nodded lightly and said softly that she was sorry for the trouble, even proactively asking for her name, saying she'd have to mention it to their hospital director later to express her thanks.
The young nurse was truly shocked. She thought to herself: young man, what kind of girl have you kidnapped and brought back?
She had to admit that was quite a cool and aloof girl, who only smiled when talking to the young man, pouting or glaring at him, acting like a young girl. Watching the two of them talk was actually quite interesting.
So she felt a bit like helping this pair of "desperate" young people. The young nurse came to the end of the hallway and opened a room:
"Here we are. The hospital's VIP-ish room. Normally, well, I occasionally come here to slack off a bit too."
As she spoke, she turned on the light. A medicinal smell rushed forward even faster than the light.
Zhang Shutong looked inside—it turned out to be an observation room, with a bed and two chairs. The bed was a very narrow, very hard single bed covered with blue disposable medical sheets. Quiet, simple, but it solved their urgent problem.
Not having to squeeze into a sick room full of strange odors was a blessing.
He really needed to find a place to rest properly now. His heart had just relaxed when the young nurse teased:
"You two better not do anything naughty, okay?"
Hearing this, Gu Qiumian's ears turned a bit red. She glared fiercely at him. Zhang Shutong thought to himself: she's the one saying it, why are you glaring at me?
But the young nurse had already waved and walked away, her shoe sounds quite cheerful.
"Let's go." Gu Qiumian pushed him from behind in a small voice.
Zhang Shutong noticed a remote control on the windowsill and went to turn on the air conditioning. He also noticed the window had a small gap open, so he closed it. Then there was nothing else to do.
Zhang Shutong was someone good at making plans, but his plans only went as far as "how to safely bring Gu Qiumian out"—he hadn't thought at all about what to do after bringing her out.
Closing the door, the room became completely quiet, with only the air conditioning unit blowing warm air with a whooshing sound.
Gu Qiumian also sat in a chair. The two sat neither too far nor too close. She stared at those red cotton slippers in a daze. Zhang Shutong looked over, and when she noticed, she tucked her feet in a bit.
"You sleep first." Zhang Shutong pointed at the bed. "I'll watch over you."
"Who asked you to watch..."
"Want a cookie then?" He tore open the package and handed it over.
Gu Qiumian took a piece and nibbled it in small bites.
Zhang Shutong rummaged through the drawer for two disposable paper cups and asked if she wanted hot water.
But she snatched the cups away:
"I'll go get it. You sit still and don't move."
Zhang Shutong didn't insist, watching Gu Qiumian leave the room.
Finally, everything was settled this time.
He thought.
That taut string in his mind could finally relax a bit.
Zhang Shutong's eyelids started fighting again.
He stood up to move around the room, looking around before understanding why the young nurse called it the VIP-ish room.
This observation room actually had a color TV.
Though very small in size, and wall-mounted, finding a color TV in the island's hospital was so rare—like seeing a young lady wearing cheap cotton slippers.
Okay, Zhang Shutong had to admit the slippers he bought were really ugly. Gu Qiumian probably found them distasteful too, if not for her original pair getting wet.
He turned on the TV. It was showing cartoons—China Central Television Channel 14. Looked like that young nurse had quite the childlike heart.
He flipped through channels idly, finding China Central Television Channel 6. He remembered this channel often showed movies, and Gu Qiumian liked watching movies.
The TV was still showing commercials. He didn't know what would air next.
Zhang Shutong thought spending this evening watching a movie wouldn't be bad.
Just then, Gu Qiumian returned carrying two cups of hot water.
"Want to watch a movie?"
"You drink water first." She wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction.
"...Okay."
Zhang Shutong took the cup, feeling the young lady was becoming increasingly imposing, while he, this underling, had been an underling for so long and was still an underling. The water temperature was just right. As he slowly sipped, Gu Qiumian had already pulled over a chair.
The TV here was really too small. If they sat spread out, they'd have to tilt their heads, so they sat side by side, quietly staring at the screen, waiting for the commercials to finish.
Zhang Shutong handed her the cookies. She took one and ate it in small bites.
"What kind of cookies are these?"
"I didn't look carefully. Seems like breakfast cookies, red date flavor?"
"I've never had these before."
Zhang Shutong thought it was completely normal she'd never had them. These breakfast cookies cost five yuan for a huge bag—filling, affordable, and good value, like chocolate made with cocoa butter substitute, hidden in areas the young lady would absolutely never encounter.
Just like the young lady probably would never watch TV in a small observation room in a small hospital. It would be laughable if word got out—was the Sony color TV in the villa not big enough, or was that little leather sofa not soft enough?
But her cookie-eating movements were very natural, her eyes watching TV very focused. The room gradually warmed up. Zhang Shutong saw her remove her outer coat, revealing a very delicate sweater underneath, the contrast even more striking.
"Not wearing that scarf?" Zhang Shutong glanced at her.
"The scarf's downstairs."
"Oh."
Gu Qiumian was wearing a very long down jacket and a fitted vest, with another cotton coat wrapped on the outside. No wonder Zhang Shutong said she looked like a dumpling tonight.
She felt the room was hot and took off all these clothes, but taking them all off was a bit cold again. Zhang Shutong very perceptively handed her that black down jacket. She took it and draped it over herself.
"Why is it so dirty?"
"I used it to hold melon seed shells." Zhang Shutong said weakly.
"And it smells bad."
"Does it?" Zhang Shutong thought he'd already taken very good care of this coat.
"Of course it does." She sniffed the collar of the down jacket and glared. "It's all covered in your smell now. It stinks."
"Sorry, sorry. I thought I didn't smell."
"You can't smell it yourself." She huffed.
"Want the vest then?"
But the girl pressed her finger to her lips:
"Aiya, you're so noisy. Don't disturb me watching the movie."
So Zhang Shutong watched her wrap herself in that down jacket, nibbling cookies in small bites. When she finished one, Zhang Shutong would proactively pass the package over. She'd stare at the TV and take another piece. When she saw an interesting commercial, she'd laugh too. It was a quiet evening. The moonlight was beautiful.
After the movie's opening credits, Zhang Shutong also looked at the screen.
"So it's this one." They both murmured at the same time.
China Central Television Channel 6 loved to show classic foreign films.
The movie was Roman Holiday.
"What do you mean?" Zhang Shutong couldn't help asking.
"I think I've seen this movie before."
"Such a classic film—even I've seen it, let alone you."
"I dreamed about it. I think I watched this movie at school, and it was at night."
Zhang Shutong was startled:
"Really?"
"Believe it or not. You're always saying you dream too."
"Were there other people?"
"Can't remember clearly." Gu Qiumian frowned slightly, recalling. "And it seems like we didn't finish watching it."
"Is that so?" He said softly: "Then let's watch it again. I'll watch it with you to the end."
"Mm."