Chapter 21: Paper Rose

It had been every week since Li Sichen returned to China. Inside this week, Ruan Zhizhi opened her eyes to his textual content messages each morning. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even midnight snacks and desserts have been all organized by Li Sichen. Even when Ruan Zhizhi needed to work time beyond regulation on the workplace or didn’t wish to exit to eat, he would devise methods to purchase scrumptious meals and have it delivered to her workplace or downstairs from her residence. 

If Ruan Zhizhi may have acquired this sort of therapy from Li Sichen three years in the past, maybe she would have woken up from her desires laughing each evening. However three years later, after an entire week handed, she lastly digested the unreal feeling that Li Sichen had come again to pursue her. Finally, she may calmly mirror on the issues between the 2 of them.

Li Sichen’s present therapy in the direction of her was not pretend. Ruan Zhizhi knew Li Sichen’s character the very best. He was somebody careless that dreaded troublesome issues. If he actually didn’t maintain her in his coronary heart, it could be inconceivable for him to point out take care of her by sending three meals on time every day. Many instances, she wished to just accept him, however each time she was on the verge of claiming what was on her thoughts, the phrases have been unable to go away her lips. In her coronary heart, she at all times felt faintly uneasy, as if she owed somebody.

March had already arrived. The climate was warming up once more. The frozen frost patterns on the street may now not be seen, and the naked branches of the Chinese language parasol timber in the midst of the street have been starting to sprout smooth shoots. All of it appeared so lovely.

Ruan Zhizhi obtained up early that day and deliberate to tidy up her wardrobe at dwelling earlier than going to work. She took a pile of thick winter garments out of the closet, fastidiously folded them one after the other, and stuffed them into an unused field. 

When the ultimate down jacket was folded, she flattened it and examined it as a formality, solely to seek out {that a} pocket of the down jacket crammed out barely, as if there was one thing in it. 

Wrinkling her forehead with some suspicion, Ruan Zhizhi positioned her hand within the jacket pocket. The subsequent second, she was unable to restrain her shock.

Inside was the paper rose that Shi Yan had given her on the bar in Lijiang a very long time in the past.

She hadn’t seen Shi Yan for every week already.

Earlier than, irrespective of the place she went, she would undoubtedly be capable of run into him. However this week, irrespective of the place she went, she by no means noticed Shi Yan once more—together with on the espresso store the place he ceaselessly went to purchase macarons previously. It was as if he had all of the sudden vanished from the face of the earth, disappearing cleanly from her life.

Generally, Ruan Zhizhi even had the phantasm that she had by no means truly met Shi Yan earlier than.

As a result of how may there be such an individual that was clearly an entire stranger to you, however willingly invested in you and occurred to look repeatedly everytime you have been in hassle? Identical to the black knight in these kids’s fairy tales who paid silently with out anticipating something in return.

If it weren’t for the truth that Ruan Zhizhi had already handed the age the place she believed in fairy tales, she in all probability would have thought that Shi Yan was an angel despatched by God to save lots of her, even when this angel had a really detached face. 

Ruan Zhizhi stood to the aspect of the closet in a trance, till the alarm on her cellphone sounded, reminding her to go to work. She lastly returned to her senses. 

She turned her head to look on the down jacket unfold out on the mattress and was all of the sudden just a little disenchanted.

For the remainder of the day, Ruan Zhizhi seemed sick relaxed. She couldn’t carry her spirits at work, so she lay on the desk in a daze. Luckily, Li Sichen’s firm was on a enterprise journey right this moment. In any other case, she feared that he would come to the workplace to ship meals to her in a bit.

She actually didn’t wish to see Li Sichen now, as a result of he at all times made her waver.

Ruan Zhizhi didn’t have an urge for food throughout her lunch break, so she lay on the desk listlessly and performed on her cellphone. Beside her, Lu Wanyi quietly noticed her for some time. She confirmed that Ruan Zhizhi didn’t have lunch plans earlier than coming over to speak: “Zhizhi, how come your boyfriend didn’t come over to take you for a meal right this moment?”

Ruan Zhizhi was shocked. She contemplated for some time earlier than realizing that the “boyfriend” Lu Wanyi spoke of should have been Li Sichen. She pursed her lips and defined, “He’s not my boyfriend, he’s only a good friend, we…have been as soon as college classmates.”

Lu Wanyi was stupefied when she heard such phrases, however she rapidly reacted and teased, “Don’t deceive me, how can an abnormal good friend willingly ship meals on time twenty-four hours a day? Not solely that, however the best way he appears to be like at you, even a blind particular person can see that it’s full of affection.”

“It’s actually not like that, we—” Ruan Zhizhi paused right here. She considered how Lu Wanyi was her solely shut good friend at work, so she determined to inform her the reality. “The connection between us is sophisticated. Previously, after we have been in college, I at all times preferred him very a lot. However on the time, he didn’t appear to love me that method. After I graduated and returned to China, he stayed in the US to work, and we lower off contact. I additionally felt I had come out of my secret love that resulted in failure. However this time, he returned to China and instructed me that he likes me. Proper now my head is a large number. I don’t know what to do in any respect.”

Ruan Zhizhi mentioned all these phrases in a single breath, and all of the sudden felt lots lighter in her coronary heart.

Lu Wanyi nodded as if she didn’t actually perceive, following with a considerably puzzled inquiry: “Zhizhi, do you continue to like him? When you like him, then settle for. When you don’t like him, then decline. It’s clearly a easy factor, why really feel troubled?”

“I don’t know.” Ruan Zhizhi sighed. “I feel I nonetheless have emotions for him. However I don’t know why, there’s one other voice in my coronary heart telling me that I shouldn’t settle for him.”

“I get it.” Lu Wanyi raised her eyebrows. “There have to be another person in your coronary heart, proper?”

“Another person?” Ruan Zhizhi frowned barely. 

“Proper. For instance, that good-looking man we bumped into at dinner final time. You possibly can see that he has a face that brings harm to the nation and struggling to the individuals, however he nonetheless is aware of methods to keep distance from women. The opposite day we have been collectively for such a very long time. His eyes didn’t cease on me for even a second. That is the sort of man that’s preferred by all women. My guess is that you should have already got him in your coronary heart, which is why you’re hesitant when dealing with the pursuit of one other particular person.”

Lu Wanyi had a cup of sizzling espresso in hand. Her method of talking was utterly sure, and after she completed speaking, she lowered her head and blew on the steaming drink earlier than taking a sip, leaving Ruan Zhizhi in a daze. 

Everybody mentioned that Shi Yan preferred her. However even when it was like this, she actually couldn’t take these beliefs that Shi Yan preferred her as given. On the prospect that he didn’t, she would lose an excessive amount of face. 

Furthermore, if he actually preferred her, then why hadn’t he contacted her after so lengthy?

Or…due to Li Sichen’s look, did he resolve to offer her up?

In the long run, Ruan Zhizhi couldn’t resist Lu Wanyi, so she placed on her coat and adopted her out for a meal.

Since their lunch break was solely an hour and a half, the 2 casually discovered a McDonald’s close to the corporate and deliberate to complete as rapidly as doable. 

McDonald’s was at all times full of individuals it doesn’t matter what time of day it was. Ruan Zhizhi and Lu Wanyi stood within the crowd to line up, fed up. Individuals have been coming and going round them, the environment was crowded, and the voices have been noisy.

Lu Wanyi stared on the crowd, misplaced in thought: “I bear in mind once I first got here to the corporate for the internship, I got here to this McDonald’s to eat virtually on daily basis. Again then, I felt that point was cash, and I didn’t wish to waste a minute or second with a view to get a full place easily.” She mentioned this with a smile and continued. “I nonetheless do not forget that the primary information manuscript I took over was a couple of corruption case. Throughout that interval, with a view to organize the supplies, I used to be turned the other way up virtually on daily basis.”

Influenced by Lu Wanyi’s temper, Ruan Zhizhi additionally adopted her to recall some reminiscences. She tilted her head and thought for a second, then mentioned, “The press launch I obtained on the time was a homicide of ardour. I bear in mind the contents of that case very clearly. After going via meticulous planning, a person murdered his spouse who was having an affair. He didn’t anticipate that his seven-year-old son would witness all the crime. After that, the son reported to the police and personally recognized his father to them. Quickly after, the person was sentenced to life imprisonment.”

“That little boy is so pitiful, ah…solely seven years outdated and he needed to expertise this sort of painful incident. Simply from listening to you discuss it, I have already got goosebumps throughout my physique. I actually don’t dare think about his mind set at the moment.”

“Proper, that was a case from over twenty years in the past. Now, that boy needs to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight. I don’t understand how he’s doing.”

“He definitely can’t be doing effectively. His father is a assassin, and his mom had an affair and died by the hands of her husband. Above all else, he noticed all the factor along with his personal eyes. That baby should have been topic to individuals’s lies and slander. Even when he’s lived protected and sound so far, it may be estimated that he would have a psychological sickness.”

The 2 chatted repeatedly for some time. Once they reached the entrance of the road, the pair rapidly targeting ordering from the menu and shortly forgot the topic. 

On this world, except the knife was additionally piercing you, it was inconceivable to really feel somebody’s struggling as if it was your individual.

After ordering and discovering a seat, Lu Wanyi went to the entrance counter to get ketchup and napkins. Ruan Zhizhi had simply set her tray down when she heard a well-recognized and clear voice coming from behind her: “Sorry, might I ask if we will share the desk?”

Ruan Zhizhi rotated. Positive sufficient, it was Chen Jiayan, who she hadn’t seen for ages.

“Zhizhi?! So it truly is you. Simply now I noticed your again and thought it seemed very acquainted.” Chen Jiayan was additionally stunned to see her. Within the subsequent second, a well-recognized smile instantly appeared on his face, trying sensible and sunny. 

Contaminated by his smile, Ruan Zhizhi’s temper additionally grew to become cheerful. She pointed to the vacant seat throughout from her and mentioned, “Sit down, it’s simply Wanyi and I right here.”

As quickly as Chen Jiayan put his issues on his seat, Lu Wanyi got here again. She was clearly stunned to see Chen Jiayan: “The street actually is slim for enemies! How can we run into you at McDonald’s?”

Chen Jiayan blinked, as if to say What are you able to do about me? “Metropolis A is just so huge, and A College isn’t that removed from right here. What’s so unusual about operating into me?”

Metropolis A was solely so huge, however she by no means bumped into Shi Yan anymore.

Ruan Zhizhi couldn’t assist shifting her lips to speak. In the long run, nevertheless, she forcefully suppressed herself from inquiring about Shi Yan’s information like she wished to.

What place did she should ask about his present state of affairs?

Lu Wanyi sat down subsequent to Ruan Zhizhi. She turned her head and seemed meaningfully at her, as if she all of the sudden remembered one thing. “Hey, the good-looking man that ate with you earlier than, why didn’t he come right this moment?”

Chen Jiayan tore open the burger wrapper along with his arms whereas nonchalantly replying, “You’re speaking about Ah Yan, ah. He requested a depart of absence right this moment and didn’t come to work. Anyway, I can inform that he hasn’t been in a great temper recently. I don’t dare provoke this ancestor.”

Talking up till there, he paused, then added: “However he was in a very good temper up till now. The entire particular person was like ice thawing and snow melting. I harboured suspicions that he was possessed by aliens.”

Shi Yan, he…wasn’t in a great temper lately?

It couldn’t be due to her, proper?

Ruan Zhizhi silently listened to Chen Jiayan and Lu Wanyi’s chatter. Occasionally, she bowed her head to eat her burger with out tasting it. For a very long time, her prepare of thought had already journeyed to outer house.