Chapter 48: 48

When Jiang Xuemei and Jiang Yimang arrived in S City, Yi Hui had just finished the very pleasant dinner with Zhou Jinheng.

The car was already prepared at the door. Yi Hui was in a hurry, so he didn’t refuse. He sat in the back seat and waited for a while before anyone came up. He stuck his head out and saw Zhou Jinheng explaining something to the driver standing next to the car. Then he turned to Yi Hui and said, “I have other things, so I won’t pick up Auntie with you.”

Yi Hui didn’t want him to go with him, but it was also clear that Zhou Jinheng had deliberately arranged it this way. It was night time, what task could be waiting for him?

The car slowly drove onto the road and joined the traffic. Yi Hui looked out the rear window. Zhou Jinheng was still standing on the spot and watching him go away. His figure was tall and upright, but he seemed lonely and solemn in the night.

On the road, Yi Hui sometimes opened and sometimes closed his eyes, and light and shadows in the mottled glass were floating chaotically in front of him, making him think of the last time he walked into this restaurant. He was also with Zhou Jinheng then.

At that time, he was 23 years old and Zhou Jinheng was 19 years old. They had just confirmed their marriage relationship in the presence of a priest.

It was the happiest day of his previous life. He thought he knew what love was and he secretly prepared to spend his life with Zhou Jinheng. Only in the later trials and tribulations did he know that happiness was not achieved in the presence of a third party and giving did not definitely have to be rewarded.

The past was the past, and fate also worked on a first-come-first-served basis. The pain he felt at the time could not be felt by the other party, and now the “love” the man talked about could not reach his heart through his eardrums.

Early the next morning when Jiang Xuemei was admitted to an oncology hospital in S City, she underwent a detailed full-body examination.

As a result, it turned out there was still a problem with her heart. Under the impact of chemotherapy and various stimulating drugs, the tolerance of her organs was weakened, which caused various physical and sensory discomforts.

After the medicine and treatment plan were adjusted, the symptoms eased a lot in less than three days. Jiang Xuemei’s face also turned ruddy. When she arrived, she could only walk with help. Now she could get out of bed and walk around.

“Thanks to your friend,” Jiang Xuemei said, taking Yi Hui’s hand, “When we are discharged from the hospital, the three of us will pay our respects together.”

Yi Hui said, “No, he is busy. He said yesterday that he would come to see you when he had time.”

The second half of the sentence was nonsense. Fortunately, Jiang Xuemei didn’t plan to ask more. She only asked what their benefactor’s last name was. Yi Hui’s brain was knotted when he lied; he hesitated for a long time and still said truthfully that his surname was Zhou.

Before leaving, he was pulled aside by Jiang Yimang and asked in a low voice, “It’s not him again right?”

Yi Hui pretended to be dumbfounded: “Him? What him? Who are you talking about?”

When she saw his embarrassing performance, Jiang Yimang knew it was not good, patted his forehead and said, “I, Jiang Yimang, have been smart all my life. How could I have been so confused earlier and fallen for your trick?”

He couldn’t hide it anymore from his sister. Yi Hui picked out the insignificant details, but Jiang Yimang was still sniffing and in tears, asking Yi Hui if he was the Bodhisattva who had come down to earth to help all beings.

Thinking of having used a similar metaphor to describe her, Yi Hui smiled: “I am not a Bodhisattva, I am your brother.”

Jiang Yimang hugged him and howled “Bodhisattva Brother” several times, then wiped away her tears, took out a flashlight-like object from her pocket and thrust it into his hand: “It’s time to protect yourself. I don’t need this thing for the time being. Brother, you take it for protection, I can’t believe that Zhou guy went to all the trouble of tying you up with nothing else in mind.”

That day, Yi Hui hurriedly went back to conform with the twelve-hour rule and didn’t have time to study what Jiang Yimang gave him.

When the temperature dropped again next week, he took out the coat he had worn once, shook it and prepared to put it on before going out. Something fell out of his pocket.

Tang Wenxi picked it up, looked at the cylindrical object and chuckled: “Classmate Jiang, you are so cute. I told you to buy an anti-wolf stick and you actually bought it.”

Yi Hui couldn’t argue with him no matter what; he turned red like a boiled shrimp, didn’t wear the coat and walked out first, puffing up with anger.

Tang Wenxi often travelled between the capital and S City these days. He came to a seminar with a professor twice before. This time, he was here for something else. He accompanied Yi Hui to the hospital to see Jiang Xuemei and then wandered around idly. Yi Hui calmed down and asked him if he wanted to find a place to sketch together. He shook his head and yawned: “No, I came all the way here so I don’t want to paint.”

Intuition told Yi Hui that it might be related to the person surnamed Yang again. Sure enough, at noon, Tang Wenxi answered a call, took out a jacket from his bag, put it on him and said with a smile: “If you want to fight off wolves, it’s enough to wear my clothes.” As he said it, he pointed at the eye-catching restaurant sign across the street, “I made a reservation there. You go and eat. I haven’t digested my breakfast yet and feel terrible. I’ll go for a stroll first.”

Yi Hui entered the restaurant, dumbfounded, and only had time to look at his clothes when he sat down.

Tang Wenxi made the jacket by himself. If you pulled the zipper to the top, there would be huge words “good luck” written on his chest. The sequins and rivets were all hand-sewn. Yi Hui stretched out his hand and touched them. He felt his teeth ache, not knowing whether to cry or to laugh. It was really wolf-proof.

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He guessed that Tang Wenxi must have made an appointment with Yang Chengxuan here, but was stood up again and could not deliver the clothes he made with his own hands. This was Yang Chengxuan’s hometown and he was about to go abroad. Before the scumbag man’s leaving, Tang Wenxi was neither able to wish him good luck nor to stab him. It was really frustrating; no wonder he couldn’t eat.

Yi Hui couldn’t bring it up and didn’t have much appetite for the luxurious meals that had been ordered.

He was not good at using a knife and a fork. He finally cut off a piece of steak and put it in his mouth. When he looked up, he was startled as he watched someone come up. The fork fell back onto the plate from his limp fingers.

Zhou Jinheng was also sent here on a crisis mission.

Yang Chengxuan said on the phone: “I really can’t make it. He hung up on me. I don’t know if he will go. If he is there, apologize for me. If he is not there, you can eat by yourself.”

Before going, Zhou Jinheng said disdainfully: “Who cares about your meal”. At this moment, he saw Yi Hui sitting in the other seat at the designated table. He instantly changed his mind, strode over and sat down, completely forgetting what he was here for. 

At first, there was nothing to say. The two had a stiff meal. When a plate of desserts decorated with roses was served, the waiter asked if they wanted him to read the oath for them two. Yi Hui was the first to come round and say no. After the waiter left, he explained indifferently: “This was reserved by my friend. I didn’t know it was like this.”

Zhou Jinheng nodded and said calmly, “Well, me too.”

The meal was eaten quietly; there was no confrontation, no dark tide surging. Even though Yi Hui was one of the participants, he could barely imagine that he and Zhou Jinheng could still sit face to face like this just to fill their stomachs.

After the meal, Yi Hui got up and walked to the door, looking down and zipping up. When he raised his head, he suddenly bumped into Zhou Jinheng who stopped in front of him. The belt of his windbreaker was caught in the rivets on Yi Hui’s chest. The two struggled for a long time, chest to back, and finally pulled out the belt and separated with the help of the clerk.

Zhou Jinheng turned his head and his gaze fell on the strange ornaments on his chest. Yi Hui was still breathing hard, thinking that his face was practically pressed to Zhou Jinheng’s shoulder just now, and his earlobe that had rubbed against the skin on the back of his neck felt even hotter.

After walking on the sidewalk for a while, Yi Hui freed the belt barb caught in his sequins and was about to return it to Zhou Jinheng when he was stopped by an old woman on the side of the road.

“Young man, come here, this old woman will tell you your fortune.”

At noon, there were few pedestrians on the road. Yi Hui looked left and right, then pointed at himself: “Me?”

The old lady in the floral dress smiled and nodded.

Perhaps it was because the old lady looked kind-hearted, unlike a liar; so Yi Hui walked over and spread out his palm for her to see.

In just half a minute, she twisted her eyebrows for a while, then stretched her brows and smiled, and finally patted Yi Hui’s palm with her thin hand: “Good boy, the suffering is only temporary, and it will be a smooth journey from then on.”

Probably because he looked easy to deceive, Yi Hui had been stopped by fortune tellers in his last life, and even heard similar words.

However, with the strange thing of rebirth that happened to him, Yi Hui can believe it. He reached into his pocket and took out a few banknotes. Just as he was about to hand one to the old lady to thank her for her blessing, he saw a slender beautiful hand stretching forward ahead of him: “Take a look for me too.”

It was Zhou Jinheng, Zhou Jinheng had never cared about these feudal superstitions before.

Yi Hui moved to the side to make room for him. He originally thought that the old lady would look at it for a while before drawing conclusions, like she did just now. He didn’t expect her to round her eyes and make an exaggerated gasp: “It looks like it should be a sign of wealth and prosperity, but there is blood in it. I fear it will take nine deaths one life (a narrow escape / new lease of life) before it can be resolved.”

On the way back, Yi Hui said to Zhou Jinheng who was driving: “Street fortune-telling is not credible, don’t take what the old lady said to heart.”

Zhou Jinheng was taken aback for a moment, then turned to look at him, the corners of his lips slightly raised: “It’s okay, I’m not afraid.”

Hearing this answer, Yi Hui regretted speaking again. Even though he was dumb, he could hear the pleasure in Zhou Jinheng’s tone. He must have thought that he was worried about him.

Yi Hui believed he had an ‘acting out of payback’ mentality. He was the one who had his palm read first, and anyone who heard such curses would not be happy. He said it just to clear his conscience.

“And–” Zhou Jinheng turned away, looked ahead and continued to talk to himself, “Someone once told me that my lifeline was very long, and my life would be safe and smooth. It’s just that the love line is a bit short, and it broke right at the beginning.”

Speaking of this, he paused, as if waiting for a question to be asked curiously. Of course Yi Hui wouldn’t ask. His eyelids pulsed; he lowered his head and narrowed his eyes, pretending as usual that he hadn’t heard the intention in these words.

Zhou Jinheng smiled; no one asked but he still said the remaining sentence: “But it doesn’t matter where it is broken, I will renew the thread from where it is.”

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