PSMD – Chapter 43

Shen Yuankai was stunned for a few seconds by his daughter calling him by his full name. His tone was somewhat disbelieving: “Leave you alone? Then who will leave me alone?”

He was fifty-three this year, and his voice was much deeper than before. When he got angry, his words became even more accusatory: “You and Guo Ming’an were doing so well, why did you break up? You have to explain it to me today. The son-in-law who was about to join the family just flew away like this. Can you bear this responsibility?”

Shen Ningruo forced herself to calm down. She slowly raised her head, looking at the road and pedestrians ahead, her voice normal: “Why don’t you go ask this prospective son-in-law you speak of?”

She wasn’t in the mood to argue with Shen Yuankai right now. After saying that, she hung up the phone.

Shen Yuankai called again. The moment the ringtone sounded, she immediately cut it off.

After repeating this several times, Shen Ningruo’s mood calmed down. She lowered her eyes and then restarted the car.

But the cold, empty apartment made Shen Ningruo’s heart sink little by little, especially when she walked into the bedroom and saw the few photos on the desk. She recalled Qiu Yang’s appearance at the time, and her breath hitched.

The sunset that day was brilliant, and Qiu Yang was bathed in the soft orange light. She sent a little girl to Qiu Yang, and she didn’t know what the little girl said to Qiu Yang, but Qiu Yang really came over.

And even played the ring toss game with her.

Shen Ningruo had always known that Qiu Yang seeking her out wasn’t an accident; it was likely triggered by her ex.

In fact, she should have understood from that moment that Tao Sixian had hurt Qiu Yang deeply, otherwise a good girl like Qiu Yang would never have come out looking for a fling.

Qiu Yang just wanted to change her surroundings and clear her head.

Shen Ningruo sat powerlessly on the chair and picked up the photos in front of her.

She shouldn’t have been so self-important, nor should she have gotten carried away, otherwise Qiu Yang would be home playing with her cat right now.

Shen Ningruo’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and she tightened her grip on the photos until her fingernails turned white. She had only one thought in her mind now—

That was to apologize.

But she couldn’t contact Qiu Yang now. The unspoken understanding and connection between them were shattered at this moment.

In reality, it was just made of bubbles, wasn’t it?

As soon as Shen Ningruo thought of this, her heart felt tightly squeezed, making her incredibly uncomfortable. She raised her hand to cover her face again, thought for a while, then grabbed her car keys, changed her shoes, and went out.

She was convinced that Qiu Yang would come back tonight.

Qiu Yang didn’t actively contact Yue Chu; rather, Yue Chu was feeling down and wanted to vent, so she sent Qiu Yang a WeChat message.

Back then, the two of them could talk about anything, which was why their relationship was so good. Even if it wasn’t like that now, Qiu Yang was still grateful to Yue Chu. Therefore, after work, she went to the restaurant Yue Chu had booked.

The meal wasn’t very relaxed. Qiu Yang had something on her mind, but she didn’t show it, and Yue Chu had always been someone who liked to think things through herself, so she didn’t mention the crucial matter, only briefly saying that she was in a bad mood because of that person.

Qiu Yang expressed understanding.

Yue Chu originally suggested going for a drink, but Qiu Yang was on her period and couldn’t drink, so the suggestion took a turn, and they immediately booked a small room at a KTV.

Singing was a good way to vent.

The lights in the private room were set to the dimmest level. Both of them were heavy-hearted, and they ordered mostly sad songs.

Yue Chu was very skilled at singing. She had even won an award in a campus singing competition when she was in school, but this was something Qiu Yang had heard from others at the time, because when she arrived at the school, Yue Chu was already a senior, and seniors generally didn’t participate in these activities anymore.

It had been a long time since she last heard Yue Chu sing, and Qiu Yang felt a bit nostalgic, but she didn’t just listen; she also ordered quite a few songs herself.

Not a single cheerful one.

They were all about breakups, cheating, or unrequited love.

But this way, their emotions were stirred up, and their phones were left on the sofa, ignored.

“Yesterday is far, tomorrow is still long, memories are vague but vast / How can tears not fall on such a late night / Asking myself if I’m used to it / Without you, the echoes become so loud every night / Is there any good way to make loneliness more obedient.”

Qiu Yang stood in front of the screen, holding the microphone, and sang a song called 《How Have You Been Lately》.

She actually rarely thought about what Tao Sixian was doing lately, but a few lines in this song really struck a chord with her.

Yue Chu sat on the sofa, paused for a few seconds when she saw the lyrics, then let out a sigh.

She knew Qiu Yang was a person who valued relationships deeply and would give her whole heart in a relationship, but once the other person hurt her, the damage wasn’t just 100%, but even more.

There were a few bottles of alcohol on the coffee table, but neither of them drank. However, they ate more than half of the fruit platter.

After Qiu Yang finished singing the song, Yue Chu checked the time and suggested: “Yangyang, let’s go home.”

Qiu Yang put down the microphone: “What time is it now, Jie?”

“Nine-thirty.”

“You have to work tomorrow.”

“It’ll be late by the time we get back and shower.”

“Okay.” Qiu Yang agreed. She didn’t want to keep singing either, and her voice was a bit hoarse.

After putting on her coat, Qiu Yang took her phone out of her pocket and saw the missed calls from Shen Ningruo.

Qiu Yang pursed her lips. She looked at the call history, hesitated repeatedly, but didn’t call back.

Today, because of her personal issues, she had given Shen Ningruo, who knew nothing, a cold shoulder. She only felt a bit ashamed now.

She would wait another day to recover, then she would go find Shen Ningruo and talk about it.

The music in the private room had been paused, and it suddenly became much quieter. Yue Chu saw Qiu Yang’s hesitation and asked with concern: “What’s wrong?”

Qiu Yang put her phone back in her bag. She smiled and shook her head: “Nothing.”

But after leaving the KTV and getting into Yue Chu’s car, she was about to give her residential address, but the words changed as they came out: “Jie, I want to go to the mall.”

There was a mall nearby, and it was nine-thirty now, so some stores were still open.

Yue Chu didn’t know what she wanted to buy, but she still said “Okay” and drove Qiu Yang there first before taking her home.

Shen Ningruo stood outside Qiu Yang’s door for a long time. She hadn’t worn high heels, but after a while, anyone’s legs and feet would ache.

The elevator went up and down, and sometimes stopped on this floor, but the person who came out was never Qiu Yang.

The corridor lights were voice-activated, but they hadn’t lit up for a long time. The night seemed to want to make people fear it, dropping the temperature significantly.

Shen Ningruo had also grabbed a coat before leaving, but it was really too cold here, and coupled with her naturally cold constitution, her body was now trembling as time passed.

This couldn’t go on, Shen Ningruo knew. So she finally set a time limit for herself.

If Qiu Yang wasn’t back by twelve o’clock, she would leave then. Because she had also invited Qiu Yang to go buy photo frames with her, she naturally had to stand in front of Qiu Yang in good health.

It was still an hour and forty minutes until twelve o’clock. Shen Ningruo looked at her phone again. She had called Qiu Yang again later, but it still went unanswered.

She felt even colder.

The elevator was going up again. Shen Ningruo looked down at the darkness on the ground, her heart felt like a large stone tied to it, thrown into the sea, plummeting straight down.

She thought of many ways Qiu Yang might vent, but she felt the highest probability was drinking. However, Qiu Yang was already having period cramps, and Shen Ningruo was extremely worried when she thought of this.

It was then that she realized her worry had exceeded her expectations.

The elevator door opened again, and the voice-activated light in the hallway lit up again.

Shen Ningruo didn’t look up, because she had lost hope. She even closed her eyes.

Until footsteps got closer and closer to her.

Until a surprised voice sounded: “Shen Ningruo?”

Shen Ningruo suddenly raised her head, her eyes opening simultaneously. Who else could be standing in front of her but Qiu Yang?

“I…” Shen Ningruo opened her mouth with difficulty, but because she was frozen, her voice trembled slightly, “I’m sorry.”

Qiu Yang hadn’t expected Shen Ningruo to be waiting at her door, and to open her mouth with an apology.

She looked at Shen Ningruo’s appearance, her brows furrowed. She extended her right hand, took Shen Ningruo’s hand, and without hesitation, took out her key and opened the door.

Shen Ningruo’s hand felt like it had taken a trip to the North Pole, so cold that Qiu Yang wondered if it was deep winter.

Shen Ningruo turned around stiffly. She watched Qiu Yang open the door, her eyes feeling a little sore.

She hadn’t gambled wrong; she had waited, and Qiu Yang didn’t smell of alcohol.

Shen Ningruo’s lips were dry. She licked them. Before she could say anything else, the door opened, the lights came on, and Qiu Yang pulled her inside.

“I’ll run you a hot bath.”

“You should take a hot shower first.”

Qiu Yang’s eyes were full of concern. As she spoke, she also took out slippers. Shen Ningruo stood still, her nose, slightly red from the cold, also felt a sting of soreness.

Pingzi had already come over, rubbing against Qiu Yang. It looked at Shen Ningruo several times, unable to understand why this person who called it “Pangpang” was here again.

Qiu Yang didn’t have time to play with it now, so she patted its head: “Pangpang, go play by yourself for a bit.”

Pingzi: …?

Qiu Yang placed the slippers at Shen Ningruo’s feet. Seeing Shen Ningruo’s colorless lips and listless eyes, she felt uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to delay any longer. If Shen Ningruo didn’t take a hot shower soon, she would definitely catch a cold.

“Quickly, change your shoes.” Qiu Yang rarely spoke to Shen Ningruo in such a tone. After speaking, she went into the bedroom, took out a pair of underwear she had never worn, a nightgown she had only worn a few times, and a bath towel that had just been dried.

Pingzi didn’t leave; it squatted on the floor watching Shen Ningruo, its eyes a little fierce.

Oh well, its mom was being affected by this person.

Shen Ningruo was being watched by it and suddenly smiled: “You’re not fat, you’re just fluffy.”

She didn’t know if Pingzi could understand, but Qiu Yang had already started running hot water, and had taken everything into the bathroom, urging her to take a shower.

Shen Ningruo entered the bathroom. The moment she stood under the showerhead, she felt her blood circulating and flowing.

Her fingertips had turned purple from the cold; it took a while under the hot water for them to return to normal.

Qiu Yang was on the sofa, feeling restless. She hadn’t expected Shen Ningruo to choose to wait for her, and from her complexion, she had been waiting for a long time. She went to the kitchen again, started boiling ginger soup for Shen Ningruo, and also boiled hot water to make her some cold medicine.

After finishing all this, Shen Ningruo came out of the bathroom. Their height difference was almost negligible, so the pajamas Qiu Yang could wear, Shen Ningruo could also wear, though she had a bath towel draped over them.

Her hair was also wrapped in a towel, but water was still dripping down.

Qiu Yang suddenly felt that Shen Ningruo wasn’t like a big bad wolf, but rather a little dog that had been caught in the rain.

Especially with those eyes now looking at her pitifully, this feeling was even stronger.

“Drink some medicine first.” Qiu Yang put away these thoughts and gestured with her chin towards the cup on the coffee table.

Shen Ningruo obediently sat down next to Qiu Yang, then meekly picked up the cup and drank the cold medicine completely. She didn’t say a word, her gaze constantly falling on Qiu Yang.

Qiu Yang sat upright beside her, her hands clasped. When Shen Ningruo looked over again, she met her gaze: “It’s okay.”

“I don’t blame you.” She was responding to Shen Ningruo’s apology.

“It’s just that I haven’t been able to move on so quickly.”

Shen Ningruo felt a pang of heartache listening to this, and then saw Qiu Yang reveal a smile. She placed the things she bought at the mall in front of Shen Ningruo: “I bought the photo frames for you.”

“See if you like them?”

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