CH 54

Without much thought, Yu Zhou made a phone call.

After asking for a while, Su Chang couldn’t explain clearly but only managed to say two words about the symptoms: “Uh, cough.”

“Anything else?” Yu Zhou frowned.

Su Chang seemed to be carefully observing, as Yu Zhou could even hear the sound of the cow-cat munching on cat food.

Su Chang took a few shallow breaths on the phone, sounding somewhat innocent. “No.”

“Hiss…”

Yu Zhou used her iPad to search while on the phone. Some said it might be pneumonia, some said it might be cat rhinitis and others mentioned viruses such as herpes or cup-shaped viruses, all typically accompanied by coughing symptoms at first.

Some of these viral infections could be fatal for cats.

Yu Zhou asked again, “Did you get a blood test at the hospital? Did they do a virus check?”

“Yes, I did.”

“What tests did they do?”

A breathing sound close to the phone’s mouthpiece, followed by the sound of rustling paper. Su Chang seemed to have placed the phone between her neck and shoulder while searching for the examination report.

“Uh…” with a contemplative tone and an inquisitive hum, she said, “Blood routine test, biochemistry test, stool test were all done. Nothing abnormal.”

“When did you get tested?”

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“Did it cough last night?”

“Yes.”

“How’s the cat’s mental state?”

Another contemplative hum: “It loves sleeping.”

Yu Zhou was speechless. Wasn’t that obvious? Which cat doesn’t love sleeping?

Sensing Yu Zhou’s silence, there was a pause on the other end of the phone. Su Chang asked softly, “Are you free to come over and take a look?”

Yu Zhou thought for three to four seconds before asking, “Are you still living there?”

“No. Zhujiang Villa.”

Hearing Yu Zhou’s silence, Su Chang added softly, “Block C, 12th floor. I’ll inform the property management. When you arrive, ask the security guard to help you swipe the card for the 12th floor.”

“Okay,” Yu Zhou hung up the phone.

Looking at the time, it was past seven in the evening. She had planned to order take-out, but she wasn’t very hungry. She knocked on the door of Xiang Wan’s bedroom, but there was no response. Xiang Wan seemed to be asleep.

So Yu Zhou sent a message on WeChat to Xiang Wan, saying she was going out and advising Xiang Wan to eat something when she woke up and to change her sanitary pad regularly.

Then, putting away the mindset of being a mother, she changed her clothes and went out to be a caretaker for the cow-cat.

Yu Zhou had heard of the Zhujiang Villa area before, where many celebrities lived. One pair of celebrities even made headlines when they were caught cheating on each other. When the news was exposed, many people focused on the couple who had an affair. Only Yu Zhou sighed at the grand door and the apartment building in the blurry GIF, exclaiming, “Wow, so high-end…”

Even the underground parking lot was cleaner than usual.

As she entered the outer gate of the community, there was a lane that encircled the community with few cars. Occasionally, two or three nanny cars were parked on the side of the road. After a brief ride, Yu Zhou arrived at the southern gate which was mentioned by Su Chang.

Yu Zhou paid the fare and got out of the car. She winced as she realized it cost her over forty yuan.

A new-style Chinese-style water curtain was hanging from the front door. Yu Zhou couldn’t scan her face, so she went to the reception desk in the doorway, where she was registered as a visitor under the watchful eyes of the security guards. She marveled at the high level of security while wondering why such a high level of security couldn’t prevent celebrities from being caught in an affair.

Wearing a simple T-shirt, Yu Zhou entered the lobby as she followed the hotel-style brown signs. C-block wasn’t far away and Su Chang’s place was the closest door.

Yu Zhou successfully swiped her card and went up to the twelfth floor, where she immediately stepped into a small garden and onto a large flat floor with a modern and minimalistic style. The huge floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the sparse outside lights like a vertical sky.

Su Chang was sitting on the sofa next to the window, playing with her phone with her back to Yu Zhou.

She got up when she heard the noise.

Su Chang was wearing a gray home outfit and Yu Zhou noticed that her hair had been dyed black.

Looking around, Yu Zhou asked her, “The last time I saw you shooting the cow cat, you were over there. Did you move to a new place?”

“No, it’s my grandmother’s. My house is being repainted, so I came here to live for a while.”

Yu Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. Su Chang’s duplex was not small, but the community and the area were not as exaggerated as here.

“Then… What about your grandmother? ” Is she at home? Yu Zhou was nervous again.

“Oh, she’s been in Canada for the past six months.”

Su Chang’s hands were in her pockets as she watched Yu Zhou change her shoes.

“Is it okay if I wear these?” Yu Zhou didn’t know which pair was for guests.

“It’s okay. Any pair will do.”

Yu Zhou was speechless. Did Su Chang not know that when someone goes to your place for the first time, you should offer them slippers? She just stood there like a gatekeeper, not knowing what she was doing.

Nevermind, Yu Zhou didn’t care. She directly asked her, “Where’s the cat?”

Su Chang turned sideways as she pointed to the dining room.

Yu Zhou dragged her slippers to the corner of the dining room, seeing the cat still crunching on her cat food.

Yu Zhou crouched as Su Chang also followed her crouch down. Yu Zhou looked left and right before saying, “This cat looks really energized.”

“Yeah, she is.”

“She is?” Yu Zhou raised her voice while looking at Su Chang. “You told me she liked to sleep.”

“Yeah.”

……

The two stood there with their hands in their pockets, leisurely circling around the cat like street smokers squatting down, staring at the cat for quite some time until their legs started to feel numb. Yu Zhou finally asked, “Why hasn’t it coughed yet?”

“Maybe it’ll cough at night.”

“Isn’t it night now?”

“I’ve heard it cough at 1 or 2 in the morning before.”

……

Yu Zhou really wanted to ask Su Chang, What’s your deal? Are you suggesting that I wait here until 1 or 2 in the morning?

Su Chang felt uneasy under her gaze, she added, “Maybe it’ll cough soon.”

Yu Zhou looked at her with an expression as if she was a fool.

Are you actually looking forward to it?

Su Chang cleared her throat before heading towards the living room. “Let’s sit for a while.”

Since she had come all the way here, Yu Zhou sighed to herself as she reassured herself that it was worth the 90-yuan ticket for a deep view of the Zhujiang Villa and exploration of the lower limit of human intelligence.

Nothing was on the coffee table and the TV was off. Yu Zhou sat there bored while Su Chang sat on the other side of the sofa, with one leg crossed over the other, looking very casual as she scrolled through her WeChat to reply to some work-related messages.

The silence was unbearable. How can it be so boring? Yu Zhou couldn’t stand it any longer before taking out her phone to browse Weibo.

“Are you hungry?” Su Chang asked as she texted on WeChat.

Yu Zhou shook her head, thinking that Su Chang couldn’t see her. She added, “Not hungry.”

“Did you eat before coming here?”

“No, but I’m not hungry.”

……

They sat in silence for a while longer until Su Chang asked, “Then, are you craving anything?”

Puff, Yu Zhou almost laughed out loud.

Feeling a bit helpless, she asked, “Does your grandma have any melon seeds?”

Su Chang looked up, a bit confused as she thought about it. “There are pistachios, want some?”

“Sure, that works.”

Su Chang stood up, walked up the steps to the dining room and looked through the cabinets until she found an unopened can of pistachios. She opened the can before handing it to Yu Zhou.

Yu Zhou thanked her and started peeling the shells after placing them on a paper napkin.

She wanted to tell Su Chang to turn on the TV. Turning on the TV would alleviate the awkwardness.

Yu Zhou still couldn’t understand why things were so awkward between them. They had spent a lot of time under the same roof before breaking up. She thought back before realizing that the TV was always turned on by her, Su Chang never watched, but also never minded the noise.

Each of them has one pair of slippers. There aren’t any extras. Nobody, not even friends or family, has visited their small home yet, so there’s no need to offer slippers to guests.

Perhaps Su Chang never thought of her as an outsider, so she never bothered with polite gestures like handing over slippers to someone.

Perhaps Su Chang still believed that Yu Zhou should find something to eat and turn on the TV by herself like before.

But Yu Zhou’s attitude had changed. As a guest, she felt that Su Chang was an inadequate host, a host who lacked basic hospitality skills.

For example, the host had not turned on the TV, so how could she do so?

Sigh, she gave a long sigh as she looked at the little cat that was chasing cat toys, feeling this trip had been a waste.

After peeling and eating a dozen or so pistachios, she finally asked Su Chang, “Why did you dye your hair?”

Su Chang put down her phone as she chuckled softly. “I found out it’s not very trendy anymore.”

Laughing to herself, Yu Zhou thought, you’re only just realizing that now? I told you about it ages ago!

Everything has a shelf life, or else it’s easy to become outdated.

“Is it pretty?” Su Chang tilted her head to the side as she asked.

“Yeah, it’s pretty nice and suits you well.” Su Chang looked perfect with her all-black hair. Back when they were still in the hospital, she looked like a petite fairy.

Su Chang raised her lips before asking again, “What about the highlights from before? Did they suit me?”

“Uh, they were pretty nice. In fact, you look great no matter what. You’re so pretty, aren’t you? Haha, why ask such questions?”

Su Chang looked at her, asking gently, “Really?”

When Yu Zhou said she was pretty, she still felt a little delighted. But what she actually meant was, “Is the effect from my hair dye the same as what you imagined at that time?”

However, she could tell that Yu Zhou didn’t want to say much else about it.

Su Chang sighed in her heart. She felt like asking, “Why is it that when you’re out eating with Xiang Wan, you have so much to talk about? Why can you just naturally pick food from her plate?”

She felt a little envy, maybe more than just a little.

She used to be incredibly confident about the relationship between her and Yu Zhou, that they would never reach the point of having nothing to say to each other. Yu Zhou had so many fantastic ideas and a wild imagination; when she just saw an ant on the road, she could even make up stories about an ant and a polar bear falling in love to make herself laugh.

She had thought that being with someone like Yu Zhou would mean they could talk endlessly.

Only later did she find out that they would really run out of words to tell because your story with her ended eventually.

Su Chang took a deep breath before leaning against the sofa, half-sitting while watching Yu Zhou.

“Why didn’t Xiang Wan come with you?”

Yu Zhou glanced at her, Su Chang’s leg was still curled up as the buttons on the collar of her loungewear were fastened very casually, showing off half of her right collarbone.

This posture made it almost seem like they’d never been apart.

“She is on her period and is feeling uncomfortable. She should be resting now.” Yu Zhou snapped out of her thoughts before dusting off the residue from her hands.

Su Chang leaned over to hand her a wet tissue.

Out of habit, Yu Zhou took it and opened it to clean her hands.

Su Chang then moved the tissue box in front of her before asking.

“Last time I asked you, you said she wouldn’t be staying at your place forever. Did she mention when she plans to move out?”

“Well…there’s no specific plan, but I talked to her today since she’s acting in commercials now. Once her income stabilizes, she’ll move out.”

Yu Zhou straightened her body, not wanting to lean back. Su Chang handed her a pillow to fill the emptiness of her hands and arms.

Seeing Yu Zhou comfortably holding the pillow, Su Chang leaned back as she suggested, “I have a place in Fu Nan Road, you know, the lease is up in late November, the tenant doesn’t want to renew it and I haven’t contacted an agent to lease it yet. Do you want to ask her if she’s interested?”

“No, no, no. How can she afford your place? I’ve been thinking that she should temporarily live with someone else. Besides, she has never lived alone before, so I would feel more rest assured if she’s rooming with someone.” Yu Zhou interrupted her.

The phrase “rest assured” made Su Chang stunned for half a minute.

“I can…”

She didn’t finish her sentence before seeing Yu Zhou shake her head, “I know you don’t need the rent, but it’s not nice to rent it out cheaply to her. She owes you a favor and it should be repaid.”

Favors must be returned. She knew it all along, but she took care of Xiang Wan in the slightest detail, seeming to have never considered the issue of how Xiang Wan could return the favor to her.

Su Chang looked a little sad, keeping silent for a while before moistening her lips and speaking softly, “Yu Zhou, am I a cold-hearted person in your eyes?”

“Huh?” Yu Zhou didn’t know why she was suddenly asking this.

Slowly blinking her eyes, Su Chang thought for a while before saying, “I just feel…”

She didn’t know how to say it.

“You can help anyone, even small animals, without expecting anything in return. But you seem to think that I wouldn’t want to help others.”

In Yu Zhou’s heart, Su Chang and she have never been the same type of person.

Yu Zhou’s actions are unconditional, but in her eyes, Su Chang’s actions need to be weighed with benefits.

“It’s not like that,” Yu Zhou became a little anxious and her speech speed also increased, “I just feel like I have nothing. Whatever I do doesn’t matter, there’s no need to talk about favors. I’m, I’m cheap, you know? I don’t know how to describe this feeling, but I feel like you’re valuable.”

There was a feeling that her own favor was worth nothing, but when it came to Su Chang, she felt like Su Chang’s time and energy were worth a lot.

“Besides,” she lowered her head as she said, “you’re so busy and I don’t want to bother you with trivial things.”

She didn’t really have anything to do, so it was ok to keep herself busy doing nothing.

Seeing her like this, Su Chang’s eyes welled up a little as she asked softly, “But what if I want to be bothered? What if I like it?”

I like the noise of the TV even though I didn’t watch it, I liked the busy work even though it had nothing to do with me.

Sometimes things weren’t just about being expensive or cheap, there was emotional value, enjoyment and willingness, right?

“So you’re saying,” Yu Zhou had trouble following, “that you’re like me, you like making friends, you like helping others, right?”

“I…”

It doesn’t seem to be like that either. Su Chang didn’t really know how to respond.

“Um…” Yu Zhou hesitated and then raised her index finger to bite her nail. “I’ll ask Xiang Wan about the house.”

She was afraid Su Chang would get angry as she did at the mall last time.

Seeing Yu Zhou was a little bewildered, Su Chang held back the words already on her lips. Anyway, She didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere of their chat by making things too awkward.

So she leaned back against the armrest of the sofa without saying anything.

There was a commotion coming from the dining room as Yu Zhou heard it first. She gently tapped Su Chang’s knee.

Su Chang snapped out of it and turned her head before standing up to lead Yu Zhou to the dining room.

“Look, it’s coughing.”

She pointed at the little cat making a dry heaving noise. The cat was arching its back and looked uncomfortable. Su Chang’s heart ached a little at the sight.

Yu Zhou breathed calmly a few times and didn’t look at the cat any more. Instead, she looked at Su Chang seriously.

“You call this coughing?” Her voice was calm and without a ripple.

“Isn’t it?” Su Chang frowned, thinking it sounded like a human’s cough.

Yu Zhou twitched her chest as she chuckled dryly twice. “It is trying to cough up hairballs but hasn’t succeeded yet.” The cat licked too much fur.

“Just give it some hairball medication, sis.” Speechless.