CH 71

The house Xiang Wan found was quite good, a one-bedroom, one-living-room apartment facing south. The living room wasn’t very big and there wasn’t a separate dining room either, but the bedroom was very comfortable, even with a bay window. The community wasn’t as good as Yu Zhou’s, but it was still decent with only a 15-minute walk from Yu Zhou’s community, indeed not far.

Seeing that it was reliable and not expensive, Yu Zhou and Xiang Wan decided to rent the house.

Yu Zhou checked the entire house, making a note of everything that was missing – broom, mop, bucket, bath ball, laundry detergent, shower gel, and so on. Every time she thought of something, she wrote it down and ordered it online, buying new ones for Xiang Wan. They would be delivered directly to the new house the next day so there was no need to bring them from Yu Zhou’s home.

When she got back home, she packed a lot of things for Xiang Wan just like the last time she sent her off. But this time she didn’t bring any snacks or anything, just the daily necessities. She packed two large suitcases, a backpack and two plastic bags of miscellaneous items to take with them.

“We’re not far apart. If you’re not too lazy, come back for meals. Of course, that’s when I’m not too lazy either. I’ll tell you when I feel like cooking and you can come over to eat if you have time. If I’m ordering takeout, there’s no need to come over, it doesn’t matter where we eat takeout,” Yu Zhou said, packing things while smiling.

After packing everything, she asked Xiang Wan to check again before saying she was going to the bathroom.

Then she closed the door to the bathroom and sat on the toilet as she wiped her tears.

She seemed to be getting more and more sentimental. In the past, these feelings of parting had a backlash. Just like when kitten Wanwan was taken away, she only felt that the cat litter pan and other things were gone, the house was a bit larger and it was only after three days that she felt uncomfortable.

This time, Xiang Wan’s departure would make the house feel even larger.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t been working for a while, she always felt like she was conjoined with Xiang Wan, taking her everywhere. This feeling was so different from when she broke up with Su Chang. Her parting with Su Chang was a long-lasting hourglass. She watched as the time they spent talking and sharing every day became less and less, so she was fully mentally prepared. Plus, she was entangled in work matters and was very annoyed, so after she parted with Su Chang, she was in a mindset of giving up.

Just let it be, let it destroy, she didn’t want to live well anymore, just chewing on vegetables or beef every day after work.

But with Xiang Wan, it was like a piece of flesh was suddenly ripped off from her at their closest and best time.

She suddenly realized that this independence was not only Xiang Wan’s but also her own.

When Yu Zhou was at her most confused and empty, Xiang Wan suddenly appeared. She not only accompanied her but also made her life busy, gave her a goal, ignited her motivation and filled her with proud achievements, making her gradually grow confidence.

Xiang Wan had always been healing her.

And now, it’s time for them to live independently of each other, Yu Zhou also had her own tests to take and responsibilities to fulfill.

That being said, Yu Zhou didn’t expect herself to be this upset.

It was too annoying.

After quietly crying, she took a shower and told Xiang Wan to go to bed early before going to her own room.

The moving day was scheduled for the weekend, a lucky day on the calendar. Su Chang and Peng Xiangzhi arrived early to help. They pushed suitcases, carried things and even brought the mop from Yu Zhou’s home, which she felt was better than the ones she found online. She ordered another one for herself on Taobao.

When they arrived at the new house, the cleaning service Su Chang had booked was already waiting at the door. While the cleaners were cleaning, they also organized and tidied up. It took them three to four hours to get the small one-bedroom, one-living-room apartment in order.

By the time Yu Zhou and Su Chang finished making the bed, Yu Zhou could barely straighten her back and Su Chang’s back was also a bit stiff.

“Is your back hurting?” Yu Zhou asked her.

“A little,” Su Chang replied, supporting herself with her hand.

Yu Zhou went over and massaged her, “Is it better?”

Su Chang nodded, “Mm.”

She propped herself up with her hand, touching Yu Zhou’s hand. She let it go and moved a bit forward.

Peng Xiangzhi cooked while Xiang Wan helped, and soon they made four dishes and a soup. The four of them sat at the small square table, opening a large bottle of Coke.

The atmosphere of Coke was perfect for gatherings. The “crack” sound as the gas came out was lively, seeming to tell you that this was just a gathering, we would never separate.

They talked and laughed at the dinner table, occasionally turning their heads to see if the TV in the living room had reached an exciting part.

Occasionally they would find an excuse to make a toast, at first it was “congratulations to Xiang Wan for her housewarming”.

Later it was “this table just happens to fit four people, how coincidental, let’s toast to that”.

As they sipped their Coke with smiles, Yu Zhou suddenly felt that this scene was like a scene from “Tiny Times”[1], except they weren’t fighting.

Peng Xiangzhi had work to do, so she left before they finished eating. Yu Zhou and Su Chang helped clean up the dishes. After everything was tidied up, they were a bit tired, so they told Xiang Wan to rest well and left.

Xiang Wan walked them to the door, said goodbye before she closed the door.

Yu Zhou waited for the elevator with Su Chang, stomping her foot to test if the corridor’s sound-controlled lights were working.

In case the lights didn’t work, she would have Xiang Wan contact the property management to fix it quickly, as it would be dangerous at night.

The elevator arrived and Su Chang nudged her wrist, “Let’s go.”

Watching the elevator’s numbers decrease one by one, Yu Zhou suddenly said, “This elevator feels so bad, it’s been shaking since we got in, don’t you think?”

“No,” Su Chang said softly.

“I see,” Yu Zhou replied.

When they got to the ground floor, she said again, “Did we not use an access card when we came in? This door has an access system, but it just opens when pushed.”

Su Chang glanced at her, paused for two seconds and said, “She’s an adult now.”

They stood in the lobby when Yu Zhou’s eyes suddenly turned red.

“Other than that time in the hotel, she has never lived alone,” she said.

“Su Chang,” Yu Zhou looked up, her eyes red as she looked at Su Chang, “If I told you that she’s the daughter of a prime minister and she traveled through time, would you believe me?”

She asked the question for the second time and then choked up, “Will you believe me, just this once?”

Su Chang stared at her firmly, her eyes softening as she said, “I can believe you.”

Not that she believed or didn’t believe, but that she could. This meant that regardless of the truth or objective logic of the matter itself, she chose to believe Yu Zhou.

Yu Zhou’s heart was shaken, it felt sour and painful.

She said, “Do you remember when we bought our house? We specifically looked at the hallway, saying it should be fully tiled. Some developers make the exterior look shiny and beautiful, but the inside of the hallway is just white walls, which is actually a case of cutting corners.”

“I just looked, the hallway in this community is just white walls.” As she said this, tears started to fall.

Su Chang sighed as she put her arm around Yu Zhou. Yu Zhou hugged Su Chang, crying so hard she was gasping for breath.

She said, “I just feel that, a young lady from a prime minister’s family, only eighteen years old, traveling to this era where she has no one and nothing, how pitiful. And I’m driving her away. The community she’s living in is not even as good as mine. She’s a lady of high society. Do you know what she told me before? She said she used to be the apple of her parents’ eye.”

She spoke through her sobs with her words disjointed and intermittent.

Su Chang gently held her, patting her head, “Don’t cry.”

She knew that Yu Zhou understood the reason. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have made the decision to let Xiang Wan move out. She just needed to vent.

Yu Zhou had a habit of blaming herself when she was upset, as if all the mistakes were made by her, as if world peace would be achieved as long as she didn’t do anything stupid.

Yu Zhou felt very sorry for Xiang Wan, but she should understand that Xiang Wan was not an abandoned pet that she had picked up, and couldn’t be dependent on her for a lifetime. Both Xiang Wan and Yu Zhou had to face separation anxiety.

Moreover, Yu Zhou also needed to realize that her indiscriminate kindness to others can sometimes be a cruel slow poison. If it’s mutual, it is the sweetest honey; if one loves and the other doesn’t, it is deadly poison.

Her crying gradually subsided when Su Chang asked her softly, “Are you okay now?”

“I’m okay.” Yu Zhou lifted her head and stood upright.

Su Chang glanced at her sideways, “You wiped your nose on my clothes.”

“So what?” Yu Zhou stared at her with a wronged look.

She was almost heartbroken, what about the clothes, were they very valuable? It was nowhere near as valuable as a young girl’s broken heart.

Su Chang chuckled softly, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Do you want dessert? I’ll take you.”

“Which one?”

“There’s one.”

“You’re just making that up, right? How would you know if there’s a dessert shop nearby, it’s always me who searches for the shops when we go out.”

“So are you going?”

“Yes.”