Lin Yingtao had a fever-reducing patch on her forehead. She was dazed and kept tilting her head in the blanket, trying to escape the heavy headache.
Someone held her, hugged her, and gave her water to drink. She always felt as if she had returned to the old Qunshan Workers' Hospital. The green curtains swayed in the light, and many nurses walked through the ward. Her father held her, and her mother smiled and said, "Cherry, look what this is. Uncle Yu bought you canned yellow peaches."
Lin Yingtao opened her eyes suddenly. She woke up, but did not see the mouth-watering yellow peach in the spoon.
The ceiling was low and gray, pressing down on her head. There were some traces of water seepage in the corners, which faded the wallpaper. Lin Yingtao squinted her eyes and looked at the window on the left. The dark blue curtains were drawn, and sunlight shone in through the gap.
Lin Yingtao rested her head on an uncomfortable pillow that was a little too high for her. The pillow smelled of disinfectant. She was wrapped in a large blanket that covered her neck and shoulders. Lin Yingtao was sweating a lot. She tried to turn her neck, and her hair rubbing against her cheeks was also covered with sweat. This was a very small room. She lay on the bed and felt that there was a door in front of her, like a prison.
Lin Yingtao reached out from under the blanket and rubbed her eyes gently.
She saw a retractable table next to the bed, on which were placed opened medicine boxes, torn packages of fever-reducing patches, disposable paper cups, and packaged takeout food tied in plastic bags.
Lin Yingtao wanted to sit up.
For a moment, she thought she saw Jiang Qiaoxi in a hallucination - the little boy was sitting with his back to her, leaning against her small bed, sitting on a bamboo mat, with his head down, concentrating on solving his Olympiad math problems.
Lin Yingtao opened her eyes and looked at him.
The young man had his back to her. He was sitting on the floor beside the bed with his neck drooped as if he was asleep.
Lin Yingtao lifted the blanket from her body. She was exhausted and her head was heavy. She looked down at herself. Her shirt was still wrinkled by sweat and her skirt was somehow stained. Lin Yingtao reached out and lifted her hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. She supported herself with the bed sheet and tried to get out of bed, only to find that there were no slippers on the floor, only a pair of white sneakers that had been taken off her feet and placed on the bedside.
Lin Yingtao stepped barefoot on the floor and squatted down beside the young man.
The young man lowered his head. Lin Yingtao looked at him closely and could see the faint mark on his forehead through the gaps in his hair.
"Jiang Qiaoxi?" she asked softly.
Jiang Qiaoxi lowered his head and suddenly opened his eyes. He seemed to hear some curse. He turned his head to look at the bed, but turned his head to see Lin Yingtao.
Lin Yingtao suddenly came over and hugged his neck with her arms.
"Jiang Qiaoxi..." she said.
Jiang Qiaoxi's hands were a little stiff, maybe because he was tired after a day and a night, maybe because he was numb from sitting here and sleeping, or maybe because he hadn't recovered from carrying Lin Yingtao up 11 floors yesterday. He slowly stretched out his hands and hugged Lin Yingtao's waist. He lowered his head and rubbed his numb cheek against Lin Yingtao's hair. He felt itchy and slowly regained consciousness.
"Cherry..." he asked softly, he seemed not to have woken up yet.
Lin Yingtao's back trembled in his arms. Jiang Qiaoxi hadn't hugged her for many years. Lin Yingtao had grown up again and had become a 20-year-old woman. Even her sweat seemed to have a different fragrance.
Jiang Qiaoxi suddenly remembered that he forgot to shave last night. His chin accidentally rubbed against Lin Yingtao's soft and hot face. He must have scratched her. Lin Yingtao subconsciously turned her face away, but buried her head deeper into his shoulder.
Jiang Qiaoxi closed his eyes, hugged her waist tightly, swallowed unnaturally, and took a deep breath.
"Jiang Qiaoxi, where is this place?" she asked, lying on top of him.
Jiang Qiaoxi said: "It's my rental house."
Lin Yingtao asked: "Why is it so small?"
Jiang Qiaoxi said, "It's just that small." He smiled.
Lin Yingtao rested her chin on his shoulder.
"When did you get back yesterday?"
Jiang Qiaoxi said, it was a little after eleven o’clock.
Lin Yingtao said, why so late
Jiang Qiaoxi said, it’s always... always this late.
For Jiang Qiaoxi, he has never had any real concept of "home". His home in the provincial capital was strict and cold, and it used to be his mother's strictly ordered competition camp; his home in the mountains was deserted and shabby, and he often had to face his father's numb face or the choking smoke in the room.
This cheap rental house is small and secluded, with only room for a bed. For Jiang Qiaoxi, it serves all the functions of a "home".
But Jiang Qiaoxi also knew that "home" should not be just like this.
At this moment, he sat on the floor of his rented house and held Lin Yingtao, who was talking to him in a wronged manner, in his arms. This was the first time that Jiang Qiaoxi was no longer eager to leave this ugly and dark cave. He lowered his head and selfishly held Yingtao tightly.
"I'm sorry, Yingtao..." Jiang Qiaoxi said softly, involuntarily. He saw Lin Yingtao sitting downstairs yesterday. The night in Hong Kong was so dark, and Yingtao ran over alone, waiting for him. He cursed himself in his heart.
Lin Yingtao's hands were still on his shoulders. She muttered aggrievedly, "You should have so many apologies to say to me..." But before she could finish her words, Cherry's body fell down, and Jiang Qiaoxi supported her at once.
"cherry?"
Lin Yingtao didn't know whether she was dizzy from the fever or hunger. She hadn't eaten since she got off the plane yesterday.
She heard Jiang Qiaoxi say, "I bought siu mai, buns, shrimp dumplings, as well as pork liver porridge and fish fillet porridge. What do you want to eat?"
Lin Yingtao wanted to say, I want to try them all.
"What's the filling in the buns?" She looked back at the table and asked him in a low voice.
Jiang Qiaoxi was worried to death, but he couldn't help but laugh when she asked. The microwave was in the public kitchen outside the rental house. Jiang Qiaoxi quickly went out and sat cross-legged in front of Lin Yingtao. He broke the bun open, revealing the shrimp, pork and vegetable pieces inside, and the heat came out. Lin Yingtao took the paper that wrapped the bun, lowered her head and took a few bites. Then she raised her head and drank the fish porridge that Jiang Qiaoxi scooped up with the spoon.
She couldn't help coughing, and took the disposable paper cup to drink the hot water poured from Jiang Qiaoxi's black cup. Lin Yingtao raised her eyes and looked closely at Jiang Qiaoxi's face.
Jiang Qiaoxi put his hands on her waist and suddenly picked her up. Lin Yingtao had never known he was so strong.
"Your arms have become thicker." Lin Yingtao said without thinking.
"Really?" Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Yingtao was put back on the bed. She changed a fever-reducing patch and rested her head on Jiang Qiaoxi's pillow. Her body was wrapped in a blanket again, and Jiang Qiaoxi wrapped her like a shrimp dumpling. Lin Yingtao raised her eyes, her cheeks flushed, and looked at Jiang Qiaoxi who was standing by the bed and looking down at her.
"Will you leave?" she asked suddenly.
"What?" Jiang Qiaoxi asked.
Lin Yingtao's mind was a mess, she didn't know how to express what she meant clearly: she wanted to know if Jiang Qiaoxi would sneak away again while she was asleep.
She should have complained and blamed him.
"I've asked for leave today," Jiang Qiaoxi bent down, looked at her and said, "You go to sleep."
The light in the small room disappeared. Jiang Qiaoxi pulled the curtains beside the bed tight again, turned off the lights, and closed the door from the outside.
Lin Yingtao's eyelids drooped and she pulled up the blanket around her. She was still worried that Jiang Qiaoxi would walk out the door and disappear again, but she couldn't help but fall asleep.
Jiang Qiaoxi went downstairs. The elevator was still under repair. He was busy shopping in the middle of the night yesterday and left Lin Yingtao's box and schoolbag at the management office on the first floor. Halfway down the stairs, his cell phone rang. Jiang Qiaoxi reached out and took it out. It was Uncle Lin calling him.
Jiang Qiaoxi and Qunshan had lost contact for three years. He always thought he could resist all temptations, and he even thought he could take good care of Yingtao and send her back safely, back to her original happy and peaceful life.
But Uncle Lin Haifeng said, Qiaoxi, give me your number, uncle wants to call you often in the future.
Jiang Qiaoxi hesitated, but when facing Uncle Lin, he found it difficult to refuse him casually.
Uncle Lin said, "Your aunt wants to talk to you too. She's so worried about Yingtao that she can't sleep. You can talk to her."
Jiang Qiaoxi gave his cell phone number to Uncle Lin's family. After all, cherries are still popular in Hong Kong.
"The fever subsided once in the middle of the night, but it came back again," Jiang Qiaoxi told Uncle Lin, "I'll take her to the hospital this afternoon."
Uncle Lin asked, "Is it convenient to see a doctor in Hong Kong? Are there many people?"
Jiang Qiaoxi said, "It's okay, I go there often. I've already made an appointment."
Lin Yingtao brought a small suitcase, which was probably filled with clothes and shoes. Jiang Qiaoxi reached out and picked it up, and it was very light. He carried the suitcase and schoolbag back to the eleventh floor. His rented apartment was very deserted and dusty. Suddenly, a girl's leather schoolbag was put in. The suitcase with stickers on it looked very abrupt.
Lin Yingtao was still sleeping, curled up on her bed with her blanket bulging out a little. Jiang Qiaoxi looked inside the door and then closed it gently.
He sat on a chair at the door and took out some money from his pocket. This was the money he had asked his cousin's wife for when he took the overnight bus to the hospital in the middle of the night yesterday. He counted the money and thought it was not enough.
Lin Yingtao was awakened by the Cantonese voice at the door. She opened her eyes in bed and saw Jiang Qiaoxi's hand holding the door handle, revealing the curve of a watch. Jiang Qiaoxi took a stack of Hong Kong dollars from the person outside the door, put it in his trouser pocket without counting. Jiang Qiaoxi said, "Thank you very much."
"I handed in my homework on Tuesday," the man outside the door said something in English, his tone a little childish, "How much have you written, baby?"
Jiang Qiaoxi laughed.
"I'll give it to you tomorrow. I have something to do today."
"Then you have to explain it to me in detail, otherwise the professor will question my personal ability and intelligence level," the man asked. "Girlfriend? Borrowing money for an abortion? Hong Kong has strict regulations, so it's better to go to Shenzhen for an abortion."
Jiang Qiaoxi said helplessly: "I have a fever."
The man left. When Jiang Qiaoxi came in, he found Lin Yingtao awake, sitting on the bed with her hair dishevelled. He turned on the light.
"Eat something else," Jiang Qiaoxi sat down beside the bed. The bed was only 1.2 meters wide. When he sat down, Lin Yingtao hugged her legs. He reached out and touched Lin Yingtao's forehead, and it seemed that her fever had subsided. "Eat something and I'll take you to the hospital."
When Lin Yingtao heard the word "hospital", she frowned and said, "No need."
"I just need some more sleep..." she said.
Jiang Qiaoxi said: "What if it's the flu?"
Lin Yingtao was stunned: "That shouldn't be the case..."
Jiang Qiaoxi poured the fish porridge that he had heated up in the morning into the thermos. He opened the lid and poured out a small bowl for Lin Yingtao to drink. Lin Yingtao saw the logo of a private hospital in Hong Kong on the pot. She looked up and saw that Jiang Qiaoxi's hands, which used to only hold a pen to write and do math problems, could now take care of people like an adult.
Jiang Qiaoxi looked at her and said, "Put on a coat and let's go now."
"Ah?" Lin Yingtao was holding a bowl of porridge in her hand. She looked down at her wrinkled clothes. Her hair was so messy and unkempt. She didn't want to go out like this.
Jiang Qiaoxi pushed open the door of the public bathroom outside and turned on the light. He adjusted the water temperature for a while, then went back to the room to find his toiletries.
"You won't faint in there, will you?" Jiang Qiaoxi put his shampoo and shower gel in. He taught Lin Yingtao how to turn on and off the hot water, and he looked down at her.
Lin Yingtao held her change of clothes in her arms and put on Jiang Qiaoxi's slippers. She shook her head at him. Her big eyes were lifeless, half-open as she looked at him, looking very depressed.
"I'm outside," Jiang Qiaoxi looked at her again and said worriedly, "Call me if anything happens." He closed the door from the outside.
Lin Yingtao turned around. The light was dim. She looked around and then looked up at the ceiling of the public bathroom. This was where Jiang Qiaoxi had lived in Hong Kong all these years, she couldn't help but think. The tiles were very yellow and the floor was uneven, but it was cleaned quite well, without any garbage or hair left by other students. Lin Yingtao hung the bag of clothes and towels on the hook. She reached out to pull the door, but found that it opened immediately.
Jiang Qiaoxi sat on the blue bench outside with his head down, as if he was getting ready for bed again.
Jiang Qiaoxi raised his head and met Lin Yingtao's eyes. He apologized, "The lock is broken. There is a curtain inside." He added, "I'm outside. It's okay."
Lin Yingtao closed the door. She searched for a while and pulled over the curtain with the street scene of Mong Kok painted on it. Lin Yingtao turned around, stood quietly for a while, and began to unbutton her shirt and take it off.
She carefully took off the jeweled cherry from her neck, wrapped it in her shirt, and put it in her bag. She lowered her head to untie the belt of her skirt, and even picked up the hem of her skirt to take a look. This was the skirt she bought before she went out, and she wore it to meet Jiang Qiaoxi. She didn't know if it could be washed clean, so she might have to go back and ask her mother.
Jiang Qiaoxi sat outside the door, doing nothing. He could have used this time to read a book and catch up on his progress, but maybe because he didn't sleep well yesterday, his mind was very restless, and even if he opened the book, he probably couldn't read a single word.
The door of the public bathroom was as thin as a piece of cardboard, and I could hear the sound of water drops hitting the tile floor. After a while, I could hear the shampoo cap being opened and closed, and the sound of a girl rubbing the foam on her hair.
Jiang Qiaoxi closed his eyes for a while, then he raised his head and looked across the bench. He saw his face in the mirror.
Lin Yingtao had just finished washing her hair when she heard the sound of a can being shaken outside the door. She listened carefully and soon heard the sound of an electric shaver starting.
This is the sound my dad often makes when he shaves at home.
Lin Yingtao put on new underwear and a T-shirt with Duffy Bear printed on it. She tucked the bottom of the T-shirt into the tight waistband of her skirt. Senior Meng Lijun taught her to wear it this way, saying that it would make her waist look thinner and her legs longer. Lin Yingtao simply matched all the clothes she brought with her this time. She wrung out her wet hair and let it hang on her shoulders. She opened the bathroom door holding the clothes she had changed, and just in time she saw Jiang Qiaoxi, who had just shaved his stubble and looked like he had returned to high school.
She followed him back to the rental house. Lin Yingtao squatted beside the suitcase and applied the lotion her cousin had given her. Jiang Qiaoxi brought in a hair dryer from outside, saying it was left by their landlord's previous girlfriend. Jiang Qiaoxi saw the bottles and jars used by girls in Lin Yingtao's suitcase, and he smiled.
Lin Yingtao handed her Hong Kong and Macau Pass and other documents to Jiang Qiaoxi. Jiang Qiaoxi held her hand, took her downstairs, and crossed the street to take the subway.
Before coming to Hong Kong, Lin Yingtao only knew that Hong Kong was hot and humid, but she didn't know that the air conditioning in the subway was so strong. She wore a sports jacket of Jiang Qiaoxi over her short-sleeved T-shirt. It was white, loose and large, and even had a hood on the back. Jiang Qiaoxi got on the subway and sat next to her. He saw that Lin Yingtao's knees were huddled together under the hem of her skirt.
His hand squeezed hers.
The subway passed by the store halfway.
"Go buy a pair of longer pants, or you'll catch a cold," he said, standing up.
Lin Yingtao refused and pulled his hand in her seat: "If you don't want it, I won't buy it..."
Hong Kong public hospitals are always short of time. This was Lin Yingtao's first time in a private hospital. She followed Jiang Qiaoxi to get her medical record card, and then went through a series of examinations. She sat next to Jiang Qiaoxi and drank the warm water that the nurse poured for her.
The doctor was considerate and kind. He patiently answered whatever Jiang Qiaoxi asked. He said in Cantonese that your girlfriend's fever has subsided and judging by the symptoms, she just has a common cold. It's not a big problem. "We won't draw blood if it's not necessary. Go back and get more rest."
Jiang Qiaoxi went to pay the bill. When he came back, he had a paper bag in his hand, which contained four different colored medicine bottles prepared by the hospital, just enough for three days. Lin Yingtao sat alone in the waiting room, surrounded by unfamiliar patients and nurses, and heard Cantonese that she couldn't understand, mixed with a few words of English.
As soon as she saw Jiang Qiaoxi, she stood up, walked over quickly, and left with him.
When Lin's mother called, Lin Yingtao was sitting on the city bus, next to Jiang Qiaoxi, returning from the hospital to her rental house. She whispered to the phone: "I came out of the hospital... I'm fine, it's just a common cold, my fever has gone down, but the subway was too cold, and I was sweating, so I caught a cold and probably had a fever..."
Her mother scolded her anxiously on the phone: "Look at you, you got a fever after going to Hong Kong. What would you do if Qiaoxi was not with you? When you left, I asked you to bring some thick clothes, but you refused to take them—"
Lin Yingtao looked out the window and said, "I can't hear you, Mom. I'm going to hang up now."
Mother Lin said, "Did you not stay at the hotel your cousin booked?"
Lin Yingtao was stunned: "I forgot..."
Mother Lin said helplessly: "Also, did your cousin give you 100,000 yuan? You said, Lin Yingtao, why did you accept it? No matter how much your aunt loves you, you can't just accept it like this?"
Lin Yingtao was even more confused: "What... ah?"