Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As she cried, the scene changed to her lying on a cold, steel operating table. A doctor was conducting surgery on her and taking away her child. At this, Xu Wennuan’s body started trembling violently. Her tears were flowing nonstop, and she was letting out low groans.
Finally, she was jolted awake from her dream by an abrupt sneeze, after which she opened her misty eyes to darkness. Not knowing how long she’d been dreaming, she laid on the bed and took a few deep breaths. Then, she reached for the lamp on the nightstand.
With the room illuminated, she stared at the ceiling for a while before she forced herself to sit up. Her head felt heavy and, when she lifted her hand and touched her forehead, she realized it was burning. She leaned against the headboard to regain her composure and then pulled the blanket off and got out of bed.
Her fever was very high, and there was barely any strength in her legs. Just walking from the guest bedroom to the bathroom took great effort. She turned on the tap and washed her face with cold water. After her breathing regained some normalcy, she pulled open the door and slowly made her way to the dining room. To pour herself a glass of water, she first had to steady her trembling elbows.
After she had just raised the glass to her lips, Xu Wennuan heard the door to the apartment being opened. Halting all movement, she waited and listened. Not hearing another sound, she assumed she was imagining things, and then finished half the glass of water before dragging her heavy body to the coffee table in the living room. She picked up her medical kit, sat down on the couch, and started digging through it for an antipyretic.
Before she could find one, Xu Wennuan heard soft noises coming from the door again. She raised her head reflexively and saw the door to the master bedroom being opened. Lu Bancheng, whom she had not seen in a month, emerged from the room with a suitcase looking freshly groomed.
He used to stay here often, so he must have left a lot of necessities here. I guess he came back tonight to pack up the important things he needs.
She looked at him for less than a second and did not make eye contact before she lowered her head to continue looking through the medical kit.
Lu Bancheng had deliberately chosen to return home at night, because he hadn’t expected to run into Xu Wennuan that late. His body stiffened when she looked at him, and his movements halted midway through closing the door.
After a while, he cast his gaze at her, but she was no longer looking at him. Her head was lowered as she was looking through the medical kit.
Is she sick?
Her head was so lowered that he couldn’t see her face, but he could see from her frame that she had lost a lot of weight over the past month.
After finding what she was looking for, she left the medical kit on the couch and stood up with a box of medicine in her hands. Then, she walked slowly into the dining room.
As her figure disappeared, Lu Bancheng retracted his gaze and looked at the coffee table again and noticed the remaining instant cup noodles. The strength Lu Bancheng exerted in gripping his suitcase involuntarily increased. He stared at the noodles for a long 30 seconds before forcing himself to stop. He regained his composure, closed the door, and walked toward the entrance.
Lu Bancheng put on his shoes. Just when he was ready to head out, he heard coughing coming from the dining room, followed by the sound of a glass hitting the floor and shattering. His body jerked as he stood frozen for a moment at the door; however, he chose to leave.
