Chapter 23 - A Very Careless Quarrel
5 PM, in the parking lot of Yinghong Tower.
After delivering pear soup for a few days, Tang Kai couldn’t resist the temptation of showing his affections in person. After his meeting, he drove directly to Sun Zinan’s company building to give him a proper chauffeuring service.
Who knew that he would wait and wait and still not see any glimpse of his Boss Sun. Tang Kai was about to get out of the car to find him when he saw two people walk out of the building and enter the café next door.
Tang Kai had good eyesight and recognized one of them as Sun Zinan. The other person’s face was too blurry but the figure was obviously female. An alarm bell suddenly sounded in his mind.
He was a mature lover and wouldn’t easily eat vinegar; she was probably a business partner and Sun Zinan wasn’t interested in women…but a few minutes later, he saw the relaxed smile on Sun Zinan’s face through the window. Tang Kai’s glass heart finally cracked and shattered.
He was drinking coffee and smiling at another person this late at night!
When the two of them had first met, Sun Zinan hadn’t even sipped at his latte. How come he liked drinking coffee now! What about his pear soup!
Once someone started being unreasonable, he would be sure to choose the worst outcome out of the hundred possibilities in front of him.
The autumn wind and rain blew drearily in front of the window, just like Professor Tang’s mood.
As he sat there in disappointment, gritting his teeth, he thought about how his life was now meaningless and that he hadn’t even bought his house and diamond ring yet before his partner ran off. At the same time, he felt like he couldn’t take advantage of Sun Zinan anymore and wanted to rush in and hug his thigh like he was the emperor, letting him know that nothing in the world was worth losing him.
As he lost himself in his thoughts, the two people had finished their conversation. Sun Zinan got up and left.
Tang Kai’s eyes immediately became like a microscope, staring dedicatedly through the widow. The woman was still sitting there, her hands covering her face as if she were crying.
At the other end, Sun Zinan pushed open the glass door and walked straight into the rain without an umbrella.
Over a hundred dog blood stories flashed through Tang Kai’s head. His heart conjured the possibility that the falling flowers were yearning for love, but the heartless brook rippled on on and that the pearls fell like tears at the parting after marriage…the two of them broke up?
His line of sight left the cafe window and unconsciously fell on Sun Zinan’s retreating back, until he turned the corner and disappeared—
Wait a moment!
What was that fool doing? It was raining!
After driving a deep suspicion of life into Li Ning, Sun Zinan left the scene in a lowkey manner. This absurd theater should have ended there; he had been the ultimate winner. But the moment he stepped out of the store, Sun Zinan could clearly sense something breaking in his heart, feeling like he had just jumped off the edge of a teetering cliff.
So many years had passed, and he had almost forgotten he was still a patient who needed to see a doctor.
His face still held the expression that had scared Li Ning so much. No wonder; her pure and ignorant self had knocked upon the door of the lord by herself, but the darkness under the mask had been enough to frighten the little girl to tears.
Sun Zinan could rationally judge that Tang Kai didn’t have any feelings for Li Ning. He was also clear that Tang Kai knew nothing about Li Ning coming to find him today.
Tang Kai hadn’t done anything wrong, but to say that Sun Zinan didn’t bear any discomfort towards this would be pushing it.
The sky was overcast, and cold rain continued catching at the edges of his hair. A feeling of depression rose like the tide, engulfing the quiet beach. He had the delusion that his entire being was about to be washed into gray. Sun Zinan tried to stand against the impact of the rushing waves, but his mind was in a state of disarray. He had to cool his thoughts with the icy coldness of the outside world.
He walked aimlessly through the rain, brushing against all sorts of people. The light drizzle gradually turned into a heavy rainfall. Night came and the street lamps lit up. A mist covered his vision. A world that was clearly full of life had been covered by a layer of glass, dim and distant, making it unclear who had lost their consciousness.
He ran into a person in front of him with a thump.
The curtain of rain was cut off by a black umbrella over his head. Sun Zinan traced his eyes up the gray suit and saw the frosty face of a demon king.
“Why are you here.” Sun Zinan spoke lightly, as if nothing was going on. “Did you get off work early today?”
His shoulders were wet and his hair covered in drops of water. Although he hadn’t been drenched thoroughly, he looked rather pitiful. Tang Kai didn’t fear anything else, but he was afraid Sun Zinan wouldn’t take care of his body seriously. He had been suffering from a chronic illness for the past few days and had just walked in the rain for so long just now. With his small frame, if he caught a cold, it wouldn’t be anything good.
“I came to pick you up from work,” Tang Kai said.
Sun Zinan nodded. He didn’t even bother making a sound in acknowledgement.
Tang Kai saw that he wasn’t speaking. He didn’t have much self-restraint left and was a little angry, so he complained, “Why are you wandering about without an umbrella on such a cold day?”
Sun Zinan, “No reason, just casually taking a stroll.”
Tang Kai pursed his lips in displeasure, knowing he hadn’t told the truth and was still pretending nothing had happened. He reached out and wiped at a raindrop on the side of his face.
Sun Zinan was warning himself, it wasn’t Tang Kai’s fault, he didn’t know anything, don’t lash out your feelings at innocent people. But Tang Kai wouldn’t stop recklessly scooting over and scolded, “You know you can’t expose yourself like this to the wind, right? Don’t you know your own physical condition? What do you think I get up early every morning to deliver pear soup for? But then? You just go ahead and do this to yourself?”
Sun Zinan still didn’t look at him, furrowing his brows as he replied wearily, “I know.”
“What the hell do you know!” Tang Kai was about to explode in anger over his unenthusiastic, half-dead attitude and he raised his voice. “I know you think my words are just the wind next to your ears!”
Sun Zinan couldn’t really understand what he was saying and only felt that his voice was buzzing in his ears, like a crowd of bugs singing and dancing. He stifled his emotions and said impatiently, “Why are you shouting?”
Tang Kai’s heart skipped a beat and his expression suddenly became cold.
It wasn’t because the fire had been put out; instead, his anger had become real flames.
Although the two of them had a few small arguments like this before, Sun Zinan had never pushed him away. This was the first time Tang Kai felt a clear sense of ‘impatience’ exuding from him.
It wasn’t eagerness to fight, nor anger, but annoyance.
This attitude was more hurtful than words, even more serious than if Sun Zinan had pointed at Tang Kai and told him to get out.
Tang Kai thought to himself, I’ve pathetically come to pick you up from work but you only think of someone else. Forget about enacting a sad scene in the rain, but your stubborn face is full of a dead pig who doesn't fear hot water. Was laozi so cheap he had to hurry and make himself miserable? The fuck does it matter to me whether you’re dead or alive, have a cold or a fever!
“Sure, go ahead.” The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until his hands were trembling. He thrust the umbrella in Sun Zinan’s arms and said coldly, “I’m not bothering with you, do whatever you want.”
After saying this, he turned around and left.
Sun Zinan was caught off guard and staggered backwards. He didn’t catch the umbrella, and his shoes filled with the muddy water by the road.
In the somber light of dusk, Tang Kai’s back was lonely and cold, merging quickly into the crowd and out of his sight.
The rain fell heavier and heavier. A pool of water quickly gathered in the open umbrella. Sun Zinan was like a lagging phone, only moving after a while, as if calmly accepting Tang Kai’s unilateral declaration of war. He glanced indifferently at the umbrella on the ground, then put his hands into his pockets. As if he couldn’t feel the icy rain beating against his face, he continued walking forward.
Leave. It was best if everyone left. If he didn’t leave now, he’d leave eventually anyway.
Love was forever something that dripped honey from one side and arsenic the other. Although Sun Zinan loved its sweet outer shell, he couldn’t bear the endless jealousy, envy, obsession, and grief within.
He was like a cat craving the aroma of chocolate, thinking he had found something edible. He had never thought there wouldn’t be exceptions, and that he would still be poisoned.
The color of night deepened. The entire street was filled with the reflection of lights against the water, as though it were a shining river. It was beautiful, but a little cold. Sun Zinan didn’t pay attention to where he was going, wandering aimlessly along the sidewalk. He didn’t know how far he had gone when there was a sudden didi— of a car horn behind him.
The black BMW slid smoothly to his side. Tang Kai lowered his window and said expressionlessly, “Get in.”
His tone was awful and frigid, and he didn’t even look at Sun Zinan. If he wasn’t stopped by the side of the road, he would have looked like he was merely waiting at a red light.
Sun Zinan turned away and coughed twice, his chest aching a little. After slowly walking around in the rain for half an hour, his mood had become a little better, and he finally realized he had to set boundaries for his physical health. He couldn’t risk his life so he wasn’t obstinate about it anymore.
But before he got in the car, he put his hand against the front door out of habit before suddenly realizing something. His hand hovered in the air for a moment, then turned towards the back car door.
Tang Kai, holding in his resentment, “…”
Sun Zinan entered the back row, wrapped in his wet windbreaker, and said coldly, “Thank you.”
Tang Kai didn’t respond and stepped on the gas pedal.
By the time the car reached Sun Zinan’s apartment, Sun Zinan had almost fallen asleep in the back row. It seemed like Tang Kai was still angry. Without saying a word, he turned the lights off in the car, hinting that it was time for Sun Zinan to get off the car.
Sun Zinan braced himself against the door as he got out of the car. Before he even entered his apartment building, he heard the engine start. He turned back to only catch exhaust and car lights. Without knowing why, he sighed softly.
It was as if an icy, dead silence had swept through his heart like a cold wind. They came in ripples. Although it was dark, they seemed to carry a bit of life.
Probably everyone who had been left behind, no matter how indifferent they were, felt a little uncomfortable in their hearts.
Sun Zinan went into his apartment in the dark, not even bothering to turn on the light. He was afraid seeing the empty room would make him miserable. He didn’t know why he was so tired today. He took a quick shower and without eating dinner, went back to his bedroom, wrapped himself in his quilt, and went to sleep.
But although he fell asleep, he slept fitfully and woke himself up in the middle of the night.
Sun Zinan thought he had slept through the entire night but saw that it was only 12:30 AM when he checked his phone. His head hurt like crazy and he was sweating heavily. He knew he had a fever without even checking. He was too lazy to get up and get medicine. He thought the sweating would help with his fever, so he wrapped himself up like a cocoon within his blankets and lay still in his bed.
For the latter half of the night, Sun Zinan was half-asleep. Although he felt hot and uncomfortable, covered in the sweat, the feeling of sudden heat alternating with cold did not reappear and his temperature subsided.
At 8:30 AM, Sun Zinan answered a call from Xie Zhuo. Before he even said “Hello?” a sudden itch occurred in his throat. He didn’t even have the time to catch his breath before bursting out into a violent cough.