Chapter 45
After knocking on the worn-out door, Shi Yu tightly gripped Jiang Shangwan’s hand, shielding her behind him, blocking her from view. The hallway had long been in disrepair and lacked ventilation, filled with a strong, decaying stench, mixed with the smell of animal waste that hadn’t been cleaned, which was extremely pungent.
Jiang Shangwan struggled to hold back the urge to vomit. She leaned forward, pressing her mouth and nose close to Shi Yu’s, inhaling the pleasant scent on him to help her breathe. In a soft voice, she asked, “Didn’t you send money to your aunt regularly? Why is she still living in such a place?”
Shi Yu was silent for a moment. “I’ll explain in detail when we get back.”
After knocking on the door a few more times, someone finally opened it, arriving late and grumbling impatiently, “Who’s there? Are you trying to die, knocking like that?”
Upon seeing Shi Yu’s cold face, the person, reeking of alcohol, squinted and scanned him from top to bottom. “What’s this? You? What are you doing back? Didn’t you finish the college entrance exam already?”
“Auntie’s husband,” Shi Yu said lightly. “I came back for something. I also wanted to check on Auntie. Is she home?”
The man frowned when his gaze landed on the pile of things at Shi Yu’s feet. His expression softened slightly as he turned around and moved aside, giving way. “She’s at home, sleeping. Come in.”
Shi Yu pulled out a pair of disposable slippers from his down jacket pocket and placed them on the ground. “Wanwan, wear these.”
He then proceeded to carry the boxes of gifts inside, casually slipping on a pair of blue slippers from the shoe rack before pulling Jiang Shangwan in. He whispered, “Stay away from my aunt’s husband as much as possible. Don’t engage with him.”
Jiang Shangwan was slightly puzzled but nodded in agreement.
The cramped one-bedroom apartment immediately made Jiang Shangwan feel the tightness as soon as she stepped inside. The interior was much more normal compared to the rotten-smelling hallway. Though the furniture and appliances were outdated, everything was there, and it was clear that it had been tidied up with care, though the space was exceedingly small.
Jiang Shangwan sat on one side of the sofa, taking off her long down jacket to reveal a fitted knit dress underneath. Her large, wavy hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. The man’s lecherous gaze flicked over her, and it seemed as though he had just noticed that there was someone trailing behind Shi Yu. He asked, “Are you dating her?”
“Yeah.”
The man scoffed lightly, as though mocking the idea that someone from Shi Yu’s background could keep such a beautiful woman.
At this moment, Shi Yu’s aunt, still drowsy, emerged from the bedroom. She was a short and slender woman, about 155 cm tall, with fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She stared blankly for a moment before saying, “Shi Yu, you’re back?”
“Auntie.” Shi Yu nodded slightly. “I was passing by and thought I’d check on you. How’s your health lately?”
“I’m good, I’m good,” his aunt smiled shyly, then looked at the woman by his side. “This is…?”
“My girlfriend.”
“Hello, I’m Jiang Shangwan. I heard that he’s been raised by you since he was little.”
“Ah?” His aunt was taken aback for a moment. “He already has a girlfriend, and he’s all grown up… Yes, he’s been with me since he was little.”
“He…” Her words were interrupted by a clicking sound as the man excitedly said, “Moutai (Moutai (茅臺) refers to a famous and highly prized Chinese baijiu (白酒), which is a strong distilled spirit. It’s produced in the town of Maotai in Guizhou Province, China.)? Is this the Moutai I’ve heard of?”
The man was furiously tearing open the gift boxes, his eyes sparkling with excitement, as if he were a starving wolf devouring food. “So much good liquor, good cigarettes. What’s this? Cosmetics? Clothes? You’re being so generous this time, did you make a lot of money? Why didn’t you give money so freely before?”
“It’s almost the New Year, and my company gave out some year-end bonuses. I wanted to send a little something to you and Auntie, so you could have a good New Year,” Shi Yu said, holding Jiang Shangwan’s hand to stop her from explaining. “We don’t normally give this much.”
“No wonder. Alright, I’ll accept it for your aunt.”
His aunt, a bit embarrassed, cleared her throat twice. She hunched slightly, as if her body were weak. “Stay and have a meal with us. I’ll make some braised pork for you.”
“No, we have something else later. I just came to check on your health. Now that I see you’re fine, I can rest easy.”
Shi Yu stood up, holding Jiang Shangwan’s hand to say their goodbyes. “It’s the thought that counts. I’ll come by again another day to check on you.”
The brief meeting quickly ended. Jiang Shangwan pinched her nose as she walked out of the hallway, finally sighing in relief once she breathed in the fresh air outside.
She was filled with confusion, staring blankly at Shi Yu, longing for him to explain. The driver was quietly waiting for them to get in the car.
A passerby, incredulously, wiped his eyes and said, “License plate S66666? Audi A8?”
A person nearby spat and pulled him away. “What Audi A8? Stop dreaming, wake up and go home.”
“Shall we talk about it when we get back?” Shi Yu helped her adjust her hat. “Let’s find a nearby hotel for the night, just for one night. It’s too late tonight.”
“Okay.”
The best hotel near the town was located in a county-level city about 20 kilometers away. Even with full facilities, it was just a regular hotel costing a few hundred yuan. Shi Yu had already bought new bed linens and sent them for dry cleaning before handling the check-in.
As he put the bed linens on, Jiang Shangwan leaned against the side. “What’s going on? It feels like your relationship with your aunt isn’t very close. Didn’t she raise you?”
“Yeah. After my parents passed away, I did live with her for a while, but that was because I was too young. The police forced me to be placed under a guardian. Plus, I had pension money to live on. At the time, she was divorced. Her ex-husband had left for another city to work, so she raised me for a while. But not long after, she remarried—her current husband. After high school, I started living in the school dorms, and I rarely went back to their house.”
“Because it’s complicated, you didn’t mention much last time. Will you be angry with me for not saying more?”
“No.” Jiang Shangwan hugged his waist from behind, resting her face against his back. She hadn’t told him much either. There was no reason to be upset; after all, they had only recently started dating, so they hadn’t discussed so many real-life issues yet.
“I didn’t feel comfortable with the way your uncle looked at me.” Jiang Shangwan thought for a moment. “Greasy, lecherous, with the smell of alcohol.”
Shi Yu sighed lightly. “I didn’t want you to come, there’s no point. I was afraid it would make you uncomfortable. I send her 2,000 yuan every month for living expenses, but that money has to be handed over. She can’t keep any of it. It’s just enough for her to improve her meals. If I sent more, it would only feed my uncle’s appetite. He would use the money for drinking, gambling, and worse—he can’t even keep 2,000 yuan.”
“I see.” Jiang Shangwan felt a bit heartbroken for him. Growing up in such a bad environment, and still turning out so exceptional… Was heaven so unwilling to let the precious pearl gather dust that it burned incense on his ancestral grave?
“So they don’t know about your business venture?”
“Yeah, before the college entrance exams, I was still a minor, so some things needed a guardian’s signature. After I went to university, I didn’t go back. They just knew I went to Jiangcheng for school. The recent trending search about Deep Blue Love wasn’t something everyone saw, since it’s related to a female-targeted game. They think I found an ordinary job in Jiangcheng.”
“Ugh.” Jiang Shangwan felt even more heartbroken for him. “But you’re only in your senior year, right? Most students are still studying, some even continue for graduate school and let their families support them for a few more years. But they’ve just assumed you’ve already started working, and expect you to send money as if it’s natural.”
Shi Yu carefully smoothed the wrinkles in the bedsheet before sitting down and pulling her close to kiss her forehead. “It’s okay, it’s only 2,000 yuan a month.”
Jiang Shangwan gently touched his eyebrows and eyes. His eyes were clear and bright, like brilliant stars that would never fade. His attitude towards her was always sincere and honest, even about his unpleasant past, he dared to reveal it all to her, allowing her to face it with him.
“Are you not afraid that if I see these, I might start having thoughts about you?” Jiang Shangwan asked.
“I’m not.” Shi Yu lowered his gaze, gently kissing the small red mole on her wrist. “Wanwan isn’t that kind of person.”
“What if I am? What if I do end up viewing you through a bad filter because of these rotten old past memories?”
“Then work harder to do more, and pull Wanwan’s negative impression of me back.”
Shi Yu supported her waist and lifted her up, letting her straddle his lap. Her full and soft body pressed closely against his thigh, stirring a wave of ambiguous heat.
In the small, cramped room, only the two of them pressed close together, their breathing gradually growing rapid. Jiang Shangwan loosely wrapped her arms around his neck and suddenly let out a soft puff.
“This place is really too small,” she said. “The moment I saw the environment, the desire that had just been stirred instantly died down.”
Shi Yu held her and smiled too. The two of them just hugged like that, chatting casually. Even with such a simple embrace, doing nothing else, they already felt full of happiness and warmth.
“Tomorrow morning we’ll get up early and take the car back to the provincial capital. We’ll just make do for one night here, then switch to a hotel.”
They leaned against each other and crawled into the small quilt, which was covered with new sheets patterned with large pink petals.
“How can you have this kind of taste?” The big patches of pink petals were in full bloom, completely different from the solid-colored satin sheets Jiang Shangwan usually had at home.
“There’s no other choice. In a small place like this, only this kind is available. Real silk is too expensive and wouldn’t sell here. It’s already been washed, so Wanwan, please bear with it for one more night.”
Jiang Shangwan didn’t mind at all; she just found it curious. This decision to come to the seaside city had brought her so many new experiences.
She grabbed his ear and twisted it once, then buried her face in his chest. “Go to bed early.”
Early the next morning, just after the sunrise, they had already started their journey back to the provincial capital.
By the time they settled their luggage, it was already afternoon. Jiang Shangwan found a hotpot restaurant online that many bloggers recommended. “How about this one? Have you eaten there before?”
“Yes, I have. The taste is pretty good, and the sesame sauce is very thick—I think you’ll like it.”
“It seems like they only have sesame sauce as the base. So what will you do? Can you get used to eating without the chili oil dip?”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind. I’ll eat with Wanwan.”
When they arrived, they still had to queue, get a number, and wait for a seat—especially in the cold northern winter, hotpot was even more popular. Many couples came together to eat. Jiang Shangwan remembered that when she was on a business trip in Kuanshi, she and Shi Yu had gone to a restaurant that many couples liked to visit. It was a Thai place, but the taste there was just average.
Feeling annoyed by the long line, Jiang Shangwan sat on the waiting chair, bored and scrolling through her phone. Although the turnover was quick, they were still dozens of numbers away.
Seeing the slight frown between her brows, Shi Yu stood up and raised his voice.
His tone was especially clear and distinctive amid the noisy chatter: “Is anyone’s number coming up soon? Let us order together—I’ll pay the entire bill.”