Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Before he stepped in, he had taken a glance at Xuxu’s door and restrained his steps with great effort. In the end, he strode forward into his own house.
When Yan Rusheng reached home, he didn’t close the door. Instead, he went straight to his room and opened his room window.
After that, he went back to the living room and turned on the TV and the Hi-Fi system.
.
The next moment, he took off his jacket. He was wearing a coffee-colored sweater on the inside, and it made his complexion appear even fairer.
He entered the kitchen, took out the apron and tied it around him, looking just like a good domestic husband.
‘Each time when love draws near, it seems like it’s embracing you tightly. She stirred up your heart, blocked your eyes so that you don’t know where to go…’
‘After that, I’ve finally learned how to love…’
‘Please allow me to fall to the ground like a speck of dust, using silence to bury the past…’
…
Liu Ruoying’s album was repeatedly playing in the background. It was her favorite album when she was in middle school. At that time, there were only a few songs in her MP3 player. She repeatedly listened to them, and somehow. she never grew tired of them.
Xuxu lay on the sofa and covered herself with a blanket. The music from next door brought back six years of her middle school memories, which she didn’t want to recall. It made her depressed.
The sky turned dark. She had eaten too many fruits and didn’t feel like moving nor have the urge to look for food.
She drowsily closed her eyes, but she just couldn’t sink into a deep sleep because the music playing next door was too loud.
Xuxu lay huddled on the sofa until about it was eight in the evening. When her tummy rumbled, she had no choice but to get up.
She dragged herself lazily to the kitchen.
When she opened the fridge, it suddenly dawned on her she had been ordering food online for the last two days.
She scratched her head in a moment of frustration and chided herself. Why was she so lazy? If she allowed her laziness to continue, she could just starve to death.
She thought, since she hadn’t stepped out of the house for the past two days, might as well visit grandfather and have something to eat at his place.
Xuxu mulled over this and then went into her room to change.
As she couldn’t consume medicine while she was pregnant, she wrapped herself tightly to avoid catching a cold.
She walked to the door and took out a pair of shoes from the shoe cabinet, one hand holding on to the cabinet for support.
All of a sudden, she realized that the music next door had stopped playing, and it was quiet.
Without giving much thought to it, she opened the door. The first thing that greeted her eyes was microwavable lunch boxes neatly stacked up on the side of the door. There were different dishes in each box.
Instinctively, she shifted her gaze next door.
The door of the next-door apartment suddenly opened, and a man carried out a thermos jar.
He was wearing a coffee-colored sweater and indigo blue jeans.
She had bought them for him, but he didn’t have the opportunity to wear them after she bought them. That day was the first time she had seen him in those clothes.
Yan Rusheng hesitated for a moment before awkwardly saying, “I’ve cooked dinner. You can eat now.”
His voice was dry and hoarse.
Following that, he handed the thermos jar to Xuxu.
Xuxu looked down and softly replied, “It’s alright. Thank you.”
She closed the door behind her and strode towards the elevator.
Yan Rusheng gazed at her from behind. He pressed his lips together, looking a little forlorn.
After Xuxu had entered the lift, and the door closed, Yan Rusheng spun around and looked at the boxes of food on the floor. He smiled and bent down to pick them up.
Xuxu leaned against the wall of the elevator. She stuffed both her hands into the pockets of her down-feathered jacket; she was lost in deep thoughts.
…
The next day, while Xuxu was brushing her teeth, the doorbell rang as usual. When she opened the door, there was a thermos jar on the floor. It was the same jar that Yan Rusheng held in his hands yesterday.