Gloves - Chapter 38

What does it mean to get back on track? Shang Zhuoxi doesn’t want to return to the one-way street without An Chujie.

“Chujie, we…” Let’s start over, I really want to be with you. The words were on the tip of Shang Zhuoxi’s tongue, but suddenly, she lost her confidence. Right and wrong were always clear to her, it was just a matter of whether she was willing to admit it or not.

“We don’t have anything to talk about. Let’s leave it at that. We’re all busy.” It’s just you and me, not us. An Chujie quickly responded, avoiding her and getting on the car.

Shang Zhuoxi watched the car drive away, shrugged helplessly, and her eyes reflected the empty blue of the sky.

“Sister?” A little girl ran up to Shang Zhuoxi.

Seeing that Shang Zhuoxi didn’t react, the girl raised her hand high and waved in front of her eyes.

“Pretty sister?” The girl jumped up.

Shang Zhuoxi followed the direction of her hand, lowered her head, and finally noticed a teenage girl. There was no trace of fear in her eyes, as if she didn’t know that talking to strangers could be dangerous. Her long black hair reminded Shang Zhuoxi of the An Chujie she once knew. Upon closer inspection, the girl’s mouth and face shape were quite similar to An Chujie’s, with only slight differences in their expressions.

“What’s wrong?” Because she didn’t pay attention to her in time, Shang Zhuoxi smiled apologetically.

“Sister, can you give me your contact information?”

…..

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“Did she give it to you?” A deep voice resonated as the woman driving the car wore a high-necked sweater that covered her lips and chin.

“She did,” the girl replied happily.

“Why did it take you so long?” The woman asked while driving, her voice particularly flat, more like a complaint than a question.

“I talked to that sister for a while. She asked me why I wasn’t worried that she might be a bad person,” the girl said, laughing. She pictured Shang Zhuoxi in her mind.

“I just felt like she wasn’t a bad person. Besides, if she was, Mom, you wouldn’t have let me talk to her, right?” The girl’s voice had a lazy tone that didn’t quite match her age.

“Very well,” the woman replied, still expressionless. She pressed down on the accelerator pedal with force.

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A kind of feeling called frustration is not good, Shang Zhuoxi is not easy to see An Chujie again, no matter what, An Chujie love her or hate her, or, she can make her pain, she just can’t accept that she is as light as air to An Chujie.

“Oh my goodness, why is the boss lady here?” As soon as An Chujie entered the door, she caught a whiff of the distinct scent that belonged to a hair salon.

The man at the entrance appeared to be in his early thirties. He immediately adjusted his clothes and ran his fingers through his styled hair, looking more excited and nervous to see An Chujie than if he had seen his own boss.

An Chujie glanced at him and smiled helplessly. She had gotten used to the employees at Qi Ruan’s salon calling her by that name. Despite her repeated denials, it seemed like they automatically ignored An Chujie’s awkward feelings time and time again.

“Hey, are you lacking development in your hypothalamus? Can’t you control your ring finger and pinky finger?” The man sitting in the chair was angry.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the hairstylist behind him apologized respectfully.

“You’re sorry again? Your claws have ruined my flawless foundation.” The man raised his pointed chin arrogantly, his face filled with annoyance as he scolded the hairstylist in the mirror. The hairstylist’s hand froze on top of his head, unsure of what to do.

“Why did you stop again? This is so uncomfortable. I’m going to have Meowjie fire you!”

“…” An Chujie’s face was filled with black lines. The hairstylist, a grown man, almost burst into tears. When the arrogant man’s gaze fell upon a woman with red lips and fair skin, his eyebrows furrowed even tighter, but soon began to relax.

An Chujie covered her mouth and chuckled. She bent down, aligning her gaze with the arrogant man in the mirror, and whispered softly beside him, “Mmm~ He did a pretty good job for you. Madam, aren’t you being too picky?” Seeing this person again naturally made An Chujie very happy.

“You… you…” The man stared at the woman beside him in fear and astonishment. Was she the person Meowjie said would come later?

With her fair complexion, contrasting against her hair and lip color, An Chujie stood out with a striking color scheme. The man, still adjusting his hair, stood up and carefully examined An Chujie from head to toe. She didn’t look as frail as he had imagined, but her loose-fitting clothes were comfortable to look at. Her shirt was tucked into her pants, either due to the high heels she was wearing or her naturally high waist. Either way, her legs looked beautiful and long. Standing there with her arms crossed, she had a healthy and strong presence.

“Long time no see, Tu Yi,” An Chujie greeted, her oversized robe making Tu Yi’s already small face look even smaller. It was quite comical, causing An Chujie to smile with a twinkle in her eyes. Despite her makeup, her gaze still held sincerity, assuring Tu Yi that she was indeed An Chujie.

“What’s all the commotion down here? Why are you standing up?!” Qi Ruan came downstairs and upon seeing the scene before her, with the employee holding a pair of scissors frozen on the side, her anger ignited.

“Chujie, have a seat for a moment. Tu Yi, sit back down!” Qi Ruan turned to the employee and scolded, “What are you doing? Haven’t I taught you enough? Or is your salary so high that you’ve become complacent?!” She snatched the scissors from the employee’s hand, prepared to take matters into her own hands.

“Oh, Meowjie, you’re being mean to me!” Tu Yi frowned.

“The one being mean here is you!” Qi Ruan pressed down on his head, preventing him from moving around. “All those things on your forehead, weren’t they purchased by me?! What’s wrong with my employees touching you?” Qi Ruan irritably rubbed his face a few times.

“Do you think I would let you ruin your appearance? Would I?!” It was well known among those who worked with Qi Ruan that what she despised the most, and would not tolerate, was any unpleasant disputes within her own salon.

“No moving!” Qi Ruan raised her voice, and indeed, Tu Yi put away his arrogance and dissatisfaction, obediently allowing Qi Ruan to work her “magic” on his head.

Qi Ruan truly lived up to her reputation. When Tu Yi saw the “finished product” on his head, he felt that the effort put into it was well worth it.

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“An, she’s here, isn’t she?” Qi Ruan’s voice carried certainty.

“Who?” An Chujie smiled, attempting to conceal something.

After two years of being together, they had developed a certain understanding. Both of them knew exactly who the other was referring to. Qi Ruan fell silent, and of course, An Chujie wouldn’t actively bring up the topic either. The whole scene became quiet.

“If I didn’t tell you that Tu Yi was coming, you wouldn’t have come to my salon, would you?” Meeting an old friend, having a meal together, those were reasons enough to convince An Chujie.

“Why do you say that?” An Chujie smiled again.

That dismissive smile only made Qi Ruan feel even more heartbroken. She furrowed her brows. The current An Chujie had grown sharper edges. The things she said, her indifferent attitude, always seemed to unintentionally hurt herself.

“An, I hope you can answer my question honestly. That’s how friends should be, right? I’m talking about Shang Zhuoxi.”

Upon hearing those three words, An Chujie turned her head away. She was starting to feel annoyed. Why did everyone have to constantly remind her of Shang Zhuoxi’s existence?

Just an hour ago, at the bar, Tu Yi had grabbed her and told her all sorts of things about Shang Zhuoxi that she didn’t want to know. He said that Shang Zhuoxi hadn’t smiled since she left, that she seemed busier and more exhausted than before, that she had even fainted twice, and that Xu Yuer had once cut her chin with a sharp object, and so on.

The more An Chujie listened, the more irritated she became. She didn’t want to know how miserable Shang Zhuoxi was after she left. In fact, the Shang Zhuoxi she had seen in the past few days didn’t seem to have any signs of pain, did she?

An Chujie could choose not to believe Shang Zhuoxi, but she always believed in herself. She believed that her presence in Shang Zhuoxi’s heart was not enough to cause ripples in her life.

“An, look at me,” Qi Ruan held An Chujie’s face and said softly, “Tell me that you won’t go back to the way things were. Tell me.”

Qi Ruan wasn’t afraid that An Chujie didn’t love her anymore. She could have any reason not to love her anymore. Qi Ruan just couldn’t accept that An Chujie never truly got rid of Shang Zhuoxi from her heart. It would mean that everything she had done for her was in vain.

“Qi Ruan, I really don’t want to talk about this. Please, stop bringing it up,” An Chujie shook her head, running her fingers through her hair in a tired manner.

Qi Ruan obediently stopped pressing the matter further. She tried hard to convince herself that she should trust An Chujie.

“I’ve walked this path countless times before, and nothing will happen. You should go back,” An Chujie just wanted to be alone for a while.

“Alright, send me a message when you get home.”

“Mm, okay.”

In An Chujie’s eyes, Qi Ruan’s greatest virtue was her ability to respect her feelings, in any situation.

Qi Ruan watched as An Chujie entered the residential area before leaving.

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“I’ve been waiting for you for so long,” Shang Zhuoxi said as she finally saw An Chujie after countless disappointments of the hallway lights turning on. It was now the early hours of the morning.

An Chujie didn’t even bother to glance at the person standing at the stairwell. She took out her keys and opened the door without a care.

“I figured you wouldn’t answer if I called you, so I came over,” Shang Zhuoxi said.

The door opened, and An Chujie quickly took off her high heels and walked inside.

“Slam!” The sound drowned out whatever Shang Zhuoxi was about to say.

Was she crazy to come to someone else’s doorstep in the middle of the night and be met with a closed door?! Shang Zhuoxi knocked on the door, wanting to have a proper conversation with An Chujie, or even just to catch a glimpse of her.

But the person inside the apartment didn’t budge at the sound of the knocking.

Frustrated, Shang Zhuoxi walked out of the hallway and stood by the ventilation shaft, hoping the cold wind would take away some of the anger in her heart. In that moment, Shang Zhuoxi suddenly remembered how she had done the same thing to An Chujie on a winter night.

An Chujie finished showering, dried her hair, and then collapsed onto the bed. Her mind was filled with Tu Yi’s words, repeating over and over again.

In his eyes, Shang Zhuoxi was always the one-sided her. Indeed, Shang Zhuoxi was extremely diligent and responsible when it came to work, impeccable even. But he wouldn’t know how that admired Director Shang, who was hurt by Xu Yuer but didn’t retaliate, was actually someone who knew how to hurt others deeply.

Tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep, An Chujie finally got up from the bed. She wanted to see if Shang Zhuoxi was still standing in the stairwell. She quickly walked to the door and, as she opened it, the lights in the corridor turned on. However, all that greeted her was a gust of freezing wind and an empty hallway.

An Chujie’s heart felt cold. She had lost. How could Shang Zhuoxi be suffering? She must have returned to her warm and luxurious hotel.

She remembered Tu Yi’s final question to her:

“Don’t you feel any remorse?”

An Chujie smiled bitterly. How could she not feel remorse? What she regretted was that in that moment, she still felt remorse for Shang Zhuoxi.