Gloves - Chapter 47

“I couldn’t find anything. She’s locked everything that can be opened, and I don’t have the key. Well, whatever, she’ll be back soon. Bye.” Without waiting for the other person to finish, Xu Yuer hung up the phone, turned around, and collapsed onto the sofa. She felt casual and helpless. Who would have thought that Shang Zhuoxi would be so heartless to her? If Xu Yuer had known, she would have meticulously recorded all the information back then, so she wouldn’t have to pretend and cozy up to her like she was doing now.

The sound of the door lock turning echoed, and Xu Yuer immediately rushed to the door, opening the shoe cabinet and changing into special slippers. She hurriedly took out gloves from her pocket and put them on.

“Zhuoxi, you’re back,” Xu Yuer smiled dazedly.

When Shang Zhuoxi saw Xu Yuer, she had already put on clean white gloves and wore a sweet smile.

“Have you had dinner?” Shang Zhuoxi pinched Xu Yuer’s nose with a doting look in her eyes, at least that’s how it appeared to Xu Yuer.

“Well… I bought some things from a nearby supermarket and had a meal,” Xu Yuer raised her head, her eyes curved. Pretending for too long can be tiring, and sometimes she couldn’t even tell if that smile was a mask or genuine warmth from within.

“Oh?” Shang Zhuoxi was somewhat skeptical because she had been living here for so long and hadn’t noticed any supermarkets nearby. This place wasn’t close to the city center at all.

“Zhuoxi, I forgot to bring clothes with me. Can I wear yours after I take a shower?” Xu Yuer looked at Shang Zhuoxi pleadingly.

“…Sure, but it might be a bit big for you,” Shang Zhuoxi touched Xu Yuer’s head.

“As long as it’s yours, size doesn’t matter,” the person speaking blushed.

Due to the height difference, a very ordinary short pajama set worn by Shang Zhuoxi appeared unusually loose on Xu Yuer. The hem of the shirt hung straight down, covering her buttocks. Xu Yuer jumped onto the sofa with her bare legs and held onto Shang Zhuoxi’s arm, saying:

“Zhuoxi, will you watch a horror movie with me? That way, I have a reason to keep leaning against you.”

“Aren’t you scared, Yu’er?” Shang Zhuoxi was somewhat puzzled. Wasn’t it because she was scared that she came to her house in the first place?

“Not scared, because Yu’er has Zhuoxi. I’m not scared when you’re here,” Xu Yuer said, eyes full of anticipation.

“Alright then.” Shang Zhuoxi got up to get the DVD. Based on memory, she walked to the lounge on the second floor and opened the bottom left drawer of the cabinet. Inside were various scattered English and American TV series DVDs, along with a bulging brown pouch specifically for storing discs. They were probably left behind by An Chujie. She was still in high school back then. Shang Zhuoxi flipped through them; they were mostly youth or comedy genres.

“Did you find it, Zhuoxi?” Xu Yuer’s voice came from downstairs. Shang Zhuoxi closed the drawer, went to the adjacent room, and casually grabbed a pair of cotton sleep pants before returning to the front of the sofa. She bent down, looking down at the person on the sofa.

“Yes, put these on. Otherwise, you might catch a cold.” Shang Zhuoxi handed the sleep pants to Xu Yuer. Unexpectedly, the person curled up on the sofa snatched the pants and leaped up, quickly using the fabric in her hand to wrap around Shang Zhuoxi’s neck and pull her closer. Xu Yuer stood on the sofa, rare for her to be looking down at Shang Zhuoxi. She cupped Shang Zhuoxi’s face and said word by word, “I… don’t… want… pants. I… want… the… DVD…” At this moment, their lips were almost touching, and the air seemed to stop flowing for those few seconds. Xu Yuer’s hand slid from Shang Zhuoxi’s smooth forehead to her chin.

“Do you really want to watch a horror movie?” Shang Zhuoxi slightly turned her face, breaking the ambiguous moment from earlier.

“Mhmm,” Xu Yuer nodded eagerly.

“Okay, but you have to promise me to put the pants on first,” Shang Zhuoxi said, frowning slightly as she removed the restraint from her neck.

Watching the tall figure bending down and squatting in front of the TV, searching for a movie, Xu Yuer seemed to start liking this current state of Shang Zhuoxi again. She didn’t have to deal with those strange bottles and potions in that weird laboratory anymore. Maybe she didn’t hate Shang Zhuoxi as much as before.

“A Nightmare on Elm Street? You watch these even when you’re home alone, Zhuoxi?” The movie hadn’t even started yet, but Xu Yuer “voluntarily” buried half her head in Shang Zhuoxi’s armpit. She looked at Shang Zhuoxi’s expressionless profile and asked.

“No,” the dim light from the screen cast onto Shang Zhuoxi’s face, making her look troubled. Indeed, Shang Zhuoxi naturally remembered An Chujie. This was the only horror movie in the house. The old Shang Zhuoxi was too busy, and she remembered taking this disc from An Chujie with annoyance and casually throwing it near the television. She recalled how sad An Chujie looked back then. It’s funny how An Chujie seemed to have gotten under her skin so many times. But facing Xu Yuer, whom she didn’t love, she always found herself suppressing her own desires for the other person. Just like now, she hated Xu Yuer wrapping the pants around her neck, and she didn’t want to waste time watching a movie with her, yet here she was, doing just that.

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The spacious lobby of RLM Corporation echoed with the crisp but irregular sound of high heels, punctuated by the occasional tapping against the ceiling-mounted sound-controlled lights.

“Hiss…” An Chujie took a sharp intake of breath, pausing for a moment before continuing her walk.

“An Chujie, let me help you,” a deep masculine voice sounded from behind An Chujie. She turned around and recognized the man behind her, somewhat familiar since they worked in the same company. Unable to recall his name, An Chujie politely smiled at him. The man took the initiative to take An Chujie’s handbag and steadied her shoulder with his broad hand.

“It’s not necessary, I’m fine. Just an old problem,” An Chujie reflexively pushed him away and reached for her bag, not appreciating the stranger’s excessive enthusiasm.

“An old problem?” How could that be? He hadn’t seen any issues with An Chujie’s feet during their two years at the company. Lately, she seemed to have some discomfort in her ankle, though.

“Oh, by the way, Chujie, I work under J-ge’s team. My name is Hu Jinze, and I work downstairs from you,” the man smiled and pointed to the building behind him.

“You might not know me, but I know you. In fact, everyone in the company practically knows you, Chujie,” the man’s smile seemed a bit naive, as he was quite young.

“Oh, really? Nice to meet you,” An Chujie felt sorry for her earlier reaction.

“I noticed your left foot… Maybe I can help…” he wanted to offer assistance, carrying things for her or supporting her as she walked.

“I’m fine, thank you for your kindness.” Without waiting for Hu Jinze to finish, An Chujie immediately declined his offer to help.

“You leave the company late almost every day, right? Well, I mean, at least I still see you when I leave,” Hu Jinze matched his pace with An Chujie’s, slowing down his steps.

“It seems you’re not early either,” An Chujie smiled as she noticed Hu Jinze’s attempt to start a conversation.

“Since I joined the company, I’ve always wanted to get to know you, but I couldn’t find the opportunity. I thought I would have a chance to talk to you next month when I go to Taipei, but unexpectedly, here I am suddenly appearing in front of you today,” Hu Jinze awkwardly chuckled.

“Taipei?” An Chujie had a few question marks popping up in her head.

“Yeah, J-ge mentioned it to me a few days ago. He’s not sure yet if he’ll arrange for me to go, so it hasn’t been announced. But I’ll keep working hard to try and make it happen,” Hu Jinze explained.

An Chujie was puzzled. She had no idea about any Taipei event scheduled in her own itinerary for the next month.

“Let me give you a ride back. It’s not convenient for you to drive like this,” Hu Jinze offered, taking out his car keys.

“No need, thank you. Look, my car is here,” An Chujie pointed at the slowly stopping SUV in front of them, feeling relieved.

“Bye-bye~ Oh, no need!” An Chujie once again stopped her colleague from reaching out to support her.

As expected, a short-haired woman stepped out of the SUV and naturally took the bag from An Chujie’s hand. An Chujie’s hand casually rested on the shoulder of the short-haired woman, showing their trust in each other. Hu Jinze couldn’t help but envy the short-haired woman in that moment.

For some reason, as soon as An Chujie opened the car door and her foot touched the ground, she experienced a piercing pain. It was different from the usual continuous pain she had grown accustomed to. This pain was intermittent and felt more sudden.

“Come on, I’ll carry you,” Qi Ruan pointed to her back. “Or you can spend the night in the car, oh no, I’ll just leave you by the roadside because I still have to drive back.”

An Chujie looked at Qi Ruan’s figure, pondered for a moment, and finally obediently rested her upper body on Qi Ruan’s back. Her hands crossed and grabbed onto Qi Ruan’s shoulders as she nestled her head against her warm neck. The short strands of hair and the fragrant scent of shampoo calmed An Chujie in that moment, providing an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

“An, this is already the third time this month. Tomorrow, I’m taking you to the hospital for an examination,” Qi Ruan said firmly, taking a deep drag of her cigarette. This time, she didn’t want to ask for An Chujie’s opinion.

“I don’t want to,” An Chujie disliked people wearing white coats, the smell of disinfectant, basically everything about hospitals. “I’m not in pain now, Xiao Ruan, look,” An Chujie stood up and took a few steps before sitting back down on the couch.

“You might not be in pain now, but when it starts hurting again, it will be unbearable for you, sweetheart,” Qi Ruan sighed in frustration.

“Then I can just go to the pharmacy and get some medicine. I just don’t want to go to the hospital,” An Chujie resisted the idea of going to the hospital inside and out.

“Why do you insist on suffering on your own and not going to the hospital? Seriously, An, this is Kyoto, not Haicheng, and not all doctors are as good as Shang Zhuoxi, you know?” Qi Ruan raised her voice.

“Why are you bringing up Shang Zhuoxi?” Clearly, An Chujie’s reaction confirmed Qi Ruan’s suspicion.

“I said I’ll take you, so you’re going,” Qi Ruan continued, and then something seemed to click in her mind. “You shouldn’t refuse. I should have taken you to the hospital long ago. Tomorrow, we’ll do a comprehensive examination. It’s not normal for a girl to experience period cramps as severe as yours. Do you know that there have been cases where people have died from severe menstrual pain? If you don’t care about your own health, that’s your business, but I don’t want to be scared half to death every 14th of the month!” Qi Ruan spoke urgently and quickly, extinguishing her cigarette. She looked at the person sitting on the couch with determination and a hint of annoyance. An Chujie lifted her head, wanting to retort, but couldn’t find the right words. Her lips quivered slightly, tears shimmering in her eyes, and her face was filled with a sense of injustice. It truly was heart-wrenching to see. Qi Ruan decided to shift her gaze to An Chujie’s swollen left ankle, and suddenly, a strange atmosphere filled the room.

After a long while, Qi Ruan finally let go of her stubborn attitude. She turned around and crouched in front of the couch, taking An Chujie’s cold hands in her own.

“An, it’s all my fault,” remorse filled Qi Ruan’s eyes, but An Chujie, with red eyes, still remained silent.

Qi Ruan grew anxious and tentatively reached out to touch An Chujie’s equally cold face. An Chujie’s eyelashes trembled, and tears quickly streamed down the sides of her eyes.

“I’m sorry…An, I…mmm…” An Chujie shook her head and, without waiting for Qi Ruan to finish her sentence, bit down on her lips. She had no reason to blame someone who cared so much about her. Very few people had truly cared about her throughout her life, and she had no reason to let this proud person always apologize to her first. An Chujie felt greedy, longing for the goodness of Qi Ruan, and craving the warmth she brought into her life. But she deliberately ignored the underlying condition. She seemed to have no reason to make Qi Ruan stand on the edge of an uncertain sailboat waiting by the vast sea. An Chujie nuzzled Qi Ruan’s cheek with her nose, her lips brushing against Qi Ruan’s, and compromised:

“Xiao Ruan, I promise you,” she said, “No matter what it is, I promise you.”