Returning - Chapter 56
Chapter 56: Blocked
Although Xue Yuanyang's line was meager, with only one son and one grandson as younger generations now, he had numerous siblings, and the descendants another generation removed were too numerous to count. Naturally, relatives coming to offer birthday congratulations were impossible to enumerate.
The housekeepers had been bustling about since early morning, preparing for the old master's birthday. Some local relatives had also arrived at the family estate early. The entire courtyard echoed with the sounds of banging, clatter, chatter, and laughter, disturbing everyone upstairs and down, allowing no one a moment's peace.
When Xue Zi'ang came downstairs, bathrobe wrapped around him and hair still wet, he was radiating intense morning grumpiness. Rubbing his still-throbbing temples, he asked, "Where's Zhao Yu?"
The housekeeper shook her head. "Haven't seen her this morning. She probably hasn't woken up yet."
No one was in the bed, so how could she not be awake? He opened his phone and dialed her number directly. Two calls in a row—no answer.
Xue Zi'ang was about to try a third time when Xue Zhan's voice suddenly reached his ears: "Finally remembered you have a girlfriend?"
He plopped onto the sofa, yawning without a shred of decorum. "Where did she go? Grandpa wouldn't have put her to work, sending her grocery shopping with the housekeeper, would he?"
Xue Zhan gave a derisive snort. "Working as a drudge would be better than being treated as your outlet for lust."
Xue Zi'ang paused mid-massage of his temples, looking at Xue Zhan with bewilderment. "What do you mean?"
Xue Zhan's gaze was slightly icy. "You don't know what I mean?"
"Tch!" He had shaken his head a little too vigorously, and a stab of pain from his scalp made Xue Zi'ang draw a sharp breath.
Seeing Xue Zhan's stern expression, a sudden ominous premonition washed over him, and his tone involuntarily grew irritable. "Sister Sun, get me some headache medicine."
Seeing Xue Zhan about to go upstairs, he hurriedly called out, "Uncle, what did you mean just now? Where did Zhao Yu go?"
Xue Zhan completely ignored him, his long legs carrying him upstairs without a backward glance.
Xue Zi'ang sat on the sofa in a daze, the memories of everything that happened the previous day churning in his mind.
Though somewhat hazy, he remembered most of it. How he'd returned drunk and almost been beaten by his grandfather. How Zhao Yu had desperately shielded him, wiped his face, washed his feet, and then…
Then…
Recalling the mess on his lower body when he woke up this morning and the obvious stains on the bed, he suddenly shot up from the sofa as if launched.
Of course, he'd known the moment he woke that he and Zhao Yu had had sex last night, and it had even been intense. But he'd assumed it was just a very ordinary thing. Yet the implication in Xue Zhan's words just now clearly suggested otherwise.
Had he repeated the same mistake?
He'd been drunker last night than the time before, and now his hangover headache was worse too. His mind was a chaotic mess; he couldn't sort anything out.
Just as he found Zhao Yu's number again and was about to redial, a housekeeper brought him the medicine. "Young President Xue is looking for Miss Zhao? I heard President Xue telling the Chairman this morning that he sent Miss Zhao home in the middle of the night. It seemed like she was crying and begging him to let her go back."
The finger poised to dial froze stiff. A bone-chilling coldness, overwhelming and vast, swept over Xue Zi'ang.
The next instant, ignoring the housekeeper's calls, he bolted out, phone clutched in his hand.
By the time he reached Zhao Yu's apartment door, he was still wearing that same white bathrobe, slippers on his feet, looking more disheveled than ever before.
But he couldn't care about that now. Anxiously, he pressed his finger to the lock, only to find his fingerprint wasn't recognized.
He wouldn't accept it. He tried several more times, from different angles, but still couldn't open her door. When he tried entering the code, it indicated the password was incorrect.
She had changed the password. Deleted his fingerprints.
She was no longer allowing him into her apartment.
His right hand trembled inexplicably. Desperately, he rang the doorbell, pounded on her door, shouted her name so loudly that neighbors from several adjacent apartments opened their doors to watch. Still, there was no sound from inside.
He felt certain she was inside, just refusing to acknowledge him.
"Zhao Yu!" He shouted a few more times, still getting no response. All he could do was keep calling.
He'd dialed many times on the way over, but not a single call was picked up. At least she hadn't answered—she hadn't turned off her phone, nor had she actively hung up. That meant she was probably just angry and didn't want to talk to him right now.
It's fine. If I sincerely apologize and admit my fault, she'll probably forgive me. He comforted himself with this thought as he dialed again.
But on the third attempt, a recorded message came through: The number you have dialed is not in service.
She had blocked him.
Inside the consultation room, after finally adding the number that kept calling to her blacklist, Zhao Yu let out another long sigh.
Across from her, Zeng Xu, in his white lab coat, smiled. "Leaving your phone on the whole time, and then just staring blankly at the caller ID every time it rang—it only proves you're still reluctant to let go. Since you're reluctant, just answer."
Zhao Yu smiled bitterly. "Better short pain than long pain. There won't be any more ties between me and him."
After Xue Zhan had dropped her off at her apartment last night, she'd seized the chance to post a Moment visible only to Ji Sui and Zeng Xu:
[All that desperate dedication, in the end, turns out to be nothing but a cruel joke.]
The text was melodramatic, but it discreetly signaled her state of mind.
Moreover, to make the act convincing the next day, she'd forced herself to stay awake all night. Early in the morning, she'd sent Zeng Xu a WeChat message:
[Dr. Zeng, can the dosage of the medication you prescribed last time be increased to four times the original amount?]
Five minutes later, Zeng Xu replied: [No. Those medications have strong side effects. You can't take that much.]
She didn't reply to that. After waiting a short while, Zeng Xu's message indeed arrived: [Can't sleep again?]
Zhao Yu: [The dosage is already doubled, and it's still useless.]
Zeng Xu: [When are you free? Come talk to me. Simply increasing the dosage won't solve it.]
So, when the hospital's working hours began, she appeared at Zeng Xu's office, her eyes red and puffy from crying, dark circles underneath, dragging her weak and exhausted body along.
Shortly after Zhao Yu left, Zeng Xu dialed Ji Sui's number again. "Her state really does seem off. I'm a little worried something might happen. Do you want to go check on her? Oh right—I can confirm she's broken up. You wouldn't exactly be poaching."
Ji Sui's call came just as Zhao Yu reached the hospital entrance.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. What could be wrong?" Though short, the response was full of forced cheerfulness.
Ji Sui paused, then said, "I saw the Moment you posted last night."
Zhao Yu let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Just a breakup. It's no big deal."
"Where are you?"
He actually knew she definitely hadn't left the hospital yet, but it wasn't convenient to let her know he and Zeng Xu were in constant communication, so he could only pretend to ask casually.
Zhao Yu answered calmly, "Hospital. Came to consult Dr. Zeng about something."
"Did you drive?"
"No. My head hurt a bit today, didn't dare drive."
"I'm also near the hospital. Wait for me a bit, I can give you a ride."
Comments
Post a Comment