Returning - Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Ripples
Staying in someone else's house naturally required contributing accordingly, so Zhao Yu scrambled to do the cooking and even very "thoughtfully" offered to go grocery shopping alone.
This time Ji Sui didn't stop her, after all, he needed to take the chance while she was out to wash the soiled sheets, pillowcases, and her nightgown.
Zhao Yu drove to the supermarket, and when she returned, the trunk was nearly full. Unable to carry that many things by herself, she could only call Ji Sui to come down and help.
Seeing that she had not only bought fresh vegetables and meat but also a lot of dry goods, fruits, milk, and more, Ji Sui was somewhat surprised. "Why did you buy so much?"
Zhao Yu took items from the car and handed them to him, grinning. "Since you won't let me pay you, I can only use these things to offset the rent."
Ji Sui felt helpless. "You don't have to be so polite with me."
The two of them carried the large and small bags into the elevator, just in time to run into a neighbor who lived on Ji Sui's floor. The amiable auntie smiled and asked, "Got a girlfriend? She's so pretty, and you two look very well-matched, truly a perfect couple."
Zhao Yu smiled awkwardly, thinking it wasn't easy to explain, and Ji Sui also didn't know how to respond, so he could only smile back.
It wasn't until they reached the door that Zhao Yu suddenly asked, "Has the girl you like never been to your place?"
Of course she knew that a busy person like Zhuang Yiqing would never come here to meet Ji Sui. Normally, Ji Sui would get a call and go to see Zhuang Yiqing; otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to come and stay at Ji Sui's place.
Ji Sui smiled. "She is very busy and doesn't have time to come here."
He paused, then added, "I already... only see her as family now."
Zhao Yu was puzzled. "Family?"
"Mm." He confessed directly, "Actually, she is my nominal older sister, Zhuang Yiqing."
Zhao Yu looked shocked. "So the one you liked is that Vice President Zhuang of Lanxi. No wonder you couldn't forget her. She has good family background, good looks, and she's a strong, career-oriented woman. You two are very well-matched."
Ji Sui always felt that her words once again implied that she and he were not from the same world, as if it had instantly placed a vast distance between them.
"I don't like her anymore." He explained subconsciously, "I told you before, I've been trying to free myself for a long time. Now, I only see her as an older sister."
Looking directly into her eyes, he spoke slowly, "Zhao Yu, I also hope you can free yourself soon and stop being sad. Also, I'm not from their world. I'm the same as you."
Zhao Yu stared at him blankly for a good while, then suddenly gave a somewhat bitter smile. "If only I had met you earlier, how wonderful that would have been."
This sentence held too many unspoken implications. It carried a mix of helplessness and comfort when she said it, and when Ji Sui heard it, ripples also stirred in his heart, his thoughts unconsciously drifting away.
Looking at the slender and lonely figure walking ahead, he suddenly felt an impulse to take her into his arms, wanting... to properly protect and accompany her.
It was said that Zhao Yu would cook, but when she started making dishes, Ji Sui couldn't help but go in to help. Both were skilled cooks, and they worked together with great synergy.
"I learned to cook for myself when I was in first grade," Zhao Yu said, getting carried away in the conversation and inevitably feeling proud. She bragged to him, "Back then, my mother rented a small stall in the wet market to sell vegetables. She toiled from dawn to dusk. After school, I didn't dare go out to play like other kids; every day I had to hurry to find my mother, help her watch the stall, and let her go home to cook."
"But some customers, seeing that I was young, thought I would be easy to haggle with, so they stopped buying vegetables from my mother. She had no choice but to watch the stall herself and taught me how to cook. I think I had quite a talent for it; the first meal I made, my mother praised endlessly, and I even ate a big bowl of it myself."
Ji Sui listened quietly to her story, watching her joyful expression, and the corners of his own lips lifted as well. He even couldn't help but imagine what she looked like back then and the journey of her growth since childhood.
Gradually, he also thought of himself. Indeed, their experiences were very similar; both had been lonely since childhood, both lacked a father, and both yearned for paternal love.
She was luckier than him, having a mother's company, while he was also luckier than her, at least having ample material comfort and a grandfather who adored him.
How could two such people not be from the same world? He even felt that sometimes, they might be the ones who understood each other best.
"What do you plan to do about Xue Zi'ang?" Ji Sui eventually couldn't help but ask as they sat together at the dining table for lunch.
He knew he wasn't in a position to inquire, but thinking about last night's dream and the possibility that Xue Zi'ang might still be unwilling to let go, he couldn't help feeling worried.
"I'll have to go to work in two more days, right?" Zhao Yu sighed. "I'll go to the company and have a good talk with him. Between him and me, it's over. There's no possibility of getting back together."
"Mm." He didn't feel it was appropriate to say much more, only able to tell her, "Until you've made it clear to him, you can stay with me."
Thus, Zhao Yu stayed at his place for another two days. During that time, the two didn't go out to have fun; they only went together to visit Qu Sixiao, had a meal with the mother and son, which served as a New Year's greeting to them.
The rest of the time, they each did their own things. She would watch movies and read books, go jogging downstairs with Ji Sui. Ji Sui similarly read his preferred books, watched movies with her, and cooked meals together.
Such days were simple, even mundane, yet both of them cherished this ordinariness and tranquility.
Zhao Yu could clearly sense something even more subtle flowing and deepening between her and Ji Sui.
The day they started work was the seventh day of the lunar new year, a Friday. Both woke up early. After washing up, Zhao Yu looked at Ji Sui somewhat hesitantly. "Um... could you... help me with something?"
Ji Sui nodded. "What do you need?"
Zhao Yu pulled down her low-collared sweater, revealing a slender shoulder, took Ji Sui's hand, and used his fingers to scratch herself forcefully.
Seeing the sudden exposure of skin at her chest, Ji Sui didn't react at all. It wasn't until his fingertips touched her fair skin that he abruptly came to his senses.
But her movement was too quick and the scratch too forceful; he didn't have time to pull back. His fingernails, which had barely begun to grow out, had already left several distinct red marks on her shoulder.
"What are you doing?" He didn't understand. He glanced at the increasingly red marks on her shoulder and turned to get the first-aid kit.
Zhao Yu said, "Once he knows I have another man, he won't pester me anymore."
At this, Ji Sui understood, but did she really have to be so harsh on herself?
"It's fine, I have scar removal ointment in my car." Zhao Yu closed the first-aid kit Ji Sui had opened. "After he's seen these marks, I'll come back tonight and apply the medicine."
Watching her slowly pull up her collar, covering the exposed skin bit by bit, ripples stirred again in Ji Sui's heart. He didn't even think about what the difference was between using his hand and using her own.
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