Chapter Twenty-Nine: No News at All

When she returned home, Yihui was not there.

That morning, he had declined repeatedly to join Yishu and Shixi for their outing, preferring instead to catch up on the sleep he’d missed these past few days. Yet, where had he gone?

Today had been overwhelmed with tangled emotions and complicated relationships.

Tang Dai—a presence impossible to ignore. Her appearance was clearly no coincidence.

She gathered her scattered thoughts and noticed it was nearly seven o’clock. She needed to make dinner. But she wasn’t very hungry, and with Yihui absent, she felt even less motivated.

There were still a few packets of instant noodles in the kitchen cupboard; Yishu decided that would suffice for the evening.

The electric kettle at home had been dropped by Yihui last time, and the faulty connection meant it couldn’t be plugged in. For the past few days, she’d had to boil water on the gas stove.

Yishu had just set the kettle on the stove and was about to turn on the gas when a sudden, urgent knocking sounded at the door.

“Is anyone home? Yishu, are you there?”

The knocking grew louder with each round.

She opened the door to find Lu Xugao.

Yishu glanced behind him; Yan Lu had not come.

“Has Yan Lu come here?” Lu Xugao’s eyes were wide with anxiety. “Is she here?”

A chill ran through Yishu. Something was wrong. “She hasn’t come here. What happened?”

Lu Xugao’s eyes brimmed with tears, threatening to spill over like a river bursting its banks. He stared up at the ceiling light, desperate not to let his tears fall.

His vision blurred with tears, and the light shattered into a dazzling array of colors.

That dazzling sadness only deepened his grief.

Yishu turned to the living room, pulled her phone from the charger, and called Yan Lu.

All she got in return was the mechanical voice: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off.”

Without waiting for the message to end, she hurried to where Lu Xugao stood by the door. “What on earth happened? Tell me quickly. You came here to solve a problem, not to avoid one, right?”

“It’s Xiao Lu’s mother.” Lu Xugao wiped away most of his tears, but one escaped, tracing a path down his youthful cheek to his chin, then falling to the floor and soaking into the boards.

“Her mother found out where we live today. She came storming in and said that if Xiao Lu kept seeing me, she’d sever all ties with her.”

“How did her mother find out where you live?” Yishu asked.

“She waited at the company entrance and followed us home. As soon as we reached the gate, she rushed over and said all sorts of hurtful things.”

Lu Xugao left out the worst of Yan Lu’s mother’s insults. In truth, her words could only be described as utterly indecent and cruel.

—Do you two know what this is called? At best, you call it cohabitation; to put it bluntly, it’s living in sin! Lu Xugao, I wasn’t wrong about you—when you came to my house last time, I knew you had ulterior motives. You’re a young man with no money, no house, no car. What right do you have to tangle with my daughter? Your body’s itching for a free ride, and when you’re done, you’ll kick her aside. Then what is she? A discarded woman, not even a beggar would want her. She had a bright future ahead, and now you’ve ruined it. It’s fine if you have no shame, but you’re treating my daughter, whom I raised with such hardship, like garbage. I’m telling you, this isn’t over. I’m calling the police now to accuse you of rape!

—Mom! Have you had enough? I truly love Xugao. He’s never forced me into anything; if anything, I’m the one who’s bullied him. He’s the best person in the world. I’ll never meet anyone better. Can’t you just be happy for me? Am I not your daughter? Is wealth and status all you care about? Are those the only standards for happiness?

—Poverty breeds sorrow in everything! It has been true since ancient times. Can love fill your stomach, quench your thirst, clothe you? He’s just in his early twenties, isn’t he a few years younger than you? He’s too young, too inexperienced. Once he’s seen more of the world, you won’t be the only one on his mind.

—Auntie, I’m not that kind of person. It’s not fair for you to judge me by my age. I will work hard to give Xiao Lu a good life, and even if I fail, at least I’ll let her smile on the back of my bicycle.

—Ha! You wish! Smiling on the back of a bicycle—how dare you say such things? Is my daughter’s fate so cheap? What age is this, still talking about bicycles? Why not an electric scooter?

—Enough! Mom, aren’t you embarrassed? Don’t you see everyone watching us like it’s a show? Dad had no money either, so why did you marry him? Did you sell yourself cheap?

A resounding slap shattered the suffocating air, echoing like distant thunder in the heavens.

A burning pain flared instantly across her face. Yan Lu covered her cheek, swallowing her grievance and shame, and forced her way through the crowd before running off, never looking back, toward some distant, empty place.

By the time Lu Xugao came to his senses, she was gone.

Yan Lu’s mother, still furious, could not even imagine Yan Lu’s despair and helplessness.

Yishu and Lu Xugao searched everywhere they could think Yan Lu might go, but found nothing.

Someone who is truly heartbroken and hiding won’t let themselves be found easily.

Reporting to the police was useless; if twenty-four hours hadn’t passed, the authorities wouldn’t intervene.

The rain poured down in torrents, washing away all traces left in the world, including those insignificant worries and affections scattered in the dust.

Love lingering in the air drifted into the mist after the rain, blurring the eyes that were brimming with tears.

Yishu could only stand by and watch Lu Xugao heal his wounds in the rain. The same sorrow, but different grief—such emotions could only be endured and released by oneself. No amount of comfort would help.

“Why?” Lu Xugao murmured in the rain. “Why?”

He kept questioning the heavens, not screaming or raging, but as if a heart utterly broken had no energy left to howl.

Several days passed, but no news came.

Yan Lu’s phone remained off.

Tang Dai’s threats, Yihui’s uncertain future, Yan Lu’s disappearance—all these things weighed on Yishu until she could scarcely breathe.

The physical store’s business was finally on track, with a constant stream of customers seeking advice and placing orders. Yishu often had to take leave, leaving Guo Yamei alone and overwhelmed. Some after-sales issues went unresolved, and complaints were directed straight to Kaisheng’s headquarters. Liu Hanzhang was harshly scolded by the company’s higher-ups.

“Su Yishu, what’s going on with you lately?” Liu Hanzhang glared at her. “I hear you’re distracted at work and have taken frequent leaves. Are you too comfortable, too complacent, just because the store has no strict supervision?”

“I’m sorry,” Yishu lowered her head, not daring to meet her eyes. “It’s a personal issue… I’ll adjust as soon as possible.”

Liu Hanzhang’s anger only deepened. “The company has neither the time nor the obligation to wait for your adjustment. If you don’t want the job, plenty of others do. You didn’t want Guo Yamei to come at first, but now she’s outperformed you in every way.”

She glanced at her phone before continuing, “Don’t think you’re the only one with business skills. Don’t assume the company can’t do without you. The two new customer service reps are just as capable as you and Guo Yamei. If you don’t apply yourself, don’t blame anyone if opportunity slips away.”

Yishu said nothing. Repeating apologies would only backfire and annoy others. Liu Hanzhang was always strict about work, never personal. If anything went wrong, she would never let it slide.

Leaving Liu Hanzhang’s office, Yishu paused on the third floor and turned toward the customer service office on the second. Through the glass door, she observed everything within.

It seemed nothing had changed, and yet everything had.

The long spell of rainy weather had filled the room with a damp mist. The glass was covered with words in various sizes and handwriting, scribbled by idle hands.

A few more familiar staff had left, replaced by new faces.

Yan Lu’s desk was empty.

Lu Xugao had taken a leave of absence from the company—tentatively for a month—and requested one for Yan Lu as well. He knew she would return, once she had found her way through the grief.