Chapter Seventy-Eight — Memories Resurface

The hospital ward was bustling with visitors, coming and going in a lively stream. Eight elevators stood on either side; two reserved for medical staff, the other six ceaselessly ascended and descended, never pausing for a moment.

Tang Chao hurried after them just as Yi Shu stepped into a descending elevator. He dashed forward and jabbed at the button on the wall, but the elevator was determined to sink, unmoved by his efforts.

Another elevator opened. Tang Chao was the first to rush in and pressed the button for the first floor. Regardless of how loudly others shouted after him, he remained indifferent.

He was not worried that Yi Shu would leave—she would wait for Xu Shixi.

As expected, when Tang Chao exited the elevator, he saw Yi Shu standing in the corridor connecting the outpatient and inpatient departments, her figure bathed in a ring of white light beneath the night sky.

He stared at her for several minutes, his thoughts hazy before reality returned.

“Yi Shu,” Tang Chao called out. As she turned her head, he moved to stand before her.

“You’re here again,” Yi Shu said impatiently. “I thought I made myself quite clear last time.”

“It was clear,” Tang Chao admitted, “but I wanted to clarify my own position.”

“Keep your position to yourself,” Yi Shu cut off his rambling. “We belong to different sides. It’s best we each mind our own business.”

A wave of defeat washed over Tang Chao. He couldn’t understand how someone as outstanding as himself could one day be rebuffed by a woman. He had always been the one to reject others; who else had the honor and audacity to send him packing?

He recalled his second year of high school, when a girl from the neighboring class would stand at the entrance to the basketball court every afternoon after school, watching the boys play, rain or shine. Whenever they played in the rain, she would watch, getting drenched herself.

When their gazes met, she would shyly turn away, pretending to watch another player.

Time passed in silence. Neither broke the unspoken tension.

Finally, one day, Tang Chao couldn’t hold back and asked her whom she was waiting for—was it him?

She answered with a single word: Yes.

Strangely, Tang Chao felt not the slightest stir of emotion at her reply. He remained remarkably calm, responding with a single word himself—one without any real meaning, merely a verbal filler.

Oh.

By all accounts, the girl was lovely and graceful, well-matched with him. Any concerns could be hidden; school was no secret police agency, and no teacher would bother hunting for evidence of student “crimes.” Yet Tang Chao’s fondness for her was as fleeting as a breeze—hardly perceptible, almost negligible.

The girl refused to give up. Now that her feelings were exposed, she became even more direct and bold. Yet her efforts backfired; Tang Chao grew increasingly repulsed.

Her tricks multiplied. Seeing Tang Chao unmoved, she deliberately paired herself with a boy who admired her, staging affectionate displays before Tang Chao.

Tang Chao loathed her contrived behavior. Had she been a boy, he would have beaten him so badly he wouldn’t rise from bed the next day.

The exploited boy, upon learning the truth, vented his anger on Tang Chao. He was actually angrier with the girl but, unwilling to harm her, chose to punch the wall instead.

Yet his restraint ultimately became harm. He and Tang Chao fought, causing a scandal that led to a school report and immediate expulsion, recorded in their personal files.

No matter how Tang Jingguo pleaded with the school authorities, the outcome did not change. The school’s attitude was uncompromising. The principal, having suffered injustice in his youth, vowed never to tolerate lawlessness or unfairness on his watch.

Tang Jingguo, seasoned by life’s tempests, was an old fox and paid little heed to a mere high school principal. When hard tactics failed, he tried soft ones, his usual approach to most affairs.

Old fox versus hard bone—neither gained the advantage. In the end, the principal pitied the parents and agreed not to record the fight in the files. As for anything else, there was no room for negotiation.

Tang Chao returned home to a night of storm and fury.

He developed a resistance toward enthusiastic girls, even a period of aversion toward women as a whole. This lasted weeks; he wondered if his orientation had changed, if he no longer liked women but men instead. Yet when he watched films about same-sex love, he felt nothing. In the restroom, seeing his classmates’ male features, his heart remained tranquil.

Tang Chao’s gaze refocused on Yi Shu. “I’m here to tell you your boyfriend’s been hurt. Go up quickly, or you might miss his final moments.”

“What did you say!” Yi Shu’s worry surged. “Is it true?” She grabbed his collar, demanding, “Is it true?”

He nodded with feigned solemnity.

Yi Shu broke into a run.

“No, you’re lying,” she stopped suddenly. “Shixi is fine. How could something happen?”

“If you don’t believe me, call and ask,” Tang Chao replied, his expression calm, tinged with sorrow but without worry or confusion.

Yi Shu’s suspicion deepened, but ninety-nine parts doubt could not overcome one part concern. She unlocked her phone and tapped the dial icon.

A black hand, swift as lightning, snatched her phone. She lunged for it, but he used his height to hold it overhead, retreating as he added his contact information.

“What are you doing?” Xu Shixi descended from upstairs, seeing Yi Shu and Tang Chao playfully tussling, feeling a pang of discomfort. He’d always thought Tang Chao was just childish, but now the signs pointed to seriousness.

Any man coveting his woman was an enemy.

“Nothing,” Tang Chao replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Yi Shu snatched back her phone and glared at him. Xu Shixi’s sudden appearance left her flustered.

“Are you alright?” Though he appeared perfectly healthy, she asked anyway, feigning ignorance.

“Me? I’m fine,” Xu Shixi said, baffled. “Why would something happen to me?” He turned to Tang Chao. “Go look after your sister. Yi Shu and I will leave first.”

His gaze met Tang Chao’s, as if currents of electricity flickered between them.

Yi Shu and Xu Shixi drove away from the hospital under Tang Chao’s watchful eyes.

In the drawn-out span of several minutes, Xu Shixi exhausted all his polite concern for Tang Dai.

He always believed fate could not be stopped when it came, nor retained when it left.

Rather than retained, it did not need to be retained. Spring’s beauty: two parts dust, one part flowing water. That was where it belonged.

Yi Shu asked, “Why did you come down so quickly?”

“What, do you want me to spend the night at the hospital?” Xu Shixi asked, puzzled.

“No—” Yi Shu didn’t know how to respond.

Xu Shixi drove for a long stretch, stopping at a crossroads where two lanes were blocked for over two hundred meters. The cars crawled slower than snails. In such a jam, there was no need to shift gears. He simply released the clutch, letting inertia carry him forward.

“What do you think of Tang Chao?” The lane came to a standstill. Xu Shixi turned off the engine and pulled up the handbrake.

“He’s a difficult person,” Yi Shu replied offhandedly. Tang Chao would always appear before her without warning, showing his forceful side. “Why bring him up now?”

“Not exactly sudden.” Xu Shixi thought for a moment. “Don’t you find him unusual with you?”

Yi Shu’s heart skipped. She glanced at him, then quickly turned her head toward the blocked cars ahead. That unusualness had indeed affected her—and triggered a chain reaction, with Xu Shixi as the first to feel it. The unease was like a showerhead, trickling out slowly, barely noticed at first; by the time it was, the oil was spent, the lamp extinguished.

“No matter how he feels about me, if I stay true to myself, it’s futile,” Yi Shu’s voice hovered at her throat, indistinct. “Or perhaps, my situation with Tang Chao is like Tang Dai’s—one person’s wishful thinking trying to pry open another’s unwavering heart.”

Xu Shixi looked at Yi Shu in surprise, sensing her words carried deeper meaning.

The traffic lights changed a dozen times, yet the cars remained stuck, unmoving.