Chapter 29: Ah Zhao, I Miss You

Meeting Xu Yingchun’s gaze, Chen Fangli’s eyes remained unchanged, only his eyelids lowered slightly. He leaned against the bar counter, still quietly looking at her.

His eyes were pitch black, his facial expression unchanged.

Xu Yingchun now knew that Chen Fangli wasn’t drunk at all. He had just gone along with the bar staff thinking he was drunk earlier, and calling out Wang Zhao’s name was only to get that person to come over.

But he didn’t expect Wang Zhao to refuse to come over even once. Even in his current state, that person didn’t come by once. The bartender had specifically told him she was unwell, but in reality his stomach was still faintly aching – drinking on an empty stomach was no joke.

Under Chen Fangli’s lingering gaze, Xu Yingchun still decided to help him out. Anything could be explained now, after all they were classmates. She didn’t have much feeling towards Wang Zhao’s new husband whom she had never met, so it was easy for reason and emotion to lean towards her own people.

This is like seeing a man online who has had many girlfriends, appearing to be a fickle playboy. Such a man would be condemned by netizens online. But in reality, if this person is your good friend, you can’t help but say “Impressive, brother”.

The entire value system is quickly reversed, but undoubtedly, if he saw that story online, he would still can’t help but curse that man for being fickle and unfaithful.

This inherent quality in humans is called double standards. Undoubtedly, at this moment Xu Yingchun was using double standards. Very few people can show fairness to everyone, whether internally or externally.

The phone call connected, the ringing tone went on for quite a while before being interrupted. The call was answered, and a familiar voice came through from the other end.

“Did you pick him up?” Wang Zhao inquired.

She was now sitting in the movie theater. As soon as the phone screen lit up, she noticed it was Xu Yingchun calling. She didn’t try to hide it at all, showing Li Zhenguan the phone screen briefly to indicate she was going out to take a call.

Going down the stairs and standing in the corridor, she answered the call.

“I picked him up, but he doesn’t want to leave. You know how it is with drunks, can’t reason with them. He’s making a fuss about wanting to see you,” Xu Yingchun said without blinking, “What are you doing now? Can’t you come out for a bit? He doesn’t look too good.”

Wang Zhao narrowed her eyes slightly. Her eyes weren’t the traditionally large and delicate kind typically associated with beautiful women, but rather phoenix eyes with a distinct personal flair, somewhat narrow and long, often giving people an indescribable fierce feeling when she stared at them.

She remained silent for a good while. She was contemplating why Xu Yingchun had said those words. She didn’t think the other woman was brainless or lacked basic moral sense. She had already mentioned once before that she had to accompany Li Zhenguan’s parents and her own parents this afternoon, so she couldn’t spare the time.

This was a very important matter. Xu Yingchun would know that. But thinking about it, people are selfish and will always inexplicably favor their own without reason. This was understandable.

In this silent atmosphere, Xu Yingchun felt her smile becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, sweat about to break out on the back of her neck. Wang Zhao was clearly not someone easily fooled, and these few sentences probably wouldn’t deceive her. Xu Yingchun suddenly realized she was doing something that was asking for trouble, and doing it without using her brain.

Perhaps the surprise of Chen Fangli also drinking to get drunk was too much for her.

After a good while, Wang Zhao finally spoke: “Put the phone on speaker for him, I’ll say a few words.”

Soon the phone was placed on the bar counter in front of Chen Fangli. The man lowered his eyes to look at the shining screen before him, then reached out a hand to pick up the phone from the counter. His fair, slender fingers contrasted against the black phone case, with an indescribable bony quality.

Both sides tacitly refrained from speaking. Chen Fangli felt a bit of homesickness, not knowing how to begin, and Wang Zhao felt the same. The words she had prepared in her mind earlier, she now didn’t know where to start. She had too many questions, too many points of resistance. For someone like Chen Fangli who was deeply entangled with the original body, she instinctively wanted to stay away.

After a brief silence, Wang Zhao spoke first, calling Chen Fangli’s name.

When that long-unheard voice suddenly came through from the other end of the phone, Chen Fangli still felt an uncontrollable excitement. He felt his whole body’s blood stirring because of those three plain words “Chen Fangli”.

Wang Zhao asked, “Are you there?”

“I’m here,” Chen Fangli said. For the first time, he felt regret. In this dim bar, his other hand couldn’t help but cover his face, hiding the emotions in his eyes and his constantly trembling eyelashes. The next moment, it seemed tears were about to fall. His voice shaking, he said, “I’m here, Wang Zhao.”

The unfamiliar male voice transmitted to Wang Zhao’s ear through the electric current. It seemed that most good-looking people also had nice voices. Perhaps because of the distance, the fragility in Chen Fangli’s voice was also greatly reduced.

Wang Zhao actually didn’t know what to say. She wanted to tell him to obediently let Xu Yingchun take him to the hospital, but saying that outright would seem too utilitarian and purposeful.

Another theater hall opened at this moment, and a large wave of people walked in from the ticket check. Wang Zhao moved to the side, lowering her voice a bit, “Chen Fangli, are you drunk?”

“Maybe,” Chen Fangli said.

He wasn’t too sure if he was drunk or not. Drunk people never admit they’re drunk, but he also wasn’t certain if he was sober.

He murmured, “Ah Zhao, I miss you.” He really did miss her. He would think of her in the quiet of night, when he was alone.

Only drunk people have the right to lose control, lose reason, and do some crazy things. At this time, one can lose dignity. This was a pretext, allowing him to say some things in front of her without any scruples.

He regretted it. Back then, he shouldn’t have left the country so decisively, shouldn’t have been so certain that she would always wait for him in the same place. No one remains unchanged, except the dead.

Finally today, he paid the price for his arrogance and pride.

But Wang Zhao in the corridor frowned almost imperceptibly when she heard these words, with an expression of feeling troubled. She felt annoyed by the existence of the man on the other end of the phone. This was a woman’s heartlessness.

Looking at the time, she had been out for seven or eight minutes. If she didn’t go back soon, she was afraid Li Zhenguan would come looking for her. So she directly pretended not to have heard that sentence and said to the other side, “I heard from Yingchun that you drank a lot on an empty stomach and don’t look too good. Go to the hospital with her for a checkup, and I’ll come see you tomorrow when I have time.”

Her voice was gentle, with a soothing tone. She didn’t want to make a big deal of things at this moment. If it were legal to knock someone unconscious in modern society, Wang Zhao guaranteed she would unhesitatingly tell Xu Yingchun to directly knock Chen Fangli out and send him to the hospital, saving the trouble of using words to persuade him.

Chen Fangli heard her words, but didn’t quite believe them. He keenly sensed a hint of eagerness to get rid of him from the person on the other end.

A surge of seawater spread through his heart, flowing over his chest, leaving patches of mottled wounds. So he asked again, somewhat disbelievingly: “Will you really come?”

Wang Zhao said, “Of course.” These words were said with certainty.

She hoped to quickly resolve this trouble with Chen Fangli, so this promise was definitely not false, otherwise it would only leave another problem.

Moreover, she was now afraid that Chen Fangli would make a big fuss about this and affect things with the Li family. Li Zhenguan’s pregnancy had already caused some dissatisfaction towards her from that side’s parents, especially Yang Jin. Even her own parents had formed certain opinions about her. At this critical juncture before the wedding, Wang Zhao didn’t want any more unexpected issues to arise.

Chen Fangli seemed to believe her, perhaps due to the original body’s credibility with him. Clearly the original body must not have been someone who didn’t keep her word, otherwise Chen Fangli wouldn’t have believed her so easily with just those two casual words.

Chen Fangli’s tone seemed to liven up a bit: “Ah Zhao, then I’ll wait for you at the hospital tomorrow.”

With that, Wang Zhao hung up the phone. She had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go in when she saw the man standing at the door.

Because it was too cold inside the cinema, he was wearing a slightly thick, loose knit cardigan, deep blue with some embroidered patterns, making his skin look even fairer.

“Why did you come out?” Wang Zhao’s expression remained unchanged as she approached him, the back of her hand lightly touching the back of Li Zhenguan’s hand, as if feeling his temperature.

Li Zhenguan smiled with pursed lips: “Saw you stay out here for so long without coming back in, did something happen?”

Wang Zhao’s expression remained normal, and she didn’t deceive Li Zhenguan, just concealed part of the truth: “Xu Yingchun said a classmate over there got drunk and was making a scene, insisting on calling me.”

“Seems you have a good relationship,” Li Zhenguan remarked, not noticing anything amiss.

Wang Zhao smiled without saying anything.

She didn’t like this feeling, like walking on a tightrope, as if she might fall at any moment.

She thought, perhaps she could selectively tell Li Zhenguan some things about Chen Fangli. After all, he was just an ex-boyfriend. Although it would make Li Zhenguan somewhat angry, it wouldn’t cause too big an impact, right?

The existence of an ex-boyfriend isn’t something that needs to be hidden from view, but going to visit an ex-boyfriend behind her husband’s back could to a large extent become a weakness. Concealment wasn’t a good approach.

On Chen Fangli’s side, after hanging up the phone, his expression returned to that indifferent look, his eyebrows and eyes half-drooping, his handsome features emanating a hint of listless emotion, as if devoid of vitality. The whole person was like a flower blooming in a deep forest, about to rot the next moment.

Xu Yingchun came over and took back her phone, examining the young man’s complexion.

“Going to the hospital?” she asked.

This time Chen Fangli didn’t refuse, nodding his head. His lips were somewhat pale, brows slightly furrowed, clearly under great physical strain.

Xu Yingchun carefully asked if he needed support, which he also refused. She could only say no more. To say she was very familiar with Chen Fangli wouldn’t be accurate, after all they hadn’t seen each other for several years, but counting it up, the two weren’t strangers either. At least they had occasional contact once or twice since graduation.

After paying the bill, Chen Fangli finally walked out of the bar, though his steps were visibly unsteady. It seemed he was still somewhat drunk, but his mind was present. Walking in front, his back very straight, in the night he appeared much thinner.

In this state, he obviously couldn’t drive. Xu Yingchun told him to leave his car here and come back for it when he had time, letting him ride in her car to go to the hospital first.

After Chen Fangli sat in Xu Yingchun’s car, she glanced at him a few times, but still couldn’t help herself. After helping Chen Fangli that one time in the bar, she had felt uneasy. It was the first time she had done something like this.

As the saying goes, better to tear down a temple than ruin a marriage. If she hadn’t spoken well during that phone call earlier, it could have caused conflict between Wang Zhao and her newlywed husband. This conflict could be big or small; at worst, it could be seen as infidelity.

Chen Fangli had been expressionlessly looking out the window the whole time, half his face shrouded in darkness, making his expression hard to discern. When passing under trees, it was as if his whole person was swallowed by the darkness.

“Were you doing this on purpose today?” Xu Yingchun finally asked. Mainly because she couldn’t get over it in her heart. Having done one dishonorable thing, it felt like she would be shadowed by it for life.

The night was deep now, but there were still many people on the streets.

Chen Fangli’s gaze returned from outside, glancing at the woman in the driver’s seat. He seemed a bit tired and rubbed his brow, a gesture strikingly similar to Wang Zhao’s. Xu Yingchun, who accidentally caught sight of Chen Fangli’s movement, was inexplicably stunned for a moment.

Her heart suddenly turned cold.