A Broken Mirror Never Mends - Chapter 15

July and August are the seasons of abundant rain in the south.

The pitter-patter of raindrops drifted down from the sky, hitting the windowsill at an angle. The rain brought a touch of coolness to the scorching summer.

Shi Tian tossed and turned in bed, his brow slightly furrowed, not sleeping very soundly.

He dreamed of a rainy night from several years ago.

It was the year with the heaviest rainfall this coastal city had seen. The weather bureau issued rainstorm warnings for several consecutive days, advising citizens to stay indoors. The university canceled classes for a few days, and all students stayed home to review for the upcoming final exams.

He hadn’t brought an umbrella when he left in the morning. After school, he draped his jacket over his head and ran all the way back to the old house. He caught a cold the moment he stepped inside.

Zhou Sifu had an exam that day and didn’t have his phone with him. When he finished and took an umbrella to the teaching building to pick Shi Tian up, he realized Shi Tian had already run home alone. He found him huddled in a ball under the blankets, his voice nasally even when he spoke.

On his way home, Zhou Sifu made a special detour to a pharmacy to buy cold medicine and grabbed a thermos of hot soup from the cafeteria to warm Shi Tian’s stomach.

Neither of them expected that due to a failure in the old drainage system, the rainwater in the old district would rise above knee-level, making it impossible to leave the house for the next few days.

Despite taking medicine, Shi Tian’s condition didn’t improve. By the second day, he developed a persistent high fever.

Zhou Sifu borrowed some fast-acting fever reducers from a neighbor. Seeing that Shi Tian was burning up, he took ice cubes from the freezer, sealed them in a plastic bag, and clumsily pressed them against Shi Tian’s skin to manually lower his temperature.

Shi Tian often kicked off the blankets in the middle of the night. Zhou Sifu simply gave up on sleeping; he sat on the edge of the bed, tucking in the corners of the quilt and gently stroking Shi Tian’s damp hair, softly coaxing him to sleep.

Shi Tian still remembered how Zhou Sifu would press his own forehead against Shi Tian’s burning one, whispering over and over, “Shi Tian, sleep a bit longer. Be good.”

In a daze, he heard Zhou Sifu standing outside the door making phone calls all night, asking which nearby hospital’s fever clinic was still accepting patients. Zhou Sifu told the operator that even if local transportation was paralyzed, he could carry Shi Tian to the hospital on his back.

The next morning, Shi Tian opened his eyes and felt that the heat was gone, but he was incredibly cold. Zhou Sifu measured him with a thermometer and found that the fever had broken, but perhaps because the medicine was too strong, his body temperature had dropped rapidly, falling below 35°C at one point.

It was the first time he had seen Zhou Sifu look so helpless. That day, Zhou Sifu braved the storm to go out. When he returned, he was soaked to the bone, but he had somehow managed to find eight hot water bottles.

Zhou Sifu said that Shi Tian had lost a lot of body fluids while sweating, and the doctor insisted he must be kept warm to avoid catching a chill.

Wrapping him tightly in blankets and surrounding him with water bottles filled with hot water, Zhou Sifu guarded him all night until dawn.

In the middle of the night, Shi Tian still whispered that he was cold. Zhou Sifu simply ran to the bathroom, took a scalding hot shower, dried himself off, and held Shi Tian tightly in his arms to act as a human heater.

After several days of struggle, the rain stopped, the city resumed operations, and his illness finally passed.

The sound of rain outside was thin. Between being awake and asleep, Shi Tian wrapped the blanket tighter and muttered, “…Won’t eat it.”

He originally wanted to say that the medicine was bitter and gross and he didn’t want to take it, but then he realized he seemed to be dreaming.

Hearing his words, the person standing by the bed froze. They subconsciously gripped the water glass in their hand and put several pills back onto the nightstand.

“…”

Shi Tian felt he was still in the dream, but it felt too real—so real that he could almost smell the faint scent of cologne coming from the person’s clothes.

It was a Nordic men’s fragrance he liked very much. It felt like a pine forest washed by rain, mixed with the grounding scent of vetiver—calm, aloof, and disciplined.

Seeing him lift his nose to sniff slightly, the figure by the bed stiffened. They unnaturally withdrew their arm from the nightstand, nearly spilling the warm liquid in the cup.

Squinting at the blurred figure, Shi Tian wanted to ask:

—Zhou Sifu, where did you get that suit? You actually look quite decent in it.

But before he could speak, a heavy sleepiness swept over him again, taking over his mind.

After a moment of dazed confusion, Shi Tian turned his head and fell back asleep.

—

Shi Tian was jolted awake by the sound of gongs and drums right by his ear.

He knew this sound all too well. On top of the alarm clock sat a little electric figure holding two gongs. Once the time was up, it would start singing a festive song at the top of its lungs while clashing the gongs, refusing to stop until it drove the person insane.

This was a prank gift he had given Zhou Sifu for April Fool’s Day years ago. He remembered the first morning after he bought it; when the alarm went off, Zhou Sifu jumped out of bed, his face turning green.

Supporting himself against the edge of the bed, Shi Tian slowly sat up and realized he was lying in a place that was both strange and familiar.

It was strange because it wasn’t his home or a hotel. It was familiar because every piece of furniture and decoration had been chosen and arranged by him personally.

The light green blinds, the hanging plants all over the windowsill, and that broken antique record player in the corner.

This was No. 208 Youtang, Xiangye Lane—the old house he had rented off-campus during his university years.

Except for the original old furniture, the bedding and sofa covers were new. It looked warm and comfortable, like a cozy little home.

Rubbing his aching temples, Shi Tian was about to get out of bed when he heard the “creak” of the solid wood stairs downstairs.

Soon, a woman appeared at the top of the stairs. She was carrying a tray with a hearty breakfast and steaming hot water.

Shi Tian realized he actually had a slight impression of this person.

She was the young lady who had been dining with Zhou Sifu at the LP 11 restaurant a few months ago. At that time, her little boy had accidentally bumped into him, leading to his awkward reunion with Zhou Sifu.

He remembered her last name was Zheng, and her name was—

“Do you remember me?”

Placing the tray on the nightstand, Zheng Ying warmly reached out her hand to Shi Tian. “My name is Zheng Ying. I’m Zheng Lu’s younger sister.”

Seeing the surprised look on Shi Tian’s face, Zheng Ying raised an eyebrow. “What, do my sister and I not look alike?”

Hearing her laugh and ask back, Shi Tian made a comparison in his mind. He realized the two sisters’ features were indeed very similar; it was just the age gap and different hairstyles that made him miss it the last time he saw her.

He remembered her business card said she was an assistant professor at a local engineering university. Besides that, she was the wife of Zhou Sifu’s brother—Zhou Sifu’s sister-in-law.

So, Sister Zheng Lu used to be his landlord, and Sister Zheng’s younger sister married Zhou Sifu’s brother.

Since Zheng Lu was here, then the person last night… couldn’t have really been…?

…No.

When he met Zhou Sifu at the restaurant, his head was a bit dizzy from drinking, so he hadn’t noticed certain details. Looking back now, everything felt strange.

He had known Zhou Sifu since middle school, and they had dated for four whole years starting from age eighteen. How had he never heard him mention having a brother?

Noticing the confusion in Shi Tian’s eyes, Zheng Ying asked, “Shi Tian, what’s wrong?”

“Sister Ying, did Zhou Sifu bring me here last night?”

“Yes.” Zheng Ying signaled for him to eat breakfast before it got cold. “Sifu suddenly called me last night and asked me to open the door. When I did, I saw him holding you up in the heavy rain. He said your stomach trouble was acting up. He asked me to help you inside to lie down while he went to the hospital to get the medicine you used to take.”

Hearing Zheng Ying recount last night’s events, Shi Tian’s chopsticks paused for a moment.

After a while, he continued as if nothing was wrong, “I thought Sister Zheng Lu was still living here.”

Zheng Ying shook her head. “My sister moved out years ago. I only moved in recently.”

“So Sifu hasn’t told you yet,” she said with a smile. “I was going through a messy divorce with my ex-husband recently. To win custody of Yang-Yang, I gave him the house and car abroad and moved back to China. Since I didn’t have a place to stay yet, Sifu happened to say he was moving out, so my sister let me stay here temporarily.”

“Moving out?”

Shi Tian was stunned.

“Sifu had been living here this whole time. Didn’t you know?” Zheng Ying said. “It was only on the 10th of this month that he said he was moving elsewhere and told me to move in with Yang-Yang.”

The expression on Shi Tian’s face became complicated.

July 10th was the day of his wedding to Ji Yuanlin.

After a moment of silent reflection, Shi Tian asked again, “Sister Ying, your ex-husband… Zhou Sifu’s brother lives abroad? I never heard him mention it before.”

Zheng Ying asked, “Shi Tian, you know Sifu was adopted, right?”

Shi Tian pursed his lips. “…Yes, I know.”

Zhou Sifu lived next door to him back then. All the neighbors knew he was the child adopted by Lawyer Zhou.

Later on, rumors spread from nowhere saying that Zhou Sifu wasn’t actually picked up by Lawyer Zhou, but was sold by his parents to human traffickers and changed hands several times before being sold to the lifelong bachelor, Lawyer Zhou.

Zhou Sifu never used to mention his background. His school classmates knew it was a taboo subject and never dared bring it up in front of him, mostly because they were afraid of getting punched.

“Sifu’s brother and parents aren’t named Zhou. Their last name is Qi. He took the name Zhou from his adoptive father.”

Zheng Ying sighed. “Meeting him was actually a coincidence.”

“My sister didn’t get along with our main family, so she always lived out here alone. I was newly married back then. During a holiday, I came to the old house to visit my sister with my ex-husband—Zhou Sifu’s eldest brother, Qi Weichen. It was then that Qi Weichen noticed Sifu looked a lot like his father, Qi Zheng—the old Chairman Qi. He suspected Zhou Sifu might be a blood relative.”

“Later, Old Chairman Qi heard about it and sent people to investigate. They found that Sifu’s appearance, place of birth, and the birthmark on his foot were all very similar to their lost child. None of us expected that Sifu was actually a member of the Qi family.”

Shi Tian asked, “…Is that Qi Zheng from Qilian Electronics?”

Qilian Electronics was a famous multinational telecommunications group. It was a massive family business with many subsidiaries. In this city, it was a household name.

“Yes, Sifu is Qi Zheng’s youngest son.”

Zheng Ying couldn’t help but sigh. “Sometimes it really is a twist of fate. If I hadn’t come home to visit my sister that time, a lot of what happened later probably wouldn’t have occurred.”

She was reminiscing about the past and didn’t notice the change in Shi Tian’s expression.

When he spoke again, Shi Tian’s voice trembled slightly. “Sister Ying, do you remember exactly when you came to visit?”

Zheng Ying frowned, thinking hard. “It was about seven or eight years ago. At that time, Sifu’s adoptive father had just passed away. When the Qi family found out, they wanted him to acknowledge his roots immediately and go back to inherit the family company.”

Shi Tian whispered, “Seven or eight years ago—”

He remembered that Zhou Sifu’s adoptive father, Lawyer Zhou, passed away in the spring eight years ago.

They had graduated just a few months prior. He had just started working at a foreign investment bank, and Zhou Sifu was actively looking for a job through campus recruiting. The young lovers, having just entered society, were full of energy and hope, imagining a beautiful life together.

As if thinking of something, Shi Tian looked up and asked in a very calm voice, “…Did he agree?”

“No.” Zheng Ying shrugged. “My ex-husband said some accidents happened then, making the situation uncontrollable. Haven’t you noticed? Sifu never changed his last name. To this day, he doesn’t admit to being a member of the Qi family.”

Shi Tian said nothing.

Regarding the Qi family coming to find him, Zhou Sifu had never mentioned a single word to him from beginning to end.

And at that time, it was less than half a year before they broke up.

Support