After Trying To Pursue The Cold, Elegant Beauty. I Ended Up Being Flirted With Instead - Chapter 29

Wen Zhu, you are wonderful.

The car door closed, and Li Zhiyun started the engine. The car smoothly merged into the traffic flow.

Wen Zhu leaned against the passenger seat, her face turned toward the car window, watching the streetscape outside rapidly retreat.

The remnants of tears had dried on her cheeks, feeling a little tight.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her left hand, “Sorry. I made a fool of myself. No need to go to the hospital, just find a pharmacy and buy a pain relief patch.”

Li Zhiyun did not respond immediately.

She slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road and stopped.

After switching off the engine, the only sounds left in the car cabin were their faint breaths and the indistinct noise of traffic from outside the window.

Li Zhiyun turned her head, her gaze resting on Wen Zhu’s profile.

“I don’t think this is a joke.”

Her voice was calm, yet sounded incredibly sincere.

Wen Zhu was slightly taken aback. She turned her head, meeting Li Zhiyun’s dark eyes: “What?”

Li Zhiyun’s gaze shifted to the car window, and she pointed at the bare roadside trees.

“Do you see the pear trees outside?”

Wen Zhu followed her gaze, only seeing the crisscrossing branches stretching toward the hazy sky.

“It’s already spring. In a few days, when the temperature rises, all the trees will blossom.”

Li Zhiyun retracted her gaze and looked back at Wen Zhu, “Even if they don’t receive a response, they will bloom with fervor. Wen Zhu, you are wonderful. Don’t feel like this is your fault.”

Her voice was gentle yet certain, and coupled with her expression, the bitterness Wen Zhu had just managed to suppress surged up again inexplicably.

Warm liquid unexpectedly welled up in her eyes once more.

Wen Zhu had always told herself not to cry.

She had to maintain her composure, not let others look down on her, and not let anyone see her vulnerability.

But now she realized that she wasn’t as invulnerable as she thought.

On the contrary, for all these years, she had remained stuck in that cold winter when her mother passed away.

Any sudden bit of warmth could easily cause her to break down.

She hadn’t grown into the adult she had imagined.

Just like now.

Li Zhiyun simply and calmly told her that she was wonderful.

Just this simple sentence.

It made her lose control again, and she burst into loud sobs beside Li Zhiyun.

She cried so hard she could barely breathe, as if she were trying to shed all the grievances of the past ten years at once.

Just as she was crying her heart out, a cool, soft touch lightly brushed past the corner of her eye.

Wen Zhu raised her head blankly.

Li Zhiyun had leaned over at some point, holding a wet wipe, and was carefully dabbing the tears from her face.

The movements were gentle, as if she were handling a rare treasure.

After wiping her tears, Li Zhiyun took a bottle of mineral water from the car fridge between the seats.

She twisted the cap open and handed it to Wen Zhu.

“Drink some water before you continue crying.”

Don’t cry all your tears dry.

Wen Zhu looked at the bottle of water, then at Li Zhiyun’s calm face, and her sobs gradually subsided.

She took the water, and the coolness of the bottle slightly calmed the trembling in her fingers.

She took small sips, and the cool liquid sliding down her throat strangely soothed the turmoil in her chest.

When she had drunk most of the bottle, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Her constantly tense nerves slowly relaxed.

A feeling of unprecedented ease enveloped her.

She turned to look at Li Zhiyun, her face still streaked with unshed tears, but she offered a somewhat embarrassed smile.

“Thank you for the water.”

Humans are truly strange creatures.

She hadn’t known Li Zhiyun for long.

Yet, having cried so miserably in front of her just now, Wen Zhu felt as if she had shed many invisible burdens.

After all, her most shameful state had been seen by her; there seemed to be nothing left she couldn’t face.

Li Zhiyun watched the smile reappear on her face, pondered for two seconds, and her gaze fell on Wen Zhu’s slightly reddened right hand.

She suddenly spoke, “Actually, if that person before wasn’t good…”

Her voice paused, as if she were considering her words: “Have you ever thought about”

Wen Zhu’s heart skipped a beat.

She subconsciously held her breath: “Thought, thought about what?”

Li Zhiyun, however, seemed to have suddenly changed her mind. She gently shook her head, not finishing the sentence.

She started the car again.

“Let’s still go to the hospital. Your hand is important.”

Wen Zhu wanted to say there really was no need, that it was an old injury that wouldn’t heal.

But for some reason, the atmosphere in the car became slightly nuanced because of that unfinished sentence.

She opened her mouth, but ultimately didn’t refuse again.

The car rejoined the traffic, heading towards the nearest hospital.

The doctor carefully examined Wen Zhu’s right wrist and asked a few questions.

His brows furrowed slightly, “This is a chronic injury, many years old, right? How did you get it?”

Wen Zhu’s eyes were momentarily vacant, as if recalling something.

But those memories were fleeting. She gently shook her head, “I did it by accident.”

The doctor sighed, his tone carrying regret: “You can only try to minimize the use of your right hand now, avoiding heavy lifting and excessive activity. To heal it completely and restore its previous flexibility, you can only consider surgery.”

“But this kind of delicate surgery is very difficult and carries significant risks. There aren’t many doctors in the country who can guarantee a complete recovery for this hand…”

After all these years, Wen Zhu had long since come to terms with it.

She listened quietly, “It’s okay, I’m used to it.”

But Li Zhiyun, standing nearby, clearly caught the momentary look of disappointment that flashed in her eyes when she lowered her eyelids.

She suddenly recalled a rainy day many years ago.

Wen Zhu, then a high school student, was wearing a blue and white school uniform, holding a clear umbrella, standing in the pouring rain.

The sky was leaden gray, and the rain was heavy.

But even the dense clouds couldn’t hide the light in her eyes.

She looked up slightly, stretched out her right hand, and caught a few drops of cold rain in her palm.

Then she turned and smiled at herself.

Her voice was clear, cutting through the sound of the rain.

“I really love Go, classmate Li.”

“Maybe one day, I can truly catch up to you?”

Life is unpredictable.

The girl who had once said she would catch up to her can now barely hold a Go piece for long.

Stepping out of the consultation room, it was a sunny day, not raining.

Wen Zhu put away her phone and turned to Li Zhiyun.

“Miss Li, I took the day off today. Didn’t you say you were going to take Jiaojiao to buy a new Go board? Did you buy it? If not, I’ll go with you.”

She paused, adding, “It’ll be my way of thanking you for bringing me to the hospital today.”

In any case, Pei Xiubai already knew, and judging by the situation this morning, she was indeed wary of the Li family.

Presumably, she wouldn’t easily harm a member of the Li family.

Li Zhiyun stared at her, lost in thought, wondering what she was thinking about.

Seeing her remain silent, Wen Zhu smiled, “You don’t know if Jiaojiao bought it? That’s fine, I’ll ask Jiaojiao first…”

As she spoke, she prepared to take out her phone to message Jiaojiao.

A slightly cool hand suddenly grasped her raised left wrist.

Wen Zhu’s movement stopped.

“She didn’t buy it.”

Li Zhiyun’s voice was low, her gaze fixed on Wen Zhu’s face, with emotions surging in her dark eyes.

“Jiaojiao didn’t buy it. Let’s go together.”