Crossing the Clouds and Sky to Fall in Love with You - Chapter 22

I found Yi Ting afterwards. Of course, she had contacted Tao Yian. When I woke up, only Yi Ting went into the restroom while he waited outside, looking extremely anxious. I only allowed Yi Ting to help me manage things. Finally leaving the restroom, he kept asking me what was wrong. I didn’t dare to say… I just claimed that my period had started and I suddenly felt a lot of pain and exhaustion.

In reality, it hadn’t started yet. We told Tao Yian to calm down a little, and then Yi Ting immediately accompanied me to a nearby gynecologist for a check-up. I was told I might have a minor infection… How could that be? I had been taking the medicine prescribed by Sister Tao’s auntie obediently, and besides staying up all night yesterday, my routine was also super healthy. I didn’t know why a problem suddenly appeared.

“Your face just now was as white as paper, you scared me to death! I thought… I thought something big had happened to you. You stopped speaking mid-sentence.”

I forced a smile, “White as paper… Maybe I can take it to Tao Yian and let him draw a clock on my face?”

“You’re still in the mood for jokes?” Yi Ting’s eyes widened. This shout made everyone in the gynecology clinic turn their attention to her. “They said it was a big deal and you’re still like this… Is that doctor your neighbor introduced reliable?”

How could I doubt someone’s aunt? “Maybe it’s because I stayed up last night… I’ll be more careful, seriously.”

“Hmph! You really make people worry… I think I need to seriously consider going to stay with you for a few more days, at least until your condition stabilizes…”

I was momentarily stunned. She commutes to school. She already had to come up with excuses to explain the two days she was tied up before. What would happen if she stayed longer? “Are you serious? What about your place?”

“No amount of talking can stop this girl from sacrificing herself for her bestie!” She stood with her hands on her hips, looking heroic. “Or… are you planning to go stay with your neighbor again?”

As soon as Yi Ting brought up Sister Tao, my mind instantly went blank for a moment… The image of her turning back and smiling at me while speaking at the door yesterday leaped into my mind again.

‘I’m also thinking of you.’

The tenderness in her eyes when she said that to me was something I had never seen before.

While I was spacing out, the receptionist happened to call “Miss Yu Xiaoning.” Yi Ting took the medicine for me and heard the nurse specifically instruct me to come back for a follow-up if I still had pain or any discomfort after finishing the medication.

It was then I realized that I should have had a follow-up appointment last week, on the day Sister Tao went abroad, and I had neglected it myself…

Leaving the clinic, Yi Ting decided to accompany me back to the dorm. She was also very loyal and said she would go for my afternoon elective class, and also ask the class valedictorian for their perpetual notes.

“You haven’t eaten, right?” I nodded. “What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it for you.”

I casually mentioned a dry noodle shop very close to my place. I sniffled, suddenly feeling incredibly touched. “Yi Ting! It’s so good to have you.”

“It’s not too late to realize! This girl is always open to confessions!” After the joke, her tone changed, and her expression became serious. “Just think of me making amends, okay? After all, I accidentally let your secret slip… As far as I know, Huang Xiuyan isn’t a big mouth, but who knows how many people heard me shout that?” Hearing her say this, I also couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

But taking care of my body is the priority right now.

After dropping me off at the apartment door, she went off to buy noodles, leaving me to go upstairs alone. I grabbed the handrail and went up one step at a time, feeling the pain in my abdomen had lessened a lot. The current dull ache was within an acceptable range, but my limbs inexplicably lacked strength… Fortunately, it was lunchtime, and there weren’t many people passing through the apartment building.

When I was about to reach the third floor, I heard voices talking.

“…I’m so sorry to have made you deliver it specially!”

“Don’t worry about it. By the way, we plan to promote your work at the book fair in February. You can put our company’s link on your page. We’ll also start promoting you soon. We hope it sells well!”

“Thank you! I hope so… Would you like to have lunch together?”

It was Sister Tao’s voice, along with the mature, handsome man I had seen before.

Finally making it to the corner to turn onto the third floor, while I was taking a short break, I just happened to look up and unexpectedly met that pair of clear eyes.

“No thanks, you know that editors are burning the midnight oil! Being able to travel for business negotiations already counts as a holiday!” The handsome man said with a smile. He seemed to quickly notice Sister Tao’s gaze, and he turned around. The white figure who was standing next to him quickly rushed towards me.

She was tall and long-legged, and it only took a blink of an eye to come down the stairs and stand in front of me.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

I blinked, nodding awkwardly. She reached out to support me, and instantly seemed to see through my unusual state. She raised an eyebrow and looked back. “Excuse me, Brother Lin, my friend has a bit of an issue. I’ll attend to her first, so I won’t see you off.”

Uh… what an unfeeling way to dismiss a guest?

“No worries! You attend to your business, I’ll be going now.” The mature, handsome man quickly bypassed us and went downstairs. In a flash, it was just the two of us again.

She turned and put her arm around my waist. I was momentarily embarrassed, but she insisted that I loop my right arm over her shoulder. I realized then that she was helping me up the stairs.

“Auntie sent me a message. I only saw it last night when I opened my computer. It was five days ago. She wanted me to take you for a follow-up. I don’t know why I didn’t see it when I logged in before.” She bit her lip, saying with a tone of self-reproach, “It’s my fault for not taking good care of you.”

“No, no… You’ve been good enough to me.”

She helped me into her room, just like the time she carried me up from downstairs, and let me lie on her bed. I explained what had just happened and said my friend had already taken me to a clinic near the school.

She listened with a grave expression. I couldn’t guess her thoughts at that moment and could only wait quietly.

Finally, she sighed, “Have you eaten?”

“Er… well, not yet, but my classmate went to buy something for me.”

“You should eat something more nutritious. It’s a shame there’s no kitchen here, and my cooking skills are unreliable.”

She paced back and forth in the room, seemingly trying to find a solution for me. After a while, the phone rang. It was Yi Ting, who had bought lunch and was calling me from the entrance. Sister Tao darted out, took the food, and even paid Yi Ting for me.

“Is Xiaoning inside?”

“Yes, I’ll take care of her, thank you.”

I only managed to briefly make eye contact with Yi Ting. I smiled, signaling her not to worry, and she pouted with a puzzled expression. We didn’t have time for further exchange of thoughts, and the door closed again.

“Are you still going to class this afternoon? Counting the time, it’s less than a month until the winter break, right?” Sister Tao brought the noodles to me. She frowned when she saw the disposable chopsticks and replaced them with a pair of stainless steel ones.

“Mmm… yes. Ah, no, I’m not going to class! My classmate will get the notes for me. I don’t usually miss classes, so skipping a few occasionally should be fine.” I lowered my head and mixed the noodle sauce. Smelling the food, I realized I was hungry. I quickly shoveled a few mouthfuls, and the corner of my eye caught a glimpse of a brightly colored book cover. I glanced at it curiously.

The book cover was familiar to me. It was Mount Kailash. The abode of Lord Shiva, and the “sacred mountain” recognized by the four religions… This photo was taken by her!

“This book…” I instinctively looked up.

Sister Tao met my gaze, and a shy smile curved her thin lips. “It’s the one the mature, handsome man you mentioned delivered. Mr. Lin Kequn, I usually just call him Brother Lin.”

The book title was Little Chu’s Image Journey… This was it! So the book had been silently printed! “Is this… Sister Tao’s book?”

“Mmm. This one is a sample book, printed for final confirmation, but the final published book won’t be much different from this.”

It looked like the one she had mentioned before, mainly documenting her journey from Southeast Asia to Yunnan and Tibet. I excitedly flipped open the cover—regarding the author “Chu,” she put her photo, but it was a very insincere photo of a reflection of the sunrise. Her whole person was black! So one could only tell from the silhouette of her tall figure—it was still impossible to tell her gender!

“Did you do this on purpose?” I pointed at the photo, unable to resist muttering. “Intentionally not showing your real face online, and even in the book you’re teasing your readers!” I smiled, raising my eyebrows, and she quickly widened her eyes—

I just realized I had let it slip.

“How did you know… I intentionally don’t show my face online?”

I was embarrassed for a moment, and silently closed the book in my hands. “I’m actually… Chu’s loyal reader.”

She instantly froze like a statue. “Loyal… reader? You?”

“Mmm… I’ve been following you since you weren’t popular, all the way until now. You’ve already surpassed three thousand followers, right?”

Her eyes were wide, and they were still as beautiful as ever, only lacking her usual composure and calmness. “So you really…”

“Mount Kailash.” I pointed at the photo on the book cover. “You wrote extensively about its introduction and legends beneath this photo, and you even said that even though you heard that pilgrims could gain immense happiness, you didn’t join the ranks of the pilgrims because you believed that happiness is not obtained through kora, but by grasping it with your own hands…” That piece of writing was very elegant and deeply touched me. I got goosebumps just reciting it.

“I really am your fan.”

“I believe you now… I’m just wondering why you were so calm when you found out I was Chu? It’s like…” As sharp as she was, she quickly found the suspicious element in my reaction. “It seems like you already knew… that I was Chu, before just now, right? You already knew.”

My silence was equivalent to my admission.

“Wait a minute…” She was first confused, and then her fair face suddenly flushed. “So you saw my post in Sri Lanka… Was that why you didn’t come over yesterday?”

Biting my lip, I felt like whatever I said would be wrong. I remained silent, and she chuckled bitterly a few times.

She covered her face with one hand. I couldn’t tell if she was feeling ashamed or frustrated. “I can’t believe the amethyst I gave you betrayed me, so you knew I was Chu. You must have compared them, right? The crystal on your neck is exactly the same as the one in the photo.”

“Mmm…” Actually, I knew even earlier, but bringing up Tao Yian now would only make things worse, so I chose not to say it.

“So… you know now, you know why I rejected your excessive physical contact, but then rushed south to find you, just because I was worried you were sad, and also wanted to give you the crystal necklace sooner…” She muttered, as if to herself. I sensed a trace of regret hidden in her tone. “You understand my feelings for you, don’t you?”

I lowered my head, feeling like a child caught doing something wrong. After a long silence, I finally heard her say, “Do you find me disgusting?”