Crossing the Line - Chapter 5

Gu Tan thought back to the conversation that had ended so abruptly the previous night, so she took the initiative to ask about Shen Yanchuan’s current situation. “How is the treatment at your company? Do you get many days off?”

“I’m in the translation department. As long as I complete enough work each month, there are no fixed working hours.”

Chen Xi was still chewing on a piece of bread. “Does that mean as long as you finish your work, you can take as long a vacation as you want?”

Shen Yanchuan nodded with a smile. “That’s right.”

While they chatted and laughed, Gu Tan finished peeling two large salt-and-pepper shrimp. Out of habit, she tossed them into Chen Xi’s bowl, only to realize a moment later that Shen Yanchuan was watching her.

She silently peeled another one, picked it up with the serving chopsticks, and said to Shen Yanchuan, “The shrimp tastes good, would you like to try some?”

Shen Yanchuan held out her bowl and caught it steadily. “Thank you, Teacher.”

The shrimp clearly hadn’t been dipped in vinegar, yet it tasted somewhat sour and bitter in her mouth.

After dinner, Gu Tan had intended to take a short walk with Shen Yanchuan, but they had only walked a few steps out of the mall when Chen Xi cried out that she couldn’t walk anymore. Consequently, Gu Tan had to take her home first.

The three of them said their goodbyes on the bridge.

As they walked away, Chen Xi kept complaining about her foot hurting. When she took off her shoe by the roadside to check, she indeed had a large blister. Gu Tan had no choice but to help her back home.

Over the past seven years, Gu Tan had treated Chen Xi almost like a daughter, indulging her in everything, which had gradually fostered a somewhat willful personality.

She treated it as a way to make up for that incident.

“Sister Shen Yanchuan is very outstanding, you should learn from her.”

“I’m outstanding too, I just haven’t grown up yet. I ranked third in the class for my entrance exams.”

“Yes, yes, our Xi Xi is very smart.”

They chatted idly, but Gu Tan suddenly felt that tonight’s dinner had been rushed. Shen Yanchuan hadn’t spoken much, and Chen Xi had done most of the talking.

Even their parting had been perfunctory.

Shen Yanchuan had likely traveled all the way back from the provincial capital specifically to see her, but now there was a disappointing underlying tone to it, which left Gu Tan feeling uneasy.

That night, Gu Tan sent a message to Shen Yanchuan:

[When are you going back to the provincial capital?]

The other person’s reply came only ten seconds later:

[My current workload isn’t urgent, so I’m in no rush to go back. Have you been busy lately, Teacher?]

Gu Tan hesitated, her finger hovering over the screen. After a moment, she finally hit send:

[I’m not busy either. I was just thinking that our meetings yesterday and today were too rushed, so I’d like to schedule another time to see you. How about the day after tomorrow in the afternoon?]

They arranged to meet at a café.

The environment wasn’t particularly great, but it was relatively quiet.

Gu Tan wasn’t used to drinking coffee and chose a plain-looking latte, while Shen Yanchuan skillfully ordered an Americano.

The two first spoke about Chen Xi, and Gu Tan explained the issues regarding Chen Xi’s health.

After a long silence, Shen Yanchuan spoke up hesitantly, “Teacher Gu, did you receive all those letters?”

“I saw them all… I’m grateful that you consider me someone close to you. Seeing you doing so well makes me very proud.”

Gu Tan had only replied to one letter, and she suddenly felt a surge of guilt. Back then, she had been so busy dealing with Chen Xi’s affairs that she had completely forgotten about replying.

“I’m sorry, I was very busy during that time, so…”

Shen Yanchuan suddenly interrupted her. Without warning, her voice was suppressed to a low whisper, “Teacher Gu, yesterday I saw Chen Xi hug you, on that bridge after we parted ways.”

Shen Yanchuan wanted to ask: Why have you never hugged me?

Was she so different from Chen Xi? They were both children from the orphanage.

Was it simply because she never took the initiative to ask for anything?

After so many years, Shen Yanchuan finally realized how arrogant and dismissive she used to be, always believing she was different from those “fools.”

She finally understood a very simple truth: the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

“Chen Xi is a bit clingy, she’s been like that since she was little.”

“I’ve never been hugged by you, not even when I was a child.” The most intimate thing Shen Yanchuan could recall was the time Gu Tan helped comb her hair. The teeth of the comb had gently brushed against her scalp, and she could clearly feel that the owner of the comb was afraid of pulling too hard, so she had held back her strength and combed slowly.

“That’s because you were too well-behaved when you were little. You never cried, you never needed anyone to coax you, and you’d spend the whole day reading by yourself. You were very perceptive, unlike Chen Xi, who doesn’t read a single book and spends all day thinking about buying ripped jeans and getting ear piercings.”

As Gu Tan spoke, a smile touched the corners of her mouth, and Shen Yanchuan noticed it. The conversation between them always seemed to revolve around Chen Xi; no matter what they discussed, it would eventually loop back to her.

For the first time, Shen Yanchuan felt a sting of jealousy.

When it was time to part, Shen Yanchuan waited.

The people in town weren’t in a hurry. Most walked slowly, and some even stopped to sit on the curb and chat with acquaintances.

The passing electric scooters were somewhat noisy, nearly swallowing Shen Yanchuan’s words.

“Teacher, can you… give me a hug now?” Right here, in front of the café, a hug for the version of me that has grown up.

Fortunately, Gu Tan seemed to hear her. Whether out of pity or politeness, she gave Shen Yanchuan a hug.

Gu Tan wasn’t wearing that particular perfume today, and Shen Yanchuan could almost smell the scent of her shampoo.

Shen Yanchuan froze in place, not even reacting in time to hug her back. Two seconds later, the embrace was gone.

Seven years of longing could not be dissolved, and certainly not by this incredibly brief hug. She wanted more.

Shen Yanchuan suppressed the urge to cry and put on a refined smile to say goodbye to her teacher.

Due to the nature of her work, her location was flexible. Shen Yanchuan rented a 100-square-meter apartment in town and went to the mall to buy some clothes. She didn’t actually know much about matching clothes; she had only worn school uniforms at the orphanage.

After starting university, she simply looked at what people around her were wearing and bought the same things.

On workdays, she would shut herself in her small rental, burying her head in her computer to type, but whenever she had a free moment, she would think of Gu Tan.

Chen Xi had been in school for a week already. When she came home, she excitedly told Gu Tan that many new classmates had taken the initiative to talk to her, asking about her piercings or saying her outfit looked great.

Chen Xi was quite experienced in these matters, so she quickly blended in with them.

However, the good times didn’t last. Someone leaked the information, and the fact that “Chen Xi is an orphan” spread rapidly through the class. At some unknown point, everyone began to distance themselves from her as if by unspoken agreement.

In the cruelest instance, Chen Xi reached into her desk to get a book, only to have her hand pierced by stinging caterpillars.

The bristles of a stinging caterpillar are venomous and their appearance is terrifying. Chen Xi was so scared she lost her voice, sitting frozen in her seat and forgetting the pain. The next second, she collapsed onto the terrazzo floor.

The chair fell with her.

Two loud clatters.

By the time Gu Tan received the call from the homeroom teacher, Chen Xi had already been rushed to the hospital. The doctor emphasized to Gu Tan once again, “This child has had similar trauma before. You must never let her be stimulated like this again. Her heart is already in poor condition, do you understand? As a parent, you need to pay more attention to the child.”

Gu Tan nodded while weeping.

Regret flooded her heart once more.

Chen Xi’s right hand was wrapped in gauze, her expression pained. “Teacher, my fingers feel like they’re burning, they itch and hurt so much.”

The homeroom teacher was also standing in the hospital room.

Gu Tan comforted Xi Xi, telling her to go to sleep and that it wouldn’t hurt after a nap. Meanwhile, she pulled the teacher outside to talk.

“Teacher Yang, was someone in class bullying Chen Xi?”

“Yes, according to other students, someone put stinging caterpillars in her drawer. Also, they’ve been spreading rumors that Chen Xi is an orphan. I don’t know where it started, but I think it’s necessary for you to step in…”

“I understand.”

The day after Chen Xi recovered and left the hospital, the school checked the surveillance footage and identified the student who had planted the caterpillars. It was a girl. Gu Tan went to the school and confronted her directly about why she did it.

The girl, who wore the same kind of ear piercings as Chen Xi, stared with dark eyes and said, “I just wanted to give her a little lesson.” Who told her to be so arrogant? Wearing such flashy piercings on the first day of school. She deserved it.

Chen Xi, shielded behind Gu Tan, stood dazed as tears rolled down her face.

The other student’s parent was there too, but they just kept their head down, playing with their phone with an air of impatience. Since the slap hadn’t landed on their own child’s face, they felt no pain.

A surge of anger flared in Gu Tan’s heart, but she was stopped by the grade dean, who held a “peace is paramount” attitude and wanted to mediate the conflict between the parents.

“Alright, alright. Wang Wenqian, apologize to Chen Xi and promise you won’t do it again.”

The girl’s expression remained defiant. “I’m sorry, Chen Xi…”

Gu Tan’s fingernails nearly dug into her palms as she interrupted Wang Wenqian’s apology. “Listen closely. Our Xi Xi had heart surgery when she was little and can’t handle being frightened like that. She was lucky this time and is fine. There’s no telling what might happen next time. Little girl, do you have any idea how much a heart surgery costs?”

“I promise I’ll make sure your mother pays until she’s bankrupt.”

Gu Tan’s expression was dead serious, carrying a sense of authority rarely seen in her. Wang Wenqian was nearly scared to tears.

“Regarding the rumors in class, please go and clarify with the others that Chen Xi is not an orphan.”

On the way home, Chen Xi leaned against the back of Gu Tan’s electric scooter, praising her like a little sycophant, “I didn’t know you could be so fierce, Teacher. You were so cool!”

Gu Tan didn’t speak. Her anger hadn’t fully dissipated, though it had been slightly dampened by the cold wind blowing against her.

Through her heavy helmet, Gu Tan suddenly heard a faint “Mom.”

Then, she felt her waist being embraced by the child, and a patch of hot liquid soaked into her clothes, quickly turning cold.

Gu Tan’s throat suddenly felt tight. She used one hand to lift the visor of her helmet. “Xi Xi, it’s still early. How about I take you to get some KFC?”

Chen Xi sniffled, the sound of mucus in her nasal cavity causing her a bit of embarrassment.