Dating Myself - Chapter 27.2

…as they disappeared behind the gate, Jian Yixi’s smile remained on her face, but tears began to fall. She was still a minor. If the Jian family refused to let her go, stealing her birth certificate would only cause her adoptive parents more trouble.

After a day and a night of constant turmoil, Jian Yixi felt her head again. It was hot. With her adoptive parents gone, the strength she had been holding onto was gone, and she couldn’t take another step.

She leaned against a tree on the side of the road, pulled out her phone, and was about to call An Mu to tell her she was coming for her IV. Before she could dial, Jian Xiangwei called.

“Where are you running off to?! Get back here now!”

Jian Yixi closed her eyes. She didn’t have to fake it; her voice was already weak. “I need to go get my IV. After that…”

“What IV?! You haven’t had one all day and now you’re going? Who are you kidding? Hurry up and get back here!”

“I’m serious. I’ll send you a picture when I’m there.”

“I don’t care if you’re serious or not! Get back here and post on Weibo!”

She could hear Wen Qiaoyun’s voice on the other end of the phone. Jian Xiangwei yelled at her, “You couldn’t even do this one simple thing all day! What’s the point of you?!” Then Jian Xiangwei yelled at Jian Yixi, “Where are you?! Are you with that An Mu again?! You…”

Jian Yixi closed her eyes. An indescribable frustration welled up inside her, and she hung up without thinking. The phone rang again immediately. Jian Yixi looked at the name on the screen and silenced it in annoyance.

Taxis were lined up at the train station. Jian Yixi felt the money in her pocket, which her adoptive parents had given her. She had left home with nothing but her phone. She didn’t take a taxi. She slowly walked to the bus stop. Her head felt even heavier. The bus finally arrived. A bunch of people squeezed onto the bus even though it was empty and there was a seat for everyone. She didn’t know why they were pushing. She walked to the last row and sat by the window. Jian Yixi couldn’t hold on anymore and rested her head on the seat in front of her.

The bus swayed like a cradle, and Jian Yixi fell into a hazy sleep. She had a dream. In her dream, she was a child again. She had taken a bank savings certificate from home, folded it into a paper airplane, and it flew into the stove. Her mom was so angry. She raised her hand to hit her, but her hand never came down. She punished her by making her kneel on the cinder. Her mom then rushed out to find her ID and replace the certificate. When she came back, she saw Jian Yixi still kneeling. Her heart ached. She pulled her up, scolded her, and took her to the street to buy her hot dogs, cookies, and two boxes of milk. Her mom opened a bag of cookies and handed them to her, but in her hand, it was a phone without a password. She looked up, and her mom’s face had turned into Wen Qiaoyun’s grotesque one.

“Post on Weibo! Post on Weibo!!!”

Jian Yixi woke up with a start. It was dark outside. The bus was still moving. Jian Yixi couldn’t tell where she was. She picked up her phone to check the time, but the battery was dead. She had charged it last night. How could it be dead? She squinted to see the time on the front of the bus. Before she could see it, the bus stopped. The driver yelled, “Last stop.”

Jian Yixi got off the bus, her head heavy. She was shocked. This was… the high-speed train station?! How did she end up back here? She quickly turned around to find the driver, who was already cleaning the bus and emptying the trash.

“Excuse me, sir, how long until the next bus leaves?”

The driver swept the floor and said, “It’s already 9:30. No more buses tonight.”

No more buses?! Jian Yixi sat down on the curb, trying to hold back the nausea. She felt like throwing up but couldn’t.

“Sir, can I borrow your phone? My phone is dead.”

“Sure.”

The driver was a nice person and handed her his phone. But Jian Yixi couldn’t remember An Mu’s phone number. She thought about calling her adoptive parents, but she had just told them not to answer any calls from Weicheng unless it was An Mu. Never mind. She thanked the driver, gave the phone back, and walked toward a taxi.

Meanwhile, at Fusheng Garden in the city center, An Mu sat on the living room sofa, looking at her phone. She had just called Jian Yixi’s phone for the umpteenth time. “The number you are calling is currently unavailable…”

Why is it still turned off? An Mu sighed, put on her windbreaker, and left the apartment.

Jian Yixi got out of the taxi, her head heavy. She didn’t know how she had managed to make it to An Mu’s building. She stumbled into the elevator, leaned against the wall, and made it to the ninth floor. She then dragged herself to apartment 902 and rang the doorbell. She rang again. No one answered. She couldn’t stand anymore and slid down the wall to squat in front of An Mu’s door.