One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 62

Ji Zhuozhou froze for a moment before remembering: today was October 30th. Tomorrow would be the 31st—her birthday.

It was a birthday she hadn’t remembered, but Xiao Shuangyu had.

Xiao Shuangyu wished her a happy birthday, yet in the same breath, told her goodbye.

She could hardly believe it, let alone accept it.

She said, “Lianlian, is there anything else? I’ll be with Lianlian…”

Xiao Shuangyu turned her head to look out the window. “President Ji has just returned to the company; there must be many things to attend to. Go back. Go do what President Ji needs to do.”

She even called her “President Ji.”

Ji Zhuozhou instinctively denied it, saying, “Lianlian, don’t call me that. I have nothing I need to do. I won’t go back by myself.”

She had come here to find Xiao Shuangyu; she intended to take Xiao Shuangyu back with her.

But Xiao Shuangyu dropped her gaze. “Then, President Ji, since you’ve had your fun here, please leave.”

Once again, an order to leave.

Xiao Shuangyu really had no intention of going home with her—even more, she had no intention of ever being with her again.

Why was it like this?

Where… what went wrong?

Xiao Shuangyu’s gaze was resistant and evasive, as if everything had already been decided.

She didn’t agree.

How could she possibly agree?

She could handle everything; she could make everything right; she should make everything right.

Including Xiao Shuangyu.

She had relaxed too early, fainted too early, to the point of making a catastrophic misjudgment.

She couldn’t leave; she needed a little time.

She tried to clear her head, which was still groggy from sleep, and pressed her hands against her sore lower abdomen. Her slender frame seemed to sway slightly. “Lianlian, I… I have no strength.”

Even her voice lost a bit of its clarity.

Xiao Shuangyu was startled, clearing her head slightly. Only then did she notice the time wasn’t evening, but the morning of the next day.

It seemed she was asking someone who had fainted and slept through half an afternoon and an entire night to leave immediately.

Moreover, it was because they had reached the point of exhaustion together.

Xiao Shuangyu sat a little further away, giving Ji Zhuozhou space, but still didn’t look back. “I’ll order something to eat. You… leave after you’ve eaten.”

Ji Zhuozhou acted as if she hadn’t heard the last part. A hint of a smile immediately colored her eyes, which she quickly suppressed. “Anything is fine. I’ll eat whatever Lianlian orders.”

Xiao Shuangyu said nothing. She nodded, her eyes searching the surroundings, but she couldn’t find her phone.

Right—she hadn’t taken her phone when she went out yesterday, and she hadn’t looked for it after returning. The phone wasn’t by her side.

She stood up and said softly, “Sit for a moment.”

With that, Xiao Shuangyu walked toward the bedroom.

She avoided the direction where Ji Zhuozhou was.

Ji Zhuozhou’s pair of green eyes followed Xiao Shuangyu, her gaze darkening.

Xiao Shuangyu had avoided her yet again.

Was Xiao Shuangyu going to avoid her like this forever?

Perhaps she was.

Ji Zhuozhou eventually sat on the sofa after Xiao Shuangyu left, occupying the middle position. No matter if Xiao Shuangyu sat next to her later or moved in another direction, the distance wouldn’t be too great.

However, after finding her phone in the room and ordering takeout, Xiao Shuangyu came out and walked straight to the kitchen on the other side.

Ji Zhuozhou was about to stand up and follow her when she heard the sound of running water inside.

She calmed down and stayed where she was.

Soon, Xiao Shuangyu returned to the living room with two glasses of water, handing one to her.

Even though those pitch-black eyes weren’t raised to look at her, Ji Zhuozhou felt a bit more at ease as she reached out to take it. It was lukewarm.

Just as she thought Xiao Shuangyu would sit beside her, Xiao Shuangyu placed the other glass on the coffee table. “Delivery will take a while. You rest first; I’m going to wash up.”

Finished, she left without even looking up.

With a click, the bathroom door was locked.

Ji Zhuozhou, halfway through a step, froze in place and slumped back down.

Then, while she went to wash up, Xiao Shuangyu turned her back and handed over the washed undergarments, completely ignoring the wide-open door, waiting quietly outside with her back turned.

When she finished washing and walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, Xiao Shuangyu went straight out the door and sat on a rattan chair in the courtyard, staring at the grass.

She followed her out, and Xiao Shuangyu, startled, took off her jacket to hand it to her, then returned to the living room.

Ji Zhuozhou was about to chase after her again when the takeout arrived.

She carried the food back into the living room, just as she ran into Xiao Shuangyu, who had picked up a call and was heading out.

Xiao Shuangyu reached out and took the bag from her hand. “I’ll do it.”

Still keeping her brow lowered, she turned around immediately after taking it, showing no intention of looking at her.

Watching Xiao Shuangyu’s back, Ji Zhuozhou suddenly felt that things couldn’t go on like this.

She followed Xiao Shuangyu to the dining area, watching her arrange the takeout food on the table.

She said, “I’ll leave after I eat.”

Xiao Shuangyu suddenly paused her movements. After a moment, she nodded.

Xiao Shuangyu had bought light porridge, along with soy milk and buns.

But as the steaming, fragrant food entered her mouth, it tasted of an indescribable bitterness and sourness.

This was true for Ji Zhuozhou, and it was true for Xiao Shuangyu.

A few months ago, for the first private meal they had—the first meal Ji Zhuozhou had treated Xiao Shuangyu to—it had also been soy milk and buns.

At that time, Xiao Shuangyu had taken large bites of the buns just as she did now, her cheeks bulging and her eyes lowered in the same way.

But this time, Xiao Shuangyu didn’t steal glances at her, nor did she reach for her hand.

The person leaving was Ji Zhuozhou.

The simply cleaned clothes hadn’t fully dried yet, but Ji Zhuozhou didn’t wait any longer. She wore the clothes, which still felt slightly damp, as Xiao Shuangyu walked her to the door.

She was still wearing the jacket Xiao Shuangyu had just given her; she had no intention of returning it.

Xiao Shuangyu glanced at it a few times but didn’t ask for it back.

Such black clothes filled Xiao Shuangyu’s wardrobe; even though Xiao Shuangyu hadn’t actually taken anything when she left Nancheng, every piece she had now was something she had bought later.

Ji Zhuozhou gripped the slightly long cuffs of the jacket tightly, unable to force even a sliver of a smile.

She said, “Goodbye.”

She saw Xiao Shuangyu nod and move her lips, though no sound came out.

Ji Zhuozhou took a deep breath and turned to leave, the cuffs she was gripping already wrinkled beyond recognition.

In the end, Xiao Shuangyu didn’t raise her head.

She watched Ji Zhuozhou’s figure through her peripheral vision as she drifted further away, then closed the door to block her sight.

It was truly over.

No more meetings, no more messages, no more hearing her voice. She wouldn’t look at that silhouette ever again.

She slowly exhaled a heavy breath, feeling as if today was the real beginning.

She shook her head, denying her own thought.

What did beginnings or endings matter? Were they that important?

No.

When she left home, she wasn’t Xiao Shuangyu; when she left Ji Zhuozhou, she was still Lianlian.

Xiao Shuangyu looked up, her gaze falling on the front door. After one look, she turned away resolutely.

The phone rang.

She looked down; it was the small group chat for the band.

Anan’s messages were flashing rapidly. At first glance, Xiao Shuangyu suddenly remembered what she had forgotten.

Because she had run into Ji Zhuozhou yesterday, she had forgotten to check her phone, forgotten to look at the messages from the others, and hadn’t replied to any of them.

As she quickly opened her phone, a massive pile of messages from various people flooded in.

Xiao Shuangyu ignored them for a moment and hurried into the small group chat.

[Anan: Lianlian, who is looking for you? Or did someone buy bots to build hype for you in advance? Why isn’t there a share for us? They didn’t even include the band’s name? Which rich woman did this? It’s not right!]

Xiao Shuangyu was dazzled by the messages and hadn’t yet understood what was going on. Before she could scroll up to see Anan’s earlier messages, she saw Nie Siyu post a new one.

Nie Siyu: How could it be bots? Wouldn’t bots have to ask for Lianlian or Lenn? Why would they use her real name as a topic?

Real name? Topic?

Xiao Shuangyu grew even more confused.

She typed a [What] in the group and continued scrolling up.

Finally, she reached the first message Anan had sent this morning.

It was a Weibo topic.

Who Is Xiao Shuangyu

Xiao Shuangyu was stunned. She clicked in and immediately felt that this topic was very unusual.

There was a huge discrepancy between the popularity and the number of posts. Even the top “hot” posts had very few likes or comments.

Amidst the discussions and hype that had almost disappeared, she could still see a few scattered new posts. Xiao Shuangyu read through them one by one.

Is Xiao Shuangyu someone famous? Why are so many people looking for her? Many people around me have been asked, some several times.

I think I saw the person. How should I put it? Compared to the photos, the real person is very… unique? Such a gloomy person, I don’t understand why they’re called Lianlian (Face-Face).

Is this person in Su County? I saw her on the street too. She’s clearly very cool though Image (a blurry silhouette from behind)

I was just asked the day before yesterday, and I saw her the next day. We even made eye contact. Didn’t feel like anything special, she was probably just wandering around.

Can I ask where you all saw her? I’ve been asked for several days, but she doesn’t seem to be in my area. So curious.

Xiao Shuangyu roughly understood what was happening. She didn’t continue reading, exited the app, and saw the other two in the group chat guessing for a while. Suddenly, Anan said, Could it be…

The unnamed person caused the group chat to fall silent instantly.

Everyone knew who Anan was talking about, but they didn’t know Ji Zhuozhou’s name or identity; they only knew that Xiao Shuangyu’s former “sister” was very powerful.

Nie Siyu suddenly started sending a bunch of emojis, and Anan caught on, following suit.

As Xiao Shuangyu watched, she suddenly thought of the strange gazes and eye contact on the street yesterday, the shop owner’s words from yesterday morning that she hadn’t paid much attention to, and Ji Zhuozhou, who had found her with such precision.

She sent a message to the group.

It should be.

She came to find me.

The two of them couldn’t stop for a moment, and after a few more emojis, the chat exploded.

Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t even keep up with their messages. The moment she picked up their phone call, she spoke quickly.

“There is no ‘afterward.’ There is no possibility for us.”

She said, “She’s gone.”

She hadn’t gone.

Ji Zhuozhou moved into the house next door to hers.

The weather remained gloomy. After finishing her conversation with the others, Xiao Shuangyu sat quietly in the small courtyard. Ji Zhuozhou suddenly poked her head over the fence next to her, giving her a start.

She didn’t make a sound, and Ji Zhuozhou didn’t speak either. She pointedly ignored her, while Ji Zhuozhou watched her with a burning gaze.

When she left her residence to go eat, Ji Zhuozhou followed behind her, only a few steps away.

When she ordered, Ji Zhuozhou said she wanted the same thing, then sat across from her. Despite many empty seats in the shop, she talked to herself about how there were no places left.

When she went to practice the drums uncomfortably, Ji Zhuozhou stood at the door of the drum room, watching her through a section of glass on the door.

When she finished washing up and prepared to sleep, a figure still stood outside the courtyard—it was Ji Zhuozhou.

She felt as if something had been reversed, but Ji Zhuozhou was clearly much more conspicuous.

This made her feel extremely awkward.

The next day, she didn’t leave the house.

However, Ji Zhuozhou knocked on her door.

Ji Zhuozhou was holding flowers and a cake. “Lianlian, spend my birthday with me.”