Chapter 12

Chapter 12

In April, about a week after the cast was removed, I started dreaming frequently.

In the dream, Mom and Dad stood in front of our house, the old yellow dog lying beside them wagging its tail.

They smiled at me, beckoning.

“Xiaohe, come home for dinner.”

But whenever I ran over, they instantly vanished like smoke.

After waking from this dream again, I put on a coat and got up, glancing at the calendar.

April 15th.

The first anniversary of my parents’ death.

I thought for a moment, then took the osmanthus cakes I’d bought last night from the old shop on West Street and knocked on Xu Ge’s door.

Xu Ge had a terrible morning temper.

He never gave a kind face to anyone who disturbed his sleep.

When he opened the door, his thick hair was as messy as a chicken coop, and his fair, clean face was crisscrossed with red sleep marks.

His pitch-black eyes looked at me with displeasure, his face full of a ferocity that said, “You’d better have a good reason.”

I looked at him cautiously and tentatively held out the osmanthus cakes.

“Xu Ge, maybe you’d like to try some authentic W Town osmanthus square cakes?”

…

From S City to W Town, the high-speed train took fifty minutes.

Xu Ge bought the tickets.

After passing through the entrance, I instinctively followed the crowd to line up for second class.

Xu Ge grabbed my hood and pulled me back, heading for the business class special passage.

“Why don’t you have to line up?”

I’d never taken the high-speed train before, so I only found it strange that he could go through first without lining up.

While waiting on the platform for the train to arrive, I asked him this.

The young man lazily bent down, leaning close to me.

Those beautiful, dark eyes brimmed with fearless, arrogant pride.

“Because this young master has money.”

Once we arrived at W Town’s high-speed rail station, we still had to take a bus for an hour and a half to reach the W Town bus station. There was no one on the bus; in the back row, the only passengers were Xu Ge and me.

I had originally thought that Xu Ge, who was used to traveling by private car, wouldn’t be accustomed to taking this kind of public bus.

But unexpectedly, he adjusted even faster than I did.

The window was open a crack, and the cold wind blew in together with a fine, misty rain.

He squinted slightly, resting his chin on his hand as he calmly looked out the window.

Against the vast curtain of rain, the mole on the bridge of his nose appeared even colder and more aloof.

Halfway through the ride, I started to feel carsick.

I had never been carsick before; I didn’t know why this time.

Maybe it was because Xu Ge hadn’t eaten either of the two osmanthus cakes I brought him in the morning, so I finished both pieces myself, and on top of that, I had eaten two buns steamed by Aunt Su and a bowl of congee for breakfast. I was stuffed.

Holding back the urge to vomit, I leaned miserably against the back of the seat in front of me, carefully rubbing my stomach.

When Xu Ge happened to glance back and saw my complexion, he was startled.

“Is this your first time on a bus?”

I forced a smile at him with difficulty, wanting to say, you idiot, didn’t you see how much I ate this morning?

Xu Ge said, “I have essential balm and motion sickness medicine in my bag.”

He began to lower his head and rummage through his bag.

He took out a thermos and had me take the medicine with water.

Then he applied the essential balm to my temples.

The young man’s slender, slightly cool index finger massaged my temples.

I closed my eyes, breathing in small sips, feeling much better than before.