Chapter 221: Chapter 220 For Anitaqing Fairy Flower Fate +17 Updates
After meal time, two tables were occupied in the small shop, presumably by residents from the nearby community. Hearing the commotion, they all looked up and were clearly taken aback when they saw Zhang Xin.
Zhang Xin was wrapped in a pure white mink coat with a cinched waist, wore leather pants below, her long legs tucked into stiletto boots. Standing there in the small shop, she immediately brightened up the place, making the old greasy tables seem even more out of place.
Zhang Xin chose a spot near the door to sit down, where she could see the entrance of the residential area not far away.
The proprietress shouted towards the kitchen, "A bowl of beef noodles, hold the scallions."
Zhang Xin sat alone at the table, staring absentmindedly at the snowflakes swirling outside the door.
The proprietress kindly asked, "Isn’t it cold sitting by the door? Do you want to move in a bit?"
Zhang Xin looked at the glass door left slightly ajar to welcome customers and shook her head, "It’s fine."
The quiet night stretched on, and not a soul passed by the entrance of the residential area, making the solitude seem even more profound.
Zhang Xin watched for a while before withdrawing her gaze. Before she could lower her head, she caught a flash out of the corner of her eye. She incredulously looked over again and saw a familiar figure dashing out from the entrance of the residential area, running swiftly under the streetlights with someone much smaller on his back. He hurried to the roadside, reaching out to hail a taxi.
Zhang Xin abruptly stood up, almost colliding with the proprietress who was bringing the noodles over.
Startled, Zhang Xin quickly pulled out a random note from her handbag, placed it on the table, and ran outside.
The proprietress hastily stepped back, afraid of bumping into the bowl of noodles in her hands. After placing the bowl on the table, she glanced at the fifty-yuan note beside it and hurriedly chased out the door, calling after her, "Hey! Miss, your noodles! No, you gave too much money!"
The only response she received was a white figure stumbling through the snowy street, with long curly hair gently swaying as she ran.
In the heavy snow, even taxis were hard to flag down. Vehicles sped by on the street, fast enough to dazzle the eyes.
Qu Chaozong was anxious, desperately trying to flag down two taxis, but both were full. Seeing someone on his back, the drivers didn’t even bother stopping.
In the freezing wind and snow, Qu Chaozong was so anxious that sweat dripped down his forehead. While frantically hailing a cab, he anxiously called out, "Mom, mom, don’t scare me! How are you?"
Mrs. Qu lay on Qu Chaozong’s back, moved her lips slightly, and weakly said, "It’s, it’s fine, you, you don’t..."
Seeing that he couldn’t flag down a taxi, Qu Chaozong made up his mind. Eyeing a private car approaching from afar, he planned to rush out and stop it with his body.
Before he could act on his idea, a familiar voice suddenly called from behind, "Chaozi! What’s going on?"
Qu Chaozong was stunned and turned around to see Zhang Xin rushing breathlessly towards him. He hadn’t expected her to actually come looking for him, let alone that she hadn’t left yet.
Zhang Xin glanced at Mrs. Qu on his back and immediately understood, shouting anxiously, "What are you standing there for! I drove here!"
Zhang Xin pointed to where she parked, turned, and ran toward it, calling out as she ran, "Hurry up, I’ll take you to the hospital."
Qu Chaozong hurried after her.
Zhang Xin drove through red lights, overtook cars, and drifted around corners, shaving the half-hour drive from Qu Chaozong’s house to the hospital down to fifteen minutes.
Upon arrival at the hospital, after a thorough examination, the doctor diagnosed Mrs. Qu with a potassium deficiency. Severe potassium deficiency can cause weakness and a decline in responsiveness.
As Mrs. Qu’s body slowly recovered after the infusion, Qu Chaozong’s heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled down.
Zhang Xin had left when Mrs. Qu started receiving the infusion. After a while, she returned to the ward, enveloped in a chill, carrying two large bags of oranges and bananas.
Zhang Xin stood by the bedside, handing the items to Qu Chaozong, "The doctor said to eat more of these fruits; they are high in potassium."
As Qu Chaozong took them, he touched Zhang Xin’s hand, and the icy coldness made him instinctively glance down. Her slender, fair fingers had deep indentations, with blood squeezed to the fingertips, casting a shadow of deep red against the pale depressions, appearing especially fragile and delicate.
In the early morning after the infusion, Zhang Xin drove Qu Chaozong and his mother home. When the car stopped at the community gate, Zhang Xin rolled down the window, looking at Qu Chaozong standing outside.
Qu Chaozong had Mrs. Qu on his back and said to her, "Be careful on the way."
Zhang Xin waved her hand, "Mm, hurry up and go back."
Zhang Xin leaned on the car window, watching Qu Chaozong’s figure disappear at the community entrance before she rolled up the window again. She reclined in the car seat, her mind blank for a moment.
For the first time, Qu Chaozong didn’t thank her, and for the first time, Zhang Xin didn’t seize the opportunity to cling persistently and join him inside.
Even though it seemed like they had stepped back, creating some distance between them, deep down they both knew their physical distance had grown, but their hearts were slowly drawing closer.
Zhang Xin dazed for a bit, picked up a cigarette and lit it, leisurely finishing it before stubbing it out and tossing it into the trash bin. Unexpectedly, she missed, and the cigarette butt fell to the ground.
Zhang Xin bent down to pick up the cigarette, her fingers just pinching the butt when someone suddenly knocked on the car window twice.
She lifted her head in surprise, and when she saw Qu Chaozong standing outside the car window, the cigarette she had just picked up slipped from her fingers again.
Qu Chaozong looked at her through the car window and knocked on it again.
Zhang Xin snapped out of her daze and quickly rolled down the window.
Gazing at Qu Chaozong, she asked in surprise, "Why did you come back again?"
Qu Chaozong responded with a question, "Weren’t you leaving?"
Zhang Xin blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering from the cold wind blowing in through the window, sending a cool chill through the gap to her eyes, bringing a glistening shine to her dark pupils.
Zhang Xin opened her mouth, finding her brain blank.
Qu Chaozong asked again, "Were you already here when you called me earlier?"
Zhang Xin nodded.
Qu Chaozong, with his hands in his pockets, suddenly said, "Look."
"..." Zhang Xin couldn’t find the words.
Qu Chaozong’s face broke into a smile, not the usual roguish grin, but a sunlit smile with his mouth corners pulled wide, revealing perfectly aligned white teeth, bright and cheerful, "Didn’t you say you wanted to see me? Look now."
Zhang Xin’s pupils contracted, finding his smile a bit dazzling.
Watching her befuddled expression, Qu Chaozong chuckled and asked, "Had enough of a look?"
Zhang Xin stared at his face, dazed, without answering for a long time.
Qu Chaozong tapped the car door again, "Seen enough, head back. It’s almost dawn."
"Chaozi, how about you be with me?" Zhang Xin said this without thinking, and later she reflected that she must have been bewitched by Qu Chaozong’s blindingly handsome smile, for she immediately added, "I think I might really be starting to like you a bit."