After Breaking the Ice-Beauty's Heart - Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Just Then, The Doorbell Rang.
Zhou Nianzhi was stunned, even walking out of the elevator in a daze.
She buried her head, looked at the cake in her hand, and muttered to herself: “What? This is six inches, which is enough for two people. And do I really look like I have the appetite to eat this much on my own?!”
Luckily, before they parted ways, the kind person didn’t forget to say: “Happy birthday.”
If it weren’t for that well-wishing, Zhou Nianzhi would probably have been annoyed for a long time. She decided to take it as a birthday blessing for Song Yuli.
Lost in thought, Zhou Nianzhi arrived at her own door and unconsciously glanced at Song Yuli’s door next to hers.
It was still early; she didn’t know if Song Yuli was home from work yet.
She could have just made a phone call or sent a message.
But she didn’t have Song Yuli’s contact information.
She had deleted it all when they broke up.
Still, she couldn’t just keep the cake. Until she delivered it, she would keep thinking about it and wouldn’t be able to concentrate on her work.
Zhou Nianzhi hesitated at her door, unsure whether she should go and knock.
Her thoughts were still muddled, but her feet had already carried her to Song Yuli’s door.
Zhou Nianzhi felt a bit worried again. What if Song Yuli suddenly opened the door and they ran into each other?
But then she reconsidered. That would be good, as it would save her from having to knock repeatedly.
Before she could even prepare what to say, the door opened.
But it wasn’t Song Yuli who opened it.
Zhou Nianzhi froze on the spot, her throat seemingly blocked as she couldn’t make a sound. Her mind went blank, her body stiffened, and she couldn’t even feel her heart beating.
If this were a video game, she would be a player happily rushing into a house to search for supplies, only to find someone crouching there, waiting for a piece of fat meat like her.
She had been so preoccupied with Song Yuli’s birthday that she had forgotten the heartache from two days ago.
The woman who opened the door tilted her head, thought for a moment, then said “Oh,” and continued: “It’s you.”
Zhou Nianzhi didn’t reply. She had almost forgotten to breathe. Her chest felt tight, suffocating like a fish on land. She lowered her head, her gaze fixed on her own clean shoes, and awkwardly tried to hide the cake behind her.
But the woman in front of her didn’t notice her emotions. Her focus was on the cake. She said warmly, “Are you here to celebrate Xiao Song’s birthday, too? Come on in and have a seat.”
The woman even stepped aside to let her in, as if inviting her into her own home.
Should she go in or retreat? Zhou Nianzhi didn’t know what to do.
She was terrified, awkward, and uneasy.
Like a child who had done something wrong, her toes wiggled inside her shoes.
Once, she had accidentally messed something up and was scolded by her uncle. She hid in a corner and cried. It was Song Yuli who bent down, reached out her hand, and softly called her name—
“Zhou Nianzhi.”
Song Yuli’s voice could soothe all of her emotions. Even just saying her full name was like a spring breeze, making tender shoots grow in her heart.
Just like now, Song Yuli called her name again—
“Zhou Nianzhi.”
Song Yuli was holding a tissue, wiping water from her hands, as if she had just come out of the bathroom.
Zhou Nianzhi let out a long sigh, thinking that she had already bought the cake and paid for it. So she looked up, trying her best to remain calm, and said, “Yeah, I saw a cake shop while passing by and just bought one on a whim.”
“Come on in then,” Song Yuli walked over, took a pair of slippers from the cabinet, and looked back at Zhou Nianzhi. “You don’t have to change if you don’t want to.”
Zhou Nianzhi hesitated for a moment and decided not to change.
It would be troublesome if they saw the hole in her socks.
She walked in, looking for a table to place the cake on, but her eyes fell on a large, beautiful, fruit-covered, meticulously made cake in the living room, easily twelve inches in size.
Zhou Nianzhi fell silent, unsure whether she should place her simple, miniature cake next to the gorgeous, large one.
Song Yuli walked straight over, took the cake from Zhou Nianzhi’s hand, and said softly, “Thank you.”
As she took the cake, Song Yuli’s fingertips brushed against Zhou Nianzhi’s hand. A sudden, tingling sensation came over her, as if she had been shocked.
Zhou Nianzhi felt completely ill at ease.
“Her name is Meng Jiayin; she’s my colleague,” Song Yuli explained.
Meng Jiayin leaned against the door, coughed lightly, and corrected her: “To be precise, her superior.”
A newly promoted superior is still a superior.
“Okay, my superior,” Song Yuli said lightly. She handed a few tissues to Zhou Nianzhi. “It’s hot outside.”
Hearing this, Zhou Nianzhi pursed her lips and awkwardly took the tissues. The thought of her sweaty, shiny hair and her flushed cheeks made her feel hot. Her hand, wiping the sweat, felt a little stiff.
Luckily, Meng Jiayin spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.
“You two can chat. I’m going to buy a lighter. Xiao Lu and the others should be arriving later.”
With that, Meng Jiayin pushed the door open and walked out. Zhou Nianzhi only remembered her back.
A striking red dress, bright and bold.
She looked down at her own repeatedly washed T-shirt and faded jeans, feeling a pang of envy.
She couldn’t quite tell if she envied the woman’s brilliance or the fact that she could work with Song Yuli and see her often.
“What are you thinking about?” Song Yuli offered her a glass of water. “Have some water.”
Zhou Nianzhi looked at the birthday girl, slowly took the water, and took a distracted sip. Her gaze kept drifting toward Song Yuli.
Song Yuli didn’t look like she had dressed up at all. Her short hair was casually tied up, and she wore a dark blue T-shirt with a few unremarkable flowers on the back and a simple pair of sweatpants.
To be honest, Meng Jiayin, who had just left, looked more like the person celebrating a birthday today.
And Song Yuli looked like a part-timer still on the job.
Could they have birthdays on the same day? Zhou Nianzhi held the glass with both hands, her mind once again running wild with fantasies.
They were colleagues now; maybe they would live together in the future.
She even went out specifically to buy a lighter for the birthday cake candles…
Zhou Nianzhi’s gaze slid from the exquisite large cake to her own small one.
The cute little chocolate bear on her cake had tipped over, likely from when Zhou Nianzhi had accidentally bumped it on her way back.
Little bear, little bear, are you heartbroken too?
Zhou Nianzhi stared at the slumped bear, feeling as if she were looking at herself, and felt a little heartbroken.
“She wanted to smoke and forgot to bring a lighter. She also thought the matches for the birthday candles were no good, so she went out to buy one,” Song Yuli, who was rummaging for something, suddenly said this.
Zhou Nianzhi was stunned. Her eyes blinked, and she stared at Song Yuli’s back in disbelief.
Could Song Yuli hear her thoughts?
Otherwise, how would she know what she was thinking?
To test it, she silently said three words in her head.
There was no response.
Clearly, it was just her imagination.
Zhou Nianzhi looked at Song Yuli’s busy back. The long table in front of the sofa had an open laptop, a mountain of documents, and various books. The thought of Meng Jiayin’s words from earlier…
Suddenly, she felt a sense of emptiness. Even the sound of Song Yuli rummaging for things was like a stone being thrown, hitting her heart with a loud clang and an echo that told her over and over again—
There was an invisible, uncrossable chasm between them, and it had existed two years ago just as it did now.
Just a little bit more.
Song Yuli remembered the flower hair clip she had forgotten to give Zhou Nianzhi last time. After searching for a while, she found it had fallen into the sofa’s crevice.
As she struggled to find it, she mentally scolded herself many times. Although she knew it was due to a combination of being sick, working overtime, and her period, not tidying up Zhou Nianzhi’s things was still her own fault.
Fortunately, she was about to get it.
Then she could spend some quality time with Zhou Nianzhi.
Just then, Zhou Nianzhi’s phone rang again.
Song Yuli’s heart trembled, and her body froze, her hand still reaching for the hair clip.
“Okay, okay, I’ll be right there!”
Sure enough.
Zhou Nianzhi had to leave.
Song Yuli clutched the hair clip in her palm, lowered her eyes, and said nothing.
“I’m leaving now—” Zhou Nianzhi waved at her. “I have to rush to work.”
Can’t you stay with me?
Of course not.
Song Yuli answered her own question. She followed her, held the hair clip out to Zhou Nianzhi, and said, “I forgot to give you this last time.”
Zhou Nianzhi just glanced at it. She was probably in a hurry; even her speaking pace was faster: “It’s for you. You can have it, or give it to someone else.”
Song Yuli’s eyes darkened, but her bangs were long enough to hide her emotions. She said “Mhm,” tightened her grip on the hair clip, and then spoke again: “It’s raining.”
It’s raining. Can you not go today, just for today?
The rain is heavy. You’ll get soaked. What if you catch a cold? Being sick is awful. What if you feel wronged and start crying again?
Zhou Nianzhi let out a long “Ah” and muttered, “It always rains when I have to go to work.”
But she kept walking out, only leaving Song Yuli with her back and a single sentence: “It’s okay. I’ll take an umbrella this time.”
The door closed again, and everything returned to normal.
The surroundings were so quiet that even the rain, which had previously been inaudible, was now amplified, its incessant dripping annoying Song Yuli.
She sat back on the sofa, her hands resting on the armrests, and looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought as she remembered Zhou Nianzhi’s face.
She wondered if she had noticed her little secret—
An outfit identical to the one she wore on her birthday that year.
When Song Yuli found the shirt while moving, she smiled broadly, hugging it tightly, wanting to feel the warmth Zhou Nianzhi had once left behind.
From that day on, Song Yuli decided she would wear this shirt on every birthday, convinced that one day, she would see Zhou Nianzhi again.
Just now, when she heard Meng Jiayin talking to someone in the bathroom, her heart had instantly sped up. She felt that the person she had hoped to see on her birthday had finally appeared before her again.
The thought that she had even brought a cake for her melted Song Yuli’s heart.
To avoid letting Zhou Nianzhi notice anything, Song Yuli had deliberately turned her back to look for things, afraid to make eye contact, fearing her true feelings would escape through her eyes.
She had finally found the hair clip, and her emotions were somewhat stable. She was ready to spend some time with her.
But she had to leave again.
Really.
She couldn’t even stay to eat some cake before she left.
Song Yuli turned to look at the little heartbroken bear on the cake. She thought, how wonderful would it be if she could see her again…
Just then, the doorbell rang.
One ring after another, urging her to open the door.