Fever Break - Chapter 12

Lu Wuke has lived in this area for seven or eight years.

At the intersection stands a weathered utility pole, yellowed from years of sun and rain, with loose wires hanging above.

The alley here is very narrow, too tight for cars to pass through, and on both sides are old six-story residential buildings that block most of the sunlight. Someone’s clothes are hanging on the balcony, continuously dripping water.

Lu Wuke carefully steps around the puddles and heads home.

She carries a heavy suitcase up three flights of stairs, her chest slightly rising and falling, and stands at the door to catch her breath for a moment.

After a while, she takes out her key to unlock the door. When she pushes it open, her grandmother, Zhao Jinjun, is in the living room sorting vegetables, the television blaring loudly, where an argument is raging between a grandmother and her daughter-in-law.

Zhao Jinjun glances at her, expressionless, and then looks away.

Still angry, it seems.

Lu Wuke hangs her keys on the wall and calls out, “Grandma.”

Zhao Jinjun ignores her, continuing to pick vegetables.

Lu Wuke stops calling her, pushes her suitcase into the room, and heads to the kitchen to pour two glasses of water. When she turns around, she accidentally bumps into the frying pan, and her finger gets burned, causing her to flinch and drop the glass, shattering it on the floor.

Sure enough, the noise catches the old lady’s attention, and she immediately drops the vegetables and rushes into the kitchen, her tone anxious: “What happened?”

Lu Wuke is not someone who doesn’t know how to act cute, the old lady said that she has been the best at it in the family since she was little.

Just like now, she is quietly looking at her grandmother with her big, watery eyes.

“I burned my hand.”

Seeing her granddaughter like this, Zhao Jinjun couldn’t possibly stay angry; her heart ached instead. She took her hand and said, “How could you be so careless? Let Grandma take a look quickly.”

Lu Wuke extended her hand generously for her to see, and Zhao Jinjun squinted her old eyes to take a closer look. “Oh dear, it’s all red from the burn.”

Every little bump or bruise on her granddaughter made the old lady’s heart ache. She hurriedly turned on the faucet, took Lu Wuke’s hand, and held it under the water.

Seeing her grandmother’s anxious expression, Lu Wuke couldn’t help but tease, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t care about me anymore?”

The old lady never expected that she would still remember this. She patted her arm, “You little rascal, only remembering that, huh? Your hand still hurts, and how can I be thinking about settling scores with you, my dear.”

Lu Wuke laughed with her eyes squinted in delight.

Zhao Jinjun, seeing her granddaughter smile, felt good too and teased her: “Look at your delicate skin and soft flesh, that mouth of yours is quite impressive.”

She tapped Lu Wuke’s nose: “You little grudge-holder.”

Lu Wuke replied, “I learned it from you.”

Zhao Jinjun pretended to glare at her: “Oh please, you don’t resemble me at all. Every day, I wonder what nonsense is going on in that head of yours.”

She patted Lu Wuke’s hand, which was under running water: “This delicate skin and tender flesh is just not like me. Even if your grandma doesn’t sunbathe outside every day, it still wouldn’t turn out like you.”

It was unclear where this remark struck Lu Wuke, but the light in her eyes dimmed.

The old lady, having aged, didn’t think as clearly as before. Sometimes her words came out without a filter, and by the time she realized she had let something slip, it was too late to take it back.

She scolded herself and slapped her own mouth, “Look at my big mouth.”

But Lu Wuke felt as if she had just been through a moment of illusion, like a person who had lost their way.

She pressed her lips together and said, “Grandma, I’m hungry.”

“Did you steam something for me in the pot just now?”

Zhao Jinjun knew that her obedient granddaughter was giving her an out: “Oh right, look at my head, really getting old and useless. You hurry up and find some burn ointment to apply, and Grandma will bring out the buns for you.”

Once Lu Wuke left, the old lady, feeling frustrated, slapped her own mouth a few times in the kitchen.

“This mouth really has no sense of restraint.”

=

Wang Jiandong had been away from home for ten days to half a month. He had no wife or children, and once he left, there was no one to clean the house. Surprisingly, the place hadn’t gathered any dust.

As soon as he entered, he opened the windows for ventilation: “If this place were empty for a year and a half, I could just move in without needing to tidy up.”

Shen Yixi brushed aside the dirty clothes on the sofa, glanced around the room, and sat down with his legs crossed.

“Although this isn’t exactly a prime location, living here isn’t bad. There are no polluting factories around, and the air feels nice to breathe—”

He was suddenly interrupted by Shen Yixi, who asked while crossing his legs, “Does your landlord still rent out this place?”

Wang Jiandong was taken aback; he hadn’t expected him to think of that. His tongue nearly stumbled: “W-what?”

Shen Yixi leisurely sat on the sofa.

Wang Jiandong asked, “Are you serious?”

Shen Yixi shot him a glance and chuckled, “Just kidding.”

Wang Jiandong finally realized that this young master was just joking, and only someone with a brain full of bubbles would believe him.

How could anyone possibly choose to live in such a rundown place when they had perfectly good houses elsewhere?

He asked Shen Yixi if he wanted some water.

Shen Yixi waved his hand, got up, and went to the balcony window, pulling out a cigarette from the pack and putting it in his mouth: “I really want to smoke one.”

He tossed a cigarette to Wang Jiandong, who caught it.

Seeing him glance out the window, Wang Jiandong followed his gaze and said, “That’s Old Lu’s place.”

This area had only a small patch of houses, but the ventilation was decent, with a mosquito screen door opening onto a small balcony.

Inside, the sound of the television mixed with people’s voices, likely someone calling out what to eat.

Through the mosquito net door, Shen Yixi saw the wall covered with certificates.

Big and small, the wall was filled to the brim, with some already faded. Judging by the pile of certificates, they must be at least ten years old, starting from her kindergarten days.

Shen Yixi chuckled softly, holding a cigarette and nodding towards that direction: “Whom are these?”

“What?”

“Those yellow and red things.”

Wang Jiandong never expected anyone would be interested in those items. He stared at them for a while before realizing he was talking about the certificates.

“Oh, that one? It must be Old Lu’s daughter. Their family only has this one daughter, and her grandmother treats her like a treasure. I bet all of this was posted by her grandmother,” Wang Jiandong said.”I heard this child is quite the scholar, always coming first in her studies since she was little, making her grandmother proud. She can even move a chair to sit with the neighbors and brag about their child for half a day.”

For some reason, Shen Yixi suddenly thought of that fair, clean little face, and how she held the cigarette that day, even though she didn’t actually take a puff.

He let out a laugh.

Wang Jiandong was puzzled: “What are you laughing at?”

Shen Yixi didn’t even light the cigarette in his mouth; he just held it between his lips playfully.

He shifted his gaze away from the wall of awards, took the cigarette out, and casually tossed it into a nearby pot, speaking lazily, “Why don’t you go look around the other rooms?”

=

The old lady had a bad temper, but when it came to cooking, she was patient and made excellent dishes.

Although Lu Wuke didn’t say anything, she was actually very happy that the old lady had spent two hours preparing a big feast.

Lu Wuke was sitting on the sofa playing with a puzzle when the old lady called from the kitchen, “Meimei, wash your hands; it’s time to eat.”

Lu Wuke’s nickname was “Meimei,” and her family had called her that since she was little.

She set aside the puzzle and got up to go to the kitchen.

The old lady was washing the frying pan at the sink and, hearing her tidying up the dishes, said, “Don’t set up for your dad; he might not even come tonight.”

Lu Wuke only set away two sets of dishes.

During dinner, the grandmother kept piling meat onto her plate: “Eat more; look at how thin your face has become.”

“I’m not thin,” Lu Wuke replied, “I’m still the same weight.”

The old lady didn’t care about weight; she kept adding food to her rice: “If I say you’re thin, then you’re thin. Just look at those little arms and legs; it’s obvious you hardly have any meat on them. How could you not be losing weight?”

The older generation is particularly insistent on making sure children eat more, regardless of whether you’ve gained or lost weight. That mindset is simply impossible to change.

This old lady is more stubborn than anyone else; no one can sway her. Lu Wuke just focused on eating the food she served her, and it made her ears a lot quieter.

Halfway through the meal, Lu Zhiyuan came in, his unshaven face clearly showing he had been back to his old gambling ways and lost money again.

The room wasn’t very big, and as soon as Lu Zhiyuan entered and took off his shoes, he spotted Lu Wuke eating in the kitchen.

“Oh,” he said with a sarcastic tone, “finally willing to go home, huh?”

It was obvious he had lost money gambling and was just venting his frustration on anyone.

Lu Wuke hadn’t even bothered to check on him.

Seeing her son’s attitude towards her granddaughter, the old lady got angry too. She pointed her chopsticks at him: “Your daughter is going to university, and she’s studying English every day. Who do you think you are, just throwing money around and idling away your time without doing anything serious?”

Once the old lady started her rant, it was bound to go on forever. Lu Zhiyuan, who was taking off his coat by the sofa, quickly compromised: “Alright, alright, Mom, you’re right.”

He went into the kitchen, pulled out a chair opposite Lu Wuke, and kicked her foot under the table: “Go serve your dad some rice.”

Lu Wuke silently looked up at him and said, “Go by yourself.”

Lu Zhiyuan let out a hiss, “So your wings have hardened, huh? What’s wrong with your dad asking you to serve some food?”

“Alright, alright,” the old lady interrupted them, “Just eat your meal properly. Why do you two always act like fire and water when you meet? They say there’s no overnight feud between a father and daughter, but I don’t see any feud here; you’re just arguing every day.”

She got up to serve Lu Zhiyuan some rice.

Lu Wuke silently ate her meal, while Lu Zhiyuan, still fuming, said to her, “You’ve read the books right up your backside*.”

The old lady serving rice over there protected her granddaughter, saying, “You should say a little less.”

After finishing his meal, Lu Wuke returned to his room and completed all the assignments the teacher had left for the holiday.

The old lady finished her housework and brought her a cup of milk, telling her to drink it while it’s hot and not to tire herself too much. After saying that, she went out.

University assignments are relatively easier compared to high school, and with a few subjects, it doesn’t take up too much time.

After finishing her homework and coming out of the room, the old lady was still in the living room watching TV. It was already past ten o’clock, and elderly people can’t handle too much strain. Normally, she would have gone to bed early, so it was clear that she was waiting for her.

Lu Zhiyuan had long disappeared, and that person had come to grab a bite to eat, setting down the bowl and heading out to gamble again, leaving just the two of them in the house.

Zhao Jinjun was worried that she was learning too late, so she stayed here to keep an eye on her. When she saw her come out, she urged her to hurry and take a shower to avoid catching a chill. After giving these reminders, she yawned and went to her room to sleep.

In this small town, it became eerily quiet early in the evening. The building where Lu Wuka lived was right by the road, and at this hour, there were hardly any people on the street.

The night was still, and the moon was cool.

Occasionally, a car would pass by below, its headlights drawing closer and then fading away.

The only sound in the house was the water running from the bathroom.

Lu Wuka took a shower for half an hour and came out with wet hair.

She wore a thigh-length slip dress, the straps loosely hanging on her slender shoulders.

She slipped on some indoor shoes and went to her room to hang up her clothes. The light in her room had been turned off when she left, leaving it pitch black.

She turned on the bedside lamp, casting a dim yellow light in the corner of the room.

Lu Wuke held her clothes and walked towards the small balcony.

The sliding door to the balcony was half open, and at this hour, there were still people outside smoking, the faint smell of smoke mingling with a man’s voice on the phone.

His voice soaked in the night, like a glass of wine.

Low, hoarse from too much smoking, with a lazy tone.

This voice was not unfamiliar to Lu Wuke; the main thing was that it was coming from across the way.

She paused in her steps and looked out towards the opposite balcony.

The door to the balcony in the opposite room was open, and the lights were off, leaving it in complete darkness.

But in the dim light of the night, Lu Wuke could still make out the figure about three or four meters away.

Shen Yixi sat on the bed with his legs spread wide, holding his phone to his ear, one arm propped behind him.

He had a cigarette clenched between his lips, the faint red glow flickering in the darkness.

His eyelids were lifted, creating a deep crease, and he noticed her too.

In the chaotic slumber of the boundary, Lu Wuke met his gaze.

He didn’t look away, his eyes fixed intently on her.

Water droplets fell from the tips of Lu Wuke’s hair, the coolness trickling down her skin, dampening the fabric on her back.

She lowered her gaze and continued to carry her clothes towards the balcony.

That person’s gaze felt direct.

She could sense his eyes lingering on her.

1. 1. I don’t know what suitable English equivalence of this sentence. “書都給讀進屁股䋢䗙了”. it literally means “All the books have been read into the wrinkles of the buttocks.” ¯⁠⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

T/N; thank you for reading!