Little Fish and Mint - Chapter 6
Xu Yitong stared, stunned, for a long moment.
She reread the two words, her breath catching, wondering if she was hallucinating.
Every message she’d sent Yu Ge had vanished into the void. She hadn’t expected a reply tonight, but a sliver of hope remained… surely he’d return her umbrella?
But who knew…
Her heart pounded as she stared at her phone. She snapped a screenshot and sent it to her group chat for advice.
Happy Zhenzhen: [[image] How do I reply?! Help!]
Happy Zhenzhen: [Guys, hurry! It’s urgent! I’m dizzy!!!]
Planting Cai: […]
Planting Cai: [Did Pinduoduo finally get to you?]
Happy Zhenzhen: [?]
CC: [It’s two words. Reply however. Never talked to a guy before?]
Damn it.
Xu Yitong decided to handle it herself.
She paced, trying to calm down. After careful consideration, she replied:
[I checked the schedule. You play TG next Thursday, right? I’ll be there. Can you bring the umbrella?]
Three minutes later.
Little Fish: [Okay]
Aaaaahhhh!!
She reread his second reply countless times.
Xu Yitong rolled around on her bed, hugging her teddy bear, ecstatic.
✧✧✧
After the rain, a heatwave hit Shanghai.
Preparing for their next meeting, Xu Yitong took her parents shopping. She and Chen Bolan shopped while Xu Mingyi paid.
During dinner, Chen Bolan asked, “Zhenzhen, what have you been up to? Haven’t seen you in a month.”
Xu Yitong put down her chopsticks, excited. “Mom, remember CC’s craft store?”
“Yes. Why?”
“It’s doing well. She’s opening another branch. I’m thinking of investing and becoming her partner.”
“Oh, a partner,” Xu Mingyi chuckled, his tone ambiguous.
“What’s so funny? I am her partner!” Xu Yitong said, annoyed.
Chen Bolan glared at her husband, then patted Xu Yitong’s cheek. “Ignore him, baby. Tell me more about this craft store.”
Xu Yitong explained, “It’s a place for couples. They can make rings, pendants, paint… It’s trendy. A dating show even filmed there.”
“Sounds nice!” Chen Bolan approved.
Encouraged, Xu Yitong declared, “I’m definitely making money this time!”
Her past failed businesses were just flukes.
“Where’s the new store going? Need any help from Mom?”
“We’re still looking. It has to be a good location…”
“Whenever Xiao Xu thinks, God laughs,” Xu Mingyi quipped.
Annoyed, she retorted, “Just you wait, Xu Mingyi! When I’m rich, I won’t support you!”
“Just don’t waste my money, and I’ll be fine.”
Her phone rang. “Hello?!” she answered impatiently.
“Tongtong, oh my god, guess who I saw?” Moli whispered excitedly.
“Zhao Benshan?”
“Seriously?” Moli was speechless.
“Then who?” Xu Yitong wasn’t in the mood. “Isn’t he your favorite?”
Moli paused. “It’s your favorite.”
“Song Dandan?”
…
Xu Yitong jumped up, grabbing her keys. She ran, then realized she’d forgotten her bag. Rushing back, she nearly collided with a waiter.
“What’s wrong?! Be careful!” Chen Bolan exclaimed. “Where are you going? You haven’t eaten!”
“You guys eat! Something came up with a friend!” Xu Yitong called out, waving.
“Drive carefully!”
“I will!”
✧✧✧
It was rush hour in Shanghai. The short drive to the hospital took over an hour.
She parked and raced up to the fourth floor.
She paused at the fire exit.
Why the pediatric ward?
“Can I help you?” the nurse asked.
“I…” Xu Yitong panted, looking around.
“Over here!” Moli waved.
Xu Yitong rushed over. “What’s wrong? Is Yu Ge okay?”
“Keep your voice down,” Moli said. “He’s fine. Come here.”
“Then why the dramatic phone call?”
“It was dramatic!” Moli led her down a corridor. “My nephew has a fever. My brother’s away, so I’m here with my sister-in-law. And guess what?”
Xu Yitong stopped, horrified. “Yu Ge has a secret love child?”
Moli rolled her eyes.
She pulled Xu Yitong to a corner, hiding behind a plant. “Look.”
At the other end of the corridor, a crowd was divided into two groups. A heavyset man paced anxiously between them.
On one side, a distraught woman was being supported by others. A child cried shrilly, complaining of pain.
On the other side, a woman in a black dress sat quietly, her face pale. Yu Ge, in a black shirt and pants, sat beside her, both silent.
“Isn’t that Yu Nuo?” Xu Yitong asked.
“Your cousin’s girlfriend?”
“Yeah!” Xu Yitong wanted to message Chen Yuzheng, but he still hadn’t replied to her last message. She decided to ignore him.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.”
Suddenly, the situation escalated.
The distraught woman shrieked, pointing at Yu Nuo. “An accident?! You call that an accident?! Couldn’t you have spoken to him nicely?! He’s just a child! What does he understand?!”
Her voice carried, a mix of Mandarin and Shanghainese dialect, interspersed with insults.
Xu Yitong, enraged, yelled back in Shanghainese, “Did you eat sh1t for breakfast?! Such foul language!”
“Calm down!” Moli grabbed her arm. Having grown up in Beijing and studied abroad, she didn’t understand Shanghainese. “What are you saying?”
“I told that woman she has a shitty mouth!”
“It’s a family matter,” Moli said, trying to calm her.
Nurses intervened.
Yu Ge stepped forward, shielding Yu Nuo.
The woman, Sun Erlan, shrieked hysterically, “If anything happens to my son, you’ll pay!”
Yu Ge scoffed, as if hearing a joke.
“Interesting,” he murmured, a flicker of amusement on his lips.
Sun Erlan trembled, trying to push him, but he didn’t budge.
“If anything happens to your son, it’ll be because of your own curse,” he said calmly, startling her.
He continued, his voice clear and slow, “You think you have the power to ruin my sister’s life?”
Enraged and shocked, she raised her hand to slap him.
He blocked her, his face cold. “Don’t test me. I have a temper too.”
Yu Jiang, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward to restrain Sun Erlan. “Do you even respect me, your father?! How dare you speak to your aunt like that?! She’s your elder! Show some respect!”
Yu Ge scoffed. “Respect her?”
“Oh my god… they’re family,” Moli gasped, stunned.
Xu Yitong was also bewildered.
She stared at Yu Ge.
In this chaotic scene, he faced his own family like enemies, yet remained calm and composed.
Ironically, many people had told her Yu Ge was popular, well-loved, which explained his aloofness.
But today, she realized it wasn’t true.
✧✧✧
That night, rain fell again in Shanghai.
Leaving the hospital, Xu Yitong sat in her car, slowly fastening her seatbelt, lost in thought.
She and Moli had watched the siblings leave. She knew she wasn’t close enough to Yu Ge to offer comfort.
After much thought, she messaged Chen Yuzheng, explaining what happened.
Back home, she couldn’t sleep.
Exhausted but wide awake, she tossed and turned. When her WeChat chimed, she grabbed her phone.
Squinting at the bright screen, she saw Chen Yuzheng’s belated reply:
Conquer: [I’m with her.]
She checked the time.
6:45 AM.
He’d been with her all night?
Xu Yitong was worried. Chen Yuzheng was only nineteen… These kids…
Resisting the urge to lecture him, she asked: [What happened?]
Conquer: [Her grandmother passed away.]
Xu Yitong froze.
It had rained all night. Her room, shrouded by thick curtains, was dark. She lay back, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
The image of Yu Ge, alone and eating cookies by the convenience store, flashed in her mind.
She suddenly understood.
He’d been grieving.
If it were me, she thought, I’d want the world to know if I was hurting. She knew she was surrounded by love, a constant source of comfort.
Why was Yu Ge alone in his sadness?
He wasn’t lacking in love.
A pang of sympathy hit her.
For the first time, she thought…
Perhaps Little Fish was a very lonely little fish.