Unable to Fall in Love Syndrome - Chapter 26

Chapter 26 – Sunny Side Up Fairy Tale 05

Guo Fei wouldn’t let Jian Shizhang have any contact with Wenwen, but behind the scenes, he had already lined up a doctor for her. Though Jian Shizhang was Wenwen’s father, his bone marrow wasn’t a match, and they were still searching for a suitable donor.

That day, as Jian Shizhang left the hospital, Qiao Shan stopped him in the parking lot.

The girl was lugging a massive backpack, dressed in a short-sleeved top and shorts, with a baseball cap on her head. Panting heavily, she asked, “Mr. Jian, can we have a chat?”

June’s weather was brutally hot. Jian Shizhang eyed the girl drenched in fine sweat, opened his car door, and invited her in. “Let’s talk inside the car.”

Qiao Shan slid into the passenger seat. Ever the gentleman, Jian Shizhang unscrewed a bottle of iced drink he’d just bought for her—the ice cubes hadn’t fully melted yet.

She took a couple of sips, the chill refreshing her from head to toe. Cutting straight to the chase, she said, “Mr. Jian, originally, the last time at Ying Shi Xuan, I was trying to set you up with Miss Guo Fei. Zuo Yi and I had no idea you two already knew each other. Um, here’s the thing: I have a client who asked me to play matchmaker for you two. She really hopes you can reignite that old spark.”

Jian Shizhang frowned in confusion. “Your client?”

Qiao Shan didn’t reveal who it was. Instead, she unzipped her huge backpack, pulled out a thick stack of documents, and handed them over. “Mr. Jian, this is everything I dug up on Miss Guo Fei’s life from six years ago. You know she came from a well-to-do family—the pampered little princess at home. She was dead set on having Wenwen and cut ties with her family back then. After you left, she dropped out of school with no money, pregnant with Wenwen, and started tutoring to get by. Then, after giving birth, her body was so weak, her limbs all swollen up—she couldn’t even play the piano anymore. So she ended up doing… well, things like washing dishes and picking through trash.”

Jian Shizhang’s expression grew complicated. He let out a cold laugh. “Miss Qiao, I trusted you because of Mr. Zuo, but I didn’t expect you’d spin such an over-the-top tale.” He tossed the hefty stack back at her. “You can go now. There’s no chance for me and her.”

Qiao Shan blinked, looking at him in disbelief. “Just because Miss Guo Fei turned you down once or twice? You’re really giving up?”

Jian Shizhang replied, “What else is there? We each have our own lives now. Wenwen’s my daughter—I won’t abandon her. I’ll get her the best doctors, and I’ll find that bone marrow match for her.”

Qiao Shan chuckled. “Heh, Jian Shizhang, I thought you were the hopelessly devoted type. Didn’t expect a little bump in the road to make you quit.” She fished out a few photos from the stack. “These were snapped secretly by one of her classmates. The classmate was mocking her for ditching school to scavenge trash on the streets. Hard to believe, right? I thought so too. This was right after she gave birth—she hadn’t even finished her recovery period, and her body was in terrible shape.”

She jabbed at the photo with her finger. “See? She looks all bloated, like some middle-aged lady, doesn’t she? This shot got posted on her school’s forum once: ‘How could Guo Fei, the music department’s star talent, end up like this?’ A lot of people didn’t buy it, but you should be able to tell if it’s really her, right?”

Jian Shizhang’s hands shook as he took the photos and examined them closely.

The woman in the picture looked utterly worn down in a way he’d never seen—her swollen hands digging into a trash bin she’d never deign to touch. Jian Shizhang’s lips quivered. “This… is… her?”

Qiao Shan stayed silent, pulling out another set of documents for him. “Here, these are all the cleaning companies Guo Fei worked for back then.”

Jian Shizhang couldn’t wrap his head around it—the proud girl he knew, rummaging through garbage?

The one who’d once said to him, “Eww, this trash bag’s so gross—I don’t want to touch it. Jian Shi, can you toss it for me?”

The one who’d once told him, “I’ve got a touch of OCD about cleanliness; the house has to be spotless. In summer, the trash bin can’t have even a whiff of odor. The cleaners all think I’m a pain and won’t take my gigs. Jian Shi, can you handle that for me?”

The one who’d once declared to him, “Jian Shi, just so we’re clear, I don’t look down on those ladies who handle trash. But if I ever had to scavenge garbage to survive, I’d rather die, hehe.”

Back then, Guo Fei had linked arms with him proudly. “My Jian Shi won’t be a construction worker forever. My Jian Shi’s going to be a great musician—a really great one!”

That lively, kind-hearted girl with a bit of a princess streak—how could she… how could she have ended up like this?

How could she have truly sunk to picking trash just to get by? She was Guo Fei, after all.

His little princess from back then, Guo Fei…

Over these years, the oceans hadn’t dried up, and the stars still shone in the vast sky.

So what, exactly, had changed?

Qiao Shan snapped him out of his reverie. “It’s not that hard to get, really. Women may be fragile by nature, but motherhood makes them unbreakable.”

Those words struck Jian Shizhang like a sledgehammer to the chest. Yes—women are weak, but fierce as mothers. He finally got it: the Guo Fei of today lived for Wenwen, not the self-centered little princess from before.

For Wenwen, she’d take on the filthiest jobs.

For Wenwen, she’d even shed her princess ways entirely.

A searing, gut-wrenching pain flooded through him. The normally stoic Jian Shizhang couldn’t hold it in anymore—like a child, he slumped over the steering wheel and sobbed.

What he owed her was the rest of his life. The shock in his heart dissolved into profound regret.

During her hardest days, he hadn’t been there for her—yet he’d met her in her brightest moments. It was fate’s cruel twist, its mocking torment, its harshest payback.

Qiao Shan sat there quietly, watching the man cry for a full hour. For a fleeting second, she wondered what Zuo Yi would look like in tears.

Once Jian Shizhang had cried himself out, Qiao Shan reached over and patted his head in consolation. “Stop crying. All the heartache and regret in the world won’t change the past. Better to figure out how to make it right now. Think back—what’s your fondest memory with Guo Fei? If you want to win her over again, you’ve got to go on the offensive.”

Jian Shizhang pondered for a moment. “A piano and erhu duet. She’d play, I’d bow.”

Qiao Shan mused, “Hmm… It’d be perfect if a kid joined in to sing. I’ll set it up.”

Jian Shizhang looked worried. “Will she go for it?”

Qiao Shan replied, “If we ask her, no way. But if my big-shot client asks, she’ll say yes for sure.”

It finally clicked for Jian Shizhang. “Your client is… Wenwen?”

Qiao Shan grinned. “Who else?”

—

Bright and early on the weekend, Qiao Shan hauled Zuo Yi off to the hospital. After a solid week of overtime, the guy was running on fumes. Halfway there, sleep hit him hard while driving. He pulled over to the side, turned to Qiao Shan in the passenger seat, and asked, “Got a driver’s license?”

Qiao Shan shot him a look. “Duh.”

Zuo Yi got out, circled around to open her door, and pointed at the driver’s seat. “You take the wheel.”

Qiao Shan huffed. “You jerk—how do you have the nerve to boss me into being your chauffeur like that?”

Zuo Yi rubbed his temples. “I’ve been in rough shape mentally lately, so for both our sakes, you drive.”

Qiao Shan let out a hum, clambered over to the driver’s side, buckled up, took a deep breath, and turned to the guy now in the passenger seat. “Driving… what’s the first step again?”

Zuo Yi furrowed his brow. “You sure you know how? You really have a license?”

Qiao Shan rubbed her hands together. “Yeah, but I haven’t touched a car since I passed the test. I’m a bit out of practice.”

Zuo Yi leaned back in his seat, eyes closed, and murmured, “Release the handbrake, hit the gas, get going…”

No sooner had he spoken than the car lurched forward. Zuo Yi’s eyes snapped open—he was wide awake now, palms sweating. “You positive we can make it to the hospital in one piece?”

Qiao Shan gripped the wheel with one hand and flashed an OK sign. “Piece of cake!”

The car jolted ahead again, but a few minutes later, she got the feel for it, and things smoothed out. He massaged his temples, tried closing his eyes again, and realized she’d scared every last bit of drowsiness right out of him.

He’d handed over the wheel so he could catch a quick nap, but now sleep was the furthest thing from his mind.

Women were terrifying creatures, no doubt. They could drive a man nuts, make him fall head over heels, or even get him to willingly hop in as a passenger…

Qiao Shan hadn’t driven in ages, and it felt invigorating—she hummed little tunes the whole way. “Once I move out of your complex, I’m thinking of getting a car too. Come shopping with me?”

Zuo Yi asked, “What kind are you eyeing?”

Qiao Shan replied, “Something in the 200,000 to 300,000 range.”

Zuo Yi nodded. “Sure, but no rush on buying. I’ve got an idle one in the garage that’s perfect for women. Want to give it a spin? I can loan it to you.”

Qiao Shan wondered, “How long’s the loan? Nothing beats driving your own.”

Zuo Yi said, “If you want, you can have it on loan for life—no issue.”

Qiao Shan clearly missed the subtext, not grasping the deeper implication. She shook her head. “Nah, I’m not big on borrowing stuff. When you’ve got time, tag along while I buy one—my treat for dinner.”

Zuo Yi lifted a hand, pressing his fingertips to his temples.

Had he not been clear enough? He was basically offering to gift her the car—what more did she need?

Frustrated and bottled up inside, he decided to vent to Ying Shengnan via WeChat. He typed out the whole saga—the broccoli “confession” and the car “confession”—and sent it all to his big brother in one long text.

Ying Shengnan was at the motorcycle track, chatting up some girls, when the message came in. He glanced at the unusually lengthy rant from his normally quiet brother, marveled at it for a second, then read through. Afterward, he hurled his phone to the ground and stomped on it furiously to blow off steam.

Only when the screen was smashed to bits did he turn to the wide-eyed girl beside him, take a deep breath, and hold out his hand. “Mind if I borrow your phone?”

The girl eyed the volatile, aggressive guy warily and handed it over without a word.

Ying Shengnan dialed right away, unleashing a tirade at Zuo Yi. “You little beast—you’re worse than a damn animal! Sharing a roof with the girl and not making a move? Are you an idiot? Ever heard of sealing the deal? Are you even a man? You sub-beast piece of crap! I told you to send flowers, and you went with broccoli? You little beast, I swear I could kill you… I…”

Qiao Shan picked up and got an earful of Ying Shengnan’s rant. Holding back her fury, she cut him off. “Bro—oh, wait, Mr. Ying, this isn’t Zuo Yi. It’s Qiao Shan. He’s in the bathroom.”

“…”

A deep inhale from the other end, and the tone flipped instantly. “Ah… Qiao, sis…”

Qiao Shan steamrolled right over him. “Ying Shengnan! You’re the real beast here! You old beast! Trying to drag Zuo Yi down with you? Pfft! Old beast! I totally had you pegged wrong! Bye! See ya never!”

She hung up, and there was Zuo Yi, standing right behind her. She walked over, handed back the phone, and gave his shoulder a heavy, sympathetic pat. “I finally get why you sent me broccoli.”

Zuo Yi went, “Hm?”

Qiao Shan said, “Good on you for ignoring that old beast Ying Shengnan. Zuo Yi, it’s only today that I see you’re one of those rare good guys—rising above the muck without a stain. You’ve got my respect.”

Zuo Yi: “…”

—Heh.