Unbearable - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: “The Matching One With Me?”

 

When Yu Wei picked up Cheng Miao, Cheng Miao was still fuming over the unfair scoring of the competition. She ranted all the way as she followed Yu Wei into the residential complex.

 

Snow came with the cold wind, and Cheng Miao shrank into her coat, suddenly stopping in her tracks. She tugged on Yu Wei’s sleeve. “Wait a sec, why’d you move here? Is this your relative’s place? It’s not really proper for me to show up empty-handed, is it? I was too busy venting and forgot to buy fruit. Is there a supermarket nearby?”

 

Yu Wei quickly grabbed her arm. “No need, it’s not my relative’s house.”

 

They reached the elevator, and only then did Yu Wei realize she hadn’t asked for the door code. She hurriedly called Ding Qing.

 

Cheng Miao listened beside her, eyes growing wider by the second. “This is your place?”

 

Yu Wei instinctively shook her head. “No.” But as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt something was off and softly added, “It’s my mom’s.”

 

Cheng Miao’s eyes grew even wider. She looked up sharply, shaking snow from the furry hood of her coat. “Your mom has another home out here?”

 

Her voice trembled with shock.

 

That phrasing sounded a bit ambiguous, but then again, the place where Yu Wei usually lived probably didn’t count as “home” to Ding Qing. Yu Wei honestly didn’t know how many properties Ding Qing owned or which one she actually considered home. After thinking it over, she could only explain, “It’s just one of her properties.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Cheng Miao’s family had a lot of real estate too, and she knew the place Yu Wei usually stayed at used to be a prime-location villa. But she had rarely seen Yu Wei’s parents, and that villa had fallen into such disrepair that she once suspected her parents’ business had failed—maybe they even owed people money—which was why they’d been away for so long.

 

She hadn’t expected them to have other properties.

 

Yu Wei smiled helplessly, not sure how to respond.

 

The elevator dinged. The two stepped out, shrugged off their heavy coats, and Yu Wei knocked on the door.

 

“Cheng Miao’s here to see you,” Yu Wei said softly.

 

“Just come in. I can’t get the door.”

 

Yu Wei led Cheng Miao in. The moment they stepped to the bedside, their eyes fell in unison on her swollen ankle, still pierced with long, slender acupuncture needles.

 

Cheng Miao gasped, her eyes instantly reddening. “It’s this bad?!”

 

The room light cast reflections on the ends of the needles, making the bruises and swelling around the ankle look even more alarming.

 

Yu Wei stared at it, her mind flashing back to every moment Yu Wei had on the ice, trying to figure out which movement caused the injury. Her eyes stung with heat, and she turned her head away, gaze drifting out the window.

 

“It just looks bad—it’s really not. The ligaments and bones weren’t damaged.” Yu Wei quickly said, her eyes locked on Yu Wei, softening her tone. “Really, it’s fine.”

 

Yu Wei glanced sideways at the bruised ankle.

 

It twitched slightly, making the needles glint.

 

“Don’t move.”

 

Yu Wei raised her voice, then softened it again. “You’ve still got needles in.”

 

Yu Wei stopped moving, just watching Yu Wei’s slightly misty eyes, regretting ever thinking about milking the injury for sympathy.

 

Yu Wei actually cared about her.

 

Cheng Miao fumbled through her bag and pulled out a small gift pouch, handing it to Yu Wei. “A bunch of little trinkets I collected from all sorts of skating fans. See if there’s anything you like.”

 

Yu Wei took the pouch, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. “Thanks.”

 

Cheng Miao waved it off. “No need, no need. Every skating fan does this. But just to be clear—here, you’re my Fish Boss, I’m a fan. Once we’re back, we’re classmates and friends. Let’s keep the boundaries clear and hold that moral line, got it?”

 

Yu Wei was amused and smiled. As she accepted the pouch, her eyes unintentionally caught sight of the acrylic ring on Cheng Miao’s finger, and her expression twitched.

 

Noticing her gaze, Cheng Miao gave the ring a spin with her finger. The ring face twirled rapidly. She held it out to Yu Wei, showing it off. “Isn’t it cool? But I’m not giving you this—it’s a one-of-a-kind limited edition!”

 

Yu Wei’s lips twitched again. Good thing it was limited.

 

She quietly placed the pouch on her bedside table. Her gaze then drifted to Cheng Miao’s wrist—where she wore a wooden bead bracelet identical to the one on Yu Wei’s wrist.

 

And identical to the one on her own wrist.

 

Yu Wei’s heart sank. Her fingers unconsciously gripped the edge of the blanket.

 

“This bracelet used to be super lucky. Why didn’t it work today?” Cheng Miao shook her wrist. The wooden beads clinked lightly. “I even got Xiao Wei to wear hers—thought it might boost her aura. And still… ugh, I’m so mad my chest hurts.”

 

Yu Wei’s face visibly darkened, her voice dry. “The bracelet… you and Yu Wei?”

 

Clueless to her shift in tone, Cheng Miao cheerfully explained, “We bought them when I took her to the temple—one for each of us. Besties wear matching stuff!”

 

Suddenly, a thought struck her. “Hey, how about I get one for you too when we go back? Though honestly, it’d be better if you go in person—works better that way. The temple used to be so effective. No idea what happened this time.”

 

Yu Wei opened her mouth, wanting to say that Yu Wei had already visited that temple. She and her grandma were frequent visitors. The bracelet she’d bought Yu Wei had also come from that temple—and she’d copied the matching-accessory trick straight from Cheng Miao. Everything she’d learned about making friends, she’d learned from Cheng Miao. Only… the outcomes were different.

 

At that moment, the sound of the elevator echoed from outside. Yu Wei stood up. “I’ll go check.”

 

She opened the door and found Ding Qing returning, her hands full of snacks, fruit, and vegetables.

 

Yu Wei was surprised. “Mom.”

 

Cheng Miao followed and politely greeted, “Auntie.”

 

“You two hang out. I’ll go unpack these,” Ding Qing said with a smile and carried everything to the kitchen.

 

Yu Wei followed, watching as Ding Qing put vegetables into the fridge one by one.

 

The fridge was nearly empty. As she worked, Ding Qing said, “We don’t usually stay here, so there’s not much. I bought strawberries. Your friend’s not allergic, right?”

 

Yu Wei shook her head and watched as Ding Qing took out a container of strawberries and rinsed them under the faucet.

 

The sound of running water and the hum of the heater filled the space. Ding Qing’s voice blended in. “I also bought some frozen pears—they’re a local specialty. You probably haven’t tried them.”

 

Outside, snow was falling. The atmosphere felt warm and domestic.

 

Yu Wei stared at her back in a daze for a while before snapping out of it. “No, I haven’t.”

 

She walked over and took the rinsed strawberries from her mother.

 

The strawberries were bright red, beads of water sliding down their skin, exuding a sweet fragrance.

 

“Thanks, Mom,” Yu Wei said softly.

 

Ding Qing didn’t turn around. She shut off the tap and grabbed a paper towel to dry her hands. “No need to thank me. Go on.”

 

Yu Wei carried the fruit platter to the kitchen door but couldn’t help glancing back. Ding Qing had just turned around. Maybe it was from the cold wind outside, but her eyes looked slightly red.

 

“Have your friend stay for dinner. I just cleaned the guest rooms today,” she added after a pause. “And we’ll go watch the competition together tomorrow.”

 

“Tomorrow?” Yu Wei frowned. “Her ankle’s that swollen and she still has to compete tomorrow?”

 

Ding Qing smiled, her tone carrying a mix of helplessness and understanding. “I have a feeling she’ll go. You can ask her yourself.”

 

Yu Wei brought the strawberries back to the room. Cheng Miao was happily showing Yu Wei the pictures she’d taken, swiping through them on her phone.

 

“This one’s a shame—too far away and the resolution sucks,” Cheng Miao said, disappointment clear in her voice.

 

Yu Wei looked disinterested, her gaze drifting as she stared at the person in the photo. Her lips pressed into a thin line.

 

Yu Wei handed over the fruit, catching a glimpse of the screen. The photo had been taken from the opposite side of the rink, showing the two of them sitting side by side. She was wrapped up tightly with only her eyes showing, while Yu Wei leaned toward her slightly.

 

They looked close—familiar and intimate.

 

Cheng Miao grabbed a strawberry and shook her head. “Our Xiao Wei’s just too shy. Otherwise, people would know what real ‘Twin Beauties’ look like!”

 

That idiom… was bold.

 

Yu Wei leaned against the side and picked up a strawberry, wanting to hand it to Yu Wei. Then she remembered that if Yu Wei planned to compete tomorrow, she probably wouldn’t eat.

 

“For the free skate tomorrow—are you still going?” Yu Wei pulled her hand back and asked.

 

Yu Wei’s eyes fell to her hand, then dropped. “I am.”

 

Yu Wei looked at her ankle. “There’s no other option?”

 

“There is no other option.” Yu Wei’s dull expression sharpened with quiet resolve. “There’s only one path for me.”

 

Yu Wei turned to Cheng Miao, hoping the weighty fan might offer some words of reason. But Cheng Miao didn’t even look up. She finished her strawberry and quickly changed the subject. “Hey, let me tell you a secret—those support banners and photo cards I gave you? Guess who drew them?”

 

Yu Wei: “…”

 

Don’t ask.

 

It’s not a secret anymore.

 

Yu Wei looked up at Yu Wei.

 

Yu Wei lowered her voice. “It was me. Don’t say anything.”

 

The fewer people who knew, the better.

 

“I need some peace.”

 

Yu Wei lay back, eyes to the ceiling.

 

She was processing something Yu Wei had told her before—something she hadn’t believed, brushing it off as Yu Wei being too shy. She’d thought the bracelet meant Yu Wei liked her too. The drawings were more proof. She had clung to so many “signs,” convinced that even though Yu Wei had rejected her, it was only because of external reasons—status, fear, whatever.

 

She’d never imagined that it was all one-sided.

 

She wanted to die.

 

A failed competition. Unfair scores. The things her mother had said. All this, and these people she was with weren’t even family—just acquaintances of less than six months.

 

Barely into her teens, and she already had to bear so much.

 

Yu Wei sighed inwardly. She gently pulled a corner of the blanket over Yu Wei’s stomach.

 

Just as she was about to let go, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

 

Yu Wei pressed her fingers to the bracelet on Yu Wei’s wrist. After a long silence, she mumbled, “You’re wearing the one Cheng Miao gave you?”

 

“No.”

 

Yu Wei replied.

 

The one from Cheng Miao was in a drawer in her room. This one was bought together with the one she gave Yu Wei. She’d just worn it so often that she hadn’t changed it out.

 

Yu Wei’s wrist was now bare.

 

It hit her.

 

Yu Wei looked down at her.

 

Yu Wei was still gripping her hand, her eyes filled with unspoken hope. “Is this the matching one with me?”

 

Well, not exactly a pair—the temple sold a whole case of identical wooden bead bracelets.

 

The doorbell rang outside.

 

Probably the doctor, back to remove the needles.

 

“…Yeah. That one,” Yu Wei said.

 

She pulled her hand free, not daring to look into Yu Wei’s eyes—and ran.

 

Ding Qing thought she was hurrying to open the door. She smiled and handed her a plate of sliced frozen pear. “I’ll get the door. You go have fun with your friend.”

 

Yu Wei’s heart was pounding wildly as she took the plate and set it on the living room table.

 

Cheng Miao mouthed to her: Who is it?

 

Yu Wei mouthed back: Doctor.

 

Just then, the old doctor arrived with Doctor Jia and headed into the bedroom.

 

Cheng Miao tugged on Yu Wei’s sleeve. “Let’s go watch too.”

 

“I’m not going.” Yu Wei pulled away and even took a step back. “She’s still going to compete tomorrow. That means the injury’s not that bad. Nothing to see.”

 

She couldn’t go now. If she walked in, Yu Wei would just look at her—and that would give everything away.

 

“She’s used to it. Skating with injuries isn’t new to her. She’s had worse.”

 

Cheng Miao didn’t go in either. She picked up a frozen pear slice and bit into it, her mouth full of juice, breath hissing from the cold. “First time eating frozen pear that hasn’t thawed. It’s like eating ice. So intense.”