PatPat-Chap87

Floor 18 of Jiangcheng Central Building.

The glass door of the recording studio was closed, Yu Zhou couldn’t enter without access.

The reception hall was open, but there was no one there. Yu Zhou sat for about fifteen minutes, considering whether or not to call Su Chang, when she heard the elevator doors opening. Su Chang stepped out of the elevator.

She was still tall and slender, exquisitely delicate. Her hair had grown much longer since last year and was tied up.

Behind her was a young girl who looked to be in her early twenties, dressed in a small floral professional-style dress, looking at her phone as she walked.

Su Chang was also busy replying to messages as the two went to the recording studio. The door opened after the girl swiped her face, and Su Chang was about to follow when she heard Yu Zhou calling her from behind: “Su Chang.”

Su Chang turned her head, raising her eyebrows slightly.

Her expression was unreadable, perhaps showing a hint of surprise,, but it quickly disappeared. Then she called out to her, “Zhouzhou.”

She tilted her head to signal her colleague to go in first before walking towards Yu Zhou with her phone in hand, “Why are you here?”

Having not seen Su Chang for two months, Yu Zhou felt like it had been almost two years.

She didn’t expect Su Chang to have this attitude- no deliberate coldness, nor ignoring her, instead gently calling her Zhouzhou.

But her tone wasn’t very pleasant either.

This ambiguous attitude made Yu Zhou feel unsure of how to proceed.

She was a bit nervous and said, “Well, I sent a message to Xiang Wan, but she didn’t reply, so I came to see what she was up to.”

Her heart raced, somewhat exaggeratedly.

“Mmm,” Su Chang glanced at the recording studio, “She should be in there, shall I take you over?”

Oh my god, she didn’t say a single extra word to me. Yu Zhou started to feel nervous inside.

She took a look at Su Chang and observed her expression, there was no sign of frustration, still maintaining a cool and composed look. It was completely different from what she had imagined in the taxi.

Instead, it made her imagine all the more, unable to control herself. She couldn’t help but think, perhaps these things for her, who had never seen the world, were like the weight of Mount Tai. But for Su Chang, who had been in the business for ten years, they were the norm. Yu Zhou wondered, when Su Chang was with her before, was the emotionally well-controlled Su Chang ever truly calm and undisturbed all the time?

“How are you?” She couldn’t help but ask.

“Hmm?” Su Chang raised her eyebrows.

The elevator opened and a colleague came out. Su Chang raised her chin to greet them, then gestured to Yu Zhou to come closer and not to stand in the middle of the elevator entrance.

Yu Zhou took two steps closer and caught a faint whiff of alcohol.

“Uh, have you been drinking?” Yu Zhou frowned.

Su Chang laughed, leaning lazily against the smooth ceramic tiles. “I had a lunch party and drank a little bit.”

“With colleagues,” she added.

“Oh,” Yu Zhou lowered her eyelashes.

“What, you thought I was drowning my sorrows?” Su Chang hooked the corner of her mouth, her words even lazier than her posture.

These words carried a hint of intimacy, but her cold gaze made Yu Zhou feel a sense of distance. Su Chang’s smile did not reach her eyes, as if she was just teasing her past.

“No, I meant your stomach isn’t good, you should drink less if you can,” Yu Zhou said sullenly.

“If I could drink less,” Su Chang laughed, “of course.”

“Let’s go in. Xiang Wan should be almost done,” she said.

Yu Zhou finally realized what felt off. She had imagined many times before that when she and Su Chang finally let go and meet again, Su Chang would talk to her like this, smiling softly without adding anything extra. Given Su Chang’s easygoing nature, she would definitely take things as they come and part on good terms.

She looked too much like the perfect ex-girlfriend.

So, Yu Zhou remained still.

Su Chang also leaned against the wall, watching her and not moving.

Then she glanced down at her phone, thumb pressing the lock button, peeking at the time and pressing it again, letting her hand drop.

This single action made Yu Zhou feel unbearably sad, even though she hadn’t said a word.

It seemed Su Chang treated her no differently than the countless others in this world. She would still patiently wait for Yu Zhou to speak, but her small gestures showed that she was busy and probably didn’t have any extra time for the person in front of her.

Yu Zhou looked up and scratched her nose, saying, “I’ll leave then, I won’t disturb her.”

Her voice was very low, as if coming from her buried chin.

It was then that Su Chang looked at her seriously, her eyelashes falling once more, habitually moistening her lips before saying, “You’re not here to see her.”

You’re here to see me.

This half-sentence remained unsaid.

Her words carried a hint of indifference, making Yu Zhou feel embarrassed. She suddenly remembered the time she had retreated when Su Chang wanted to talk to her in the restroom.

Su Chang’s composure was very good and she hadn’t made any of the evasive actions that Yu Zhou did before.

But it was enough to make her feel uncomfortable.

“I heard from Director Peng that you’ve encountered some problems recently, so I wanted to ask,” she said reluctantly, staring at the floor tiles.

Su Chang furrowed her brows slightly. “Which problem are you talking about?”

She wasn’t quite sure.

“Uh, the one being investigated.” She spoke very softly, afraid that others might hear.

“Oh, that one,” Su Chang laughed, “It’s okay, just assisting in the questioning, I’ve explained it clearly.”

“That’s good.” Yu Zhou said.

“So,” the alcohol made Su Chang’s voice a bit dragging, as she stared at Yu Zhou with half-closed eyes, “you started worrying again, huh?”

With a slight smile, she only lifted the corners of her mouth a bit.

So once again, Yu Zhou’s overly compassionate nature emerged, feeling sorry for her and coming to check on her situation, thinking that she had run into trouble.

Su Chang closed her eyes, then opened them, saying in a soft voice, “It’s all trivial matters, don’t worry.”

Before when she said “don’t worry”, she was actually feeling sorry for Yu Zhou and didn’t want her to worry too much. Now when she said “don’t worry”, it seemed to mean “don’t meddle in my affairs anymore”.

It was a subtle difference, but Yu Zhou caught it. She wasn’t sure if she was just being sensitive, but she felt that there was a difference.

“I didn’t…” Yu Zhou wanted to say that she wasn’t worried, but felt that it wasn’t right to say so. After much thought, she bit her lip and asked, “Then why didn’t you reply to my message?”

I thought you were feeling sad.

Unexpectedly, Su Chang raised her eyebrows and asked, “Did you send me a message?”

As she spoke, she tried to check her phone.

Yu Zhou said, “Well, that happy birthday.”

Su Chang stopped unlocking her phone as she looked up at Yu Zhou. Staring for two seconds, she laughed again, pursuing the corner of her mouth and asking her, “Does ‘happy birthday’ need a reply?”

You wished me happiness, but where is the happiness?

Yu Zhou’s gaze dimmed, looking at Su Chang’s delicate sleeve, she whispered, “That’s right, it doesn’t.”

Su Chang was angry. She knew; the gentler, the angrier.

It seemed like she was angry because Yu Zhou impulsively came looking for her, simply because Su Chang didn’t reply to her birthday wish.

Alright, she also found herself quite impulsive.

She couldn’t stay any longer, saying, “I’m leaving then.”

It felt quite humiliating, so annoying.

She took out her phone, intending to call a cab.

But Su Chang stared at her for two seconds and suddenly reached out to turn off the screen with a faint “click” sound. She softly said, “Stay for dinner.”

Then she withdrew her hand, glanced at Yu Zhou before she straightened her body against the wall, and then walked back into the recording studio.