TIMO - Chapter 27
Chapter 27
“Why did you suddenly wake up?”
Fu Zhao looked at Shi Nan, who seemed to have been startled awake from a nightmare, and pursed her lips. “Do you want some water?”
After she spoke, she watched as Shi Nan stared straight at her without a word. Seeing the panic hidden in Shi Nan’s eyes, Fu Zhao’s own heart couldn’t help but flutter with anxiety. She stood up, intending to get Shi Nan a glass of water, but the next second, her wrist was grabbed. A strong force pulled her, forcing her to bend over.
Then, a scorching hot embrace, sticky with sweat, pressed against her.
A rich, sweet fragrance wafted to her nose. The scent wasn’t heavy; it was faint, lingering around her. It wasn’t strong enough to make her dizzy, but the moment it hit her, her thoughts instantly exploded into a blank slate.
Was it the scent of her hair, perfume, or body wash?
She couldn’t reach a conclusion, because she could feel Shi Nan, who was buried in the crook of her shoulder, breathing rapidly. The warm air sprayed against her neck, slipping through the gap in her collar. It was as if those little butterflies had become active again.
But just as the little butterflies spread their wings, before they could even take flight, they instantly settled back down.
Because Shi Nan was crying.
She just hugged Fu Zhao’s neck tightly, perfectly nestled in the crook of her shoulder, making almost no sound, just holding her quietly.
The only things that weren’t quiet were Shi Nan’s breathing, which was no longer steady, and her chest, which was heaving with emotion.
And the scalding liquid that dripped into the crook of Fu Zhao’s shoulder.
Drop by drop, it fell, scorching and heart-piercing.
She was held so tightly by Shi Nan that there was no space left between them. It even made her own breathing unsteady, and it too became chaotic.
The person in her arms also seemed frighteningly hot.
Breaking out in a cold sweat like that must have been very uncomfortable.
Listening to Shi Nan’s suppressed sobs, Fu Zhao opened her mouth to say something, but she didn’t know what would be appropriate. After a moment’s thought, she raised her right hand and patted Shi Nan’s back soothingly.
Shi Nan was clearly experiencing the lingering fear of a nightmare.
What should she say to alleviate Shi Nan’s fear?
It was probably because of the lingering trauma from the last incident. Even though Shi Nan was unwilling to show it in front of anyone, and acted as if nothing had happened during the day.
“If you’re having nightmares…” Fu Zhao began softly, carefully choosing her words, “it might be because you’ve been under too much stress lately, or it could be that what you went through has had a certain impact on you.”
She trailed off, because it seemed that besides staying with Shi Nan, she had no other way to alleviate the trauma Shi Nan suffered after the kidnapping.
She wasn’t Shi Nan. Even if she could truly empathize with Shi Nan, she couldn’t bear this pain for her.
But if she could bear this pain for Shi Nan, would she be willing?
Fu Zhao asked herself this, and the conclusion she reached was unexpected.
It seemed she was… willing.
The answer surprised even herself, but the surprise was quickly suppressed. Shi Nan’s current state left no room for her to overthink. The heartache welling up inside her was also impossible to ignore.
Perhaps it was because Shi Nan had suffered this kidnapping.
And it was related to her Fu family.
This was something she should have suffered, but now Shi Nan had suffered in her place.
It was only right that she felt guilty.
It was reasonable that she felt heartache, that she wanted to bear this pain for Shi Nan.
It was guilt at play. At least in this matter, it was their family that had wronged Shi Nan.
“But it’s okay. I’ll stay with you until you stop having nightmares, until you forget that incident, until you’re no longer afraid.” After saying this, Fu Zhao let out a soft breath. “I’m not a professional, and I’m not very good at comforting people, but if you’re willing tomorrow, we can find a doctor and have a good talk. Maybe you’ll feel better.”
“I can have the doctor come to the house. If you… are resistant to this and don’t want to talk about it, we can take it slow…”
“It will be okay. Everything will be okay.”
Fu Zhao spoke in a soft, low voice. Her gentle tone sounded exceptionally soft and warm in the quiet night.
Shi Nan hugged Fu Zhao’s neck tightly, and Fu Zhao made no move to resist, only patting her back gently and comforting her in a soft voice.
She had originally thought that after the kidnapping, her nightmares would at least be related to it.
But they weren’t. Whether it was yesterday or now, her nightmares were still about Fu Zhao.
The same nightmare, repeating over so many nights.
It left her almost unable to breathe.
Nightmares are usually related to a person’s greatest fears and what they think about the most.
Clearly, compared to the kidnapping, she was more afraid of Fu Zhao dying again, of Fu Zhao’s pulse fading away in her palm once more.
Fortunately, upon waking, the first thing she felt was Fu Zhao’s presence.
Real, tangible, and full of life.
It allowed her to recover from the nightmare at the fastest possible speed.
Fu Zhao said she wasn’t good at comforting people, but Shi Nan felt that Fu Zhao was probably the one who was best at comforting her. Fu Zhao’s breathing, the palm of her hand gently patting her, Fu Zhao’s steady pulse—they were all potent tools to comfort her.
“Everything will be okay” was what Fu Zhao had said to her on the day she jumped into the sea.
It was truly the most uninspired thing to say when comforting someone, but she had heard it twice, and both times, she felt it was the most useful phrase.
The last time she heard this sentence, she had admitted to a Fu Zhao who didn’t know her that she was Shi Nan.
So this time…
Shi Nan held her breath, allowing herself to hear Fu Zhao’s breathing next to her neck more clearly. She tightened her hold on Fu Zhao, her fingertips gently caressing the wrist she held, and spoke softly,
“Who says you’re not good at comforting people?”
“Don’t you know, your patience is more effective than all the doctors in this world.”
Your existence is already the greatest comfort to me.
Fu Zhao didn’t say anything more after that. Perhaps she no longer knew what to say in response to Shi Nan, who had spoken with such sincerity.
In any case, that night, they seemed to have held each other for a long time.
Longer than any other embrace.
And after that night, the way they interacted seemed to change a lot.
At least, Fu Zhao felt she no longer needed to hide from Shi Nan. Besides, the closing ceremony performance was fast approaching, and she couldn’t let her personal feelings affect their band’s rehearsals.
And… it also seemed that because this was a goal they were facing together.
The conflicts that had previously stood between her and Shi Nan—such as the engagement, such as the ending that Fu Zhao always kept in mind—they could put them aside, to be dealt with after the band performance.
They could completely ignore those things and wholeheartedly prepare for the performance.
They were like two ordinary good friends, maintaining a friendly and mutually helpful distance.
No longer like before, where they had to be strangers watching each other from afar.
They would have breakfast together at Fu Zhao’s house. Sometimes it was a lavish spread made by the housekeeper, and Kong Weiyan would come over to freeload; other times, Fu Zhao would personally cook seafood noodles, and she and Shi Nan would sit and eat quietly.
During the day, Fu Zhao would handle various complicated grassroots affairs on the island, while Shi Nan would stay at home making handmade pottery. Occasionally, she would bring over any little trinkets she made and place them in Fu Zhao’s house, like the mug with a “disdainful face” that Fu Zhao now used for water, or the “full house model” that was now displayed in Fu Zhao’s room.
When evening came, it was time for rehearsal.
If the weather was clear, Fu Zhao would ride her little electric scooter with Shi Nan, enjoying the island breeze before heading to rehearsal; or after rehearsal, they would go to the Open-air Cinema to watch the movie that played on a loop every day.
If it rained, they had to take the family car. But rainy days were rare on Nanke Island, and even when it did rain, it was often just a shower, so they were still used to waiting for the rain to stop before taking a slow walk back.
These days weren’t exactly eventful, but they weren’t boring either.
Perhaps it was because she had temporarily forgotten the things that made her heart ache; perhaps it was because when the few of them rehearsed together, there was always more laughter than anything else; perhaps it was because her relationship with Shi Nan was no longer so volatile, and they had chosen to be honest with each other.
In short, during these days of rehearsal, Fu Zhao was very happy.
Except for…
When Kong Weiyan, who occasionally came to watch their rehearsals after work, would now and then say something that made her throat ache.
For example, right now, Kong Weiyan was staring at her curiously. Her face was so close to Fu Zhao’s that after a moment, she exclaimed in an exaggerated tone, “Holy crap! Fu Zhao, your dark circles and eye bags are practically dragging on the floor. What’s going on?”
“Let me tell you, the closing ceremony is the day after tomorrow.” Kong Weiyan was at a loss for words for a moment. Her gaze shifted around, landing on Shi Nan standing over there, then floating back. She cleared her throat, covered her mouth in feigned shock, and then lowered her voice earnestly, “You need to exercise some restraint at night. You can’t go on stage with those dark circles. The media and the islanders will all be watching!!”
Fu Zhao expressionlessly pushed Kong Weiyan away, glanced at Shi Nan who was looking over curiously, and at Jiang Wenqing and Ye Er who were hugging their bags and eating lollipops while waiting for Kong Weiyan. She took a deep breath, trying her best not to lose her temper in front of the kids. “I know. Stop talking nonsense.”
“Nonsense?”
Kong Weiyan shot back, her expression turning strange after a moment. “Don’t tell me you’re sleeping with Shi Nan every night, and then going back to your own place after she falls asleep?”
“If that’s the case…” Kong Weiyan gave her a thumbs-up in admiration. “Then I’d really have to call you a great romantic.”
Kong Weiyan wasn’t wrong. Fu Zhao was indeed very worried about Shi Nan’s condition. After all, Shi Nan had suffered in her place. She couldn’t just stand by and watch while someone who was kidnapped because of her had nightmares every night.
So for the past few days, after Shi Nan fell asleep, she would stay with her for a while. It wasn’t long, only about an hour.
Although Shi Nan insisted every time that she get into bed and sleep with her, Fu Zhao was still a little unused to sharing a bed with someone. It wasn’t because that person was Shi Nan, but because she wasn’t used to it with anyone. That was all.
Even though Shi Nan had made it clear after that night that she should go back and get some proper rest, Fu Zhao still insisted.
It was because the sight of Shi Nan waking from that nightmare made her feel the terror of that night just by looking. The state of Shi Nan’s gland when Doctor Liu examined it was something she couldn’t ignore.
It was terrifying. Even though Shi Nan didn’t blame her and had never mentioned it to her, she couldn’t rest easy until she was sure Shi Nan was sound asleep.
It was also because she was a light sleeper to begin with.
It was only an hour, and she wouldn’t be able to sleep at home this early anyway.
So, Shi Nan had placed a soft sofa bed in her bedroom so that Fu Zhao could lie down comfortably while keeping her company.
But Fu Zhao still insisted on going back to her own place to sleep every day.
When she had those dreams related to the original host’s memories, she couldn’t be sure what she might do or say.
Shi Nan couldn’t win against her, so one day she quietly changed her bedtime to before ten o’clock, so that Fu Zhao could go back to sleep sooner with peace of mind.
All things considered, it didn’t really inconvenience her.
“I don’t sleep well anyway,” Fu Zhao explained to Kong Weiyan. She then looked at Shi Nan, who was standing there with her eyes lowered, and pursed her lips before speaking softly, “It has nothing to do with her.”
After saying that, she pushed Kong Weiyan aside, grabbed Shi Nan’s wrist, and pulled her outside, ignoring Kong Weiyan behind them who was still repeating “It has nothing to do with her” in a teasing tone.
Outside, a light rain was still falling, making the ground wet, but it did a lot to alleviate the summer heat.
Fu Zhao took a hurried step forward and landed in a puddle. Water splashed onto her pant leg, spreading and soaking the fabric.
She pulled her foot back. The hand holding Shi Nan’s wrist naturally let go as she took out an umbrella from her backpack, opened it, and tilted it towards Shi Nan. “Let’s go.”
“Mm…” Shi Nan responded softly. She glanced at the umbrella tilted towards her, her lips pressed into a tight line. “Let me hold the umbrella.”
“Mm, no need.” Fu Zhao didn’t mind, replying in a relaxed tone, “I’m taller than you. It’s more suitable for me to hold it.”
“Then don’t deliberately favor me.” Shi Nan frowned, taking Fu Zhao’s hand and pushing the umbrella handle back towards Fu Zhao’s side. Only then did her brow relax. “That’s better. Don’t let yourself get all the rain.”
The umbrella wasn’t big enough, after all.
If it wasn’t tilted towards Shi Nan and was just held in the middle, drifting raindrops would still land on both of their shoulders.
The cool palm touched hers and then immediately let go. Fu Zhao felt a sense of loss. She paused for a moment before speaking, “Do you like getting rained on?”
“No…” Shi Nan denied succinctly, then looked over at her quietly, smiling. “It’s just that, compared to letting you get all the rain by yourself, I’d rather we share it.”
That sounded a bit strange.
Fu Zhao could only take it at face value. She smiled back, her tone light, as if she were joking. “Mm, so I think that actually, neither of us has to get rained on.”
“There will always be other ways, Shi Nan. We don’t have to get rained on.”
“Maybe we could take a car home on rainy days…”
“Or, we could just get a bigger umbrella.”
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