She was already in a weak position while sitting, and no matter how far she tried to pull her leg back, she couldn’t escape. Zhai Qing quickly grabbed her ankle and removed her shoe. Seeing that she could no longer move, Cheng Luo lowered her head, her face as ashen as death.
Zhai Qing asked with a grim expression, “So this is what you meant by having applied medicine already?”
On the fair skin of her foot, there was a very obvious red swelling, and a blister remained untouched on the surface.
Seeing Cheng Luo remain silent with her head down, Zhai Qing tightened her grip and said coldly, “Why didn’t you treat this? You even squeezed onto the subway to come to the office like this. You truly are a dedicated employee, sacrificing yourself for the company!” By the end, Zhai Qing’s tone was very heavy.
It was the first time Cheng Luo had seen her so angry. She struggled to pull her foot back, not wanting Zhai Qing to see it. She hadn’t expected to be scolded after coming to work while injured, and her eyes grew red with tears.
“Stop holding me! I won’t let you look at it!”
“If you won’t let me look, who are you going to show it to!” Zhai Qing raised her sharp eyes, but the moment she met those tearful ones, she choked on her words. She softened her voice and said, “Wait here patiently for a moment. I’m going to get the first aid kit.”
Zhai Qing could circle Cheng Luo’s ankle with a single hand. The blue veins were clearly visible, and Zhai Qing frowned as her movements became increasingly cautious. “Tell me if it hurts.”
It was rare for Cheng Luo to be cared for like this. She suddenly remembered the grievances she had faced at home the day before, and her nose felt sharp. A tear fell unexpectedly. The speed was so fast she didn’t even realize it until she saw Zhai Qing’s hand; a drop of moisture had soaked into the back of her boss’s hand.
“You,” Zhai Qing looked at her in shock, only finding her voice after a long pause. “Why are you crying? Is it too painful?”
“It doesn’t hurt. I don’t know what happened either. Maybe some sand got into my eyes.” Cheng Luo pretended her eyes were uncomfortable and looked upward, avoiding Zhai Qing’s gaze.
Zhai Qing’s movements became even lighter as she carefully treated the injury on Cheng Luo’s foot.
During the process, Cheng Luo didn’t dare to look down. When she felt the other woman stop moving, she shifted her body to pull her foot back. Suddenly, a faint, gentle breeze swept over her foot, brushing past like a feather. Cheng Luo lowered her head abruptly and heard Zhai Qing say softly.
“It won’t hurt if I blow on it.”
That breeze seemed to have magic, floating from her foot straight to the tip of Cheng Luo’s heart, causing it to beat violently. She stared blankly at the person half-kneeling on the floor.
“Why is your face so red? Is it too hot?” Zhai Qing saw that she was no longer crying out in pain and that the tear marks had dried, but her cheeks were flushed redder than the apples sitting on the desk.
Zhai Qing carefully set her foot down and stood up to go to the window, opening a small crack. “Is that better?”
Even in the middle of winter, the biting cold wind entering the room couldn’t lower Cheng Luo’s temperature. Instead, it created a sensation of fire and ice. Before long, she couldn’t take it and sneezed.
Hearing this, Zhai Qing immediately closed the window. She pressed a finger against Cheng Luo’s bright red cheek and said curiously, “It feels cool to the touch, so why is it still so red? You didn’t catch a cold, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.” Cheng Luo shook her head twice in a daze. Meeting Zhai Qing’s concerned gaze, she let out a long sigh in her heart and gave up, covering her face with both hands.
“It’s probably just the heat. Don’t worry about me; I’ll be fine in a moment.”
Zhai Qing worriedly felt her forehead, but the temperature was normal. She gave a few more instructions about taking care of her foot before returning to her own chair. While working, she would look up from time to time to check on Cheng Luo.
Cheng Luo squeezed her own face hard. She placed a hand over her heart and could feel the thumping through her skin.
This must be the feeling of a heart fluttering.
She looked up instinctively and met Zhai Qing’s dark pupils. They were like deep pools, filled with an attraction that made her sink in involuntarily.
Cheng Luo didn’t know how she got through the day. She began to avoid looking at Zhai Qing, fearing that meeting her eyes would expose her thoughts. Finally, it was time to get off work. She picked up her bag to leave, but she was called back before she could move.
“Don’t move. I’ll drive you home.”
“Boss, aren’t you busy? There’s no need to trouble yourself.” Cheng Luo looked troubled.
Zhai Qing only raised an eyebrow at her words and picked up Cheng Luo’s bag with an air that allowed no refusal. “I’m not busy. It’s no trouble.”
Cheng Luo followed behind her step by step. Her usual ease and composure were gone, replaced by a restless uncertainty about where to put her hands.
Zhai Qing suddenly remembered that Cheng Luo’s foot was still injured. She deliberately slowed her pace and watched the person behind her out of the corner of her eye.
Cheng Luo was focused on walking with her head down. She wasn’t paying attention and her face made intimate contact with Zhai Qing’s back. She gave an “ah” and rubbed her aching nose.
“Why aren’t you watching where you’re going? Let me see,” Zhai Qing said, reaching out to check Cheng Luo’s nose. Just as she moved toward her, she saw the latter move back a few steps as if startled, avoiding her touch.
Zhai Qing knit her brows, her arm stopping mid-air. “What’s wrong? Are you blaming me for not warning you?”
Cheng Luo shook her head, her hand still covering her nose as she spoke in a muffled voice. “No, it doesn’t hurt much.”
It was the first time Zhai Qing had been rejected by her. Her expression was a bit unpleasant as she sat in the car. She had clearly seen that Cheng Luo’s nose was quite red, yet she claimed it didn’t hurt and wouldn’t let her look.
No one spoke the entire way. It wasn’t until she got out of the car that Cheng Luo turned around and said thank you. She didn’t even look at Zhai Qing before turning to leave.
Zhai Qing didn’t know why, but she suddenly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car as well. Facing Cheng Luo’s confusion, she simply explained, “I’ll walk you. It was too dark last time; I didn’t see exactly where you lived.”
Cheng Luo could tell she was in a bad mood and didn’t dare to provoke her, so she walked ahead, limping slightly.
Before they even reached the door of Cheng Luo’s house in the long alleyway, they heard the sound of a heated argument.
“Go find a way yourself! We have no more money to give you!” a relatively calm male voice said.
“Dad! Dad! Xiaojie is pregnant! She wants to abort the baby and divorce me!”
Zhai Qing wasn’t in the mood to listen to the rest of the argument because Cheng Luo had suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her face turned deathly pale, and her eyes were filled with sorrow.
“How about we go eat at that delicious hot pot restaurant tonight? I happen to be craving it too.” Although Zhai Qing didn’t know exactly what had happened, she knew it was better for Cheng Luo not to go home right now.
Cheng Luo stood in place without a word. Zhai Qing firmly turned her body around, placed an arm around her shoulder, and pushed her toward the exit. “Just consider it as keeping me company. Hot pot is more lively when eaten with two people.”
It wasn’t until the car drove away from the area that Cheng Luo felt sensation returning to her frozen limbs.
The hot pot restaurant Zhai Qing brought her to wasn’t the high-end place she expected. Instead, it was located in a residential building. The business seemed very popular, with several tables set up outside.
There were many people in the shop. Zhai Qing protected Cheng Luo behind her. Soon, a middle-aged woman with her hair in a bun, who seemed to be the owner, came over to greet them. “Xiao Zhai, it’s been a long time since I saw you. You even brought a friend this time! The usual?”
Zhai Qing nodded, and after a few more pleasantries, the owner went back to work. Zhai Qing didn’t find a seat in the main shop. Instead, she walked further in and lifted a curtain. Before them was a staircase leading somewhere unknown. It was so dark that Cheng Luo only realized where they were after Zhai Qing turned on a flashlight.
Cheng Luo grabbed the hem of Zhai Qing’s clothes uneasily. “Where are we going?”
Zhai Qing patted the back of her hand comfortingly and took Cheng Luo’s hand in hers. “To a quiet place,” she said with a hint of pride in her voice.
In the unfamiliar darkness, Cheng Luo could only rely completely on the person in front of her, not daring to let go.
After walking up about one floor, Zhai Qing stopped and pushed open a door, revealing a bare rooftop. Cheng Luo followed her in confusion. After a few more steps, a glass room appeared before them.
Zhai Qing familiarly took a key from a nearby flowerpot. With a click, the door opened. When Cheng Luo entered, she found the interior was decorated very warmly. Several pots of brightly blooming flowers sat in the corner, and warm yellow lights shone on a brown sofa, making the place look very cozy.
“What is this place?”
“A secret base I discovered when I was a student. More and more people moved away from this area, and some previous owner left this behind. When I found it, no one was looking after it. Later, I often came here to play games. Even later, the hot pot shop opened. The owner comes here to rest when she’s tired, and it also became my private room for eating hot pot.”
Cheng Luo looked around. There were indeed many signs of life, and a game console sat on a simple TV stand. Zhai Qing invited Cheng Luo to take off her coat, saying the hot pot would arrive soon.
Cheng Luo took off her coat, her eyes moving around with curiosity. Zhai Qing saw her expression and knew she had come to the right place. The girl no longer looked as though she were carrying the weight of the world.
Zhai Qing said, “Do you want to play a game with me? I can usually only play single-player games, but finally, I can play a two-player one.”
Seeing Zhai Qing’s eager expression, Cheng Luo restrained a smile. She couldn’t imagine Zhai Qing playing games; she had thought the woman was always serious and stern in her private life.
After a few instructions from Zhai Qing, Cheng Luo got the hang of it. Each holding a controller, they looked even more serious than when they were working.
They coordinated perfectly and finished half the levels in no time. Eventually, the scent of the hot pot woke Cheng Luo up, reminding her that her stomach was empty.
“I’m done, I’m done! I’m hungry!”
Zhai Qing put down the controller reluctantly. “Alright, we can play more after dinner.”
The bright red-hot pot was placed in the center with side dishes filling the table. They sat across from each other. The lights shone on their faces, and the rising steam created a layer of white mist on the glass. From a distance, the room looked like a warm lamp in the winter night.