“Yes, I studied clinical medicine in college,” she replied.
“How coincidental; my senior brother also studied clinical…” I began, flipping through “Clinical Pathology,” but quickly closed it and returned it to the shelf.
I took a deep breath and said, “Sorry, I need to use the restroom.”
“Over there,” she pointed to the hallway’s innermost position, and I quickly headed in that direction.
In the bathroom, leaning against the door, my legs trembled. On the right side, a set of men’s toiletries was neatly arranged, with a towel folded beside it—this was also Ye Zhengchen’s habit.
After we lived together, no matter how messy my cosmetics were, the right side of the sink was exclusively his, where he arranged his things neatly, with the towel folded and placed aside.
The handwriting annotated on that book could not be a coincidence. Those powerful strokes were too familiar to me. I washed my face, forcing myself to calm down, then walked out.
Yu Yin stood at the end of the hallway, backlit. Her silhouette reminded me of a Taiwanese model – if I were a man, I would want to conquer her. However, to keep such a woman hidden in a golden room was something only an extraordinary man could do. I told myself that man was not Ye Zhengchen; he did not have that charm.
I spent the afternoon drinking bitter tea with Yu Yin, though I don’t remember our conversation. I only recall the tea’s bitterness, which I suspected she added huang lian to. After returning home, I drank several glasses of water but still tasted the bitterness in my mouth, sitting on the bed and blankly counting the “Zheng” characters on the wall for a long time.
Ye Zhengchen called to say he was coming home for dinner, so I washed my face and busied myself in the kitchen, making several Sichuan dishes he loved and setting the table.
During dinner, I placed a piece of spicy chicken in his bowl, smiling as I said, “I went to Yu Yin’s house for tea today.”
“Oh.” Ye Zhengchen paused, picking up the chicken and slowly chewing.
“Her home is very cozy,” I continued.
He swallowed. “Really? Is it cozier than our home?”
Looking around, I shook my head. “No, her home doesn’t have you…”
