Upon opening it, I saw the 2 of Spades...
"... You're awesome! I have six cards in my hand!" Chu Ziyu grabbed the cards from the table in frustration; now he had two-thirds of the two decks in his hand.
Lu Lin remained unmoved. "I've reminded you before, you need to be patient when playing cards."
Chu Ziyu was even more frustrated. He had been quite composed today, but Lu Lin was clearly the one who had been cunning and calculating! He urged Lu Lin, "Hurry up and play your cards, let's finish the next round quickly, and I'll show you how composed I am!"
Lu Lin played an Ace this time. After a few rounds, Yan Heqing was the first to finish playing his cards. He was watching Chu Ziyu's cards, Chu Ziyu had four Aces in his hand.
After two more laps, Lu Lin finished playing his cards. Chu Ziyu cautiously drew an Ace and placed it down. Shen Huaiyu, "Open."
Yan Heqing's brow twitched slightly.
With two decks of cards and eight Aces, he ran away with four, leaving Chu Ziyu with four. This meant that neither Lu Lin nor Shen Huaiyu had any Aces. Yet, Lu Lin called out a card that Lu Lin didn't have. Yan Heqing then realized that Lu Lin's target from the beginning wasn't Chu Ziyu, but Shen Huaiyu.
Chu Ziyu has a moderate alcohol tolerance.
Lu Lin knew, he knew, Shen Huaiyu knew too.
Yan Heqing picked up a glass of cold water and took a sip, while across from him, Shen Huaiyu finished a glass of wine as punishment.
The game continued, and this time with Yan Heqing cooperating with Lu Lin, Chu Ziyu was soon tricked into revealing his cards. Shen Huaiyu sighed slightly and, just as Chu Ziyu was about to reveal his cards, he prematurely turned over the cards that he knew were a trap.
He knew Chu Ziyu couldn't hold her liquor.
Chu Ziyu visited Shen Huaiyu grandmother's house once.
Shen Huaiyu a high fever and took a day off from school. He was sleeping soundly after taking medicine when he vaguely heard a knock on the door.
Shen Huaiyu on the light, put on his coat, and went to open the door.
Chu Ziyu stood at the door, bundled up like a polar bear.
It was pitch black outside, and snow was falling heavily. His hat and scarf were covered in snowflakes, revealing only his bright, sparkling eyes. He took off his gloves and tiptoed to touch Shen Huaiyu's forehead. "So hot!"
Shen Huaiyu didn't feel hot at all; instead, he felt very cold. He had been running a fever all night, and his eyes were bloodshot. Looking at Chu Ziyu, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Why are you here?"
"I went to the convenience store, and the clerk said you were on sick leave." Chu Ziyu pushed him into the house, tossing a large bag of expensive nutritional supplements on the living room table. "Go back to bed!"
The old courtyard house was narrow and dark, and the room was only a few degrees colder than the freezing cold outside.
When Chu Ziyu arrived at Shen Huaiyu's room, she was stunned.
The cramped room contained two beds, separated only by a curtain.
The bed against the left wall had only one pillow, and the sheets were neat and clean. The other bed had two quilts, and there were signs that it had been slept on; it should be Shen Huaiyu's bed.
Chu Ziyu quickly tucked Shen Huaiyu into the blanket, which was colder than his hands. He immediately took off his light and warm long down jacket and covered the blanket with it.
Without his down jacket, Chu Ziyu shivered from the cold. He looked at his watch; it was already 8:30. Why was he the only one at Shen Huaiyu's house?
"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Chu Ziyu asked, not entirely sure.
Shen Huaiyu coughed a few times softly, "I ate. My mom made some porridge when she came back this afternoon."
Chu Ziyu asked, "And what about your mother?"
After a few seconds of silence, Shen Huaiyu said, "She's on the night shift today."
Chu Ziyu wanted to ask about his father again, but before he could finish, he suddenly remembered running into Shen Huaiyu's uncle causing trouble last Christmas.
[I'm your uncle. You and your mother live in my house eating and drinking for free, so you should give me all the money you earn!]
Shen Huaiyu does not have a father.
Chu Ziyu felt a tingling sensation in his heart, something he had never experienced before. It was only much later that he realized it was heartache.
Chu Ziyu turned her head and saw that the cup on the bedside table was empty. She picked it up and said, "Where's the water? I'll make you a hot cup."
Shen Huaiyu his eyes fixed on Chu Ziyu. "There's water boiling on the stove in the kitchen next door."
I'll be right back!
"You—" Shen Huaiyu wanted to tell him to put on his coat, Chu Ziyu had already run out.
When Chu Ziyu got outside, the wind felt like knives against his skin, but thankfully his cashmere sweater was very warm. He grabbed his cup and quickly ran to the kitchen.
The kitchen lights were off, Chu Ziyu fumbled on the wall for a while before finally finding the light switch to turn it on.
The wattage is very low, and the kitchen is so small that you can barely see anything. There is a round, recirculating stove by the window, and the kettle is placed in the middle of the stove to heat water.
The fire had long since gone out. Chu Ziyu picked up the kettle and poured a cup of water, which was only slightly warmer than room temperature. It wasn't warm enough to dissolve the nutritional supplements he had brought. Chu Ziyu wanted to reheat it, but it was the first time he had ever seen a coal-fired stove like this, and he had no idea how to use it. So he had to run back to his room and ask Shen Huaiyu.
Your stove...
The sound suddenly stopped.
Shen Huaiyu his eyes closed, his face flushed, and he was already asleep.
Chu Ziyu quickly shut her mouth, stood and watched Shen Huaiyu for a while, and then decided not to go home tonight.
He left the door slightly ajar and returned to the living room, then took out his phone and called Lu Lin first.
"Okay A-Lin, could you do me a favor? My mom's going to call you later, so just tell her I'm staying at your place tonight."
Lu Lin was typing on the keyboard; the sound of mechanical keyboards clicking could be heard. "Where are you? No questions asked without a valid reason."
"I'm at a friend's house. He's sick and there's no one to take care of him, so it's inconvenient for me to leave," Chu Ziyu said vaguely. "You know my mom, she only trusts you. Even when Xie Yunjie came to see me, she wouldn't let me stay out overnight."
Lu Lin hung up the phone. "Okay."
Chu Ziyu breathed a sigh of relief and called his mother again, "I won't drink recklessly, my alcohol tolerance is so low! I promise I won't encourage A-Lin to play games, umm, I'll definitely study hard!"
Having successfully obtained permission to stay overnight, he hung up the phone and turned to Shen Huaiyu's room, only to see Shen Huaiyu awake, standing inside the door looking at him, her face still flushed. "Who is Lu Lin?"
Chu Ziyu quickly pulled Shen Huaiyu back onto the bed and shoved him inside, saying, "Are you crazy! It's so cold outside!"
His hands had gotten cold too. Shen Huaiyu coughed, "Are you afraid of getting infected?"