Chapter 22: Are you even human?
Suyang had no expression on his face as he rushed me off the driver’s seat onto the front pa.s.senger seat. He remained in silence as he stared off in s.p.a.ce and drove very robotically.
“Hey. What happened to you? Don’t scare me?” Generally, I already considered Suyang a bit odd. But now, he was acting even more strange.
He wasn’t one of the homicidal maniac’s so-called “hidden wors.h.i.+ppers” right? Could he have been brainwashed and have some evil thoughts?
Wouldn’t that be very dangerous of him to drive? No, I was currently in danger?! Thinking of this, I began to slightly freak out and tactfully remained quiet until we arrived home.
It was as if Suyang had wind blowing under his feet. He ran to take the elevator without waiting for me. As a result, I had to wait for another one. By the time I entered the apartment, he was nowhere in sight aside from his tightly shut door.
I was pacing back and forth in the living room for quite some time as I fretted from within. Eventually, I decided to press my face against his door to hear what he was doing.
I lowered my body like a cat as I gently pressed my hands on the ground. I p.r.i.c.ked up my ears and attentively tried to hear the activity in the room. What was it? There was a faint noise. It sounded somewhat like a person pounding on the keyboard.
The more I thought about it, the more worried I became. I decided to give Shen Shaoqian a call.
“Oh! You’re still alive?” That was Shen Shaoqian’s first line. I wasn’t sure if I should be glad or disappointed. “How’s your body?”
I wasn’t in the mood to joke around as I temporarily hid in a corner and whispered, “I brought Suyang to see the homicidal maniac. But now, he’s acting really strange. On the way home, he wouldn’t say a single word. And the moment he got home, he locked himself in the room. He’ll be ok, right?”
Sheo Shaoqian chuckled. On the contrary, he seemed to be very relaxed about my concerns. “Don’t worry about it. He’s like that. Just leave him alone. Pretend he doesn’t exist and live your days. When the time is up, he will come out on his own. But, you should buy some chocolate and put it in the fridge…or anything that’s sweet and can replenish sugar levels.”
“Are you sure that’s good enough?” After hearing Shen Shaoqian’s suggestion, I was very doubtful. But if that was what his best friend said, I will follow along.
“I’m positive! Don’t worry! By the way, I asked about your apartment yesterday. They told me it’ll be completed in three days or so. You must be tired of living with Suyang, right? You’ll be free soon. Just endure a bit longer! Add oil!” Then, Shen Shaoqian briskly hung up the phone and left me all by myself in a disheveled state.
My apartment will be completed in three days?
That was supposed to be great news, but why wasn’t I happy about it at all? Yes. It must be because I didn’t want to part with this huge apartment.
I gazed at Suyang’s bedroom door. That must be the reason…
So, I listened to Shen Shaoqian and lived as if I was on my own. I acted like Suyang didn’t exist.
But once in awhile, I would be curious and look towards his room’s direction. Deep down, I prayed he wasn’t dead.
Finally, after two days later, Suyang crawled out of his room.
At the time, I was eating a bun and searching the web for a job. I noticed Suyang was still wearing the same clothes he had worn from the interview day.
When he crawled out, his hair was a mess and his face was dirty.
“You! You! You!” The closer our proximity, the stronger the fermentation smell. It was disgusting. I held onto my nose as I drew back.
“Sh…sh….” Suyang appeared mentally unstable as he shook his head and muttered to himself.
“What are you trying to say?” I crinkled my brows. I didn’t dare to lessen my alertness while facing this abnormal version of Suyang.
“Shui…(water in Mandarin)” Suyang raised his voice and repeated once more. This time, I could clearly hear him.
I quickly ran to the fridge and grabbed a water bottle and threw it at him.
Surprisingly, Suyang didn’t catch the water bottle. Instead, the water bottle accurately smashed against his body. Suyang was motionless.
I covered my mouth; not knowing what to do.
Deep down, I was thinking, “Wow, the poisonous tongue bully Suyang has been knocked out by a water bottle thrown by me?”
I hastily ran to Suyang and held him up. His entire body limply fell into my embrace. I could tell his eyes were unable to focus, and I lightly slapped his cheek, “Hey, you ok?”
“Water…..”
He was already in this critical state, yet he was still begging for water. After I unscrewed the lid, I placed the water bottle against his lips.
With my help, Suyang finished the entire bottle.
After drinking the water, Suyang didn’t get up. He remained in the same position and his eyes appeared lifeless as he gazed off at a distant location.
“What are you looking at?” I followed the direction of his gaze, but I didn’t see anything interesting.
“I…want…to….eat…” After a long time, Suyang suddenly said a sentence.
True, he hadn’t eaten in two days. No wonder he was acting like this.
“Alright. Wait for me here. I will make something for you to eat now.” I lied the weak Suyang flat against the ground. Then, I ran to the fridge to look for the chocolate and sweets that Shen Shaoqian had told me to buy and gave him some to replenish his sugar level. Lastly, I simply cooked Suyang two bags of instant noodles and eggs.
The smell of instant noodles filled the room, and as Suyang gnawed on the chocolate, he began to wiggle on the ground. It was as if he was coming back to life, but he didn’t have the strength to get up.
So, I, a 160cm+ tiny person, had to lift a 180cm+ big person to the dining table to eat. Envisioning it was very hilarious.
While Suyang was wolfing down his noodles, I couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “What have you been doing these past two days?”
“Writing a novel.” Suyang responded without lifting his head, as he continuously sucked his noodles.
“Writing a novel doesn’t mean you can’t eat or drink for two days, right? Based on how you’re eating, I feel like you can swallow a whole ox.”
“Inspiration is something that you must grasp immediately.” Suyang suddenly lifted his head and sharply stared at me. He continued, “Once, I didn’t sleep for five days in a row to write. This is already considered light.”
His tone was downplaying his words. “Five days? How did you survive? Pure willpower? Are you even human?”
“Shen Shaoqian found a doctor to inject nutrient fluid in me.”
My eyes were nearly popping out. I couldn’t hide my shock. Suddenly, I felt like Suyang’s existence was like a G.o.d. What type of life did he lived back then? He had completely evoked my curiosity.
“Are you a famous author? What type of novels have you written?”
“Have you found a job yet?” Suyang didn’t answer my question. Instead, he asked another one.
“Don’t mention it. The moment I think about it, I feel so depressed…” In an instant, my mood turned from sunny to cloudy. “For a commoner like me who came from an average school, who graduated with an ordinary degree, it is not so simple to find a job in this terrible economy. Now that I think back, I feel so wronged for losing my previous job!”
“How did you lose your previous job?”
“Mm…I accidentally knocked the boss’s mother across the hall when I ran out of the washroom….not something big….” I mumbled obscurely.
Suyang laughed and nearly spat out all his noodles, “I don’t think you were wronged for losing your job at all. As expected, you are a goldfis.h.!.+”
I grudgingly glared at Suyang, “What is that supposed to mean?”
Suyang shrugged his shoulders, “I mean, can you cook me another bag of noodles?”
“You have strength now. Cook it yourself.” I left the dining table and went to the living room to sit on the couch. I hugged the cus.h.i.+on as I imagined my pathetic future; being stranded on the streets.
Suyang also came out. He was probably not going to cook the noodles. Currently, he was holding onto the bread that I had left over. “What type of expression is this? Who would want you when you have such a miserable face?”
“Why can’t you try to understand the sorrows of modern average women? Do you know how grim it is for us? If we are the same age, we cannot compete against their higher education. If they have the same education level as us, we cannot compete against the young ones…” At this point, I deeply sighed again.
“Ohhh, so you’re inferior!” Suyang began to chew my bread as he looked down at me.
I crossed my eyes as I glared at him and pursed my lips, “What do you mean inferior?”
“Originally, I thought you were staying home because you would often get into trouble. Unexpectedly, the main issue is your ability.” Suyang had a very serious expression as he evaluated me like a member from the judging panel.
I was even more annoyed.
“Yes, I’m a good-for-nothing and I stir up trouble easily. I can also attract ghosts! Look! There is a ghost behind you!” Tom gracefully strolled by Suyang. It was a real joke. I wanted to scared him.