Chapter 5: A Story of Human Warmth

Your support is important to us. Please help by leaving a review on NovelUpdates!

A strong milky white chocolate flavor emanated from his palm and cascaded into his nose.

“You… How come a woman like you doesn’t know how to act appropriately?!” The man’s palm, still holding the chocolate, shook as if he was holding a bomb.

The lights were dim in that corridor, but Hua Jin could still make out the other party’s cheeks and ears turning red. A few random words from her was enough to embarrass him to the point of anger? Is he still a teenager with raging hormones?

Because she wasn’t sure if the man was in his right mind, Hua Jin quickly picked her up and shuffled down the last flights of stairs and headed towards the exit before he knew it. 

“Wait!”

Hua Jin stopped her brisk walk at his query. She turned around to face him, asking, “Is there anything else?”

“Is the chocolate expired?” ‘Dreamy Eyes’ turned towards the wall, his silhouette could be seen as he stood against the light. He really was handsome, to the point of seeming like a painting. Ordinary people couldn’t hold a candle to him.

Hua Jin blinked at the question, replying, “It’s not expired. I just bought it.”

He stared at her for a long time before taking a little bite. Disgusted, he commented, “Too sweet and greasy! How can anyone eat this!” 

After he had said his piece, he tried to motion throwing it away, but to his dismay, he could not find any trash cans nearby. By the time he tried to look for Hua Jin again, she was already nearing the exit of the stairs. 

You should be mindful about who you flirt with, as it’s easy to get into trouble.

‘Dreamy Eyes’ was just too handsome that she inadvertently made this rookie mistake.

“Mr Pei, why are you here?” A plump man was sweating as he went down the stairs from the second floor. It was still March* and yet he was still covered in sweat! When he reached the ground floor, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. 

*PR-Note: March and April in China are still typically ‘cold’, with temperatures ranging from 8-20°C (46-68°F).

“It’s fortunate that you didn’t take the elevator, as something had gone wrong with it just now. Mr Yang Shua is still trapped in the second floor, with the hospital staff scrambling to get him out by repairing it.” Noticing Mr Pei’s expression was bad, the plump man guessed that he wasn’t in a good mood, so he quickly decided to redirect the conversion. “Also, Chief Chen’s private room is on the eighth floor. Please come with me.”

“Do you happen to have a tissue,” Pei Yan asked.

“Ah?” The plump man was momentarily stunned at his question. He smiled awkwardly, as he said, “I’m sorry. I was in a hurry to come down just now, so I don’t have any on me.”

“Forget it then.” Mr Pei just took out a handkerchief from his suit’s pocket, and wrapped the chocolate in it. He then pocketed the same handkerchief.

“What are you doing?” Needless to say, the plump man was baffled by the scene he just witnessed. This guy just saved leftover chocolate for later? The guy that is rumored to spend money like water, and who only got lucky with his seemingly random investment portfolio somehow making a huge profit, to the point of people scrambling to invest in his managed funds? 

Needless to say, the plump man was totally convinced that Mr Pei wasn’t the rumored spendthrift, but instead was actually quite frugal, going as far as saving leftover chocolate for later. It seems that the richer you are, the stingier you get, as evidenced by this rich man’s reluctance to part with even a half eaten chocolate. 

“Let’s go.” Mr Pei turned to look at Hua Jin, who was already at the bottom of the stairs. Coincidentally, their gazes met and she smiled and waved at him. 

“Mr Pei?” The plump man paused because the man he was supposed to escort wasn’t following. Afraid that he might have offended him in some way, he uneasily waited for the other person.

“Tell me: A woman walked by the lake looking melancholy, with eyes red, seeming like she was going to commit suicide. Then, that same woman appears here in the hospital. Why do you think she’s here?” Mr Pei suddenly asked. 

“Maybe she’s suffering from a serious illness and can’t afford the treatment?” The plump man replied after a little thought. “Life’s hard nowadays. Nothing much we can do about that,” he quickly added.

Mr Pei thought about it for a moment. That woman was still in the mood to tease him, so she’s probably not suicidal.

“A few years ago, a colleague of mine suddenly committed suicide. He was usually a cheerful person and was completely normal. Though, after his passing, it was found out that not only had his parents died recently, his wife was also killed in an accident.” The plump man shook his head and sighed. He then beckoned Mr Pei to enter the elevator. “No one knew about the series of misfortunes he suffered back to back. If only we had found out about it sooner, if we had shown him support, then he might not have taken his own life.  

After finishing his story, the plump man realized that he might have again said too much! He nervously turned to look at Mr Pei, but saw that he seemed to not mind it at all. He secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Hua Jin didn’t go to work that day, opting to just go home and sleep all afternoon. When she awoke, it was already completely dark outside. She got up and made herself a bowl of noodles. When she turned on her phone to browse the Internet, she suddenly received a notice of a money transfer from Yang Lin.

She had transferred ¥1200. After staring at the notification for a little while, she smiled and texted Yang Lin to thank her. 

*Note: About ~US$183 

Yang Lin: Don’t mention it. I just found out today that I am pregnant, so consider this a red packet, from me to you, for luck.

Hua Jin smiled once again and replied: “Thank you.”

Yang Lin: I remember way back when you seemed lucky! There was a couple that had a wedding, and during the banquet, as they distributed candy to us workers, you ate them all up, saying that that was what made you happy.

After a while, Hua Jin finally put down her phone, then proceeded to eat her already soggy noodles. She made it a point to always wash the dishes immediately after eating, as the house is so old that any unwashed bowls can very easily attract bugs. 

She tidied the house a bit, before posting a few pictures of her finished embroideries on Weibo*. She didn’t have many fans yet, but occasionally, there would be one or two people who liked or commented on her post. Though, most of the time, she just posts for her own entertainment.

*Note: Weibo is like Facebook in China, only imagine if Facebook + Youtube + Instagram + Twitter + Tiktok + Reddit + etc. are all integrated into one site/app. 

Two days later, as Hua Jin finished the carp embroidery, she received a text message. 

“Miss Hua Jin. I’d first like to thank you. Though my family member passed away today, she loved your quilt very much. Again, thank you.”

Seeing the text message, Hua Jin’s throat closed up a bit. She got up to pour herself a glass of water. She drank deeply to try to suppress the uncomfortable feeling. She then tried to calm herself by staring at the passersby outside the window while taking deep breaths.

“Wow~ I didn’t expect embroidered bags could be so beautiful.”

　Hua Jin looked at the door of the shop as a man and a woman walked in. The woman talking wore a corset skirt and wore a scarf around her neck. When she smiled, the corner of her eyes also slightly curved. She looked pretty and playful.

When she saw Hua Jin, she pointed at a bag on the shelf, “Can you show that bag?”

“Of course,” Hua Jin quickly replied, handing the bag over to the female customer.

She took the bag and tried carrying it in her hand. She posed with it on the mirror several times. “This bag is really beautiful. What design is on it? It’s really rare that it’s embroidered so gorgeously without being tacky at all!”

“Peaches, lotuses, and bats are the main motifs used in the design. We call this overall design “Fu Shou Lian Nian”, which doesn’t only mean good, but also gorgeous and excellent.” Hua Jin peeked at the woman’s fair-skin and alluring features, and couldn’t help but add, “Though your fair complexion and dazzling beauty makes any bag or accessory you wear just embellishments.”

When the woman heard this, she was ecstatic. She couldn’t resist picking up a shawl and a painted jewelry box too. She left the store with a big smile on her face. When she heard that Hua Jin also embroiders other designs, she even added her to her WeChat.

No one can resist beauty. It is only natural.

The man gently wrapped the urn of his wife in the dragon and phoenix quilt she had so briefly enjoyed before her death. Before coming here to the big city for treatment, many people had tried to dissuade him from doing so, saying that it was useless anyways so why spend more money. Even his wife was against it.

But for him, even if it was only a glimmer of hope, he still wanted to try everything. Because the alternative was them just waiting for her to die.

They have been married for 20 years. He had always been frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t let her enjoy life for all those years. How could he even live with himself if he allowed her to suffer pain 24/7 while waiting to die… just to save money? 

At least they could administer painkillers in the hospital. At least they could still visit a big, prosperous city. At least he was able to give her the dragon and phoenix quilt he had promised all those years ago before the end. 

“Big Brother, my condolences.” A young man claiming to be Internet famous came with him to the train station. When he heard of his wife’s illness from somewhere, he came wanting to help pay for her treatment, but was refused. Even so, he often visited them in the hospital, and even now, without being asked, he helped the widower purchase his train ticket by using his mobile phone. 

The man shook his head and held the urn tightly. “It’s alright. At least she’s no longer suffering.”

The young man was stunned. Looking straight at the man’s weathered face, he was full of emotion as he asked, “Would you perhaps let me tell you and your wife’s story to others?”

“What story is there to tell for people like us?” The man asked. His face was obviously tired and sad, but his eyes burned bright with determination. He still had something he needed to do: bring his wife home. 

“You exhausted your entire fortune for your wife. You went as far as only eating steamed buns and drinking water every day. If others were told of your sacrifice, I know many people would be moved.”

“What’s so moving about a husband caring for his wife? Isn’t that only natural?” The man gently wiped the urn, even though it was pristine. “Marriage means committing to living with another person for the rest of your lives. Treating your better half well… what’s more common than that?” 

“Even though the medical bills were costly, it’s not like I can’t get at least some of it back through our insurance. I would just have to work for a few more years, before I am debt free again. Besides, I still have a house to go back to, so I didn’t actually lose everything.”

So the man returned home with his wife’s ashes. As the young man looked at his slightly hunch back, he felt conflicted.

That very night, when he got back home, he wrote down their story and posted it on Weibo.

He wrote it without sensationalizing or exaggerating anything, because the true story was more than enough on its own.

He was a successful white-collar worker IRL, but on the Web, he was a blogger with hundreds of thousands of followers. After he posted the story, many people commented and reposted it.

Because the characters were lovely and warm. 

The husband went all in for his wife, leaving nothing for himself. Even though people had volunteered to help out, he was a person who couldn’t accept anyone’s charity for nothing. But that didn’t stop the doctors or nurses, or the famous blogger, or the owner of the embroidery shop, or even the embroiderer of the dragon and phoenix quilt herself who stayed up late for days to finish it on time and didn’t charge anything extra, to offer their help in their own way. 

Some netizens have said that the story wasn’t really one about love, but really, it was the story of human warmth.