Inextricable

Xu Xingxing was taken back for a moment before she realised that Huai Jing was teasing her. “Stop joking…”

“Okay.” Huai Jing then asked, “But you’re eating out, so what should I eat if I’m hungry?”

Xu Xingxing: “…”

‘What? How can this be? Then will he starve to death whenever I’m not with him…’

Xu Xingxing thought patiently and said, “You ask auntie to make you a meal first, and I will make dinner when I get home. Okay? They bye.”

Before Huai Jing could speak, the call ended. Listening to the busy tone on the phone, he snorted and put the phone aside, then turned the car and left Xu Xingxing’s apartment complex.

………………………….

As December signalled the end of the year, the IO group started to get busier. Huang Qiansong called a departmental meeting on Monday afternoon, just before work ended, in order to discuss everyone’s performance evaluation. He had a smile on his face as he stood in front of the meeting table.

“Since ability varies, performance also changes from person to person. For this year’s performance appraisal, I will definitely be fair and just. Although our translation department is a department, it is actually under the purview of the Overseas Marketing Department. After I finish the review, I will submit it to Director Sha of this department. Every team leader will give those under them a performance appraisal score, but the upper-level leaders may modify this score. So don’t worry too much about the final performance this time…”

After the meeting, Chen Wanwan and Xu Xingxing complained about it while walking outside.

“Hmph…That Huang Qiansong…the old fox… Although the Overseas Marketing Department is in charge of the translation department, their director is not familiar with the people in our translation department. So how can he do it transparently? He can just shake his hands off of this matter.” 

Xu Xingxing was quite concerned about the year-end performance appraisal, as it involved year-end bonuses and future promotions. She asked Chen Wanwan, “When will this result come out?”

“Most probably this Friday. Lao Huang will decide on it and it will then be shown to me and Sister Jialin, but the possibility of changing it is very small,” Chen Wanwan replied.

They noticed Li Miaoxue approaching them from behind as they were still speaking. She was on the phone and spoke with a hint of coquettishness in her voice as her high-heeled shoes loudly clicked. “Okay, I’ll come right away,” she said into the phone.

Li Miaoxue glanced casually in their direction as she passed the two of them, and Chen Wanwan couldn’t help but flinch. 

Chen Wanwan and Li Miaoxue had been fighting for the deputy team leader position, and later on, Li Miaoxue had withdrawn from it because of Huang Qiansong’s words. Although this had happened some time ago, Li Miaoxue would definitely remember it and could play some small tricks to affect both Chen Wanwan and Xu Xingxing’s evaluation performance.

Seeing Li Miaoxue out, Chen Wanwan sighed. She really couldn’t understand Li Miaoxue.

“Old Huang won’t dare to do anything ugly, after all, there is Sister Jialin.” Chen Wanwan comforted Xu Xingxing.

But unfortunately, she was wrong this time.

Early on Friday, Chen Wanwan took the evaluation results from Huang Qiansong’s office and came out furiously. 

With her coworkers staring at her and Chen Wanwan, Xu Xingxing dragged Chen Wanwan to the lounge first. Chen Wanwan then slammed the performance review paperwork on the table while swearing, “Huang Qiansong, you bastard!”

Xu Xingxing took the evaluation sheet, Chen Wanwan’s performance had no problem, she had got an ‘A’. Below her was Li Miaoxue with an ‘A+’ performance. And slipping down to her, there was only a ‘B’, which was the lowest of them all.

This did not surprise Xu Xingxing.

“That’s it.” She said, “Don’t spoil your relations with Lao Huang.”

Chen Wanwan was the deputy team leader, so it was impossible for Huang Qiansong to give her a low performance rating, but that was not necessarily true for Xu Xingxing. Many of the colleagues in the company maintained superficial relationships and were serious about staying in line. Xu Xingxing didn’t want Chen Wanwan to stand out, for that would not be good for her. After all, she had only been the deputy team leader for less than two months.

Even if Chen Wanwan had a conflict with Huang Qiansong, she wouldn’t be able to do anything, and it would only harm her in the long run.

Xu Xingxing pursed her lips to suppress her anger. “What time are we going to meet that doctor?” She asked Chen Wanwan, changing the subject.

They had made an appointment with the Chinese medicine doctor on Saturday. Xu Xingxing had already requested a leave in advance from her piano teacher, Huai Jing.

Chen Wanwan was still angry, but she took a few moments to suppress the anger in her heart, and then said in a calm voice, “I will come pick you up at 9 o’clock.”

Chen Wanwan called early on Saturday morning to let her know she was on her way. “Are you bringing Kangkang?” Xu Xingxing inquired while brushing her teeth.

“No. It’s troublesome to take him with us,” Chen Wanwan stated calmly.

“Okay,” Xu Xingxing murmured after spitting out the toothpaste.

Kangkang’s voice was then heard on the phone. 

“Good morning, Aunty Xingxing!  I’ll patiently wait for you at home. You will be all good after meeting the doctor.”

“Okay, thank you Kangkang,” Xu Xingxing said, touched.

Xu Xingxing thought about going to Chen Wanwan’s house to meet Kangkang after the doctor’s appointment. But then what would Huai Jing say… Anyway, she wanted to practise the piano, but since last week, she had had things to do every weekend, so she hadn’t been able to go.

Then she remembered what Huai Jing had said about receiving piano lessons from him. His original words were: ‘You should understand the benefits of one-on-one teaching, after all, this is not the first time you have benefitted from this method.’

The first time she had received one-on-one teaching from Huai Jing was in bed…

Xu Xingxing blushed, rinsed her mouth, and stopped thinking about these things. 

Xu Xingxing refilled Mimi’s cat food before going out. She squatted beside Mimi, stroking the soft hair on its head. After Mimi took two bits, it looked up at her. Xu Xingxing smiled and said, “I hope there will be progress this time.”

Although she always felt that it was useless in her heart, subconsciously, she still hoped to succeed. After all, she loved children so much and wanted to be a mother too much.

The clinic was located in a little town near Xiacheng, and the Chinese medicine doctor’s last name was Peng.

The undeveloped, little town was situated between two long, uninterrupted mountains. These mountains were not particularly tall; at best, they might be described as a series of hills. To the north of the mountain, there was a tiny creek that had not yet frozen over. The stream’s crystal-clear water smoothed the stones’ corners and edges as it passed over them. The town had just one little street, and it was their only street. 

Chen Wanwan drove into the middle of the town, and stopped in front of a two-story building with a very simple appearance. A long white wooden board hung on the left side of the anti-theft door, with the words “Peng’s Traditional Chinese Medicine” written on it.

Chen Wanwan parked the car in a parking space and both of them got down, only to be welcomed by a pleasant herbal smell.

Following Chen Wanwan, Xu Xingxing entered the door as well. As soon as they entered, they saw a lot of people queuing up, with most of these consisting of a man and woman pair, she and Chen Wanwan were the only two women present together.

“You wait here, I’ll register,” Chen Wanwan murmured, gesturing to a set of chairs as she regarded the line.

Xu Xingxing nodded and replied, “Okay.”

She looked up and scanned the area after Chen Wanwan left. There were numerous banners and signs hanging on the wall of this little space. This hospital appeared to have quite a reputation.

Chen Wanwan finished registering and approached Xu Xingxing and said, “Okay.”

The two did not fall into the line that was there; instead, Chen Wanwan hauled her up to the second floor saying, “Dr. Peng rarely sees patients these days, and her trainees are the ones who diagnose the people lined up. To get Dr. Peng to meet you personally, I used a lot of my connections.” 

Xu Xingxing felt really grateful for Chen Wanwan. She thought that she was very lucky to have such a friend.

After the two walked to the second floor, they went to the end of the corridor. There was a sign above the room, which said ‘Dean’s Office’. Chen Wanwan knocked on the door and heard a “Please come in.” 

Although it was said to be the dean’s room, it was a simple room of 12 square metres, with a window, a bookcase, a table and two chairs.

A gray-haired old lady in a white coat was sitting there. Seeing people coming in, the old lady just glanced at them through her glasses.

“Hello, Doctor Peng, we made an appointment earlier,” Chen Wanwan said, pushing Xu Xingxing to the front, then added, “This is Xu Xingxing.”

Seeing the doctor, Xu Xingxing greeted her respectfully, “Hello.”

Dr. Peng seemed to be sixty years old, but Chen Wanwan had heard that she was actually eighty years old.

After listening to their introduction, Dr. Peng put away the book at hand, took a clean white cloth and put it on the table, and said in a flat tone, “Let’s take the pulse first.”

“Okay,” Xu Xingxing replied, and after walking over, put her wrist on the white cloth.

Dr. Peng placed her fingers on Xu Xingxing’s wrist, and asked about her situation while taking her pulse.

“When was your last period?”

Xu Xingxing’s menstruation cycle was irregular, so she remembered her last period fairly clearly. She thought for a while and replied, “July 28.”

Dr. Peng nodded, her eyelids drooped slightly, and her fingers moved slightly on Xu Xingxing’s wrist.

“Do you have sex regularly?”

Xu Xingxing blushed, then pursed her lips and said, “Before this last period date, it usually took place two or three times a month.”

“Hmm.” The old lady responded, summing up her first possible conclusion, “It may be that your sexual activity is too low.”

Blushing even more, Xu Xingxing remembered the frequent “sex” with Huai Jing recently.

“No… it’s not because of this,” Xu Xingxing said awkwardly.

“Then what about your husband?” Dr. Peng asked.

When the word “husband” was mentioned, Xu Xingxing was left in a daze for a few moments. She shook her head and said, “No problem.”

Chen Wanwan overheard Dr. Peng asking about Wang Shunsheng, so she couldn’t help but speak up, “That man, her ex-husband, cheated on her with his lover, who is now expecting a child. Therefore, it’s not a problem from his end.”

Xu Xingxing felt a little helpless at this comment and peeked at Dr. Peng, who remained inexpressive. She was calm and unmoved, and started asking other questions.

“Irregular menstruation, inaccurate ovulation, these make it difficult to conceive. Besides, your uterus is cold, even if you ovulate regularly, fertilisation will still be a problem. First, I’ll prescribe a few medicines, to take care of it slowly.” Dr. Peng said in a calm tone after checking Xu Xingxing’s pulse.

“Then is it possible for me to get pregnant?” Xu Xingxing hopes were raised slightly after listening to the doctor’s words. 

“Let’s take one step at a time,” Dr. Peng instructed. “Pregnancy can be easy or challenging, and it depends on the person.”

As the doctor didn’t give a direct answer, Xu Xingxing was free to imagine the various diagnoses she could have gotten instead. She suppressed her emotions and thanked the doctor.

“I will prescribe the medicine first, and you can go to the pharmacy below to get it. Two doses a day, drink these for three months first. Within these three months, your menstrual cycle should become regular. Come again after that, then we’ll talk about the rest.” She handed over the list to Xu Xingxing.

Xu Xingxing looked at the names of a bunch of traditional Chinese medicines, nodded and said, “Okay, thank you.”

After taking the list, Xu Xingxing and Chen Wanwan thanked the doctor again. As soon as they touched the door handle to exit the room, Dr. Peng’s voice came from behind. “Pregnancy depends on opportunity. Like your ex-husband’s lover, she conceived immediately, maybe, the child might not belong to him.”

Xu Xingxing: “…”

Chen Wanwan: “…”

“Hahahaha!” Chen Wanwan was still laughing loudly when they got in the car. “Isn’t this Chinese Medicine Dr. Peng too cool? My God~it’s killing me…hahaha….”

Xu Xingxing was left speechless and simply responded to her friend with a helpless smile.

………………………..

Xu Xingxing spent a little time at Chen Wanwan’s house and then went to Huai Jing’s place. He was already at his home, waiting for Xu Xingxing. She felt a little bit sorry for leaving him alone, so she kept the bag with the medicine away, and went straight to prepare dinner.

After they both ate, she cleaned the dishes. She then took out two doses of the medicine. Xu Xingxing frowned slightly at its bitten scent, then filled a glass of water.

She took a pair of scissors and cut a small opening in the medicinal bag, and the bitter scent grew stronger. She then put the required dosage into the glass of water. When she saw the coffee coloured medicine in the glass, she immediately picked it up and drank it without taking a breath. 

The strong bitter medicinal taste was like fire burning her taste buds. This fire didn’t just stick to the mouth, but quickly spread to her nasal cavity and eye sockets, rushing into Xu Xingxing’s mind till she was almost shedding tears.

“What are you doing?” Huai Jing stood in front of the kitchen door, frowning tightly as he saw Xu Xingxing holding a bag in one hand with a red face and teary eyes.

Huai Jing reached for a piece of sugar from the box of sugar cubes next to the woman, pinched her chin, and stuffed it in for her. His fingers stuck to her lips as he pulled them out of the woman’s tightly closed mouth. His fingertips froze in response to the gentle, warm touch, and a tingling feeling spread from them that reached the bottom of his heart like an electric shock, making his eyes grow dark.

“Let me see who bullied you like this.” Huai Jing frowned, and took the bag from Xu Xingxing’s hand. 

The bitterness gradually faded away, Xu Xingxing slowly came back to the present as she opened her eyes, but her nose and eye sockets remained crimson, making it seem as if she had been bullied. She said, “Thank you,” and swept the sugar cube all around her mouth.

“This is traditional Chinese medicine.” Xu Xingxing explained, “It’s used for conditioning the body.”

The man narrowed his eyes slightly, put down the bag, and asked, “Are you in poor health?”

""

“No… this is to help me with infertility…” Xu Xingxing paused for a while before murmuring. 

The man stared.

The kitchen window was closed, and the sea breeze was howling outside.

Xu Xingxing told Huai Jing about the reason directly, firstly because she was afraid that he would ask again in the future, and secondly because she felt that it was okay to tell him. Anyway, the two of them were just friends with benefits.

Huai Jing’s eyes shifted slightly when he turned to face Xu Xingxing, but she was unable to tell what emotion was reflected there.

“Why are you taking Chinese medicine now?”

“Ah?” Xu Xingxing was slightly taken aback.

Huai Jing bent and looked into Xu Xingxing’s eyes with a smile in his own, as his lips curved upwards.

“Do you want to give birth to a baby for me?”

Xu Xingxing: “…”