However, Tang Yuanyuan did not say a single word and kept crying.
Seeing how she was sobbing, Mrs. Tang became lost for words and decided that it would be best if she said nothing at all. So, Mrs. Tang sat patiently as she listened and waited quietly by her side until Tang Yuanyuan had grown tired from crying. Mrs. Tang then gently wiped away her tears as she softly asked, “Are you hungry? Should I let the kitchen staff prepare something for you to eat?”
Tang Yuanyuan shook her head and placed her cheeks on Mrs. Tang. “I’m not hungry; I don’t feel like eating too.” Tang Yuanyuan had no appetite at all and just the mention of food made her nauseous.
“How about some soup? You can’t possibly starve yourself at this point,” Mrs. Tang asked her again. But Tang Yuanyuan still did not have the appetite to eat at all, and said in a dejected voice, “I would like to sleep.”
“Then, you should take a bath first before you sleep,” Mrs. Tang suggested. Tang Yuanyuan’s body had been reeking of an unpleasant smell, but she refused to take a bath since she did not have the strength to do so. She then fell onto her bed, hugged her pillow, and turned around. Not long after, she fell into a deep sleep.
It pained Mrs. Tang to see her daughter acting this way but she did not have another choice. All she could do was ask the kitchen staff to prepare some food. Mrs. Tang had also asked for the bathtub to be filled with warm water and changed it every now and then when the water had cooled down so that when Tang Yuanyuan woke up, she could use it right away.
Unfortunately, Tang Yuanyuan slept through the entire night. Mrs. Tang had stayed up all night to accompany her as she was afraid that something would happen to her daughter once she left her side.
When Tang Yuanyuan woke up, a sense of guilt instantly gushed in as she noticed her mom staying by her bed.
“Mom,” Tang Yuanyuan called out.
Upon hearing her voice, Mrs. Tang shot up immediately and asked, “Yuanyuan, are you awake? Are you okay? Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?”
Initially, Tang Yuanyuan did not feel like eating at all. However, looking at how worried her mom was, she could not help but nod her head and said, “Yes, I’m hungry. I’d like to have some congee.”
“Alright, I’ll have the kitchen staff prepare it for you immediately.”
Before the kitchen staff went to prepare her some congee, Tang Yuanyuan had gone into the bathroom to take a bath. Her eyes instantly welled up as soon as she noticed the hot water in her bathtub. The night had already passed, yet the water remained hot. This meant that for the whole night, her mom had someone constantly replace the water in case she wanted to take a bath.
Previously, Tang Yuanyuan felt like her world was falling apart when she thought Yuchi Yishu did not like her. But now, she felt like she had given up too easily.
It doesn’t matter if he likes me or not. If he doesn’t like me, then I won’t like him back either. Why should I let my world fall apart just because of this? She really should not have let herself fall apart so easily. Her acts were simply too disgraceful. Since Tang Yuanyuan was almost a grown-up, she thought she should learn to keep her emotions in check. With this thought in mind, Tang Yuanyuan carefully washed up.
After she finished her bath, her emotions took a turn too.
Just as she exited the bathroom, Mrs. Tang was already outside waiting for her. “Finally, you’ve taken a bath. You must be starving now. Here, the congee is ready. There’s sweet congee, and even plain congee, so which one would you like to eat?”
Tang Yuanyuan forced a smile at Mrs. Tang and softly answered, “Anything would be fine, Mom.”
“Alright; then you can have a little of everything.”
Later, Mrs. Tang remained by Tang Yuanyuan’s side. Seeing how she had eaten spoonful after spoonful of congee, Mrs. Tang relaxed as she reached out to stroke Tang Yuanyuan’s head. “If you still feel unwell, you don’t have to attend school tomorrow. I’ll help you apply for sick leave from your teacher.”
“It’s fine, Mom. I want to go to school, so I’ll just rest for today.”
“Alright then.” At this moment, Mrs. Tang did not dare to meddle with her daughter’s affairs. “You can do whatever you want.”
Tang Yuanyuan did not mention the incident from the previous night again. Mrs. Tang, too, kept silent, since it had something to do with her daughter’s broken heart. After Mrs. Tang left, Tang Yuanyuan resisted her continuous urge to cry as she ran into the bathroom and puked out everything she had eaten just now. In the end, her tears followed suit and fell after she had puked; she was still having a difficult time.
She leaned into the mirror and thought for a while before she washed her face. Tang Yuanyuan looked at herself in the mirror and comforted herself, “You need to pull yourself together, Yuanyuan. It’s okay if he doesn’t like you. You still have your parents and friends.” After cheering herself on, she looked in the mirror and smiled.
The next day, Tang Yuanyuan attended school as usual.
Other than her swollen eyes, Tang Yuanyuan looked normal. Meng Kefei did not know what had happened to her, but being the best friend that she was, Meng Kefei did notice something was wrong with Tang Yuanyuan and asked, “What’s wrong? Your eyes look swollen. Did something happen?”
The events that had unfolded during the weekend were depressing and embarrassing. It was reasonable to say that she was rejected. However, the fact that she was subtly rejected even when she had said nothing made it even worse.
How should I explain this? Should I tell her that I went out with Yishu and that he brought his girlfriend along with us? Since it would sound embarrassing no matter what she said, Tang Yuanyuan gave a faint smile and shook her head.
“I’m fine. It’s just that I didn’t feel well last weekend.” Although she had brushed it off lightly, Meng Kefei knew that something was obviously wrong.
In the following days, Meng Kefei also noticed how quiet Tang Yuanyuan had become. She was always sitting by herself and staring into space. The innocent and lovely little girl in her was gone. The spark in her eyes had disappeared. Even when Meng Kefei called out to her, Tang Yuanyuan sometimes did not respond at all.
Other than that, Meng Kefei also noticed how she never went for jogs anymore and would return to their dormitory to sleep after classes had ended. At times, when Meng Kefei pulled her along to visit the library, Tang Yuanyuan would not read at all. Instead, she would lay by her side and sleep. She would only leave together once Meng Kefei had finished reading and woke her up.
Everything felt weird to Meng Kefei. What was even weirder was how Tang Yuanyuan’s weight had drastically dropped even though she did not exercise or control her food intake. Within less than half a month, Tang Yuanyuan seemed to have already lost a lot of weight.
Witnessing all these, Meng Kefei could no longer bear it any longer so she asked Tang Yuanyuan, “What really happened? Aren’t we best friends? Why won’t you tell me anything?”
Tang Yuanyuan could only force a smile at her. “It’s really nothing, Fei. Don’t worry about me. I’m just feeling unwell; that’s all.”
“Feeling unwell?” Meng Kefei was in disbelief. “If you’re just feeling unwell, why won’t you see a doctor since you’ve been like this for a while?”
“I don’t feel like going,” Tang Yuanyuan timidly replied.
“Is it because you don’t feel like going, or you’re actually not feeling unwell at all?” Upon hearing this, Tang Yuanyuan lifted her head and looked at Meng Kefei. She was unsure if she was delusional, but she felt like Fei was a little aggressive at the moment.
“What’s the matter, Fei?”
Meng Kefei realized that her attitude was a little harsh after being questioned by Tang Yuanyuan. Immediately, she returned to her calm state. “I’m fine, but please don’t blame me. These days I’ve only seen you being upset, so I was hoping you could share your problems with me. I might be able to give you guidance. Just look at your current self. You don’t exercise nor eat much, but your weight has fallen so much. As your best friend, I’m very worried about you.”
