Chapter 23: Consequences of staying out overnight

Sitting in the taxi, Lu Weizhu was a bundle of nerves.

“…Why did I lose consciousness for so long?”

Holding her head, Lu Weizhu felt frustrated.

If she had known this illness would bring her so much trouble, she would never have forced herself to go to the café to work.

Not only had she completely lost face in front of Ning Wan and given her something to hold over her, but she also hadn’t returned home all night and hadn’t reassured Lu Weiyu.

Opening her mobile phone, Lu Weizhu stared at the battery indicator, now glowing red, and the long list of missed calls. 

She was on the verge of tears.

“How am I supposed to explain this?”

The scent of Bai Lu Bath Gel lingering on her before had already aroused her little sister’s suspicion. 

Now, what would Lu Weiyu think of her? 

Lu Weizhu couldn’t figure it out, nor did she dare to dwell on it.

After hesitating for a moment, she dialed Lu Weiyu’s number.

“……?”

The call didn’t go through for a long time and eventually disconnected automatically.

“……”

Staring blankly out the window, Lu Weizhu suddenly felt powerless.

“It’s fine, maybe her mobile phone just ran out of battery, or she’s resting.”

Even more unbearable than Ning Wan knowing her embarrassing secret, Lu Weizhu pressed her hand to her chest and tried to comfort herself.

Sitting there in a daze for a long time, Lu Weizhu thought about calling Bai Yun, wanting to let her know she wouldn’t be coming to work today, and that she wanted to spend the rest of the day with her sister.

But when she opened the dialer, she was surprised to find she didn’t even have Bai Yun’s number.

“…Unlucky.”

She rarely wanted to curse out loud, but in the end, she only muttered about her own bad luck.

After waiting anxiously in the taxi for what felt like forever, she finally arrived at the hospital in the afternoon.

“Driver, bus money.”

After paying, Lu Weizhu got out of the car.

The rain had stopped, but there were still puddles on the road. 

As soon as her cloth shoes hit the wet ground, water seeped in. 

A chill crept up from her soles, and Lu Weizhu staggered a few steps before barely managing to steady herself.

She rushed toward the Inpatient Department, hurried upstairs, and stopped in front of Lu Weiyu’s hospital room.

With just a wall between her and Lu Weiyu, she suddenly calmed down.

“…How should I start?”

Muttering to herself, she pressed up against the wall.

There wasn’t much noise coming from inside the room—maybe her little sister really was asleep?

Thinking this, Lu Weizhu gently pushed open the door.

“Sis.”

As soon as the door opened, Lu Weiyu’s voice came, thick with exhaustion.

Lu Weizhu looked at her sister lying on the bed. 

The girl had dark circles under her eyes, looking like she hadn’t slept all night.

“Ha…Wei, Weiyu.”

Lu Weizhu’s voice was a bit guilty.

“You haven’t slept at all? Your dark circles are so heavy, you really should get some rest…”

“Big sis.”

Lu Weizhu was cut off.

“Mm.”

Standing at the doorway, Lu Weizhu crossed her hands in front of her, nervously twisting her fingers.

She looked like a child who’d done something wrong, even though, in name, she was the guardian of the girl before her.

“Weiyu, I’m here.”

She lowered her head, staring at the tips of her shoes.

The toes of her cloth shoes were soaked from the puddles, and only then did Lu Weizhu realize she was still wearing white tube socks and a maid uniform.

What kind of image was she presenting to Lu Weiyu right now? 

The unease in her heart grew stronger, and Lu Weizhu began to hate herself again.

Why did she always act so foolishly?

“…”

Lu Weiyu took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress her emotions.

“Why didn’t you come home last night?”

Her question was calm, but in the silence of the hospital room, it sounded deafening.

Lu Weizhu shook her head slightly.

“I—I had a fever. Got confused and ended up falling asleep at work. I only just woke up not long ago.”

Lu Weizhu made up a lie.

Lu Weiyu’s eyes trembled, and she gripped her quilt tightly.

“What are you wearing?”

A maid uniform—

Lu Weiyu had only seen such things in manga. 

To her, while her sister looked pretty in this outfit, it was out of place and made it all too easy to imagine her doing unsavory things to please others.

“Uh, this, this is just my work uniform.”

Lu Weizhu closed the door behind her and cautiously walked to Lu Weiyu’s bedside, but didn’t dare to sit down—only stood there, awkward and silent.

Seeing Lu Weizhu’s messy clothes, Lu Weiyu began to breathe heavily, her anger rising.

“Cough, cough…cough, cough…”

Worked up, Lu Weiyu started coughing violently.

“Weiyu? Weiyu? Are you alright?”

Lu Weizhu hurried to support her little sister, gently patting her back to help her breathe.

Her words were full of care, warm and attentive, but they only made Lu Weiyu feel worse.

“Sis…what kind of job are you really doing?”

Lu Weiyu grabbed the sleeve of Lu Weizhu’s uniform.

The wide sleeve of the maid uniform was gripped tightly. 

Lu Weizhu felt her legs weaken and fell to her knees with a thud, her upper body slumping onto the bed.

Letting out a muffled grunt, Lu Weizhu tucked her hands into her sleeves, not daring to let Lu Weiyu see the wound on her palm.

“Actually…actually, I’m just working as a waitress at a café.”

Lu Weizhu didn’t care about the pain in her knees anymore and hurried to explain.

She really, truly cared about her little sister and didn’t want her image to be ruined in Weiyu’s eyes.

“Weiyu, I—I only went to the café because nobody else would hire me anywhere else. It’s a proper job, I won’t embarrass you…”

Lu Weizhu was anxious, her tone urgent.

Lu Weiyu pressed her lips together. 

Seeing Lu Weizhu so anxious to explain only made her realize again just how important she was to her sister.

She turned her head away.

The anger in her heart grew, but it wasn’t just about Lu Weizhu not coming home last night. 

More than anything, she hated her own uselessness, hated that she couldn’t understand enough.

The sound of her sister’s knees hitting the floor had been so loud—it must have hurt a lot, right?

Lu Weiyu regretted her own stubbornness.

“If you were sick, why didn’t you come back sooner?”

Not looking at Lu Weizhu, Lu Weiyu closed her eyes.

“I have no right to tell you what job to do, but, Sis, you should at least take care of your health.”

She let go of Lu Weizhu’s sleeve and pulled the quilt over her head, not wanting her sister to see her.

“I worry about you so much. I’m really scared something might happen to you.”

Lu Weiyu’s voice was muffled under the quilt, no longer calm but tinged with emotion.

Maybe her temper was flaring up—she knew Lu Weizhu did everything for her, but she still couldn’t bring herself to yield.

She’s important to her sister, but isn’t her sister just as important to her?

They should be sisters who support each other. 

Lu Weizhu’s dream was to see Lu Weiyu recover, finish her studies, and start a family. 

Lu Weiyu’s dream was to see Lu Weizhu find happiness.

She didn’t want to see Lu Weizhu getting hurt because of her.

“Sis, do you really know how important you are to me?”

Her voice was tinged with anger.

“Go rest. I want to be alone for a while.”

With that, Lu Weiyu said no more.

Lu Weizhu could only see the quilt bulging slightly, not knowing if Lu Weiyu was sobbing or doing something else.

“…”

Words stuck in her throat, Lu Weizhu didn’t dare disturb Lu Weiyu any further.

Her little sister was angry.

Realizing this, Lu Weizhu slowly left the hospital room and sat in a daze on the bench in the hallway.