Chapter 6 Shadowed by Han Zheng
The news that I had taken Wen Ci spread quickly.
From the first day the news got out, whenever Wen Ci and I appeared together, footsteps followed not too far behind.
To me this tracking technique was far too clumsy. It rang like an alarm bell in my head, driving me crazy.
If it had been anyone else, I would have caught them a hundred times over.
In crowds they often lost us. I even had to slow my steps on purpose just to let them catch up again.
I had imagined many times that Han Zheng would rush up and curse me out. After all, he used to be so jealous. He could not stand me getting too close to anyone else.
But this time he actually held out for four days.
When I was sending Wen Ci home, he slipped and fell toward me.
I had just caught him when I heard a branch snap behind us.
Wen Ci's body stiffened. It looked like he had heard it too.
"Sorry." Wen Ci straightened up quickly. He looked at me in some panic and asked softly, "What would Han Zheng do if he got jealous before?"
"Tie the person up and beat them half to death," I said.
Wen Ci got scared and stepped half a pace away from me. It amused me.
But then I remembered Han Zheng was following right behind us now, and he still showed no reaction. My smile froze on my face. Irritably I said, "We're here. Go on up."
After sending Wen Ci off, I walked to a trash can and stubbed out the cigarette in my hand. The sounds behind me stopped.
Han Zheng was dumb. And timid too.
When I was alone he did not even dare come too close. I would not have exposed him anyway.
I was about to keep walking when the sounds behind me unusually did not follow.
My heart skipped a beat. Uneasily I turned around to look for him.
After searching for a bit, I found Han Zheng squatting in a corner.
The path was remote, the streetlight dim. Under his baseball cap his face was almost hidden in shadow.
He did not seem to know what he was thinking. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, stared at it for a long time, then lit it.
Just as he raised it to his lips, I snatched it away.
"What are you doing?" I grabbed his chin in anger. "When did you start smoking? Have you been smoking these past few days?"
I caught the smell of alcohol on him. My heart tightened. "You drank too? Can you even drink?"
"Is it any of your business?" He pried my hand off and stood up to leave.
Fuck. That fuckable attitude again.
I pinned him back against the wall. I wanted to kiss him to death.
But when my mouth reached his lips, I stopped.
I had just smoked. The taste had not faded.
I had learned to smoke back when I followed Han Yiheng. After getting together with Han Zheng I quit completely. These past few days of frustration had made me slip and smoke a few again.
I was regretting why I had smoked just now when Han Zheng's hoarse voice pulled me back.
"Who are you thinking about?"
"Thinking about Wen Ci?"
Whether from the alcohol or because he was truly hurting, he forgot we were not together anymore. With red eyes he asked me:
"You really like Wen Ci now?
We've been together for seven years. How long have you known him? You—"
"But the seven-year itch was what you said."
The one who should feel wronged was clearly me.
I lowered my eyes to stare at his toes. My eyes stung fiercely.
"Han Zheng, you were the one who abandoned me first."