Chapter 14: After the Mirror Shattered

The two—one tall, one small—remained silent as they slowly made their way up the stairs to the second floor.

After what had just happened, Yezhe had no heart to help Yudong get acquainted with the second floor anymore.

Now, rather than showing her around, it felt more like he was simply wandering aimlessly with her in tow.

There weren’t many customers at noon, and the ones who left earlier were the last table for the day.

As they wandered around the second floor, naturally, they saw the private room those drunks had wreaked havoc in.

The door to the private room was half open, and a strange odor—a mix of beer and food—wafted out.

Yezhe could already guess what it was like inside without even looking.

When he fully opened the door, just as expected, beer bottles were scattered all over the floor, mixed with sunflower seed shells.

The beer that had spilled onto the floor had been trampled by heavy boots, turning into sticky black clumps.

The table was actually better, just piled with greasy pots, bowls, and plates.

Might as well just clean it up, and find an excuse to let her leave.

With that thought, Yezhe stopped in front of the private room.

When Yezhe stopped, Yudong naturally stopped as well, standing there blankly.

Her mind was still filled with the memory of the young man helping her up just moments ago, her fingertips still lingering with the sweat from his palm…

No, this won’t do.

There was a feather-like tickling sensation at her fingertips, her ears were burning just like before, and as for her cheeks and neck, they felt like melting fruit candy.

She couldn’t think about it anymore—the more she did, the stranger she felt…

“Uh, Yudong?”

Yezhe stood where he was, turning his head just enough to catch a glimpse of Yudong out of the corner of his eye.

“If you’re… not feeling well, why don’t you head downstairs first? I’ll tidy up here, and you can just say you’ve already looked around or whatever.”

As he said this, Yezhe didn’t dare look at Yudong.

He just kept rubbing at a loose thread on his shirt, stealing glances at her petite silhouette at first, but when he felt her gaze, he turned his head away and faced his back to her.

It went quiet. After Yezhe finished speaking, all he could hear was the violent thumping of his own heart in his chest.

“Um… I’m fine. I-I’ll help you, okay?”

She couldn’t leave yet.

No matter how awkward it was, she couldn’t leave.

She had to explain everything today—if she didn’t, he would definitely tell Boss, and then… then everyone in the shop would look at her with those strange eyes. She couldn’t let that happen.

Deep breath… Yudong tried to overcome her fear and said this to Yezhe.

Now Yezhe was stumped.

Why won’t she leave…? Isn’t she embarrassed at all? Or is it because of what just happened?

As he thought this, the scene he had worked so hard to forget replayed in his mind like a movie.

It felt like a wet blanket pressed to his chest, making it hard to breathe.

A thin sweat broke out on the back of his neck, and Yezhe shuddered, his fingertips curling involuntarily.

“Ahem, you… really, you don’t have to. The shop is… just like this, anyway…”

As he spoke, Yezhe made vague gestures in the air with both hands—drawing circles with his left hand one moment, letting it fall to clutch his collar the next.

“Sigh…”

With a sigh, Yezhe fell silent.

So, the two of them brought the silence of the first-floor hallway up to the private room on the second floor.

After a long while, Yezhe couldn’t hold it in any longer. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he finally spoke.

“About what just happened… I-I won’t tell anyone. Everyone has their tough times, and I—I really don’t know what that was about. Really, I’ve already forgotten.”

As he spoke, Yezhe quietly turned his head, just enough to see Yudong.

So it really is because of what happened earlier.

At first, Yudong’s expression was calm, but the moment she heard Yezhe mention it, she panicked, opening her mouth as if to speak, then, after struggling for a moment, lowering her head.

So, he really cared about that.

He’d definitely tell someone, wouldn’t he? On her very first day, to have her weird female coworker suddenly hug him…

No! Anything but that!

She had to apologize properly. There’d never be a better chance. As long as she explained, it would be fine.

No turning back! So, after taking a deep breath that seemed to suck up all the air in a fifty-centimeter radius, Yudong nearly shouted at Yezhe.

“Just now! I’m sorry about just now! I really didn’t mean to hug you… or anything, I was just really, really sad, that’s all, I swear I didn’t have any other intentions, really…”

With each word, her courage faded, and Yudong didn’t dare meet Yezhe’s eyes—not even his back.

With her head bowed, she blurted out her apology all at once.

Then, silence fell again.

“It’s fine… it was just kind of surprising, that’s all.”

When she looked up, Yudong saw that Yezhe had already turned around to face her.

His slender fingers reached up to brush aside the hair on his forehead.

Yezhe’s gaze darted away, and as he pushed his hair back, he seemed to be thinking about something.

Then he let his hand fall to prop up his chin.

The evasiveness faded from the corners of his eyes, which gradually darkened, like a meteor streaking across the deep night—so dark, she couldn’t tell what emotion was there.

“Ahahaha… But really, thank you. After crying, I feel a lot better.”

“And also, you absolutely can’t tell anyone about this. Please… I’m begging you.”

She pressed her hands together, lips resting lightly against her knuckles, pleading with Yezhe in a voice so sweet it was almost cloying.

“You don’t have to worry, I won’t say a word. If I do, may I get hit by a car as soon as I step outside.”

“And anyway, you were crying so much—there must be something you can’t talk about that’s making you sad, right?”

For the first time, their eyes met directly. Yezhe’s deep gaze tried to peer into the unfathomable darkness in front of him—the abyss that was Yudong.

“…No, it’s nothing, really, haha… just some things that can’t be helped…”

At his second sentence, Yudong’s face paled as if a storm had swept through, turning her previously flushed cheeks an ashen white.

Even her voice grew weak, as if someone had draped a thin mist over her words.

The bitter laugh was for Yezhe to hear, but the words were for herself.

Her voice was so light, it was as if the wind would blow it away, and Yezhe could barely catch the latter half.

He had wanted to ask what she’d said, but her suddenly shifting expression stopped him.

“Right, didn’t you need to clean up? I’ll help you. By the way, the cleaning supplies for the second floor are by the bathroom at the stairs, right? I’ll go get them for you…”

Her eyes never left his as she forced out a hideous smile, like crumpled, torn paper clumsily patched together.

As she spoke, Yudong turned and hurried off, her footsteps so rushed it was as if something was chasing her.

Though the exchange just now was awkward, it was the happiest moment Yudong had experienced recently—enough to let her forget her pain, even if only for a while.

But it was only temporary.

The shards left behind after a mirror shatters are sharp enough to wound. When the daydream ends, the unspeakable pain still comes crashing back, relentless.

Don’t forget—whatever she was hiding could devour her completely at any moment… She couldn’t relax, not for a second…

She didn’t know whether the end of this road was a gallows or a guillotine. Yudong just kept moving forward, step after step.