Heart Flutter

Chapter 123

Ji Yuqing stood still for a moment, then gently set down the watering can. Her eyes flickered with uncertainty. “Yanyan…”

She was just about to speak when Tang Yan, flustered and impatient, quickly cut her off. “Wait, Aunt Ji. I’m not finished yet.”

She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling faster and faster, her voice trembling with emotion. “I know it’s probably too soon for me to be saying this. I know there’s a good chance you’ll reject me. But these past few days—after everything that’s happened—I’ve had this voice in my head that keeps pushing me, telling me I have to say this. At first, I planned to wait. I wanted to accomplish something, to prove myself, and then pursue you properly. But now… now I’m scared. I’m scared someone else will come along and take you away from me. I’m really, really scared.”

“Yanyan, I…” Ji Yuqing faltered, overwhelmed. Her hands hung at her sides, unsure what to do. “We… we can’t be together. I’m your aunt.”

That answer hit Tang Yan like a knife to the chest. This was the very thing she had feared most—that Aunt Ji would use that excuse to push her away. She shook her head desperately. “No. Aunt Ji, I don’t want that answer. I want to hear what you really feel. Just tell me the truth—if there’s even the tiniest part of you, even just a little bit, that feels something for me.”

“Yanyan, I…”

Before she could finish, a loud knock on the door cut through the moment, breaking the tension like a glass shattering.

“I’ll go check,” Ji Yuqing said, already walking toward the door. Tang Yan hesitated a second, then quickly followed.

On the security monitor, they could see two people standing outside—a man and a woman, both around their late fifties or early sixties. Familiar, yet unfamiliar.

The doorbell kept ringing, loud and sharp.

“Who are they?” Tang Yan asked, confused.

“I don’t know,” Ji Yuqing murmured as she opened the door.

The couple outside radiated hostility—there was no mistaking their aggressive stance. Tang Yan instinctively sensed trouble.

“You’re Ji Yuqing?” the older woman barked, eyes glaring, full of rage.

“Yes… I am.” Ji Yuqing answered, confused.

Smack!

The woman slapped her—so fast even Tang Yan hadn’t seen it coming. Ji Yuqing instinctively raised a hand to her face, shocked.

“What the hell?!” Tang Yan exploded. “Who the hell do you think you are, slapping people out of nowhere? Are you insane?!”

Ji Yuqing quickly reached out to hold her back. “Yanyan, let’s hear them out first.”

She steadied herself and looked at the couple. “You’re Zhou Qiluo’s parents, aren’t you?”

Even Tang Yan was taken aback. But even if they were Zhou Qiluo’s parents, what gave them the right to hit people? Aunt Ji wasn’t a homewrecker. She hadn’t destroyed anything.

“Ten years ago, because of you, Qiluo tried to come out to us and caused a huge scene,” the older man finally spoke, voice stern and cold. “Ten years later, again because of you, her marriage is ruined. And now, because of you, she’s in the hospital—unconscious. Are you the curse on our Zhou family?”

Ji Yuqing’s eyes widened. “Qiluo… is in the hospital?”

The woman grew emotional, pulling out a handkerchief and sobbing. “If anything happens to her, you’ll live with that guilt for the rest of your life!”

Only a day had passed since everything began. What the hell had happened?

According to Zhou’s father, Qiluo had been taken to the police station the day before to give a statement. They’d bailed her out and taken her home. On the way back, she said nothing, looked calm, even ate dinner. Then she went to her room. The next morning, when they knocked and got no response, they broke the door open—only to find her in the bathtub, wrists slashed, blood everywhere.

Tang Yan felt a chill run through her. She’d sensed Qiluo’s state of mind hadn’t been right, but she never imagined it was this serious. If something really happened to her, the blow to Aunt Ji would be devastating.

“Please give me the hospital’s address. I need to see her,” Ji Yuqing said.

“I want to come too,” Tang Yan added without hesitation.

They took the address and drove straight over. The whole way there, Tang Yan’s thoughts were tangled—how could someone so put-together do something so extreme? And yet, she was also afraid… afraid that this would only drive Aunt Ji further away from her.

She snuck glances at Aunt Ji’s face while she drove—expressionless. But Tang Yan could tell… she wasn’t okay. Of course she wasn’t. No matter what, Qiluo’s condition was tied to her.

When they arrived at the hospital, they learned Zhou Qiluo was in the ICU—critical condition. Fortunately, Ji Yuqing had connections and managed to get the attending doctor to speak with them. The doctor said Qiluo had lost a lot of blood and arrived late, but they managed to stabilize her. If she woke up, that would be ideal. If not… she’d remain in a vegetative state, forever.

Through the glass, they could see her—lying there like a sleeping beauty. Peaceful. Still.

“I understand. Thank you, doctor,” Ji Yuqing said.

Once the doctor left, she and Tang Yan sat side by side in the corridor, not speaking.

“I didn’t think she’d actually do something like this…” Tang Yan murmured.

“Yeah. The mind is a fragile thing. Maybe the way I rejected her wasn’t right. Maybe that’s what pushed her over the edge.”

Tang Yan knew she’d blame herself. “Aunt Ji, no. I won’t let you do that. No one saw this coming. No one wanted this.”

Ji Yuqing let out a small laugh, trying to change the subject. “I think I left the stove on. I was cooking pork ribs.”

“Ah! Then let’s get home—quick!” Tang Yan jumped up.

No one wants to stay in sadness forever. They didn’t want to keep sinking into it either. Hopefully, Qiluo would wake up soon.

The hospital was much quieter at night. As they walked along the path outside, the scent of camphor trees drifted around them. Their hands brushed—once, twice—and then Tang Yan, heart pounding, reached out and gently held Aunt Ji’s hand.

One second. Two. Three.

She didn’t pull away.

Tang Yan’s confidence bloomed like a spark into flame.

When they got to the car, Ji Yuqing reached the driver’s side. Tang Yan casually let go and walked around to her seat, acting like nothing had happened.

They both pretended it was nothing.

Just as Ji Yuqing was buckling her seatbelt, Tang Yan suddenly flipped on the overhead light, leaned in close, and spotted it—faint, but clear. A red slap mark on Aunt Ji’s cheek.

She hadn’t imagined it.

“Does it hurt?” she asked softly, reaching toward her.

Ji Yuqing flinched and grabbed her wrist, stopping her hand. “No… it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“I don’t believe you. It’s red.” Tang Yan’s voice tightened with pain. She wished she’d been the one slapped instead.

“I’m serious. It doesn’t hurt.”

Tang Yan didn’t look away. Her gaze locked onto Aunt Ji’s face, heart pounding, that burning heat inside rising again. She leaned in—bold and sure—and kissed her.

Up ahead, a few pedestrians were approaching. Ji Yuqing’s eyes flew open. She pushed Tang Yan away, gasping for breath, chest heaving like she’d just done something terribly wrong. Her heart raced wildly.