Worlds Apart | Chapter 84 | Rescue in the Snow | Novela.app

At least she had some conscience. As his classmates flew home for Christmas, Chen Zhizhong sent his airfare money back to his family and headed to London to find work washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant. The owner provided meals but no lodging; fortunately, a friend lent him a sofa in his apartment. He often finished work late at night, when the neon signs along the streets were flickering out one by one. London felt larger, darker, and emptier than it did during the day. Tucking a container of Cantonese roast meat rice into his coat to keep it warm, he trudged home through the heavy, swirling snow. His friend had recently started dating a hot nightclub DJ, and the two of them were often busy behind the bedroom door, the mattress springs creaking in a rhythmic groan. Chen Zhizhong would sit on the sofa under a small lamp, swallowing the lukewarm rice in great, hurried gulps. On Christmas Day, the restaurant closed early in the afternoon. Chen Zhizhong had intended to stay home and sleep, but his friend dragged him out to celebrate. Thanks to the DJ girlfriend, they managed to sneak into a nightclub through the back entrance, though they still had to pay for their own drinks. After two shots of tequila, the alcohol went straight to his friend’s head, and he quickly vanished into the frantic crowd on the dance floor. Chen Zhizhong, loath to waste money, bought only a single bottle of beer. Consequently, his level of intoxication was limited, not nearly enough for his primal instincts to override his reason. Holding his beer bottle, he stood by the wall, watching with cold detachment as countless young bodies drank and danced wildly to the rhythm of the music and lights. He found the night utterly tedious but didn't feel right leaving his friend there alone. He thought Christmas Eve would pass just like that, until he unexpectedly spotted a familiar face. In the dead of winter, Xiao Heling was dressed in a bright red sequined miniskirt that exposed a large expanse of her pale, tender back. Her long, slender legs were clad only in fishnets, paired with red patent leather knee-high boots with heels sharp enough to be used as lethal weapons. She wore an exaggerated necklace of red and white gemstones, and two candy cane earrings—which Chen Zhizhong found quite foolish—glimmered fitfully amidst her hair. Despite her festive attire, her expression was one of sheer panic. From his vantage point, Chen Zhizhong could see her desperately trying to push through the dancing crowd toward the exit, only to be grabbed from behind by a tall, burly white man. Chen Zhizhong straightened up from the wall. The struggle continued. Xiao Heling seemed to be screaming at the top of her lungs, her hands clawing desperately as she tried to free herself from the man’s grip. However, the club was too noisy, too chaotic; no one noticed her plea for help. Perhaps annoyed by her resistance, the burly man dealt her a vicious backhand. His palm was thick and hairy, like a heavy iron fan. Xiao Heling’s head snapped to the side, making her look like a Barbie doll with a broken neck. Stunned by the blow, she finally stopped struggling. Her slender body went limp as he began dragging her toward the exit. But just as the man reached the door, an Asian man blocked his path. "Let her go." Chen Zhizhong pointed at the girl slumped in the man's arms, his expression calm. "If you don't, I'm calling the police." "Get lost if you don't want a beating," the man croaked with a laugh. The words had barely left his mouth when Chen Zhizhong swung his beer bottle in a wide arc, smashing it hard against the man's head. The brute cried out in pain as blood gushed forth, instantly staining half his face a vivid crimson. Chen Zhizhong grabbed Xiao Heling and dragged her away, turning to run. Many years later, Chen Zhizhong would still remember that snowy night. One streetlight after another, the alternating patches of yellow glow and vast darkness. The cold wind cut like a knife against every inch of exposed skin. He remembered the painful tightness of his hand gripped in Xiao Heling’s, their frantic, uneven footsteps, the ache in his chest from gasping for air, and the icy sting of snow melting in his eyes. Fortunately, the man didn't chase them out the door. Chen Zhizhong didn't dare take her back to his friend's place, so he found a small, nondescript hotel to settle in. After huddling by the heater for a while, Xiao Heling finally regained her senses and burst into loud, wailing sobs. "Senior—" She had been running outside for quite some time, and the snow on her head had melted into water, leaving her long hair plastered wetly against her face. Her eye makeup was smeared by tears, leaving dark streaks across her cheeks. The side of her face where she had been struck was beginning to swell significantly; she no longer looked like the beautiful, pampered girl she usually was. Chen Zhizhong feared a girl's tears more than anything. Though he was fuming with frustration, he couldn't bring himself to lose his temper now. He draped a dry towel over her shoulders and tried to comfort her. "It's okay now. Go take a shower first. You ran through the snow all that way; you'll catch a cold." To his surprise, the more he tried to comfort her, the harder she cried. Finally, she threw the towel aside and clung to him, howling uncontrollably, rubbing tears and snot all over his back. With the soft, fragrant warmth of her body in his arms, a surge of heat rushed to Chen Zhizhong’s lower abdomen, and the back of his neck went stiff. He was struggling just to maintain his self-control; even though he wanted to get to the bottom of what happened, Xiao Heling was sobbing so hard she couldn't utter a coherent sentence. By the time he managed to coax her into showering, drying her hair, and getting into bed, dawn was nearly breaking. Chen Zhizhong had originally only paid for one night, but since the girl had just fallen asleep, he couldn't very well shake her awake. He braced himself and went downstairs to pay for an extension. The hotel owner’s knowing look made him wish he could sink through the floor. After pulling an all-night, followed by a fight and a frantic run through the snow, Chen Zhizhong felt like his body was falling apart. Yet, he couldn't skip his shift at the Chinese restaurant. He forced himself through half a day's work, but his head throbbed painfully. Eventually, he packed a portion of roast meat rice and asked the boss for leave to go home and rest. *Xiao Heling should be able to go back on her own once she wakes up, right?* When he reached the hotel door, he hesitated back and forth before finally deciding to take one last look. To his surprise, Xiao Heling was still lying in bed, her face flushed and her eyes tightly shut. Sensing something was wrong, Chen Zhizhong checked her temperature with the back of his hand—her forehead was burning hot. The situation had escalated beyond the scope of a simple good deed. Chen Zhizhong shook Xiao Heling awake. "Do you have any relatives or friends in London? Give me a contact number. You're sick; I need someone to come pick you up." Xiao Heling’s lips were pale and peeling from the fever, and her eyes were vacant. Hearing his words, she struggled to shake her head. "No... don't go back." "Stop messing around," Chen Zhizhong said sternly. "Now is not the time to be willful." But Xiao Heling started crying again. Unlike the loud wailing of the previous night, her tears pooled in her eyes, swirling around until they could no longer be contained, then rolling down from the corners of her eyes one by one. She cried silently, with only the occasional sniffle and a thin, thready sob in her throat, like a wounded small animal. "I... I can't let them know," she whispered, lowering her head, not daring to look at him. "They don't know anything." They were the incoherent ramblings of a feverish patient, yet Chen Zhizhong understood. "Fine," he sighed. "Once you're better, you're paying me back every cent for the urgent care and the hotel." | Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 烧腊饭 | Cantonese roast meat rice | Often referred to as Siu Mei; includes roasted meats like char siu or roast duck served over rice. | | 数九寒冬 | the dead of winter | A traditional Chinese term referring to the coldest period of winter. | | 温香软玉 | soft, fragrant warmth | A literary idiom (lit. warm fragrance and soft jade) used to describe a beautiful woman's body. | ---