Second Hand Love Letter

These days, Shen Wenqiu has roughly observed Lu Yong’s current lifestyle.

Although Lu Yong was no longer what he used to be, he still lived simply and didn’t waste much money nor live extravagantly. Lu Yong’s daily outfits in the wardrobe were basically from ordinary brands, there weren’t many famous brands, except for two suits and a pair of leather shoes, which should have cost a lot.

On weekdays, he never saw him wear it at work. Just only seeing it worn when Lu Yong went to the detention center to pick him up.

Speaking of which.

Someone should be wondering, why does Shen Wenqiu know about Lu Yong’s wardrobe?

Because Lu Yong not only gave him the key card, but the doors, cabinets, and drawers of every room in the house were left unlocked. As long as Shen Wenqiu wanted, he could open everything at will.

At first, Shen Wenqiu felt that Lu Yong really didn’t treat him as an outsider. But after looking through it, he found that apart from the house itself, there was nothing valuable at all. No wonder he was so open and defenseless.

Shen Wenqiu was bored and looked around.

Lu Yong was also very frugal in daily expenses.

He had nothing to do a few days ago, so he went to a nearby supermarket with Lu Yong to purchase ingredients needed for the next three or four days. Lu Yong even had to look carefully at which kinds of ingredients on the leaflet had discounts on that day, and also carefully looked at the supermarket flyers to think about how to combine and buy more economically. It was really a careful calculation.

Shen Wenqiu, “Why are you still so frugal even when you’re a president now?”

Lu Yong said, “Why do I need to spend recklessly if I can save money?”

Shen Wenqiu: “You’re indeed thrifty. But President Lu, if you go out on a date with a girl in the future, remember to be more generous. Otherwise, you won’t stand out against the others and it’s going to be hard to find someone to date.”

Lu Yong was as if he had thought of something, he frowned, paused, and said thoughtfully, “I was introduced to a blind date before and had a meal with the other party. When I checked out, I paid and used the coupons I had saved.”

“My classmate later said I wasn’t gentlemanly enough.”

Shen Wenqiu: “Hahahaha.”

Ha ha, Lu Yong had also gone on a blind date before? True, his condition is so good now, he must have no shortage of women who want to marry him.

Even when he was missing a hand in high school, there were girls who still liked him.

Now that he thinks about it, they are 28 this year. Soon they’ll be 30. Some old classmates who were quick, either already had a second child or have married for the second time. A blind date was nothing.

In the past ten years, they have not contacted each other at all, and Lu Yong has never come to him. He had his own life to live, and perhaps he already had dated before. Shen Wenqiu thought that probably, for Lu Yong, the impulsive confession to a friend of the same sex when he was a teenager was like a dream-like prank. When he woke up, he found that he was still a normal person. Now he is back on track and can be a young talent everyone is envious about.

His refusal back then was correct.

But for someone frugal like Lu Yong, Shen Wenqiu found a stack of thank you letters for donations on the cabinet in his study room, either for poor girls or sick children, at least 5,000 at one time, and at most 20,000. He also found a few thank-you letters from girls in mountain areas who were funded. Probably it was from the time after he graduated and went to work.

He started to give some donations as soon as he got a small amount of money, huh.

Shen Wenqiu thought about it. Seeing the electronic signboard of the pet hospital, he quickly pointed and said, “We’re here, it’s over there.”

Lu Yong looked for a parking spot on the side of the road.

Shen Wenqiu urged, “Hurry up, this dog smells so bad.”

Lu Yong looked at him.

He didn’t mean anything, but Shen Wenqiu was sensitive, his cheeks were hot when he thought of what he had said earlier. On the day when Lu Yong picked him up and they went back together, he was no better than this dog, and he still had the nerve to dislike it. Given the fact that the dog was even cuter than him. 

So, after getting out of the car, he silently took the initiative to hold the carton. Somehow, when he hugged the cardboard box, the dog suddenly barked.

Lu Yong stood on the side and said, “I’ll hold him.”

Shen Wenqiu had to hand him the box, muttering, “Damn, this dog can even smell who is a scum and who is a good person?…”

His words were drowned by a loud “bang” of the door closing.

Lu Yong heard him vaguely and asked, “What did you say? Xiao Baa.”

Shen Wenqiu stopped talking, “It’s nothing.”

Lu Yong was tall with bulky arms, so he could lift the box with two hands easily. Shen Wenqiu still couldn’t help but pay attention to his prosthetic limb. In the past, when Lu Yong was missing one hand, he couldn’t hold things easily. And Shen Wenqiu often helped Lu Yong move them.

Now he is no longer needed.

The consultation room in this pet hospital was a bit small. After Shen Wenqiu followed in, he felt that him standing there was just going to get in the way. So he told Lu Yong that he would go to the lobby to wait and then left.

He sat in a cold chair, with nothing to do, his mind wandered aimlessly: I’m really heartless. Most people will feel sorry for such a miserable stray dog, right? Why am I not feeling it? When did I become so indifferent?

A chubby Russian blue cat wearing an Elizabethan ring passed by. Shen Wenqiu touched it, and he thought enviously, it would be nice if he was reborn as a cat in his next life. It’s too tiring to be human.

After a while, Lu Yong came out of the consultation room. The puppy was taken for an examination, and he went to pay the bills.

Shen Wenqiu got up and went over to listen to how much he needed to pay. The young lady at the front desk said, “…A total of three thousand and two hundred yuan. Would you like to apply for our membership card? 10% off for 2,000, 15% for 5,000, and 20% off for 10,000.”

Shen Wenqiu said: “So expensive.” These days, pet’s treatments are more expensive than humans, the dog was living even better than him. Lu Yong would apply for the membership card, right? It’s also much cheaper.

Lu Yong took out his wallet, opened it and paused for a few seconds before saying, “I won’t apply for the time being, I will just pay the full amount. I don’t have that much cash, can I use my card?”

… Does this mean he didn’t plan to adopt that dog? Shen Wenqiu thought with hindsight.

He actually didn’t feel sorry for the dog at all, and he was even a little bit jealous, but he suddenly felt pity for their similar fate. Although Lu Yong was willing to spend money to save it once, he didn’t plan to raise a dog. It would be difficult for an ugly and sick dog to find an adoption. Sooner or later, Lu Yong would exhaust his patience in taking care of it.

Just like with taking care of him.

Lu Yong glanced at the watch on his left wrist, and said, “The doctor said it will take half an hour to an hour to do the examination. Let’s go and have a meal nearby.”

Shen Wenqiu glanced at the watch on Lu Yong’s hand.

It is a Titoni-brand watch, an old antique. Lu Yong’s father bought this watch when he was in high school and asked an old watchmaker to fix it, and gave it to him as a present so that he could check the time when he went to school. Lu Yong used to cherish it very much. Ten years later, it seems that it is still well maintained.

It brought back memories.

Passing by the milk tea shop, Lu Yong bought two cups of milk tea, one for him and one for himself.

He asked him what he wanted to drink. Lu Yong said, “Brown sugar with condensed milk? I remember you love drinking milk.”

Shen Wenqiu laughed, “That happened so many years ago. At that time, I loved drinking milk because I was jealous that you were taller than me. I would like a cup of signature fruit tea with cheese milk foam.”

Passing by another deep fry food stall, Lu Yong bought two fried meats, one for him and one for himself.

Shen Wenqiu followed him and ate. Before he even finished eating, Lu Yong led him into a lobster shop and ordered three catties of steamed crayfish, two catties1 of spicy crayfish, two plates of cold dishes, and two bowls of cold noodles, altogether costing more than 500 yuan.

It had been a long time since Shen Wenqiu ate this much without restraint. He was so happy. He burped and said, “It’s so delicious.”

Lu Yong said, “Then let’s order another two catties.” He raised his hand and gestured to call the waiter.

Shen Wenqiu shook his head, “I can’t eat anymore today, let’s eat again next time.”

Lu Yong nodded.

It was almost time. They went back to the pet hospital to pick up the dog and waited for a while. The doctor roughly talked about the puppy’s condition. In addition to skin diseases, its teeth and eyes also had problems, but these were minor issues. The biggest problem was that the dog had ascites2. The only good news was that it was still treatable as it wasn’t too severe.

The veterinarian said tactfully, “The follow-up treatment of ascites is very expensive, and it’s not guaranteed that the dog will be healed…”

Even for the pets that were raised personally, the treatments were considered too expensive, not to mention that it was just a stray dog he ​​picked up.

Lu Yong: “It’s okay, let’s try to heal it first.”

Veterinarian: “Are you sure? It will cost at least tens of thousands.”

Lu Yong: “It’s fine.”

Shen Wenqiu didn’t speak, he went back to his seat and waited while Lu Yong and the doctor went to the treatment room on the second floor to see the dog.

What to do? Should he go back and say goodbye to Lu Yong later? What is the best reason?

He wanted to smoke again; he touched his pocket, but there was no cigarette.

He exhaled as if he was smoking, but his chest still seemed to be blocked.

In fact, he just wanted to say “I’m sorry” to Lu Yong.

This was his last wish.

After saying that, he should be able to die with peace of mind. Regardless of whether he could be forgiven. But Lu Yong and him get along normally, as if nothing had happened, and he could not find the opportunity to speak at all.

And it would make him seem like he was sentimental; it was ridiculous. 

“Bzt——Bzt——”

The phone vibrated.

Shen Wenqiu saw Lu Yong accidentally leave his phone on the table. The screen lit up, and the message bar prompted that he had received a new WeChat message:

[Jiangling: Don’t blame me for not reminding you that Shen Wenqiu is a rotten guy in the future…]

Then the phone screen luminosity dimmed down, and it turned back to the standby black screen. After several minutes, Shen Wenqiu thought dully: Oh, it turns out that Lu Yong already knew.

Lu Yong returned to the lobby on the first floor, and Shen Wenqiu was no longer there. He went to the gate and looked, again, there was no one.

Lu Yong went back to the pet hospital. Just as he walked to the front desk and wanted to inquire, the front desk handed him his mobile phone and said, “Your friend asked me to hand your mobile phone to you.”

Lu Yong asked: “Where is he?”

The front desk replied: “Uh, he went out. I’m not sure.”

Lu Yong frowned. He turned on the phone, stared at the screen, held his breath, and shifted his eyes up and down. Half a minute later, he put the phone away and somehow understood what had happened. He quickly asked: “Did you pay attention to which direction my friend went after he went out? How many minutes has it been since he went out? Thank you.”

Catties: 500g

Ascites: Ascites is a condition in which fluid collects in spaces within your abdomen.