Contradicting Hearts - Chapter 3 - Poor Taste

Hao Sijia sent a photo to Lin Jize.

Just as Lin Jize entered the laboratory and put on his gloves, his phone on the shelf vibrated twice.

“HSJ?” Wu Xing glanced at the screen for Lin Jize. “Do you want me to bring it over?”

“No need,” Lin Jize said, looking at two girls nearby who were calming a rabbit. “Go and prepare the medication.”

“Do you have a cold?” Wu Xing noticed Lin Jize’s nasal voice.

“Yeah.”

The two junior students seemed inexperienced with the lab work, struggling to insert the tube from various angles. Noticing their nervousness, Wu Xing reassured them, “You hold the rabbit; I’ll insert the tube.”

Lin Jize stopped Wu Xing, “The teacher only asked us to assist. It’s everyone’s first time; you need to adjust your mindset on your own.”

Wu Xing knew Lin Jize was not one to coddle anyone and was used to it. “Indeed, you will eventually have to do it yourselves. Give it a try, take it slow, no need to be nervous.”

One girl resignedly took the stomach tube and inserted it into the rabbit’s throat, but as soon as the tube was in, the rabbit started to struggle violently, causing her hands to shake. Lin Jize caught the tube as it almost fell, handing it back to her. The girl looked up at Lin Jize, hoping to find some comfort in his handsome face, but his expression was icy cold.

“Your hesitation only makes it worse for the rabbit.” There was no impatience or disgust in his tone, but something about Lin Jize’s aloof demeanor unnerved people.

The girl closed her eyes, gripped the tube, and pushed it in forcefully. After inserting the tube, she dared not look again. The other girl injected atropine and diazepam into the tube. The rabbit was initially lively but soon began to droop.

After testing the rabbit’s saliva and pupils and recording the data, they administered an antidote to the rabbit, hesitating slightly, “The rabbit is still alive…”

All animals used for experiments were to be disposed of harmlessly in the end. Wu Xing, catching the girl’s implication, chuckled, “If it doesn’t die, you’ll fail this lab session.”

Lin Jize, less patient than Wu Xing, glanced at his watch, unwilling to waste more time. He took the rabbit from the girls and injected air into its jugular vein right in front of them.

Seeing a girl’s eyes turn red, Wu Xing was worried she might say something like, “The bunny is so cute, you are so cruel.” Instead, he turned to reassure her, “All the animals here in the lab, like domestic poultry, have their own roles. It might be hard at first, but with more practice, you’ll struggle less emotionally.”

Lin Jize took off his lab coat and gloves, then checked the message Hao Sijia had sent him an hour ago.

A bruised patch of skin with a glimpse of a black lace strap at the edge of the photo.

A pitiful emoji accompanied by the words “It hurts.”

Lin Jize typed a few words in the response box, his eyes lingering on the image, but then he deleted everything and finally tapped on the photo to delete it.

…

The aftermath of the fever was a body sore all over. After spending an afternoon in the photo studio, that evening, Hao Sijia invited Ye Jingshu to a foot massage parlor.

Ye Jingshu was a graduate student at the Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and went on to work as a microelectronics engineer at HW after graduation. Her parents were university professors, so she had always been a good student and well-behaved girl. Her path was quite different from Hao Sijia’s, who had ventured out into the world right after high school.

The two were high school classmates. In high school, Hao Sijia was unruly and part of the volleyball team, standing out even among a group of tall girls.

Hao Sijia wasn’t considered a conventional Chinese beauty but had a look that Westerners might appreciate. When Ye Jingshu first saw Hao Sijia, she felt as if she was seeing Shu Qi step out of a Hong Kong film. It wasn’t that Hao Sijia looked much like Shu Qi; it was more about her aura fitting that vibe.

After that first encounter, Ye Jingshu couldn’t stop thinking about Hao Sijia and even wrote her a love letter. When Ye Jingshu presented the pink letter to her, Hao Sijia spat out the sports drink she had just sipped.

“Ouch! Ah~ Ahhh! Wait, wait, lighter, ah~ lighter…” Ye Jingshu almost cursed out loud from the pain.

The massage therapist was quite pleased with her own strength, and didn’t ease up at all. “Pain means there’s blockage. Beauty, do you sit for long periods and not exercise? Your muscles are quite stiff.”

Hao Sijia, used to Lin Jize’s massages, could handle a lot of pressure. The massage therapist, seeing that her client hadn’t reacted for a while, took a deep breath and increased the force. The back massage didn’t hurt, but her bruised chest was pressing into the mattress.

“Damn it!”

Hearing Hao Sijia finally cry out, the massage therapist relaxed her clenched teeth and began to explain the acupoints on Hao Sijia’s back, adding, “Pain means there’s blockage.”

“You… today…” Ye Jingshu, in so much pain that her speech was broken, gasped, “Can you go lighter?”

The massage therapist teased Ye Jingshu a bit, finally easing up on the pressure.

Ye Jingshu continued, “Why are you also complaining about pain today?”

“My chest hurts.”

“Why does your chest hurt?”

Hao Sijia turned her head to glance at Ye Jingshu, and instead of saying “from having sex,” she changed it to “ran into a tree.”

“You’re really careless.” Ye Jingshu waved her hand to signal the massage therapist to stop. The massage therapist covering Hao Sijia with a blanket also left with her kit.

Without Ye Jingshu’s wailing, the room became much quieter. The movie on the wall was at a scene where the male and female leads were confessing their feelings. Ye Jingshu, reminiscing about the time when Hao Sijia received her handwritten letter and looked as if she had eaten something disgusting, couldn’t help but laugh.

“Back then, you thought I liked you, didn’t you?”

Hao Sijia scoffed, “Who writes a letter to make friends?”

“What letter?” Wang Teng closed the door with his foot, carrying two bowls of wonton noodles, and sat next to Hao Sijia. “I personally cooked these, fresh out of the pot. Eat while they’re hot.”

“Do I have to pay?” Hao Sijia fiddled with her chopsticks.

“You’re a big boss, do you really need to worry about the cost of two bowls of noodles?”

“I’m thrifty! If I can save money, I will.”

Wang Teng shook his head with a smile and stuffed a wonton into Hao Sijia’s mouth. “Eat up, no charge for you!”

Ye Jingshu, holding a wonton with her chopsticks, hesitated, “What about me?”

“You?” Wang Teng teased, “I have to charge you!”

Hao Sijia’s phone screen lit up. Wang Teng glanced over and saw the sender-” “.

Wang Teng knew who it was at this hour, and looking at Hao Sijia’s expression, he joked, “Is he urging you to go home?”

Hao Sijia, detecting the odd tone in Wang Teng’s voice, didn’t open the message. She flipped her phone face down and ignored Wang Teng, “What’s gotten into you?”

Wang Teng nudged Hao Sijia’s arm, “Not going to reply to him?”

“None of your business,” Hao Sijia kicked Wang Teng away, “Get lost.”

After finishing her noodles, Hao Sijia took a nap in the room. When she woke up, it was already dark. On her way home, she didn’t check Lin Jize’s message, planning to reply before she entered the house.

The message was sent two hours ago. Lin Jize mentioned that the fingerprint lock was acting up again. The password could still be used, but last month, after a quarrel with Lin Jize, Hao Sijia had changed the password and never got around to changing it back. So, when the elevator doors opened, Hao Sijia saw Lin Jize sitting at the door.

As evening fell, the summer heat became even more stifling. Hao Sijia stepped out of the elevator and felt a wave of hot air hit her face.

Lin Jize was sitting upright, wearing headphones, with several layers of tissues neatly placed under him. He was probably listening to an English audio lesson, as he didn’t notice Hao Sijia approaching. She crouched down and removed one of his headphones.

“Sorry, I was in a meeting, and my phone died…”

But before she could finish her lie, her phone rang. Feeling awkward, she opened her mouth to speak, but the phone rang three or four more times.

Damn it, she cursed inwardly.

“Let’s go inside,” Lin Jize said as he packed up his backpack and picked up the tissues from the floor.

Hao Sijia tried to appease him by squeezing his shoulder. “You must have waited a long time. I’ll get this lock fixed soon.”

Lin Jize brushed her hand away, hung his backpack on the coat rack, and prepared to leave again.

Thinking he was upset, Hao Sijia instinctively grabbed his hand. “Where are you going?”

“Supermarket.”

“I’ll come with you,” she said, naturally linking her arm with his. “I’ll pay.”

Once they got into the car and closed the doors, Hao Sijia noticed a perfume scent. It wasn’t the car’s air freshener, and she hadn’t worn any perfume today. Lin Jize definitely wouldn’t wear any either. Remembering Qin Ya’s friend request, she glanced at Lin Jize in the rearview mirror and rolled down his window.

“Terrible taste.”

Lin Jize leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, not responding to her seemingly random comment.

“Did you sleep with her?”

Lin Jize turned to look at her. “What?”

“Did you sleep with her?” Hao Sijia pressed the brake, unbuckled her seatbelt, and leaned in to sniff his neck. “Or did you kiss her?”

Lin Jize blinked, realizing what she meant. After a few seconds, he replied, “No.”

“No sex? Or no kissing?”

The car behind them honked several times, but Hao Sijia seemed oblivious, staring intently at Lin Jize as if she wouldn’t move without an answer.

Lin Jize stared back, trying to read her emotions.

“Forget it,” she chuckled lightly, buckled her seatbelt again, and stepped on the gas.

Hao Sijia spent a long time tossing snacks into the shopping cart, only to find it gradually emptying. She glanced at the reflective shelves and saw Lin Jize’s hand reaching into the cart.

“Hey!” She quickly turned and grabbed his hand, but Lin Jize showed no embarrassment at being caught. Calmly, he used his other hand to put two large bags of potato chips back on the shelf.

“I’m paying,” she protested with a click of her tongue.

“Sure, you pay,” Lin Jize said, putting a bag of spicy strips back as well.

Lin Jize really didn’t like Hao Sijia eating snacks. The ones she brought home often mysteriously disappeared. It was the same when they shopped together; she would pick out a bunch of snacks, but by the time they checked out, half of them would be gone. Hao Sijia didn’t flatter herself into thinking Lin Jize was concerned about her health. She knew he just didn’t want her making a mess with crumbs on the floor.