Shao Yan was the quiet one in their relationship. She always stepped back to allow Liwei to step forward. She would not hesitate to hide in the shadow to let Liwei shone in limelight.
When Liwei had to spend more hours in the office, she did not complain. She had set up a comfortable reading corner to spend her time when he was busy. She would listen to calming music, sipping her tea while reading and glancing at the time. She would always wait for him.
She kept her phone close to her in case he called. But the call never came. Never did a text message. She would go to the library to look for new books, or spent her time in bookstore; leafing through new book collections of game and tech industry to buy for Liwei.
When he had to travel for work and left her alone for weeks, she did not say a word of grievance. She would volunteer her time in community center, or take free project management classes online to get certification. She tried to keep herself occupied even though she was lonely and did not have any friends to talk to.
People who listened to this might blame her for not speaking up. Might even call her stupid.
But she believed in partnership. All she wanted to do was to be a supportive partner; to go through thick and thin with him. To be allowed to stay by his side.
For as long as he allowed her to be.
.....
In the same year Liwei was promoted, Shao Yan got a new job as a project assistant in a publication company. Her commute time turned to be slightly better after that. The office was located about forty minutes away from their apartment. So she could have a little bit more time to sleep.
Although she still had to change multiple trains, and also a bus this time, but her salary was higher than when she was an intern. What made her happy was also because her responsibility was bigger too.
As she got busier with her new job, Liwei was also busy with his projects. He spent more overtime in the office and traveled more frequently.
Every time she sulked on the phone because she missed him, he would lose his patience and yell at her. She would feel pain, and she would yell back at him. They continued to fight and argue over small matters. They would stop talking for days. And when they met again, they would pretend nothing happened and just talk to each other like usual.
They stopped eating together. They stopped sharing little stories. They stopped caring about each other. When she left for business trips, he did not ask how long she would be away, because he would not remember the details.
No more hugs. No more kisses. No more sparks in their love life. They stayed in the same house, slept on the same bed, but they were no more than strangers.
Warm hearts once fated together, split by a slight breeze of wind...and went cold.
She had no friends here. Liwei was her only friend and her only family.
She tried her very best for them to stay together. She very much wanted to make this work.
…..
Rain was pouring without mercy. Together with the wind, it drenched her pants so bad. Her light jacket did not help to keep her warm either. With chattering teeth and empty stomach, she climbed the stairs to floor 10, where their apartment unit was at.
It was an old building. The elevator itself had no door. On each floor of the building, a metal gate was installed to secure the empty space that was meant to be the elevator door, to keep people from accidentally falling down to the gap.
Today just happened to be maintenance day so the elevator was shut down for the whole day.
Shao Yan could feel that her feet had swollen, but she kept her mind on thoughts about her warm, safe place; she could not wait to go home. She gritted her teeth, dragged her feet, and gently climbed each step of the stairs.
The umbrella was dripping with water, and wet the carpeted stairs. Floor creaked beneath her as she put her whole weight down on each step. The heating system did not work on public space, so the whole stair area was so cold.
She felt betrayed by the world; tired she was, but saddened by the reality, she really wanted to cry.
.....
Shao Yan ruffled through her bags and took out her keys. She unlocked her door, only to find that her door was not locked.
Huh? A robbery?
She paused in her steps, debating if she should still come inside. She opened the door slowly, and peeked inside. If there was really an intruder, she did not want to alarm them.
Once she saw Liwei's shoes were at the front door, she breathed out relief, and quickly walked in. She saw the lights were on in the living room.
Shao Yan just put her purse on the kitchen island, when she heard muffled noise from the bedroom.
She got curious and started to walk over closer to the noise.
Her bedroom door was slightly ajar. Shao Yan could see that Liwei was talking on the phone while packing his duffel bag. He was facing the bed, and Shao Yan could see his back was hunched a little while he was trying to fold his clothes with one hand.
Right as she was about to step inside to offer her help, she heard muffled noises on the phone and then Liwei slowly chuckled.
"Patience. I will see you tomorrow. I have changed the flight. Alright?"
She scrunched her eyebrow and her heart thumped. An ugly restlessness sprouted in her mind. Liwei did not speak a gentle word like this to her anymore. It felt like it had been forever for her to hear his warm tone.
Shao Yan felt her head ached and staggered a little; she had to lean on the wall to keep her steady. She accidentally touched her forehead before she abruptly put her hand away. Her hand was so cold.
Ugh! She must had been too hungry, she should eat now.
Liwei laughed again. He still had his back against the door, so he did not see Shao Yan. He raised his wrist a little to glance at the time, and replied, "No, I have not tell her yet. She should be home late again today."
Shao Yan slowly straightened up and left her spot; she walked back to the kitchen.
Her whole body was shivering and she was shaking a little. She decided to eat first and had a warm shower after this.