What’s Between Them
What’s Between Them
She washed up and dressed in jeans with a t-shirt and an olive-green cardigan. She removed her piercings and dabbed on some light makeup, putting on mascara, and applying blush on her cheeks. She then parted her hair and tied it up in a neat, sleek ponytail. Wu Genji then put on her spectacles before she went to grab her purse.
When she went back toward the hall, she bumped into Yuan Ning.
"What are you still doing here?" she gaped.
He frowned, wearing fresh clothes. Wu Genji had almost forgotten that he still had his stuff in her apartment. "I wanted to check how you were this morning," he said, and then looked at her strangely, poking at her spectacles. "What are these for?"
"Don't you have work?" she countered, stalking past him.
"It's my day off," he said, whirling around. "Are you going to the social services meeting?"
She paused. "How did you know about that?" she asked, her voice sharp.
"You told me last night," he answered, his voice equally sharp.
She turned to face him, wearing a cold expression. "What else did I tell you?"
"Not much." Yuan Ning said, noticing how her hand was shaking. "Let me take you."
"I can take myself," she snapped.
"You're not entirely yourself," he closed the space between them. "I'll stay in the car, but let me take you."
She snarled. "I liked it better when we were ignoring each other," she said, turning on her heel. Yuan Ning took that as a yes, and then he grabbed his jacket, following after her.
In Yuan Ning's car, Wu Genji felt jittery, and she cursed herself. How could she fuck up during such an important time like this? Whatever her so-called friend gave her, it was still in her system, but it was leaving. Wu Genji then wrote a mental note never to associate with Mingxia again.
Yuan Ning took her to the social services office. "I'll be here when you're done," he said. Wu Genji recoiled. She wasn't used to anyone waiting for her, being there for her, and she didn't want to start. She wasn't interested.
She then strode inside the social services building, heading to the adoption department.
She was let inside in the office with the agent she was meeting.
"Hello, Miss Wu," the agent said with a kind smile.
"Hello," Wu Genji replied, trying to steady her fingers as they shook hands.
"How have you been since the last I saw you?"
Wu Genji reflected. A lot has happened, but she didn't want to give her the details. "I've been fine. I was working and staying at home. That's all."
The agent was checking over her file when she said. "That's nice to hear."
"How's my nephew?" Wu Genji couldn't help but ask.
The agent sighed. "He's fine, Miss Wu. His foster family has been giving him extra care and attention."
"Can I see him?"
"Miss Wu," her agent said sympathetically. "We've been over this. You can't be in contact with him until you've cleaned your criminal record, and until you've passed the medical tests we need to prove you are capable of having him in your custody."
Wu Genji frowned. "I just want to see him," she said. "Even if it's at a distance or just a photo."
The agent gave her a weighing look. "At this time, I can't and won't disclose any information regarding your nephew," she told her.
Of course, Wu Genji thought. Why would she trust a criminal and a recovering addict with a child's personal information?
"Now," the agent said. "I know it's been tough not seeing him. But I can assure you that he's doing well. What I need for you to do is try your best to get your records clean."
"I've already told my attorney everything I knew. My own mother planted those drugs in my house the night I was arrested for drug possession, and there's no proof. The police happen to show up at my house while my nephew was there, and no one believed me. It's my word against hers."
"These cases are difficult to prove, and given your history…"
"I know," Wu Genji countered. "But I quit when my nephew had come into my care, and I never looked back."
"If we were to do a urine test today, hypothetically," said the agent. "Would your sample come clean?"
Wu Genji gritted her teeth. There was a lot of shit going through her system right now. Pain medication, alcohol, more drugs. She had been so stupid. She shouldn't have visited her father the day before because it sent her over the edge.
Damn. Nothing was working out for her.
"Yes," she lied.
The agent faked a smile as if she had seen right through her. "We'll keep in touch, Miss Wu. Contact your attorney again and get tested. I expect good results if you wish to reunite with your nephew. And Miss Wu, don't take this as me being hostile. Our agency prefers children to be with their familial relations; however, children are our priority, and we place them diligently to where they fit."
Wu Genji nodded. "I understand. I just want you to tell him that I won't stop trying to get him back."
"He knows, Miss Wu."
Wu Genji mustered a small smile. She then stood up and parted with the agent. She left the building, and just as Yuan Ning said, he'd wait for her. He was scrolling through his phone by the time she opened the car and sat next to him.
"How did it go?" he asked, starting the engine.
She sighed. "Just drive."
They sped off, and Wu Genji was lost in thought the entire way home.
When they arrived, Wu Genji muttered a "thank you," before stepping out of the car. She headed inside the apartment when Yuan Ning followed her.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I thought I should spend the day here."
"Don't you have better things to do?" She asked, walking toward the elevator.
"Not really," he admitted.
"Won't you worry, your mother?"
"She knows what I'm doing."
Wu Genji paused, and she narrowed her eyes at him before they went up the lift, heading to the front door of her unit.
When they went inside, Wu Genji placed her bag aside, and she went to find something to eat. Yuan Ning helped her cook lunch, and they ate together in awkward silence.
They used to eat together before, but it was a comfortable silence because they disregarded each other's existence. Now, there was a type of intimacy that floated between them, forcing them to acknowledge each other's presence, and Wu Genji didn't like it.
Wu Genji watched him, and she realized that something about him changed—in a good way—and it was as if she was seeing a different side of him. His usual distant and indifferent expression had softened. He didn't look as if he was angry at the world anymore. The death of Shi Ma shouldn't have been what changed him for the better; it was his reconnection with his family. And because of what she had done for him, he became insufferable, and no doubt, he was determined to return the favour. And she didn't want it.
For the rest of the day, Wu Genji had been working on her computer while Yuan Ning shopped for groceries, stocking her kitchen cabinets, and he cleaned the entire floor. She told him he didn't have to, but he insisted.
By the evening, she went to dye her roots in the bathroom, but she had trouble with the back of her head. Hesitant, she called for Yuan Ning, and he came immediately.
"Can you do the back of my hair?" she asked him.
He nodded and slid behind her with his towering figure. Yuan Ning then lifted the brush and began to apply the bleach on her roots. "Only paint over where it's black," she instructed him.
"All right," he replied.
She could see his reflection in the mirror, and he was gentle and meticulous as he massaged the bleach into her roots. She wondered why he hadn't asked her why she dyes her hair, but she supposed he didn't care about the choices she made. Afterward, Wu Genji invited him to watch a movie with her as she let the bleach settle in. Thirty minutes in, she paused the film, and he helped her wash her hair, and afterward, he applied blue dye over her bleach-blonde roots. He then rejoined her for the rest of the film, and he fell asleep near the end, propped against the sofa, exhausted.
She gazed at him. It wasn't simple denying his agonizing beauty, but she knew they were wrong for each other in so many ways. What's between them won't last. She'd make sure of it.