Lin Zhou decided she needed to have a proper talk with Shen Che. She couldn't continue to be kept in the dark like this.
She chose an afternoon when she guessed he would be in a better state of mind and knocked on the door of 601 again.
This time, Shen Che didn't shut her out. He let her in.
The room was neat but exuded a sense of coldness and desolation. The furniture was sparse: just a bed, a table, and a chair. On the table were a few books and a thermal cup. The faint smell of medicine in the air was more distinct now.
Lin Zhou didn't sit down. She just stood in the middle of the room, looking at him.
"Shen Che, we need to talk."
Shen Che nodded, his voice hoarse. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything," Lin Zhou's gaze was direct. "I want to know why you lied to me, why you're hiding here. Is it because... you found someone else? Is it that woman who... comes to see you often?"
She finally asked the question that pained her the most.
Hearing this, Shen Che looked up abruptly, a flicker of intense emotion in his eyes for the first time. "No!" he denied urgently. "She's the sister of my old neighbor. She's a social worker now, just... helping me out."
"Helping you out?" Lin Zhou seized on the keyword. "What's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
Shen Che's lips pressed into a thin line. He turned his head, avoiding her gaze. Silence spread through the room.
Lin Zhou's heart sank bit by bit. She walked up to him, forcing him to look at her.
"Shen Che, look at me. Tell me, what kind of illness do you have?" Her voice trembled.
After a long silence, Shen Che finally spoke. His voice was soft, like a sigh.
"I... have some health problems. I need long-term treatment." He didn't specify the illness, just vaguely admitted it. "I didn't want to be a burden to you, so I..."
"So you lied to me? So you played me for a fool for three years?" Lin Zhou interrupted, tears welling up in her eyes again. "Shen Che, what am I to you? A piece of baggage you can just throw away when things get tough?"
"No! Zhou Zhou, you're not baggage!" Shen Che grabbed her arm excitedly. "You are... my most precious light. I just... I didn't want my darkness to pollute your light."
"But don't you know, after you left, my world has had no light at all!"
Lin Zhou shook off his hand, her vision blurred by tears. She looked at the man before her, so familiar yet so strange, and felt a sense of despair for the first time.
What separated them wasn't the lies, wasn't the illness, but his self-righteous, suffocatingly heavy "it's for your own good."