Her mum was still waiting for her at the beauty salon...
Her mum only came out because of her, and now, she ran out without even bringing a phone with her. She'd been away for so long now, she must be worried about her...
Ji Yi only left her mum's side in such a hurry because she couldn't wait to see He Jichen, but who knew... she would see him under those circumstances...
As soon as she thought about what He Jichen and Chen Bai said, Ji Yi's swollen, red eyes started to feel sore again.
She raised her head to the sky and took a deep breath, trying to push back the tears. Then she got up and walked out of the alley.
Ji Yi stood by the side of the road for some time before she caught a taxi.
When she reached the beauty salon, the sun had already set. Ji Yi wasn't in a hurry to head back into her mum's room, so she took a turn into the restroom.
As she passed by the trash can opposite the restroom, Ji Yi remembered what Qian Ge said to her an hour ago when she stood there. A sharp pain came over her again as she walked slightly in disarray.
Standing in front of the sink, Ji Yi poured cold water over her face. She stayed in a daze for a long time as she watched her swollen red eyes gradually return to normal then she grabbed a towel and wiped her hands and face dry. Ji Yi forcefully smiled a few times in the mirror. After she confirmed that the expression on her face didn't look so down, she headed back to see her mum.
After noticing that Ji Yi was gone for a while, her mum felt bad waiting around at the salon after finishing her treatments, so she had a new treatment done.
Ji Yi still hadn't returned when the new treatment was almost finished.
As she worried about Ji Yi, Ji Yi's mum was also conflicted about whether to have another treatment done when all of sudden, the door opened and in came Ji Yi's voice: "Ma."
Ji Yi's mum turned her head and saw Ji Yi then immediately thanked the heavens as she cried, "Xiao Yi, you want to scare mama to death!? Mama thought something happened to you!"
"No." Ji Yi was afraid her mum would notice signs of her crying, so when her mum looked over at her, she lowered her head.
"Why did you go look for Jichen? Was it something urgent?"
It would've been better if Ji Yi's mum hadn't mentioned it at all, because as soon as she did, Ji Yi's rattled emotions resurfaced again after she tried so hard to push them down in the restroom. Ji Yi's fingertips trembled for a moment as she almost lost control and she lied with a soft voice, "I wanted to see him about something, but he wasn't at home, so I came back."
"What took you so long?" rebuked Ji Yi's mum with a hint of blame in her voice.
"I went to look for Zhuang Yi," replied Ji Yi, who randomly thought up an excuse to mislead her mum. Then she apologized with a gentle voice, "Ma, I'm sorry for making you wait for me for so long."
Ji Yi's mum was more worried than angry at Ji Yi, and upon seeing her return, she was overjoyed. Ji Yi's mum immediately smiled when she heard her apology and said, "Just pay for mama's bill later and we're good."
Ji Yi smiled back and replied with an "Mhm." Before she could finish, the technician working on Ji Yi's mum softly cried, "Madam, your treatment's finished now. May I ask, is there anything else I can help you with?"
Her mum shook her head.
"Madam, please wait here for a moment as I step out."
Her mum nodded.
After the technician left, it was just Ji Yi and her mum left in the large room.
Her mum wasn't in a rush to get up, so she shut her eyes as she laid on the bed.
Sitting beside her, Ji Yi stared at her mum for a while before she suddenly apologized. "Ma, I'm sorry."