Water Lily

9

The weekend sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Su family’s living room, falling on the expensive woolen carpet and casting tiny spots of light refracted by the crystal chandelier. As soon as Su Wan placed her art supplies bag at the entrance, she saw her parents sitting on the sofa, a cup of untouched black tea in front of them—clearly waiting for her on purpose.

"Back?" Su’s mother put down the financial magazine in her hand, her tone calm yet carrying an unquestionable seriousness. "Sit down and talk. It’s about you and Shen Ze."

Su Wan’s heart sank slightly. She changed into her slippers, sat down on a single-seat sofa, and unconsciously stroked the lace trim on her cuff, saying nothing. She knew her parents would ask about her and Shen Ze sooner or later.

"I heard you two have been arguing lately?" Su’s father spoke first, his voice steady with the composure of a businessman, his gaze fixed on Su Wan. "Is it because Shen Ze suspects you and Professor Zhang?"

Su Wan looked up, a hint of surprise in her eyes: "How did you know?"

"Shen Ze’s mother called me yesterday," Su’s mother picked up her black tea and took a sip, her tone carrying a faint trace of reproach. "Wanwan, not to criticize you, but when you’re with Shen Ze, you should be more considerate of him. His circle of friends—they talk casually, but he only overthinks because he cares about you."

"Cares about me?" Su Wan’s voice was laced with self-mockery. "Cares through suspicion? He thinks I got close to Professor Zhang for resources, that I’m with him for the Shen family’s background—this is caring?"

"Wanwan, you’re too young to understand how things work," Su’s father put down his fountain pen and leaned forward slightly. "You know how important the Shen family’s resources in the real estate industry are for the expansion of our galleries. The downtown exhibition hall project we talked about—we couldn’t have pushed it forward without Shen Ze’s father’s mediation. This is a critical time. If you and Shen Ze break up, it won’t do either family any good."

Su Wan’s fingers tightened around the sofa armrest, her knuckles turning white: "So, in your eyes, my relationship with him is just for the gallery’s project?"

"That’s not what we mean," Su’s mother quickly explained, softening her tone. "But feelings and reality are inseparable. You and Shen Ze are well-matched in social status, and he does care about you—he just has a bit of a quick temper sometimes. Between husband and wife, you have to compromise with each other. How can you talk about breaking up over a trivial matter?"

"A trivial matter?" Su Wan’s eyes began to redden, but she raised her chin stubbornly, holding back her tears. "He doesn’t trust me, sees me as someone who only uses others—and this is just a trivial matter in your eyes?"

"He was instigated by his friends. It’ll pass soon," Su’s father’s tone carried unquestionable firmness. "I’ve already made an appointment with Shen Ze’s father for dinner next week. You two come too, talk it out properly, and clear up the misunderstanding. No more talk of breaking up—do you hear me?"

Su Wan looked at her parents’ unyielding gazes, her heart feeling blocked and stuffy. She knew they were speaking of reality—the gallery was her grandfather’s lifelong work, and her parents had sacrificed so much for it. She couldn’t ruin the family’s hard work because of her own emotions. But thinking of Shen Ze’s suspicious words and the grievances she’d endured, she felt breathless.

"I understand," she bowed her head, her voice as soft as a whisper, her fingers still tightly clenched, her nails almost digging into her palm.

Silence fell over the living room, broken only by the "tick-tock" of the wall clock. Looking at her daughter’s wronged expression, Su’s mother felt a twinge of compassion. She walked over and gently patted Su Wan’s shoulder: "Wanwan, Mom knows you’re wronged. But remember, everything we do is for your own good. Shen Ze is a good kid—he’s just muddled sometimes. Be more tolerant, and he’ll understand your kindness sooner or later."

Su Wan didn’t speak, just nodded slightly. She knew that in her parents’ eyes, a well-matched marriage and maintaining family interests were more important than her grievances. She was like someone tied to a boat, forced to drift with the current, with no choice but to follow.

Meanwhile, in a café near the Su family’s community, Lin Yan was wearing his waiter’s uniform, wiping glasses in his hand. He worked part-time here on weekends—every extra yuan counted. Grandma’s medical bills were still unpaid; he couldn’t afford to stop.

Through the café’s glass window, he saw Su Wan and her parents walking out of the community and getting into a black car. Su Wan sat in the back seat, her profile facing the window, her eyes filled with loneliness—completely different from her usual gentle and elegant self.

Lin Yan’s hand froze mid-wipe, a sharp tug at his heart. He didn’t know what had happened in Su Wan’s family, but he could feel her unhappiness. The last time he’d seen her arguing with Shen Ze on the parasol-lined path, the grievance in her eyes had still lingered. Now there was an added loneliness—had she encountered new troubles?

He thought back to the taunts he’d heard in the bar, to Shen Ze’s suspicions, and a terrible guess formed in his mind—could it be that Su Wan’s family didn’t approve of her breaking up with Shen Ze? Just like he was trapped by Grandma’s medical bills, forced to endure humiliation, was Su Wan also trapped by family interests, forced to wrong herself?

The thought sent a wave of bitterness surging in Lin Yan’s heart. He’d thought Su Wan lived high above, free from worries, but he’d never imagined she had her own helplessness. They seemed to live in two completely different worlds, yet both were trapped by reality, powerless to resist.

The car started and soon disappeared at the end of the street. Lin Yan stared in the direction the car had gone, the glass in his hand polished until it shone, but he felt utterly drained. He thought of Su Wan’s lonely figure in the library, her reddened eyes, the way she’d held back her tears—and the ache in his heart grew stronger.

But there was still nothing he could do. He was just a poor student working in a café, with no right to approach Su Wan, let alone help her escape her predicament. He could only watch from the sidelines as reality weighed heavily on her, too afraid to even offer a word of comfort.

When he finished work in the evening, Lin Yan passed the entrance of the Su family’s community and saw Shen Ze’s car parked there. Shen Ze leaned against the car, holding his phone, seemingly waiting for Su Wan. Lin Yan hid behind a tree, watching as Shen Ze looked up at the community entrance from time to time, his face showing a hint of impatience mixed with faint anticipation.

Suddenly, he felt that everyone was trapped in their own worlds—Su Wan trapped by family interests and emotional grievances, Shen Ze trapped by suspicion and pride, and himself trapped by poverty and self-respect. No one was truly free; everyone was struggling forward in the chains of reality.

Back in his rented room, Lin Yan called Grandma. Her voice was stronger than before; she said she could already get out of bed and walk, telling him not to worry. After hanging up, Lin Yan sat by the window, staring at the moonlight outside, his heart unusually calm.

He thought of Su Wan’s lonely eyes, her parents’ expectations for her, Shen Ze’s wait. He knew Su Wan might reconcile with Shen Ze under her parents’ pressure, continuing this relationship filled with suspicion. And he would keep studying hard, working tirelessly, raising enough money for Grandma’s medical bills, then passing the postgraduate exam, and stepping out of his current predicament step by step.

Still, every time he thought of the grievance in Su Wan’s eyes, a faint ache lingered in his heart. He pressed that ache deep down, picked up his postgraduate exam real questions, and the scratch of his pen against the paper sounded unusually clear in the quiet room. The spring breeze blew outside, carrying the scent of flowers, but it couldn’t dispel the helplessness and struggle in everyone’s hearts.