She smiled and asked, "Have you eaten, Yan hope?"
Aside from his name, no matter how powerful that person was, he never uttered a complete sentence.
Looking up again, there was no one like that anymore.
After sobering up, he went back. When Chu Yun saw him, his smile instantly turned reassuring.
She whispered in his ear, "Where have you been?"
It seemed that, fueled by the alcohol, they had become much closer in an instant.
Yan hope laughed, "It's just a walk. Don't drink too much, or I won't be responsible for dragging you home later."
She took his arm, looking small and adorable, and shook her head, saying, "It's okay, it's okay, I can stay with you."
And so, whose eyes did this scene fall into?
Siwan said, "Your things are upstairs. Aunt Zhang almost threw them away as trash a few days ago."
Yan hope looked at him and said, "I'll go with you to get it."
Behind him, the drunken Miss Chu clung to him, following his every step.
That room, once hidden under the shade of a tree, is now so clean and tidy.
Every book on the table was tucked away so neatly. The cactus on the windowsill, having been kept indoors for many years, was in a listless, dejected state.
Unlike him, when he returned to China, the place was deserted.
Siwan took a square cardboard box out of the cabinet and handed it to him.
Me too, I opened it and found... your stuff.
He spoke softly, but Chu Yun looked at the room with curiosity—whose room was this, and why there was nothing there except for writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones?
There was nothing there.
Siwan smiled; she didn't like the things other girls liked.
Yan hope hugged the box tightly, leaving a deep crease, then lowered his head and let out a soft, lifeless sound that turned to ash.
How did you know?
Siwan turned her face away, her lips pale.
Inside, the phone suddenly rang.
2:00 PM.
It rang only once before being answered by Si'er in the opposite room.
Because of the heating, both rooms were wide open for ventilation. Through the opposite door, you could see that Winsle looked very flustered as she answered the phone.
She said, "Why are you calling? Didn't I tell you to call my cell phone?"
She said, "Okay, everyone is doing well. You saw the interview. Yes, he is in good health."
She said, "Okay, okay, I'm busy now, I'll hang up now. By the way, don't send those things next time, they're so cheap, they won't use them."
She said she wanted to say something more, but someone grabbed her wrist tightly.
Turning around, she saw Yan hope.
The boy was panting heavily, his big eyes staring intently at her.
Give me the phone.
Si'er said, "Yanxi, are you crazy? It's my classmate on the phone."
Yan hope gritted his teeth and said, "I'll only say it once: give it to me."
Si'er was shocked. She looked at him, her pupils shrinking, all the tension taut on her nerves.
In the end, I let go.
He held the microphone to his ear, his black hair obscuring his eyes.
After a long while, he put down the microphone with a blank expression.
What's scattered on the ground is that square box.
A painting titled "Sunrise".
A pair of white canvas shoes.
Long, long ago, he wore these shoes, carried an umbrella, and walked to her side when she was lost.
Silly child, I'll take you home.
Chapter 68
"Hello, hello... Is this really DJ Yan?" Xiao Wu muttered, but the other party remained silent.
Ah Heng looked into the microphone, smiled, her features blurred.
Finally, the breath, coming from the nose, turned cool.
Is she humiliating herself? It was clearly Winslet who said her mother missed her dearly and told her to dial the home phone number.
Stop, interrupt, beeping sound.
Xiao Wu slammed his hand on the table, laughing and scolding, "Well, you naughty thing, you even dare to play pranks on your fifth sister, you've gotten too bold!"
They reached out their devilish claws and pinched the child's cheeks.
Ah Heng didn't resist. He took her arm, chuckled, and said, "Let's go, let's go. It's time for dinner. Today is New Year's Day, I'll treat you to something delicious."
Xiao Wu looked up at the sky, shrugged, and said, "It's another new year, and we're another year older, almost thirty. So, what have I done in these past twenty years? Why can't I remember anything?"
The year was 2003.
Ah Heng felt hungry, but actually, it was just a feeling of emptiness that was reflected in her stomach, and she didn't know if it was just an illusion.
She said, "I remember. When I was a child, I climbed more than ten miles of mountain roads. When I was in junior high school, I helped others cheat. In high school, I often made spare ribs. Later, I came here."
Xiao Wu chuckled dryly. Sure enough, that's boring enough. That's your style.
Turning around, remembering something, she slapped her head and exclaimed, "Hey, Liu'er, isn't that right? Shouldn't you be paying your respects to your future in-laws this holiday?"
Ah Heng said that Fei Bai's mother was too polite to me; when I went, they felt uncomfortable.
Every time she looked at her, it was as if she were seeing a stranger she had to entertain. She wanted to say, "Mother-in-law, I'm the person your son will spend his whole life with, and who knows, I might even give you a grandson." The key was that she was afraid her mother-in-law would say, "Really? You've worked so hard, you've gone to so much trouble." How could she possibly accept that?
As they were talking, the dormitory door opened, bringing in a gust of cool air, and Aheng instinctively shivered.
The man stomped his foot, and the hem of his coat swung open in a wide arc.
I looked up and saw long hair.
It is Du Qing.
She closed the door, completely shutting out the girls' playful antics outside.
That was the life they often heard about and enjoyed together—intimacy, tenderness, jokes, as if they were the closest people to each other in this life.
When she saw Aheng, her previously soft and tired posture instantly became spirited, like a little child warrior.
There were no open attacks, just a subtle provocation, like poison that was impossible to defend against. When it fell into your heart, the pain was still intense.
Because this is the consequence of you indulging her.
I completely accept her fate.
So, may I call it... betrayal?
The gentle smile on Ah Heng's face was gone. She asked her, "Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Du Qing's chin has sharp lines. Are you trying to make me apologize? But I don't think I've done anything wrong. What should I do? I can only say your self-inflicted injury tactic worked.
She thought that the huge cake sign was a terrible, self-inflicted ploy.
Xiao Wu, what's wrong with you guys? The atmosphere is so strange.
Ah Heng's expression softened. "Fifth Sister, wait five minutes. Find something to do, like DJing Yan or rock music, it's fine. Don't listen to our conversation."
Du Qing threw the gloves on the table and sneered, "Do you think what I'm saying is dirty? Are you afraid of polluting other people's ears?"
Ah Heng sat down in the chair, gripping the bed railing with her hand, her fingers twisted into a strange shape, as if to say, "Why did you lie to me?"
She gave a disapproving look and scoffed, "Please, who are you? Why should I talk to you? Please, wake up, you abandoned Miss North Vancouver."
So, you only judge Wen Heng, Xiao Liu, by which favored or abandoned young lady he was?
Rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—365 days a year, day and night, that's all she has left of her value.
Ah Heng laughed loudly, "Abandon, abandon, what a wonderful word! She couldn't figure out how to define herself."
The girl across from her, with her delicate features, had already come to regard her as an enemy, even though not long ago, they had been eating the same donut, their mouths covered in cream, looking around and smiling with crescent moons on their lips.
In an instant, it collapsed.
Du Qing inserted his finger into his hair and spoke calmly, "What other words do you need? Haven't you already decided that you're the victim, that I'm utterly wicked? It would be most appropriate for you to bow your head and confess your sins."
Ah Heng said, "In your eyes, there are only two choices: you and Gu Feibai or me and Gu Feibai. But, I'm sorry, what I want from you is your choice: Gu Feibai or me."
Du Qing smiled, a fleeting look of confusion in her eyes. What difference does it make? You know perfectly well that I will never choose you. You should have known long ago that my phone password, computer password, and credit card password are all Fei Bai's birthday.
She walked up to her, a disdainful smile on her face. "Having endured this for so long, isn't it tiring? Cowardice, ignorance, playing the victim—what else can you do? Gu Feibai is just a man with too much of a kind heart."
Ah Heng went over and covered her eyes.
Could you please not say these words to me with eyes that are about to burst into tears? I don't want to cry.
She said, "I could spit on you, ruffle your hair, and tell you, like a woman on the street who has been worn down by life and lost all manners, that you are a person who has lost all sense of propriety in this world, that you are dirty, filthy, and have ruined your marriage, that you should be cast into the eighteenth level of hell, and that I could curse you with the most vicious curses in the world." But this does not prove that I am not cowardly in the slightest.
Du Qing pushed her away, stepped back, sat on the bed, the shadows obscuring her eyes, and spoke with a desolate tone.
This is just a moral punishment, Gu Feibai, I will never give up.
How about we make a bet? I'll leave for a week with a perfectly reasonable excuse, and you stay behind. This blank space is entirely yours to fill. You only have one chance. If you fail, you give up.
Du Qing scoffed, "Aren't you going to continue your act of sisterly affection?" After the foreplay and the subtle transition, the last sentence was the key.
Ah Heng spoke softly. "What, do you think this is an impossible challenge?"