Phoenix' Fehler Die Ersatzbraut

Kapitel 1

Senior Brother

Suddenly it started to rain. The past few days had been sunny and windy, and it hadn't rained since autumn began. Being in the sun made me feel irritable, much like Shi Lu's mood at that moment.

His girlfriend of four years broke up with him that afternoon. Shi Lu paused for a moment when he said those two words, then looked back at her. There was a hint of reluctance, a touch of sadness, and perhaps a sense of relief in her eyes. Shi Lu felt a slight pang in his heart, but quickly regained his composure.

“Okay.” Schru turned his head away from her, a hint of regret in his voice. But in reality, he felt nothing at all.

I felt nothing at all.

They'd been together for four years, their relationship characterized by polite respect, but devoid of passion. Shi Lu sometimes wondered if they'd gotten together in the first place because of the somber atmosphere of graduation at their university, that palpable, bittersweet sadness that made them both sentimental, and how their loneliness had led them to desperately seek solace. Later, they pursued graduate studies together, and now, with graduation approaching, another separation looms.

Tears welled in her eyes as they parted, and Shi Lu kindly offered her blessings, trying her best to make the farewell seem less sad. She said she had found a good job in Shanghai and would be leaving in a few days.

"And you? What are your plans?" she asked.

"Me? I'll stay on campus. The school has already approved my internship. I'll be working as a teaching assistant in one of the department's secondary colleges when the semester starts."

It's not that I haven't considered moving to a big city, but I feel I'm too lazy. From elementary school to middle school, high school, university, and even graduate school, I just kept studying without thinking about doing anything else. If it weren't for the exhausting doctoral entrance exams, I probably would have continued studying like that. I really don't have any ideas about the future.

Actually, this isn't so bad. Schru smiled as he watched his ex-girlfriend walk out of his sight, comforting himself. No need to overthink it; at least in the ivory tower, he could make his life a little easier.

But he was still inexplicably irritable. He tugged at his shirt collar and looked up at the sky again. The once cloudless blue sky was suddenly filled with dark clouds, the wind became turbulent, and before long, it started to rain.

Shi Lu sat listlessly in a roadside ice cream shop. For seven years now, since university, he'd always enjoyed sitting like this, legs outstretched, at a table under an open-air parasol, watching the dappled shadows of the trees and the passing crowds, especially in the summer. He and his dorm buddies would sit together, order a few beers, and chat and joke about the pretty girls walking by. What memorable times those were.

Perhaps because it was raining today, there were very few pedestrians on the street. Bored, Shi Lu closed his eyes and listened intently to the sound of raindrops falling on the umbrella, the window, and the ground. The sound was different depending on where they fell; on the umbrella, it was a pattering sound; on the window, the sound was slightly more pleasant; and on the ground, it was a rapid, pattering sound.

Boring, really boring.

Just as Shi Lu was about to explode with boredom, a clear, crisp voice rang in his ears. He opened his eyes and met a pair of slender, phoenix-shaped eyes. Those eyes were deep and captivating, like a still pool, slightly curved, carrying a faint smile.

The person with the phoenix eyes asked, "Hello, senior brother, could you tell me which way to Building 12 in the East District?"

He called him "senior brother".

Shi Lu sat up straight and checked his attire: an orange striped short-sleeved shirt, light blue jeans, and sandals—he really did look like a lazy senior. It seemed he needed to seriously consider his clothing, otherwise the freshmen wouldn't know how to write the words "respect for teachers and education" when school started.

Shi Lu pointed to the campus map hanging above his head, indicating that Danfengyan should look at it himself. But Danfengyan looked up twice and then smiled at him, saying in his clear voice, "Sorry, senior, I'm nearsighted and can't see clearly without my glasses."

Schru sighed helplessly and stood up: "Alright, I'll take you. It's on the way anyway."

The woman with phoenix eyes smiled with obvious satisfaction and whispered thank you. She even gave a slight bow and nodded to Shi Lu as she said thank you, displaying excellent manners.

The rain continued, showing no signs of stopping, and even seemed to be intensifying. Shi Lu walked in the rain, taking large strides and walking quickly without an umbrella. Danfengyan hurriedly followed behind, wanting to share an umbrella with him, but unfortunately, she couldn't keep up. After about five minutes, Shi Lu heard a faint panting sound behind her. The sound suggested she was struggling, but she followed silently, her feet splashing in the water. Eventually, she closed the umbrella and continued to follow in silence.

Quiet child. Shiru thought to himself, slowing his pace so the people behind him wouldn't have to struggle so much. He suddenly remembered a walk he had with his ex-girlfriend on campus; she had jokingly scolded him, "This isn't a walk, it's like you're rushing to your next life."

Somewhat amused, Shi Lu turned around to look at the person behind him and reminded him, "We're almost there." Unexpectedly, he bumped into the boy. It turned out the child was so focused on following Shi Lu's steps that he hadn't noticed he had turned around.

It hurt a little when that round head bumped into my shoulder. The child also rubbed his head and let out a soft "Ouch." He looked up at Shi Lu with a slightly aggrieved expression, but it quickly turned into an apologetic smile.

Her rosy cheeks and light pink lips parted as if to say thank you.

Shi Lu's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

Building 12 in the East District is where Shi Lu used to live when he was in college. It is a male dormitory with a long history on campus. Back then, it was an old red brick building, but now it has been renovated and you can no longer see its original weathered color.

Shi Lu pointed with his phoenix eyes to the building in front of him: "Look, it's over there."

Danfeng eyes smiled and thanked him, then walked excitedly in that direction. Shi Lu watched his back; he was a slender boy, somewhat like the rain—cool and gentle. He wore a black and white striped long-sleeved hooded sweatshirt, dark blue jeans, and a red, white, and blue cloth belt around his waist. Although thin, his clothing perfectly compensated for this, giving him a pleasing and refreshing appearance, even the way he walked exuded a sunny joy.

"Youth is wonderful!" Shi Lu suddenly exclaimed. She thought she was probably like that when she first entered university, right? Naïve, joyful, and innocent. But now, after almost seven years in university, she'd become a seasoned veteran, and naïve and innocent were no longer associated with her. Even joy seemed to have faded considerably. Had she really become so numb?

"The one you don't love keeps bothering you / The one you love isn't in your arms / What you have is no longer needed / What you long for is unattainable..." Jacky Cheung's "Trouble Song" came through the phone. Shi Lu took it out and saw that the caller ID showed it was her mother calling. She quickly answered.

"Mom, what instructions do you have for today?" Shi Lu asked with a grin and a loud voice.

"Are you coming home for dinner tonight? I'm going to buy a chicken to cook. If you come back with Sasha, I'll buy some more groceries." My mother is a straightforward person; she speaks clearly and concisely, and her voice is incredibly loud.

"I'll go back, but I'll go alone. You can buy whatever you want." Shi Lu smiled wryly. Sasha? Sasha just broke up with me.

"You bullied her again? Why didn't she come back for dinner with you? You brat!"

"No, how could I? Mom, I'm busy! Okay!... Hello?... Hello? My phone's dead, I'm hanging up!" Shi Lu made an excuse to hang up on her mother, letting out a long sigh of relief. However, she couldn't hide from this forever. Sooner or later, her mother would interrogate her. She really didn't know what she was struggling with.

Building 12, East Zone.

Yao Lexi stood downstairs, looked up at the window at the very end of the third floor, and a smile appeared on her lips. She quickly ran to the front door and, taking advantage of the old gatekeeper's inattention, quietly slipped inside. She jogged over, glancing triumphantly at the snoring old gatekeeper, and playfully stuck out her tongue.

It's still early before school starts, and Building 12 in the East District is mainly occupied by graduating seniors; it's basically empty now. Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, making Le Xi feel a mix of excitement and sudden melancholy.

Go upstairs, turn left, walk to the end, and push open the door.

The dormitory room, supposedly for four people, could fit eight. The walls were pristine white, and the beds were completely empty. It's unimaginable what it must have been like when it was overcrowded and noisy.

It's said that during the hottest part of summer, everyone would sit together eating watermelon. They wouldn't even use a knife; they'd just smash it open with their fists, each person getting a slice, and devouring it. They'd chatter noisily shower in the washroom, laughing and joking. Now, with air conditioning and private bathrooms, everything's available, but will the people living there still have that same enthusiasm?

Lexi walked straight to the bed by the window, squatted down, and ran her hand along the smooth wall.

If it's an eight-person bed, the lower bunk should be in this position.

Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears, her fingers lingered, and she whispered, "Brother Qi Hui, I've arrived at this school too! Where are you?"

Are you still in America? Have you already forgotten me?

On this wall, you said you used to put up photos of us together. But now, nothing's left. Not a trace of the life you described in this dorm room remains.

Le Xi shook her head, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and comforted herself. After all, so many years had passed, how could she still stay? But she still couldn't help wanting to come and see. She couldn't help wanting to miss it.

August City

L City in August has a unique beauty. It's not as hot as my hometown; you still need long sleeves in the mornings and evenings. At midday, the sun is strong, the sky is a consistent, thorough, and pure blue, and even the breeze is gentle. The weather has been quite nice these past few days, with occasional showers that come and go quickly. After the rain, standing by the window, you can see the tall trees outside, lush and green, lazily stretching out their leaves.

Lexi bought a blue curtain with white floral patterns for 5 yuan. She saw it yesterday on the school forum's flea market after returning from Building 12 in the East Campus. She liked it, then texted the person listed in the post, arranging to meet the next day outside the library. The person was a second-year student who had just given up her off-campus apartment and was "selling" her belongings cheaply, even asking if she wanted cooking utensils and reference books.

She stood on a chair to hang the curtains, and when she jumped down, she felt a little dizzy and almost twisted her ankle. Luckily, she managed to stand up by holding onto the chair. "Maybe I'm catching a cold?" Le Xi wondered. After all, she had only been in L City for less than a week, and on the plane, she had almost collapsed from airsickness and had to be carried off the plane upon arrival. After resting for two days, she immediately started looking for a place to live. Apartments outside the school were in high demand, and she finally found one that was willing to rent. The apartment was an old-style tenement building, with two separate rooms separated by a common corridor. The bedroom was a small room, and the other room contained a bathroom and kitchen. She paid the rent, then bought household items and tidied up the apartment. Plus, she had gotten caught in the rain yesterday.

Lexi opened her suitcase, found the first-aid kit, and checked her blood pressure and heart rate. Fortunately, they were both within the normal range. She took a few cold pills, then sat on the edge of the bed and opened her laptop to browse the internet.

I cooked lunch myself: rice, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and eggplant with garlic sauce. As a true C city native, I surprisingly don't like spicy food and prefer sweet and sour flavors, which often makes me laugh at. But now that I'm in a foreign land, nobody will say anything anymore, hehehe…

Lexi bought cooking utensils and started cooking for himself, preparing simple meals. Perhaps because there are few boys willing to cook, the plump old lady next to him kept praising him while he was buying groceries, which made him feel a little proud.

After lunch, Le Xi called his good friend Zhang Zijie in City C. The phone rang only once before he answered, unleashing a deafening roar. Zijie berated him, saying he hadn't even told him he was leaving, and didn't he even consider him a friend? Le Xi held the phone about eight centimeters away from his ear, letting it go in one ear and out the other, thinking to himself, "Hmph, you say I didn't tell you? You and Chen Song were having so much fun out there, you vanished without a trace! How was I supposed to tell you?" But he only thought about it; he didn't dare say it aloud. Towards the end, Zijie got tired, and his tone softened a bit, allowing Le Xi to chat with him about the local customs and culture of City L.

"Lexi, you!" Zijie said with a hint of helplessness.

"What's wrong? Why are you sighing again? Did your Chen Song break the family rules again?"

"How dare he?!" Zijie said fiercely. "If he dares to rebel, see how I deal with him!"

"Who are you going to take care of?" Chen Song's lazy voice could be faintly heard from the other end of the phone, followed by some suspicious onomatopoeia. Le Xi blushed a little.

"Get out of here! Stop sticking to me!" Zijie roared again.

"Ouch!" Le Xi rubbed her ears. If she were to be startled a few more times by his snarling, she might lose her life. "Hey Zijie, could you please give me a hint before you yell? I have a heart condition, are you trying to scare me to death?"

"You have no idea how annoying this guy is. Are you alright?... Ugh, here we go again..."

Le Xi shook her head helplessly, said a few words to Zi Jie to let him know she was safe, and then tactfully hung up. She figured the moment the call ended, their passionate lovemaking would begin.

Hahahaha...

He stood up to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water, when suddenly he felt a tightness in his chest and a wave of nausea, as if something was stuck in his heart. Le Xi covered his mouth and rushed to the toilet, vomiting violently. He threw up everything he had eaten for lunch, and when he couldn't vomit anymore, he started vomiting bile. He finally managed to stop, but then an overwhelming wave of dizziness suddenly hit. He felt terribly cold, his vision suddenly blurred, and his ears were ringing. He leaned against the wall and slowly sat down on the floor, resting his head against the cold wall, waiting for the spinning sensation to pass. It took a while for the feeling of weakness to subside, but his clothes were soaked with sweat. He touched his forehead and realized he had a fever.

What bad luck.

She scrambled to her feet and walked back to her room. Le Xi took a few pills, sat for a while, and then staggered out the door.

The community health center was crowded, mostly with people suffering from colds, probably all due to yesterday's rain. Lexi told the doctor about his symptoms, and the doctor picked up a stethoscope and listened to his chest from all angles, pondering for a while before finally writing down a prescription.

"Let's get an IV drip, okay?" The last syllable trailed off, making the listener feel even colder.

"Oh..." Lexi nodded and followed the nurse into the infusion room. The beds were already full, and the sofas were packed, so she had to sit on a wooden chair in the corner. Her hand felt cool; the nurse was wiping it before the infusion. She tilted her head, knowing she didn't need to watch the needle insertion.

He suddenly remembered when he was sick before. Back then, he liked to call Qi Hui. Every time he was sick, he would talk to him in a weak, feeble voice. Qi Hui's voice was very deep, and it was as if you could feel his furrowed brow through the airwaves. He would whine to him, "Brother, when are you coming back? Your baby is dying of illness!" Qi Hui would comfort him, "Baby, be good! Don't think too much, you'll be better soon!" He would say, "Brother, this needle hurts so much!" Qi Hui would say, "It doesn't hurt. Come here, put your hand up to the phone and I'll blow on it for you. Blow on it and the pain will fly away."

Like coaxing a child.

"Hiss..." The thin needle piercing the back of his hand still made him gasp in pain. The nurse looked up at him, a hint of a smile in her eyes. Le Xi endured it, pouting as she watched the nurse adjust the IV drip rate, clearly resentful.

"Just call me if you feel unwell!" the nurse said to him with a smile.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Le Xi put on a relaxed smile.

Getting an IV drip is always a boring experience, so boring that Lexi started playing a game on her phone that she was already tired of. Sitting next to her was a woman in business attire, who, judging by her clothes, should be a high-level white-collar worker. However, her tone of voice wasn't ladylike at all. One moment she was yelling and shouting, seemingly scolding a subordinate, and the next she was extremely gentle and sweet, perhaps communicating with a client.

It is indeed very noisy.

Le Xi felt a little tired, so she leaned back in her chair and dozed off. Half-asleep, she seemed to be dreaming, dreaming of being with Qi Hui when she was little. She was only six years old then, and Qi Hui was already in high school. He was wearing the school uniform—a white shirt and blue trousers. All the other students looked so bad in them, but Qi Hui, with his well-proportioned and upright figure, was so handsome.

Back then, my family was very poor, and only my mother and grandmother lived with me. As a little child, I would ask my mother, "Where's Dad? I want Dad!" My mother would look at me with such a sorrowful gaze, so I gradually stopped asking. Because of health reasons, my mother couldn't work, so she pushed a handcart, which a scrap metal dealer had welded, to sell snacks on the roadside. My grandmother helped out, preparing delicious seasonings, and many people patronized her. My mother was worried about leaving me alone at home, so she would sit on a small stool with a wooden board propped up on her lap to write. Later, I met Brother Qi Hui. He was buying snacks for his mother. Aunt Lan would buy a few yuan's worth of things every day. Actually, she didn't eat them herself; she gave them to the women who ran the shop.

Aunt Lan makes beautiful cheongsams. She owns a large fashion boutique that makes handmade cheongsams for wealthy people.

Later, in my dream, I saw a small version of myself sitting side-by-side with my brother in the break room of Aunt Lan's shop, doing our homework. The stool was too high, so my brother used his dictionary to prop himself up. Aunt Lan laughed beside me: "Xiao Hui, don't you love your books the most? How can you bear to let Lele sit on them?" My brother would look at me and smile, a doting smile, and ruffle my hair: "Baby, hurry up and do your homework. If you don't understand something, ask your brother!"

My mother had already passed away from heart disease by then, and I was left to rely on my maternal grandmother. Aunt Lan took pity on me and took me home, adopting me as her godson. At that time, Aunt Lan had already separated from Uncle Qi. People say that children from disharmonious families are often depressed, but my brother was like a ray of sunshine. Through so many difficult days, he always looked at me with a smile.

However, my brother later got into a university in another city.

Later, my brother went to study in the United States.

Later, my brother decided to stay in the United States to take over the family company's overseas business.

later……

Many things happen unexpectedly; the things we hope for never happen, while rejections keep coming. Would we stop thinking about it to avoid heartbreak? Would we stop expecting to avoid disappointment?

Brother, are you never coming back? ...