Ni Rui was shocked, "You, you know that she and I are..."
Lin Lang said happily, "Of course, west Yin and I used to have a pretty good relationship, but in recent years, I don't know what happened to her, she's become distant from me."
Empathy instantly formed an alliance, and Ni Rui complained indignantly, "What kind of sister is she? If my mother hadn't insisted on acknowledging her as her daughter, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with her at all."
"The people from Xiyin are really nice. Is there some misunderstanding?"
These words ignited Ni Rui's long-standing, distorted discontent, unleashing a torrent of complaints and accusations that lasted for over ten minutes. Finally realizing her words had been inappropriate, Ni Rui said apologetically, "I'm sorry for making you listen to my rambling."
Lin Lang, understanding and compassionate, reasoned with her, "Sigh, I never expected west Yin to be this kind of person."
True friends are hard to find in this world, and Ni Rui was on the verge of tears.
Lin Lang beckoned to her and winked, "I have a way to make your sister consider your feelings more in the future. Come here, I'll tell you."
Ni Rui leaned over and listened. First she frowned, then she relaxed her brows, and finally she suddenly understood. A faint smile appeared on her face, and she was eager to try, full of ambition.
Chapter 31 Decluttering (1)
Decluttering (1)
On Friday night, Zhao Wenchun had a school dinner. Zhao Xiyin walked around the building ten times, and finally waited for him around 10 p.m. Zhao Wenchun was quite surprised, "Why are you still wandering around outside so late?"
Zhao Xiyin looked him up and down carefully, then leaned closer to sniff him. "Haven't been drinking?"
Zhao Wenchun chuckled, "No, no, I refused them all."
Zhao Xiyin gave a thumbs up, "Teacher Zhao has made progress."
Zhao Wenchun pretended to raise his head, "You're getting more and more disrespectful. How can you talk like that?"
Zhao Xiyin smiled and took her father's hand. "It's good that you didn't drink. I was worried you might have overindulged. Did you enjoy your meal? Who brought you back?"
"Ah. Xiao Ye drove me here. He happened to be picking up his dad and gave me a ride back with him."
"Ye Tao?"
"right."
Zhao Xiyin fell silent.
Zhao Wenchun mustered her strength, walked around the small mound of dirt on the road, and said earnestly, "Originally, Dad shouldn't have said anything, but Ye Tao is very sincere, well-mannered, and I can tell he's a good kid. Although you didn't say it outright last time, Dad knew you didn't want to go on a blind date, so I conveyed your meaning tactfully. Ye Tao didn't mind, saying it was okay, and we could have a meal together sometime. He had no other purpose than that he hadn't seen Zhao Wenchun in a long time."
Zhao Xiyin lowered her head, staring intently at the tips of her shoes.
Zhao Wenchun smiled and gently covered his daughter's hand with his large, warm palm. "Don't feel pressured. Dad is just helping you gather information. The choice is yours. Whether you're single or not, just be happy."
Zhao Xiyin asked in a deep voice, "Are you happy that I've been single all this time?"
Zhao Wenchun thought for a moment and said sincerely, "Sometimes I feel a bit anxious. For example, when I receive wedding invitations and baby shower invitations from my colleagues' sons and daughters one by one, it's a bit unpleasant to feel."
Zhao Xiyin chuckled.
She knew that Zhao Wenchun had regrets.
When she married Zhou Qishen, they had a very small wedding with no public banquet; it was basically just a family dinner with a few tables. Zhao Wenchun was more than willing to agree at the time, but the old man had lived most of his life and wanted to save face. He wasn't showing off his son-in-law, nor was he greedy for the dowry; he just wanted his neighbors and friends to know that the Zhao family's daughter was very happy.
Zhao Xiyin kept her head down, lowering it further and further, until finally she rubbed her eyes. Teacher Zhao grew anxious and stamped her foot, "Don't cry! Did Daddy say something wrong?"
Zhao Xiyin removed her hand, her eyes sparkling with a smile, "Who's crying? Did you get sand in your face?"
The father and daughter looked at each other for two seconds and then laughed together.
Zhao Wenchun patted his daughter's head, "Naughty."
On an autumn night, the cool moonlight paints a picture of the world. An old man and a young boy walk home together, their shadows stretching long and thin.
After showering and drying her hair that evening, Zhao Xiyin flipped herself up against the living room wall, completing the handstand with practiced ease. Zhao Wenchun, unfazed, placed a glass of hot milk on the table and said, "Remember to drink it."
Ten minutes later, Zhao Xiyin finished her handstand, did some stretching, and when she returned to her bedroom, she saw a WeChat message from Cen Yue: "Hey, Xiao west, I have something to show you."
It's a shared link, a Weibo post from a gossip bot with tens of thousands of followers this afternoon, an anonymous submission, about the life of a dancer in the drama "Nine Thoughts," a story that's practically a long-running soap opera. The post alleges she got the role through connections, has a messy love life, and rose to fame through the influence of a wealthy, married producer. The dancer is described as arrogant and domineering within the troupe, always striving for the top.
Most of the comments guessed it was Lin Lang. But the anonymous contributor quickly added that it wasn't Lin Lang, and gave a hint: he was from the Beijing Dance Academy and had a stage accident in France six years ago.
However, this Weibo post didn't get many views and didn't generate much buzz. Zhao Xiyin didn't reply for a long time, so Cen Yue anxiously sent a voice message, "Are you alright?"
Zhao Xiyin composed herself and didn't take it to heart. "It has nothing to do with me."
But Cen Yue was very perceptive of the crisis. The next morning, she dragged her from the training room to the corridor with a complicated expression and nervously lowered her voice, "Hey, I forgot something yesterday, so I came to the troupe again last night and overheard someone talking about you."
Zhao Xiyin was baffled. "Talking about me? Talking about what?"
Cen Yue opened her mouth as if to speak, but her brows furrowed. After a few seconds of hesitation, her voice grew even softer, "They're talking about you, saying you're close to Zhang Yijie, that you often have dinner with other people, and that they've seen you getting into different luxury cars, like Land Rovers and Jaguars, and they're making it sound so convincing."
After a moment's thought, Zhao Xiyin realized that the cars listed were those of Zhou Qishen and Meng Weixi. It was probably one of the few times they had been spotted by someone with ulterior motives, described in vivid detail as if they were actually there.
"Have you offended someone?" Cen Yue asked with concern, offering a kind reminder.
Zhao Xiyin was really annoyed. "No, I went home right after my dance practice, and I didn't have any conflicts with anyone."
“You know how rumors can go, big or small. Don’t you think the timing is too subtle? Not only are there veiled accusations online, but rumors are also quietly spreading within the group.” Cen Yue said anxiously, picking at her fingers as she thought about it, feeling increasingly uneasy. “And the assessment is coming up soon. You’ve been ranking high in the previous assessments, and everyone knows that the lead dancer position is most likely to be yours. It’s really mean to trip you up now.”
Cen Yue spoke eloquently, and Zhao Xiyin hadn't really thought of it that way. She was both comforting Cen Yue and comforting herself, saying, "The innocent are innocent. I didn't do anything, so there's no way to find fault with me."
Cen Yue said, "What you should fight for, you can fight for."
When someone passed by, the two immediately stopped talking, linked arms, and returned to the practice room as if nothing had happened.