Luo Jing smiled brightly. "Oh, Yan Yan, her cousin called her just before she left, insisting that she come over. It was so sudden, I forgot to message you."
Lin Shengmiao, who had finally managed to cobble together her makeup and comb her hair on the plane: "..."
"I've arranged everything!" Chen Shengxuan said. "Let's go to my shop for a meal first, to welcome Shengmiao back. Sister Dan and the others are all here. I've booked a private room for tonight, let's go sing karaoke together!"
Zhao You responded enthusiastically from the side: "Great!"
Lin Shengmiao smiled and nodded, about to say something, when Luo Jing walked over, hooked her arm around her shoulder, and said with a half-smile, "After dinner, let's go for a cup of coffee together and chat."
Lin Shengmiao's eyes narrowed, and her back straightened unconsciously. She was all too familiar with Luo Jing's expression.
The summer after my second year of high school ended, she stood in front of her like this, looking down at her, and asked her, word by word, "What's the situation between you and my sister?"
How did she deal with it back then? Did she flee in panic?
...
When Xu Xingyan received Han Yi's call, she had just picked out the pair of shoes that best suited her for today from a shoe cabinet on one wall. Before that, she had spent two days deciding on the clothes and perfume she would wear today, and then got up two hours early to sit in front of her dressing table and carefully work on her makeup and hairstyle.
But all these efforts were shattered by my cousin's terrified, angry, and choked-up cry: "Fourth sister! Come quick! My mother is going to attack me with a knife!"
Because the scenario was so fantastical, after hanging up the phone, Xu Xingyan even sat there for a while, pondering the possibility that it was a prank.
But she quickly came to the conclusion that Han Yi wasn't a very good actor!
--------------------
Author's Note:
Happy reading!
Chapter 8 Her Future
Before leaving home, Xu Xingyan called her second aunt's husband to find out what had happened. After confirming that he was at home stabilizing the situation and that Han Yi was not injured, Xu Xingyan considered it for a while and temporarily abandoned her idea of calling the police.
Fortunately, she had a smooth journey and by the time Xu Xingyan arrived at the villa area where her second aunt lived, it had been only half an hour since she received that phone call.
"What's the situation now?" Xu Xingyan asked, rubbing her temples, as the nanny came to open the door.
The nanny replied in a low voice, "Young master has locked the door and refuses to come out no matter who tries to persuade him. He insists that you come over. Madam is crying in the living room, and Master is with her."
Upon hearing Aunt Xu crying, Xu Xingyan felt her forehead throb even more.
He handed over the car keys, waved his hand, and said, "Okay, I got it. Find someone to park my car first." He then took a deep breath and went inside.
"How can he be so insensible! He's going to drive me crazy! I found him the best tutors, got him into the best class at the best high school, and I even quit my job to stay home with him and take care of him every day, all in the hope that he would prove me right. And this is how he repays me..."
Uncle Xu bustled around her, handing her tissues and pouring water, earnestly advising, "Xiao Yi just found a girlfriend. She's a really nice girl, and she even tutors Xiao Yi..."
"What's so good about it?!" Aunt Xu raised her eyebrows and glared at him fiercely. "Her family is a poor household, with a lame mother and a younger brother who hasn't even grown up yet. Oh my, they're a complete burden! Open your eyes and look around. Who else around here is dating someone like that? If word gets out, where will I put my face?"
Second Uncle: "I just can't help but say things like that. Don't be anxious, or you'll hurt yourself."
Xu's second aunt's husband served in the army for five years. He was a very honest and kind person. Back then, Xu's grandfather chose to marry Xu's second aunt to him because he was good-natured and tolerant. Because it was her second marriage, she was given a lot of property as a dowry, including this villa. As long as she doesn't cause too much trouble, she can live a wealthy life.
And Xu Ergu's husband did not disappoint Xu's grandfather. Although he did not achieve anything great over the years, he managed the property left to their family by Xu's grandfather in a proper manner. Most importantly, he was a very good husband and father, and he fully understood and tolerated Xu Ergu's intense emotions and willfulness.
It can only be said that the old man had a very sharp eye. If he had really arranged another young and talented man for Aunt Xu, who knows how chaotic things would have become.
"Hello, Second Aunt and Second Uncle." After the atmosphere calmed down a bit, Xu Xingyan stepped forward to greet them.
Upon seeing her arrive, Aunt Xu quickly turned around to prevent her from seeing her smudged makeup and disheveled hair. Xu Xingyan pretended not to notice and stopped two meters away from them. She bowed slightly and said politely and calmly to her second uncle, "I won't chat with you two any longer. I'll go upstairs to see Xiao Yi first."
Her gaze swept over the kitchen knife on the coffee table. After noticing the rolled edge and nick, even though Xu Xingyan was relatively calm and used to her second aunt's personality, her eyelids couldn't help but twitch.
Second Aunt's husband smiled gently, "It's alright, Yan Yan, go and talk to Xiao Yi. Tell him not to keep hiding in the house. No matter what, he still needs to eat lunch..."
"Go tell him!" Aunt Xu suddenly turned around. "I don't approve of him dating that girl, not even after the college entrance exam! Break up with him right now!"
Xu Xingyan lowered her eyes, her expression unchanged: "I understand, I will convey it to Xiaoyi on behalf of my aunt and uncle."
...
Standing in front of her cousin's door, Xu Xingyan paused to admire it for a while. Looking at the fresh scratches on it, she came to a conclusion: this door is no longer usable.
A few years ago, it was fashionable among the wealthy ladies in the southern part of the city to have custom-made wooden furniture from Europe. It looked nice, but it wasn't very soundproof, and... it wasn't very durable.
With a bang, the door opened, and Han Yi appeared behind it with a long face, looking extremely unhappy: "Why didn't you knock!"
Xu Xingyan smiled and followed him into the room: "How did you know I was outside the door?"
Han Yi slumped onto the bed, clutching a pillow, his voice muffled, "...I heard footsteps."
"Pour me a glass of water," Xu Xingyan said, draping her coat over the back of the chair and sitting down gracefully.
Han Yi sat up with a 'splash', muttering under his breath, "Are you kidding me?" He then obediently took a carton of milk from his snack box. "There's no hot water in the room, have some of this."
"It's cold," Xu Xingyan sighed, took it, didn't drink it, and put it on the table.
Han Yi felt a little guilty. Although he still looked indifferent on the surface, his body betrayed him by holding the carton of milk tightly in his hands.
“Speak,” Xu Xingyan said, propping her forehead up as she looked at him.
"Say...say what?" Han Yi was a little confused, feeling that the situation was not quite what he had imagined.
Xu Xingyan casually ran her fingers through her nails, then looked up at him. "You called me over, didn't you have something to say to me?"
Han Yi finally realized, belatedly, that his usually gentle and kind fourth sister seemed to be in a bad mood today, and her temper and patience were not very good.
He asked hesitantly, "Fourth Sister, is something wrong with you today?"
Xu Xingyan smiled sweetly, her bright eyes and white teeth shining as she looked at him: "Do you think I look good today?"
Han Yi immediately nodded: "It looks good, it looks really good."
Xu Xingyan said in a low voice, "The person I've liked for eleven years is going back to Nancheng today. If nothing unexpected had happened, I should be at the airport picking her up right now."
Han Yi: "..."
The little flame that had been burning in his heart was instantly extinguished without a trace. He touched his nose, lowered his head, and sincerely admitted his mistake: "Fourth Sister, I'm sorry."
“I don’t blame you. When you encounter problems, the first thing you think of is calling me, which shows that you trust me as your older sister. I’m very happy about that.”
Xu Xingyan softened her voice: "I just hope that you can tell me your thoughts completely, and we can work together to sort things out and resolve them as soon as possible. I haven't seen her for many years, and I miss her very much. You have someone you like now, so you must understand this feeling very well, right?"
Han Yi's eyes reddened, and he sniffed: "My mom secretly looked at the messages on my phone and found out about my relationship with Xiao An. She had people investigate her, spread rumors about her family, and told me to break up with Xiao An. I didn't want to, and she tried to attack me with a knife..."
“I see,” Xu Xingyan sat down next to him, gently patted the back of his hand, and comforted him, “Then it is indeed your mother’s fault. You are an adult now, and she really shouldn’t have been able to snoop on your private information without your consent.”
Han Yi nodded repeatedly: "That's right, how could you do that!"
"Let Fourth Sister check if you're hurt."
Han Yi obediently stood up, turned around, scratched his hair, and said somewhat shyly, "It's okay, I run fast, and my dad stopped me. My mom didn't even touch me. It was just a bit scary."
“It was quite scary. I was terrified when I got the call and almost called the police,” Xu Xingyan sighed, looking out the window. “But I can understand some of it.”
Han Yi was taken aback: "Huh?"
“I’ve heard my dad say before that my second aunt has always been a very strong-willed person. She chose her own ex-husband. Back then, she did her best to help him build relationships and manage the company, but she ended up discovering that he was having an affair with his secretary. My second aunt was quite traumatized by this, and her personality changed a lot…”
"I heard a few days ago that my second aunt used her connections to arrange a dinner with the vice president of Nancheng University, is that right?" Xu Xingyan asked, turning around. "I remember you said you wanted to apply to Nancheng University to study physics?"
"Hmm," Han Yi nodded, his head bowed, as if he vaguely understood.
"That's it. She probably thinks that she's been working hard to plan for your future, but you're dating someone behind her back. In her mind, that's a betrayal, and it might have even brought back her most painful memories."
"Of course, Fourth Sister isn't trying to excuse your mother. She was definitely in the wrong today. I'm just sharing what I know and some analysis with you. Whether or not you should forgive her is something you should think about yourself later. You're about to go to university, so you should learn to think for yourself and handle problems."
"I understand, thank you, Fourth Sister," Han Yi said, his dissatisfaction with his mother lessened considerably after hearing these words.
“Okay,” Xu Xingyan smiled and patted her cousin’s head, “Now let’s get back to the most crucial issue, which is your little girlfriend.”
Han Yi immediately said warily, "I won't break up with Xiao An!"
He jumped up, his attitude extremely firm: "Did my mom send you to persuade me to break up? No way! I finally managed to win over this girlfriend, and I'll never break up with her, not even in this life!"
Xu Xingyan turned her head and coughed twice, then smiled gently, "Your name is Xiao An, right? I heard from your father that you're a very outstanding girl."
"Of course," Han Yi's serious and sharp eyes softened immediately when the girl was mentioned, and he said proudly, "She is the top student in our school, and she is also good at sports. Among the girls in our class, she is the only one who can run 5,000 meters with me."
"And she can also sew clothes. She said she wants to be a fashion designer in the future. With such good grades, she'll definitely get into the best school. The horse-face skirt I gave you last time was made by Xiao An..."
"Her mother isn't like what my mom said. She's a very good tailor. She always smiles warmly whenever she sees me. It's just that she was in a car accident a few years ago and injured her leg. Xiao An's father passed away a long time ago, and her younger brother is still in elementary school. The family is quite poor, but she goes out to work part-time every weekend to help support the family. She loves to laugh and is the girl with the most beautiful smile I've ever seen."
Even the most taciturn young man might become talkative when talking about the girl he loves.
In my eyes and in my heart, her virtues are countless. Her gentle smile is more sacred than the clouds on the plateau and sweeter than the secret syrup.
Xu Xingyan's eyes glazed over for a moment, but her smile remained unchanged as she listened quietly.
Then, seemingly unrelated, he said, "When you first entered junior high school, you said you wanted to pursue medical research in the future, and I was quite happy for you. You know, my maternal grandfather's family is in the pharmaceutical industry, and they have all sorts of connections."
"Who knew that you would change your mind again in your third year of junior high and say you wanted to be a policeman? Your father was happy again and started to reconnect with several of his old comrades who had retired from the military and joined the police force. Now, almost three years have passed, and you've started to like physics..."
Han Yi thought his fourth sister was implying that he was fickle, loving one woman and then dumping her, so he couldn't help but defend himself: "How can that be the same? Who didn't dream of becoming a scientist when they were young? And how many of them actually do scientific research? Xiao An is a person, how can these things be compared!"
What I mean is, you always have a lot of choices.
"Even if you regret it a few years later and don't want to study physics anymore, you can still turn around and do whatever you're interested in at any time. For you, or for people like us who were born in Rome, the cost of trial and error is very small, and we have the right to be willful."
Xu Xingyan stared indifferently at her beloved cousin, sharply questioning him: "But have you considered her future?"
Han Yi's pupils contracted, and he was stunned.
"my country's college entrance examination is the fairest system in the world. It means that no matter how poor your family is, as long as you study hard, you still have the opportunity to receive higher education and change your destiny. This opportunity is extremely precious to some people."
Xu Xingyan shifted her gaze, let out a soft breath, and continued, "With only half a year left until the college entrance exam, are you sure your passionate feelings won't affect her during this period? Or, if your mother causes trouble for her because of you, are you capable of stopping her?"
Han Yi froze on the spot, and managed to say with difficulty, "I...I don't know."
The room remained quiet for a long time. Xu Xingyan stared at the wood grain on the windowsill, as if trying to make a flower bloom from it.
Until Han Yi gently asked, "Then what should I do?"
Xu Xingyan stood up, walked over, and carefully straightened his clothes. Then she took a step back and smiled, "What a handsome boy. No wonder he's my cousin."
Han Yi didn't speak, and turned his head away as if in a huff. His eyes reddened, and tears streamed down his face.
"Oh dear, why are you crying? Please stop crying."
Xu Xingyan had a headache and felt like she needed to take out a tissue to catch her tears. She coaxed helplessly, "You're my brother, of course I want you to be happily together with the girl you like, right? Fourth Sister wasn't on your side before, was she? Think about it, isn't that right?"
"Really? Really?" Han Yi had never felt so wronged and helpless in his life, and his eyes welled up with tears as he choked up.