Xi Jia touched up her makeup at the washbasin and composed herself before coming out.
She recognized that tall, upright figure at the window immediately.
"Mo Yushen".
She could call his name again and talk to him a few more times.
Mo Yushen turned around and smiled faintly.
As a result, Xi Jia also felt much better.
"Is there something you need?"
She thought he had waited for her on purpose.
Mo Yushen typed on his phone and showed it to her: [Waiting for a friend; he's in the restroom.]
So that's how it is.
Xi Jia vaguely remembered that they would wait for each other to go back to the restroom, as if girls liked to do that. She didn't expect men to do it too.
She and Ye Qiu were elementary school classmates and sat at adjacent desks. They always went to the restroom together after class.
Xi Jia thought to herself, "Then I'll stand with him for a few minutes."
Anyway, it's still early when I made my appointment with Aunt Qin.
Mo Yushen was also trying his best to find topics to talk about and keep her with him a little longer.
[The weather's getting warmer soon, should I pack some dresses and send them over to you?]
Looking at the words "home," Xi Jia felt a pang of sadness. She asked, "I didn't take any of my things with me when we divorced, right?"
Mo Yushen: [Yes. I didn't have time. I was rushing to go on a business trip that day.]
No wonder.
Xi Jia: "No need, you can deal with it as you see fit. I have so many clothes at home, I can't even wear them all."
Mo Yushen: [Your things are all expensive, it's a shame to throw them away. Just leave them there for now. You can go and tidy them up when you have time, or I can when I have time. No rush.]
The two were talking about topics that had absolutely no nutritional value, yet they seemed to enjoy it immensely.
Xi Jia decided to take his things away as soon as possible. If he found a woman he liked, he might bring her home soon. "Then let's do it tomorrow."
Mo Yushen continued rambling: "No rush. It's fine to leave it for a few years. I don't plan to look for anyone else."
Xi Jia glanced at her phone, then at Mo Yushen. She felt both happy and sad.
In matters of the heart, she was not generous at all, so even knowing what her illness would become, she kept putting it off, trying to postpone the time they would separate.
Now, there's no time to delay any longer.
Mo Yushen: [I'm getting married for the second time, and I guess many people won't approve.]
Xi Jia was amused.
With his qualities and good character, countless women would be willing to marry him. She half-jokingly added, "Are you resentful that I made you a divorcee?"
Mo Yushen: [Before we even registered our marriage, I knew we'd get divorced someday.]
Xi Jia looked at him with confusion, not understanding what was going on.
"I was sick at that time?" That was the only reason she could think of.
Mo Yushen: [Headache, but they haven't diagnosed this illness. It probably isn't serious.]
Xi Jia couldn't guess any other reason.
Mo Yushen: [You signed a divorce agreement with me before we even got our marriage certificate, and we'll divorce six months later.]
Xi Jia blurted out, "Why?"
Mo Yushen also wanted to know why. The marriage wasn't even finalized, and she wanted to sign divorce papers. Fine, she'd sign them. At the time, he had no time to consider feelings; he was only focused on dealing with Mo Lian.
As for why she signed the agreement, she had someone she liked in her heart, so what else could it be?
This is something Mo Yushen has always kept secret.
Seeing that he wasn't typing or responding, Xi Jia asked again, "Why should I take the initiative to sign the divorce agreement?"
Mo Yushen made up a story: "Maybe you're playing hard to get because you're afraid I'll divorce you."
Xi Jia laughed, "You're just being vain."
Mo Yushen: [I have never thought about divorce. Not ever.]
Xi Jia didn't dare look at Mo Yushen. She gazed out the window at the bustling traffic on the street. "The connections between people always come to an end."
Mo Yushen changed the subject, asking her, "Are you free this Friday? I'll take you to see Professor Xiang to have your ears checked."
Xi Jia shook her head. She didn't know who Professor Xiang was, but he must be a very famous doctor. "Don't waste your time, it's useless."
If there had been even the slightest hope, Ji Qingshi would have taken her to the hospital long ago.
They have a private doctor at home.
Since she wasn't told to go to the hospital, it means the outcome would be the same whether she went or not.
Xi Jia: "I have no residual hearing. As you know, this is not a simple hearing problem; it is caused by brain damage, and neither surgery nor medication can solve it."
Mo Yushen knew she wouldn't go to the hospital with him, so he just tried to find topics to talk to her about.
Xi Jia's phone vibrated; it was the alarm. Her appointment with Aunt Qin was approaching.
No matter how reluctant I am, I still have to say goodbye.
Xi Jia turned off the alarm. "I have an appointment to discuss the script."
Mo Yushen: [You're busy.]
He then typed another line: "Write down my number and villa address. If you recover, remember to come find me. I'll stay there, I won't move, and I won't change my number. Try your best to recover as soon as possible. By the way, don't wait until I'm old to come find me; I won't be able to have children then."
Xi Jia's eyes reddened, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
Mo Yushen wrote down the number and address and gestured for Xi Jia to write them down.
Xi Jia knew she couldn't use it; it was just a beautiful fantasy and an unfulfilled wish that they had left for each other.
She took a picture with her phone.
Mo Yushen continued typing: "Even if you can't see or hear anymore, don't give up on yourself. I'll still be waiting for you to come home."
Xi Jia took a deep breath. "I'm going now. It's not good to be late for my first appointment with Aunt Qin. What about you?"
Mo Yushen: [I'll wait for my friend. There's a line at the men's restroom.]
Xi Jia's eyes glistened, and she chuckled again when she saw the last sentence. "Thank you." At that moment, she realized that he was waiting for her.
There are no friends in the men's restroom.
Mo Yushen put away his phone, reached out and rubbed her head. His warm palm moved down from the top of her head to the side of her face, his thumb gently caressing her cheek.
Xi Jia subconsciously took a step back.
Mo Yushen took two steps forward and pressed a wet, hot kiss down on him.
Xi Jia blushed and her heart pounded. She pushed him away without daring to look back, and quickly left.
Mo Yushen didn't chase after him. His phone rang; it was Mo Lian.
This was the third time Mo Lian had called him.
"Mo Yushen, you've resorted to underhanded tactics."
The person he had just made an appointment with suddenly changed their mind and refused to continue the cooperation.
Although they gave a reason why they couldn't continue the cooperation, everyone knew that someone was behind it all.
At this critical juncture, there is no one else but Mo Yushen.
Mo Yushen's tone remained consistently emotionless: "And then?"
Mo Lian: "If you abandon your basic principles, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Mo Yushen: "What bottom line is there with someone like you? Pass on a message to your proud mother: if she dares to bother my mom again, you should know the consequences. The failed collaboration you made today is just a warning to her; next time, things won't be so easy."
He hung up the phone before Mo Lian could say anything.
He only learned yesterday that Mo Lian's mother was afraid that her father would look for her mother, and also afraid that if her mother's relationship with her grandparents improved, her grandparents would compensate her with company shares. Therefore, she tried every means to get her mother to leave Beijing.
On the other end of the line, Mo Lian felt a thorn stuck in his heart after the call was disconnected. He couldn't imagine that his mother, at her age, would do such a thing.
I could hear Jiang Qin's words echoing in my ears: "You're just like your mother, with a dark heart, and you always think everyone else is just as dark." This is hereditary; this kind of gene is terrifying.
——
Qin Sulan sat in the restaurant for more than half an hour before Xi Jia finally arrived late.
"Hello, Aunt Qin, I'm Xi Jia."
Qin Sulan smiled slightly and gestured for her to sit down.
A laptop was already placed on Xi Jia's seat, which Ji Qingshi had asked the restaurant manager to prepare.
Qin Sulan and Xi Jia added each other's chat information.
Qin Sulan: [Auntie is typing, you can just speak.]
Xi Jia was worried that her voice would be too loud and others would hear her. She said, "I'll type too, let's just treat it like chatting with netizens."
Qin Sulan thought this was fine too; there were some things she had kept in her heart for over twenty years that she couldn't bring herself to say. Seeing that Xi Jia's eyes were still red, she asked with concern, "Jiajia, what's wrong? Why don't we talk later?"
Xi Jia didn't shy away from the topic, saying, "I just ran into my ex-husband. We had a good relationship. I loved him very much, and he was good to me. Seeing him... made me a little sad, but it's nothing."
Qin Sulan: [It's such a pity that they have such a good relationship.]
Xi Jia: [My illness is somewhat similar to Alzheimer's disease in the elderly; it may eventually lead to dementia. It will become a burden for him. After we separate, he may be very sad for a while. However, time heals all wounds; he will gradually forget me and start a new life.]
Qin Sulan's fingertips hovered over the keyboard, but she hesitated, unsure of what to type.
Xi Jia did not talk about her personal matters anymore.
Before going to the appointment, she looked at the notebook. Ji Qingshi had told her that Aunt Qin's first love's husband had cheated on her, and his illegitimate child was older than her own child.
She couldn't handle it and became depressed.
There was also a giant baby.