Chapter 144: Reconciliation

His voice was not loud, but Xia Cheng was worried. She sat back and tugged at his sleeve.

"If you have time, let's go out and talk. There are too many people here."

Yu Jingyuan was too eye-catching. Just by sitting there for a while, Xia Cheng had already felt countless gazes.

"I'll wait for you in the playground."

It's noon, so there shouldn't be many people exercising.

After Xia Cheng finished speaking, she ran away.

Yu Jingyuan rubbed his fingers, lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before following.

The bottle of milk was placed alone on the table, and Xia Cheng still forgot to take it away.

Xia Cheng only waited in the playground for a while before Yu Jingyuan arrived.

There were only a few boys playing basketball on the playground. She and Yu Jingyuan sat in the audience, with a seat between them.

The blue seats were very hot from the sun. Although it was not a hot day, Xia Cheng was sweating all over.

"I'm sorry!" She has been apologizing these days.

Yu Jingyuan hummed calmly.

"We're considered to be breaking up."

"right......"

"No wonder my heart aches when I see you."

"Are you mad? How about I take you to the hospital for a checkup and I'll pay for it!"

"Xia Cheng!" Yu Jingyuan shouted coldly. "Have you ever loved me?"

Xia Cheng never expected him to ask this question.

Did she like him... Of course she did, but she did approach him just to take advantage of him. Yu Jingyuan knew all that, so why did he still ask?

According to the plan, she should answer "I don't like it" to anger him and make him stay away from her, a bad woman. However, she secretly glanced at Yu Jingyuan's profile. The thought of pushing him away from her made her heart ache as he said.

She couldn't bear to do that.

Can't bear him to leave himself.

She didn't want to see him marry another woman and have children. Xia Cheng knew she was selfish, so she bit her lower lip and closed her eyes tightly.

"If you like it."

There was no response from the other side, only a slight sound of footsteps. When Xia Cheng opened her eyes again, Yu Jingyuan was already standing in front of her.

He was wearing a khaki windbreaker, his hair was smooth, and he was tall, blocking the midday sun that made Xia Cheng feel uneasy.

When Yu Jingyuan saw the top of Xia Cheng's head, he thought of many things.

Thinking of how she always cried out of grievance and now remained silent, my chest tightened.

"If you like it, you like it. There is no if."

Xia Cheng felt a little sour in her nose and leaned her forehead against his cold, hard windbreaker.

"like......"

"Why would you sleep with someone else if you like me?"

“…”

"To piss off Xun Mo? To make me leave you? I'm not an object, I'm a person, with my own emotions."

Xia Cheng didn't dare to look up, like a child who had done something wrong.

"You didn't understand before, but now you'll understand now that I'm telling you." He held her face. There were already two dark water marks on her windbreaker. Xia Cheng was crying.

Yu Jingyuan struggled. At first, he told himself not to like her, but later he compromised. If she did something wrong, he could just teach her a lesson.

"Be loyal and steadfast in your relationships. Be respectful to those you like. Be kind to those who like you."

He couldn't forget the time he spent with her, his voice was hoarse and his eyes were tearful.

"Xia Cheng, I'll teach you slowly. The future is long, so let's be together slowly, okay?"

Xia Cheng's tears suddenly flowed down.

"But I did something wrong..."

"Yes, you did." His expression softened immediately. "You won't do that again, right?"

Xia Cheng nodded angrily.

"Then I should give you a chance."

His slow voice soothed the pain and confusion that she had been deliberately avoiding these days.

The man was almost more dazzling than the sun.

"But, haven't you and Zhao Yunqian already..." She tore open the bloody wound in her heart.

"Who told you that?"

He squatted down in front of her and ran his fingers through her short, silky hair.

"We are just a teacher, but she does like me. But you can rest assured that we have nothing, and I don't like her either."

Seeing Xia Cheng's heavy expression, Yu Jingyuan's eyes became even darker.

"You don't want to be with me?"

He stated his intentions directly. Xia Cheng's breath trembled, and she leaned forward and hugged his neck.

The familiar scent of dish soap soothed her.

"I'm willing to, but..." She was in so much pain, she felt pain whenever she thought of the past.

"It's okay, we'll take it slow." He always treated her like comforting a child who had done something wrong. He wanted to lose his temper, but he couldn't bear to see her eating alone.

So he sat opposite her.

"Let's take it slow."

"Why are you so nice to me? Is it because you want to be responsible?" She sniffed.

Yu Jingyuan was somewhat happy to hear this.

"You should be responsible for me."

"Why?" She was still wondering why he didn't give up on her.

Yu Jingyuan hugged her tightly.

"Maybe I'm more tolerant, maybe it's fate, maybe you have good qualities too. There are many possibilities. Are you sure you want me to finish?"

Xia Cheng buried her face in his arms and hummed in frustration.

*

After reconciling with Yu Jingyuan, Xia Cheng specifically inquired about the days when he would substitute teach.

So in the next class, she sat in the front row, but it was so hard to get a seat that she had to buy it.

Yu Jingyuan didn't expect her to come.

After seeing her, he was stunned for a moment and then continued teaching.

This is a large class, with three small classes in total, connected together, with a break in between.

As soon as the get out of class was over, students came up to ask questions. Xia Cheng was not a major in this field, so she just supported her jaw to listen. She could barely understand some of what was said, but she forgot it as soon as she heard it.

After class, Xia Cheng also stayed in the classroom, waiting for Yu Jingyuan to finish teaching the last student before she came forward with her notebook and pretended to ask questions.

"Teacher, can we have lunch together?"

"Do you have classes this afternoon?"

"No!"

"Okay, wait for me in the car." He handed the car keys to Xia Cheng. "I'm going to the office to sign in. I'll be there soon."

Xia Cheng took it, packed up and went to find his car.

Yu Jingyuan's car was in the garage. There were not many students around, but because it was a luxury car, it was a bit conspicuous. Xia Cheng got in the car with a guilty conscience.

Yu Jingyuan came over and saw her lying in the back seat, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"What are you doing?"

"It would be bad if someone saw you. You're still a teacher."

"It's okay. I'll just help Teacher Liu with two classes. I won't count as your teacher. Zhao Yunqian will be here next."

Hearing this name, Xia Cheng didn't say anything.

She didn't know whether she should tell Yu Jingyuan what Zhao Yunqian had done. With Wan Lu's protection, she was safe for the time being. But if she got too close to Yu Jingyuan and provoked Zhao Yunqian, would she do the same thing as Xun Mo?

Noticing that Xia Cheng was unhappy, Yu Jingyuan looked at her in the rearview mirror.

"She and I didn't..."

"I'm not worried about that." Xia Cheng still said.

"Some time ago, online..."

After he finished speaking, the car fell into an unusual silence, with only the warm air coming from the air-conditioning vent.

Xia Cheng thought Yu Jingyuan didn't believe her, and was about to ask for compensation when the car horn suddenly sounded.

Yu Jingyuan accidentally pressed the button, his neck stiffened, and he was so angry that he wanted to curse.

"Well, I understand. Since it's because of me, you don't have to worry."

Xia Cheng agreed, thinking it would be better to leave it to him.

After dinner, Yu Jingyuan sent Xia Cheng back to school and left in a hurry.

She didn't know what Yu Jingyuan had done. About a week later, when Zhao Yunqian came to the school to substitute teach, she took the initiative to find her.

"I did it." Zhao Yunqian admitted without a trace of shame. "You're even more capable than I thought. You can actually get so many men to stand up for you."

Xia Cheng was stunned.

Zhao Yunqian laughed contemptuously.

"I treated Yu Jingyuan as the bright moon, but he was defiled by you. You are not worthy of him at all."

"Are you worthy of it?"

Xia Cheng confronted her love rival without hesitation.

"Doing dirty tricks behind the scenes really make you feel so bright? When you say I'm an illegitimate daughter, think about how many kickbacks your father took from Lando. Your own family is not glorious, yet you still interfere in the affairs of the Xun family. Are you living too leisurely?"

It was Xun Sheng who told her about the kickbacks. Calculating the date, the audit should have already begun.

As expected, Zhao Yunqian's face turned pale after hearing this.

"You reported it!?"

"I don't have that ability," she warned calmly. "I just know about this and wanted to remind you that as a lawyer, you should focus on your own affairs and not interfere in the family affairs of your former clients. If I tell Liu Haifei about this, what will he think of you? Your father is in a state of panic. If you get fired again, he won't even be able to find a defense lawyer."

These words hit Zhao Yunqian hard.

She remained silent for a long time, and before leaving, she spoke: "I can stop telling you the secret, and please don't tell anyone else that I did it."

"Apologize to me."

Zhao Yunqian was always as proud as a red-crowned crane. Her slender neck was almost nailed in place, and the moment it bent, a bloody gash was torn open.

"I'm sorry." The voice was not loud.

"Well, that's right!" Xia Cheng turned into a sinister little girl again.

"Goodbye, and don't show up in front of me again. Otherwise, the auditors will probably have more information on sentencing."

Zhao Yunqian walked away in a nearly embarrassed manner.

Xia Cheng released her strength and sank into the seat.

She is finally at peace...

*

Before New Year's Day, Wan Lu called Xia Cheng.

He had stayed in Hai City for too long and needed to go back.

The scrap steel for Xun Sheng was also on its way, his investment secure. Xia Cheng would have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of her life; this was his reward.

Even though he was rejected many times, Wan Lu still asked over the phone.

"I'm on a flight tomorrow and I bought you a ticket. If you want to go to California with me, you can come directly. Don't rush to refuse, think about it carefully. I really like you."

He also wanted to stay here with her, but he had to go back to California, otherwise he would not have asked Xia Cheng to go to California.

Xia Cheng was holding the review materials and did not directly refuse on the phone. After hanging up, she sent a "Happy New Year" message on her mobile phone.

She wouldn't say Happy New Year to him in person, that was her answer.

On the other end of the phone, Wan Lu looked at the four words and smiled bitterly, as if he was trapped in the dark river and couldn't breathe.

*

After the final exams, Xia Cheng felt relieved. She no longer returned to Xun's house. After talking to He Qing, she moved her household registration back to her original small village.

After meeting He Qing, she was in a very bad condition. Because of Xun Mo's matter, she always felt guilty towards Xia Cheng. In order to make up for it, she gave Xia Cheng a card.

Xia Cheng did not refuse and instead donated the money in the card to the family persecuted by An Wu Yu.

This was one of the few things she could do.

In order to transfer her household registration back to her hometown, Xia Cheng made a special trip back. Yu Jingyuan was worried about Xia Cheng and drove back with her.

At the entrance of the village, Xia Cheng saw a familiar man in the grocery store.

She went in specially to say hello to him.

"Brother Huan!"

When Yu Jinhuan was busy looking for change, he heard this voice and looked up in disbelief.

He never expected to see Xia Cheng again.

She had become more beautiful, and her appearance was completely out of place in this backward village. The men around her also looked noble. Yu Jinhuan was even embarrassed to shake her hand.

After exchanging a few brief greetings with Xia Cheng, Yu Jinhuan watched them leave intimately, his back sank in embarrassment.

It turns out that going to college will turn out like this.

He lowered his head and looked around at the red-painted counter and the cheap cigarettes in the blue transparent glass. His life was trapped here.

He was glad that Xia Cheng was not with him.

When she looked up again, Xia Cheng was already skipping towards the parking lot. When crossing the road, the man held her hand and protected her on the inside.

—End of Text—