89. She is not worthy of being with me

Ling Ling had reviewed the new recruit, Shao Yao. She was a true academic genius, her ideas clear and logical. She'd just graduated and entered the industry, but her strategies often captured insights. Ling Ling considered her a gem worth polishing, and so she treated her with utmost care. To make it easier for everyone to address her, Shao Yao suggested they call her Shaoyao. During lunch break, Ling Ling went to her usual spot by the fire escape stairs to rest. She overheard Shao Yao on the phone. Just as she turned to leave, Shao Yao hung up. "Sister Ling, why are you here?" "Oh, I like it here. I often come here for lunch. But I heard you on the phone and was about to leave." "Oh, nothing. I was calling my brother. Are you going to have lunch here?" Shaoyao noticed she was holding a takeout paper bag. Ling Ling nodded, then asked, "Have you had lunch yet?" "No, I didn't. It saves money and helps me lose weight. I'll go home and make something to make up for it tonight." Shaoyao's smile was simple and calm. "Then let's share it. I just asked the restaurant to cut this flagship sandwich into two for me." Ling Ling sat on the stairs and took out half of it from the paper bag and gave it to her. Wu Shaoyao declined: "No, no, Sister Ling, I really don't want to eat it." "Oh, don't be polite with me. I still have a lot of work for you this afternoon!" Ling Ling pulled her to sit down with her and handed her a drink. "This store has a buy-one-get-one-free offer on drinks today. This one is for you as a gift, haha." Shaoyao, who seemed a little restrained, was teased by her like this. She smiled with relief and started to eat the sandwich with her. Ling Ling pointed to the glass window in front of them and said, "On a nice day, you can see the clouds outside from this window. The view from this corridor isn't wide, but it's just right. The clouds slowly creep past here, then disappear, replaced by a new cloud. It makes you feel very peaceful." Shaoyao looked in the direction Ling Ling pointed, her eyes softening. "My brother often takes me to watch the clouds. My parents favor boys over girls, and only favor my brother and my younger brother. During the busy farming season, they sent me to the wheat fields. I was afraid to be alone, so my brother would often sneak over to keep me company. During the day, he would watch the clouds with me, and at night, he would watch the stars with me. Sister Ling, did you know? Actually, my original name was Shao Yao. It was given by my grandfather. He hated girls. After I was born, he hoped I would die so I wouldn't be a burden to the family, so he gave me this name. To maintain her almost nonexistent status in the family, my mother always followed their wishes, and eventually came to believe them herself. Thanks to my brother, before I started school...

Ling Ling had reviewed the new recruit, Shao Yao. She was definitely a top student, speaking with clear ideas and a strong sense of logic. She'd just graduated and started working, but her strategies often captured insights. Ling Ling believed she was a gem worth polishing, so she took good care of her. To make it easier for everyone to call her Shao Yao, she suggested they call her Shao Yao.

During lunch break, Ling Ling went to her usual place on the fire escape stairs to rest, and she accidentally heard Shao Yao talking on the phone.

Ling Ling turned around and was about to leave when Shao Yao hung up the phone. "Sister Ling, why are you here?"

"Oh, I like it here very much. I often come here to rest at noon. But I heard you seemed to be on the phone, and I was about to leave."

"Ha, nothing, I'm calling my brother. Do you want to have lunch here?" Shaoyao saw that she was holding a takeaway paper bag in her hand.

Ling Ling nodded, then asked her, "Have you had lunch?"

"No, I won't eat it anymore. It saves money and helps me lose weight. I'll go home and make something to eat to make up for it in the evening." Shaoyao's smile was simple and calm.

"Then let's share it. I just asked the restaurant to cut this flagship sandwich into two pieces for me." Ling Ling sat on the stairs and took out half of it from the paper bag and gave it to her.

Wu Shaoyao declined, "No, no, Sister Ling, I really don't want to eat it."

"Hey, don't be polite with me. I still have a lot of work for you this afternoon!" Ling Ling pulled her to sit down and handed her a drink. "This store is having a buy-one-get-one-free offer today. This drink is for you as a free gift, haha."

Shaoyao, who seemed a little restrained, smiled with relief after being teased by her and started eating the sandwich with her.

Ling Ling pointed to the glass window in front of them and said, "When the weather is nice, you can see the clouds outside from this window. The view from the glass in this corridor isn't wide, but it's just right. The clouds slowly creep past here, pass by, and then disappear, replaced by a new cloud. It makes people feel very peaceful."

Shaoyao looked in the direction Lingling pointed, her eyes softening. "My brother often takes me to watch the clouds in the sky. My parents favor boys over girls, and only favor my brother and my younger brother. During the busy farming season, they sent me to the wheat fields. I was afraid to be alone, so my brother would often sneak over to accompany me. He would watch the clouds with me during the day and the stars with me at night.

Sister Ling, do you know? Actually, my original name was Shao Yao. It was a name my grandfather gave me. He particularly hated girls. After I was born, he hoped I would die so as not to burden the family, so he gave me this name. In order to maintain her almost non-existent status in the family, my mother always followed their ideas and eventually believed them herself. Thanks to my brother, he changed my name before I went to school to the word "medicine", saying that no one in my family could survive without me. Haha, don't you think my brother is quite creative? Later, my brother also said, let everyone call you Shaoyao, the name of a flower. It looks very noble when it blooms!

Ling Ling listened to Shaoyao's words, smiling softly with her. She admired her brother, yet also felt pity for the girl. She couldn't help but think of Ling Letong. At her cousin's funeral, she was so preoccupied with fighting the village's bad habits that she barely shed a tear, and others accused her of being cold-blooded. In a noisy environment, emotions are disrupted, making it difficult to experience the grief of losing a loved one. But there always comes a moment when you realize you've lost someone completely, that they will never appear again, that you will no longer be able to feel their gaze, voice, or touch.

In this vast universe, on this planet, you are ultimately alone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Universal Studios was packed with people. Rong Xinhua and his daughter Rongrong were huddled on Universal Boulevard, waiting to see the parade.

The parade began, and the crowd's excitement and commotion further disrupted order. The spot Rong Xinhua and his daughter had originally reserved was squeezed even further by the rush of the family of three. Rong Xinhua glanced at the woman, whose face showed apathy, and turned away in disdain. But the woman's teenage daughter pushed closer, and Rong Xinhua extended his arms to block them, protecting Rongrong, avoiding any physical contact with the family.

Seeing Rong Xinhua's hypocritical behavior, the woman angrily cursed at her: "Are you sick? Don't let me see you squeezing my child again!"

Rong Xinhua was frightened by this rude woman and was a little confused for a moment: "I squeezed your child? It was obviously her who squeezed us!"

Rong Xinhua turned away, ignoring the shrew. She didn't want to spend a fortune bringing Rongrong to Universal Studios only to leave a shadow in her daughter's heart. She whispered comfortingly in Rongrong's ear, "Don't worry, this auntie is a little overly anxious. She's probably used to being bullied in her lower class, and she gets inexplicably angry. Let's not argue with her."

Rongrong nodded obediently. Rong Xinhua turned sideways and used his body as a barrier to hug his daughter, keeping the family away.

This action completely enraged the mad woman. She pulled Rong Xinhua out of the crowd and continued to shout, "I don't think you dare to squeeze us again!"

Rong Xinhua had never fought with anyone before, and this scene frightened her. "Are you crazy? I don't even want to touch you. Who would squeeze you? I'm protecting my daughter."

But the mad woman continued to bark at her. When she opened her mouth to argue again, she covered her ears and stood sideways, blocking the entire gap. The surrounding tourists watched the excitement, and she felt ashamed and angry.

She found that the collar of her thin coat was torn by the woman's desperate tug, and her bra strap was broken. She had never been humiliated like this, let alone had such physical contact with anyone. She was so angry that her whole body was shaking, but her words were so clumsy that she made herself even more annoyed.

The woman finally succeeded in occupying the best viewing spot and encouraged her daughter to applaud and cheer for the joyous parade.

Rong Xinhua swallowed her anger, pulled her daughter away from the parade, forced a smile at Rongrong, and, despite feeling deeply wronged, played two or three more games. Then, mother and daughter took a long subway ride home.

Upon entering the house, Rong Xinhua found Ren Qingshi cleaning the fish tank on the balcony. This was the only pet she allowed him to keep, but she often complained about its waste of water and electricity. His current carefree attitude only intensified her anger.

She walked over and unplugged the power cord of the fish tank, leaving Ren Qingshi a little confused.

He looked at Rong Xinhua, whose face was pale with anger, and then at his sullen daughter. He chose to ask the child, "Rongrong, did you have a bad time playing at Universal Studios with your mother today?"

Rongrong didn't know how to answer. Saying happy or unhappy didn't seem right, so the child had no choice but to say, "Dad, I'm going to do my homework first."

After Rongrong entered the room and closed the door, Rong Xinhua also entered her bedroom, took off her top and bra, angrily stuffed them into the trash can, and then changed into home clothes.

"What happened?" Ren Qingshi followed in and asked, closing the door tightly so that the old man and the child would not hear the quarrel.

Rong Xinhua had been pent up with rage all the way, and now he unleashed it all at once. "When we were watching a parade at Universal Studios, there was a mad woman who insisted I squeezed her. She pulled me out of the crowd and tore my clothes. I hate physical contact with strangers the most. There's no way I could squeeze them. How could I possibly squeeze her? Even touching her is dirty to me. What a rubbish and low-life! She touched my clothes. What's the point of throwing them away? I wish I could burn them all!"

Ren Qingshi understood the situation and whispered to her, "Don't get angry with people like that. They're everywhere. There's no need to hurt yourself over such trivial matters."

After hearing Qingshi's words, Rong Xinhua didn't feel comforted. Instead, her anger was aroused. "If you had gone with me and my mother, this wouldn't have happened! That crazy woman saw that we were the only women and children to be bullied. Even though the man next to her didn't say a word, he was still there to support her!"

Ren Qingshi said impatiently, "I told you, I don't like going to amusement parks, and I have to spend six or seven hundred yuan on tickets. It's not necessary."

"Money, it's all about money!" Rong Xinhua vented all his old and new grudges at once. "Just to save a few hundred bucks, you didn't come with us. And to save money, we couldn't afford the U-Pass, so we had to wait in such a long line, squeezed with such trash, and that's why I suffered such humiliation! That crazy bitch doesn't deserve to have anything to do with my life, and now she's actually shitting on my neck. She's going to disgust me forever!"

"Yousutong doesn't care about watching parades and performances, you will still meet people like this. There are long queues and crowded places like that, so I don't want to go. If you must go, you can come back and post it on your circle of friends, and don't drag me into scolding you." Ren Qingshi turned away, leaving Rong Xinhua alone crying.

Author's Note

Liu Qiu

author

05-18

The extra chapters featuring Long Jia and Ling Ling, Luo Hao, and Yu Jinnan are finished. Over 500,000 words! See you at the summit of Mount Everest!