Chapter 21

At night, Shen Yuqing suddenly got out of bed and turned on the light. He walked to the desk, gently opened the homework book, found an envelope and put the thousand yuan away.

He held the envelope and had a plan in mind.

If... Xia Ruirui broke up with him on Monday, he would agree, but if she didn't break up with him, he wouldn't give up either.

The next day, Saturday morning.

Shen Yuqing found his most respectable piece of clothing from the closet, put the envelope into his inner pocket, and left the dormitory.

After explaining the situation to the class teacher, he asked for Xia Ruirui's home address.

He stood in front of the duplex villa and pressed the doorbell.

A male voice came from the video doorbell: "Who is this?"

Shen Yuqing raised his eyes to look at the cat's eye, neither humble nor arrogant: "Hello uncle, I am Shen Yuqing."

Father Xia had heard this name from the class teacher when he took Xia Ruirui home.

Father Xia was still a little surprised to see him coming, but after thinking it over, he opened the door for the young man.

Shen Yuqing came in pulling the door handle and paused in front of the entrance.

"There are slippers next to you, just take any pair." Father Xia said lightly.

Shen Yuqing bent down to pick up a pair of slippers, and when he noticed the pink slippers next to him, a smile appeared on his face.

This kind of flashy thing is her favorite.

But he did not stop and followed Father Xia into the study.

At the desk, they sat on their own sides. Father Xia poured him a glass of warm water, his tone still neutral: "Xia Ruirui is out."

Shen Yuqing pursed his lips when he heard this, and looked at Father Xia with a frank look: “I came to see you.”

As he said this, he took out the envelope from his inner pocket and placed his hands on the table.

Father Xia glanced at him, took it with some surprise, looked at the thousand yuan inside, and asked him with his eyes what he was doing.

"Please pass this thousand yuan to Auntie on my behalf."

Father Xia opened his mouth, then thought of a possibility, frowned, and looked suspiciously: "It's my wife..."

"Using money to humiliate you and force you to break up with Xia Ruirui?" The latter part of the sentence was too embarrassing, and Xia's father felt he couldn't say it.

"My aunt lent me the money, and I came to return it to her." His tone was light and his eyes were straight.

Father Xia looked at the young man in front of him, his eyes still somewhat doubtful.

He didn't explain any further, just nodded and left.

Only after the door was closed did Shen Yuqing relax a little.

He continued walking along the original path, but saw Xia's mother and Xia Ruirui returning along the way.

There was a green belt between them, so they couldn't see him, but he could see them. Xia's mother was walking in front, and Xia Ruirui was following behind.

While walking, Xia Ruirui did not forget to kick the stones on the road. Shen Yuqing looked at her through the gaps between the branches and felt that Xia Ruirui was a little far away at this time.

He glanced at the duplex house not far away, then walked away in the opposite direction without looking back.

As if she had a premonition, Xia Ruirui on the other side felt the gaze and glanced in the direction of Shen Yuqing.

But when she didn't see anyone, she thought it was her illusion and continued walking forward.

At home, when Xia's father saw Xia Ruirui coming back, his expression relaxed.

"Ruirui, you must be tired. Go take a shower."

"Um."

After sending his daughter away, he saw that his wife's expression had become gloomy, and Xia's mother looked at him with some confusion.

In the study, Mother Xia sat in the seat where Shen Yuqing had just sat. Seeing the envelope that Father Xia threw to her, she looked at him inexplicably.

"Chen Yuqing just came and asked me to pass it to you." He glanced at his wife and asked tentatively, "The child said you lent it to him."

Mother Xia looked at the envelope for a while and nodded.

Father Xia looked at her suspiciously and didn't mention it again.

*

Inside the airport.

The radio was still broadcasting flight information. Xia Ruirui looked at Shen Qingli and Gu Zijin who came to see her off, and her eyes involuntarily glanced behind them.

As expected, Shen Yuqing didn't come.

Although she had expected that he would not come because of his strong self-esteem, she still couldn't help feeling a little disappointed when she saw that he didn't come.

"Ruirui, you are going back to Beiyi this time. When will you come back next time?" Shen Qingli pulled her friend's arm, feeling a little reluctant.

Xia Ruirui looked at her and hugged her: "When you get married, I will definitely fly back."

Hearing about the wedding, Shen Qingli glanced at Gu Zijin beside her and patted Xia Ruirui's arm somewhat embarrassedly.

Xia Ruirui couldn't help laughing when she saw her friend being shy for the rare time.

Looking up at Gu Zijin, she said loudly, "Gu Zijin, take good care of her."

Thinking of someone who was suppressing himself in the hospital, Gu Zijin looked at her with complicated eyes and nodded: “Shen Yuqing had something to do, so he didn’t come to see you off.”

He had seen Xia Ruirui's wandering eyes just now.

She nodded to indicate that she understood, and looked at the two people's expressions relaxing: "Everyone, see you another day."

After saying that, he went to the boarding gate without looking back.

After she leaves.

Behind the crowd, a man pushed a wheelchair and slowly walked towards them.

Shen Qingli looked at Shen Yuqing, whose head was still wrapped in gauze, with a helpless expression: “Please, Shen Yuqing, you just had surgery, why are you still here?”

Xia Ruirui is her good friend and she feels sorry for her, but Shen Yuqing is also her good friend. The two of them have a quarrel and she feels difficult to be caught in the middle.

She wanted to bring the two together, but she didn't want either of them to get hurt.

Gu Zijin crossed his arms and looked at Shen Yuqing in the wheelchair with a somewhat disapproving expression.

When the radio finally broadcast the news that Xia Ruirui's flight had taken off, Shen Yuqing curled his lips and smiled weakly.

"She left anyway."

Shen Qingli felt a little reluctant and didn't look at him.

Gu Zijin looked at him helplessly and pushed his wheelchair out of the airport. Shen Yuqing did not resist and let him push it.

Shen Qingli followed them and secretly took a picture of their backs and sent it to Xia Ruirui.

When Gu Zijin saw her taking pictures, he just glanced at her without stopping her or objecting.

*

On the other side, Xia Ruirui set her phone to flight mode and was leaning back in her seat on the plane, resting with an eye mask on.

The flight was fast and smooth, and it only took two hours to get from Xijing to Beiyi.

After getting off the plane, Xia Ruirui went straight to Beiyi's apartment.

There weren't many people outside Beiyi Airport, so she didn't even have to queue up to get a taxi. "Driver, to Jingyuan."

In the car, she turned on her cell phone and saw the WeChat message Shen Qingli sent her. She clicked it with a smile.

It's a picture.

Gu Zijin was pushing someone's back.

She zoomed in with her fingers and saw that the person sitting in the wheelchair was Shen Yuqing.

Her brows jumped and she sent a voice message to Shen Qingli.

"What happened to him?"

Ever since Shen Qingli posted the photo, she has been waiting for Xia Ruirui's call. When she saw the voice message, she immediately clicked the answer button.

Hearing the nervousness in her friend's voice, she chuckled on the other end of the phone.

Sure enough, she knew that Xia Ruirui liked Shen Yuqing.

But she didn't want her friend to worry too much, so she told the truth and told her that Shen Yuqing had a minor operation after the car accident.

Xia Ruirui frowned when she heard this: "How is he now?"

"The doctor said that I just need to rest for two weeks and I'll be fine." Shen Qingli answered honestly.

Xia Ruirui finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was about to ask Shen Yuqing why he didn't tell her, but then she thought of the unpleasant parting of the two that day and was speechless for a moment.

She responded softly, confirmed that he was fine and was about to hang up.

Shen Qingli stopped her: "Ruirui, wait a minute."

"What's wrong?"

"That..." Shen Qingli always felt like she was telling tales, and she hesitated a little, "When I was in my third year of high school, my aunt came to see Shen Yuqing again."

These words hit Xia Ruirui's heart like a blow.

My heart aches.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Xia Ruirui's voice was a little hoarse.

"Chen Yuqing was afraid that you would feel resentful towards your aunt, so he didn't let us tell you." Shen Qingli noticed that something was wrong with her friend and felt a little distressed.

"There's been a rift between us for a long time... you just don't know it." But Xia Ruirui didn't say this out loud.

She just whispered that she understood and hung up the phone.

On the other side, Shen Qingli in the study looked at the hung up phone, feeling a little worried.

'There won't be a quarrel, will there?' she murmured.

The door of the study was pushed open, and Gu Zijin leaned against the door with a cup of coffee in his hand, looking at her with understanding in his eyes.

"He went to inform Xia Ruirui?"

"..." Shen Qingli pretended to be stupid, "I don't know what you are talking about."

Gu Zijin sneered, "Stop pretending. You just took a photo with the shutter open, and the sound was really loud. Only that idiot Shen Yuqing was so lost that he didn't notice."

"..." Shen Qingli curled her lips and nodded reluctantly in agreement.

*

After Xia Ruirui hung up the phone with Shen Qingli, she called her mother.

The call was answered in seconds, and Mother Xia's voice came from the other end, excited but also a little uncertain: "Ruirui?"

Xia Ruirui got straight to the point: "You looked for Shen Yuqing when I was in my third year of high school. What did you tell him?"

Mother Xia heard the suppressed displeasure in her words, hesitated for a few seconds, and thought for several seconds before she realized who Shen Yuqing was.

The boy who returned the money intact.

Thinking of that boy, memories from seven years ago resurfaced. Mother Xia considered for a moment and replied, "I did look for that child."

Xia Ruirui didn't say anything, waiting for her to continue.

"When Mom heard your grades were dropping, she thought it was because you were in a premature relationship, so she went..."

Before she could finish, Xia Ruirui interrupted her angrily, "What does my declining grades have to do with Chen Yuqing?"

"Your marriage broke down back then. We had a small fight every day and a big one every three days. The year you were a day student was the most painful year of my life so far."

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and from time to time, Xia's mother's sobbing could be heard.

Listening to her sobs, Xia Ruirui felt like they were crocodile tears.

The taxi driver looked at her curiously in the rearview mirror, and she glanced at the rearview mirror coldly.

Seeing that they had arrived at their destination, Xia Ruirui took out a hundred-yuan note from her bag and handed it to him: "No need for change."

After saying that, she got out of the car.

At this time, Xia's mother on the other end of the phone finally calmed down and said softly: "Ruirui, your father is very good, but your father and I are not suitable."

She didn't care whether Xia Ruirui was listening or not, and continued talking to herself.

"Ruirui, do you remember that our neighbor always lets his dog run around without a leash?"

"One time, Mom and that aunt had a quarrel. Your stepfather heard the noise and came out to stand on Mom's side and started arguing with them."

"What?" Seeing that what Xia's mother said was getting more and more outrageous, Xia Ruirui couldn't help but frown and interrupt her.

Mother Xia didn't stop, but continued to talk: "Before Mom and your father divorced, we encountered many such things, but your father...

You know your father is a very upright man. Every time, he will be like an impartial judge, who will side with the right and not with his relatives.

Even if his mother is right, he will tell her not to argue with others about these trivial matters.

But Ruirui, what's the big deal? Isn't life just a bunch of little things?

Mother Xia wiped her tears with a tissue and continued, "Mom didn't say your father was bad.

Your father is good, of course, but mom... prefers a rough and protective man like your stepfather.

Ruirui... do you understand your mother? "

When Xia Ruirui heard the words "protecting a shortcoming", her heart skipped a beat, and her mind suddenly flashed back to the time when Shen Yuqing stood behind her unconditionally.

It happened to be a holiday that time, and many small vendors took the opportunity to come and sell some fruit snacks.

Xia Ruirui bought some strawberries, but after walking for a long time, she found that the merchant was shortchanging them on weight.

She went to the merchant angrily, but the merchant argued that everyone else sold it this way and refused to admit his mistake.

People passing by said that it was not easy for street vendors to support their families, so they told her to forget it.

Xia Ruirui was dissatisfied but also felt wronged, but Chen Yuqing stood behind her unconditionally, returned the strawberries to the vendor, and asked him to return the money, otherwise he would find the urban management.

The vendor then reluctantly returned the money.

She could imagine what Father Xia would do if it were him.

Her father would definitely tell her, like the onlookers, how difficult it is for street vendors, and encourage her to be more open-minded and not to bother with these trivial matters.

After hearing what Xia's mother said, Xia Ruirui could understand what she meant.

She understood the grievances Xia's mother was talking about, but still felt that she was unforgivable: "So you secretly contacted that man."

During a vacation in her second year of high school, Xia's mother gave her her cell phone and asked her to help buy something. Xia Ruirui took the phone and accidentally discovered that Xia's mother was secretly contacting a man.

At that moment, her mind suddenly went blank and she had no idea how to react. She could only pretend that she knew nothing and silently returned the phone to Xia's mother.

Because of this incident, she became more and more silent and twisted.

When Xia's mother heard what she said, she subconsciously denied it: "I only dated your stepfather after I divorced your father..."

"You gave me your phone in your second year of high school, and I saw everything." Xia Ruirui's voice became sharp.

Mother Xia was silent for a long time: "Ruirui, actually...your father and I divorced when you were in your first year of high school. We separated when you were in your third year because of you."

Hearing this, Xia Ruirui almost lost her balance and had to hold on to the wall to avoid falling.

She could no longer listen to what others said.

She stood in front of the apartment door, her body slid down the wall, and she collapsed on the insole at the door, her legs soft and weak.

I see.

Everything makes sense.

Xia's mother did not cheat.

They divorced when they were in their first year of high school...

Seeing no sound from the other end of the phone, Mother Xia asked worriedly, "Rui Rui?"

"I'm fine, I'm hanging up first." After saying that, she hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, she sat on the ground with empty eyes.

Until her eyes became sore from not blinking for too long, she slowly hugged herself.

Xia Ruirui buried her face in her arms and bit her upper lip hard to prevent herself from crying out loud.