Xia Chenggang had been on the phone for nearly half an hour. When he returned, the leftovers on the table had been cleared away. He rubbed his face, suppressing his inner anxiety and panic, not letting it show.

A skit was playing on the large TV in the living room. Xia Xi and Xia Xuan leaned against each other, sharing an orange and laughing. Xia Chenggang, however, was growing increasingly irritable and in no mood to smoke. He had just taken a cigarette from the pack when he broke it and asked, "Where's your mom?"

Xia Xi glanced at him and pointed in the direction of the bedroom: "He said he was sleepy, go and rest first."

Xia Chenggang hunched his back and returned to the bedroom in silence.

After he left, Xia Xi frowned, a strange feeling welling up in her heart, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She pushed Xia Xuan's arm and said, "Don't you think Dad's been a little strange lately? Every time he comes home, he's absent-minded and impatient."

Xia Xuan didn't particularly like her father either. She nodded in agreement, wrinkling her nose. "You don't come home often, so you might not know. Ever since Dad opened the food processing factory with Uncle Yao, he's rarely seen. Sometimes he doesn't even come home at night. When Mom calls him, he says he's resting in the factory dormitory. His factory isn't that big. Is he really that busy?"

In the bedroom, Xia Chenggang sat on the sofa with his legs open, his head buried deep, his hands constantly scratching the hair on the back of his head, and the sound of running water coming from the bathroom was in his ears.

Su Jinru took a shower and put on her maroon two-piece pajamas. She washed her underwear and hung it up to dry. She threw back the covers and got into bed, the mattress creaking slightly. Seeing her husband sitting there motionless, she paused in applying cream to her face and asked with concern, "Cheng Gang, are you feeling unwell?"

Xia Chenggang raised his head and wiped his face with his rough palm: "No, just taking a nap."

He also went to take a shower, then walked around the room a few times. When he sat on the bed, he had a document in his hand. He didn't show it to Su Jinru first. He put his arm around her shoulders and said softly, "I bought an insurance policy, and you are the beneficiary. We are both old. The eldest is married, the third is in poor health, and the second is independent and may not stay in Ganlin in the future. Mom is old, and she might die one day... I want to give you more protection. In short, it's good for you. You know, I don't have many relatives, and the person I care about most is you..."

He said a lot of confusing things. Su Jinru was sleepy because of the alcohol, so she didn't understand much. She only knew that he bought an insurance policy. Then he took out a few pages of paper and put a pen in her hand: "Just sign it, and don't worry about anything else."

Su Jinru's head felt dizzy, and she strained to open her eyes, trying to see the words clearly. Xia Chenggang flicked his hand and flipped over, his finger tapping the lower right corner of the last page: "Just sign here."

Out of trust in her husband, Su Jinru gripped the pen tightly and wrote her name.

Unfortunately, she didn't notice that her husband's face was distorted with nervousness, nor did she notice that his clenched fists were shaking.

"I'll go put my things away."

Xia Chenggang hurried out holding the signed document.

He got what he wanted, and his first reaction wasn't excitement, but a greater panic. After that panic, disbelief came. He flipped the documents over and over, wondering how he could have gotten the Pei Shan Hotel so easily.

Finally, there is excitement, like the sea water flooding over your head. You will feel breathless when you are so excited.

Xia Chenggang hid the documents and washed his face with cold water to calm himself down quickly. When he returned to the bedroom, Su Jinru had already lain down, half asleep and half awake.

Xia Chenggang turned off the lights and lay down on the bed, but he couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

Suddenly, Su Jinru turned over and spoke in the darkness, startling him: "How is the profit of the processing plant?"

Fortunately, the bedroom was pitch black and nothing could be seen. Xia Chenggang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's not as profitable as it was at the beginning, but maintaining basic operations is not a problem."

"Well, don't get too tired."

Su Jinru said something in a daze and fell asleep completely.

*

After the Lantern Festival, on the 17th day of the first lunar month, Xia Xi set out on the journey back to school alone.

Zhou Du and Liang Yuan graduated long ago. Liang Yuan found a sales job in South City and started working there after his annual leave. Zhou Du was still a freeloader. He came from a well-off family, so he wasn't expected to earn a living, so he lived life to his heart's content. One day he might be in a photography studio, the next he might be modeling. With his handsome face and good figure, he was a walking clothes hanger, capable of pulling off most styles. Xia Xi thought modeling was a good fit for him, and perhaps he'd even become a star someday.

For Xia Xi, the future isn't entirely uncertain. With only this semester remaining in her senior year, her fifth year will primarily focus on internships. She's already earned the necessary certifications, and according to Professor Li Zongyu, her admission to graduate school is a sure thing.

Everything is moving in a good direction.

There are always some signs before the weather changes. Often the disasters in life are hidden under the water. Before it emerges, no one knows whether it is a beast or a reef.

Xia Xi arrived in Nancheng at around four o'clock in the afternoon. She refused Xu Yanfeng's offer to pick her up and took a taxi back to school.

Her roommate arrived earlier than her and the bed had already been wiped clean. She took out the bedding from the cabinet and spread it on the bed, then received a call from Zhou Du.

"Miss, have you arrived at school?" Zhou Du's voice was lazy, as if he hadn't woken up yet. "I brought you something."

Xia Xi knelt on the bed and smoothed out the wrinkles on the sheets: "You won't come to our school, will you?"

"uh-huh."

"Wait, I'll be down soon."

Xia Xi climbed down the ladder, put on her boots, grabbed her coat from the back of the chair, and rushed out. The phone was still ringing, and she asked as she went downstairs, "Where are you?"

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