Chapter 13

Lian Yijian rolled his eyes at Xia Kaiqun.

"When the Suzhou Metro project is fully operational by the end of the year, I'll invite you to eat at the Oriental Pearl Tower revolving restaurant in Shanghai that you've been longing for."

After saying that, Lian Yijian walked forward a few steps and walked out of the subway entrance.

Xia Kaiqun, who was following behind him, replied, "Mr. Lian's pie is really too big. Sorry, my mouth is too small to eat it."

Lian Yijian ignored Xia Kaiqun and just strode towards the company.

When Xia Zhongqin returned to his residence, it was already 8:30 in the evening.

Xia Zhongqin currently rents a second-floor apartment in Xiatang, Loumen. It's a private residence, only about ten square meters, with a small bathroom. She cooks in the shared kitchen downstairs. The monthly rent is 600 yuan, with utilities charged separately.

Xia Zhongqin has lived here since he graduated two years ago, and it has been more than two years.

Although it is a rental house and is very old, Xia Zhongqin still decorated the cottage very warmly through wallpaper and flowers.

There was only a bed, a desk and two chairs in the room. The wardrobe was a foldable and thickened bedroom wardrobe that Xia Zhongqin bought online for 199 yuan. It did not require installation.

The air conditioner that is making the "squeaking" sound is a very old second-hand wall-mounted air conditioner that Xia Zhongqin asked the landlord to install last year. It barely survived last year's hot summer and is still in use this year.

After washing up, Xia Zhongqin opened the book "Frog" by Mo Yan on the desk, which she had borrowed from the Suzhou Library in early June, and turned to page 149 of the third part where the bookmark was.

Every night, if she could get back to her nest before 11 o'clock, Xia Zhongqin would wash up and then read some of the books by Lao She, Lu Xun, Mo Yan, Zhang Ailing and Yang Jiang that she had borrowed from the Suzhou Library.

Habit is really a terrible thing.

In the two years since graduation, Xia Zhongqin used the fragmented time in the evening to read all the works of Yang Jiang, Zhang Ailing and Lu Xun, and gained a lot.

Especially after reading "We Three" written by Yang Jiang, Xia Zhongqin was so moved that her eyes were filled with tears. It also made her understand that a person must be able to bend and stretch no matter in good times or bad times.

Reading can also cultivate a person's temperament, improve one's temperament, and give one the courage to face setbacks. Perhaps this is the spiritual connotation that Xia Zhongqin is still persevering in this century-old project even though it has not been accepted for more than a year.

After reading 33 pages, that is, page 182, the entire third part ended. Xia Zhongqin put the bookmark in, closed the book, and put it back on the top of the pile of borrowed books on the desk.

It was already eleven o'clock in the evening when Xia Zhongqin went to bed. She set the alarm on her mobile phone to six fifty in the morning.

To get from where she lives to the Suzhou Metro Building, one can take Line 1 from the Donghuan Road Metro Station and get off at the Guangjinan Road Station. Including the time she spends walking to the Donghuan Road Metro Station, the entire journey takes about 40 minutes. It's not too far, but not very close either.

Just after setting the alarm and turning off the lights, and before she had time to lie down, Xia Zhongqin received a WeChat video call on the phone on the bedside table. It was Ji Yue calling.

Xia Zhongqin quickly turned on the light, and after the call was connected, Ji Yue on the other end of the video had already cried her eyes out.

"Sister, can you take me in for tonight? I have nowhere to go." Ji Yue cried on the other side of the video.

Through the video, Xia Zhongqin saw that Ji Yue was currently on the main road. The lights next to her emitted a dim light, giving people a deep sense of chill.

It was really unsafe for a girl to be outside in the middle of the night. Xia Zhongqin quickly asked, "Where are you, Yueyue? I'll come pick you up."

Xia Zhongqin mustered up the courage to say the words "I'll pick you up". At this point, she was actually afraid to go out.

Looking at Ji Yue's thin figure and the place where she was in the video, Xia Zhongqin's fear disappeared without a trace in an instant. This should be the concrete embodiment of the so-called willingness to go through fire and water for a friend.

"Sister, I'm on the street downstairs from your house. You don't have to come out. I'll be up now." After saying that, Ji Yue hung up the video.

The place where Xia Zhongqin is renting now is where she brought Ji Yue before, and Ji Yue also stayed overnight at her house, so it can indeed be found.

After a while, there was a soft knock on the door.

Xia Zhongqin, who had already gotten up and was waiting at the door, quickly opened the door.

After Xia Zhongqin welcomed Ji Yue in, she closed the door.

"Yueyue, please sit down for a moment. I'll pour you a cup of hot water."

Taking the disposable water cup, Ji Yue took two sips and recounted what had happened.

It turned out that when Ji Yue returned home at 9:30 tonight, the lights in the living room were off.

The moment Ji Yue turned on the light, she saw a pair of women's sandals at the entrance.

Then Ji Yue walked outside the bedroom and heard an indescribable sound coming from inside the bedroom.

Ji Yue opened the bedroom door and found her boyfriend and a woman doing something in bed.

What Ji Yue said was expected. Xia Zhongqin didn't expect that before she found a chance to tell Ji Yue, reality would slap her in the face so quickly.

Xia Zhongqin looked calm.

"Yueyue, what are you going to do?"

"Sister, I don't know."

Ji Yue’s words almost made Xia Zhongqin laugh.

We are all adults, and we will weigh the pros and cons when dealing with or choosing what to do about something that has happened. Xia Zhongqin believes that Ji Yue already has the answer in her mind.

What happened tonight happened too suddenly and the impact was too great. Ji Yue just couldn't accept it at the moment.