Chapter 50 Clear-headed

After the final exams, during summer vacation, Xia Qingwan went to Shaoping.

Xia Huiqing and Grandma Xi recuperated there for half a year, and their complexions improved a lot. This is what Xia Qingwan said when she saw them.

Grandma Xi laughed and said, "Having lived in Beijing for most of my life, I'm not used to coming back to Shaoping. Your grandma keeps saying it's too humid."

Have you bought a dehumidifier yet?

"I bought it."

Grandma Xi said. She added that after the weather got warmer, Xia Huiqing set up a tea table and a recliner under the camphor tree in the backyard of the villa, and lately she has been reading there in the afternoons.

Xia Qingwan ate something with Grandma Xi in the house and listened to her rambling about the trivial things that had happened in the past two months.

It was rare that the two old people lived in seclusion here, and Grandma Xi still had so many little details to talk about. A warm smile emerged in Xia Qingwan's heart.

As I grew older, I found myself feeling safer with the "nagging" of elders, especially older ones. It was as if these gentle words carried a tenderness that had been tempered by time, and had a timeless quality.

Having just gone through a battle-like final exam period, memorizing, writing papers... Xia Qingwan, who was busy day and night, couldn't help but feel a genuine sense of slowing down at this moment.

She listened with a smile. After Grandma Xi finished talking, she suddenly stopped and asked, "Oh dear, I've talked so much again without realizing it," she smiled, "...I hope you didn't find it annoying?"

"How could that be?" Xia Qingwan sat obediently at the other end of the dining table, holding a glass of water. "I like to listen."

Grandma Xi smiled and said, "Your grandma specifically told me that if you come over during the summer vacation, I should talk less about family matters, saying that young people nowadays don't like to hear such things. But how can I control myself? I'm so happy to see you that I can't help but want to talk about all this and that."

Use one sentence to explain the previous one.

Xia Qingwan laughed again after hearing this.

After chatting for a while, Xia Qingwan washed his hands and said he was going to the backyard to find his grandmother.

Grandma Xi stood up, took out a jar from the sideboard, added some more sour plums to the snack plate, and said, "It's just right, you can take the sour plums to her. She has no appetite in the hot weather, and she likes to eat this lately."

Xia Qingwan carried the tea tray and snack tray along the brick path to the backyard.

Passing by several crape myrtle trees covered in a mist of pink and purple blossoms, you can see in the distance a deck chair and a small square table under a sturdy camphor tree, with a camping blanket spread out next to it.

The camping blanket had probably been laid out there all day; it was covered with green leaves and red flowers.

Xia Huiqing was lying on her back with a folding fan covering her face.

Xia Qingwan placed the tray on the coffee table and said softly, "Grandma?"

After calling her several times, Xia Huiqing finally moved, moved her folding fan aside, squinted at her for a while, and then dazedly asked, "...Qingwan?"

"Yes, Grandma, I'm here." Xia Qingwan leaned over, her hands supporting her thighs, and said with a smile, "Were you asleep?"

Xia Huiqing stared at her for a few seconds before suddenly waking up.

She initially thought it was a dream.

"I couldn't fall asleep."

Xia Huiqing sat up. "How did the exam go?"

Xia Qingwan sat down on the camping blanket and ate a sour plum herself. "It should be pretty good."

Having not seen her for several months, Xia Huiqing naturally wanted to thoroughly examine her studies.

She was always impeccable in her studies, ranking first in every exam and receiving scholarships every semester. She pushed herself to the limit, pursuing a double major in Chinese and English. In her freshman year, she obtained all the general basic certificates she was required to. During her freshman summer, she worked on a dialect project with professors and senior students. Starting in her sophomore year, she set her sights on the direction she would pursue in graduate school, reading papers, literature, and participating in related competitions, hoping to gain an advantage in the junior year when preparing for graduate school admission.

She reported the important points, and Xia Huiqing listened carefully, occasionally nodding in agreement.

She is certainly a good and reassuring child.

There was silence for a moment, only the summer breeze carrying a humid and hot air swept by, the leaves rustling, and the shapes of the shadows on the ground swaying.

The sun shines brightly.

A petal of the julibrissin flower fluttered down and landed on the porcelain plate of sour plums. Xia Qingwan lowered her eyes, picked it up, and held it in her hand to examine it carefully.

That delicate and cold face, set against the pink and white petals of the acacia tree, made Xia Huiqing inexplicably recall what Mr. Ye had said to her last time.

Xia Huiqing has never been one to pay attention to empty compliments, and this was especially true when he was facing Mr. Ye.

She said directly, "Qingwan won't be like your grandmother Liang Xinwu, throwing herself into it headfirst. Maybe in a year, maybe in two years, she will leave you sooner or later."

That was winter in Shaoping; the sun was dazzling but not warm.

Mr. Ye sat on the sofa opposite her, his posture relaxed, which was the most common look for a man as high and mighty as him, relaxed and casual, yet exuding a sense of oppression.

Hearing Xia Huiqing's words, he lowered his eyes and said nothing.

She could sense that beneath his half-lowered eyelashes, his eyes remained fixed, staring intently at the corner of the coffee table.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "I generally don't waste energy trying to imagine things that aren't certain." At this point, he looked up at her, "But I can assure you that no matter what the future holds, I will always treat her the same way."

"Whether she is with me or not, she will have all my love."

The sunlight is even stronger now than it was then.

However, under the shade of the trees, you can only enjoy the leisurely afternoon.

How long have you been together?

Hearing this question out of the blue, Xia Qingwan was stunned for a moment. Before she could answer, she blushed and said with her eyes lowered, "...It's been more than half a year."

Xia Huiqing calculated, "Started in November last year?"

"Well," Xia Qingwan whispered, "He... the day after Mr. Ye's birthday on November 2nd."

"Is he alright?"

"fine."

In fact, she couldn't imagine what a better man would be like.

He gave her everything: affection, favoritism, tenderness, reputation, money, and promises.

After a moment of silence, Xia Huiqing couldn't help but remind him, "The Ye family is a wealthy family, so they always have their own tricks. Your grandmother Liang suffered a lot in the past. You should be careful. Especially when Mr. Ye is not in Beijing."

Xia Qingwan nodded silently.

Xia Huiqing suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, how is that Miss Lin? Did Mingzhou cause her any trouble?"

"No, she's going to New York for graduate school. She'll be leaving in the summer."

"Okay, okay." Xia Huiqing nodded. "She's a smart girl, not bad."

A few days later, Xia Qingwan returned to Beijing and relayed these words to Lin Xiangyu in person.

That was a party Lin Xiangyu threw before leaving Beijing.

Her going to New York to study meant officially breaking up with Sheng Junchi. After all, Lin Xiangyu couldn't guarantee that she could control Mr. Sheng, a playboy who had been with many women, in a different place and country.

Sheng Junchi was quite generous, not only agreeing readily but also overseeing the venue and expenses for the party.

Lin Xiangyu laughed at him, "Mr. Sheng is afraid of leaving a bad reputation and making it difficult for him to get along in the future."

Sheng Junchi raised an eyebrow. "That's called a grand funeral!"

At the party, upon hearing Xia Qingwan's words, Lin Xiangyu laughed heartily and said, "Aren't you the same?"

When interacting with young men like them, the most basic necessary quality is not to be beautiful or elegant and humble, but to have a clear mind.

At that party, Sheng Junchi seemed happier than Lin Xiangyu and drank more than her.

It was as if he himself was about to leave Beijing for a new future.

Lin Xiangyu was very drunk, and Xia Qingwan rode in the same car with her and took her back to the Xia family's old house.

She had already returned the apartment she rented in Beijing, so it wasn't appropriate for her to go to Sheng Junchi's house. The two of them agreed that Xia Qingwan would stay with her at the Xia family's old house for one night.

Ye Peixiu regularly sends people to clean and maintain the property, so their stay is unaffected.

Lin Xiangyu drank two glasses of lemonade and dozed off on the sofa in Xia Qingwan's bedroom.

"Go to sleep."

Xia Qingwan said.

Lin Xiangyu shook her head, "Let's have one last chat, a bestie late-night talk!"

Her speech was already a little slurred, and Xia Qingwan couldn't help but laugh, "What do you want to talk about?"

Lin Xiangyu leaned against the back of the sofa, resting her cheek on her arm, and said with a smile, "What's wrong? I'm leaving tomorrow, don't you want to talk to me?"

Xia Qingwan unfolded the blanket, stood there and pondered seriously for a few seconds, then said, "Your departure is ambitious!"

Lin Xiangyu laughed heartily and rolled around on the sofa.

Xia Qingwan covered her with the blanket, but she pushed it away, saying, "I'm too hot, I don't need it."

"It's easy to feel hot after drinking, but it's all an illusion. It's better to cover yourself with a layer."

On summer nights, after drinking so much alcohol and experiencing sudden changes in temperature, it's easy to catch a cold.

Lin Xiangyu stopped resisting and obediently pulled the blanket over him. He then asked excitedly, "Do you usually take care of Mr. Ye like this? He has a lot of social engagements, so he probably drinks a lot, right?"

“It doesn’t happen that often. He has his own way of dealing with things,” Xia Qingwan thought carefully, “...He usually doesn’t need me to take care of him.”

After drinking, he looked no different from usual, except that his eyes were slightly red. He sat on the sofa, leaned on the couch, either resting with his eyes closed or just looking at her without saying a word.

"That's right," Lin Xiangyu said, "He's so much older than you, does he still need you to take care of him?"

Xia Qingwan burst into laughter at his words.

The two of them laughed for no apparent reason at the man's age.

The two men who were being laughed at were currently in the Ye Garden courtyard.

Ye Peixiu stood by the pond feeding the fish, a cigarette dangling from his lips, while Sheng Junchi reclined on a deck chair beside him, smoking silently.

There was cigarette ash all over him.

Ye Peixiu said without even turning his head, "Go back to your own home."

"I've been dumped. Can't you be merciful and take me in for a while?"

Sheng Junchi was crying.

Is this the first time you've been dumped?

"That's how you use the term 'childhood friend,' isn't it? The number one person to kick someone when they're down."

Sheng Junchi pretended to cry, "Old Ye, you can't be so heartless."

Ye Peixiu listened to him cry silently for a while, then turned and walked over, extinguishing his cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table. Then, he left and returned to the house.

After a while, Sheng Junchi heard the low sound of an engine.

He called out, "Old Ye!"

No response was received.

Ye Peixiu had already driven onto the main road and headed towards the Xia family's old house.

When he arrived, Xia Qingwan was chatting with Lin Xiangyu. When she received his call, Xia Qingwan thought he was just calling to say goodnight. When she picked up the phone, she heard him say, "Guess where I am?"

Xia Qingwan reacted for a second, walked to the window, lifted the curtain, and vaguely saw two beams of car lights piercing the night at the entrance of the courtyard.

"I'll be right down."

After hanging up the phone, she was about to explain to Lin Xiangyu when Lin Xiangyu teased her with a meaningful look, "So clingy, you're in the honeymoon phase, hurry up and go, hurry up."

After lunch, Xia Qingwan went to keep Lin Xiangyu company. She had only been away from Ye Peixiu for half a day, but she missed him terribly.

Perhaps it was because of the emotional ups and downs that night, influenced by Lin Xiangyu and Sheng Junchi.

She ran down the steps of the entrance hall, crossed the courtyard, and opened the small gate to the yard.

Ye Peixiu, in white shirt and black pants, stood beside the car in the night, with a slight smile in his eyes.

As they got closer, both of them couldn't help but laugh.

A beautiful summer night in Beijing.

She said, "Shall we take a walk together?"

-----------------------

Author's Note: I'm late! This chapter includes red envelopes for everyone! I promise to update 20,000 words every Tuesday and Wednesday!