Chapter 212 The Third Choice I Am Her Family

There were many things that Zhu Dashan had not had time to do, but what bothered Zhu Yingning the most was the lawsuit.

Of course she wants money, but money is not the point. The person is already in this state, and no amount of money can save him or restore his health. What she wants is justice - she wants one day, when Zhu Dashan miraculously opens his eyes, she can lie on the edge of his bed and tell him that the bad guy has paid the price.

But justice has yet to come, and she will never have the chance to tell Zhu Dashan again.

During her senior year of high school, she followed Zhou Tianqing's advice and focused on her studies, not giving the lawsuit any thought. During that time, the private detective and lawyer Zhou Tianqing hired helped her collect a lot of evidence. Although the evidence was still fragmentary and insufficient to form a complete chain of evidence, after filling out her college entrance examination application and receiving the admission notice for her first choice, her studies came to a temporary halt. However, she still told Zhou Tianqing that she wanted to sue.

"Okay, I support you." Zhou Tianqing said.

But when they prepared all the materials, they found that Zhao Laiyun was missing.

The indictment and other documents were sent out through public notice, but Zhao Laiyun himself did not show up. The mobile phone number he left was no longer in service, and the house he originally lived in was sold to someone else. According to neighbors, Zhao Laiyun once said that he had earned enough money and wanted to go abroad to enjoy life.

"Overseas" is a broad concept. Europe and the United States are abroad, Southeast Asia is abroad, Australia is abroad... In short, he disappeared, perhaps on a whim, but it is more likely that he had planned it for a long time and fled for fear of punishment.

On the advice of her lawyer, Zhu Yingning applied for property preservation, but even that only froze the property of a rural homestead inherited from Zhao Laiyun's parents. Both his parents were said to have passed away years ago, and his family had no contact with him, leaving no one aware of his whereabouts. Based on the partial evidence they presented, the court awarded her 40,000 yuan in compensation, which was then allocated from previously frozen property. However, setting aside the fact that the compensation was insufficient to cover the costs of Zhu Dashan's hospitalization and medication over the years, the mere fact that Zhao Laiyun vanished without punishment was enough to cause dismay.

The lawsuit ended very quickly, and it could even be said that it was over before it even began.

Because of this incident, one time during college, Zhou Tianqing drank two extra glasses of wine at the birthday dinner for her birthday. Suddenly, she burst into tears and said, "Yingning, I always feel that I have let you down."

Besides being terrified, she was also heartbroken. She burst into tears and said, "If I had a younger sister who was in her senior year of high school, I would also advise her to finish her studies first before considering other things. You hired the lawyers for my lawsuits, Auntie. I can't blame anyone but you."

**

There were so many regrettable things, and the one related to Zhu Dashan was no exception. Xu Sirui saw what she was thinking. He patted her back gently, knowing that no matter what she said at this moment, it would seem pale and powerless, and it would be like self-deception and self-consolation.

But he still had to say it.

The drizzle outside the cave sounded like a claustrophobic echo inside the cave. His voice was also light and airy, caught in the rain.

"Although I haven't done any statistics..." he chuckled softly, "I believe that 99% of people in the world who encounter a bad family background will have only two reactions: get stuck in it or escape."

After a pause, he continued, "Me too. I'm no exception. I've also chosen to flee. I covered my eyes and ears, not wanting to see, because I couldn't save my family who hadn't awakened, and I didn't want to save my family who had brought harm to me. So, I could only save myself first."

"Did I do something wrong? Did we do something wrong?" He met her eyes.

Zhu Yingning shook her head at him.

Xu Sirui smiled again. "I don't think it's wrong either. Protecting oneself is human instinct. Rather than being trapped in this and having the whole family torture each other, it's better for at least one person to break free and live a better life. If you can't do anything else, breaking free is also a form of progress. But, you showed me a third option."

"Zhu Yingning, you have a kind of compassion."

Raindrops hanging from the outer edge of the cave dripped onto a withered blade of grass at the entrance with a tap. A cold wind blew in, circled around, and then left.

"Perhaps you will still encounter many helpless things in the future, making you feel incompetent or insignificant. I can't say that as long as you work hard, you can accomplish everything. Maybe I could say that when I was a teenager, but I can't say that now. The deeper you get into society, the more you feel the insignificance of the individual. I just want to say..." He paused, "Your compassion has illuminated me."

It has shone on me, and not just me.

Extreme, inferiority, cowardice, self-esteem, utilitarianism, confusion.

I hate my sensitivity and overthinking, I hate my body that is often ridiculed by others, I hate myself for not standing up to the scumbag the first time, I hate my unpopularity, I hate my poverty and awkwardness as a newcomer, I hate myself for being kicked around like a ball, my body like duckweed.

——In every moment when they hated themselves and felt embarrassed and awkward, there was one person who never hated them.

——At every moment when outsiders think that "this person has brought it upon himself and deserves to die on his own", there is one person who always has more understanding and compassion for them than ordinary people.

Her strength does not lie in the fact that a certain action or word of hers suddenly changes someone's life, or that she uses a lever to pry open the rules of the entire universe, but in the fact that she carries on the influence of everything silently.

When you look back, what you remember is not one of her earth-shattering and moving quotes, but the gentle companionship and kindness that permeated her throughout.

**

The rain didn't stop until late at night. Xu Sirui's phone, which had been on all day, was completely dead. He plugged in a power bank and charged it to 20%. He said to Zhu Yingning, "Let me carry you out."

Zhu Yingning was stunned and had to humbly ask for the secret: "...I'm not lame, why are you carrying me?"

He was stunned by her question, thought for a few seconds, and said angrily: "I just have nothing to do and want to carry someone on my back, is that not okay?"

"That's not impossible..."

So she climbed out of the cave, stood awkwardly in front of him for a while, and said to him, "Then squat down."

For a moment, Xu Sirui thought her tone was like saying "Sit down, sit down, yes, come on, shake hands" to a dog like Wangcai or Xiaobai, but he still swallowed his anger and squatted with his back to her. She adjusted her position and asked worriedly before leaning over, "Xu Sirui, are you sure, absolutely, absolutely sure that you won't slip? Look, it's raining, the road is so wet, otherwise..."

He stood up suddenly, turned on the flashlight on his mobile phone and planned to walk forward by himself.

She had no choice but to immediately smooth his hair, making a zipper-like motion on his mouth, and coaxing him jokingly: "Okay, okay, okay... I was wrong, I won't say anything more, is it not okay for me to let you recite it?"

"I don't want to carry it anymore." He said with a dark face, pretending to throw the backpack back up.

Before he could successfully sling his backpack, Zhu Yingning grabbed his shoulder and leaped upward, jumping high on the spot and easily landing on his back. Xu Sirui stumbled forward before he regained his balance, pouting and snorting heavily. He held the backpack strap with one hand and supported her thigh with the other as he walked down.

This mountain road was neither long nor short. It had rained, and the road was indeed as slippery as she said. He walked carefully and seemed to be much slower than usual.

At first, she held his phone for him, carefully shining the light on the mountain path beneath his feet. Occasionally, she would become malicious and point at the dark forest in the distance, pretending to be gloomy and terrified: "Hey, Xu Sirui, look at what that is?"

“…”

He couldn't stand it any longer, "Do you think I'm mentally retarded?"

She laughed right behind him.

However, as they got closer to the village, the flashlight shook more and more violently. As a slight weight came on her shoulder, Xu Sirui quickly reached out and caught the phone that fell from her hand. He tilted his head slightly and saw her cheek close at hand. Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes swept out thick black lines on the upper edge of her eyes, and her breathing was tired and shallow.

He unconsciously slowed down his pace and breathing, lifted her up gently, and continued walking towards the village.

Liu Guifang sat alone on a plastic stool at the bottom of the shed, her left hand supporting her forehead, her head nodding. Hearing him approach, she looked up, suppressing her tired expression and saying, "Did you find her? Where did she go? Her brother just went to town to look for her. I'll call him back..."

"Shhh."

Xu Sirui put his right index finger between his lips.

Liu Guifang turned his gaze and saw Zhu Yingning sleeping on his shoulder. He then lowered his voice and whispered, "Hey... She really hasn't slept for several days. You should take her in to get some sleep."

After the rain, the air was filled with the damp smell of soil. When the wind blew, it brought a biting cold to the bottom of the shed which was leaking air on all sides. This year's winter was too long.

Liu Guifang pulled her cotton coat closer and saw that the firewood used for heating in the basin had burned down to only a short black piece. So she stood up, took out a few long dry firewood from the kitchen, added it into the stove, and stirred and turned it over with an iron fork.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the white cloth covering Zhu Dashan was blown away by the wind, revealing his made-up and well-groomed face. He didn't look peaceful, but he didn't look miserable either, just like the days when he was comatose. Liu Guifang suddenly thought that maybe he didn't realize how busy they were, how sad they were, and how hard they worked.

He could not sense life or death.

Life is like a dream, all in vain.

She sighed endlessly, turbid tears filling her cloudy eyes. She sighed sadly, covered the wound with the piece of white cloth, and pressed it down with yuan coins.

There was a slight creaking sound from the iron gate not far away. Xu Sirui walked out of the house and went straight to the shed. He pulled up another small plastic stool and said to Liu Guifang, "I'll guard here. You go back to the house and get some sleep."

Liu Guifang looked at him in astonishment: "This..."

He was like a finely carved jade, so lustrous that one could reflect a person's reflection. Even his eyebrows and eyes seemed to have been drawn by the Creator himself, one stroke at a time. He was casually placed here and there, making the simple awning look even more crude and simple.

"That won't do." After a moment of shock, she shook her head and refused, "Family members must come to the wake. There's no such rule."

Xu Sirui looked up at her.

There was nothing special in his calm gaze, as if he was looking at an ordinary stranger.

After a long moment, he said, "I am her family."

This sentence is spoken, and "ta" can also be interpreted as "he", or as Zhu Dashan - this interpretation seems to be more in line with the current scene, but for some reason, Liu Guifang knew that the "ta" he was referring to was Zhu Yingning.

Her eyes were sore, as if she was blinded by the wind. She was overwhelmed with emotions and didn't know where to start.

When the wind blows, all the worries and thoughts are gone.

She stood up from the stool, holding her knees, nodded, and went into the house.