Chapter 52
◎Bei Bitang had no tears in her eyes. She had been suppressing her emotions and trying her best to
There were no tears in Bei Bitang's eyes. She had been suppressing her emotions and trying hard to ignore the strange looks from her colleagues.
To avoid Li Daqiang's surveillance, Bei Bitang took the opportunity to go out of the back door of the small vegetable market.
When she came to the street, she found a place where she could make a phone call and called the damn Xu Zeli.
The aunt in the telephone room came to call someone, saying that Bei Bitang was calling. Xu Zeli went downstairs with a frown on his face. He didn't want to answer Bei Bitang's call, but he was also afraid of the consequences of not answering the phone.
Wasn't the money settled? Bei Bitang had called her on her own initiative? As expected, no matter how cold Bei Bitang appeared, deep down she still clung to him.
Just being stubborn.
But he didn't want to get entangled with her now. Last time in People's Square, Bei Bitang looked sarcastic and mean. She was no longer the beautiful and charming Bei Bitang.
"Xu Zeli, are you going to destroy me before you're satisfied?!" Bei Bitang shouted into the phone.
Xu Zeli was confused and said dissatisfiedly, "Bei Bitang, what do you mean? You're now working as a temporary fish butcher in a small vegetable market. Is it my fault?! Bei Bitang, when did you become so resentful? If you are dissatisfied with reality, you should first reflect on whether you are working hard enough. If you can chase me, we won't break up."
Bei Bitang took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and said in a steady voice, "Xu Zeli, did you tell Zeng Linlin that I had sex with you?"
Xu Zeli opened his mouth wide and was speechless.
After a moment, he pretended not to understand what Bei Bitang said. He said, "Bitang, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Bei Bitang's face was filled with sarcasm, and she said sarcastically, "Xu Zeli, are you feeling guilty? What are you thinking? You're making something up out of nothing, saying something is real."
Xu Zeli didn't say anything. He just suddenly thought about it and said that he had had sex with Bei Bitang and that he meant no harm.
In reality, Xu Zeli was no different from those men he despised, those who loved to talk and talk. They all looked down on women from the bottom of their hearts, but their words and actions always focused on women. It seemed that the more they were involved with women, the more glorious their faces became, the more masculine they seemed to be.
Bei Bitang continued calmly, "I don't care how Zeng Linlin misunderstood. She's slandered me time and time again, not only destroying my relationships and my work, but now she's throwing dirty water at me. Xu Zeli, go explain everything between us to her."
Xu Zeli lowered his head and looked at the crack in the rock. He would not explain to Zeng Linlin. What good would this do him?
The one in trouble now is Bei Bitang, he was fine. If he went to Zeng Linlin and said that he had spoken too hastily, and that nothing had actually happened between him and Bei Bitang,
He could imagine how Zeng Linlin's eyes would make him feel uneasy and unable to raise his head in front of Zeng Linlin.
Bei Bitang waited for a long time but didn't get any answer from Xu Zeli. She understood what Xu Zeli meant.
Bei Bitang's eyes gradually turned red. She was so stupid. She shouldn't have made this call. Wasn't this showing weakness to the enemy and saying how badly she was bullied?
This is just self-pity. The other person will not pity you just because you are hurt and vulnerable.
She always forgets the pain after the wound has healed, and falls into self-pity again and again. What's the difference between this and a child getting angry at me and refusing to eat to achieve his goal?
Bei Bitang choked up and said, "Xu Zeli, the thing I regret most in my life is meeting you. If killing is not illegal, the first and only person I would want to kill is you! I hope you two will always have smooth sailing and not let others bully you."
There is a constant stream of people coming and going on the streets, with shadows cast by the plane trees everywhere.
Gu Wangxi sat in the car, looking down at the construction site drawings. After a while, he raised his head, closed his eyes, and pinched his eyebrows.
A cool breeze blew in through the open car window, and Gu Wangxi couldn't help but look out the window.
With an inadvertent glance, Gu Wangxi's black eyes froze.
After not seeing each other for a short time, the young lady who had met him twice had changed more and more in spirit and energy.
The young lady's hair was stuck together in wisps in front of her forehead, and the roots were wet and shiny.
The clothes she was wearing were patched, and with her head lowered, one could see the crystal tears in her eyes falling to the ground one by one.
It seems that the young lady has not been doing well recently, and perhaps the difficulties she encountered last time have not been resolved yet.
Gu Wangxi thought lightly.
Bei Bitang returned to the small vegetable market, tears streaming down her face. She felt powerless. Perhaps this was the only way her life would end. There were many people like Xu Zeli, Zeng Linlin, and Li Daqiang.
Ironically, as an ordinary person, she was much more likely to encounter them than those of higher social status. After all, only when your situation gets better and better will you receive more and more smiling faces.
She now understood why her mother and elder sister always complained, yet were forced to do things they disliked. In the future, she would become another mother and elder sister, perhaps even worse than them. After all, their formal jobs in a textile factory were already better than many others.
Xu Zeli was at a snack bar, ordering a small plate of salty peanuts and drinking half a pound of Chongming baijiu. He got dizzy and staggered home.
As Xu Huiqiu approached Xu Zeli, she couldn't help but pinch her nose and asked, "Why did you go drinking?"
Xu Zeli waved his hands drunkenly and shouted, "I drink whenever I want! Why are you trying to control me, Mom?"
Xu Zeli's tone was not right. Seeing her son's depressed face, Xu Huiqiu felt angry and distressed.
She took a deep breath and said, "What's wrong? Your father said you went to answer the phone? Did the Zeng family cause trouble again and call to embarrass you? Who does that old aunt Liu Hezhen look up to? No wonder my father-in-law won't remarry her!"
Xu Huiqiu thought again about the suffering she had endured these days. She had to get up before dawn to take care of the house and then go out to deal with the woman's people.
They were all so difficult to deal with that every evening when she returned home she felt like she had been ripped off a layer of skin.
At home, the father and son are doing well. One stays at home drinking tea, listening to the radio and reading newspapers, while the other only needs to go to school.
The distress in Xu Huiqiu's eyes faded a lot. She started to persuade him, "It's only a few days away. Wait until Zeng Linlin marries in, and we'll see how they'll still put on such a face! Xiaoze, just bear with it a little longer. Look at Mom, she works so hard every day..."
Xu Zeli interrupted angrily, saying, "Bear it! Bear it! You all make me bear it! I'll have to bear it for another ten years!"
Xu Zhengqing shook the newspaper and looked up at him, unhappy that Xu Zeli was destroying his prestige. He said, "Why would it take more than ten years? Do you have such little confidence in yourself?"
Xu Zeli snorted in his heart, turned his head away and said nothing.
More than a decade? That's still pretty good. My parents are ignorant, what can he say? He used to be a frog in a well. Both his parents were elementary school teachers, so he thought they were very educated.
Now that I am in college, I realize how huge the gap between people is.
Other people's parents, not to mention those who hold important positions in the military and government departments, factory directors, engineers, technicians, researchers, university professors, doctors, school principals...
Seeing Xu Zeli's unconvinced attitude, Xu Zhengqing thought, "This won't do. The wedding is imminent." Xu Zeli looked like he was being forced to get married, so how could Zeng Linlin's family not turn hostile?
Xu Zhengqing said sternly, "Only those who endure the most hardships can rise to prominence. Zeng Linlin's father doesn't have a son, so he'll support you wholeheartedly in the future. For this reason alone, it's worth enduring your anger for a while. Even before King Goujian of Yue conquered Wu, he had to endure hardships and endure hardships, and he was still the ruler of a country! If you can't even endure the anger of two women, what will you do when you join the company and face your boss with more powerful connections than you?"
Xu Zeli's expression softened, and he murmured, "But Linlin is going too far. It doesn't matter what Bitang did wrong, she keeps making things difficult for Bitang and keeps it from me. Bitang is in a difficult situation now, and she blames me."
Before Xu Zhengqing could say anything, Xu Huiqiu glared at him and said angrily, "You've been in contact with Bei Bitang again? What's her intention? She's deliberately trying to ruin our family's good fortune at this time!"
Xu Zhengqing said, "From now on, you and Bei Bitang will be like heaven and earth. She won't even be able to talk to you at class reunions. Why do you care about her opinion? From now on, don't answer her calls!"
Xu Zeli looked indecisive and whispered, "Bitang is crying. She is kind and strong. Even when she was in the northwest, she rarely cried."
Xu Zhengqing was furious when he heard this. He said angrily, "A woman's tears are the most useless thing. They can only be used to deal with useless men! What tears, what heartache? When you really step into the arena of a man's struggle, you will understand that these are useless. They are not as good as a positive look from your boss. If you choose Bei Bitang, you will only be able to cry together in the future!"
Xu Zeli's hesitation faded. Yes, his choice was right. Bitang couldn't blame me. He would avenge her anger in the future.
Xu Huiqiu also advised, "Liu Hezhen is rich! For the sake of money, just bear with her. When her daughter moves in, I'll make her cry out to heaven and earth for help. What do you call this? This is called... using the emperor to control the princes!"
Xu Huiqiu slapped her thigh and couldn't help laughing triumphantly.
Smiling, she couldn't help but look at Xu Zhengqing and Xu Zeli, seeking their approval and affirmation, but the two of them remained silent and did not smile with her.
The smile on Xu Huiqiu's face disappeared in a second, and she looked embarrassed.
Xu Zhengqing shamelessly said, "Xiao Ze, if Bei Bitang really cares about you and puts you first, she should just be quiet and not cause any trouble. She should just be the woman behind you. Look at this, she hasn't considered you at all. She's so eager to drag you down and rot in the mud with her that she's content."
Xu Zeli didn't say anything. He didn't want to resist. He just wanted someone to stop him, convince him, and give him a reason.
He got up, walked to his room, lay on the bed and closed his eyes.
A cacophony of sounds, as noisy as mosquitoes and flies, entered his ears: the voices of people talking in the alleys upstairs and downstairs, the ringing of bicycle bells on the street, the shouts of vendors at mobile stalls, the sound of storytelling played on the radio, the laughter and crying of children...
Slowly, slowly, the sounds faded away.
Xu Zeli's mind flashed with all the beautiful memories between him and Bei Bitang.
The scene changed, and he was wearing leather shoes, black pants, and a white shirt, standing in front of the gate of East China Normal University with high spirits. Perhaps at that time he had already decided to abandon Bei Bitang because she could not keep up with him.
Maybe it was even earlier, when he boarded the train back to Shanghai and Bei Bitang waved goodbye to him on the platform? Or when he received his university acceptance letter after staying in the northwest and not returning to Shanghai?
There was no point in thinking too much, so Xu Zeli got up irritably and pushed the window open, letting all the noise outside into the room.
The next day, Xu Zeli stayed at home for most of the day, Xu Huiqiu went out to prepare for his wedding, and Xu Zhengqing didn't know where he went.
He got up from the bed, brushed his teeth, washed up, combed his hair, changed his clothes, and went out to find food to fill his stomach.
Before going out, Xu Zeli wanted to pour a glass of water to quench his thirst. But when he picked up the kettle and poured it in, not a drop of water came out.
He picked up the thermos again, hesitated, shook it, and found there was no water.
It's really a mess. I don't even have the chance to drink some cold water to relieve my toothache. Mom is really something. She even forgot to get some water before going out. Xu Zeli complained in his heart.
He put down the thermos in a bad mood, but accidentally, the thermos, which was made of industrial-grade material, fell out of his hand and broke.
Xu Zeli was so angry that he jumped up and down. He walked out of the door with a cold face without caring about anything and without picking up the debris on the ground.
The bright sun shone through the alley, and there was no place to hide in the shade.
Xu Zeli came to the alley noodle shop and ordered a bowl of fried pork chop noodles as usual.
It was a hot day, and not many people were out eating noodles in the sun. Furthermore, the noodles in soup were so hot, so scalding, that after one bowl, my back was soaked. A bowl of sweet potato porridge or a bowl of lily and mung bean soup would have been better, filling my stomach and cooling off.
Xu Zeli was distractedly pouring the spicy soy sauce and didn't notice that a short and strong middle-aged man sitting at the table at the door was staring at him suspiciously.
The boss personally served the fried pork chop that Xu Zeli ordered to him.
The boss glanced at Xu Zeli, walked to the table at the door, bent down, pointed at Xu Zeli, and whispered, "That's him."
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