Chapter 20 Bitter Summer (Second Update) They didn't get to say goodbye properly...
Just when she didn't know what to do, Shen Qingli received a phone call from her grandmother at the dinner table that evening.
When she received the call from her father and heard her grandmother's words, her expression froze for a second.
Grandma Chen's voice continued on the phone: "Xiao Li, when your grandfather and I got back, Xia Qing's family was already gone. Grandma Lu next door said they moved out in a hurry last week, but nobody knows exactly what happened. I had your grandfather call, but no one answered. I wonder if something happened..."
She couldn't hear her grandparents' worried voices and what they were saying afterward.
Shen Qingli felt as if fate was playing the biggest joke on her. Just the day before, she had lost Xia Qing's contact information, and what followed immediately was the news of their move.
She was jolted awake by the conversation on the table only after the phone call was disconnected. Her parents clearly didn't take the matter seriously, making up a few casual remarks before changing the subject.
As usual, their conversation revolved entirely around Shen Qingyun, and she was still unable to get a word in edgewise.
But now, she wasn't in the mood to be depressed. She had been feeling down ever since she learned that Charlene and the others had moved away.
She had been thinking for a long time in her room, trying to figure out how to apologize to Xia Qing, saying that she had accidentally lost his contact information. Before that, she had been hoping that if she could contact him, she could explain the situation to him again and make up for her mistake.
But it seems like it's all too late.
She lowered her head, looking at the rice in the bowl in front of her, which tasted like cardboard, and didn't even hear her mother calling her.
She called out several times, and Shen Qingyun nudged her with her elbow before Shen Qingli finally snapped out of her daze.
"What's wrong?"
"Why don't you answer when I call you several times? I'm asking you to go out with your sister tomorrow and buy some new stationery for the new school year, understand?"
It was that familiar instruction again. She bit her lip. Shen Qingli knew that because she always went to the countryside and was unwilling to stay by Shen Qingyun's side, her mother had always resented her.
In the past, she had always taken her grandparents' instructions into account and didn't want to argue with her mother at home, so she never argued or refused no matter what her mother said that she didn't want to hear.
Perhaps it was for this reason that Shen's mother's attitude towards her sometimes became increasingly impolite.
But she could always compromise in the past, but not this time. After thinking it over, she raised her head and, for the first time, resisted her mother's arrangement: "I have something to do tomorrow."
"What could you possibly have to do with this?" Hearing her retort, Mother Shen frowned in displeasure, but still didn't take her words seriously at all.
Hearing her contemptuous tone, Shen Qingli also became unusually unhappy. She pursed her lips tightly and said in a firm voice, "I'm going home tomorrow."
Go home, not go back to your grandparents' house. The two sentences convey the same meaning, but the feeling they evoke is vastly different.
She had always been considerate of their feelings and had never spoken so directly before, but now she felt that she didn't have such a good temper anymore.
"Why do you want to go back again?" Upon hearing this, Mother Shen could no longer sit still. She abruptly stood up from her chair, her voice becoming shrill: "Why can't you just stay at home? What do you mean by 'go home'? Isn't this your home?"
As expected, this touched a nerve with her, which she already resented Shen Qingli. She began to rant and rave, criticizing Shen Qingli's attitude and behavior lately.
At times like this, apart from her voice, no one else at the dinner table dared to say a word.
As usual, Mr. Shen stood by and tried to smooth things over, acting as a peacemaker.
He held his wife's hand, comforting her, and then called out to Shen Qingli familiarly, "Xiaoli, apologize to your mother."
"..."
Shen Qingyun watched her with concern. None of them had expected her to openly talk back to her mother. In her eyes, this was simply a sign that she had grown wings and was about to rebel.
Shen Qingli, who had always been the one to back down in the past, didn't utter a single word for the first time.
She stared at the rice in her bowl, silently confronting her parents for a long, long time. No one spoke at the table, and she didn't continue eating. Instead, she put away her bowl and chopsticks in the kitchen sink and coldly returned to her bedroom.
Outside, she could hear her parents whispering again, and Shen Qingli knew without a doubt that they were talking about her.
She lay exhausted in bed, feeling for the first time that this kind of life seemed endless.
Perhaps it was because watching Xia Qing and Xia Lin get along these days that she became increasingly resentful of her mother's controlling nature, or perhaps it was because he pointed out that she was living a life where she was controlled in every way, and she also wanted time of her own to do what she wanted to do.
Instead of always being by Shen Qingyun's side, acting as an accessory.
-
At night, in the quiet of the house, neither of Shen Qingli's parents came to her room to talk to her, and everything was as if nothing had happened.
They were certain she would compromise again, and she thought that if every compromise required her to suffer, she would rather not have it at all.
-
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Shen Qingyun woke up from the heat and went to the living room in the dark to get a drink of water, only to bump into Shen Qingli, who was about to leave.
"Ah Li?" she called out softly and uncertainly.
Upon hearing the sound, Shen Qingli was startled like a bird startled by a bow. She turned her head sharply and, after recognizing the person in the dim light outside, secretly breathed a sigh of relief and called out, "Sister."
"Where are you going so early?" she asked worriedly as she stepped forward.
"I can't go shopping with you today because I have to go back to my grandparents' house." She didn't want to hide it from Shen Qingyun and told her the truth.
"Now? Alone?"
"Yes, I've been back before, I know the route, don't worry." Hearing her incredulous tone, she still nodded firmly.
Seeing her serious expression, Shen Qingyun realized that the other person was not joking. She had never seen her younger sister so determined to do something, even after arguing with her parents about it.
This was very different from the Shen Qingli she usually saw, so she stopped her from leaving and carefully asked in a soft voice, "Qingli, is there something you really need to go back for?"
Shen Qingli hadn't expected her to ask her that, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer.
“Even if you missed your grandparents a lot before, you wouldn’t have left without saying a word like this, so… did something happen?”
Seeing Shen Qingyun's increasingly anxious expression, she pursed her lips, hesitated for a few seconds, and still didn't want her to worry about her, so she told the truth: "Yes, I promised someone something, although... it's pointless to go now, but I still have to go back in person."
Shen Qingyun was unaware of her relationship with Xia Qing, and her parents would never mention strangers at home. The only thing she knew was that Shen Qingli was studying with a classmate in the countryside.
So no matter how hard she tried to guess, she couldn't figure it out.
Although she didn't understand what was going on, seeing the determination in her eyes, she reminded her, "If you leave now, Mom and Dad will definitely be angry."
“I know. So I have to leave before they get up, or I won’t be able to leave.”
Hearing her nonchalant tone, Shen Qingyun looked at her in disbelief. For a moment, she wondered if she had misheard. Her usually well-behaved younger sister could actually say such a thing.
After thinking it over, there was a moment of silence in the dimly lit living room, until Shen Qingli couldn't bear the eerie silence any longer. She lowered her eyelids and was about to speak.
Shen Qingyun preemptively said, "Then I'll go with you. It's too dangerous for you to go alone."
“What…” Shen Qingli thought that the other party might stop her, but she did not expect her to say this. However, she quickly realized Shen Qingyun’s physical condition and shook her head to refuse, “No, you are not in good health and cannot travel with me for several hours. I know the way.”
"But……"
Shen Qingyun wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by her: "Sister, if you really want to help me, then please don't tell Mom and Dad that I'm going back at this time, okay? I'm begging you."
Faced with her younger sister's pleading request, she couldn't help but furrow her brow slightly.
This was the first time Shen Qingli had spoken to her like this.
So... after several seconds, as if she had made up her mind, she asked Shen Qingli not to leave and to wait for her.
Then, she quickened her pace and ran back to her room, took out her phone, and stuffed it into her arms: "This is my phone, you can take it. It has all the contact information. If anything happens, just call home."
Shen Qingli stared blankly at the object in her hand, surprised that Shen Qingyun had not only agreed to her request but also intended to help her.
She had initially thought she would have to go through a lot of explaining, but while she was still in a daze, Shen Qingyun took an umbrella from the entrance and handed it to her, asking, "Ali, did you bring an umbrella? The weather has been so unpredictable these past few days, you'll catch a cold if you get caught in the rain."
“I brought it…” she said quietly.
"Then you should go quickly, before your parents get up. Don't worry about things at home, I'll talk to them. Since you have something to deal with, go and take care of it so you don't keep thinking about it."
"Okay." She blinked, looking at Shen Qingyun's serious and nervous expression. She guessed that this was probably the first time she had done something like this, helping her keep it a secret from her parents. Thinking about it, she nodded, feeling a surge of gratitude: "Thank you, sister."
After saying that, she deftly picked up the things from her bag, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and walked out the door.
It was just dawn outside. Shen Qingyun stood there watching her sister's figure gradually disappear into the distance, her face full of worry, but she was also a little happy, at least she had helped her sister this time.
In this family, someone always needs to do something bold and unrestrained, instead of being constantly suppressed.
-
Sitting on the bus to the countryside, it was almost the same scene as when she ran out of the heavy rain, but in just two months, everything had changed dramatically.
Shen Qingli did not tell Shen Qingyun that what she did was just a display of her courage, and that it had long since lost all meaning.
However, there must be moments in life when you would risk everything for someone, even if it is meaningless.
This applies to both Shen Qingli and Lin Xiaqing.
-
After a bumpy ride, it was almost noon when we arrived at the station, and it started raining again under the sun.
Shen Qingli stood by the muddy station, holding an umbrella, and felt that this scene was extremely familiar.
But she knew she probably wouldn't see him again this time.
Walking along the familiar road to Charlene's house, the little house was not as lively as before. Now it was deserted with its door closed, and the potted plants that used to be placed in the entrance hall had withered in the sun.
This year, the "autumn tiger" in Suzhou is exceptionally hot. Even though summer should have been over by now according to the calendar, the outside temperature is still so hot that it's hard to lift your head.
The rain mixed with the hot air, like an open-air sauna. Shen Qingli's neck was already sweating. She stood at the door of the house with a confused look on her face, watching the flowers that Xia Lin had once taken such good care of wither, hearing the sound of raindrops hitting the ground at her feet, and the footsteps of people running past to take shelter from the rain.
For the first time, she felt so lost. The rain was noisy and chaotic all around her. Fate was playing cruel jokes on her, and all the mishaps and missed opportunities seemed to be compulsory lessons in life.
Having graduated from several schools and moved to new learning environments, Shen Qingli experienced for the first time this summer how quickly the brief companionship could pass. A farewell without warning never gives anyone a proper chance to say goodbye.
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Author's Note: Goodbye Xia Qing TvT
There will be another update at 9 PM!
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