Chapter 17 Her Past
Send it to me, it was probably a gift from my ex-boyfriend.
GaoGao replied with a string of question marks.
The other person was typing for a while, and GaoGao asked: "Is it still the same address?"
Xu Yuewei appreciated her sense of boundaries and immediately sent her a red envelope.
GaoGao received it: 【This is too much. Just pay me the postage; you're being too polite.】
Xu Yuewei: [There's also a storage fee.]
She sent the address.
GaoGao: [You went back to Wuqiao? Weren't you a teacher in Guangyang? You just quit like that?]
Xu Yuewei typed: My dad passed away. I came back for the funeral. Then she deleted it.
"Well, it's a private one anyway."
They chatted for a few more minutes before the conversation ended. Their dorm group chat remained silent, but Xu Yuewei knew that Gao Gao would definitely spread the gossip.
She put away her phone and went back to the private room. The more upset she was, the more she wanted to be in a noisy place.
*
While the package was still en route, the shortcut between Lanyue Yaju and the coffee shop, which had been under construction for over two months, was finally completed.
One evening, Xu Yuewei took a new route home. It was the first time she had taken this route since returning to Wuqiao. Everything felt familiar, yet it was all different.
The sky was as dark as the sea on this early winter night, and the wind carried a sense of desolation.
The streetlights on both sides are adorned with dark blue fluorescent ropes, which look novel at first glance, but after driving along the road for a while, they look increasingly tacky.
After turning the last bend from the main road to the side road, the buildings of Lanyue Yaju came into view in the distance.
The road at the entrance of the residential area is neither wide nor narrow, and occasionally a car is parked on the side of the road, but it does not obstruct passage.
As she was about to turn into the gate, Xu Yuewei half-pressed the brake, turned the steering wheel half a turn, and glanced at the rearview mirror out of the corner of her eye.
A black car was parked at the corner. It looked somewhat familiar, and she couldn't help but glance at it again. But when she saw its license plate number in the rearview mirror after turning the corner, her mind went completely blank, as if struck by lightning.
She instinctively slammed on the brakes, followed by a long honk from behind. She quickly lifted her foot and drove into the underground parking garage in an orderly fashion.
During the process, the car behind her snorted at her twice more, as if venting its anger.
Xu Yuewei's heart was churning with a pot of boiling soup, unable to hold even a drop of apology. She parked her car, too lazy to even wait for the elevator, and simply walked back the way she came, climbing over the hillside of the garage and heading out of the community.
The closer she got to the black car, the larger it appeared in her field of vision, inch by inch overlapping with the image in her memory.
The Lexus LS460 was Xu Shiheng's beloved car more than ten years ago, and it was also her childhood car.
His driver would usually take him to the company, and on weekends or holidays when he wasn't busy, he would drive himself, taking his wife and daughter on trips, where they would laugh and chat all the way.
He said that only she and his mother had ever sat in the passenger seat of the car, not even himself, because he either sat in the driver's seat or in the back.
As she walked straight towards the car, the person inside saw her, opened the door, stepped out, bent an arm and rested it on the roof, looking at her with a smile: "Hi~"
Xu Yuewei glanced at the face that looked nothing like her, her eyelashes drooped, and she carefully examined the long-unseen car.
He smiled dismissively.
She laughed at herself for making a wish to never see someone again, forgetting that there were people in this world she didn't want to see even more.
It was as if the gods were mocking her, punishing her by bringing her past experiences to her doorstep.
Ye Wanzhi was completely unaware of the birth of her half-brother.
He would never let his mistress touch this car.
Xu Shiheng drives his Lexus openly and honestly, operating as a trustworthy businessman and a responsible father. This serves as a signal to the obedient woman, making her retreat and live in the shadows where no one can see her.
Xu Yuewei couldn't remember the last time she rode in this car, but it must have been a chaotic and numb experience.
I thought that given Xu Shiheng's fickle nature, he would sell the car and buy a new one after marrying a new woman. I never expected that it would be inherited by his eldest son.
Xu Yuewei looked up and met Xu Yaochen's gaze across the car roof: "It seems that the Xu family's business hasn't been doing so well these past few years."
Xu Yaochen clearly didn't understand what she said, but he didn't care and pretended not to hear it, continuing his opening remarks: "Long time no see, sis."
The streetlights slanted across his face, making him appear yellowish, like a poorly exposed old photograph. His eyebrows were inherited from Xu Shiheng, slightly slanted downwards, but otherwise he resembled his mother more, and was quite handsome.
Xu Yuewei is the same; she looks more like Ye Wanzhi. The two are related by blood, but they don't look alike at all.
"No, thank you, I can't accept that."
Xu Yaochen completely failed to grasp the message that he was being disliked, and repeatedly tried to cross the line: "Let's talk in the car?"
Children who are spoiled grow up without being able to perceive failure or learn to give up.
Xu Yuewei didn't move, only giving him a cold glance: "Who's in the car? Xu Shiheng?"
Xu Yaochen was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "Isn't it a bit inappropriate to joke about Dad like that?"
There was really no one inside.
Just now, the moonlight fell on the glass with very low transparency, and she thought she saw a figure.
Xu Yuewei threw the door back and stared at him expressionlessly. Only then did he purse his lips and drop his feigned politeness.
Xu Yuewei: "Did you need something?"
Xu Yaochen: "I thought you left after the funeral. I didn't expect you to stay in Wuqiao. I just wanted to invite you to dinner."
Xu Yuewei: "You've been waiting here for who knows how long, and all you came up with was such a weak and boring line?"
When she spoke, Xu Yaochen didn't look at her. He looked down and tapped his phone screen a few times. When he looked up again, his expression had changed. His eyebrows were raised, and the corners of his mouth curved into a clear smile: "Is this you?"
Xu Yuewei showed no intention of condescending to look over, so Xu Yaochen held his phone upright for her to see.
As he slid his thumb across the screen, photos appeared one after another, all of them of her when she went to the film set to shoot.
In the photos, she is wearing a bright red ancient costume. Some photos show her face unclear, while others show it clearly. However, without exception, the photos were taken with a telephoto lens, resulting in varying degrees of loss of clarity. This indicates that the photographer was always some distance away from her.
Who would bother to secretly film a stunt double who isn't even in the industry? Xu Yuewei felt a chill run down her spine and a wave of nausea washed over her.
But Xu Yaochen couldn't possibly know that she was going to the film set to shoot, so he hired people to stake out the place beforehand.
Doubts piled up, and Xu Yuewei frowned, not grabbing the phone to delete the photos. He must have a backup; she wouldn't waste her time.
When she scrolled to the last photo, Xu Yuewei gently lifted her eyelids, and a blurry figure floated into her mind.
This photo only shows her back, and unlike the other photos, it appears to have been taken from the closest distance. Moreover, the background in the photo shows the path she walked after leaving Meng Jiao's rest tent.
She remembered that she had bumped into a man on that stretch of road.
The screen went black as Xu Yaochen locked it: "Get in the car. Although you won't see Dad again, there's a surprise I've prepared for you inside."
"Do you know that what you're doing is a classic kidnapping scheme?" Xu Yuewei smiled, but her brows furrowed. "Didn't you inherit the family business and become a prostitute instead?"
Xu Yaochen chuckled at her words, bent down to take a bag from the passenger seat, opened the bag and showed it to her: "Whether it's a gift or not, see for yourself."
Xu Yuewei glanced down warily.
Inside was a neatly wrapped gift box, a pink box with a beige ribbon.
Xu Yaochen took out the box: "Open it and take a look. It's not a bomb."
Xu Yuewei took the box, weighed it in her hand, glanced at the community gatehouse where the security guard's figure could be vaguely seen, and then slowly untied the ribbon.
She froze the moment she took off the lid.
Xu Yaochen stared at her intently, and seeing her stunned reaction as he had hoped, he was quite pleased with himself: "Actually, this is what I wanted to give you back then. You deserved it for not even opening the door for me."
Xu Yuewei slowly looked up at him.
Looking at this face a second time, I could see the shadow of his childhood self. Unfortunately, whether it was due to the environment or genes, or both, he showed the mercenary and greasy side of Xu Shiheng.
Xu Yuewei: "How old are you again?"
Xu Yaochen: "Nineteen."
"Have you gone to university yet?"
"Just started."
Xu Yuewei nodded, not asking which university it was; she didn't care, she just silently calculated her age.
When she first met her younger brother, he was only eight years old. He was well-dressed and had a maturity in his eyes that was beyond his years.
The adults made a fuss for five years after they learned of his existence.
The flames of war eventually spread to Xu Yuewei.
They all blame her for not being a boy, and even she thinks so herself.
During high school, Xu Yaochen somehow found his way to her place, carrying a bag, and knocked on her door.
Fortunately, Ye Wanzhi had gone out to buy groceries, and only Xu Yuewei was at home. She stared in astonishment at her eleven-year-old "brother," at his youthful yet angular face, pondering his mask, and suddenly realized that he was the only one who was completely unharmed and unscathed.
Like a mirror, it reflected the burn scars crawling all over her body.
Why... why did the flames bypass him?
The mirror couldn't answer her, and she couldn't understand what the mirror was saying. She could only see the jealousy and resentment swelling in her heart through it.
Her anger consumed her reason and manners. By the time she came to her senses, Xu Yaochen had already been pushed to the ground.
She slammed the door shut with a loud bang. The soundproofing in the old neighborhood was poor. After she calmed down, she found a text message from Jiang Shiyan on her phone.
He asked her if something had happened, and she said no, it was just a neighbor.
...Whenever I think back, I can't help but think of him.
Time has passed, and when faced with a similar situation again, Xu Yuewei has no emotions left; she is completely exhausted.
The surprise Xu Yaochen gave her was a dolphin made of glass beads, a carrot-shaped bag made of coarse yarn, and a silk flower that was covered in dust and whose petals were deformed.
These are all little toys that my grandma made for me when I was little.
In my memory, glass beads are not perfectly round; they are spheres composed of many small, flat facets, which allows them to reflect light in varying shades and make them appear less cheap.
I remember the thread used for weaving beads was very stiff; it could embed itself deeply into flesh. My grandmother wouldn't let her play with it too much, fearing that it would leave shocking red marks on her delicate hands.
Now that she's grown up, her hands have developed thick calluses from the strings, so she's no longer afraid of pain, and she can no longer feel the thread that her grandmother twisted in the beads.
Memories drifted by in her mind, one after another, and she grasped at the most distant fragments, only to realize with a start that she couldn't even remember her grandmother's face clearly.
She would have forgotten what was in the box if she hadn't seen it again.
After a few seconds of being moved, the presence of the uninvited guest in front of her weakened and then strengthened again. Xu Yuewei deliberately relaxed her facial muscles, kept a cold face, closed the lid, and snatched the paper bag.
Xu Yaochen saw her reach into the paper bag and waved her hand, saying, "That's all."
Xu Yuewei turned the paper bag upside down and shook it twice: "I thought there would be a statement renouncing my inheritance."
Xu Yaochen leaned against the car door with his arms crossed, a forced smile on his face: "Why do you always think so badly of me?"
"I didn't inherit anything in the first place."
"..."
Xu Yuewei raised her eyebrows to look at him, but Xu Yaochen still didn't state his conditions, as if he had to prove something: "I threw away the others, but I secretly hid these few. I don't know what I was thinking back then, keeping them was useless to me."
Grandma always favored her granddaughter until her death.
Xu Yuewei still said thank you.
After a brief silence, Xu Yaochen moved his throat awkwardly before getting to the point: "I do have something I'd like to ask for your help with, just a small favor."
He extended his thumb and forefinger, making a "small" gesture.
"Do you remember the alumni wall on your high school's official website? You know, that kind of honor roll."
When he mentioned it, Xu Yuewei naturally remembered it as well.
Wuqiao No.1 Middle School is a key municipal school with excellent students. Many of its graduates are well-known in various industries. Every year, teachers are responsible for contacting outstanding alumni and collecting articles on their experiences to be displayed on the wall.
When Xu Yuewei was in high school, she would perform on stage at the school's annual gala. In addition, she had performed at the theater with the Qin Society and studied under Master Yan. Before she even graduated, she was included in this group by her teacher.
Xu Yuewei gestured for him to speak quickly.
Xu Yaochen: "A good friend of mine was bored in class and was looking at this. He happened to see you and complimented you on your beauty. He showed it to me, and I casually mentioned that you were my sister. Then, he really wanted to meet you."
Xu Yuewei: "I'm busy, I can't see you."
Xu Yaochen immediately grabbed the bag: "It's just a drink to get to know each other, it won't take long."
Xu Yuewei's chest heaved slightly, the more she tried to hold back her anger, the less she could: "Xu Yaochen, your father sold me out once, and you want to do it a second time? Do I look that cheap?"
Xu Yaochen got angry too and snapped at her: "I already told you, don't always think so badly of me! My friend doesn't know about our family situation, and I've been lying to him all along. This time he ran into you himself. How could I lie to him? Can I tell him that I only just found out that my older sister became an actress? He wanted to see you just like a fan, there was no malice involved, really."
"You can just say it directly: we don't get along."
"you……"
Xu Yaochen snatched the box away. "Then I won't give it to you."
Xu Yuewei tried to snatch it, saying, "This was originally mine."
"This is not it!"
Xu Yuewei laughed in exasperation: "You really learned Dad's skills; it's practically a direct descendant of him."
She hooked the empty bag with her little finger, held her arm out straight, and pointed her fingertips at him, like a pinky promise: "Okay, deal. But I'll decide the time and place."
Xu Yaochen breathed a sigh of relief and took out a beaded dolphin from the box for her: "Deposit."
Xu Yuewei is the kind of person who saves her favorite dish for last, so she also likes to deal with troublesome things early on. She directly suggested tomorrow.
Everyone is busy during the day, and there aren't many places to go at night. She thought for a moment and said, "I know a bar, let's go there."
"Okay, let's add each other on WeChat. I'll pick you up tomorrow."
Xu Yuewei glanced at his car.
She was half right back then; she really wouldn't have the chance to sit in the front passenger seat anymore. But she never expected that she would get to sit in the back seat again.
Just like after meeting Jiang Shiyan at the bar, she thought she would never set foot in that bar again.
This shows that one should not speak too soon or too definitively.
*
On a weekday evening, the backstreet bar was half full, with neither too many nor too few customers.
Upon entering, you can smell a refreshing, minty scent in the air. Once your nose adjusts to the smell of alcohol, you can only smell the rich, mellow aroma.
Blues notes floated among the patrons, the crisp clinking of glasses adding a touch of elegance like a sprinkle on a dessert.
The owner, Zhong Sheng, sat on a high stool at the bar. He wasn't in the mood for drinking today. He gulped down a few cans of cola and complained to the man next to him on a swivel stool, "Why don't women just say they're angry? Do you think I don't know? How would I know if I know or not? I'm not the kind of person who knows but pretends not to..."
His friend laughed at him, "No wonder you used to rap, you can recite tongue twisters so fluently."
Zhong Sheng laughed too, a malicious laugh: "That's right, my tongue is very powerful."
He deliberately created a bubble sound, not too loud or too soft, but the light music couldn't be masked; it could be heard within three meters of him.
Xu Yuewei followed Xu Yaochen toward the bar and overheard the conversation, causing her to frown.
"Hello, could you please give me a private room?"
Xu Yaochen was speaking to the waiter behind the bar, but Zhong Sheng, who was sitting at the bar, stiffened, put on a serious mask, and stood up: "Do you have a reservation?"
Xu Yaochen's face was expressionless. In this place of entertainment to the death, he put on a serious expression, which showed that he had been taken to various drinking parties and gatherings by his good father and had also developed a decent mask. He said indifferently, "No."
He was wearing a dark gray leather jacket, which, in Xu Yuewei's eyes, made him look like a gray rat.
She stepped forward and said, "No need, there are still seats available in the booths over there."
As she approached, Zhong Sheng, who hadn't noticed her at first, was startled when he saw her. He paused for a moment, then looked at her again, and their eyes met.
He quickly looked away and explained that their restaurant had a limited number of private rooms, which required reservations and could only be used by groups of six or more.
For Xu Yuewei, a booth was better than a private room; she needed to maintain control at all times: "It's fine, let's leave it like this."
After they sat down at the booth by the window, Zhong Sheng finally came to his senses, took out his phone, and sent two messages:
The pretty girl who left the pastry box came to our shop again, this time with a guy.
Zhong Sheng had, of course, heard the gossip from his buddy about that night and learned about his shady friend's story of harassing beautiful women at the bar.
I also know he kept someone's snack box and didn't return it. What a petty guy.
In contrast, he felt particularly loyal, even providing him with information:
What's your relationship with her? Be careful, don't let her hook you up.
A few minutes later, the other party replied.
Jiang Shiyan: [I have nothing to do with her.]
-----------------------
Author's Note: Teacher Jiang is stubbornly putting on her coat while she's doing this, let's go! (doge)
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