Chapter 77
It was very strange. Maybe it was because a daughter knows her father best, or maybe some doubts had been lingering in Jiang Wan's heart for too long. Just based on Jiang Huainan's inexplicable words, Jiang Wan immediately guessed and pieced together the truth of the matter.
"So Lu Jiyu wants to break up with me because of you?"
Jiang Wan's tone fluctuated.
At this point, Jiang Huainan had no need to deny it. He sat down on a chair in the corner and said, "Yes, it's me. You can't be with him."
"Why? Because his aunt is his uncle's girlfriend?"
"Isn't this reason sufficient?" Jiang Huainan raised his voice. The family members of the patient passing by the ward couldn't help but take a curious look inside. Chen Hong hurried to close the door, then turned back to comfort Jiang Huainan: "Old Jiang, please talk nicely. Don't scare the child."
Jiang Huainan ignored her and shook off Chen Hong's hand on his shoulder. Although the force was not strong, it was enough to make Chen Hong's face change slightly. "How did your uncle die? Have you forgotten, Jiang Wan?"
"No, of course I haven't forgotten."
Jiang Wan will never forget it.
On the day of the accident, only Jiang Wan and Jiang Sheng were home. Jiang Wan cooked dumplings from the refrigerator for lunch, but halfway through, she realized she was out of vinegar. She said goodbye to Jiang Sheng and went to the store at the entrance of the community to buy some vinegar. She must have had a vague feeling that day, so her heart was beating fast on the way to buy vinegar. She almost ran when she got back, but she was still too late.
A crowd of people gathered around the flower bed downstairs of the residential building. The screams of the crowd spread outward like ripples on the surface of a lake. In the gaps between the crowd, the center of the accident was revealed, and Jiang Sheng was lying there.
Jiang Wan stood numbly on the outskirts of the crowd, her hand holding the vinegar almost out of strength.
"Call an ambulance! Call the police! Quick!"
"Who is this? How did he fall down?!"
"Isn't this Teacher Jiang's younger brother?"
"Hey, Jiang Wan, why are you here? Don't go, don't go over there!"
Amidst the noisy sounds, a pair of hands suddenly reached out and pulled Jiang Wan back forcefully. She stumbled into a relatively warm embrace. The person covered her eyes with his hands, and the temperature of his fingertips was dry and unfamiliar.
"Don't look, don't look, it's okay." A few words of comfort that were not structured at all strangely calmed her heart at that moment.
But this does not mean that she can escape the accusations that Jiang Huainan later brought against her.
"Since you haven't forgotten, you should immediately break up with Xiaolu. You're still young, and your feelings are just impulses. They don't count."
Jiang Wan calmly asked, "Did you say the same thing to Lu Jiyu?"
These words of "unrepentant" instantly aroused anger on Jiang Huainan's face.
Chen Hong, who was standing by, was also surprised that Teacher Jiang, who was always known for his gentleness and honesty, would have such an out-of-control side.
"So what do you want? Be with him and break up with me, your father? Jiang Wan, do you really want to do this?" Jiang Huainan started playing the family card again after his outburst: "Jiang Wan, don't you have a conscience? Don't you have any feelings for your uncle? We are all blood relatives! Your uncle--"
"No." Jiang Wan calmly interrupted Jiang Huainan. She knew that what she was about to say would most likely push the relationship between her and Jiang Huainan to an extreme, but Jiang Wan knew that there was a thorn in her heart. Although it was not heartbreaking, the vague pain that had been there for so many years was enough to make her collapse.
Jiang Sheng is the biggest thorn between them, father and daughter.
They have been living under a mask of peace for so many years. There are some things they should have faced long ago.
"Every time I heard my uncle's name since I was a kid, it was because you and my mom would argue. You would always stand on his side, willing to give everything unconditionally."
"Later, when he disappeared, you were so desperate to find him that you abandoned your home and even forgot about your daughter."
"When we finally found him, you completely ignored my and my mom's objections and insisted on taking him home to take care of him."
The experiences of these years are not like characters written on the beach, washed away by the sea. They are quarrels, stroke by stroke, etched into my heart, unbearable, a hidden pain that even time cannot erase.
Jiang Huainan couldn't hold it in any longer and stood up from his chair. His face, which usually showed a smile, was filled with anguish and anger: "Jiang Wan, you, you are so heartless!"
Jiang Wan stood where she was, not taking a single step back, and she put on an expression that resembled a smile.
"dad."
"You have the best conscience."
"For a long time, I felt guilty about my uncle's death. That's why I chose to stay with you when you and Mom divorced. I kept telling myself that I was sorry for you. Every time you looked sad at Jiang Sheng's photo, I would think it was my fault."
"I thought this was the mutual understanding and care between family members."
"But is this it?"
"Why should I bear the pain of your life? Does Jiang Sheng's death really have anything to do with me? Even if I was at home that day and he didn't die, every day after that, at some point when no one was home, he would still die."
"Jiang Wan, shut up!"
"Teacher Jiang!"
Jiang Huainan stood up and rushed over, his hand raised halfway when he was stopped by Chen Wulin's exclamation.
Jiang Wan closed her eyes, calming her slightly agitated emotions. Li Wan had been a strict mother for as long as she could remember, while Jiang Huainan was much more gentle. Jiang Wan had always admired her father; she thought he was talented, gentle, and caring towards his siblings, a man of integrity and loyalty.
Until he cheated on her and Li Wan divorced him, Jiang Wan suddenly realized that her admiration for him for so many years was just an illusion.
He is a good man, a good son, a good brother, and a good teacher.
But he is not a good husband or father.
Jiang Huainan pushed all his emotions onto Li Wan and gave all the benefits back to his original family. He was obsessed with being the head of a large family and hoped that his brothers and sisters would live a good life with his help, but he was not capable enough, so he began to exploit Jiang Wan and Li Wan invisibly.
It just so happened that Jiang Wan was stupid enough when he was young, and this was regarded as a shining point in his personality, and he was admired infinitely.
"Although you never said it, I know you have been looking for an opportunity to take revenge on me."
Jiang Wan pointed at Chen Hong in the corner and asked, "You insisted on marrying her. Was it really because of love? Or was it really just because of love?"
"So what!"
"Isn't your boyfriend's aunt also a mistress!" Jiang Huainan almost shouted this.
Jiang Wan suppressed his surging emotions: "Why don't you understand? There has never been an outsider in the problem between you and me."
"I've been wanting to talk about this for a long time, and Lu Jiyu's aunt just happened to be the opportunity."
"Your uncle's death is your pain, the hurdle in your heart that you can't get over, but it shouldn't be mine."
"I won't and don't want to bear any more of the pain in your life, Dad. Let's move on."
These words have been circling in Jiang Wan's mind vaguely over the years. She has also imagined what kind of mood she would be in when she said these words to Jiang Huainan one day. Would she feel happy, free, or reborn?
Actually, none of them.
Jiang Wan strode out of the hospital gate, but her emotional breakdown preceded her, and tears fell uncontrollably. She hadn't cried like this in a long time.
She was not happy, free, or reborn. She just felt a little wronged, and this grievance, after being soaked in tears, was like soaked wood ear mushrooms, spreading wildly and lawlessly in her emotions.
But Jiang Wan was also a little relieved.
Because her life is finally completely in her hands at this moment, she should face her own life issues.
At eight o'clock on Sunday morning, a stone statue for "Looking Out for Friends" was already erected under the F University boys' dormitory.
Students passing by saw the man's distraught look and knew he had been dumped. They couldn't help but kindly remind him, "Classmate, the girls' dormitory is two buildings behind. Did you come to the wrong place?"
Zhou Zifang frowned. "Thank you, I found the right person. My brother probably hasn't been to Thailand recently."
Over a month into the school year, Lu Jiyu had practically disappeared from the scene. He didn't answer his calls, and his WeChat messages were only a passing repetition. Zhou Zifang knew he wouldn't do anything drastic, but he was still worried and decided to come over one weekend to check on him.
He sent a WeChat message to Lu Jiyu before the plane took off, but he still hasn't replied.
Zhou Zifang just didn't believe it, so he simply stood guard at the door of the men's dormitory. He didn't believe that he couldn't catch Lu Jiyu.
Summer in the capital is scorching. Even before eight o'clock, the sun is already blazing, leaving no place to hide. Zhou Zifang hid beneath a sun-baked, slightly wilted tree near his dormitory door, waiting for someone while idly scratching at the bark.
Until the tree was almost carved into two wavy lines by her——
"Hello, are you classmate Zhou Zifang?"
A boy in a plaid shirt walked out of the men's dormitory and headed straight for Zhou Zifang. Judging from his demeanor and appearance, he was undoubtedly a top student.
Zhou Zifang looked around and made sure that there was no other person named Zhou Zifang here, then he slowly stood up: "Are you looking for me?" He pointed at himself and looked at the unfamiliar academic master in front of him.
"Yes." The nerd smiled slightly: "You are Lu Jiyu's friend, right? He asked me to take you to him."
"He's out?" Zhou Zifang was curious: "What was he doing so early in the morning on the weekend?"
The boy put his arm around Zhou Zifang's shoulders and said as they walked: "Didn't he tell you? He went to the library."
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Fang Cheng. I'm Lu Jiyu's roommate. You were Lu Jiyu's high school classmate, right? Was he always this competitive in high school?"
"What's the meaning?"
"On weekends, he wakes up at 6 a.m. and goes to the library to study at 7:30 a.m., spending the entire day studying. This doesn't look like a freshman at all. He's probably going there for the scholarship."
"To be honest, I've seen a lot of curly hair before, but it's rare to see one like him. He's been our campus idol since he arrived, and quite a few girls are interested in him. Not to mention the girls, even a few boys from the neighboring school have had their eyes on him."
Zhou Zifang listened all the way and confirmed that this top student named Fang Cheng must be a chatterbox: "He studies all weekend? He doesn't go out to play?"
“Just study.”
"He said he had a girlfriend at the beginning of the school year, but seeing how lonely he was, I started to wonder if he was just saying that to ward off suitors. Or maybe he broke up with his girlfriend?"
Zhou Zifang was silent, and instantly imagined Lu Jiyu secretly biting the quilt and crying in the dormitory in the middle of the night.
"Does he look normal in the dormitory?"
Fang Cheng was confused by the question: "What do you mean? This guy is basically a human being except for being abnormally handsome."
Zhou Zifang laughed dryly twice: "No, nothing interesting, just asking casually."
The library of F University is almost twice the size of the one at Zhou Zifang's school. It's a rare opportunity to visit a prestigious school and one should give it a proper tour, but Zhou Zifang has no interest at all now.
Students from other schools are not allowed to enter the library.
Fang Cheng asked Zhou Zi to sit on a chair in the hall and wait for him, while he went in to call someone.
There were two or three people sitting on a row of metal benches against the wall, doing their morning reading with English vocabulary manuals in their hands.
Zhou Zifang chose a seat in the corner and sat down, then began to watch short videos on his phone while strolling around. He was so engrossed in watching that he didn't look up until someone sat down in the empty seat next to him.
From mid-August to now, I haven't seen his face for two months. At first glance, he was inexplicably handsome and Zhou Zifang was shocked.
"Oh my god, the feng shui of a prestigious school really does help you. How come you're getting more and more handsome?"
Lu Jiyu had his hair cut short and lost weight, making his facial features more distinct and three-dimensional. With his sharp eyes, he exuded an aggressive handsomeness.
Zhou Zifang looked down at his slightly protruding belly after a summer of indulgence, and couldn't help feeling sad. He used to consider himself a handsome young man.
"Stay away from me."
Lu Jiyu:?
"I don't want to be compared too harshly."
Lu Jiyu made a move to stand up: "Then I'll leave?"
"No, I have something to ask you. What have you been doing missing lately?" Zhou Zifang stopped him in time.
"My studies are quite stressful." Lu Jiyu replied with a very official and fake statement.
Zhou Zifang sneered, "Your roommate said you were planning on getting a scholarship. Are you really that ambitious?"
Lu Jiyu leaned back in his chair, looking bored. He wasn't stupid; he could hear the sarcasm in Zhou Zifang's words: "You came all this way just to scold me in front of me?"
"If you haven't cursed enough, go ahead and curse now. I still have to go back to read." After saying that, he really stood up and was about to leave.
Zhou Zifang quickly grabbed him upon seeing this. He knew there were some things he shouldn't ask, but he couldn't help himself: "Are you and Jiang Wan really done with this?"
Zhou Zifang knew that Lu Jiyu had always been a person with a very high sense of morality, which was why he was kidnapped so easily by Jiang Wan's father, but he never gave up.
Lu Jiyu asked Zhou Zifang to pull him back to his chair. Zhou Zifang's question made him silent for a moment. Just when Zhou Zifang thought he would not answer this question again, Lu Jiyu replied with two words: "No."
But what can I do if I can’t do it?
"What do you mean?" Zhou Zifang's eyes lit up: "Have you finally figured it out?" Are you ready to put aside your morals and start kidnapping people?
Lu Jiyu looked down at the tip of his shoes, sighed, and said very honestly: "I can't do it."
His tone was unwilling and lonely, which made Zhou Zifang's head jump: "If you really can't forget her, then turn back quickly. It's not too late now. Don't wait until she runs away. Then it will be too late for you to cry."
Lu Jiyu tilted his head and glanced at him: "Did you hear something again?"
Zhou Zifang patted him on the shoulder and said, "I have a classmate who is in the same class as Chen Wulin. He said that Chen Wulin has been getting close to a beautiful woman recently. I felt something was wrong at the time, so I asked him for a photo and it turned out to be Jiang Wan."
Seeing Lu Jiyu didn't react at all after Zhou Zifang finished speaking, he couldn't help but guess: "You knew this a long time ago?"
Lu Jiyu folded his arms in front of him and nodded gently: "Chen Wulin is having surgery, Jiang Wan will go to accompany him."
"Hey, don't you think Chen Wulin is a cunning guy? He didn't perform a minor surgery in Nanyuan, but chose to have it happen here. Isn't this obvious that he did it on purpose?"
Yes, he did it on purpose, everyone knows that, but no one can do anything about it.
Zhou Zifang felt the need to give his good brother another piece of advice: "Your psychological and moral level is too high. If Jiang Wan really has a boyfriend, you will have no place to regret."
"Why should I regret it? If she is really living a better life than me, I should also wish her the best. After all..." Lu Jiyu was halfway through his words when he looked at the entrance of the library. A man and a woman walked in. They didn't see us coming and went up to the second floor directly from the stairs on the left side of the door. Lu Jiyu stared at them all the way up the stairs before looking away. His eyes were cold and he suddenly changed his tone and blurted out, "If she has a boyfriend, will her father be speechless if I get together with her again?"
"ah?"
…
Is the contrast so great?
Zhou Zifang's face immediately turned pale when he realized what his brother had said.
What is love?
It makes the city grass do three things in its dreams.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com