Chapter Twenty-One
In the dead of night, the port city has lost its colorful neon lights and the endless stream of cars.
At the traffic light, the engines of the racing cars roared through the night, and the young men in the cars whistled loudly at a red 911 parked next to them. The moment the light turned green, the sports cars revved their engines and sped off, leaving trails of white smoke in their wake.
"I thought you would buy a black car." Lin Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head, turning the steering wheel half a turn, and the sports car smoothly turned to the left.
Su Xian had no interest in talking, turned to look out the window, and said in a low voice, "Buying a black sports car is rather boring."
"You rest for a while, I'll call you when we get there." Lin Zhiyuan freed his right hand, squeezed her palm, and then let go, no longer disturbing her.
The roads in the old district of the port city are not wide; in some places, they are barely wide enough for one car to pass. The two of them had to park the car, get out, and walk. Su Xian led him through several turns in the narrow alleys. Most people were already asleep, and only a few windows in the closely connected residential buildings still had lights shining through.
This place is quite different from when Su Xian last visited. All the buildings have been repainted a beige color, and the streetlights have been repaired, making it look like a new residential area. However, the dark stairwells are still the same as before, and even with a mask on, you can still smell a faint musty odor.
Lin Zhiyuan behind him turned on his phone's flashlight, illuminating the stairs beneath his feet.
Su Xian stopped on the third floor, took out his key from his pocket, turned it a few times in the lock, and pulled open the iron door. The wooden door inside was unlocked. Su Xian pushed the door open and went in, reaching up the wall next to the door to the electrical control box and turning on the switch.
A bright white ceiling light illuminated the low-ceilinged room with its white walls and beige square tiles on the floor. The small one-bedroom, two-living-room apartment was clearly visible. Lin Zhiyuan closed the door and walked in, looking around the room. His tall stature made the room seem even more cramped.
"This is... the place you lived when you were a child?" Lin Zhiyuan asked curiously.
Su Xian nodded. "They come to clean here every now and then, so it's fairly clean." She took a bottle of mineral water from the table and handed it to him. "Have a seat for a while, I'll go find something."
Lin Zhiyuan softly agreed, "Okay, don't worry about me."
Su Xuan walked into her mother's old bedroom, opened the storage box in the corner, took out the file bag on top, and knelt down to read it.
When she was sorting through her parents' belongings, Su Xian had looked through and checked everything. Now, she opened the divorce decree again, which clearly stated that her mother had custody of her after the divorce, and the amount of child support her father should pay. She had checked the bankbook, but her father had never transferred any money. Her mother's salary card, on the other hand, had no income other than her monthly salary.
Su Xian reviewed all the hospital bills and medical records. The doctor had said that his mother's heart disease was caused by years of overwork. He had mentioned in his live stream that he had spent all his savings on medical treatment, and his mother had done the same. Su Xian had initially considered selling the house to pay for his mother's treatment, but his mother firmly disagreed, saying she didn't want to be treated and didn't want her daughter to be homeless in the future.
During her sophomore year, she was constantly shuttling between the hospital and school, relying entirely on her classmates' notes to continue her studies. Where was her father then? Later, when she relied on hardship grants and part-time jobs during holidays to earn her living expenses, where was her father then?
Looking back, Su Xian realized that her mother had a very low will to live when she was hospitalized. Su Xian felt that her mother wasn't lying when she said she didn't want treatment; perhaps her mother truly felt that her daughter had grown up and she could leave this world in peace.
Su Xian often felt that she was a burden to her mother, and that her mother's life was too hard.
A tear slid down her cheek, and Su Xian raised her hand to wipe it away. Tears were a sign of weakness to her, and she hated them.
He was never there when she needed a father, so it's impossible for her to acknowledge him now. Su Xian carefully collected the items on the ground into a file bag. Luckily, she hadn't thrown them away; they were coming in handy now.
After kneeling for a long time, Su Xian's legs began to go numb. She reached out to hold onto the wall and stand up, but her arm was supported by a pair of strong hands.
Su Xian turned her head and met Lin Zhiyuan's concerned gaze. "Take it easy, don't rush."
Lin Zhiyuan helped her slowly stand up. The blood flowing back into her legs felt like needles pricking her. She could only lean on him and let him help her to the sofa to sit down.
Since meeting Lin Zhiyuan tonight, he hasn't asked her whether the matter was true or false, nor has he asked her what she planned to do; it's as if nothing happened.
Su Xian couldn't help but ask, "Don't you have anything to ask me?"
"Before I met you, I did have a lot of questions I wanted to ask. I wanted to ask you what was going on, whether he was really your father, whether you were really as he described, and how you planned to handle the situation."
Lin Zhiyuan looked at her with gentle and focused eyes, "But the moment I saw you, and saw that you weren't in too bad a state, I suddenly realized that the only thing I really cared about was whether you were alright."
Su Xian had seen and heard too much abuse. Before she turned off her phone, she quickly scanned the concerned messages from friends, but behind them lay a schadenfreude mentality. Only he cared about himself.
“On the way here, I was thinking that things happened so suddenly, and you must need to think calmly. So all I can do is watch over you and make sure you can handle it. That’s enough. If you’re ready, just tell me. I’ll always be here for you.”
A warm feeling welled up in Su Xian's heart. He had been proving with his actions that "I've always been here." During the days she rejected him, he persistently accompanied her in his own way; during the time they hadn't seen each other, she could still hear his voice every day.
When the crisis occurred, he rushed to her side immediately, but not to solve her problems. He trusted her abilities, was willing to give her space, and stayed by her side to protect her until she needed him.
How could he be so good to her! Su Xian closed her eyes, fighting back tears, and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rubbed her face against his clothes, inhaling his unique, faint fragrance, wishing she could absorb that scent into her own body. His scent made her feel at ease, or perhaps it was he who made her feel at ease.
Lin Zhiyuan gently stroked the top of her head with one hand, and Su Xian's heart calmed down. She leaned against him and slowly began to speak.
“When I was 9 years old, my parents divorced and my mother moved from Beicheng to Gangcheng with me. I was still young then, and sometimes I would remember the good things about my father. Actually, before he lost his job and started gambling, he was a decent father. He would buy me snacks and take me out to play.”
“Beicheng is not far from Gangcheng, and I had fantasized that he would find time to come and see me. But that was just my fantasy. He really disappeared and never appeared in my life again.”
Su Xuan paused for a moment before continuing, "I know my mother had a hard life, so I've always been very good and worked very hard to make her happy. But my mother passed away when I was a sophomore in college, and now I'm all alone in this world."
That year, during the summer vacation, facing the dual pressures of her studies and tuition fees, she bought a lot of beer and drank herself into oblivion at home. So that year, she regarded the senior who had been pursuing her for a long time as a lifeline that could pull her out of the abyss.
Lin Zhiyuan cupped her cheek in one hand, looked deeply into her eyes, and said, "You are not alone, Xiaoxian, you still have me."
He lowered his head, showering her forehead, her brows, and the tip of her nose with delicate kisses. He kissed her cheeks tenderly, as if to convince her of his words. His soft lips pressed against hers, his tongue conveying all his tenderness and care to her. Their lips and teeth were intertwined, just like their bodies embracing each other at that moment.
In the small house, the air conditioner, which had been working diligently for more than ten years, emitted a tired hum. Su Xian leaned against Lin Zhiyuan's chest, her face flushed, listening to his rapid and powerful heartbeat. This long kiss left her mind blank.
Lin Zhiyuan calmed down first, "What do you plan to do now?"
“I want to tell the truth.” Su Xuan looked at the file folder on the table. “Here are my parents’ divorce decree, evidence that he has never paid child support, proving that he has never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father all these years. But…”
Su Xian hesitated and said, "But he is still my biological father, and I don't know if the scales will tip in my favor."
Justice resides in the hearts of the people, but the sense of justice in each person's heart is not necessarily the same.
Lin Zhiyuan stood up, put one hand in his trouser pocket, walked around the small living room, and pondered carefully with his head down.
“Tell the truth, provide evidence, let a PR firm guide public opinion, and ask your classmates or teachers to speak out for you. Not everyone will be on your side, but there will always be people who understand you and speak up for you, which is better than everyone attacking you right now.”
"However, a written statement has limited effect. Since he can do a live stream, you should also appear on camera..."
"A press conference," Su Xuan said. "Although the method is a bit old-fashioned, I can directly answer reporters' questions, which is the fastest and most effective way."
Lin Zhiyuan nodded in agreement, "Then let's hurry back. The sooner this matter is resolved, the better."
Su Xuan remained seated on the sofa, staring blankly at the file folder. "You know what? While I was looking for these things just now, I realized that I hate him, I hate all the suffering he brought to my mother."
Her voice trailed off, “Maybe they weren’t wrong, I really do have no conscience.”
“No, Xiaoxian, it was him who hurt you.” Lin Zhiyuan held her shoulders and said solemnly, “Although you separated from him when you were very young, you chose to keep those good memories in your heart, which is why you are conflicted and in pain because you hate him, and you can’t treat him like a stranger.”
Lin Zhiyuan carefully hugged her and whispered, "There are many people in this world who are not fit to be parents, and this is not your fault."
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