Chapter 81. Leaving the Sunken Boat Ferry, I love you, so much...
Siyi didn't have many friends in Shanghai, so Xia Chan and the others didn't plan to hold a memorial service for her. They only stayed with her for three days before contacting the crematorium to cremate her.
It was a weekday, and the crematoriums in Shanghai were still packed with people.
In this respect, death seems to treat everyone in the world fairly. The old, the young, the poor, the rich... all aspects of life are condensed into the same form.
On that day, Siyi was scheduled for cremation number 32.
The electronic screen at the crematorium continuously displays the deceased's serial number, name, and cremation status. Then, when it's a person's turn, their family members step forward to confirm the deceased's identity with the staff.
Then, after a maximum of one hour, the staff will come out again carrying a small box, which signifies the end of a person's life.
The urn that Xia Chan and the others chose for Si Yi was pink and beautifully decorated. Each of them also put a small sticker on the urn.
There are cicadas, puppies, chili peppers, little tigers, boats...
When Xia Chan received the urn, she was surprised by how light it was.
Even in the final stages of her illness, she was already very, very light. Yet, the last impression she left on them in this world was only this little weight.
As I walked out of the crematorium, a light drizzle began to fall.
Xia Chan saw the sunken boat ferry from afar at the doorway.
He must have rushed over in his spare time, wearing a dark black suit and holding a black umbrella.
Standing in the cool autumn rain, my gaze upon her was darker than the autumn clouds.
Xia Chan's eyes stung and she almost cried, so Huang Mao and the others tactfully said they would go aside first and give them time to talk.
Xia Chan, holding an umbrella and carrying the box of memories, walked up to Chen Zhoudu. Her eyes were already red and her lips were red, but she still smiled at him and said, "Hi."
The next second, her tears fell uncontrollably, and Chen Zhoudu's eyes also reddened as he silently pulled her into his arms to comfort her.
Once she had calmed down, his gaze fell on the box in her hand, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Did she... suffer when she passed away?"
Xia Chan sniffed and shook her head. "It's alright. Apart from feeling a little unwell, her spirits were pretty good. We stayed with her the whole time, and she passed away with a smile on her face."
"That's good." Chen Zhoudu nodded.
His gaze fell on her once more, as if he had a thousand words to say, but in the end he only asked, "How have you been lately?"
"I'm fine." Xia Chan smiled at him and gazed at him. "And you?"
With a slight silence in his brown eyes, Chen Zhoudu smiled and said, "I'm fine too."
Whether it's good or bad... only good remains.
The two of them silently understood each other. Xia Chan gazed at him for a long time, her eyes gradually showing some hesitation and struggle. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she closed her eyes and said to him, "Cross the river by boat."
She said, "Actually, I also have something to say to you."
A sudden surge of tension rose in Chenzhoudu's heart.
The fine drizzle seemed to have veiled the world in a light mist, and his world was also shrouded in a hazy mist. Only she stood in the mist, gazing at him quietly, yet he seemed to be growing more and more distant. "I think... I want to leave."
Shen Zhoudu's face turned pale in an instant, and he was about to say something, but he was stopped by someone who stretched out a hand and reassured him, "Don't worry, I didn't mean to separate from you."
His frantic heartbeat slowly returned to normal, and his gaze, fixed on her with a mixture of emotions, remained bittersweet. Looking at him like this, Xia Chan felt a strange pang in her heart and whispered, "It's that I want... to really leave."
She took a deep breath and gazed into the distance with red eyes.
"Actually, I never really knew what I wanted before."
"Whether it's in Qingshui or in Shanghai... it looks glamorous and carefree, but it's all just getting by. People say this place is good, so I come here to take a look; people say doing that is good, so I do that and give it a try, but I've never really thought about what I want."
Chen Zhoudu gazed at her quietly as her breathing gradually slowed. Xia Chan said, "But recently, through reflection, I've suddenly come to understand many things."
"Shanghai...it is indeed vast, beautiful, and bustling, but it's not my place. The people I want to protect, my most cherished memories, aren't here...except for you;"
"But Zhoudu, feelings aren't everything to me, nor are they the only thing in my life. I won't push you away again, nor will I give up on you, but I don't want to stay and suffer for you... So Zhoudu, I want to leave. Can you understand me?"
Shen Zhoudu understood what she meant, and her eyes reddened slightly, but she smiled with relief and said, "Okay, where do you want to go?"
"I'll go wherever you want to go."
She neither nodded nor shook her head, but silently lowered her head and let a tear fall. Then she said, "Zhoudu, Qingshui to Tongcheng, the high-speed rail has started."
“I know,” Chen Zhoudu said, slightly taken aback.
"High-speed rail now runs from Tongcheng to Shanghai, to the capital city..."
Shen Zhoudu suddenly understood what was going on and smiled at her.
Xia Chan: "Zhoudu, Tongcheng may never catch up with Shanghai, but Tongcheng and Qingshui... have their own unique scenery. I want to go home."
Tears welled up in Shen Zhoudu's eyes. He nodded to her and said, "Okay, I support you! I'll support whatever you do. Then you go back first, and wait for me... I'll go with you, I definitely will, you must wait for me."
Xia Chan's tears finally fell as she gently stepped forward and embraced him, resting her forehead lightly on his shoulder, and said, "Chenzhoudu, I love you."
"I know."
"I love you so much."
“I know,” he said. “Me too.”
The two embraced quietly, the distant green mountains as dark as ink in the autumn rain. Gradually the rain stopped, and the puddles on the ground reflected the sky and their embracing figures.
...
Two days later, Chen Zhoudu received a belated message from Jing Zixi, saying that Xia Chan, Huang Mao, Lala, and Pang Hu had booked a flight back to Tongcheng on the night of November 21.
On the same day, Shenzhoudu officially announced its "Memories of Summer" themed concert. The first show of the tour will be held at the Shanghai Stadium at 7:30 pm on November 21.
That belated summer will finally be remembered before this winter arrives.
-
Guan Yuntian returned to the Guan family home early that day, as Xie Mei had told him in advance that she had something important to tell him.
Just as he sat down in the study, Xie Xun handed him a document, which turned out to be a divorce agreement.
Guan Yuntian was extremely surprised. "What are you doing? If you feel that I haven't done something well enough, or if there's anything about the house that you're not satisfied with, just tell me. What problem is so serious that we need to talk about divorce?"
"Sign it." Xie Jun's expression was indifferent and emotionless. "I've made up my mind. There's no need to say anything more. The house, the car, the shares... they're all yours. I'm leaving with nothing, I won't take a single penny. Once you sign this, whatever I do from now on will have nothing to do with the Guan family."
"Xie Mei?!"
Guan Yuntian was still shocked and extremely confused. He talked to her back and forth and almost started arguing. The noise was so loud that Guan Bohan had to come down and try to break up the fight.
He was shocked and surprised to hear that Xie Mei wanted a divorce.
The father and son then tried to persuade her, pressing her to at least give a reason. Xie Yun was finally driven to desperation and her recently tense emotions seemed to suddenly collapse. She burst into tears and said, "Because of my daughter!"
Xia Chan is my daughter!
"She's my daughter... my daughter with Zhang Guozhong! Do you understand now? I was married before... Zhang Guozhong is my ex-husband! I've been lying to you all these years, do you understand now? Do you understand now!"
Guan Yuntian and Guan Bohan were both stunned for a moment, and suddenly fell silent, staring at her in disbelief.
After she confessed everything, she felt calm and incredibly relieved.
It seemed like she hadn't felt this relaxed in all these years. Tears streamed down her face, yet a smile played on her lips as she said, "Back then... it was to protect me that Chanchan stabbed that bastard three times. But I abandoned her for my own life of wealth... How could I abandon her?"
“Now that bastard is threatening her and going to ruin her, how can I just stand by and watch him ruin her a second time!”
“I’ve already abandoned her once, I can’t abandon her a second time… If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have to suffer so much… My Chanchan, Chanchan…”
Guan Bohan was stunned, as if struck by lightning, staring at her in disbelief, his voice hoarse, "What did you say..."
You mean Xia Chan...she...?
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he could no longer speak. Guan Yuntian's expression also turned complicated for a moment, "Then...why have you never mentioned this before?"
"It was wrong of me to lie to you. I was out of my mind back then." Xie Xun wiped away her tears, but her expression gradually hardened. "So I can't continue like this. Let's get a divorce! After the divorce, whatever I do will have nothing to do with the Guan family. If you want me to make up for anything, I will do my best to do so, as long as it is within my power."
Guan Yuntian frowned slightly, trying to glean something from her words, and suddenly turned around to rummage through her bag.
"What are you doing!" Xie Xun rushed forward to fight with him, but he had already quickly pulled a sharp steel knife out of her bag.
Xie Xun stared at the steel knife, then suddenly turned away and cried as if she had an emotional breakdown.
"If I knew nothing and we divorced without any explanation, what were you planning to do?" Guan Yuntian threw away the fruit knife and grabbed her shoulders again. "Were you planning to stab him three times too? Or were you planning to kill him? To die together with him? Xie Mei? Xie Mei!"
"I wish I could kill him!" Xie Xun suddenly lowered her hands from her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Back then, I should have killed him! Killed that bastard! Even if it meant going to jail myself. The way he treated Chanchan... If he were dead, no one would ever hurt Chanchan again! I can't let him hurt Chanchan anymore!"
"Xie Mei! Can you calm down first!" Guan Yuntian gently shook her shoulders twice, then took a deep breath to calm himself down, looking intently into her eyes as if coaxing her, "We'll talk about the divorce later."
"But there are countless ways to resolve this matter, you don't have to be impulsive. Even if we use the Guan family's influence, even if we make this public, so what? You've already given him money, which is enough to sue him for extortion. We'll sue him now, and the amount is enough to send him to jail. We clearly have better solutions, Amei, so don't be impulsive, okay?"
“Yes, Mom…” Guan Bohan’s eyes were already red, but he still tried to smile and said to her, “There can be a better way to handle this. Please don’t be impulsive. Xia Chan, she…” He almost dared not say that name now, “She certainly wouldn’t want to see you like this either.”
Xie Xun's tears fell even more fiercely at this moment. She never imagined... never imagined that they would react this way after learning about these things, and what right did she have to deserve this?
"No... I can't involve you all, I... I..."
She cried so hard she couldn't speak coherently, tears streaming down her face. Guan Yuntian smiled and continued to comfort her, "Amei, it's not your fault. I know you must have been very sad and had no other choice back then. It's not your fault..."
"And that girl... I like her very much too. She's beautiful, and she's also poised and graceful, which shows that you really taught her very well before."
“I didn’t know until now. If I had known earlier, I would have treated her as my daughter too. I just regret not meeting you sooner, so you wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble. Mei, let’s work together to resolve this, okay? But please don’t act impulsively.”
Xie Xun sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face, as Guan Yuntian pulled her into his arms. It was as if all the suppressed and tense emotions she had been suppressing lately had crumbled, like ice that had been frozen for years breaking apart, and new shoots that had finally broken through the soil and were reborn in the warmth of spring.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Just popping in! Hehe [sprinkling flowers], only two more chapters left until the end, should be finished tonight~
I didn't expect this chapter to be updated on November 21st when I wrote it, but the male lead's concert is indeed set for November 21st, which feels like a really coincidental thing—it's fate! See you at the end! See you tonight!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com