Chapter 35: Acupuncture "...blood is back, buddy."...
Wen Nian followed Li Yao to the coffee shop.
The afternoon sun was not so strong, shining through the branches outside the window and casting a shadow on the table. Soft music filled the room.
"What would you like to drink?" Li Yao asked.
"I'm fine with either."
"Okay, two cups of raspberry iced Americano, please." She handed the menu to the waiter.
Wen Nian got straight to the point: "What do you want to tell me?"
Li Yao smiled and said, "You're a little different than before. I remember you were always so enthusiastic towards everyone back then, like a little sun. Now you seem a lot more reserved."
Wen Nian said calmly: "I have always been like this, but you don't understand me."
"Probably. I heard you and Xu Zhijian broke up? Are you reconciled now?"
Sure enough, when sitting with her, the only person they could talk about was Xu Zhijian.
Wen Nian denied it.
"Is that so?" Li Yao didn't intend to keep the secret and asked bluntly, "Did you break up with him because you knew what happened back then?"
It refers to the incident when Xu Zhijian lost contact before she graduated.
Wen Nian also felt that there was nothing to hide: "Well, I heard a recording."
"recording?"
"Yes, it came via phone. There were a lot of people, and it seemed like they were fighting. I heard Xu Zhijian say you were his girlfriend."
There was no expression on her face as she spoke. Li Yao met her gaze, stunned for a moment, as if recalling something, and frowned, "You misunderstood."
"I know."
"You know?" she asked in surprise. "Then why—"
"Because I did misunderstand it at the beginning. It was the day before my retest. I couldn't hold back my tears in the exam room, and as a result, I failed the postgraduate entrance exam."
"Then I thought about it. Xu Zhijian wasn't the type to do something like this secretly. He obviously did it on purpose for me to hear. Plus, I couldn't get in touch with him for the next few days, so I knew someone must have done it on purpose."
"Come to think of it, I've always suspected it was you who did it, but now it seems that it wasn't you."
She spoke calmly, but Li Yao's face was already filled with shock. She was speechless for a long time, her brows drooping with regret: "I'm sorry... I didn't know it would cause you so much harm."
Wen Nian was silent.
Li Yao took a sip of coffee. The coolness made her mind clearer and she began to recall:
"At that time, my family's company had been in a slump. My parents suddenly wanted to save the company by marrying into the Zheng family. They wanted me to marry the playboy of the Zheng Group."
"But that bastard Zheng Jiaxin wasn't willing to wait at all and wanted to marry me right away. My mom tricked me back home and locked me up. I really had no choice but to ask Xu Zhijian for help. I asked him to pretend to be my boyfriend and fool them."
She remembered that day, she even didn't want to live anymore, and she swallowed sleeping pills in the house. Maybe she was lucky, she woke up in the middle of the night, and suddenly came up with this idea and called Xu Zhijian.
He was her only lifeline, and she had no other options.
Xu Zhijian has treated her as his younger sister since childhood and is very loyal to his friends. She knows that he will definitely help her.
"Hey, what's up?"
Her hands were shaking as she held the phone: "Xu Zhijian... I beg you, please help me, I really don't want to live anymore..."
The other party paused and said, "What happened? Tell me slowly."
She broke down in tears, using the sound of the rain to drown her voice as she spoke quickly and haltingly, "My parents want me to marry Zheng Jiaxin. They even don't want me to go to school anymore, saying it's useless even if I go, and it'll still end up the same... They just want to sacrifice me and marry me right away. I asked them to wait two more years until I graduate, but they wouldn't agree..."
"Zheng Jiaxin has been harassing me a lot lately... He's probably just afraid of you, Xu Zhijian. Only you and my parents would agree. I'm begging you to help me just once. I'll run away when I find the chance. I really have no other options."
"...I saved you once when we were little, and you said you'd repay me someday... I have only one request... Please..."
Finally, Xu Zhijian agreed.
Upon hearing the news that she and Xu Zhijian were dating, her parents quickly rescinded the marriage proposal from the Zheng family. Unexpectedly, Zheng Jiaxin showed up. Xu Zhijian happened to be accompanying her home that day, and the two later got into a fight, which is when Xu Zhijian injured her shoulder.
Wen Nian looked at Li Yao, who was already in tears, and felt extremely disappointed.
Li Yao took the tissue she handed over and sobbed, "You know what? That bastard Zheng Jiaxin is notorious for being a bad person. He spends his days drinking and partying, and he has a violent temper. But they... they still sent me there by any means necessary..."
"I grew up under their control, like a chess piece that could be discarded at will. I couldn't even decide my own marriage... Sometimes I really envy children from ordinary families. At least they wouldn't be so cold and heartless."
It turns out that some children from rich families only look glamorous and beautiful, but there may be many frustrations behind them that are invisible to others.
Wen Nian sighed: "What happened next."
"Later... I went back to school and spent a year saving a lot of money, and I got a place to study abroad. But I knew that no matter where I went to school, I would still be under my parents' control, so studying abroad was just a pretext to send me away. I hid abroad for a while, found a small job, and then I met my current boyfriend by chance."
Li Yao wiped away her tears and looked at the sky outside the window.
There were many complex emotions mixed in his eyes: grievance, grief, helplessness...
After adjusting her composure, her voice was still a little hoarse: "I'm sorry that my affairs have affected your relationship. As for the recording, I really don't know. It must have been my mother's doing. After all, there were only a few of us at home that day, and Xu Zhijian's phone was also lost in the chaos that day."
"It should be her." Wen Nian was also a little surprised: "Not only did I hear this recording, but later when I was on the phone with Xu Zhijian, I accidentally received a call from his "mother."
"She told me how unattainable Xu Zhijian's family background was, and that he was born to be a favored child, surrounded by stars. A man like him is bound to be very picky in his marriage, and that I was simply not worthy of him, so she told me to give up as soon as possible."
She thought the recording was deliberate, but she didn't expect that the woman was also an imposter.
Li Yao's eyes were blank, and then she realized, "...So, she knew Xu Zhijian had a girlfriend, and she also knew that I was lying to her..."
Suddenly realizing something, she couldn't hold back her tears again: "No wonder... No wonder my plan went so smoothly..."
Wen Nian waited quietly for her to finish crying.
Li Yao wiped her tears and said, "I'm sorry. No matter what, the person I feel most sorry for is you. I didn't expect this incident to hurt you so much."
At this point, Wen Nian didn't know who to blame. Everything seemed to be right from everyone's perspective, but the injured people were actually injured, irreparably injured.
She lowered her eyes, thinking of a knot that had been tormenting her for a long time, and said it out loud: "Speaking of which, I also want to say sorry to you. You and he were engaged when you were very young, childhood sweethearts, and you worked hard to get into the same university as him. The moment you saw me, you must have been very sad, right?"
Li Yao was stunned: "Engagement?"
"Yes, a friend of Xu Zhijian told me that on purpose."
"He doesn't like me."
Wen Nian: "He didn't like me at first. Maybe it was because of my appearance that there is no possibility between you two."
For a long time, she felt that she had interfered with their relationship. Whenever she saw Li Yao, she would always feel a little guilty.
Li Yao stared at her blankly for a long time, a trace of relief flashed across her face: "We are different, Wen Nian. Xu Zhijian only treats me as a friend. Even without you, there would be no possibility for him and me."
"Love is a matter between two people. Neither you nor he has done anything wrong to me."
She had tried and tried before, but the results always told her that he only liked that one person.
"As for me, I was young and ignorant at that time, and I did some things that hurt you intentionally or unintentionally. I don't know how to make it up to you, and I just hope that one day I can tell you all this."
"As for the engagement... I was the only one who took it seriously. Uncle Xu was drunk at the time and told it to my dad as a joke. Businessmen are driven by profit. Since then, my family has been lukewarm. Even if there was one, it would not be recognized."
Li Yao spoke a lot in a disjointed manner, explaining the past entanglement with Wen Nian. Finally, she sniffed and smiled: "So, I sincerely wish you all the best."
—
On the way back, Wen Nian felt mixed emotions.
Although I had guessed there was a misunderstanding a long time ago, I was still a little surprised when I finally learned the truth.
Xu Zhijian jumped up from the bed when he saw her come back: "Are you done talking?"
She glanced at him hesitantly: "Yeah."
"Where's Li Yao?"
"Leave."
"Oh." Xu Zhijian was nervous: "What did you talk about?"
"About that time when you lost contact." She threw her bag onto the empty bed and sat down.
He paused, but had actually guessed it.
"Wen Nian, I'm sorry. I didn't tell you in advance because I was afraid you would be angry. The exam is approaching, and I don't want you to be unhappy because of this."
At that time, Wen Nian's face would change when she even heard Li Yao's name from his mouth. He was also afraid and thought it was better to have less trouble than more.
"As for what happened a while ago, I didn't explain it to you because you already disliked me. I was afraid you'd get even angrier if you heard it, so I didn't tell you. But I later thought it through and realized I shouldn't have hidden anything from you. I was planning to tell you before Li Yao came."
Wen Nian took a breath: "You didn't tell me that Li Yao saved you before."
"Huh?" Xu Zhijian was a little confused: "Is this important?"
"Of course it's important! If you had told me, I wouldn't have stopped you from seeing each other so often."
She is a selfish person and cannot tolerate a friend of the opposite sex who likes her boyfriend being close to him, but she can tolerate this intimacy if it is based on gratitude.
Xu Zhijian lowered his head: "...I didn't know. When you first met her, you were very hostile. I thought you didn't like her anyway."
Wen Nian closed his eyes: "That wasn't the first time I knew her."
"What?"
"Do you remember the first time I got angry with you?"
Xu Zhijian thought for a moment and said, "Remember, it was your birthday that day. I forgot about it because—you know?"
"Yes, I found out that night. I also knew that you and Li Yao were childhood sweethearts, and that she repeated a grade in order to get into the same university as you. I also knew everything."
He was stunned for a long while, his eyes at a loss: "No wonder..."
Looking at him, Wen Nian suddenly felt a little powerless, and once again confirmed what he was thinking.
Some things are wrong from the beginning, and the whole process and the ending are wrong.
She couldn't blame anyone. If one of them had been replaced, perhaps this wouldn't have happened. But he was unruly and careless by nature, while she was sensitive, insecure, stubborn and didn't like to speak. How could there be no conflicts between two such people?
She chose not to listen to his explanation or communicate with him at first because it was useless. She knew there was a misunderstanding between them, but so what? If the misunderstanding was resolved, would the hurt she had suffered be healed?
She went through one bitter and painful thing after another because of him, because he lost the opportunity to continue his studies in graduate school, and because he failed the postgraduate entrance examination.
None of this can be changed. She is not a saint, and she will never be able to let go by just explaining and clarifying things.
"Wen Nian...can you please stop looking at me like that..."
Xu Zhijian suddenly felt very scared.
He had explained everything and realized his mistake, but why didn't she change at all?
Suddenly, there was a knock on the ward door.
Wen Nian suppressed his emotions and went to open the door.
It’s Chu Yuxuan.
She paused: "You..."
"I'll give the patient an IV." Chu Yuxuan showed the needle bag in his hand.
What kind of injections require the doctor to personally perform?
It shouldn't be the nurse following behind...
Wen Nian was suspicious, but in the end, she didn't say anything more and made way for him: "Please come in."
Seeing someone coming to his side, skillfully hanging the medicine bottle on it, and the needle falling to his hand, Xu Zhijian frowned subconsciously.
He had never had injections before, so he was a little scared.
"Put your hand out." His voice was so cold that it made people think that he owed him eight million.
Xu Zhijian reluctantly stretched out his arm.
Chu Yuxuan pulled him over with great force and inserted the needle without even looking.
"No, you—"
Damn it!
So sudden?
His eyes widened, barely managing to keep silent.
A long while passed.
“…Healing, buddy.”
Chu Yuxuan: "Sorry, I was distracted. I'll give you the injection again."
...I give in.
Watching him inject the needle back and forth several times, Xu Zhijian's face darkened as if he was about to slap him in the face. Wen Nian reminded him, "...otherwise, let the nurse do it."
"No, I'm more familiar with her than she is."
The nurse pursed her lips and smiled.
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