Chapter 130
In the hot summer, the cicadas on the roadside trees are screaming at the top of their lungs, and caterpillars with countless hairs are crawling slowly on the tree trunks. If they accidentally fall to the ground, they will immediately cause screams from the pedestrians under the trees.
From the outside, the Han family seems extremely quiet. The two old hens, Dahuang and Erhuang, who were brought from Qingzhu Village, both passed away last winter. Because they had been raised for too long and had developed feelings for them, the family did not eat them. Instead, they buried them under the flowers in the yard to provide nutrients to the colorful flowers.
Chickens are no longer raised, and the place where the chicken coop was originally placed is now a crabapple tree transplanted from somewhere else. No one else knows how to take care of these flowers and plants, and even if they can, they don't have the time to do so. Only Han Shengyi remembers the growth habits of each plant and is willing to take care of them patiently.
The crabapple blossoms in spring. Now that the season is over, the dense, star-like flowers have disappeared, leaving only green leaves hanging on the treetops. Although the crabapple is not blooming, the oleander and phalaenopsis next to it, as well as the water lilies in the water tank in the corner of the yard, are all competing with each other for beauty. Especially the small water lilies, their petals seem to be independent out of thin air, trembling with the wind, making people worry about them, fearing that they will be blown down by the breeze.
When he first came back, the Han family's yard was bare and there was no sign that anyone had lived there. Now, in just two or three years, the yard has become a small garden, and this is all thanks to Han Shengyi.
Chu Jiujiu sat by the window, her eyes fixed on the various varieties of flowers in the yard.
Recently, she hadn't said it out loud, but in fact, she was always complaining in her heart, feeling that Han Shengyi was getting further and further away from everyone, that he was a little heartless, and that he didn't know what was important. But now, looking at the fragrance in the courtyard, Chu Jiujiu suddenly realized that Han Shengyi was a person with a strong sense of life. Like everyone else, he was living his life with all his heart.
…
There was a basin of cold water on the table. Chu Jiujiu sat casually on the chair, her eyes always looking out the window. The noise downstairs had disappeared for a long time. After a while, the door was opened by someone outside.
Han Shengyi walked in and was stunned when he saw Chu Jiujiu sitting in front of his desk.
Looking at Chu Jiujiu outside the window, he also turned his head. The two looked at each other, and neither of them spoke first.
…
The door was closed. I didn't know what Grandma Han was doing downstairs. She probably needed some quiet time. Chu Jiujiu wrung out the soaked towel and placed it against the slightly swollen side of Han Shengyi's face.
Han Shengyi's first reaction was to feel uncomfortable when the slightly cool towel touched his hot cheek. He frowned slightly, and then the coolness overwhelmed the pain, and then his brows relaxed.
Chu Jiujiu pressed his face and said, "This is the water from the bathroom faucet. It's quite cold. It seems that using eggs will be more effective. However, I don't dare to go to the kitchen. I'm afraid of being discovered by Grandma Han."
Han Shengyi sat on the edge of the bed, while Chu Jiujiu knelt on the bed. Chu Jiujiu was now taller than Han Shengyi. When she turned her gaze, she could see Han Shengyi's half-hidden lips slightly raised.
"You dare to eavesdrop, but you're afraid of stealing an egg."
Chu Jiujiu: "That's different. Eavesdropping won't be discovered, but stealing eggs might get you caught on the spot."
After saying this, she and Han Shengyi laughed at the same time. It sounded quite relaxing and was indeed worth laughing at, but their laughter was too short, and no matter how you looked at it, it seemed forced.
Han Shengyi raised his head and saw Chu Jiujiu's hand still pressing the towel. If there was no towel, this action would be very ambiguous, but with the towel, the ambiguous feeling disappeared, leaving only the coolness brought by the towel.
Han Shengyi looked up, Chu Jiujiu looked down, and the two of them switched places. Han Shengyi's eyes traced Chu Jiujiu's face, as if he was looking for something. Chu Jiujiu didn't think it was anything at first, but then she became uncomfortable. "What are you looking at?"
Han Shengyi didn't hide it from her: "See if you cry."
Chu Jiujiu: “…”
Her expression changed. She sat down from her kneeling position, her posture becoming a little more relaxed. Her tone was also the same. "You underestimate me. I'm already so old. How could I still cry like I used to? That's what children do. I'm an adult now."
Explaining too much would only reveal loopholes. Han Shengyi did not comment on her statement. He shifted his gaze and looked at Chu Jiujiu's sleeves.
She was wearing a sky blue dress today. Everything about the dress was good except for one thing: it would be very obvious if it got a little wet.
The skirt has three-quarter sleeves, and there is only a small water stain on the cuff. The water stain is too small, but not small enough. Even if Chu Jiujiu wanted to blame it on being wetted by water, she couldn't.
Following Han Shengyi's gaze, Chu Jiujiu's expression suddenly became stiff. After two seconds, she saw Han Shengyi was about to speak, but she got angry and said, "What are you looking at? Are you going to say I lied again?"
Han Shengyi: “No.”
Chu Jiujiu: "I don't believe it."
Han Shengyi was somewhat helpless. "I don't mind you lying to me. Anyway, I can always tell when you lie."
Chu Jiujiu: “…”
"That's not what you said before."
Thinking of what happened before, Han Shengyi smiled lightly and said, "That's because you wanted to hide your illness from me. This is a big deal and cannot be tolerated. But I really don't care about those trivial things that don't matter in normal times."
This was a bit unreasonable. Who knew what was a big deal and what was a small matter? All these things were measured by Han Shengyi's words. This was his one-man show, and what he said was what mattered. Chu Jiujiu understood. Normally, she would have made a scene, but today, she was surprisingly quiet, with a hint of acquiescence in her words.
The towel became hot, so Chu Jiujiu took her hand away. The comfortable feeling was gone. Han Shengyi couldn't help but look at her hand. Chu Jiujiu didn't look at him, but just took the basin of water beside her and continued to wash in it.
As she washed the towels, she said, "That's right. Small things don't matter. They're not a big deal. The things that really make people feel uncomfortable are the big things."
The towel was repeatedly soaked in the basin and then picked up, making a rustling sound. Normally, repeating this three or four times would be enough, but Chu Jiujiu repeated it more than seven or eight times. These sounds were like the messy thoughts in her mind, and she had to sort them out before she knew what she wanted to say.
Han Shengyi just looked at her and waited for her.
With a "pa" sound, Chu Jiujiu threw the towel into the basin, splashing water.
As if her arms had no strength left, Chu Jiujiu stopped moving. She raised her head and looked at the young man opposite her.
"Han Shengyi."
Han Shengyi's eyes moved. This was the first time Chu Jiujiu called him by his full name.
Chu Jiujiu pursed her lips, then let go. After letting go, she bit her lower lip again, just like when she was fiddling with the towel just now. She looked very conflicted, but she was not a particularly conflicted person. Even if she felt she couldn't make a decision, she would only hesitate for a few seconds, and then follow her heart and choose the decision she wanted most.
At this moment, she decided to speak out.
"I……"
"I know this is your family's business, your own business. Even Grandma Han can't change your mind, so it's even more impossible for me. I don't want to change your mind either. I just want you to know what I think."
Ever since Han Shengyi walked into the room, Chu Jiujiu has been acting very calm, but that calmness was pretended. Her expression was at sea level, but her mood was a deep sea with undercurrents. It would not work to cover up the truth. Now she finally started to speak, and along with her true thoughts, her eyes became increasingly hot.
She spoke very quickly, without thinking at all, and all she wanted to say was what she wanted to say the most.
"I'm sad, I want to cry, I'm uncomfortable, and I feel really, really bad, but I also know that you feel a hundred, ten thousand times worse than I do. I've known for a long time that I'm not as smart as you. I could never guess what you want to do even if I spent my whole life guessing. I won't stop you or make trouble for you, but I just want you to know that every time you go to see those people, I worry. I worry when I sit in your house, and I worry when I sit in my house. I could bear it once or twice, but now I'm a little scared. I'm afraid I'll have to worry like this for the rest of my life."
Her vision became blurred and Chu Jiujiu didn't dare to blink, because if she did, tears would fall. She lowered her head and spoke faster.
"Why do you always have to do so many dangerous things? I finally don't have to worry about others hurting me or Chu Shao anymore, but it's only been a few years, and why are we back to the way we were before? This kind of life makes me tired, really tired, because I can't do two things at once. I only have so much attention, and if I focus on you, I can't focus on anything else. But I still want to do so many things. I want to get a doctorate, help Weiwei and Chu Shao with their wedding, and I want to write a book of my own. There are so many things I want to do, but if I'm always worried, I won't be able to do anything."
Tears still fell and landed on her thighs. When she said these words, Chu Jiujiu had no thoughts. After she finished speaking, she realized that her words sounded a bit selfish. They were all from her perspective, and not a single word was for Han Shengyi's sake.
However, she did not regret it. She had said from the beginning that these were her own thoughts. She just went from thinking about them secretly to speaking them out loud.
Tears fell on her skirt, staining the sky blue fabric with a dark flower. She said it all in one breath and could no longer hide her tears, but Chu Jiujiu still didn't look up. She didn't dare to look up, for fear of seeing an expression on Han Shengyi's face that she didn't want to see.
When she thought of this, her tears fell even more. Chu Jiujiu bit her lower lip, not wanting to cry out loud, and just sat there quietly. Han Shengyi looked at her, and his throat seemed to be blocked by something.
He also wanted to speak, but he couldn't make a sound for a moment.
After trying several times, the loss of voice finally disappeared. Han Shengyi raised his hand and wiped away the tears that were about to slide down Chu Jiujiu's cheeks.
His movements were extremely gentle, as if he was treating a perfect yet fragile crystal doll. It seemed that a little more force would cause irreparable damage to the doll. Chu Jiujiu sniffed and raised her head in a daze.
Han Shengyi's eyes were clearly black and white. He was always very calm, but when the word calm was reflected in his eyes, there was only the word cold. Today was different. There were bloodshot eyes and a layer of light pink. Looking at him, Chu Jiujiu suddenly discovered that he didn't always seem to be so calm. He would also show obvious emotions.
He opened his mouth, and although he hadn't said much, his voice became hoarse. "Give me another year."
"In just one year, I can send them all to hell. I don't like danger, but I want revenge. They killed my father. Only when they get their retribution can I live a peaceful life."
Live a good life.
Who doesn’t want that?
The problem is that some people are deprived of this opportunity very early on.
Chu Jiujiu stared at Han Shengyi in a daze and whimpered. She suddenly rushed forward and hugged Han Shengyi's neck. Chu Jiujiu could no longer suppress her tears and burst into tears: "I don't know, I never knew, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those words, I'm sorry..."
There was a reason for telling the truth that she could no longer hold it in, but the main reason was that she wanted to use this method to tell Han Shengyi that if he didn't stop quickly, there might not be a person named Chu Jiujiu by his side in the future.
From the current perspective, the threat was quite effective. Han Shengyi sensed her seriousness and immediately panicked, even saying the word "revenge" which he had never said before.
Hanging out with the second generation, integrating into their circle, striving to climb up, constantly making friends and socializing, all of this is for one thing, to expand one's own strength and make oneself able to compete with those people and those families.
Indeed, after gaining power and changing his social status, Han Shengyi tasted different sweetness. For a period of time, he began to like this sweetness. If he was allowed to develop like this, he would not stop after taking revenge, but would continue to expand and continue to satisfy his ambitions.
It is true that it is lonely at the top. He has the ambition and ability. If he wants to climb, he will definitely climb higher and higher. But he forgot that there is a saying that people with different ideals cannot work together. No matter how deep the feelings are, when the road ahead changes, they cannot withstand the destination that is getting farther and farther away.
The situation around everyone is constantly changing. When you are in elementary school, you are surrounded by elementary school classmates. When you are in middle school, you are surrounded by middle school classmates. When you go to college, you sit together from all over the world, and the friends and scenes of your hometown will be temporarily forgotten.
When the environment changes, the people around you are bound to change. Yes, there will always be a few people who will stay, but how can Han Shengyi be sure that Chu Jiujiu is among those who stay.
He couldn't be sure. He didn't even know what Chu Jiujiu had been thinking for so long. He always prided himself on understanding people's minds, but now, the thing he was most proud of had hit a snag with Chu Jiujiu. This could be considered a lesson, letting him know that people's minds were complicated and changeable. Once too much of a stake was added, he wouldn't be able to afford it.
The last time Chu Jiujiu cried so miserably was when she couldn't find Chu Shao and Wen Xiuwei. She couldn't even hear when Han Shengyi tried to coax her last time, but this time she was obviously better. At least she remembered everything Han Shengyi said.
The crying slowly stopped. Chu Jiujiu wiped the tears from her face. She opened her rabbit eyes and raised her head to ask Han Shengyi for confirmation: "You said one year?"
Han Shengyi's heart almost went on strike because of her crying. Seeing this, he nodded repeatedly, "One year."
Chu Jiujiu asked: "Is there any danger?"
Han Shengyi insisted, "No."
"I'm Minister Han's grandson. Even if someone finds out, no one would dare to touch me."
This sentence is much more useful than the dry word "no". Chu Jiujiu sniffed and nodded, "Yes, there is also Deputy Minister Chu, he is also backing you up. Even if they find out, what can we do? We are not afraid of them."
Han Shengyi smiled, but before he could say anything, Chu Jiujiu asked again, "What are you going to do after one year?"
Chu Jiujiu kept glancing at him, as if she wanted to determine the truthfulness of her previous words based on the answer to this question.
Han Shengyi smiled bitterly. Chu Jiujiu said that she was not smart, but that was just modesty. In fact, she was also a smart person, but she just didn't show it under normal circumstances.
"Isn't the college entrance examination in a year? Have you forgotten that you still want me to go with you to take the college entrance examination?"
Chu Jiujiu naturally didn't forget, but she was very happy to find that Han Shengyi hadn't forgotten either.
Lifting the corner of her mouth proudly, she said, "I'm glad you still remember. I'm willing to accept the loss. So, if that's the case, you plan to study hard for the college entrance exam. What do you want to study?"
There was no need to ask Chu Jiujiu, as she must be a history major. There was no need to ask Chu Shao, as he must be related to mechanics. Only Han Shengyi was impossible to guess accurately.
Thinking of a possibility, Chu Jiujiu couldn't help but look over, "Could it be ideological and political?"
Han Shengyi: “…”
"Am I such a boring person in your eyes?"
Chu Jiujiu shook her head. "In my eyes, you are such a profound person."
Han Shengyi was silent for a moment, then replied, "I don't know. I need to think about it more, but it's definitely not ideological and political."
He has no interest in ideological theories. Even though he is good at it, he just thinks it is fun to defeat others without bloodshed and invisibly. If you ask him if he has any sense of identification with certain concepts, I'm sorry, he really doesn't have any sense of identification at all.
So if Han Shengyi takes this path, he will be a very powerful official, but it is probably impossible for him to be a good official.
The words "serve the people" were not in his mind. Only when his family lived a good life and there were no remaining problems at home, would he think about whether he should do something good for others.
This mentality is perfectly fine for ordinary people, but it is a major problem for government officials. It means that no matter what happens, they will rush home first to take care of their family, and they will not consider the rest of the people who are also suffering.
It was also a coincidence in his previous life that Han Shengyi had been alone his entire life. Because of the shadow left by Ruan Mengru, he hated marriage and refused to be approached by any woman. Therefore, those who knew him did not notice this characteristic of him. But in this life, he had so many family members, and each one of them was both a constraint and a source of confidence for him.
——
Two people upstairs were sitting together and talking. The atmosphere became warmer and warmer as they talked. They leaned against the wall together. There were two pairs of legs in front of them. One pair did not move for a long time, and the other pair was like horse hooves, moving every once in a while, as if they would feel uncomfortable if they did not move.
The marks on Han Shengyi's face still haven't disappeared, and it will probably take four or five days. If it were in the past, Chu Jiujiu would have taken out the necklace to soak it, but in recent years, Chu Jiujiu would not take out the necklace unless someone was seriously ill. An injury like Han Shengyi's was not a serious matter and could heal on its own without applying any medicine. It just looked not very glorious.
Han Shengyi couldn't go to work these days, otherwise everyone would ask him how he got the injury on his face. He didn't come down for dinner. Chu Jiujiu made a big pot of cold dishes, left half on the table, and took the other half upstairs. She also took several steamed buns, and it was obvious that she wanted to eat with Han Shengyi.
Grandma Han saw it but didn't say anything. The storm seemed to have passed quietly. In the evening, Chu Jiujiu returned to her home. Grandma Han lay in bed and waited for a long time before Grandpa Han finally came back.
As soon as he came back, he asked Grandma Han, "Why did you suddenly call Shengyi away today? Did something happen at home?"
Grandma Han raised her eyelids and looked at him coldly: "Something happened at home. It's too late for you to ask now."
Grandpa Han: “…”
If something really happened, someone would have told him long ago, but he knew it wasn't a big deal, so he didn't ask. But seeing his wife's expression, she even got angry with him.
Grandpa Han felt that he had been wronged. He walked over and sat next to Grandma Han: "Why are you unhappy again? Anger hurts the liver. People of our age, it's better to be calm."
As he spoke, he dusted off his clothes and said, "I want to spend a few more years with you."
Grandma Han had a cold expression on her face and remained silent until she heard this. Then she asked, "Really?"
Grandpa Han: "How could that be false? We've been married for so many years, and you still don't know me. In my life, besides my country and my children, the only thing left in my heart is you."
Grandma Han: "Then find a way to deal with Ruan Mengru."
Grandpa Han's originally cheerful expression suddenly froze.
"What did you say?"
"I'm telling you," said Grandma Han without any intention of joking, "I don't care whether you kill her or lock her up. I want you to get rid of her. She must never appear before our family again in her lifetime! If you still want to live with me, then do it!"
Ruan Mengru...
Grandpa Han repeated the name in his mind. He was not opposed to doing these things, but the question was, why?
There must be a reason. And this reason can't be for their son. Han Jixin has been dead for so long, and Grandma Han has never mentioned Ruan Mengru because she doesn't want to cause trouble for the family. Why did she change her mind all of a sudden?
After hearing his doubts, Grandma Han's face became even gloomier. "Because she is Shengyi's mother."
No matter how vicious she was, she was Han Shengyi's mother. If Han Shengyi did anything to her, it would follow him like an evil spirit, making him be criticized for the rest of his life. He was still young, and Grandma Han didn't want him to be unjustly imprisoned, so it was more appropriate for Grandpa Han to do it.
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