Chapter 24 Isn't loving someone a kind of shared suffering...?
Chapter 23
Xia Zhiyu has been staying at Wangcuo for about a month. She has created four or five viral videos by filming the scenery of Wangcuo and the interesting life in the homestays. Her followers have increased very quickly, and she has also received several advertising offers.
However, whether it's business negotiations or inserting advertisements into videos according to the client's requirements, it will inevitably have some impact on Xia Zhiyu's current video content and style.
Especially after truly understanding the process of getting into advertising, Xia Zhiyu discovered that the clients would specify how long their products should appear in the video, how long they should last, and what kind of introductory terminology should be used.
Perhaps because she didn't have a company, Xia Zhiyu was made to make an unusually large number of demands, to the point that she felt that this level of promotional video was no different from defrauding consumers.
Good heavens, how can blueberry puree have the functions of prolonging life, clearing free radicals, and preventing heart disease?
So this isn't actually blueberry puree, it's some kind of magic pill, right?
Individual self-media bloggers inevitably encounter these problems, so after Bian Lin's company, Xia Zhiyu gritted her teeth and contacted several more MCM companies, looking at many potential partners.
However, after signing with the company, they will inevitably plan for the future development of the account, and even her account will be managed by the company. Every time she talks about this, she gets a headache.
Xia Zhiyu has been troubled by this matter recently, and this trouble has caused her video editing to become choppy. Inspiration is like a dried-up spring, only bubbling out intermittently, impossible to grasp or let go of. This makes Xia Zhiyu increasingly anxious, falling into a vicious cycle.
But before they could even have time to worry for a few days, new troubles came knocking.
Xia Zhiyu's father acted as a guarantor for his brother to repay a favor. Now, his brother's business has run into financial difficulties, and all the debts have fallen on Xia Zhiyu's father's shoulders. Even their own house is now facing the problem of being seized and auctioned off.
When Xia's mother called Xia Zhiyu, she was crying so hard she almost fainted.
Xia Zhiyu had seen many cases involving favors and favors, but she never expected that something like this would happen to her family.
Ren Yu quickly booked a plane ticket and decided to go back with her to take a look. The shop's affairs were temporarily entrusted to an acquaintance for help.
The decision to go home was made in a very hasty manner. By the time Chen Ruoyu came downstairs, the two of them were already preparing to hitch a ride to the airport.
Chen Ruoyu, wrapped in an LV scarf, rushed up to Xia Zhiyu and the others, asking where they were going, and even wanted to go with them.
Xia Zhiyu tilted her head and looked at her carefully for a while, her eyes filled with unfamiliarity.
They look so alike! How come she never noticed before that they looked so similar?
Chen Ruoyu felt extremely uncomfortable under her gaze, her eyes trying to dart away, yet she forced herself to remain calm.
Xia Zhiyu suddenly smiled; it was a faint but beautiful smile.
She stared at Chen Ruoyu and said, "We're planning to go back to our hometown to get our marriage certificate. Since we're going to be together, there's no need to hide it, right, Ruoyu?"
“I’ve wasted too much time on other people before, now I have to make things right for Ayu.”
It is clear who "others" refers to here.
As they spoke, Xia Zhiyu took Ren Yu's arm and leaned affectionately on his shoulder.
Her gentle tone was tinged with excitement and anticipation, much like someone who had just fallen in love.
Chen Ruoyu gasped and froze on the spot. Before she could even ask a question, Xia Zhiyu waved her hand and pulled Ren Yu into the car without looking back.
Ren Yu: ? ? ?
Chen Ruoyu wasn't the only one stunned; Ren Yu was also a bit bewildered. His head was buzzing, and he couldn't even react when the driver greeted him after he got in the car, as if he were stuck in a daze.
What happened?
How did he suddenly get promoted?
Outside the mountain road flows a stream that meanders down from the snow-capped mountains. It's the dry season now, and the riverbed is cracked with fissures. Xia Zhiyu looked out the window for a long time before explaining:
"That little girl is the younger sister of Jiang Zhiyan's friend."
"I think Jiang Zhiyan sent her."
"Jiang Zhiyan?"
Ren Yu asked in surprise, "Didn't you two break up?"
"We've even been apart for almost two months."
As she spoke, Xia Zhiyu's anger flared up, and her fingers gripped the phone so tightly they turned white.
She had always felt that something was off about Chen Ruoyu. Who goes on a trip and doesn't go to see the sights, but instead follows the shop assistant around all day?
Even today, a video of Jiang Zhiyan appeared on Chen Ruoyu's phone, deliberately shown to her.
She wasn't stupid; after becoming suspicious, she looked at Chen Ruoyu again and suddenly felt that her features were unusually familiar.
He looks exactly like Jiang Zhiyan's childhood friend, Chen Yue.
She should have realized long ago that it's impossible for a rich ABC who isn't fluent in Chinese to travel alone, stay in a run-down guesthouse like theirs, follow her around all day asking questions, always concerned about her relationship status, and give her gifts that she really likes.
Chen Ruoyu had prepared gifts for everyone a few days after she arrived. The gifts for others were all similar, but when it came to Xia Zhiyu, Chen Ruoyu gave her a portable neck massager.
Xia Zhiyu was deeply moved at the time. She did not expect that Chen Ruoyu would be so attentive in noticing her neck problems.
As for why this cervical spine massager was the same brand as the one Jiang Zhiyan had bought for her before, Xia Zhiyu naively thought that perhaps wealthy people tend to trust similar brands.
And there's also the goji berry and ginger tea she drinks during her period, her favorite limited-edition comics...
Now that I think about it, there are suspicious points everywhere, and most of them were probably written by Jiang Zhiyan.
How could someone hire someone to monitor their ex-girlfriend's life after a breakup? Is this something a normal person would do?
The thought of Jiang Zhiyan, who had been separated from her for so long, silently watching her life like a venomous snake from some dark corner sent shivers down Xia Zhiyu's spine.
It's true what they say, a barking dog is a dangerous thing!
Xia Zhiyu was both shocked and angry. Although she was sitting in a warm car, her back felt icy cold, and her fingertips holding the phone began to tremble.
That's why she said that to Chen Ruoyu when she pulled Ren Yu aside.
If Chen Ruoyu wasn't an undercover agent sent by Jiang Zhiyan, then she wouldn't have any thoughts about what she said. But if she was...
Xia Zhiyu's breath hitched, and the veins on her temples bulged slightly. She clenched her teeth, forcibly suppressing the unease deep within her heart.
They've already broken up.
Why is Jiang Zhiyan still haunting her like a ghost?
Before takeoff, the little girl sitting next to her was happily talking to her parents on the phone, sweetly telling her mother that she wanted more living expenses next month.
The girl's voice was sweet and soft, and after achieving her goal, she happily said that she loved her parents very much.
The expression of affection is fluent and natural.
Xia Zhiyu looked away, a slight lump in her throat. The way he could express his love so naturally felt like a tiny needle, pricking her heart.
Her parents had never expressed their love for her in this way.
But she had heard them exaggerate their love for her younger brother in front of him countless times. They even told her grandparents behind Xia Zhiyu's back that they regretted not weaning Xia Zhiyu off nighttime milk when she was little, which caused her to have a mouthful of bad teeth and suffer terribly when she was losing her baby teeth. So, after her second child grew teeth, they stopped nighttime milk and started feeding her complementary foods.
Mom said, "We'll try our best to make up for what the eldest doesn't have for the second. We've already lost one, we can't lose another."
Xia Zhiyu, who was lying in bed pretending to be asleep, let tears spill from the corners of her tightly closed eyes, wetting her pillowcase.
Xia Zhiyu thought back to her university days. During her junior year, after she started earning money through her internship, she didn't ask her father for financial support for a while. Her mother called specifically to ask, her tone tinged with amusement.
“Your dad asked me to ask you why you haven’t been asking him for your allowance lately; he’s starting to feel a bit uneasy about it.”
Xia Zhiyu received two allowances while she was in school. One was a monthly allowance of 2,000 yuan from Song Yue, who controlled the family finances. The other was a private subsidy from her father, who was afraid that she would be embarrassed to ask her family for money if she had any extra expenses. It amounted to about 800 or 1,000 yuan per month.
Old Xia's salary is handed over to the government, but he can keep some of his bonuses and income from writing papers for himself. He uses them to buy prizes for his students, gifts for his wife and children during holidays, and Xia Zhiyu's allowance also comes from this.
The longing between loved ones is often difficult to express, especially when Xia Zhiyu is in college and Lao Xia is entering middle age, which are two very awkward ages.
This subsidy is essentially more like a bond between Xia Zhiyu and Lao Xia as father and daughter.
Old Xia will feel needed, and Xia Zhiyu will feel noticed.
The relationship between father and daughter, which had been stagnant since Xia Zhiyu turned ten, suddenly revived, like mycelium growing on a rotten tree trunk.
When Xia's mother made the phone call, Jiang Zhiyan was right next to her. It was the first time Xia Zhiyu had seen confusion and embarrassment on Jiang Zhiyan's face.
The same expression she had when she heard that her parents were going to make up for what they owed her to her second child.
Her relationship with Jiang Zhiyan was a case of two people suffering from the same misery, desperately trying to extract true love from each other because they both lacked love and didn't understand it.
How ridiculous.
—
In November, the alarm clock rang at 5:50, as if it were a death knell. A hand reached out from under the covers and fumbled to turn it off.
At six o'clock, Xia Zhiyu, her face pale, yawned as she put on her coat and went out to help out at her mother's shop.
Sichuan is a basin, and although it is only November, it is already damp and cold.
As soon as Xia Zhiyu got home, she took over her father's job and went to her mother's shop early in the morning to help sell steamed buns. At six or seven in the morning, the workers were going to work at the factory. There were many people and they came quickly, so her mother and the two aunties working in the shop couldn't keep up.
"Oh my, our great lawyer is back to help!"
An older woman who was making steamed buns chuckled and teased Xia Zhiyu's mother, "Xiao Song, you really dote on your daughter. She comes to help out at the shop as soon as she gets home. My son is still sleeping like a log in bed right now."
"Girls are still considerate."
Song Yue glanced at Xia Zhiyu with a smile in his eyes, "It's good for her to come back and do some physical work. She sits in the law firm all day long. Last time I went to see her in Beicheng with her father, this girl in her twenties only ate twelve dumplings. She also has a bad stomach and is as thin as a stick."
"Look now, she ate two potstickers and half a bowl of cold noodles yesterday morning, and when I made dumplings for lunch, she ate seventeen or eighteen of them. What a great appetite she has."
After saying that, he started nagging Xia Zhiyu, "Look, it's so good for you to stay at home. Your parents can take care of you and cook for you. You should just take the civil service exam and stay in the county. The benefits are good, the salary is good, and the job is good..."
"Okay, okay, I know, Mom. We have guests. I'll go clear the table."
Xia Zhiyu's head started to ache as soon as she heard this repetitive talk, and she fled from her mother's magical damage range as if escaping.
I don't know what kind of spell the civil service exam cast on her parents. Ever since she got home last night, her parents have been taking turns telling her about the benefits of taking the exam, from stable income and good benefits to having time to take care of the family after marriage. It's like they've been bewitched.
It was one thing for him to nag about taking the civil service exam, but after that, he also nagged about why she wasn't married and had children yet. Xia Zhiyu felt like she had just escaped one tiger's den only to fall into another, caught in a dilemma.
She doesn't even dare to tell her parents that she quit her job, let alone mention it to them, for fear that the sky will fall on them.
In the minds of the older generation, the free industry of self-media is comparable to the existence of homeless people on the streets. Without a salary or a boss, they feel that it is equivalent to being starving and naked, and that they will die on the street the next day.
In her parents' hearts, having a stable and good job and finding an honest partner were the two most important things in Xia Zhiyu's life.
What are the criteria for an honest partner?
First, he must have a stable job such as a civil servant or teacher within the system; second, he can't be too good-looking, because in her parents' eyes, good-looking men represent slyness; third, his family's financial situation must be similar to hers, not too bad, not too good. If his family is too poor, Xia Zhiyu will have a heavy burden, and if his family is too good, her parents will worry that their daughter will be wronged.
"Just say you're looking for someone who meets the opposite criteria from Jiang Zhiyan."
In the video, Fang Xinle's face mask was about to fall off. She pressed her lips together, trying her best not to burst out laughing. "Your parents said that on purpose, right?"
Xia Zhiyu said helplessly, "My parents don't know about my relationship with Jiang Zhiyan and our breakup. They always thought I was single."
"Wow, five years! You've kept your mouth shut pretty tight."
"There's nothing I can do about it. If my parents find out that I've been living with Jiang Zhiyan for five years, they'll skin me alive and then take Jiang Zhiyan to the police station."
Even before she got home, Xia Zhiyu couldn't help but lower her voice, "That's how small towns are, so feudal and rigid. Cohabitation is a serious crime. How could I let my parents know about Jiang Zhiyan?"
"That's true. But speaking of which, it's been two months since you two broke up. Has Jiang Zhiyan contacted you?"
Xia Zhiyu asked in a serious tone, "Do you think a noble Celestial Dragon like Jiang Zhiyan would lower his noble head and condescend to come to me?"
Fang Xinle couldn't suppress his laughter any longer. "You're hilarious! You're right. What about Lin over there? Has that kid been trying to curry favor with you lately?"
“He is, but how should I put it,” Xia Zhiyu sighed, and said sincerely, “He’s too young and a bit immature. He’s not as good as Ren Yu.”
"Oh dear, all kids are like that. So what are your plans now? Do you want to come back to Beicheng after you've rested enough?"
Xia Zhiyu's voice suddenly froze as she saw a familiar figure standing not far away at the entrance of the residential area, a figure she hadn't seen for two months.
Jiang Zhiyan looked at her silently and calmly, his pupils dark and unreadable.
The tall man was dressed in a suit and had a cold and stern expression, but he seemed a bit thin, with a faint bluish stubble visible on his pale skin.
He stood there, staring intently at her. Xia Zhiyu's breath caught in her throat, and a chilling sensation crept up her spine, striking the back of her head.
Xia Zhiyu squeezed her eyes shut, a strong sense of unreality lingering in her mind, making it difficult to accept this fact.
No, Jiang Zhiyan actually had someone keep an eye on her for over a month!
Is he mentally ill?!
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Author's Note: There was a funeral in my family, and I just got back from the hospital. I apologize for the late update. I'm not sure if I'll be able to update normally tomorrow. If I really can't update, I will ask for leave in advance.
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