Chapter 22 White Pills
Chapter 22
"What would you like to eat? How about Tibetan meat pie? I'll go out and buy some now."
Xia Zhiyu smiled and asked the two young men in the restaurant that they had arrived last week and were now slumped on a stool, frantically inhaling oxygen from an oxygen tank.
These two have much more severe altitude sickness than Xia Zhiyu. It's been four days already, and they still have to carry oxygen tanks with them and take a breath every now and then. Even climbing a slope is difficult for them. For the first two days, Ren Yu brought their meals into their house, and they were only able to go downstairs to eat by themselves yesterday.
The guesthouse used to have a cook, but he went back to his hometown for a family celebration recently, and they've been eating at Tibetan restaurants nearby lately.
"Thank you, sis," Xiao Chen, with his buzz cut, took a deep breath of oxygen. "I'd like two meat patties."
"Alright, Yuan'er, how many do you want to eat?" Xia Zhiyu said with a smile, patting the shoulder of the boy next to her.
Gao Yuan was knocked backward by her slap. The tall guy, who was over 1.8 meters tall, rolled his eyes and weakly raised his hand to protest, "Sister, be gentle, that slap almost killed me."
"Oh dear, it's no big deal."
Xia Zhiyu pushed open the door. In the Tibetan region, it gets dark late. Even at this time, the sky is still as blue as a vivid watercolor painting, pure and clear. The clouds are very low, as if you could reach out and pluck a corner of the cloud.
Ren Yu yawned as she came downstairs and plopped down on a creaking rocking chair in front of the shop. She said helplessly, "Yu Yu, where do you get all this energy every day? It's so late, what restaurant is still open? We can just cook some instant noodles for dinner."
"It will be available soon."
Xia Zhiyu accepted the shop sign and stretched lazily.
Tonight, there's a bonfire party in town. The shops have all locked up early, and the young women are busy dressing up in bright colors, hoping to make a big splash at the party.
Across from their guesthouse is a typical two-story building with white walls, red doors, and large windows. White decorative scarves hang on the doors and windows. The second floor is a Tibetan restaurant, and the first floor is a shop. Xia Zhiyu has been buying her daily necessities here recently.
The proprietress's two girls were playing with toys at the door. Their hair was down. When they saw Xia Zhiyu come out, they cheered and shot out like two little cannonballs.
"Tonight, Zhuoma Yangjin," Xia Zhiyu crouched down and hugged her tightly, her voice exceptionally gentle, "Has your mother come over yet?"
The slightly older Yangjin said quickly, "Mom is combing her hair. She told us to come out and play first."
Xia Zhiyu has been staying in Wangcuo for almost half a month. Except for the first few days when she had to stay in bed due to altitude sickness, she has spent the last few days chatting and drinking tea with the Tibetans who can speak Mandarin in the town.
Perhaps because Ren Yu had previously worked as a teacher here, the locals had a good impression of him and took extra care of Xia Zhiyu.
Wangcuo is at an altitude of 4,300 meters. The town has only three main roads and not many people, mainly the elderly and children. Most of the young people have gone out to work and earn money.
During this period, the person who had the most contact with Xia Zhiyu was Sangzhu, the mother of Zhuoma and Yangjin. When Xia Zhiyu first arrived, she had a high fever and altitude sickness, and it was Sangzhu who helped her find a reliable Tibetan doctor who prescribed medicine.
Sangzhu possesses a kind of earth-mother-like feminine charm that is very popular on Xiaohongshu. Her skin is slightly dark, her eyes are gentle, and her smile is relaxed. Seeing her only makes you feel at ease. It is the gentle power that has been precipitated by Tibetan winds and the years.
He was exactly the kind of academic affairs director that Ren Yu despised most in junior and senior high school, someone who was always lecturing and trying to persuade others.
Xia Zhiyu's memory of Ren Yu was still that of a wild boy who climbed over the wall back to school in junior high to help her steal the romance novels that the registrar of the academic affairs office had confiscated, and was then chased by security guards for most of the campus.
He's always jumping around like a monkey, and before the slap even lands on his back, his howl can be heard for miles.
"To be honest," Xia Zhiyu looked earnestly into Sangzhu's eyes, "are you really talking about that lazybones who spends the whole afternoon lounging in the sun on the deck chair by the shop entrance?"
Sangzhu laughed heartily, "Teacher Ren is no lazybones. If he were lazy, could he have learned Tibetan in a year? Would so many good girls here like him?"
"At the last bonfire party, the line of girls who wanted to dance with him stretched from one end to the other."
Sangzhu gestured an exaggerated distance.
Xia Zhiyu initially thought Sangzhu was exaggerating, until the seventh girl, dressed in traditional Tibetan clothing, blushed and wanted to dance with Ren Yu. Xia Zhiyu stared in disbelief at Ren Yu, who was smiling and declining the invitation in Tibetan, and exclaimed in astonishment:
"Little Renzi, you've really made something of yourself! It's true what they say, you should be looked at with new eyes after just three days. You're so popular now."
As she spoke, she raised her glass and clinked it against Ren Yu's, saying, "A toast to our great people's teachers."
As dusk fell, the crackling sound of the campfire brought warmth. Everyone danced around the fire, free and enthusiastic. Wangcuo has always been like this, forever passionate, forever fervent, forever full of life, as if this is how it can resist the poverty and cold of the plateau.
"Of course! Things are different now. I'm someone with aspirations, ideals, and goals. Once this summer vacation is over and school starts, I'm going to teach those little brats fun reading classes."
When the topic of teaching came up, Ren Yu's expression visibly brightened, and her eyes sparkled.
Looking at it made Xia Zhiyu, who was still confused about the future, feel a little envious.
"That's wonderful," she said, her voice tinged with envy. "It's so good to have goals and ideas."
Ren Yu turned her head to look at her, "Then why don't you come and teach for half a year? The benefits are good, the students are well-behaved, the country supports it, and it's also good for ethnic unity. How about it, come and try a class after the semester starts?"
He looked serious, not like he was joking.
"Me? Become a teacher? Don't be ridiculous, how could I possibly be a teacher?"
Xia Zhiyu quickly waved her hand in refusal, "I can't even manage my own life, let alone take care of a child."
Ren Yu suddenly asked again, "Do you remember the target universities we filled out in high school? The ones written on the blackboard at the back of the classroom, do you remember what you wrote?"
Xia Zhiyu squinted and thought for a while, "The Department of Education at Sichuan Normal University, I guess."
"I just wrote whatever came to mind back then. At seventeen or eighteen, I didn't know anything about ideals or goals. I was just drowning in test papers and workbooks every day."
Ren Yu: ...
"But you've always told me you wanted to be a teacher!"
Xia Zhiyu reflexively replied, "That's because my parents always said that being a teacher is a stable career for girls, but I didn't understand when I was little..."
Her voice grew softer and softer until it disappeared completely. The air suddenly became still, and Xia Zhiyu's cat-like almond eyes widened suddenly, her palms clenching tightly.
Ren Yu's expression froze, then suddenly turned helpless. "I thought I could help you fulfill your wish, you little liar."
His tone remained relaxed and affectionate, yet a faint trace of melancholy lingered beneath.
What is the second reason why I am willing to become a volunteer teacher?
It's probably because after being far away from the most important person in my life, I want to get closer to her from another perspective, and even closer.
The two characters "Ren Yu" written in a vigorous and elegant style are followed by the line "Tong Xia Zhi Yu".
Ren Yu's smile grew increasingly helpless.
Little liar.
-
The atmosphere instantly became lively after the campfire was lit, but in the blink of an eye, Ren Yu became carefree again, laughing and joking about these nonsensical things, as if the momentary stagnation just now wasn't him.
Xia Zhiyu, unsure of how to interact with him, made up an excuse and slipped into the crowd.
It was the peak tourist season in Wangcuo, and all the guesthouses in the town were full of young people who came to climb the snow mountain or travel. Among them were Gao Yuan and Xiao Chen, who had just been using oxygen. The two young men had some barbecue and a few bottles of beer and sat on the outskirts of the crowd. Gao Yuan was still wiping away tears.
Upon asking, it turned out that both of them had experienced setbacks in both their love lives and careers, and were even laid off in the same batch of employees.
Gao Yuan wanted to go to Xinjiang, and Xiao Chen longed for Tibet. The two brothers discussed it and decided that since they had been laid off anyway, they might as well take advantage of this downtime to travel for a while. After all, they weren't poor and had enough money for travel.
Then, at the first stop, I collapsed from altitude sickness at Wangcuo and lay in bed for four or five days, suddenly losing half of my vacation.
Gao Yuan was probably drunk; he was holding his wine glass and crying uncontrollably, his face covered in tears and snot.
"Sister Xia, tell me, what exactly is love? How could she seamlessly transition to a colleague so quickly after the breakup? We were clearly in love when we were together. She felt sorry for me working so hard and would cook delicious meals for me every day. How could she just stop loving me like that?"
Xia Zhiyu had heard about Gao Yuan's experience. It was about how he broke up with his ex-girlfriend after a big fight because of their different views on marriage. The girl felt that they had been dating for five years and should get married, but Gao Yuan felt that he couldn't afford to get married since he didn't have a car, a house, or a salary.
The two had a big fight and broke up. While Gao Yuan was secretly watching the girl's Weibo in the middle of the night because he couldn't sleep, he discovered from the clues in the comments section and the following list that the girl had a new ambiguous relationship.
Gao Yuantian felt like the sky was about to fall.
He thought they were just temporarily separating to cool off.
Unexpectedly, they kicked him out of the game.
A 27-year-old man, who was over 1.8 meters tall, cried like an eight-year-old child who had been abandoned on the street by his parents.
Xiao Chen scoffed, "You're miserable? You're not miserable at all! Who could be more miserable than me, who prepared a dowry of 200,000 yuan only to find out I'm being cheated on?"
"She cheated on me with her first love. As soon as we broke up, they got married. Am I some kind of trash? She'd rather marry that penniless, homeless rat who lives off his parents than be with me."
"Am I some kind of despicable person? I can fucking forgive her for cheating."
At this point, Xiao Chen's voice choked, and his eyes turned as red as a rabbit's. He picked up a bottle of beer and tilted his head back to gulp it down, as if that could hide the tears streaming down his face.
+1 to the person who broke down, +2 to the shocked onlookers.
They seemed to be drowning their sorrows in alcohol. After a few words, Xia Zhiyu felt a pang of sadness and couldn't help but recall her last meeting with Jiang Zhiyan, which ended badly.
When their five-year relationship ended, there wasn't even a proper goodbye.
So heartbreaking.
Xia Zhiyu took a breath and told herself not to think about Jiang Zhiyan anymore. Let the past be the past, and she had to look forward.
She downed most of a glass of wine in one gulp, the heat rising to her chest. She looked up at Gao Yuan and Xiao Chen, three people who were all heartbroken in love, as if looking in a mirror.
It was actually kind of funny.
Fortunately, people don't dwell on the past forever.
"Damn it, stop drinking. What's the point of drowning your sorrows in alcohol?" Xia Zhiyu stood up abruptly. "Let the exes of the past die in the past. Burn their ashes and flush them down the drain. Who would reminisce about their exes at a bonfire party?"
"Go dance, all of you!"
A pretty Tibetan girl swayed her supple waist, her face beaming with a happy and innocent smile, while men with striped decorations around their waists strode with powerful, rugged steps, swinging their arms and legs.
The atmosphere grew more and more enthusiastic as the dancing progressed, and the melody became increasingly tender. Even Xia Zhiyu, who couldn't understand Tibetan, could feel the deep affection in the lyrics.
The Tibetan girl who was originally beside her was now happily swinging her braids as she went to find her lover.
The air was thick with the scent of love.
"Fish, want to dance? I'll teach you."
Ren Yu suddenly appeared from some corner, her smile devoid of any nonchalance, her eyes burning with intensity.
Xia Zhiyu was somewhat lost in thought.
Although Ren Yu maintained a respectful distance from the two, their interactions remained as natural as before.
But Xia Zhiyu had just ended a five-year relationship. Since arriving in Wangcuo, she could clearly sense the slight but undeniable affection in Ren Yu's occasional glances at her.
It's become increasingly obvious lately; she's not made of wood, so naturally she can sense it.
Shall we jump?
Should we start trying to reach out to other people?
As the effects of the alcohol began to take hold, Xia Zhiyu smiled and placed her hand on Ren Yu's wrist.
Ren Yu's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Zhiyan..."
The soft, shallow, moist breaths were drowned out by the steam. Xia Zhiyu twisted the back of his neck, pleading like a cat, her throat overflowing with watery sobs.
The soft silk sheets were crumpled up.
It looked like it was about to cry, but it wasn't. The peach juice overflowing from the skin carried a rich, decadent, warm fragrance. With a gentle suck, the rich, sweet juice flooded the mouth.
"Hmm!"
The pulling sensation from the roots of my hair was clear, mixed with the throbbing pain that was spreading throughout my body, clamoring to invade, clamoring to possess.
Wrists intertwined and sunk into the pillow, the scent of peaches wafting through the air with each breath.
The sobbing was short and sweet, melting between the lips and teeth like piles of ice cream.
Soft, creamy, and fragrant.
"Zhiyan..."
A bone-chilling cold poured down on him, and Jiang Zhiyan abruptly opened his eyes. Before him lay a dark expanse shimmering with a white light. Chen Yue's angry and startled rebukes rained down on him like machine gun fire.
"Are you out of your mind? Is this how you let your mother take the medicine the doctor prescribed?"
The rich fragrance and warmth vanished abruptly, followed by a sharp pain in my mind, as if a steel needle were being pierced through the top of my skull. My blood surged in my chest, and my vision blurred.
That's all.
It was just a dream.
Now he can only see Xia Zhiyu in his dreams.
That's ridiculous.
Chen Yue stood by his bedside, his face unusually pale. "Do you know how scared I was when I woke up this morning and saw the series of SOS messages on your watch?"
"My anxiety and depression levels were off the charts, and my heart rate was approaching 220. I almost thought you were going to die. I rushed over with the doctor, and here we were!"
He picked up the medicine bottle, which was noticeably missing from the bedside table, and smashed it hard on the floor.
With a "snap," the white pills scattered.
"You're recklessly increasing your medication dosage here."
Chen Yue has watched Jiang Zhiyan grow up. With parents like those, Jiang Zhiyan's survival is purely due to good luck and his own resilience.
He still remembers that once when Jiang Zhiyan was in elementary school, his grades fell behind for several years due to illness in an academic competition. His mother actually drove the car and abandoned Jiang Zhiyan, who was only eight years old, in the suburbs. In the end, it was only after the old man checked the dashcam footage that Jiang Zhiyan was found.
Is this something a normal mother would do? Not to mention his promiscuous and unfaithful father, Jiang Zhiyan has truly lived a difficult life. Chen Yue has watched him grow up step by step.
Like an ascetic, he desperately climbed up the social ladder to survive. The inheritance left to him by Old Master Jiang only plunged him into a deep abyss. Not only his parents, but everyone around him was eyeing Jiang Zhiyan covetously.
Thinking about all this, Chen Yue suddenly didn't know what to say. He sighed.
"Can't you go see a doctor? Can't you be kinder to your own life? You've endured so many years, and your father has been imprisoned. Now the shareholders' meeting is just around the corner, and you'll soon be able to take over all of the Jiang family's assets."
"You don't necessarily want to go to America again, do you?"
The Jiang family business is not solely under the control of Old Master Jiang. In order to gain the recognition of Jiang Zhiyan's succession qualifications from other shareholders, the old master established a family trust and signed conditional performance-based agreements with the other major shareholders.
If he wins, the trust and the Jiang family will both be his; if he loses, Jiang Zhiyan won't have a single penny left.
However, Huawan still failed to meet the standards for transformation by 24 years. At that time, Jiang Zhiyan's uncle manipulated the shareholders' meeting with the aim of completely kicking Jiang Zhiyan out of the core leadership.
When Jiang Zhiyan went to the United States to explore the market, he was determined to succeed or die trying. Otherwise, he would fail and be expelled from the Jiang family in a sorry state, or the Jiang in the Jiang family would become the Jiang in Jiang Zhiyan's name.
He only had one chance, and he was determined to climb to the top, even if it meant risking his life. The capital market was a bloodbath, full of open and covert attacks, especially in the free United States. Jiang Zhiyan couldn't sleep soundly, dreaming of bullets piercing through glass and hitting his eyes.
But for Jiang Zhiyan, he had no other choice.
Win or get out.
Every day is filled with endless decisions, and every decision must be made with utmost care.
After a long day of intense work, he had no way to confide in Xia Zhiyu.
Jiang Zhiyan understands Xia Zhiyu better than she does herself.
He knew why Xia Zhiyu liked him. She liked his strength, his omnipotence, and his ability to strategize and control everything.
From the first time Jiang Zhiyan met Xia Zhiyu, he knew that his girl liked his strong image.
Therefore, he cannot and does not want to show any vulnerability in front of her.
To be honest, he was still afraid. He was afraid that Xia Zhiyu would be disillusioned with him when she realized that he wasn't as amazing as she thought, and that the light in Xia Zhiyu's eyes would no longer shine.
High-pressure work, coupled with lack of rest and anxiety, caused Jiang Zhiyan's mental state to deteriorate.
Ahead lay his relatives, who were eyeing him covetously; behind him were his own parents, lurking in the shadows, who knew when they might betray him.
He could only grit his teeth and keep going, not even daring to see a doctor, for fear that the scandal might be leaked through some unnoticed, secret channel.
With the future unpredictable, his own emotions gradually began to spiral out of control.
So when Xia Zhiyu tentatively told him that she wanted to quit her job and become a self-media creator, Jiang Zhiyan broke down emotionally.
Unbeknownst to Xia Zhiyu, Jiang Zhiyan had paved a safe and secure future for her. Even if he himself died in the family infighting, Xia Zhiyu would be well taken care of.
But Xia Zhiyu didn't want the things he had gone to so much trouble to prepare for her.
Jiang Zhiyan suddenly didn't understand the meaning of all his hard work over the years, if even Xia Zhiyu didn't need these things that he had worked so hard to obtain.
What is the meaning of his life?
Those terrible, extreme emotions eventually turned into sharp words that were used against his closest lover.
But Xia Zhiyu was truly heartbroken by him. The salty tears that flowed from her eyes overwhelmed Jiang Zhiyan like an abyss in her midnight dreams.
The cold liquid dripped down his veins, drop by drop.
Jiang Zhiyan closed her eyes wearily. "I didn't mean anything, I just couldn't sleep."
"I can't sleep without her."
"But I can only see her in my dreams."
Chen Yue was utterly bewildered. "You're really crazy! You're crazy for a woman! Can't you wake up? Xia Zhiyu is already meeting new people, what are you still going crazy about?"
He tapped on his phone screen and held it out in front of Jiang Zhiyan.
In a group photo of more than a dozen people, Xia Zhiyu stood next to Ren Yu, smiling brightly at the camera, while Ren Yu looked at her with tender eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com