Chapter 71
Tang Baozhu invited the two of them to dinner. Huang Yun and Chu Yi both thought that she had only invited them, but they did not expect to see each other in the private room. Therefore, they were both stunned when they saw each other.
Tang Baozhu sat leisurely in the head seat. Although she was taken aback for a moment after the two looked at each other, she quickly regained her composure.
"Baozhu, so you also call yourself Chuyi? I thought it would just be the two of us today." Huang Yun smiled and sat down next to Tang Baozhu, his attitude friendly.
Chu Yi, sitting on the other side of Tang Baozhu, said with a smile, "I'm sorry, I've disturbed your time together... How about I leave now?"
Huang Yun pleaded, "No, you're Baozhu's good friend. I wouldn't dare chase you away, no matter who I'm chasing. If I really did that, I'm afraid Baozhu would eat me up!"
He said sourly, "Sometimes I'm even a little jealous of you. Baozhu treats you better sometimes than she treats me, her fiancé."
Chu Yi took Tang Baozhu's arm and said with a grin, "What can I do? I'm Baozhu's best friend."
Their conversation sounded intimate but not close. They never forgot Tang Baozhu, their fiancée/good friend. Listening to them, Tang Baozhu suddenly felt a pang of emotion: it was no wonder that she had been deceived by the two of them until now.
They acted so normally that I never doubted their relationship.
She remained silent, and the two people who had been chatting couldn't help but turn their attention to her, asking, "Baozhu, why are you so quiet today?"
Tang Baozhu said, "I had Miss Xu tell my fortune today... Oh, you should know Miss Xu, right? She's a guest on the Hunan TV show '360 Trades,' and she's a master fortune teller."
Huang Yun: "Of course I know. It was your sister who exposed Lin Xu's affair."
Tang Baozhu nodded, "That's right, it's this master. She's very accurate at fortune telling, so I specifically asked her to tell my love life today..."
Huang Yun's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but ask, "What did she say?"
Tang Baozhu looked at him with amusement and said, "She said that my mother and I are alike; although we have good lives, our love lives are very bumpy, and the men we meet are all bad..."
Huang Yun's face tightened and his scalp tingled. He looked at Tang Baozhu, unsure if she knew something, and could only say, "She's really talking nonsense. We've been together for so many years, don't you know me?"
Tang Baozhu sighed, "It's precisely because I know you and Chu Yi so well that I've never doubted you."
!!
Her words struck the two remaining people present like a thunderbolt. Their eyes met briefly, then quickly looked away.
"...Baozhu, what are you saying? I... I don't understand what you're saying," Chu Yi said dryly, trying her best to remain calm.
Tang Baozhu looked at them calmly and said, "More than saying these things, I want to know why you betrayed me... One of you is my fiancé, and the other is my friend of many years, so even when I saw you being close, I never thought much of it."
"I've thought about it carefully, but no matter how I think about it, I don't feel like I've done anything wrong to you. So, can you help me clear up this confusion?"
She asked in an icy voice, "Tell me, what is the reason you betrayed me?"
Huang Yun, his face flushed with shame and indignation, said, "Baozhu, I've known you for twenty-five years. You'd rather believe a liar than believe me?"
Chu Yi opened her mouth, her face flustered, unsure of what to say.
Tang Baozhu lifted her eyelids, unmoved, and said, "I trusted you too much, so I never doubted you... Huang Yun, don't put on this act in front of me. As the saying goes, there are no secrets that don't leak. If you and Chu Yi really did something to betray me, do you think I wouldn't find out if I investigated carefully?"
Her words silenced the two of them.
Chu Yi was the first to break down, and she said in a tearful voice, "Baozhu, I, I really didn't mean to... I've been wanting to tell you this, but, but I don't know how to tell you. I'm even more afraid that if I tell you, you will break up with me. You are my best friend, and I don't want to lose you."
Chu Yi was in tears, looking incredibly pitiful.
"A good friend?" Tang Baozhu scoffed, retorting sarcastically, "A good friend who slept in the same bed with her best friend's fiancé?"
Huang Yun couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Did you have to say it so harshly?"
Tang Baozhu: "Since you have the nerve to do such a thing, why are you afraid of what others might say?" She scoffed.
"Baozhu, I'm sorry." Chu Yi said, tears streaming down her face.
Tang Baozhu asked in an icy voice, "When did you start?"
Chu Yi choked up and said, "It was... two years ago, on your birthday, Huang Yun and I both got drunk. When we woke up, we found ourselves lying in the same bed..."
She grabbed Tang Baozhu's hand and hurriedly explained, "Baozhu, believe me, I really didn't mean it! We were really drunk at the time, which is why we were confused and that's why that accident happened."
Tang Baozhu scoffed, pulling her hand away from Chu Yi's, and said, "Let's not even talk about how two people who are already drunk could get so carried away. Just think, if that time was an accident, what happened afterward?"
She gazed at Chu Yi and said softly, "Don't tell me that every time after that was an accident?"
Chu Yi was speechless.
Huang Yun said awkwardly, "Baozhu, let me explain. What happened between me and Chu Yi was really just an accident. It was just a fling. The person I like the most is still you!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Yi's expression fell, while Tang Baozhu asked with amusement, "You mean, although your body has betrayed me, your heart still belongs to me?"
Huang Yun probably realized that what he said was a bit ridiculous, and his expression was somewhat awkward, but he still nodded shamelessly.
"Forget it." Tang Baozhu rolled her eyes and said, "I originally called you over here to find out why you betrayed me. I thought it might be because you two were in love and couldn't help yourselves... But now it seems that I overestimated you."
"Did you think that by telling me your story was an accident, I would forgive you and not pursue the matter further?"
"No."
She looked disappointed and shook her head, saying, "You say it was an accident, but that only makes me think you are even more despicable and wretched than I imagined. What makes humans human is that they have reason and can control themselves. But you were driven by desire and an accident happened. What's the difference between you and animals?"
Her words were undeniably harsh, and Huang Yun's face flushed red upon hearing them.
"Tang Baozhu, what you said is too much!" he said angrily.
Tang Baozhu had already stood up. She looked down at Huang Yun, who was still sitting in the chair, and said, "Huang Yun, since you've done such a beastly thing, don't be afraid of what others say..."
"Oh, by the way, my grandfather has already informed your parents that our engagement is canceled."
She chuckled, "Huang Yun, instead of getting angry with me, why don't you think about how to deal with your illegitimate children's brothers and sisters? There are many people eyeing your position as the successor of the Huang family."
It's important to understand that the Huang family and the Tang family are quite different. In the Tang family, Tang Baozhu, as the only daughter, was a foregone conclusion that she would be the successor of the Tang family business. However, the Huang family is different.
Huang's father was a womanizer in his youth. After getting married, he was quiet for a while, but soon he reverted to his old ways, having affairs with many women and giving Huang Yun many illegitimate children. As these illegitimate children grew up, they inevitably developed other ideas and began to try to compete with Huang Yun for power.
Fortunately, Huang Yun himself was quite capable, and with the Tang family as a good marriage partner as a strong backing, those illegitimate children did not pose much of a threat.
But if his marriage to Tang Baozhu falls through... Huang Yun's expression changed.
Tang Baozhu looked at his expression, chuckled, and suddenly felt a little disheartened. She wondered what she had seen in Huang Yun before.
So, it turns out he was just young and naive, and was captivated by his good looks? — Huang Yun, like his father, had a pair of beautiful eyes, and even though he was ruthless, he was still charming, elegant, humorous and likable.
Tang Baozhu reluctantly admitted that she had probably been captivated by the other person's good looks when she was young.
Fortunately, it's not too late for her to realize this now.
...
Tang Baozhu left, leaving behind Huang Yun with a gloomy expression, and Chu Yi with a sorrowful look, hesitant to speak.
After Tang Baozhu left, Chu Yi looked at Huang Yun in a panic and said, "Huang Yun, what should we do? Baozhu knows about us now. What should we do?"
Huang Yun's face was gloomy, but he didn't pay attention to what she said at all. Chu Yi cried, "I told you long ago that we can't continue like this, but you said Baozhu wouldn't know about this... It's all my fault. I shouldn't have liked you. That night, I shouldn't have been unable to control myself."
She blamed herself, saying, "I'm sorry to Baozhu. I shouldn't have betrayed her. She's right, we're not even as good as animals..."
As she wept bitterly, Huang Yun's phone suddenly rang in his pocket. Huang Yun snapped out of his reverie, took out his phone, and when he saw the caller ID, his expression changed. As if he had some kind of premonition, he frowned and answered the call.
Then, he suddenly stood up from the stool, his expression grim and terrifying, after the person on the other end of the phone said something.
"Dad, let me explain. Baozhu and I just had a small argument. She's angry right now. I'll explain to her later..." he said in a low voice into the phone, but the person on the other end didn't seem to believe him.
"Huang Yun, if the Tang family really wants to break off the engagement, then you don't need to come back. I'll pretend I don't have a son like you!"
"Hey, Dad? Dad!!"
Hearing the busy tone on his phone, Huang Yun was so angry he almost smashed it. He grabbed the phone and quickly called his father back, but all he heard was a busy signal.
Huang Yun cursed and walked out with a grim expression.
"Huang Yun, Huang Yun..." Chu Yi followed him for a few steps, then quickly reached out and grabbed his hand, looking up at him and asking, "Huang Yun, where are you going?"
Huang Yun was pulled back by her and had to stop. He turned to look at her, his expression showing some impatience.
"Chu Yi, I'm busy right now and don't have time to talk to you... Actually, I think it's best if we don't contact each other for the time being. Don't worry, I won't let you suffer for what happened before. You've been with me for two years, so do you think five million is enough?" he asked.
After hearing this, Chu Yi stared at him wide-eyed in disbelief and questioned, "Huang Yun, what do you take me for? Do you think I'm with you for your money?"
She cried, her face contorted with hurt, "...If I didn't like you, why would I betray Baozhu and get entangled with you for so long? Baozhu is my best friend! I even gave up our friendship for you, and what you're saying is an insult to me, an insult to my feelings for you!"
Huang Yun had no patience to listen to what she had to say. Thinking of what his father had just said on the phone, he felt extremely anxious and didn't want to stay there for even a second longer.
"...If you think five million isn't enough, you can contact my secretary to discuss this further, but I have to leave now!" With that, he ruthlessly pulled away from Chu Yi's hand, turned around and left without a second thought.
Chu Yi stared blankly at her empty hands. She looked up and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, feeling a sudden sense of bewilderment.
A question kept popping into her mind: Was it worth betraying her best friend for such a man?
However, such doubts only lasted for a moment. The next second, she told herself with certainty: It was worth it! This was someone she had liked for several years, and everything she had done for him was worth it.
—For Chu Yi, all of this must be worthwhile. She has already lost her friends for this inappropriate relationship, and if she starts to doubt it, it will only make her look ridiculous.
Therefore, for her, there is only one answer to this question: it's worth it.
It is definitely worth it, and it must be worth it.
Chu Yi wiped away her tears, looked down at her lower abdomen, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes.
“…Baby, only you can help me.”
*
Xu Gui's morning live stream ended with viewers in the chat room reminiscing about "the grudges and feuds of the rich."
After the live stream ended, she fed a few jellyfish a little something and then went downstairs to the restaurant for lunch. However, halfway through her lunch, she learned the good news from the cameraman: "Teacher Xu, you're ranked sixth!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Gui couldn't help but show a smug look on his face and said proudly, "I told you, didn't I? I was sure I could pass the elimination rounds and advance smoothly, right?"
The photographer couldn't help but give her a thumbs up, and Yuan Lu was overjoyed, saying, "Teacher Xu, you are really amazing."
Xu Gui said, "It's all thanks to Miss Tang... that three million was really too much."
As they were talking, her phone on the table beeped, indicating a message had arrived. Xu Gui glanced at it and immediately said, "I have to go back to the orphanage at noon."
The person filming instinctively asked, "Teacher Xu, is there something wrong with the orphanage?"
Xu Gui said, "It's nothing, it's just that Wang Xingxing's maternal grandmother came."
...
Wang Xingxing's maternal grandmother came with her nephew. She is seventy-eight years old this year, quite old, with all her hair in silver, but she combed it very neatly and carefully held it in place with hair clips.
She was wearing a loose-fitting jacket and trousers, and cloth shoes; she was dressed neatly and simply.
When Xu Gui came over, she was talking to Wang Xingxing, her wrinkled hands holding Wang Xingxing's hand, her expression sad and heartbroken.
Xu Gui asked the dean when the old lady had arrived, and the dean said that she had arrived a while ago.
"They took the train in the middle of the night and arrived in City A in the morning. As soon as they got off the train, they came straight to our orphanage."
"oh."
Xu Gui waited for a while before walking over and greeting the old lady, saying, "Grandma Xingxing, my name is Xu Gui. We spoke on the phone before."
Grandma Xingxing suddenly realized, "...Ah, you are that Miss Xu."
She grasped Xu Gui's hand, feeling both grateful and heartbroken, and said, "Miss Xu, I've heard everything from Xingxing. Thank you so much for saving my Xingxing."
Xu Gui glanced at Wang Xingxing and said, "It's alright. It was just a coincidence. All I can say is that Wang Xingxing was destined to survive."
Grandma Xingxing was grateful.
The two sat down to chat, and the old man sighed, "...Our family is not well-off. My wife finally married into City A, but people there look down on us. She was afraid that her in-laws would mind, so she rarely came back after the marriage."
It's funny, there's an old saying that a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup, and this daughter really lived up to that saying after she got married. She rarely came back after marriage.
“...When Xingxing was five or six years old, she would occasionally bring the child back for a visit and stay for a day or two. But later, I don’t know if there was something wrong with her side, she simply stopped coming back. I thought, if she doesn’t come, then I can come and see her. But after I came a few times, her mother-in-law looked down on me, so I stopped coming over so often.”
The old lady also has self-respect. Since the people here look down on her, she will not come anymore and will pretend that she has no relatives here.
She never expected her daughter to be so heartless. She wouldn't come over, and her daughter wouldn't take the child back. Their contact was limited to phone calls. Now, it's been three years since they last met.
Sometimes the old lady would have a moment of disbelief, wondering if she really had a daughter. This daughter was only slightly better than a stranger.
When she talked about her grandson Wang Lingxing, the old lady sighed even more.
"...I said before that they put too much pressure on Xingxing. When the child was only two or three years old, they were already forcing him to recognize words and read books."
“I advised them that they didn’t need to be so harsh on their child, but they wouldn’t listen. They always said I didn’t understand education… But what is education? It’s the kind of education where you call a child useless as soon as their grades drop below first place.”
Grandma Xingxing spoke with indignation mixed with heartache for her child.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she said, "Tell me, how can a child not get sick with this kind of education?" Even she, an observer, felt that the Wang family's education was suffocating.
As a grandmother, she naturally loves her grandson, but the word "grandmother" means she can't interfere too much in the child's education—mainly because her daughter, the child's mother, doesn't listen to her, so what can she do?
She said it several times, but the Wang family wouldn't listen. Grandma Wang even made sarcastic remarks to her. After a while, Xingxing's maternal grandmother stopped saying it.
She just never expected that her grandson would get such an illness.
Schizophrenia.
In the two days since Xu Guikou arrived, the elderly woman has been researching the illness online on her phone. The more she researched, the colder and sadder she felt. So, even though Xu Guikou told her to slow down, she still rushed over anxiously.
Grandma Xingxing was also somewhat regretful at this moment: "...I knew clearly that their family's way of educating children was wrong, so I should have come to see the children more often. Maybe, maybe Xingxing wouldn't have turned out like this."
Upon hearing this, Xu Gui replied, "If you had intervened back then, you would have only received more disdain from others, and it wouldn't have helped Wang Xingxing's situation much."
If that's the case, then two people might get hurt. After all, gentle and soft-hearted people are always easily hurt.
“However, it’s not too late now,” Xu Gui said, his tone helpless. “I just hope you won’t be like the Wang family, looking down on Wang Xingxing because she’s sick now.”
Grandma Xingxing said emotionally, "How could I possibly dislike Xingxing because he's sick? He's my own grandson!"
His own grandson? His own grandson, his own son—everyone else thinks he's sick.
Xu Gui thought to himself: People are really worlds apart. Family members under the same roof despise and resent Wang Lingxing, fearing that he will ruin their family's reputation; while family members thousands of miles away, out of concern, rushed over despite the distance, showing no disgust, only care.
“It is precisely because I know you truly love Xingxing that I called you here. Now, only you can help him,” Xu Gui said.
Wang Xingxing's illness requires a relaxed and pleasant environment, but this is something the Wang family cannot provide. Currently, only his maternal grandmother can accept and tolerate him, and patiently accompany him during his treatment.
Sure enough, when Grandma Xingxing heard Xu Gui's words, she nodded without hesitation and said, "Of course I'm going to take him back. I came here this time to take him back!"
She said bitterly, "The Wang family doesn't want this child, but the Liu family does! I wish Xingxing could live with me every day and keep me company."
So what if the child is sick? If he's sick, then get him treated. What's the big deal? As long as the child is happy, she wouldn't mind even if he lived like this for the rest of his life.
Grandma Xingxing thought for a moment, then took Wang Lingxing's hand and said with a smile, "Grandma has planted a lot of fruit trees at home. When Xingxing comes over, she can eat some delicious fruit... Xingxing, you loved the fruit Grandma planted when you were little, do you remember?"
Wang Lingxing looked at the hands covering his own. These hands were old and rough, and the thick calluses on the fingers stung his hands a little. But along with the stinging pain, there was also a thick, intense warmth.
Wang Lingxing's eyes suddenly curved into a smile.
“I remember…” he smiled and said, “The fruit my grandmother grew was especially crisp and sweet; it was my favorite fruit.”
The old lady laughed and said, "Grandma also planted peaches and watermelons, so we can eat them when we get back."
Just as the two were enjoying a tender and warm moment, the dean suddenly arrived.
The dean glanced at Wang Lingxing first, then looked at Xu Gui, and said, "Wang Lingxing, his mother is here..."
Wow!
Wang Lingxing's grandmother suddenly stood up, her face ashen.
The short, thin-looking old man walked quickly outside.
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