Chapter 49 Cold War
◎ "They are not a good match, they are not worthy of each other"◎
When the group meeting ended, it was almost five o'clock. Jiang Siyue just lay on the table, in a daze for almost two hours.
After a while, Yue Huan returned with her bag. Jiang Siyue thanked him and continued to stare blankly. Yue Huan thought Zhao Yan had scolded her harshly, so he went up to her and comforted her, "It's okay. We don't have three group meetings in a semester. We'll just have to endure it. We're going to a dinner party later. Do you want to come?"
Jiang Siyue smiled and shook her head. After a moment, she asked, "Will Teacher Zhao treat us?"
Yue Huan shook his head, "Teacher Zhao said there was an emergency at home and he won't be going."
Jiang Siyue was confused, but didn't ask any more questions. She nodded and watched Yue Huan pack up and leave.
She was the only one left in the huge office. She was confused and clicked on the dialog box to ask something. Then the office door was knocked lightly a few times. She turned around and saw Zhao Yan striding in.
It was dinner time and no one was in the office. After he stood still, he asked in confusion, "What's going on at home?"
"The teacher's wife is sick. Go back and take care of her."
“…” Jiang Siyue curled her lips.
"Let's go home." Zhao Yan closed the book in front of her and rubbed her head, but Jiang Siyue slapped him away with one hand, "Don't, someone will see us."
Zhao Yan's eyes dimmed and he withdrew his hand silently.
"What are you going home for?" Jiang Siyue blinked and asked.
Zhao Yan said coldly, "Isn't your stomach upset? Why are you still making such a fuss?"
"It doesn't hurt now." She was planning to catch up on the progress tonight, and Xu Chu's words successfully stimulated her.
"Go home." Zhao Yan's patience ran out. "It's urgent."
Jiang Siyue keenly noticed the change in his expression, picked up the bag and left quickly.
The two parked the car one in front of the other. From the time they finished their meal to the time they went upstairs, Zhao Yan never mentioned the "urgent matter". After the meal, Jiang Siyue took the initiative to ask about it.
A moment later, Zhao Yan sent her a document and said, "I'm going to give a lecture at the University of Tokyo in mid-August. You can come too."
Jiang Siyue nodded and accepted the document.
"This is the urgent matter you mentioned. Isn't it due in August?" Jiang Siyue instinctively wanted to complain. It would be better for her to catch up on the progress at school!
Zhao Yan lowered his head, slightly bent his fingers, and slid his fingertips, and saw Xu Chu's new circle of friends.
"You've changed, and I've lost you."
The accompanying picture was a photo of him and Jiang Siyue. In the photo, Jiang Siyue was still very young, being embraced by Xu Chu, with stars in her eyes. Indescribable emotions suddenly surged up, and he asked in a deep voice: "You really want to stay in school? Because of Xu Chu?"
"Why are you mentioning him again?" When he mentioned Xu Chu, Jiang Siyue also became angry and said aggrievedly, "Didn't I explain this matter clearly to you last time?"
"It's been so long since we broke up, and you still keep Xu Chu's phone number. Are you hoping that he will call you one day?" Zhao Yan's voice was extremely cold, and there was no emotion in his eyes when he looked at her.
"I didn't save it!" Jiang Siyue defended.
Zhao Yan glanced at her calmly and remained silent. Jiang Siyue flipped through her phone's address book to verify her identity. Seeing the words "Xu Xiaochu," she felt as if struck by lightning. "I even changed my phone. I really don't know what's going on."
Then, she deleted the call in front of him and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't handle it well."
Silence spread in the room. She sat on the sofa, huddled together, holding her cell phone, her face a little pale. She obviously didn't cry, but Zhao Yan felt that the grievances in her had solidified into a physical entity.
He knew that he was impulsive. The moment he saw the photo sent by Xu Chu, his rationality was overwhelmed by an emotion called jealousy.
He stood up in front of Jiang Siyue, half-knelt in front of her, and apologized softly: "I am also wrong. I didn't control my emotions well. I'm sorry."
Jiang Siyue said nothing, turned her head away silently, and moved a little further away from him. Zhao Yan's heart trembled, and he moved closer and reached out to hug her, but she dodged him.
Jiang Siyue was very annoyed. She was annoyed that Xu Chu called her a canary, and she was annoyed by the quarrel caused by the note... She stood up suddenly, not looking at Zhao Yan, and said stiffly, "I'm a little tired. I'm going to take a shower."
The warm water fell bit by bit, and the room was suddenly filled with mist. Her vision was blurred and she couldn't see anything clearly. She leaned against the wall and slowly squatted on the ground.
I don't know how things turned out like this. I felt a surge of regret. I regretted that when Zhao Yan apologized to me just now, I didn't make peace with him.
I'm so tired today, my brain is spinning...
After drying her hair, Jiang Siyue sat in front of the mirror and rehearsed the conversation that would happen later. She opened the bathroom door and nervously returned to the room, only to find that Zhao Yan had fallen asleep and the only light on the bedside lamp was on her side.
The emotions that had been brewing for half a day disappeared. After sighing softly, he climbed onto the bed and turned off the light on his side.
*
When I opened my eyes in the morning, as expected, I saw nothing. His side was already cold. It seemed that he had been gone for a long time. A sense of melancholy welled up in my heart. After taking a deep breath, I threw off the quilt and got up.
I have an exam today, and after it is over, summer vacation will officially begin.
After handing in the paper, Jiang Siyue turned on her cell phone and dozens of missed calls popped up. They were all from Zhou Hong. With a bad premonition in her heart, Jiang Siyue called back. Before she could say anything, she heard Zhou Hong's familiar reproach.
After scolding her enough for not answering the phone, Zhou Hong finally remembered the important matter, "Your third uncle is gone. Come back tomorrow with Zhao Yan to attend the funeral."
"Third uncle?" Jiang Siyue was confused. "Who is it? Is it held in Qianshui Village?"
"Which one? Even your third uncle doesn't know it? It's the one who lives at the top of the river!"
After trying hard to recall, I finally met a blurry face and said, "Oh."
"Remember to call Zhao Yan as well!" Zhou Hong reminded again.
Jiang Siyue frowned, "What do you want him to do? He's busy."
"The dead are the greatest. No matter how busy you are, you have to make time for them!" Zhou Hong made the final decision and hung up the phone. Jiang Siyue sighed irritably. She flew from Yunjing to the provincial capital, Xingcheng, then took the high-speed rail from Xingcheng to Wanjiang, then took a two-hour bus to the county, and then took a private car to the village.
Zhao Yan probably has never been to such a village in his life.
After thinking about it, Jiang Siyue decided to buy only one plane ticket.
After simply packing her luggage, Jiang Siyue sat on the plane and closed her eyes to rest. At the moment before falling asleep, she admitted in her heart that she still felt inferior about her identity.
They are usually in Yunjing, and Zhao Yan does not attend any celebrity dinners. She can completely ignore the gap between them and tell herself in her heart that he does not care. But what if Zhao Yan went to Qianshui Village?
When the situation was right in front of her, it was natural for Zhao Yan to show disgust, but in that case, she would no longer be able to deceive herself that her status and position did not exist.
Moreover, they are currently in an inexplicable cold war, so it is better not to rush to make demands.
After returning home, it was already eight o'clock in the evening. Zhou Hong saw that she was returning alone, and as expected, she started to scold her again. Jiang Siyue was exhausted, even more so, as she mechanically repeated over and over again, "He is very busy and has no time. Where should I sleep?"
Zhou Hong was holding back her anger and said unhappily, "It's up to you. Your sister's room is fine too."
Jiang Siyue paused, "My sister and the others aren't coming back?"
"Yeah, Junjun hasn't had his holiday yet, so he can't come back."
"Since my sister didn't even come back, why did you call me in such a hurry?!"
Zhou Hong was frightened by her sudden rise in voice, and then she said in an even louder voice: "Just take care of yourself, why do you care about your sister!"
It's like this again, every time.
Jiang Siyue felt tired. Seeing Zhou Hong's indifferent expression, she couldn't hold on any longer and turned to go into her own small room.
The small room was very small and could only accommodate one bed. If there were more people, they would not be able to turn around. There were no windows in the room and it was dark all year round. After putting away her luggage, she cheered up and started to make the bed.
After finishing everything and lying down, Zhou Hong's voice came from outside the door. "Are you ready? Go to your third uncle's house to keep watch!"
Looking at the made bed, Jiang Siyue couldn't control her irritation, and the words of rebuttal were stuck in her throat and she didn't say them out loud.
No matter what you say, the final result will not change.
"Hurry up!" Zhou Hong urged from outside. Jiang Siyue put on a light coat, sighed, and went out.
According to Qianshui's old custom of holding funerals, there must be someone guarding at night, the more people the better. If nothing unexpected happens, I must be one of the able-bodied men.
I haven't been back to Qianshui Town for a long time. I didn't know anyone there, so I couldn't avoid being scolded. Not long after I sat down, someone brought me a white towel. All my relatives, no matter how close they were, needed to wear it on their heads.
Fold it roughly and tie it around your head.
She didn't know anyone and didn't want to talk, so she turned on her phone out of boredom. Half an hour ago, Zhao Yan sent her a message.
[Wolf is Coming: Angry enough to run away from home? Where is it?]
Only then did she remember that she had not given Zhao Yan an excuse when she returned home this time. After thinking about it, she brought up Meng Zhuqing.
[Jiang Siyue: No, Meng Zhuqing was heartbroken, so I went to her house to be with her.]
The funeral music came into her ears, the sound was so loud that her heart was beating fast. Jiang Siyue started typing again.
【Jiang Siyue: I'm ready to go to bed.】
[Wolf is coming: Good night. If you have any problems, please contact me directly.]
【Jiang Siyue: Yes.】
What happened that night seemed to be over, and I felt relieved. If the cold war continued, I really didn’t know how to break it.
"You're April! You've grown so big!" Suddenly, an elderly person came over and spoke in a familiar tone. Jiang Siyue had no impression of her at all, so she could only smile and nod, "Yes, I am."
"Oh, I'm your youngest aunt. You definitely won't recognize me." The youngest aunt asked and answered herself, and Jiang Siyue kept smiling.
"I heard from your mom that you're married? The man is very rich! He opened a company in Yunjing. What does he do? How much does he make a month?"
A series of questions were thrown at her, and Jiang Siyue was overwhelmed. She replied, "Yes, I am married. It's my teacher."
"Oh! That's not bad either." A younger person spoke up next to them. Zhou Hong had just introduced her; she seemed to be her second aunt. "So what do his parents do?"
This kind of household registration-style gossip is really tiring, and the ones who are involved are all elders. If you ignore them, you will be criticized, "You are retired, just do something casually."
"So when are you planning on having your wedding? We're all counting on eating your meat! You'll be well fed then!"
The word "sell" made Jiang Siyue's smile fade. These people always liked to describe marriage as selling daughters and wedding banquets as selling daughters' flesh, in a contemptuous and casual tone. She knew she shouldn't confront these people, but psychologically it was unbearable, so she retorted, "Second aunt, your family's marriage is selling your daughter?"
The person who was speaking was a little embarrassed and said awkwardly: "...you kid!"
Without saying a word, Jiang Siyue pushed the stool away and left, going to the tea room to get some water to calm her anger.
After drinking two cups of cold tea, her dissatisfaction was finally relieved. When she walked back, she could hear the people gathered together talking to each other from afar.
"...He still refuses to admit it. What's wrong with me selling it? I've heard all about their story! It was sold for 300,000 yuan, and the man didn't want to at first. I had to force him into it!"
"Oh no, no wonder there's no wedding. The man probably looks down on her."
"The guy is from Yunjing, how could he possibly be interested in her? He's a very calculating person. I guess there's something wrong with him to win her over."
"That's right, being poor and being rich together won't last long."
“…”
These people spoke in dialect and used the most vulgar and explicit words to speculate about her marriage. Their malice was like a silk thread that tightly entangled her, making her unable to breathe.
The cup in her hand made a creaking sound as she rushed forward, creating a gust of wind. Everyone was frightened by her appearance and fell silent. Jiang Siyue grabbed the edge of the table with both hands and overturned the table to the ground, scattering peanuts and sunflower seeds on the ground.
Jiang Siyue looked around and found the person who was "in the know". She sneered and said, "Mother Yu, you are so well-informed. Do you know that your grandson is being kept by a rich woman?"
"What are you talking about, girl?!"
Jiang Siyue ignored her screams and changed her target, "And you, why didn't you talk about your husband's piao when he was caught?"
"you……"
The scene suddenly became chaotic. Jiang Siyue was pushed and shoved by the crowd, but she kept talking.
Zhou Hong usually loves to talk about these gossips with Jiang Lingling. Although she doesn't interrupt, she listens to it all. Now let's talk about it together!
*
Yunjing, a place surrounded by mountains and rivers.
Zhao Yan ended the chat, but still felt a little uneasy. He called again, but no one answered.
Just as I was wondering, Zhou Hong's phone number suddenly appeared on the screen.
He picked up the phone suspiciously, frowning the more he listened. After she finished speaking, he asked, "Is Siyue back home now?"
"Yes!" Zhou Hong smiled. "She went to keep watch. You don't know about this yet, do you?"
"Yeah." Zhao Yan turned over and got out of bed.
"I urged her to tell you over and over again, but she refused. She just cares too much about you! I'm also happy—"
"Yeah." Zhao Yan interrupted her, pulling his clothes with one hand, and concluded coldly, "The dead are the greatest."
"If you're really busy, how about coming early the day after tomorrow? Can you spare some time?"
"Please send me the address." Zhao Yan glanced at the time. "I'll probably be there tomorrow."
"Okay!" Seeing his agreement, Zhou Hong hung up the phone happily. She had previously boasted to the villagers about how good her son-in-law was, but no one believed her. This was a great opportunity to prove it.
After booking at the address Zhou Hong gave him, Zhao Yan checked the flights. There was no suitable flight at the right time, and it would not be convenient later. Without hesitation, he went to the garage to pick up the car.
After taking two steps towards the car he usually drove, he turned back and went to the garage to change to another one.
The author has something to say:
Is it long? (Hoarsely) I’m just asking you guys if it’s long!
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