Episode 19 Old Times
When Lin Ying returned home, there was a pink overdue payment notice posted on the door - the collection system broke down last month and the payment could not be recorded. After the maintenance was repaired, there were too many things to do every day and she forgot to make up for it.
She tore up the notice and took out the key to turn the lock when the neighbor came back. Ruxing called out to her loudly -
"Aunt Xinran, are you back?"
Cheng Xinran is Lin Ying's neighbor and her best friend now.
Two years ago, by chance, they ended up living together in this apartment. Lin Ying rented a two-bedroom apartment, and Cheng Xinran rented a one-bedroom apartment. The two households shared a common door and corridor.
This fate can be traced back to six years ago, that rainy night when he escaped - Cheng Xinran was the little Cheng back then.
"Little Star is accompanying Mommy after get off work again?"
Cheng Xinran leaned over and touched the back of Ruxing's head, then suddenly remembered: "I went to Jing'an Temple today and queued up to buy two butterfly cakes. I'll give you half..."
At this moment, the public door opened, and Lin Ying saw the situation and evaded the question: "No, no, you forgot today is the hundred-day banquet for Lawyer Jin's child. I took her to eat a bunch of desserts. If I stuff her with more, she'll get cavities."
"Look at my memory. If the client hadn't urgently recruited me today, I would have gone with you. Jin Lu is my boss now..."
"Don't worry, I'll give you my share of the gift money."
When she was still working in the property management, she secretly took the junior bar exam. Later, she had difficulty finding a job, and it was only through Lin Ying's introduction that she was able to officially join Jin Ze's law firm.
As soon as she entered, Lin Ying placed the fruits, vegetables, and meat on the stove. Her kitchen was in the common area. Ruxing followed her, but her eyes were fixed on the butterfly cakes in Cheng Xinran's hand...
Seeing the child's greed, Cheng Xinran responded to the situation -
"I can't finish it by myself, so I'll put it in the fresh-keeping room for you to eat slowly."
Ruxing smiled and chirped, "Aunt Xinran, I had a super delicious pudding today. It was just as delicious as the one you took me to last time and queued up for two hours for!"
"Really? Then you're in for a treat today!"
"But my mother didn't want me to eat. She chased me and even soiled my uncle's clothes..."
Ruxing's expressiveness is already outstanding among her peers, but she is only five years old after all, so her logic is always a little lacking.
For example, Cheng Xinran didn't understand this sentence.
"What uncle's clothes?"
Lin Ying put her coat and bag back in the bedroom, walked back, put on an apron, and explained to Cheng Xinran, "Oh, Lawyer Jin is my brother's friend. We just happened to meet at the banquet today."
"Your brother? Your stepmother's son?"
Lin Ying hummed, busying herself with washing, peeling, and shredding the potatoes...
"He had been in Hong Kong and is back now."
Cheng Xinran nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Over the past few years, she has always gotten along well with the mother and daughter, and they have also shared their backgrounds. But after all, every family has its own problems, and Cheng Xinran did not bother to delve into the details.
She studied law in college, but her grades were mediocre. She was skeptical about pursuing a career in this field. Right after graduation, she followed her family's introduction and took a leisurely job in property management. However, the boring and dogmatic work day after day really made her cheerful personality uncomfortable. Getting to know Lin Ying was a rare spice in her work at that time.
After Lin Ying escaped on that rainy night, the next news I heard about her was Yan Yiming's tragic death, and then I heard that she was pregnant...
After all, Yan Song was a backbone of Jianglin Group, holding the second largest share after Lin Jidong. When his son got into trouble, it was inevitable that he would be involved in public opinion. At that time, the online media fermented the news, bringing out a lot of hot topics, and even the share price of Jianglin Group rose. Not to mention that as a painter, Yan Yiming's works were ignored when he was alive, but after he passed away, he met many mentors who favored him.
There are even some conspiracy theories saying that this was a self-directed performance by the Jianglin Group, and that they would even sacrifice their own son for the sake of profit and reputation.
However, Cheng Xinran is more inclined to believe that Yan Yiming's death was just used to hype up Jianglin Group and was not the Yan family's original intention.
Especially Mrs. Yan herself. When Ren Jiahui came back to pack up her son's belongings, she never opened her eyes when she came in and out. But Lin Ying, who was standing next to her, followed her mother-in-law, carrying some scattered items in her hands, with no expression on her face.
Colleagues gossiped that she was too sad and couldn't shed tears, but Cheng Xinran disagreed. It would be better to say that she was numb rather than too sad.
At that time, Cheng Xinran was preparing for the bar exam in her spare time. She hated the monotonous working environment and wanted more options. She felt that things that she couldn't do in school might not be impossible in the future, so how could she not try?
Just after she received her junior lawyer certificate and wrote her resignation letter, she heard her colleagues gossiping about the Yan family again.
"Hey, I saw Mrs. Xiao Yan carrying a suitcase and leaving today. Her face looked exactly like when her husband died."
"Didn't she just give birth? Where is she going?"
"Haven't you heard? Before her husband died, their relationship wasn't good. Just as they were getting a divorce, he had an accident, and then she found out she was pregnant. So she took advantage of the situation and helped her in-laws preside over the funeral while also getting pregnant and having a child..."
"So if she leaves now, she's severing ties with the Yan family? What about the child? How could the Yan family possibly compromise?"
The other party curled his lips and shook his head, with an expression of wanting to watch the fun and not mind getting involved.
"Hey, tell me, why did Mrs. Xiao Yan divorce her husband in the first place? They were a perfect match, rich and well-off, so what else could they be dissatisfied with?"
"Who knows? They haven't been married long, and the husband is always out... maybe he's just lonely?"
"Ah? Lonely is pregnant?"
Among all the gossips and anecdotes, women are always the most likely to be talked about and the easiest to become the target of public criticism. This kind of ridicule, speculation and even sarcasm is groundless and is just to fill the public's teeth and have fun after dinner.
In the series of stories about the Yan family losing their son, Lin Ying naturally became the subject of discussion.
The next encounter was more than a year after she submitted her resignation. At that time, Cheng Xinran was working in the legal affairs department of Shanghai Haitou Audit. However, the economy has been in a downturn since the epidemic, and firms of all sizes are strictly controlling personnel costs. With a resume like hers that had no experience and mediocre academic performance, it was inevitable that she would run into a wall.
Her family was constantly complaining about her resignation and her lack of comportment. She had barely made it through the Lunar New Year, still without a job, and then the lockdown hit. She had been forced to stay home for a whole quarter, enduring three months of relentless criticism from her family. If this continued, she was going to go crazy...
So, the day after the neighborhood committee announced the lifting of the lockdown, she immediately contacted the agent to look at houses, hoping to escape as long as possible.
She has not found a stable job yet and cannot afford the rent in the new community. Sharing a house is too uncertain, not to mention the recurring epidemic. She is always worried about having another hot pot.
It was at such a critical juncture when people were in panic but everything was reviving that she and Lin Ying met by chance while looking at a house.
The old corridors are already narrow, and the major real estate agencies are doing a booming business. In a single day, a household's lock can be turned hundreds of times with people coming and going.
The agent opened the common door of the two households. The public corridor was just large enough for two thin adults to walk side by side. He introduced:
"The north-facing house is the whole household, the south-facing side is the bedroom, the kitchen is on the corridor side, and there is also a balcony..."
Hearing the balcony, Cheng Xinran heard the other party ask——
"If I rent the south-facing room, can you rent the room opposite only to girls?"
"It depends on the situation. Many people rushed to leave after the lockdown was lifted... It depends on the market. Are you worried about safety? I thought you were looking at a second-room apartment, thinking you'd live with your family."
"It was just me and my daughter, and she was still young, so of course I had concerns."
At that time, everyone still wore masks when going out. Her voice sounded familiar, as did her frowning expression. Cheng Xinran opened her mouth to test the waters.
"Are you Mrs. Xiao Yan?"
That's how they recognized each other.
After chatting, I learned that Lin Ying had moved out with her daughter six months after giving birth, citing disagreements with her in-laws' child-rearing philosophies. Previously, she'd hired a confinement nanny and lived with her child in a villa in Songjiang—it was said to be the only property she owned. But Songjiang was too far away, and she'd found a new job, so commuting was a necessity. Now that lockdown had finally been lifted, she was eager to find a new place...
After nearly two years, the two of them went through many twists and turns and became neighbors in the same apartment from being the previous owners and property management. This fate is truly rare.
Cheng Xinran watched little Ruxing grow up day by day, from her first babbling to her current articulate speech, from her initial clamor for milk and solid food to her current love of desserts...
She admired Lin Ying very much, almost looking at him with new respect.
Although she comes from a wealthy family, I can't imagine what beliefs support her and allow her to endure her current lifestyle, raising a child as a single parent, and even to some extent, "breaking up" with her family.
Although this old apartment has new interior decoration, it is old after all. However, Lin Ying is still willing to live here with her daughter. Cheng Xinran asked about this, and Lin Ying said this -
"The house is old, but it has a strong sense of community. If my children and I run into any problems at home, the neighbors will help us out. It's better than the concrete houses with one apartment per floor back then... It was all so dark."
Lin Ying always remembered that unlocking. If Cheng Xinran hadn't let her go, if she had encountered an indifferent property management, perhaps she would never have escaped that cage...
Later, times changed and things changed. While looking for a house, he met Cheng Xinran again. It was like a second blessing from God. The two were old acquaintances and had similar needs. Lin Ying rented this place without hesitation.
She was afraid that something similar would happen to her again, so rather than looking for a house, she was looking for neighbors.
The person who helped her escape from suffering is naturally her first choice.
Although they were two families behind closed doors, whenever Cheng Xinran came home from get off work, Lin Ying would directly invite her to have dinner together.
Today she cooked three dishes and a bowl of porridge, served them neatly on the table, and listened to Cheng Xinran's praises.
"Lin Ying, which window did God close for you?"
"Okay, stop flattering me. It's not your first time eating this."
Lin Ying handed the chopsticks and spoons to each of them, as if remembering something. "Oh, by the way, when I came back, I saw a bill on my door. I just scanned the QR code to pay the bill, and the system said that this month's electricity bill has been paid. Did you pay for it for me again?"
"I haven't even paid my own bills this month, so don't be so self-indulgent."
Because she was grateful for the food she ate, Cheng Xinran sometimes paid for the food next door when she paid for herself, but this time it was not her.
"Did I pay before and forget?"
The two adults were still clueless, but Ruxing, who was drinking porridge, woke them up with a word:
"Could it be Brother Cen? Ruxing saw him downstairs last week."
This statement brought silence to both of them.
Cheng Xinran asked, "Cen Shuo? The intern at your company?"
However, Lin Ying coughed lightly twice, picked up some shredded potatoes for her daughter, and whispered softly, "Ruxing, eat well. This is not your concern."
Hearing this, Cheng Xinran paused. She wanted to ask but felt embarrassed. After all, it was a bit too direct to talk about this topic in front of the child.
After dinner that day, she took the initiative to wash the dishes. After watching Lin Ying coax the child into the living room to watch cartoons, she quietly asked - "Tell the truth, is there something wrong between you two?"
"It's just something for adults, there's nothing to worry about."
"So when you handed Ruxing to me that day, did you do something with him?"
Lin Ying smiled, which was considered as her agreement.
Cheng Xinran suddenly smiled evilly:
"You're great! You eat really well. But... isn't he a little young? I don't think he's suitable to be a father."
"Don't think too much about it. I just drank a little that day and was a little tipsy. We didn't even establish a relationship."
Last week, the company organized a team-building event, and it was the classic, cheesy routine of "since you've had too much to drink, I'll send you home." Fortunately, she had anticipated this and had left her child at Cheng Xinran's house across the street.
Otherwise, that night, as soon as she entered the door, she was rushed by Cen Shuo's reckless body and kissed. If the children saw it, it would have left an indelible shadow in the hearts of all three of them...
I haven't had sex with a man for a long time. Life these years has been like a taut string that could break at any time.
If he hadn't been so patient and attentive that night, she would have been really afraid that her noise would disturb the neighbors. After all, not everyone would be like Jiang Shu, who would accommodate her in every way.
It's really strange. I hardly ever think about him normally, but when I was having sex with the boy that night, my mind was filled with memories of him...
How is he now? He must have found a new bedmate in the past few years, right? Then he will miss me, right?
After all, she is different from other women. She is special. She is his sister, the woman he likes, and even the one he wants to marry...
But he couldn't marry her, and she didn't want to be married.
So she chose to look forward, and after six years, she still thought of his face at this moment.
And a week later, she really saw that face.
His eyebrows were as sharp as they were six years ago, with clear edges and corners, and he was still steady and contented, as if nothing had changed, yet everything had changed.
The daughter asked at her knees, "Do you know each other?"
She then realized that she was the only one who had changed - this world is always a little cruel to a mother, because the child reminds you of your changes all the time.
After washing the dishes, she returned to the bedroom and found Ruxing already asleep with the tablet in her arms.
She helped adjust the sleeping position, and finally simply carried the child to the bed and covered her with a quilt... In the dim light, Lin Ying looked at the young face and felt that she looked more like herself.
Thinking this way always gives her a lot of comfort and makes her feel relieved that her daughter has no father.
She does have a father, but hasn't she managed to get by all these years? It's inevitable to make mistakes when you're young, but it's important to respect yourself and have the determination to start over.
How could she pity her own daughter, thinking she was imperfect without a father? What exactly is a healthy person? Was the father who had called her "imperfect" healthy? Was he qualified to judge her?
The WeChat message vibrated four or five times in a row. She unlocked it and found that it was an invitation from two people.
Cen Shuo: "You didn't come this afternoon, so I thought you were home, but you turned out to be the one. So, I paid your electric bill. You're welcome. BTW, are you free this weekend? Let's go river trekking together?"
And the other person is the one I met unexpectedly today——
Jiang Shu: "Are you free this weekend? I've made a reservation at a French restaurant on the Bund. Their desserts are pretty good, and Ruxing will probably like them. Do you want to have dinner together?"
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