20 "Have you forgotten that I was the one who abandoned you first?"
The New Year's Eve dinner turned into frozen dumplings. Wen Dongyang followed them upstairs to have a bite at the insistence of the two.
After dinner, Huang Zheng sent him out. While waiting for the elevator, she looked at him and said, "Thank you for today."
Lanhu Community has one apartment per floor, and the corridors are quiet and soundproof. Wen Dongyang heard the fatigue in her tone and looked up to see that her eyes were still red, her makeup was mottled, and her lips were pale. She still looked shaken.
He felt a little distressed, and his tone was lighter when he answered, "Don't be polite with me, if you have anything, you can come to me, I'm happy to help."
The elevator doors opened, and Wen Dongyang walked in, waving at her. The two doors slowly closed, and the words echoing in Huang Zheng's ears created a tiny ripple in her heart, but it only lasted a few seconds before calming down.
She had long lost all hope for love. People can expect anything except feelings.
After returning to the house, Huang Zheng saw Tao Wanjia washing dishes in the kitchen and walked over to stop him.
"I'm almost done," Tao Wanjia said, blocking her behind the sink. "Don't get your hands dirty."
Huang Zheng watched her skillfully wash the dishes, remembering how she always hid when they took turns washing dishes as children. The more her parents praised Tao Wanjia for her intelligence and ability, the more rebellious she became. Often, Tao Wanjia would do the things she was supposed to do instead.
Thinking about it now, Huang Zheng felt that she had gone too far. Even if she was her biological sister, she shouldn't be bossy, especially since they weren't related by blood.
"Shengsheng asked me to stay and sleep with her, and I have already agreed to her."
Turn off the faucet, Tao Wanjia's words clearly interrupted Huang Zheng.
She came back to her senses and took a piece of kitchen paper to wipe her hands, "Okay."
The answer was calm, but a whirlwind seemed to be blowing in another lake in my heart.
The elders often say that children are the glue between two people, and Huang Zheng feels that this applies equally to them. She was just thinking about how to keep Tao Wanjia, but her accomplished daughter took the initiative to help her.
But she didn't know that even if the child didn't say it, Tao Wanjia would stay tonight.
After so much going on all day, she couldn't rest easy even if she left. Besides, today was New Year's Eve. Although she had no expectations for the holiday, she and Huang Zheng were each other's only family in the world. Since she was here, they should be reunited.
There was a moment of silence, and when the kitchen suddenly became quiet, Huang Shengsheng trotted in.
"Mom, Auntie, I want to take a bath! I want to smell nice so I can wear my new dress tomorrow!"
Tao Wanjia and Huang Zheng did as they were told, carrying the child to the bathroom, one running the water while the other undressed. Huang Shengsheng sat obediently in the bathtub, her white, tender hands like lotus roots.
She was in a good mood, flicking the water with her fingers from time to time, looking at the two people in front of her with a smile and asking: "Can you sleep with me tonight?"
Tao Wanjia and Huang Zheng looked at each other, then smiled and nodded in agreement.
With Huang Shengsheng around, the atmosphere quickly became lively, with laughter and joy in the bathroom. The usually quiet and empty house finally had a New Year atmosphere.
After showering, the three of them returned to the bedroom. Tao Wanjia, wearing the same new pajamas as Huang Zheng, lay on either side of the bed. Huang Shengsheng slept between them and fell asleep as soon as she got into bed.
At midnight, the two people who had been unable to fall asleep for a long time sat up. In the dim light of the desk lamp, two shadows were reflected on the opposite side of the wall, getting closer and closer.
The moment the red envelopes were shown at the same time, Tao Wanjia and Huang Zheng both chuckled unconsciously.
Huang Zheng raised her finger and asked in a hushing voice, "Why are you ready too?"
"I gave it to Shengsheng, and I'll give it to you too."
Tao Wanjia's eyes lit up as he stuffed the red envelope into her palm, "Happy New Year!"
Outside the window, fireworks are set off one after another, and the deep-layered ice and snow are quietly melting in the noise.
After dinner the next day, Tao Wanjia left Lanhu Community.
She and Huang Zheng had agreed to go to the cemetery together to pay respects to their parents on the second day of the Lunar New Year. When the taxi passed by a paper-making shop, Tao Wanjia got off early.
The street was deserted under the dimly lit streetlights. A taxi pulled up just as another one pulled up. Even during the Lunar New Year holiday, the streets were much quieter than usual. Tao Wanjia glanced back as he heard the brakes screeching before pushing open the wooden door.
Strangely, no one came down from inside.
She glanced at the car window, and for some reason, a sense of uneasiness suddenly arose in her heart.
She was very familiar with this feeling, but it had been so long that she was a little unsure.
The lady sitting at the counter was cracking melon seeds. Tao Wanjia used a mirror behind her to see that the car outside was still motionless, which confirmed his guess by 60%.
"Or four copies?" The old lady recognized her, picked up a large plastic bag and stood up to put it in.
"Wait a minute." Tao Wanji paused after thinking for a moment. "I've settled the bill. Can I come back tomorrow morning to pick it up?"
She wanted to confirm whether she was being followed; holding something in her hand would be too conspicuous and easy to identify. Seeing the woman agree, Tao Wanjia put on her down jacket and hood after paying the bill, and deliberately slowed down her pace.
I walked forward with my back to the taxi, and when I passed the residential complex, I saw a familiar car parked at the door.
The man who had been waiting in the car for a long time saw her figure, opened the car door and walked towards her from the other side of the road. He Yu smiled, and even in the dim light, one could see the brilliance in his eyes.
Tao Wanjia's mind was full of the thought of being followed. He ignored his footsteps and walked straight ahead without looking back.
"Where are you going?"
He Yu caught up with her and tugged at her sleeve, "You're not even going home?"
"I don't have a home." Tao Wanji stopped and turned to look at him, his eyes suddenly turning cold. "What are you doing here? Didn't you say you wouldn't harass me?"
The cold wind blew over my head, my temples were frozen and painful, and the low temperature made my brain a mess.
He Yu fell silent, and the smile on his face disappeared in an instant, because Tao Wanjia returned to the initial indifferent expression he had when they met again.
After hesitating for a moment, he had to use the gift bag in his hand to speak, "I just came back from South City, this is for you."
It is lychee pastry, a specialty of Nancheng. She loves sweets and has loved it since she was a child.
Tao Wanjia took it and saw a wrinkled newspaper inside the bag. The streetlight was dim, but she immediately recognized its origin.
After a moment of silence, she stared at him, "He Yu, are you always so interesting?"
She was trying hard to hide her secret past that was about to be discovered by him or had already been discovered by him. It was a flammable line that he could not easily know, let alone cross and stand by her side.
Because then he would also be forced to ignite.
"What's wrong with me?"
He Yu's lips curled up helplessly, and he was stunned when he saw the newspaper in her hand. At that time, his flight was delayed, and he was bored in the VIP waiting room, so he just picked up a newspaper.
He admitted that he had returned to South City for her, but he hadn't found anything about her after searching for a long time. On the contrary, he had a pretty good idea of Zhao Kuo's information and resume. Her ex-boyfriend was actually quite talented.
"I just came to see you, you—"
"Don't think I don't know why you went back. Isn't it to check on me? Have you forgotten what I told you last time?"
Tao Wanjia interrupted him and didn't want to give him the chance to explain, so he threw the paper and the box back to him.
The movements were quick and accurate. He Yu felt a pain on the back of his hand. When he looked up again, he found that the indifference in her eyes was even greater than before.
"Stop trying to test me and understand me. Stay away from me! Have you forgotten that I was the one who abandoned you first?"
At this moment, Tao Wanji was like a terminally ill patient who was desperately trying to hide her illness for the sake of her self-esteem. She didn't want to and wasn't willing to face the warmth from others or even her lover anymore. She only thought about how to sever these relationships as quickly as possible.
She couldn't wait any longer, and she didn't have time to wait any longer.
The cold wind howled wildly in the dark night, and He Yu's heart was torn apart.
Staring at Tao Wanjia in a daze, how could he forget?
He clearly remembered how he ran all the way back from Jingping Hospital despite everyone's obstruction.
That day, the sky over Rongcheng was like a blaze, and sweat streamed down his forehead with every step he took. His face was pale, and the wound on his arm had opened from the intense movement, and bright red blood seeped onto the gauze.
"Tao Wanjia, I'm just a piece of your luggage, right? You use me to keep warm when it's cold, and then kick me away when you don't need me anymore, right?"
He refused to believe it, and his left hand, the only hand he could move, held the phone tightly against the receiver.
"yes!"
She said in a resolute tone, "So you don't need to look for me. I never liked this place. I hate the steel mill, I hate all of them, and I hate you even more."
"I'm going to a new world without all of you. A new world that is the best for me."
After many years, He Yu finally saw the expression on her face when she said those harsh words.
The ruthlessness and coldness in Tao Wanji's eyes at this moment should be exactly the same as that day.
Precisely because it was right in front of him, it had a greater impact than any sound, and the memory that was deeply engraved in his mind became two sharp swords that pierced his heart.
"I haven't forgotten."
After a long time, He Yu spoke.
He approached her, his frank eyes meeting her wandering gaze from top to bottom, "But I also remember that you were the first one to kiss me in Qieyang three years ago."
Tao Wanjia subconsciously dodged backwards, looking over his shoulder.
The man's voice was hoarse, and his eyes, glaring in the cold wind, gradually turned red.
"Tao Wanjia, you told me to stay away from you, so why did you provoke me in the first place?"
"You know I'm a stubborn person. I've been bullied by you without any status. Do you think I will let it go?"
At this point, He Yu knew there was no turning back between them. But even if it was hatred, even if it was such an unclear entanglement, he could let it go, as long as she didn't deny everything between them and didn't treat him as a stranger.
But he obviously underestimated Tao Wanjia's ruthlessness.
She looked at him again with a face full of sarcasm. Tao Wanji smiled, and the corners of his upturned mouth trembled slightly.
But the words were still cold and hard, as if putting him in an ice cave——
"He Yu, don't think you are so important,"
She looked him straight in the eyes and paused, "I have been using you from the beginning to the end."
The wind cut across his face like a knife. He Yu finally smiled. Not wanting to humiliate himself any further, he turned around and left.
The car drove away. Tao Wanjia wiped his face, glanced behind him and continued forward.
She quickened her pace and walked a long way until she entered an alley without street lights.
She breathed a sigh of relief when there was no sound around her and took out her cell phone from her pocket.
"Hello?" Zhao Kuo answered quickly. "Happy New Year! I was wondering why you didn't reply to my message."
"Old Zhao."
Tao Wanjia looked cautiously towards the exit, with a hint of discontent in his tone.
"From now on, I will share my real-time location with you every day until I leave Rongcheng. Do you understand?"
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