Chapter 59 Old Love Letters She is the mud beneath the earth, he is the cloud in the sky.
After arriving at the airport in the morning, Chen Jingchi told the others that Zhou Yu couldn't come. Upon learning this, Tan Bei canceled her ticket and decided to go to Xianhai to keep her company.
For her, the purpose of going to the concert was not only to see Zhan Li, but also to travel around with Zhou Yu. If Zhou Yu wasn't there, she would miss out on a lot of fun.
After all, the boys are all very busy and don't have time to spend with her all the time, so she gets bored when she's alone.
Zhou Yu didn't hide it from her and sent her the hospital's address.
It was almost 10 o'clock when she arrived at the hospital. Just then, a nurse was examining Liu Xianya's wound. She stood aside and watched. Although the wound had been treated, it still looked shocking to the naked eye. She couldn't imagine how dangerous it must have been at that moment. If the knife had been slightly off-center, it might have pierced her heart.
A wave of fear washed over Zhou Yu, who gritted his teeth and stood by for a long time.
After she arrived, Zhou Jinglong got up to handle the teahouse business and brought over Liu Xianya's daily necessities.
After the nurses left, Liu Xianya and Zhou Yu were alone in the ward. She tentatively asked, "How are things between you and Xiao Chen?"
Zhou Yu lowered his head, his expression unreadable, and said calmly, "It's just like that."
Liu Xianya looked at her for a while before asking, "What will you two do if you want to go abroad?"
Even long-distance relationships can break the hearts of loving couples, let alone international ones. Liu Xianya had been thinking about this ever since yesterday's conversation, but she couldn't ask Zhou Jinglong in front of him, so she could only wait for the right opportunity.
Zhou Yu remained silent, but in truth, they all knew the answer in their hearts; they just weren't willing to say it aloud.
She was always too confident in herself, believing that no matter how deeply she loved, she could always walk away in time. It wasn't until she woke up this morning, the panic of not being able to see Chen Jingchi, that caused her to have an emotional breakdown, and she realized that she couldn't continue like this.
Indulging in momentary pleasure and achieving physical satisfaction left her with a lingering emptiness that she could never fill, threatening to consume her reason.
The air in the ward was filled with a suffocating silence. Zhou Yu's gaze was unfocused, as if he were lost in thought or reminiscing.
She whispered, "Mom, I can't hold him back any longer."
Chen Jingchi's domestic tour is named after the title track of his third album, "Clouds and Mud".
He is the mud beneath the ground, and he is also the clouds in the sky.
It was almost a year ago when he wrote the lyrics for this song. At that time, he had not yet reached his current level of success. Every line of the lyrics contains Zhou Yu's most ardent and sincere expectations.
Now that his wish has come true, Chen Jingchi has become famous, but only now does Zhou Yu suddenly realize that the song title has already foreshadowed their fate.
She is the soil beneath the earth, and he is the cloud in the sky.
Perhaps because the wound was so close to her heart, Liu Xianya felt a slight pain in her chest. Zhou Yu's words about "delay" touched her most vulnerable nerve. During this time, all three of them had been living under immense pressure, and none of them had had an easy time.
If there were a better option, there might still be a chance to salvage the situation.
But they didn't.
*
Not long after, Tan Bei messaged her, saying that she had arrived downstairs.
Zhou Yu told Liu Xianya that she was coming over, and then went downstairs to meet her.
As soon as they met, Tan Bei let go of the suitcase handle and hugged her tightly: "It's okay, baby, don't be sad, I'm here with you."
She was a little shorter than Zhou Yu, so she had to stand on tiptoe to comfort her.
Faced with Tan Bei's kind intentions, Zhou Yu couldn't bring herself to say many things. She had always been a person with a heavy psychological burden and didn't want others to be affected by her, but Tan Bei was willing to give up the opportunity to go abroad to stay and accompany her.
A simple "thank you" is not enough to express the emotion she felt at that moment.
"How is Auntie now?" Tan Bei asked.
"It's alright." Zhou Yu turned his head and saw the fruit basket and nutritional supplements she had placed on her suitcase, and said softly, "Why did you buy more things?"
Tan Bei had stayed at her house for one night before and was fairly familiar with Liu Xianya. She smiled and said, "It wouldn't be right to come empty-handed, would it? Take me to meet Auntie, I want to chat with her."
Zhou Yu took her to the ward. Liu Xianya felt much better when she saw her, and the atmosphere was less somber when there were more people talking.
Whether it was Liu Xianya who gave the order or not, the two stayed in the ward until the afternoon. Zhou Jinglong did not return until after dinner. While Tan Bei was in the bathroom, Liu Xianya whispered to Zhou Yu, "Take her home. I'll have your father come over in a bit."
Tan Bei arrived, and Zhou Yu felt awkward asking her to stay with him at the hospital, nor could he leave her alone at home, so he could only listen to Liu Xianya. As the two left the hospital, Tan Bei asked curiously, "Who's going to take care of Auntie tonight?"
Perhaps it was out of trust in her, or perhaps the pressure of keeping it a secret was too great, but Zhou Yu explained the situation to her: "My dad will be coming."
Tan Bei paused on the stairs, hesitated for a second or two before catching up, and stammered, "Then...then why didn't I see Uncle?"
She couldn't possibly have been unaware of her father's story.
Tan Bei couldn't pretend; her emotions were always written on her face. Zhou Yu turned to look at her and said, "We didn't plan to tell you about our family situation at first."
She looked into her eyes and said, "My dad was released from prison recently."
The moment he said it, Zhou Yu realized it wasn't as difficult as he had imagined.
She wasn't trying to gain sympathy; if she had someone to confide in, Tan Bei was the best choice.
Tan Bei stared at her blankly for a moment, then came to her senses and said, "That's a good thing!"
Her reaction made Zhou Yu smile slightly: "Yes."
Tan Bei stepped forward and took her hand: "Once you get started, everything will be alright. Auntie will too, and so will you. Don't think about those worries anymore."
Zhou Yu hummed in agreement: "Thank you."
That evening, after Zhou Yu finished showering, she saw Tan Bei on a video call. She hung up after only a few seconds, seemingly afraid that Tan Bei would hear what was happening on the other end.
Zhou Yu dried her hair and said, "It's okay, don't worry about me, you guys chat."
“We’ve had enough.” Tan Bei put down her phone. “Zhan Li said the food there is bad, and he’s already tired of it after only two meals. There aren’t any Chinese restaurants where they live. It’s so pitiful.”
Zhou asked, "Didn't you tell them to bring Lao Gan Ma chili sauce and chili powder?"
"I posted it in the group, but nobody responded." Tan Bei shrugged. "Zhuo Wencheng even mocked me for dipping my food in chili sauce when I went abroad. Now he regrets it, doesn't he?"
Zhou Yu chuckled.
On her phone were several photos Chen Jingchi had sent her, the last one asking how her aunt was doing. Zhou Yu replied to each one, opening the larger images and looking at the bustling street scenes he had captured; it would be a lie to say she didn't yearn for them.
But the numerous tasks before her had already consumed all her energy.
The two slept in the same bed. Perhaps due to the fatigue of the journey, Tan Bei fell asleep quickly, but Zhou Yu was not sleepy for a long time.
Her mind had been filled with too many things these past few days, and she hadn't had a chance to sort them out properly. As soon as the night grew quiet, those things she didn't want to face began to spread endlessly, extending into all sorts of possibilities, none of which Zhou Yu wanted to see.
The one she was most bothered by was Chen Jingchi.
When he returns, Zhou wants to have a serious talk with him.
*
Tan Bei stayed with her in Xianhai for a few days. They went there during the day, and Zhou Jinglong took over at night. Liu Xianya's health was also recovering day by day. The day before school started, before the two of them were about to return to school, she said to Zhou Yu alone, "I put a pair of earrings in Beibei's schoolbag. Don't let her find out too early. This child is thoughtful."
Zhou Yu nodded in agreement.
Tan Bei took a week off, originally to go to the United States to see a concert, but ended up spending it all at the hospital with her. Liu Xianya felt bad about it and asked Zhou Jinglong to buy her a pair of pearl earrings as a gift.
On the high-speed train back to school, Zhou asked Tan Bei to put the bag in her suitcase, and she didn't suspect anything.
“We’re in a different time zone than Seattle,” she said, looking at her phone. “Tomorrow they start at 7 p.m., and it’s 10 a.m. here, so we should be in class.”
Zhou Yu nodded.
This concert will be broadcast live in collaboration with a platform, but I had a full schedule of classes on Monday morning, so there was only a ten-minute break in the middle of the two-hour concert.
“You can peek secretly,” Tan Bei said with a smile. “Just put your phone down there, the teacher won’t care anyway.”
"I can't hear anything like that." Zhou Yu wasn't brave enough to wear headphones in class.
“We don’t need their voices, we can just look at their faces.” Tan Bei wrinkled her nose and said softly, “To be honest, I’m almost tired of listening to them rehearse.”
Zhou Yu also chose the costumes for this performance. She thought that even if she couldn't watch the live broadcast, she would still watch the recorded version.
Upon arriving at school, the two parted ways in front of the dormitory building. Back in their dormitory, both An Kejia and Fan Xin were surprised to see her.
Fan Xin asked, "Zhou Zhou, you didn't go to America?"
An Kejia asked in surprise, "Didn't you already get your visa?"
Zhou Yu shook his head: "Something came up at home, so I couldn't go."
"Oh, that's a bit of a pity." Fan Xin said, then added, "It's okay, there's another one next month."
Just as Zhou Yu had laid his suitcase flat and was about to pack his things, Tan Bei called.
"I have a pair of pearl earrings in my bag. Did you give them to me?"
“It was a gift from my mother,” Zhou Yu explained. “She was very grateful for your care these past few days.”
"Oh, Auntie, you're too kind. I'm not taking care of you at all. We were just chatting." Tan Bei was a little embarrassed to accept the gift. "Is it very valuable? The pearls are very beautiful."
"It suits your temperament, keep it," Zhou Yu said. "It's her thoughtfulness."
"Then please thank your aunt for me. I don't even have her on WeChat." Tan Bei smiled. "I'll definitely add her next time we meet!"
"Okay," she replied.
That evening, Zhou Yu left her dormitory and walked towards the library. The road was almost deserted after eight or nine o'clock at night. After looking around and not seeing anyone, she called Zhou Jinglong.
At that moment, he was in the ward with Liu Xianya. After the call was connected, he asked her if she had forgotten anything.
"No, I wanted to ask you something," Zhou Yu said in a low voice. "Wouldn't it be less dangerous if you got a lawyer to help you?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jinglong smiled wryly: "Xiao Bao, I've asked several lawyers, and they all say it's impossible and that I should accept reality."
He's already served his time in prison, and the price of accepting reality is that he'll have to bear the stigma of being a corrupt official for the rest of his life.
He was unwilling to accept it, and so was Zhou Yu.
"When I have time, I'll ask a lawyer in Jiangbei to see if I can find someone to help me." Zhou Yu didn't want to miss any opportunity. "If someone is willing, I'll contact you."
She has been searching for information online these past few days and found several well-known law firms, which she plans to consult with one by one.
Not wanting to discourage her, Zhou Jinglong agreed, "Okay."
Zhou Yu took a deep breath and said, "Then tell me in detail what happened back then."
This means she has to tear open the not-yet-fully-healed scar again, exposing the bloody wound.
Despite having prepared himself mentally and trying to avoid sensitive words, Zhou Jinglong's heart clenched when he mentioned the bewilderment he felt when the label of embezzlement was suddenly slapped on his head. He still couldn't see the matter rationally.
After Zhou Jinglong finished his explanation, Zhou Yu had a general understanding of what had happened. Her voice tightened as she said, "I understand. Wait for my news."
"Xiao Bao," he said, then added, "Don't worry too much. It's okay if you don't find it. Just focus on your studies."
Zhou Yu's voice was so low that he could barely hear it himself: "Mmm."
*
The next morning, during the first period, when Zhou Yu appeared in the classroom, a girl in the front row turned around and asked with a smile, "Why are you at school? Did you have a fight with Chen Jingchi?"
Zhou Yu didn't have time to pay attention to her.
She followed several law firms' official WeChat accounts. Some allowed her to book a meeting directly on the website, while others required a phone appointment. Since most law firms did not work on weekends, Zhou Yu had to fill her weekdays with appointments and find time to see a lawyer after finishing her classes.
After finishing her last class in the morning, Zhou Yu and Fan Xin had lunch in the cafeteria, and then Zhou Yu took a taxi alone to the law firm she had booked. The assistant greeted her and, seeing how young she was, casually asked if she was a student from the neighborhood. Zhou Yu wasn't in the mood to chat with her and just nodded casually.
The lawyer Zhou was to meet had handled many high-profile cases, and his team's success rate in criminal cases was among the highest in the industry. Upon entering the meeting room, Zhou met the middle-aged man in front of him and first stated his demands in a few simple words.
Upon hearing that the case was from seven years ago, the man shook his head and said, "Young lady, I understand how you feel, but if these factors are really involved as you say, the chances of winning the case back then were very small, let alone now, it's basically impossible."
The lawyer who defended Zhou Jinglong back then didn't take his case seriously at all, and the two sides hadn't even met a few times before the trial.
Zhou Yu straightened her back and asked, "Is it basically impossible, or is it still possible?"
The man couldn't help but laugh: "I've already put it very tactfully, I didn't want to upset you."
Just as Zhou Yu was about to get up, he said again, "If you go to other law firms, no one will dare to take your case. Going against those people will not end well. I advise your father not to be too persistent. He has already been released from prison. Why go back and get himself into trouble again?"
Zhou bowed slightly to him and said, "Thank you."
She knew he was telling the truth, but she was unwilling to let it go.
However, reality taught her a harsh lesson.
As he said, in the following days, Zhou Yu went out at noon and in the afternoon to meet with many lawyers, no less than twenty in total, but was repeatedly turned down. Nobody wanted to get into trouble, and well-meaning people advised her to give up the idea, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope, she wanted to try again.
During the last class on Friday afternoon, Chen Jingchi sent her a message saying that he and his group had returned to Jiangbei that afternoon and asked her to come to his apartment for dinner the next evening.
Zhou replied "okay" and moved his meeting appointment with the law firm from tomorrow afternoon to this afternoon. He already had an appointment, and if he acted quickly with the first lawyer, he should have enough time.
However, just before class ended, her advisor sent her a message asking her to come to the administration office after class.
She became somewhat anxious, worried that the counselor's conversation would take too long and waste her time; it was a rare opportunity for her to be contacted, and it had to be at this particular time.
An Kejia seems to have settled down recently. Now in her second semester of junior year, she's worried that she might graduate without ever having experienced love. These past few days, she's been talking about it in her dorm, planning to find someone she feels comfortable with to date.
Seeing that she was serious, Fan Xin busied herself analyzing the male guests' strengths and weaknesses for her, even more enthusiastically than about her own affairs. At this moment, the two were discussing their chat history.
Zhou Yu didn't participate in their conversation; she focused all her attention on the case. The repeated rejections over a dozen times had dampened her confidence. She stopped insisting on top-tier law firms and made appointments with some less well-known lawyers, hoping to try her luck.
After class, she went to the administration office. Several students were already standing in front of the counselor's seat, but she didn't recognize any of them except for the class monitor, Luo Yanghui.
The counselor glanced at her standing at the door and said, "Everyone's here, everyone's here. Come closer, I need to talk to you about something."
Zhou Yu stood at the very back, leaning against the corner of the wall, feeling sleepy. He hadn't slept well for several nights, and now that he was slightly relaxed, sleepiness washed over him.
She just wanted the counselor to finish speaking quickly; she was in a hurry to see someone.
“Our college has a 3+1+2 undergraduate and master’s degree program in cooperation with Ireland. Every year, five people are selected from the three majors of Chinese Language, Chinese Literature and International Education to participate. You five are the lucky ones this year.”
The lucky ones he mentioned relied entirely on hard work; only those who ranked first or second in their major were eligible to be selected for this project.
"You've probably heard from previous students that if you apply this year, you can go directly there in August to be an exchange student for a year. If your grades meet the requirements, you can be recommended for a master's program in intercultural and applied linguistics. You'll graduate with degrees from both universities."
Zhou Yu's drowsiness vanished instantly, and she abruptly looked in his direction.
“The tuition fees in Europe are a bit more expensive, but the opportunity is also very rare. You guys can go back and discuss it with your parents.” He took out his phone. “I’ll create a group now and send you the documents. The application deadline is in May, but if you really want to go, I suggest you take the language test as soon as possible.”
The counselor created a QQ group and posted the detailed rules.
Zhou Yu opened the document and read it from beginning to end. The combination of the three words "exchange student," "guaranteed postgraduate admission," and "studying abroad" indeed represented a very valuable opportunity.
"If you need anything, you can ask me in the group chat. Okay, I'm off work now." The counselor stood up from her seat with a smile. "You guys should go eat too, the cafeteria is going to have a long line."
The five people left the office. Luo Yanghui, who was more familiar with Zhou Yu, asked her, "Are you going?"
Zhou Yu looked over and said to himself, "I really want to go. It would be great not having to do my senior year."
She neither confirmed nor denied it, only saying, "I'll ask my parents."
It's only March now, and there are still two months until the registration deadline.
On the way to the law firm, Zhou Yu looked at the documents for the study abroad program repeatedly, feeling hesitant.
Her top priority right now is to find a reliable lawyer for her father, but this task is far more difficult than Zhou Yu imagined. If she can't find one in Jiangbei, she'll have to go to other big cities to continue searching, and she might miss the application deadline for this project.
Upon arriving at the law firm, the lawyer didn't reject her outright after just a few words, as he had done with the others before. Instead, he asked for details about the incident. A glimmer of hope rose in Zhou Yu's heart, and after chatting with him for a while, she revealed some details.
But the more the other party listened, the more serious their expression became. In the end, they shook their head and said, "It's too difficult. You must have consulted lawyers who are more famous than me, right? Were they all too afraid to take the case?"
Zhou Yu nodded silently.
"How should I put it," he told her bluntly, "that your case could really harm the lawyer himself, you understand?"
She understood, so she bowed to every lawyer who had given her advice.
Zhou Yu felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. She thanked him as usual, then got up to say goodbye.
His words dimmed the already faint flame in Zhou Yu's heart. She took the elevator down, and the streets were bustling with traffic during rush hour, the headlights forming an endless line. Looking at the crowds, she suddenly felt disoriented.
She wasted almost half an hour here, and when she arrived at the next law firm, she found that it was already closed for the day.
I shouldn't have rushed to meet this afternoon.
Zhou Yu hesitated at the door for a moment. She hadn't eaten dinner yet and planned to grab something nearby. Just as she reached a noodle shop across the street and was about to sit down, her phone rang. It was an unknown number.
She answered: "Hello?"
"Is this Ms. Zhou?" came a rather mature female voice from the other end.
“It’s me,” Zhou Yu asked. “And who are you?”
"I'm Jiang Yueying. You asked me today to discuss the case. Did you come?"
The name sounded familiar, and Zhou Yu remembered that it came from a law firm that had just closed. He asked in confusion, "I'm here, but the law firm is closed."
“I’m nearby, in a red car.” She read out the license plate number.
Zhou Yu hurriedly came out of the noodle shop and immediately saw the car parked on the side of the road below the law firm. She had glanced at it when she passed by just now.
She crossed the road again, walked to the car window, and saw a woman in her thirties sitting inside. She wore a black coat, had short hair that reached her chin, looked capable, and had very delicate makeup.
She rolled down the car window and raised an eyebrow: "Get in."
When Zhou Yu sat in the passenger seat, she smelled a very fresh, herbal fragrance that wasn't cloying at all. Before she could speak, Jiang Yueying rolled up the window and said, "I heard from a friend that you've been consulting lawyers everywhere these past few days about your father, is that right?"
Zhou Yu's matter has probably spread among lawyers as well. She nodded and said in a low voice, "I know this is a difficult matter."
"Let's not talk about how difficult it is." Jiang Yueying turned to look at her. "Tell me about it."
She had said this countless times these past few days, she knew it by heart, she could recite it from beginning to end without even thinking. Although this woman seemed reliable, Zhou Yu felt there was a very high probability that she would get the same answer.
After she finished speaking, her straight back relaxed a little, and she turned to look at the woman with a calm gaze.
Jiang Yueying nodded occasionally as she listened to her speak, and asked, "Is that all?"
Zhou Yu didn't want to repeat herself like before, where she talked a lot but still ended up being rejected. Perhaps finding a sliver of comfort in being a woman herself, Zhou Yu took a deep breath and asked, "Sister, do you really think my dad has a chance?"
Jiang Yueying's delicate eyebrows furrowed: "Even you, as her daughter, feel there's no hope. Who else can you expect to help you?"
Zhou Yu lowered his head, unable to speak.
She seemed to understand Zhou Jinglong's feelings when he called that day. When everyone told her that this wouldn't work, she really began to waver.
Once such signs appeared, even Zhou Yu began to despise himself.
A few seconds later, she heard Jiang Yueying ask, "Where is your dad right now?"
Zhou Yu was taken aback and subconsciously avoided mentioning the place name: "Hometown".
“Buy him a ticket and have him come over tomorrow.” Jiang Yueying turned the car key and started the car. “I want to talk to him in person.”
Zhou Yu paused for two seconds, then suddenly gripped her seatbelt tightly, unable to believe what she had just heard. She raised her voice, "Are you willing to help us?"
Jiang Yueying turned the steering wheel with one hand and chuckled, "I'll give you some hope, but I can't guarantee the outcome. I can only guarantee that I will do my best."
She had been rejected so many times these past few days that she was numb, and thought the chances were almost nonexistent. But unexpectedly, there was still a glimmer of hope. Overwhelmed with joy, she was so happy that she didn't know what to do.
She couldn't help but ask, "Why are you helping us?"
Jiang Yueying stretched out her arm, pulled over her seatbelt and fastened it in one swift motion, saying, "I'm also from Quanshan. I'll do this for the sake of us being from the same hometown."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you so much for the landmines and nutrient solutions, everyone!!! [Purple Heart][Purple Heart]
Yvonne :) threw a landmine
Reader "chow" added 6 units of nutrient solution to the water.
Reader "Lily" watered with nutrient solution +5
Reader "Ghostwriter" added 1 unit of nutrient solution to the water.
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