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Seeing Ye Wenyu running away in tears, Cai Wenchuan knew it was all over, everything was over. It was his own fault; he hadn't known how to cherish her before, hurting her the most, so there was no turning back, no way to make amends.
He felt a "thud," and all the blood drained from the soles of his feet. His body was ice-cold, and he felt like he was made of wood, unable to speak or move.
His mind went blank, a buzzing sound filled his ears, and he had no idea where he was. It was late at night, and the cold dew dripped onto his body, quickly soaking his clothes, but he didn't feel uncomfortable.
He held the brocade box, feeling its weight as if it were a red-hot piece of iron. He sat on the concrete steps of the rubber playground for a long time, seemingly dumbfounded, unsure how to go home and explain everything to his parents.
He didn't know how much time had passed until the night was deep, a full moon emerged from behind the clouds and hung high in the sky once more. The night dew was heavy, and the large leaves of the banana trees not far away were covered with glistening dewdrops. There wasn't a single person jogging on the playground anymore, and a few dim stars shone in the sky. Only then did he stand up and slowly drive home.
When he got home, it was already late at night. He was exhausted, as if he had walked the Long March. His bones ached so much that they felt like they were going to fall apart. He dragged his heavy steps to his room on the second floor and fell asleep as soon as he lay down.
When Cai Wenchuan woke up the next day, he was awakened by his mother's questioning. He groggily opened his eyes and saw his mother holding the red brocade box in trembling hands, her eyes red and brimming with tears. She asked him in a trembling voice, "This, this, isn't this the gold bracelet I gave to Xiaoyu? How did it end up with you? What happened?!"
The mother's face was as pale as a dead person.
Cai Wenchuan breathed a sigh of relief. Last night, he was still thinking about how to explain this to his parents. He didn't expect them to find out on their own today. Great, it saves him the trouble of explaining everything to them.
Therefore, Cai Wenchuan sat up halfway on the bed, looking away, and said to his mother with some guilt, "Mom, Xiaoyu doesn't like me, so the engagement doesn't count, and she returned the bracelet to us." His voice was hoarse as if he had suddenly contracted a serious throat ailment.
He was completely lost about the future, feeling as if he were standing at a crossroads, surrounded by cars on all sides, in a very dangerous situation, and he didn't know which way to go.
He thought Xiaoyu would agree to be with him, and with her help, his life would gradually get back on track, he would get rid of his inner demons, and live a free and peaceful life.
Now it seems that everything was wishful thinking. He had thought of everything, but he never expected that Xiaoyu was such a proud girl.
The more someone lacks love, the higher their demand for love actually becomes.
Cai Wenchuan's mother took a step back in shock, her hands and feet trembling like leaves in a storm. She suddenly turned around and shouted downstairs, "Old Cai, Old Cai, come quick!"
My body swayed, as if I had experienced an earthquake or tsunami.
Cai Wenchuan's father arrived quickly, running upstairs.
Holding the large red brocade box, Cai Wenchuan's mother seemed to have suddenly fallen seriously ill, and cried to him, "Wenchuan said that Xiaoyu doesn't like him, so he returned the bracelet, and the engagement doesn't count! Waaah! Susu clearly likes our family very much, Xiaoyu is a smart girl, and Wenchuan is a good boy. What on earth is going on?"
Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and as she looked at the home she had managed for so many years and the son she had raised with such difficulty, she suddenly felt utterly hopeless.
"What a load of rubbish!" Cai Wenchuan's father suddenly roared like thunder. Looking at his wife's wrinkled face and her head full of white hair, he glared angrily at Cai Wenchuan and shouted at him, "Tell me, why doesn't she like you?!" His voice was like thunder.
Cai Wenchuan was stunned for a moment, his mouth opened and closed, and after a while, he slowly said with a pale face, "Do I need a reason to like or dislike someone?" Although he said that, his mind was as clear as a mirror.
She refused because she knew he didn't love her.
Cai Wenchuan's mother cried, "It's impossible! She liked you so much when she was little!"
Cai Wenchuan's father clenched his fists, his old face as black as the bottom of a pot. This unfilial son! He's thirty years old and still causes his parents so much worry. We shouldn't have given birth to him!
Cai Wenchuan looked uneasy, his face as pale as paper. He hurriedly replied, "Mom, people grow up, and people's hearts change. If you liked someone when you were a child, will you still like them when you grow up?" He had liked Xiaoyu very much when he was a child. But now he realized that it was just the feeling of an older brother for a younger sister. He knew who the love of his life was from the moment he moved into this cabin in the woods.
He is a slave to his emotions, imprisoned in a cage. His parents want to free him through another good girl, but he now knows that it's probably impossible.
How can someone selfishly expect others to rescue them? Besides, she's a proud and aloof girl; why would she want to rescue him?
The image of Ye Wenyu's tearful, reproachful face flashed through his mind, and the guilt in his heart burned like a raging fire.
He suddenly remembered what Lin Tingfeng had once told him: it is shameful for a man to expect a little girl to save him. Yes, he was utterly shameful!
Cai Wenchuan covered his face with his hands in pain, his body hunched over as if he were still in his mother's womb.
The mother cried uncontrollably.
Cai Wenchuan's father roared, "Is it your heart that has changed, or hers? Tell me!!" His voice was like thunder.
Cai Wenchuan's expression grew increasingly somber, the light in his eyes like a setting sun. He fell silent, gazing at the green camphor trees outside the window, his body motionless like a wooden statue.
The past is like ice, yet also like fluttering butterflies, lingering in his heart for a long time.
Cai Wenchuan's father witnessed all of this and was overcome with rage. He suddenly turned around and ran downstairs, then picked up a chainsaw that had been abandoned in the storage room for many years. He rushed to the camphor tree, turned on the chainsaw, and began to chop down the tree with gritted teeth.
It's all because of this evil tree!
With a buzzing sound of a chainsaw starting up, the large tree outside the window began to shake violently.
Cai Wenchuan was in a daze when he suddenly saw the tree branches outside the window shaking horribly as if they had been hit by a category 9 typhoon. He realized something and rushed to the window. He saw the big tree downstairs shaking horribly as if it had been hit by an earthquake. He screamed, "Dad, no!" and ran downstairs.
However, it was too late. When Cai Wenchuan came downstairs, he heard a loud "bang," and the camphor tree had already collapsed, barely alive. Leaves and dust rose everywhere, bird nests fell, birds flew away in fright, and broken branches, fallen leaves, and black fruits were scattered all over the ground.
It seemed to be crying silently.
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