Chapter 35 Spring Youth (18) In the summer of nineteen, she must...
"Dad, when can I go home?"
Facing Lin Xia's request, Lin Xuedong on the phone did not give a direct answer.
"Wait a little longer. Dad's going on a business trip soon, and there's no one home when you go back. Stay at your grandma's for a while. The typhoon will be over in a few days."
Lin Xia also knew that in order to take care of herself in her senior year of high school, Lin Xuedong had turned down many arrangements from his company over the past six months. Now that the college entrance examination was finally over, he was finally going to make up for the missed work. Naturally, he had no energy to take care of himself at this time.
"What about Mom? Should I go find Mom?"
"Your mother doesn't have time either. It's summer vacation and that's when their institution is recruiting students. It wouldn't be convenient for you to go there."
"oh."
Now she really had nowhere to go, and Lin Xia was a little depressed.
Suddenly, she remembered something and asked tentatively:
"Grandpa, how is everything going lately? How is Grandpa's health?"
"Your grandfather...is not in good health." Lin Xuedong's tone suddenly became serious. "He will be admitted to the hospital for a second surgery soon."
Lin Xia was stunned. She had indeed heard He Chuan say that Lin Haisheng was at risk of recurrence. She hadn't expected him to have to undergo another surgery so soon. How long had it been since the first surgery? Only a little over a year.
"Why is this happening..." Lin Xia murmured.
"Because of his illness, the most important thing is rest, but he refused to listen to the doctor's advice and continued to drag his sick body around giving lectures and writing inscriptions. There was a constant stream of people visiting him every day. How could he possibly recover? I told him to go back to Wangchun, but he refused to listen. I don't know if it was just his stubborn temper or that woman's idea! Which is more important, life or calligraphy? How come those people who are born with empty fame and who treat money like dirt all their lives are so depressed in their old age!"
Lin Xuedong became angrier and angrier as he spoke, and in the end he even lost his composure and yelled out loud, which frightened Lin Xia.
She knew that there was a deep conflict between the father and son, but this conflict had always been just vague words and phrases, at least it had never erupted in front of her. This was the first time she heard Lin Xuedong accuse Lin Haisheng.
After all, there was a generation between them. Lin Xia wasn't close to Lin Haisheng, but it wasn't like she had any resentment towards him. This time, when she was admitted to Tsinghua University, Lin Haisheng even gave her a very generous red envelope. Whether it was for Tsinghua or Lin Xia, the money was ultimately given to her, and Lin Xia wouldn't be ungrateful. A harmonious family is the key to success. The deterioration of the relationship between Lin Haisheng and Lin Xuedong was certainly not something Lin Xia welcomed, and there was also a woman, He Ping, standing between them. If He Ping and Lin Xuedong turned against each other, her relationship with He Chuan would only become more awkward.
After yelling, Lin Xuedong felt a little regretful and just wanted to end the topic hastily:
"Xia Xia, don't ask too much about these things. These are matters between adults. You don't have to worry about them."
At this time, she became the child in the family who had no right to know.
But Lin Xia didn't want to end the topic like this. She was still eager to learn about He Chuan from Lin Xuedong, even if it was just a little bit. This was her only way to understand him now. So she could only bite the bullet and change the subject abruptly:
"Oh, Dad, I heard... I think my mom mentioned it last time, that Aunt He Ping's son, what's his name, went abroad for an exchange, right?"
"You mean He Chuan?"
Regarding Lin Xia's irrelevant question, Lin Xuedong didn't doubt it, but he was a little confused:
"Who told you that? Did you remember the wrong person? He hasn't left the country. At least when I spoke to your grandfather on the phone last week, he was still in Beijing, and he probably won't be leaving the country in the short term."
Lin Xuedong said casually,
"He was in a car accident, very serious. Your grandfather told me where he was injured, but I forgot. Xia Xia, you must have remembered the wrong person."
......
Song Ci was reading in the room when she heard the door open. She knew it was Lin Xia who had returned from the balcony after making a phone call, so she said without raising her head or opening her eyes:
"Just now the news reported that the typhoon warning has been downgraded and traffic has been reopened. Although we can't go to the beach, we should be able to go out and play tomorrow. Grandma said she would take us around the city. Where do you want to go?"
After waiting for a long time without receiving any answer, Song Ci looked up in confusion and saw Lin Xia leaning against the wall, his face pale and dazed, as if he was about to fall.
Song Ci was startled and quickly went up to support her:
"What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
Unexpectedly, Lin Xia grabbed his arm tightly, as if he was grabbing the last straw.
"Song Ci! Song Ci, do you know a senior from our school? The one who got admitted to Peking University three years ago?"
After hearing Lin Xuedong's words just now, Lin Xia felt a buzzing in her head and everything went blank.
He Chuan was in a car accident? Was he injured? When did it happen? Was it serious? Is he feeling better now? Is this why he hasn't contacted her? Why hasn't he told her? Why?
She had no recollection of how she hung up the phone with Lin Xuedong or returned to her room. All she could think about was how she could find out how he was doing. Who could she ask to find out about his condition?
Lin Xuedong definitely wouldn't do it. He'd get suspicious if he asked any more. Zhao Qianyi was even more out of the question. She was even more cautious than Lin Xuedong. Lin Haisheng? Or He Ping? Whoever it was, contacting them out of the blue would be incredibly abrupt. Or maybe she'd just go for it and ask directly. She was worried about him, concerned about him. She didn't care about their reactions or their attitudes. She just wanted to know if he was okay.
Just as she was feeling overwhelmed, a name suddenly flashed through Lin Xia's mind - Tan Zhizhou. He was He Chuan's best friend, and they had been in contact for many years. They had a very close relationship. If anything happened to He Chuan, he would definitely know!
Lin Xia didn't have any contact information for Tan Zhizhou, but the two of them were not unrelated. At least they were both graduates of Experimental High School. He was the top scorer in the liberal arts in the city three years ago, and the only student from Wangchun City who was admitted to Peking University or Tsinghua University in recent years. There must be someone in the school who knew him!
So she tried every possible means to seek help from Song Ci who was beside her.
But Song Ci is not the kind of person who is very sociable. After hearing Lin Xia's question, he was confused:
"That senior named Tan something? I've heard of him, but I don't know him. What do you want to see him about?"
"Something! I have something to ask him, and I need to ask him right now!"
Seeing Lin Xia's anxious look on the verge of tears, Song Ci quickly helped her think about how to find this senior and who around could contact him. Suddenly, she had an idea:
"Oh, right. When I was in freshman year, I remember a classmate took a history notebook. It was said to belong to the top scorer in the liberal arts class of the previous year. His mother and the senior's father worked together, and he even asked the senior for advice on study. Many classmates borrowed the notebook and made copies. He must have that person's contact information."
Lin Xia's heart instantly ignited with hope: "Then quickly ask that classmate of yours!"
"Don't worry, I'll ask him now."
Song Ci opened her phone and found her classmate. Fortunately, he was online. After explaining the situation, he was very straightforward and gave her the number directly, asking them to add him themselves.
Unfortunately, when I searched for the number, it showed that the other party was offline.
Lin Xia's heart sank, Song Ci was very calm:
"Maybe it's invisibility. Let's apply first. It will count when it's added. There's no other way now."
After sending the friend request, Lin Xia didn't dare to move. She just held the phone and stared at it motionlessly, constantly pressing the button to light up the black screen, for fear of missing the message.
Three minutes later, the friend request was approved.
When the prompt sounded, Lin Xia felt like her heart was about to jump out of her throat.
After going through so many twists and turns to find the person, Lin Xia didn't bother to exchange pleasantries and asked directly:
[Senior Tan, I’m Lin Xia, do you still remember me? ]
[Have you contacted He Chuan recently? Did...something happen to him?]
The other party did not respond for a long time, and only sent a string of numbers half a day later, which looked like a phone number.
Lin Xia and Song Ci looked at each other.
"Let's call and see. Maybe it's not clear enough through text messages." Song Ci guessed.
Lin Xia had no choice but to dial the number with trepidation. Fortunately, the other party answered quickly, and it was indeed Tan Zhizhou's voice:
"Lin Xia?"
"It's me, Senior Tan."
"What do you want from me?"
"I want to ask you about He Chuan's situation..."
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"
"He didn't reply to my messages or answer my calls." Lin Xia felt a little aggrieved, her voice choking with sobs. "He told me he was going abroad..."
"What the hell is going on between you two? I really don't understand!"
"I don't understand either." Lin Xia smiled bitterly.
Tan Zhizhou sighed, "All I know is that last week, he was in a taxi and was hit by a drunk driver. The taxi driver died on the spot, and he was in a coma and shock. He was rushed to the hospital by 120. He was seriously injured and underwent major surgery. He was saved, but I don't know the details of his current situation. If you want to know, go and ask him in person."
After seeing Lin Xia finish the call, Song Ci's condition became even worse. She was in a state of disarray, muttering:
"I'm going to Beijing, right now, right now..."
As he said that, he grabbed his coat and was about to go out.
"Why are you going to Beijing so late?"
Song Ci hurriedly pulled her back, pressed her down on the bed, pinched her face with both hands, forced her to look at him, and said to her:
"I've heard a little bit from what you've been saying. Your friend was in a car accident, right? Listen, since it's already happened, there's no point in you going now. You're not a doctor or a nurse, so you can't help much. Even if you're really worried and have to go, look at your current state. Others didn't make it, and you're the next one to get into an accident. Besides, would your grandma and uncle let you go to Beijing alone?"
"So, what you need to do now is take a deep breath, calm down, and we will take a long-term view."
Song Ci was always the calmest and most sober person in any situation. She possessed a maturity and composure beyond her years, and Lin Xia always listened to her words. Following her clear and logical analysis, Lin Xia leaned back on the bed, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to control her emotions. She calmed down, calmed down again...
I don't know how long it took, until Lin Xia felt that her hands stopped shaking, her breathing was not so rapid, her heartbeat was not so violent, and she was basically calm. Then she spoke in a hoarse voice:
"I still want to go see him, so I can feel at ease..."
Song Ci was lying beside her and almost fell asleep, but she woke up again when she made a sound. She yawned and said vaguely:
"I knew you had to go, so now let's figure out how to get there."
"Do you have any ideas?" Lin Xia turned to look at Song Ci. Now she could only rely on her.
"Actually, I've been thinking about this for a while now. First, you definitely can't go alone. If you want to go, I have to go with you so your parents can be at ease. Second, we definitely can't say we're going to Beijing, because that's where we all have to go to school at the start of the semester, and it would be weird to say we're going to Beijing for anything right now. I've been thinking about it and I've come up with an idea. My aunt is in Shenyang, so we can say we're going to her house to play, and then sneak off to Beijing halfway."
Lin Xia nodded continuously, sincerely thinking that Song Ci's method was particularly good:
"Okay, okay, let's do this! I'll tell my grandma tomorrow."
The problem was half solved, and Lin Xia's mind finally started to work. She said with some guilt:
"But, this means you and I will go together, and we won't even see the sea."
Song Ci didn't care: "It's fine with me. I don't really want to see the sea, but I'm really too lazy to run around in such a hot day, so——"
She changed the subject and looked at Lin Xia meaningfully.
"In return, you have to tell me what's going on. Who told you to travel such a long way to meet her, and not let your parents know? I'm not just gossiping. I need to determine if you've been deceived."
Lin Xia was silent for a moment and did not answer her immediately.
She had never mentioned anything about what happened between her and He Chuan to anyone, not even Zhang Ruinan, Xu Chang, Yang Yang, or any of her friends. No matter who they were or how close they were, even her roommates in the Beijing studio only vaguely knew that she was chatting with someone every night, and that was all. This was a secret that belonged only to her.
However, carrying this secret was incredibly difficult. Even today, at this moment when she felt so helpless and vulnerable, Song Ci's question suddenly overwhelmed her. She told him everything, without reservation, about how she had met He Chuan over the years, how they'd met, how they'd gotten along, their complicated family dynamics, how he'd treated her, and how she felt about him.
It was very late at night, and the two of them were lying side by side in bed. They could vaguely hear the cicadas chirping outside the window. The wind blew into the house through the gauze window, blowing the curtains up and down, and the air was faintly filled with the salty and humid smell of the ocean.
After listening to this, Song Ci was stunned for a long time, and then slowly said:
"Actually, I used to think you were scammed by some unreliable person, but after hearing what you said, I don't think that's the case anymore. I didn't expect that after knowing each other for so long and having experienced so much, I can feel that he is a good person. At least he has no ill will towards you."
Lin Xia murmured, "But why did he cut off contact with me? Even after such a big accident, he didn't say a word."
"I don't know why he did this. To be realistic, he doesn't want to maintain a relationship with you that will definitely be disapproved by his family. To put it simply, he doesn't like you in a romantic way and is just too lazy to accompany you anymore. To be more disgusting, he has a girlfriend and wants to take the opportunity to dump you. But no matter what, I think he still tried not to hurt you, because at least he waited until after your college entrance examination, and even after you received your acceptance letter, before breaking up with you. He has done his best. You can't imagine how bad a real scumbag can be."
Song Ci paused and continued, "You know the girl in the next class who was number one in science, right? She and I were classmates in elementary school. She'd always been number one in the class, and she was tens of points behind the second place. Everyone thought she was a potential student at Peking University or Tsinghua University. You know how much hope our school had for her before the exam. Even when she was hanging out with her boyfriend every day, the teachers turned a blind eye. But do you know why she only got into Renmin University in the end? And she barely made it past the line, into a really crappy major. Because her boyfriend broke up with her two weeks before the college entrance exam. The reason was so simple it was disgusting: he cheated on her with another girl in the same class who was inferior to her in every way. She was always flirting with her under her nose. Do you think she wouldn't be upset?"
Lin Xia never thought that there would be such a ridiculous twist in this story. These things were clearly happening around her, but she seemed to have been so focused on studying that she knew nothing in the end.
Perhaps, the school's way of dealing with premature love is too extreme, but for these immature teenagers, getting involved in a relationship too early is not a good thing, and it is likely to delay their studies.
Just like Lin Xia herself, if she had known what had happened to He Chuan before the exam, she would definitely not be able to calm down and continue to prepare for the college entrance examination without distraction. It was precisely because she knew this that she took the initiative to cut off contact with him before the exam. But now that the college entrance examination was over and everything was settled, she could no longer ignore what happened to him. As Tan Zhizhou said, she had to ask him in person for clarification.
Because she is young and ignorant, she is impulsive and fearless. Because the road ahead is long, she still has the capital to start over. She is not afraid of sadness, failure, or setbacks. She is only afraid that one day she will regret it.
In the summer of nineteen, she must leave no regrets!
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