Chapter 16
"I can't just watch you jump into the fire."
Zhao Lin cried hard, "I don't believe you, you lied to me."
Xia Weining was speechless, "Why do you trust him so much?"
"Because he said he loved me."
"He said he loved you, but it didn't matter. He would still beat you." Xia Weining had no intention of letting her go. "He said he loved you because he knew you were gullible and stupid."
"You can't say that about me."
"I'm telling the truth." Xia Weining took out her phone from her pocket. "When did you buy it?"
Panic flashed across Zhao Lin's face. She quickly snatched the phone and put it back in her pocket. "I bought it myself. It has nothing to do with you."
"Where did you get the money?"
“I, I…”
Zhao Lin hesitated and was unable to speak, so Xia Weining helped her out. "You stole the money from your family to buy fertilizer, didn't you?"
"How do you know?"
"I know everything. I also know that you and he will have three children. You have a hard life and work outside all year round. Finally, you told me that if you were given another chance, you would not want to get married again."
"Who are you?"
"Your teacher." Xia Weining smiled bitterly, "You can also consider me a friend."
"friend?"
"Yes, maybe we are friends."
At this moment, Xia Weining finally felt the silent guidance of fate. No matter what twists and turns they went through, they would eventually reach the intersection of their destiny.
"Having a child as a teenager, arguing daily over trivial matters, the love between the two disappearing, only disgust and betrayal, a life with no direction but only the crying of a child, toiling daily to make a living, and a life with a foreseeable end. Is this the life you want?"
Zhao Lin stood there in a daze, speechless for a long time. These words hurt her fantasy of a beautiful life. She thought that she could find happiness by escaping from the campus and running to her lover.
Xia Weining's words shattered her fantasy, and she found it hard to accept it for a while.
"Do you feel bad now?" Xia Weining felt that the time was not right yet and she had to let her experience true despair. "I will let you see with my own eyes the feeling of shattered hope. Otherwise, you won't remember it."
"What do you want to do?"
Xia Weining rolled her eyes at her and walked aside to make a phone call, "Teacher Zhou, this is Xia Weining."
"Hey, Teacher Xia." Zhou Renting's joyful voice came, "What do you want to talk to me about?"
"I have something urgent to do. Please help me teach a class this afternoon, and I will help you tomorrow."
"What happened? Do you need help?"
"It's okay." Xia Weining chuckled and said, "I can handle it, thank you."
"Okay, go ahead. Call me anytime if you need anything. Don't worry about the class."
"Thanks."
After hanging up the phone, he looked at Zhao Lin and said, "Take down your luggage."
The driver helped take the luggage out and said, "This ticket cannot be fully refunded."
"Can you negotiate a refund?"
Zhao Lin shook her head, "No."
In the end, it was Xia Weining who helped her get the fare back. The two of them temporarily left several large bags of luggage at the bus station and bought tickets to the next county.
Zhao Lin remained silent throughout the whole process, following behind with her head down. Xia Weining was busy searching for the location and the route. After some trouble, she finally found Abin's home, a very remote village.
The two of them stood at his door. Xia Weining stopped and wanted to give the choice to Zhao Lin. "The truth is right in front of you. You decide whether to go and see it or not."
"You're still asking me after all this time."
"Then go ahead and see what kind of person Abin you've been thinking about is."
Zhao Lin grabbed her clothes and said, "Teacher Xia, come with me."
"All right."
Xia Weining felt somewhat sorry for Zhao Lin. After all, Zhao Lin was still a child, and experiencing such painful things was a huge blow to her.
The door to his house was half-open. As the two of them reached the door, they heard crying coming from the yard. A moment later, an old man holding a child in his arms came in, coaxing the child while looking at them, "Who are you looking for?"
Everything in front of him made Zhao Lin lose the motivation to speak. He looked like an eggplant hit by frost, lifeless.
"Auntie, we are Abin's friends. Is this Abin's home?"
The old man looked at them with a wary look in his eyes, "What on earth do you do?"
"We are truly his friends."
"He's not home."
The old woman turned to leave when Xia Weining stopped her and pointed at the child in her arms and asked, "Is this Abin's child?"
"What on earth are you doing? If you don't tell me, I'll call someone."
Xia Weining felt that the old man's reaction was too intense, as if someone came to see Abin often.
Although the old man did not give a definite answer, he indirectly confirmed these questions.
On the way out of the village, Xia Weining met a few people and asked the same question again. He finally got a positive answer and also got all the more private information.
Zhao Lin's mentality collapsed and she squatted on the ground crying loudly.
Xia Weining stood aside and didn't want to comfort her. Instead, he felt that she needed a complete vent.
"You also heard what the villagers said just now. Did he tell you that Abin was divorced because of domestic violence and now has a two-year-old child?"
"Teacher Xia, please stop talking. I know I was wrong."
Xia Weining's tone slowed down a bit. "Don't blame the teacher for speaking harshly. If you still want to be with him after this, I won't care whether you live or die from now on."
"Teacher Xia, what should I do?"
"Dry your tears and follow me."
Xia Weining took her to a restaurant and ordered a lot of dishes. "Eat well, and then go back to school."
"But I've already completed the withdrawal procedures."
"Don't worry about this, I will help you apply."
"Thank you." Zhao Lin lowered her head and murmured softly, "I will return the phone and will not contact Abin anymore."
"As long as we have this awareness, we can still be saved."
"Teacher Xia, how can I be like you?"
"What you need to do now is study hard and strive to get into high school and college. You will become a better person later."
Zhao Lin looked at her as if she understood something, biting her lip, her eyes drooping, as if she had made some kind of decision.
Xia Weining sent the person home and saw Zhao Lin's grandparents. "Hello, my last name is Xia, and I'm Zhao Lin's teacher."
"Teacher Xia, what are you doing?"
"I'll send Zhao Lin back and she'll continue to go to school."
Grandma sighed, "No matter what we say, it's useless. This child is disobedient and insists on going out. What can he do at such a young age?"
"Don't worry, she knows she's wrong."
"Why don't you thank the teacher quickly?" Grandma nodded at her and looked at Xia Weining. "I'm really sorry to bother you this time, Teacher Xia. I just made dinner. Let's eat together."
"Hurry up and eat, I'll be back soon."
"Okay then, Linlin, please see Teacher Xia off."
"No need to see me off." Xia Weining waved goodbye and glanced at Zhao Lin one last time. "Don't be late tomorrow."
"I know."
After a busy day, Xia Weining felt like her whole body was falling apart. She walked and stretched her muscles to relax her body.
Now that the weather is getting warmer, there are many roadside stalls with the aroma of food everywhere. Every store is a huge temptation for her. She wants to eat everything, but dares not eat anything. This is the pain of people who are losing weight.
Today she wanted to indulge herself, a reward for her hard work. Worst case scenario, she could get up early and run tomorrow. As soon as she made the decision, she was already standing in front of the stall, having chosen her meal, focusing on efficiency.
She bought several meals in a row, ate them all, touched her bulging belly, and felt extremely guilty. She told herself that she must get up early for a run tomorrow. She knew how difficult it was to get up in the morning, so she set multiple alarms for herself.
The next day, the alarm clocks rang one after another, and she turned them all off. Her mind was awake, but her body had no intention of waking up. This went on for a while, her hair was tied into a mess, and she struggled to get up amid angry shouts.
I have never gotten up so early before, and I am not used to the sunlight outside. I squinted my eyes and floated downstairs unconsciously, wandering aimlessly in the community garden like a wandering soul.
There were many people jogging early in the morning in the garden, and people passing by looked back at her, wondering if there was someone behind her pushing her.
"Huaizhou, you have really good physical strength. I won't follow you anymore."
Zheng Rui hunched over, holding his knees with his hands, panting heavily with exhaustion, "Why should I suffer this with you?"
"How do you do your annual physical examination?"
"I've checked it out, and your current volume is twice what it was in the physical test. Of course, I can't compare."
"I'm pretty self-aware."
"What are you talking about?" Chu Yu ran over to join their team.
"Oh my god." Zheng Rui collapsed. "Sheng Huaizhou seems to have endless energy. He ran for such a long time without blushing or breathing hard. Chu Yu, you are in such good shape too. I look so depressed."
Chu Yu smiled and said, "You don't look depressed, you really are depressed."
The three of them started jogging while talking, and ran into Xia Weining head-on at the bend.
Zheng Rui ran over and then turned back, his face filled with shock. He looked at Xia Weining in disbelief, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, I'm depressed, but there's still someone who hasn't woken up yet. Is there any reason why we can't run at this pace?"
Xia Weining looked up when she heard the voice, her eyes not yet fully awake. She knew Sheng Huaizhou lived here, but this was the first time she met Zheng Rui and Chu Yu here. Thinking of Chu Yu's protection of her on New Year's Eve, she smiled and nodded, and greeted them briefly.
"Why are you greeting Chu Yu?" Zheng Rui shouted from behind.
Xia Weining forced a smile with a cold face, "Good morning."
Sheng Huaizhou glanced at her and asked, "Who owes you money?"
It would have been fine if he didn't speak, but as soon as he spoke, Xia Weining's desire to win was aroused. Not wanting to be looked down upon by him, her confused eyes suddenly lit up, the sleepiness on her face disappeared without a trace, and she became full of energy, like a different person.
Zheng Rui's expression changed dramatically, and he couldn't help but applaud her. "Can you share the secret to waking up?"
"There's no secret." Xia Weining smiled. "It depends on the person you meet."
Zheng Rui looked confused as if she was eating a melon and didn't understand what she was saying. Sheng Huaizhou glanced at her calmly and instantly understood the hidden meaning of her words.
To be honest, I wasn't very familiar with them. After saying hello, Xia Weining finally started running, in the opposite direction of them.
Zheng Rui put his arm around Sheng Huaizhou's shoulder, looked at Xia Weining's back and asked in confusion, "Why is she here?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"I just have a habit of asking you questions."
Sheng Huaizhou: ...
Zheng Rui looked at Chu Yu, "What do you think of his attitude?"
"Although this community is a family compound, it can also be rented out, so it's normal for her to live here."
"oh."
Zheng Rui quickly caught up with the two people in front.
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