Chapter 44
"Why don't you eat?" Zhou Li asked.
Bei Xia raised her head, then lowered it to pick up a French fry and chewed it slowly. She didn't look very good. Zhou Li asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Bei Xia was about to shake his head, but when he met Zhou Li's gaze, he slowly nodded.
Zhou Li raised his hand and touched Bei Xia's forehead, which was a little cold.
She picked up her clothes and said, "Why don't we go home."
Bei Xia nodded. She didn't want to stay outside either. She hadn't talked to Zhou Li like this for a long time. She just wanted to find a quiet place.
Zhou Li packed up the food and stood by the roadside to try to get a taxi. The cars were packed on Christmas Eve, and he stood for a long time without getting one. Zhou Li then looked at Didi, but the queue was also very long. He was getting anxious when he suddenly heard Bei Xia say from behind him, "Let's walk. I'll feel much better when we get out."
"Is it okay?" Zhou Li looked worried. Bei Xia shook her head and took the food from her hand.
The two walked slowly along a snowy path.
The snowflakes that were still floating in front suddenly stopped, and a thin layer of snow accumulated on the roadside. The wind generated by his feet carried the thin snow away. Zhou Li looked up at the sky, and the deep night covered the earth.
Cars honked occasionally along the roadside. Far from the downtown area, it was very quiet. Zhou Li looked at Bei Xia. Bei Xia's slightly childish face was looking forward. Noticing Zhou Li's gaze, she tilted her head. Zhou Li smiled at her and asked, "How's school lately?"
Bei Xia whispered, "The class atmosphere is good now that the head teacher has been changed."
Zhou Li: "Then you have to work hard, because the college entrance examination will be next year." She lamented the time.
"Which university do you want me to get into?" Bexia suddenly asked.
Zhou Li was stunned. She had never thought about this before. After thinking about it, she said, "Try your best and get the best!"
Zhou Li laughed after he finished speaking, and said embarrassedly: "I don't know much about universities."
"Where is your sister? Which university did you go to?" Bei Xia asked, wanting to know more about Zhou Li.
Zhou Li said, "My school is a normal university. I even went abroad as an exchange student for a year during my college years. Do you want to apply to my school?"
Bei Xia nodded, and Zhou Li laughed: "But you are a science student. Our school has more liberal arts majors, and they are ranked quite high. The science majors are a bit weaker. If you have the ability, you should go to a better one."
Bei Xia pursed her lips and suddenly hated herself for choosing the subject. She really had no talent in the humanities, and was even more confused about those subjective questions. The teacher also discussed her Chinese and English grades with her. In English, she relied on memorizing words, and through intensive practice, she could even find some patterns. However, she had no sense of language in Chinese, and the essays she wrote could only be described as rigorous, but without any rhythmic beauty.
Bei Xia has seen Zhou Li write articles. Her writing is beautiful and critical of current social problems. It is refreshing and enjoyable to read.
Seeing Bei Xia was silent, Zhou Li patted her on the shoulder and said, "You're good in science, too. But your teacher Zhao called me and said you should work harder on your Chinese. She said your composition wasn't good."
Zhou Li chuckled, "Why don't you ask me? Although I haven't written an exam essay for a long time, I've never given up writing official documents. The two are similar, so maybe I can give you some pointers."
Zhou Li felt that this was the only thing she could teach Beixia. Other subjects like mathematics, physics, and chemistry gave her a headache and she was not good at dealing with things related to numbers.
Beixia looked at her and asked in a low voice, "Would you like to teach me?" He was very humble.
"Silly child." Zhou Li reached out and patted Bei Xia's head, as if to measure whether the melon was ripe.
"Of course I would." Zhou Li said.
Besha gave a small smile.
Christmas Eve was indeed a bustling occasion. The two of them passed by a small cart selling fruit on the street. Zhou Li thought that the fruit at home had all been eaten, so she stopped and stood by the cart with Bei Xia to ask the price. It seemed quite suitable, so they weighed some. Zhou Li was talking to Bei Xia when suddenly a child's voice rang out: "Mom, is that Bei Xia?"
"Who?" Lei Hua looked in the direction of his son's hand in confusion and saw Bei Xia standing with a beautiful woman in a black coat with a graceful figure.
Zhou Li turned around and saw the woman with a mean face. She said sarcastically, "Hey! Bei Xia still has money to eat fruit. It's not that he has no money to eat. Fruit is so expensive now, I don't dare to buy it. You just casually gave me a bag!"
The woman stood on tiptoe and looked over. Zhou Li frowned and shouted in his heart: "Who is this system?"
Ever since the system announced the task, Zhou Li's contact with the system has become less frequent. This is mainly because the world is at peace and there are very few things that the system needs to do. Zhou Li can basically handle them all, so asking the system to come out is simply overkill.
System: "The heroine's aunt and brother."
Zhou Li understood in his heart.
After Beixia's parents died, the funeral was handled by her uncle's family. Logically, they should have made a lot of money from this, but after adopting Beixia, they still treated her badly. They even didn't want her to go to school and said everywhere that she was a burden. This aunt was particularly mean and harsh because she wanted to marry Beixia's uncle at the time, but was stopped by Beixia's mother. She has been holding a grudge against Beixia and abusing her.
Zhou Li sneered, and Bei Xia grabbed the bag of fruit.
Just now, Zhou Li paid and Bei Xia helped her carry the bag. Because Zhou Li was wearing high heels, Bei Xia felt that it would be difficult for her to walk with the bag. As soon as she took it, she saw her aunt and those nightmarish memories flashed back. Before Bei Xia could move, she heard Bei Bing say, "Mom, I want some fruit!"
It was Bei Bing who pestered Lei Hua to eat fruit just now, so Lei Hua was dragged over to see Bei Xia. Bei Bing was used to snatching Bei Xia's things, because in his opinion, Bei Xia's things should belong to him, because his mother always said that Bei Xia eats their food, lives in their house, and spends their money, so he should give in to Bei Bing.
This time was no exception. Bei Bing rushed directly towards Bei Xia and tried to snatch the thing from her hand.
"Give me!"
Bang! Bei Bing fell flat on his face before he could even reach Bei Xia. Zhou Li looked to the right, whistled softly, and retracted his outstretched foot.
Bei Bing burst into tears. Zhou Li looked at the boy on the ground with disgust. He was so old, yet he was crying like this. She grabbed Bei Xia's wrist and took a step back.
Bei Xia finally came to her senses. She was captivated by her past memories and could not move. She could only watch Bei Bing rush towards her, his palm warm. Bei Xia looked at Zhou Li and heard her say, "Don't be afraid."
Lei Hua quickly helped his son up and said distressedly, "Where did you fall? Where does it hurt?"
Zhou Li looked at the farce in front of him, raised his chin slightly, and said to Lei Hua in a haughty manner: "Whose child is this, suddenly rushing out to scare people? If he scares me and I fall down, can you afford to compensate me?"
"You!" Lei Hua's face was filled with anger. Seeing Zhou Li's appearance and bright clothes, her temper calmed down a little. She was used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Seeing Zhou Li's attitude, she knew she was not easy to bully. She shouted at Bei Xia angrily: "Are you dead?! You didn't even help your brother when he fell down!"
Bei Bing was still crying. He had no idea how he fell. He just felt his foot tripped and then he fell down. He fell flat on his face outside. The pain was secondary. The main thing was the embarrassment.
Beixia pursed her lips and said nothing.
Her aunt had always been unreasonable and even her uncle couldn't stand it. She didn't want to get involved with her aunt, so she pulled Zhou Li's hand and said, "Let's go."
Zhou Li didn't want to leave. She smiled at Bei Xia and said, "It's okay."
Today she was going to teach this family a lesson. Zhou Li hadn't originally planned to look for them, but unexpectedly, by chance, she ran into them today.
Zhou Li smiled gently at Lei Hua and said slowly, "Is your son disabled? He fell down and couldn't get up. He's already grown up, but he still needs help. Isn't that embarrassing?"
Lei Hua then realized that Zhou Li and Bei Xia were in cahoots. She immediately screamed in a shrill voice, "Bei Xia, you think you're capable, right? Don't ask me for living expenses in the future! Our family can't afford to support a big Buddha like you!"
Zhou Li sneered, "Can't afford it? Living expenses? I remember Beixia's parents' death compensation was more than that, right? And her house was originally bought for 3,000 yuan per square meter. You don't know how much the house price has increased over the years, but I do. It shouldn't be yours, but you took it and treated the child badly. Aren't you afraid her parents will come looking for you at night?"
"Who are you?" Lei Hua didn't care about the child and looked at Zhou Li warily.
Zhou Li taunted, "Why should I tell you who I am? You were so ignorant when you deceived Bei Xia back then. Now that we've run into each other, I'll tell you. I hope you can give me every penny of what's owed to Bei Xia, or we'll see you in court!"
Zhou Li took the bag of fruit from Bei Xia, held it in his hand, and laughed at Lei Hua, "And I bought this fruit. You can't afford it, but I can! And I don't have the habit of giving things to others as rewards!"
After saying this, Zhou Li turned around coolly with Bei Xia. Lei Hua wanted to catch up with her and ask her what she meant by what she said just now, but Bei Bing was still howling over there. She had no choice but to watch Bei Xia and the strange woman walk away.
What happened in the past two weeks? Why did a capable person appear beside Bei Xia? Didn't her husband say that there was no one left at home? Where did this person come from?
Lei Hua panicked and grabbed Bei Bing, rushing home. He had to discuss this matter with her husband immediately! Bei Xia was so bold now! She actually wanted to rebel!
Bei Xia looked at Zhou Li, whose eyes and eyebrows were filled with the joy of victory. Bei Xia asked in a low voice: "Is what you just said true?"
Zhou Li's joy faded slightly. She sighed and said to Bei Xia, "It's all true."
"Did my uncle's family embezzle my parents' death compensation?" Bei Xia asked. Her eyes were dark, as if she wanted to confirm what was true from Zhou Li.
Zhou Li felt distressed when he saw her expression.
Zhou Li stopped and pulled Bei Xia into her arms. Bei Xia bumped into her chest, and her nose felt sore.
Zhou Li said, "I originally wanted to wait until you finished the college entrance exam before dealing with this matter. Your parents' death compensation was very high at the time, after all, the airline was responsible. And your house, your mother told me it was 3,000 yuan per square meter when we bought it. House prices have increased several times over the years, so it's impossible for us to be broke even after deducting the mortgage."
Beixia still remembers that she wanted to go home, but when she got back, the door lock had been changed. A strange man came out of the house, looked at her with a puzzled expression and said, "This is my home, what are you doing?"
Her uncle didn't even give her a thought and disposed of all the things in her house, saying that he was sad to see the things. Now that she thinks about it carefully, it's really all a lie. It's just that she was immersed in sadness at the time and was completely unable to think about these things.
Beixia's throat choked with sobs. She never expected that her uncle, who was usually so kind to her, would be like this.
Zhou Li held the things in one hand and patted her back with the other, silently comforting her.
"Don't worry, we will definitely take back everything that belongs to you."
"Thank you." Bexia said sincerely.
Zhou Li touched her hair and said, "No need." He smiled at Bei Xia and said, "I'm here, no one can bully you."
"Yeah." Besha finally burst into laughter.
Still a child.
Zhou Li sighed as she looked at Bei Xia's red eyes. She carefully wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and reached out to her, "Let's go home. Today is Christmas Eve."
Bei Xia held Zhou Li's hand tightly, "Merry Christmas Eve."
"Merry Christmas Eve."
The year is coming to an end and the new year is about to begin.
At night, Bei Xia lay in bed unable to sleep, thinking about many things. Sometimes she thought of Zhou Li getting out of someone else's car, sometimes she thought of her aunt and uncle's faces. When she closed her eyes, she thought of Bei Bing rudely snatching things from her hands. She tossed and turned, thinking that Zhou Li would not go to work tomorrow. Bei Xia sat up, hugged the pillow, stepped on slippers, walked to the door of Zhou Li's bedroom, hesitated for a long time, and then reached out to knock on the door.
Zhou Li was asking someone to contact a lawyer, but the person had not responded yet. She opened her computer to check her writer column. The new column was not very popular, but some people who had read it praised her writing. Zhou Li thought she should update the second article. Just as she was collecting inspiration online, there was a knock on the door.
Zhou Li got out of bed and opened the door, only to see Bei Xia standing timidly in front of the door, hugging a small pillow and looking up timidly.
"I can't sleep."
Zhou Li glanced at the time. It was almost twelve o'clock. The school was closed today, and Beixia still had classes tomorrow. Her holiday schedule was different from hers. She had one day off on Saturday, and the senior students still had classes on Sunday.
Zhou Li did not hesitate, quickly made way for the door, and said, "Come in."
Bei Xia looked at Zhou Li's room. She had never been in there, but she had seen it many times from outside. For some reason, Zhou Li's bed looked more comfortable than hers. The quilt was soft and fluffy, with a blanket on it. There were many pillows at the head of the bed, making it very comfortable to lean on. Zhou Li placed his computer casually next to the bed, and there were a few books next to the pillows.
Zhou Li closed the door casually, stood behind Bei Xia and said, "You can sleep inside. I still have some work to do."
"Will it disturb you?" Besha hesitated.
Zhou Li smiled and said, "No, it's not a serious job."
Bei Xia's head is full of numbers. Is there any difference between serious and non-serious work?
Zhou Li walked forward, pulled her to the bed, and commanded: "Get on the bed!"
Bei Xia looked at the pillow in his hand. There seemed to be too many pillows on Zhou Li's bed.
Zhou Li casually took away two pillows from her bed and asked Bei Xia to put her pillow on it. Then, after seeing Bei Xia lying down, she lifted the quilt and covered Bei Xia with it. Then she sat at the head of the bed with three pillows behind her, picked up the blanket comfortably, covered her chest with it, put the quilt on her legs, and put the computer on it.
Zhou Li is a person who knows how to enjoy life. Even if she is busy with work, she will find new and interesting restaurants to eat at, and will bring back food that she thinks is delicious from time to time.
Bei Xia turned sideways and watched Zhou Li busying herself. She seemed to be looking for something. Her hand slid down the laptop control panel, her eyes looking very intently.
The quilt was fragrant and soft, and the air was filled with Zhou Li's scent. Although they both used the same shower gel, shampoo, and laundry detergent, the smell on Zhou Li and Bei Xia was still different. Zhou Li had the scent of a mature woman. Bei Xia smelled her arm and there was a milky scent.
Zhou Li was busy for a while, and suddenly remembered that Bei Xia was sleeping next to her. She tilted her head and saw Bei Xia's two black eyes looking at her, and she was not sleepy at all.
Zhou Li asked, "Did I disturb you?"
She put down the computer and decided to go to bed first. It was indeed difficult to sleep with the light on in the room.
Bei Xia shook her head. Zhou Li didn't see it. She put the computer on the bedside table, leaned over and turned off the lights in the room. Her eyes were dark and only her ears could hear sounds.
Beixia felt the quilt being pulled. Zhou Li lay down with her hands and feet next to her. Beixia curled up and her feet touched Zhou Li's legs.
Zhou Li didn't respond. Bei Xia felt Zhou Li turn over, and then heard Zhou Li ask, "Can't sleep? Want to chat?"
Bei Xia whispered, "My mind is a little confused."
What happened today was indeed too sudden for Bei Xia. This was why Zhou Li didn't want to deal with these things now. Zhou Li's voice glowed with a pearly and warm light in the dark night.
"Don't think about it. People are complicated. There are no absolute good or bad people. But you have to know that these things are not your fault. I will make them spit out your things and return them to you."
"I believe you." Bei Xia said in a low voice after a while, "Zhou Li, I only believe in you."
The girl's belief was so enthusiastic that Zhou Li reached out and touched Bei Xia's head.
"Go to sleep, I'm here."
Beixia thought she would not be able to sleep, but she slept all night long. It was not until her biological clock woke her up that it was still dark at six o'clock. The room was pitch black. Zhou Li was sleeping very soundly. Beixia woke up completely from her dream when she heard Zhou Li's breathing. In this sleep, her floating soul finally returned to the human body, and her heart was full of what Zhou Li had said.
She once again told her not to be afraid, as if there was nothing she couldn't do as long as she was there.
Bexia wanted to lie down for a while longer, but time waited for no one and she had to go to school.
If she had grown up now, could she lie down with Zhou Li forever on weekends and see Zhou Li wake up?
Bei Xia got up slowly, not wanting to wake Zhou Li.
Zhou Li was sleeping very soundly, and Bei Xia walked around her to put on her slippers, but she didn't wake up.
Before closing the door, Bei Xia glanced at Zhou Li again and couldn't help but smile. Only then did he feel that Zhou Li was like a child who didn't get enough sleep.
Today is Christmas. When Besha arrived at school, he saw apples on the table.
My deskmate Wu Huimin said awkwardly, "Merry Christmas."
Bexia hadn't prepared anything. She felt a little sorry and whispered, "Merry Christmas."
Wu Huimin seemed very happy to receive a word of blessing.
She asked quietly, "Have you finished yesterday's homework? I don't know how to do many of the questions."
Bei Xia nodded, and Wu Huimin said, "Can you explain it to me when you have time? The little teacher explained it to me last time, but I still don't understand."
Besha had no objection.
After lunch at school, Zhao Wenyan taught the last class of the afternoon, followed by evening study. After he finished reviewing the papers, he said, "Today is Christmas. Everyone has worked hard recently. All the teachers have been praised. Next week is the monthly exam, followed by New Year's Day and the final exam. I think you should relax today. I'm going to come over to the evening study and show you a movie."
"But you know my rules. Students who haven't finished their homework will automatically sit in the back. The lights in the back row will be on, and you will catch up on your homework. Those who have finished will sit in the front. No noise or shouting allowed. Do you understand?"
"Got it!" Everyone howled.
Zhao Wenyan also laughed.
After class, have dinner.
Bei Xia went out with Wu Huimin and saw her uncle who came to look for her.
Uncle Bei Dawei had a bitter face, but when he saw Bei Xia, he smiled: "Bei Xia, are you done with get out of class? Uncle will treat you to a meal."
Wu Huimin took the initiative to suggest that she go to the cafeteria to eat.
Bei Xia knew why her uncle came to see her, but she was not panicked. She followed Bei Dawei out of the school gate with an indifferent expression.
Bei Dawei found a small restaurant and ordered two dishes. He asked, "You haven't been home for half a month. Are you used to living in school recently?"
Bexia looked down at the water glass. The glasses in the restaurant were all old, and the resin material was cracked.
"Habit." Besha answered.
In fact, the school’s heating pipes were broken and were being renovated, so all the boarding students were not living on campus, but they didn’t care.
Bei Dawei laughed and said, "That's good, that's good."
He didn't seem to know how to communicate with Bexia either.
The money her uncle gave her last time was still in Beixia's schoolbag. Last time, Cui Lin accused her of stealing money, but only found the money Zhou Li gave her. The money her uncle gave her was in her schoolbag, but she didn't find it. Beixia put it on her body on purpose. She knew that someone would come to see her in the next few days, and this person might be her uncle. She wanted to return the money to her uncle.
The money had been crumpled by Bei Xia before. She took it out of her trouser pocket, put it on the table, and said to Bei Dawei, "I didn't spend this money."
Bei Dawei looked at the four light bills and touched his head awkwardly. "Your aunt has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Don't take her words to heart. She even talked about you today and asked you to come home for dinner. She made you braised pork. Don't you kids all like braised pork?"
It is Bei Bing who likes to eat braised pork, not her.
Bei Xia felt sad. She had been scolded by her aunt for having never eaten meat before because she ate a piece of braised pork. She was disgusted with her for eating the meat specially prepared for Bei Bing and only allowed her to eat some leftover dishes.
Life at her uncle's house was not comfortable, but Beixia had nowhere to go. But now it's different. She has Zhou Li and doesn't care about the little care her uncle gives her.
Bei Xia's pupils were dark, and she said, "Uncle, do you have something to say to me?"
Bei Dawei felt in his trouser pocket, wanting to light a cigarette. It was a dishonest thing they had done, but their family had long since died. He had a claim to his sister's estate, after all. Hadn't he helped raise Bei Xia and even arranged their funeral?
Bei Dawei coughed and said, "I heard someone came to see you? Did they tell you some gossip? Don't listen to their nonsense. What do they know?"
Bei Xia: Zhou Liquan knows
Zhou Li blushed: There are some things I don’t know
Author: For example, I don’t know if Bei Xia likes you
Author: Bei Xia now feels more possessive towards Zhou Li. She doesn’t understand what love is yet~ She just can’t let go~
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