Chapter 76 Xixi: "Don't let the past define you."
The office was still empty. Tang Yi led Xixi to sit down and then got her a glass of warm water from the water dispenser.
Seeing Xixi reach out and take a small sip, she relaxed slightly, organized her thoughts, and asked gently, "Now that it's just you and me here, can you tell me what just happened?"
After a long silence, Xixi finally seemed to have made up her mind and whispered, "He insulted me."
Tang Yi's heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her voice: "What did he say to you?"
"I didn't curse at her! I was just chatting with her, and then she suddenly went crazy!"
Outside the classroom, Zhang Minglang leaned against a pillar in the corridor, arms crossed, listening patiently to the boy's rambling. He replied lazily, "I'll let you in when you're ready to tell the truth. Otherwise, you can stay outside."
He glanced at his watch and added, "Anyway, there are still more than ten minutes until get out of class ends. I can't expect them to stay quietly in the classroom like they are now and not come out to see you. Whether you want to become a campus celebrity or not, it's up to you, little brother."
Zhang Minglang had a very precise grasp of the unique sense of pride that a boy of this age possessed. He lowered his head and remained silent for a while before finally muttering hesitantly, "I didn't lie, Xixi is..."
Zhang Minglang bent down: "What?"
The boy seemed impatient. He raised his head and shouted at Zhang Minglang, "I said! Xixi is a child without parents! We all know that she was once... well, you know..."
He'd only heard half of it when Zhang Minglang's heart sank. His expression changed drastically, and he stepped forward to cover the man's mouth, stopping him from saying what he was about to say.
Zhang Minglang's expression turned serious, a stark contrast to his previous lazy demeanor. His voice grew louder, each word deliberate and forceful: "Don't think you can just say whatever you want because you're a child! How can you speak so recklessly about a girl's private matters? Are you even a man?"
There were no words, but the impact of those four words, "Are you even a man?" was immense. The boy immediately deflated, his eyes blinking, and he slumped down.
Seeing that his anger was subsiding, Zhang Minglang slowly released his hand from his mouth. He was still quite angry, his voice still laced with rage: "No matter what bad things she went through in the past, those were things she couldn't control. What you're doing will only bring her more malice and aggression; you won't gain anything else! Do you think it's cool to maliciously slander someone like this? Let me tell you, right now, go apologize to her and promise not to go around talking about it anymore—that's the truly cool thing you should do!"
The boy was frightened by his angry expression and kept his head down, refusing to make a sound.
Not far away, Tang Yi opened the office door and came out. Zhang Minglang saw that her complexion was far from good, and his heart ached again.
The boy's few words were enough for Zhang Minglang to understand everything that had happened to Xixi.
Besides anger, I felt mostly powerless and heartbroken.
The shocking statistics about the cases Tang Yi had mentioned during her project presentation flashed through his mind. He had never known any of these before meeting Tang Yi.
Regardless of height, weight, or appearance, it covers almost every age group and every location.
Experiencing sexual harassment is a common secret among women.
He's still young and doesn't understand;
He's old and doesn't understand things anymore;
He had been drinking and was not sober;
He was under a lot of pressure and acted impulsively.
His admiration for you is a misunderstanding;
He has a bright future; don't ruin it.
Those who commit crimes can walk away with a single sentence, but the heavy, unforgettable pain is left for the victims to bear.
Girls are also judged, ridiculed, hurt, and told to shut up by all sorts of worldly standards.
Zhang Minglang looked at Tang Yi, whose face was somewhat pale, at the end of the corridor. She was alone, walking forward step by step, getting closer, just like every day two years ago, walking alone from a distance.
He desperately wanted to rush over and hug her.
He longed to pull her into his arms, to hold the back of her head, to let her lean on his shoulder, to take her hands in his, which must have been very cold, and to tell her how hard she had worked all these years.
It was really tough.
Voices drifted closer in the stairwell. Yang Yuanyue and several teachers had just finished a meeting and were chatting about teaching assignments as they came upstairs. Yang Yuanyue spotted Tang Yi and Zhang Minglang in the hallway first, exclaiming, "Yiyi, Xiao Zhang, what brings you out here!"
Half an hour later, Yang Yuanyue learned the whole story, called the boy over, had a serious talk with him, made him deeply reflect on his mistakes, apologize to Xixi in person, and make a public apology on the stage during the flag-raising ceremony the next day.
Zhang Minglang and Tang Yi stood quietly to the side. He held her shoulders tightly, embracing her in his arms, gently stroking her body to bring her warmth. They quietly observed the entire process of resolving the problem.
After apologizing, what's next?
That's all.
Tang Yi stared blankly at the ground.
She has always felt that apology is a contradictory and useless word.
The malice of the words has been expressed, but it is not serious enough to warrant legal punishment, so there is no other way but to apologize.
So what happens then?
How long will it take Xixi to forget, regain her courage, adjust her mindset, and continue to live a positive life?
There are no solutions to any of these problems.
Zhang Minglang noticed that Tang Yi's condition was not right and kept looking at her with concern, his brows furrowed. He asked in a low voice, "Would you like to sit down for a while?"
"Huh? No need." Tang Yi snapped out of her reverie and shook her head.
Zhang Minglang was very worried about her feelings. He lowered his head and thought for a long time before finally raising his head: "Tang Yi."
Tang Yi turned to look at him.
Zhang Minglang said earnestly, "When we go back later, let's take Xixi out to play, okay?"
Tang Yi's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she did not reply.
He carefully planned: "It's not even 5 PM yet, we'll get to City A by around 6 PM at the latest. We'll take her to the arcade, the movie theater, and shopping, and buy her the gift she wants most. We'll have plenty of time. I'm calculating, it should take about..."
Tang Yi interrupted the man who was clumsily listing out his plans one by one with his hands, and then shaking his head in denial at times.
"Zhang Minglang."
"What?" The man whose name was called looked up and stopped what he was doing, which he had been seriously planning.
Tang Yi's eyes were tired, but she tried to raise her lips and whispered, "Thank you."
Zhang Minglang was taken aback at first, then laughed. He reached out and took her hand, looking up at her: "We're family, no need to thank me. If you want to reward me, just don't let me stay in the guest room alone tonight."
Hearing this, Tang Yi finally laughed out loud, genuinely. She knew he was saying it on purpose.
Seeing her smile, Zhang Minglang immediately became much more lively. He racked his brains and rambled on about other things, and the originally heavy atmosphere and mood melted away silently, like spring snow meeting the sun.
Looking into Tang Yi's smiling eyes, Zhang Minglang raised his head and spoke, his voice becoming firm yet gentle.
"Tang Yi, don't let the past define you."
Tang Yi understood what he was talking about. She gently curved her lips and nodded.
As dusk fell, darkness enveloped the horizon, the stars twinkled, and everything was quiet and peaceful.
Tang Yi was telling Yang Yuanyue about her plan to take Xixi to the city for a night, while Zhang Minglang was half-squatting at the door, watching from afar as Xixi picked at the small grasses in the cracks between the bricks on the stairs outside.
He tried to keep a certain distance from her, because when he approached Xixi just now, he clearly saw her raise her head, distance herself from him, and stare at him warily.
Zhang Minglang's heart skipped a beat; he knew the reason for this reaction.
While Tang Yi was still talking to Yang Yuanyue about Xixi's future psychological treatment, he would occasionally open his mouth to talk to Xixi, who was engrossed in playing by herself, without expecting any response from her.
Zhang Minglang placed his hands on his knees as he watched her pluck a blade of grass, then gently clapped his hands: "Impressive."
Xixi rolled her big eyes and glanced at him with a puzzled look. She didn't say anything.
Remembering something, Zhang Minglang suddenly straightened up and leaned forward an inch: "Xixi, are you and Yiyi good friends?"
Xi Xi blinked, then shifted her gaze to Tang Yi behind him, and nodded very slightly.
Zhang Minglang realized that Tang Yi was the best opportunity for him and Xixi to break the ice. He smiled and asked, "Yi Yi and I are also good friends. Is she really that amazing? Like Superman?"
Xixi nodded again.
Zhang Minglang coaxed, "So, Superwoman Yiyi is taking you out to play. Do you want to go with her?"
She neither nodded nor shook her head, but her eyes clearly brightened. However, the light only lasted for a moment before dimming, like a star that flickers and disappears in the sky.
Zhang Minglang's legs went numb from squatting, so he straightened up and reached out to massage them, but suddenly heard a faint sound.
"Grandma won't allow it."
He looked up in surprise, thinking he was hallucinating. He said, "Yiyi and I will talk to your grandma. Once she agrees, would you like to go out and play with us?"
"She won't agree."
Hearing these overly certain words, Zhang Minglang frowned slightly, but his voice remained soft: "Why?"
Xixi glanced at Tang Yi behind him again, as if she had mustered up her courage before saying, "She said there are bad people outside."
These few words, though seemingly casual, struck Zhang Minglang's heart like a boulder falling from the sky.
He remained silent for a long time, then squatted down again and extended his little finger towards her in the darkness.
Zhang Minglang said, "I promise you, Yiyi and I will help you get rid of the bad guys. We absolutely won't let them hurt you tonight, okay?"
As he spoke, he waved his hand: "If you don't believe me, let's pinky swear, shall we?"
After Tang Yi and Yang Yuanyue finished talking, she turned to look for Zhang Minglang and Xixi, only to see that tall figure huddled on the threshold, almost blending into the darkness.
She saw him pointing a finger, and Xixi hesitating on the steps outside the door. Tang Yi didn't know what promises they were making; she simply stood behind him, watching quietly.
Looking over Zhang Minglang's head, Xixi looked at Tang Yi again. This time, their eyes met.
That glance seemed to transcend age and place, a meeting that would last forever. Tang Yi's originally flat lips gradually curved into a gentle arc, her eyes were bright, and she nodded slightly.
Listen to your own heart, little Xixi.
Sensing a silent and invisible power emanating from Yi Yi Superman, Xi Xi finally climbed the stairs step by step and stood in front of Zhang Minglang.
Her tiny fingers stretched out, trembling slightly, and hooked together with Zhang Minglang's large hand.
Zhang Minglang's tense lips suddenly broke into a smile. He pulled her finger and shook it, then turned his head and, as if he had completed a major mission, nodded his chin at Tang Yiyang and smiled smugly.
Author's Note: I remember writing this chapter on a quiet evening. When I got to the part where President Zhang reflected on Tang Yi and Xi Xi's experiences, I was actually quite hesitant about whether to write it that way.
I didn't want this to sound so heavy, but I still typed these words through tears. Because this is the inescapable dilemma women always face, a dilemma that, frankly, only women truly understand.
It is my bias to allow Zhang Zong to express and reflect on the topic of sexual harassment against women, because I know that it is indeed very difficult in reality for a man to understand and comprehend these issues out of love.
But words are, after all, fairy tales. I hope that if Mr. Zhang loves Tangtang, he should spend time and energy to understand everything about her, whether it's the light or the darkness she's experienced; otherwise, it can't be called love.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
