Chapter 126 Everyone's home, except you.
The day Zhou Yanchuan left the country was a rainy day.
A light drizzle fell on the passersby.
Wen Jiu was a little chilly after returning from the library. As she stood in front of the wardrobe changing her clothes, Li Yue walked up behind her with her phone in hand, opened her mouth as if she was having some difficulty.
She turned around: "What's wrong?"
Li Yue hesitated several times before finally making up her mind and saying, "Zhou Yanchuan is going abroad next semester."
The hand that was buttoning the shirt suddenly stopped, and an indescribable silence filled the air.
An unknown amount of time passed.
"oh."
Wen Jiu walked towards the bed without any expression.
Li Yue looked at him with concern: "Xiao Jiu, if you're feeling unwell, you can tell us. You don't have to do this."
The girl smiled at her: "We broke up so long ago, I'm not sad anymore."
Li Yue didn't say anything, but just as they were about to get into bed, she said, "Do you know you'll cry in your dreams?"
Wen Jiu stopped moving.
The girls in the room all had red eyes. So much time had passed since the breakup, and at first they thought she didn't care anymore.
Until two weeks ago, on the night Wen Jiu met Zhou Yanchuan at the restaurant.
After returning, I quietly packed my things and went to bed.
Li Yue also joked that she's almost started sleeping like an elderly person lately, going to bed around 9 p.m.
The girl even told her in a serious tone: "Going to bed early and waking up early is good for your health."
So no one could tell she was in pain.
Around 11 p.m., Li Yue got up to turn off the lights and suddenly heard a soft sob.
She turned her head to look at the bed next to hers.
The girl was nestled deep in the soft blankets, with only strands of hair sticking out, trembling slightly.
She called out softly twice, but no one answered, so she immediately went to bed to check.
Under the light, the girl closed her eyes, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks as she sobbed, feeling as if a fine needle was grinding against her throat.
She cried, her body convulsing, as if she were in unbearable pain.
Li Yue was terrified: "Are you feeling unwell?"
People ignored her; she just cried.
She pounded her chest, crying so hard she couldn't breathe.
The other two also rushed over in a panic.
The girl with her eyes closed was crying uncontrollably in her dream.
...
"Xiao Jiu, you can't keep everything bottled up inside, it'll ruin things," Li Yue comforted her tenderly.
Wen Jiu didn't speak, but after a long while she asked again, "Is he really leaving?"
"Um."
Wen Jiu was momentarily lost in thought. She wanted to say, "That's wonderful," but before she could speak, tears streamed down her face.
"Zhou Yanchuan, are you going abroad?"
"I'm not going."
Wen Jiu raised her hand to cover her eyes, and could no longer hold back, squatting down and breaking down in tears.
*
"Wen Jiu, could you please stop following me?"
"Alright, just don't get too close to me."
Did your dad hit you again?
"Why are you crying? I'll help you get it back."
Did they bully you?
"Wen Xiaojiu, hurry up!"
I didn't yell at you.
"It's not that we're not familiar with each other, but who should we give this to?"
"What a little tail!"
"Can the two of you talk it out and make things clear?"
"They definitely don't like you as much as I do."
"Wen Xiaojiu, just say so if you want me to go back."
Want to kiss?
Why are you putting up with it?
"You really don't care whether I'm in pain or not, do you?"
"Xiao Jiu, this isn't a breakup, it's a final farewell."
"I'm leaving and I'm not coming back."
...
From six to sixteen years old, and now, more than a decade of companionship flashed through Wen Jiu's mind like a revolving lantern.
She hugged herself tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, her heart breaking.
Everyone says he's a carefree and dissolute man, living a life of pleasure, yet no one knows him, all because of one sentence:
"I'll give you all my money, will you protect me?"
He has been protecting a girl since she was seven years old, and has been doing so for more than ten years.
But at that time, the little girl only had a few dollars.
"Zhou Yanchuan."
Wen Jiu clutched her chest tightly, crying so hard she could hardly breathe.
The young man came with a heart full of sincerity, but left covered in wounds.
"Xiao Jiu, you're the one who said you wanted to go to the same school as me."
Wen Jiu started gagging as she cried.
Li Yue knelt down to hug her, tears streaming down her face as well: "It's alright, it's alright."
"Yueyue is beyond help, she just won't get better no matter what."
Wen Jiu choked up, speaking haltingly, "In all my life... I've never, ever said anything harsh to anyone, but... I said so many things to Zhou Yanchuan..."
"It's not your fault, it's not your fault."
The girl shook her head repeatedly, clearly trapped in self-blame, sobbing, "He asked me if I had never thought about making it work with him."
"I've been thinking about it, I'm thinking about it all the time..."
"But how could Zhou Yanchuan do such a thing, bowing and scraping to please people..."
Li Yue had never imagined that there were these things between the two of them, and her heart suddenly trembled.
"Yueyue, it hurts so much here," the girl clutched her chest, looking at her helplessly, her voice so low it was almost pleading, "It hurts so much it feels like it's going to rot away."
Li Yue held the person tightly in her arms.
Wen Jiu stared blankly outside, letting tears stream down her face.
...
On a stormy night, no one noticed a figure standing downstairs in the girls' dormitory.
From 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., nine hours, the figure turned and left.
On the same day, at nine o'clock in the morning, a plane flew away over the north of the city.
The plane left a white trail behind it, as if stubbornly proving something, and that trail lingered in the air for a long time.
However, the traces were wiped away by the wind.
*
Next winter.
Wen Jiu had just stepped out of the law firm when her phone vibrated in her palm.
When she saw her friend calling, her expression softened.
"Hey, Xiaxia."
"Xiao Jiu, where are you?" A soft female voice came from the phone.
Wen Jiu asked softly, "Just got off work, what's wrong?"
The girl hesitated for a moment before carefully asking, "Aren't you going back to Qingyang this year?"
Wen Jiu slowed her pace for a moment. The cold wind was biting. She raised her hand to pull her coat tighter and said softly, "I'm not going back."
“But the New Year is almost here, and the law firm will be closed for a few days. Besides,” Xia Shi paused for two seconds and said in a low voice, “we all miss you very much.”
Wen Jiu gave the driver the last four digits of her phone number, then leaned over to get into the car and gently coaxed, "How about I come visit you guys after the New Year?"
There was no response from the other end.
A few seconds later: "Are you going to spend the New Year alone again?"
This time, Wen Jiu remained silent.
Xia Shi felt a lump in her throat and gripped her phone tightly: "Everyone's home, except you."
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