Chapter 80 (The End)
Chen Yao'an remained silent for a long time, and only after mustering up her courage did she finally ask the question, "So, you're not planning to come back, are you?"
Xu Jialan knew she would think that, so she quickly explained, "No, it's just that I'm not going back for the time being. I don't plan to stay."
Chen Yao'an didn't know what the difference was. Since he had already decided to inherit his father's company, he had to stay in Beijing. He had said he would inherit it, so how could he abandon such a big company?
She took a deep breath to make her voice sound less abnormal, "Okay, I understand, I have something to do, I'll hang up now."
"Wait a minute..." Xu Jialan wanted to explain a few more words, but unfortunately, the dial tone of the call being hung up came quickly from the other end.
He called her again.
Chen Yao'an lost her phone, buried her face in the blanket, and tears still welled up in her eyes.
The phone kept ringing, but Chu Yao'an didn't want to answer it, didn't want to hear his explanation, and didn't even want to hear his voice.
In the following days, Xu Jialan was busy with the matter of inheriting the company.
Xu Qingbang's condition has deteriorated rapidly. He is bedridden and his life can only be sustained by machines. The various shareholders in the company are also eyeing him covetously, since Xu Jialan has no experience in managing a company and spends almost every day in a state of panic.
These past few days, he would call Chen Yao'an whenever he had a spare moment, but she never answered his calls, which only made him feel worse.
Chen Yao'an refused to answer Xu Jialan's calls, but she herself was not in a good state either. She was preoccupied all day and had little appetite.
In less than a week, Chen Yao'an lost a lot of weight, and even Yan Shumei, whose eyesight was failing, could tell that something was wrong.
At the dinner table that day, Chen Yao'an ate a few bites but lost her appetite, put down her chopsticks and said, "I'm full."
Yan Shumei glanced at the rice in her bowl, which she had barely touched, and asked, "What's been going on with you these past few days?"
"It's nothing," Chen Yao'an tried to brush it off. "I'm going back to my room now."
Chen Yao'an stood up and left, hiding in her room. She lost all interest in work and collapsed onto the bed, completely listless.
Yan Shumei thought about it and was very worried because her granddaughter was a thoughtful person and usually didn't show her bad mood. This must be something serious.
After much thought, she concluded that there was only one possibility: it was inextricably linked to Xu Jialan.
After dinner, Yan Shumei pushed open Chen Yao'an's door without saying a word, "What's wrong with you these past few days? Is Xu Jialan not planning to come back?"
Chen Yao'an was quite annoyed and didn't intend to answer her question, so she changed the subject: "Grandma, could you please knock before you come into my room?"
Yan Shumei completely ignored her words, "I'm asking you, is Xu Jialan not coming back?"
Chen Yao'an sat up abruptly in bed and said irritably, "Yes, he's not coming back!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Shumei exploded, "I knew it! He's unreliable. You shouldn't have let him go back to Jingbei in the first place!"
"Grandma, his legs are his own body, how can I tie him up?"
"That bastard! I shouldn't have agreed to let you be with him in the first place. See? Now it's too late to regret it!"
"That little brat, if I ever see him again, I'll break his legs!"
Yan Shumei berated Xu Jialan mercilessly, and Chen Yaoan could only listen, feeling a throbbing headache.
Fortunately, Yan Shumei got tired of cursing after a while and left in a huff.
As she closed the door, Chen Yao'an felt another wave of sadness. Her gaze inadvertently fell on the ring on her hand. Angered, she got out of bed, took off the ring and the necklace from her neck, and threw them into the drawer.
—
While busy with work, Xu Jialan kept trying to contact Chen Yaoan to explain, but Chen Yaoan kept not answering her calls.
Until that day, he received a call from Yan Shumei. As soon as he answered the phone, Yan Shumei's tone was very bad, and she scolded him harshly.
Xu Jialan understood the reason, so she didn't say anything and silently endured it until Yan Shumei got tired of scolding and finally stopped.
He then said, "Grandma, it's my fault. We were supposed to go back this month, but Dad's condition suddenly worsened."
Hearing that his father's condition had worsened, Yan Shumei didn't say much, only asking, "I heard from Yao'an that you're not planning to come back?"
"I don't plan not to go back, I just need some time to deal with my dad's company matters, and I'll go back after that."
"Are you going to keep your word this time?"
"Grandma, I promise I'll keep my word this time, don't worry..."
It took Xu Jialan a lot of effort to calm Yan Shumei down. After hanging up, he called Chen Yaoan again, but she still didn't answer. So he sent her a WeChat message, telling her about Yan Shumei's call.
This time, Chen Yao'an finally made a move, even calling him back directly.
Xu Jialan breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Yao'an: "What did my grandma say to you?"
Xu Jialan: "Of course, they scolded me."
Chen Yao'an gritted her teeth and said viciously, "Serves you right!"
Xu Jialan chuckled instead, and after laughing, he said, "Yao'an, can you give me a year? I'll definitely go back after I've dealt with things here."
Chen Yaoan bit her lip and didn't reply.
"You believe me."
She asked, "Aren't you going to take over your father's company? Are you going to just abandon it after a year?"
"Of course not. But I can leave after a year. The company can be handed over to professionals to manage. I don't have to stay here."
Chen Yao'an didn't know much about managing a company, so she thought about it for a long time.
"Can you really keep your word?"
"I guarantee I can do it this time, within a year." He said with great certainty.
Chen Yao'an hesitated for a few seconds before finally agreeing, "Okay, I'll only give you one year, just one year."
Xu Jialan readily agreed, "Okay."
"Then I'll wait for you."
After that phone call, Xu Jialan turned to her busy work, and the two almost lost contact. Occasionally, they would exchange a few WeChat messages, but it would take a long time to get a reply.
Over time, the two gradually lost contact.
—
The New Year has arrived again in the blink of an eye. This year's New Year for the Chen family is no different from the past, except that Xu Jialan is not participating.
On Lunar New Year's Eve, Chen Yao'an is the busiest person. She prepares everything for the New Year at home by herself, including the New Year's Eve dinner.
Fortunately, there are only three people in her family, so she doesn't need to prepare too much. Dinner is just a little more elaborate than usual.
After finishing their New Year's Eve dinner, Zhou Yao insisted on going outside to set off fireworks.
She likes to set off fireworks every year, and Chen Yao'an buys them for her every year.
Chen Yaoan carried several tubes of fireworks and led Zhou Yao to the courtyard.
She placed the fireworks in the center of the yard, took out a lighter to light one of the fuses, and then quickly ran away. The fireworks soon exploded in the yard, spraying light for a while.
Zhou Yao watched intently from the side, but after the fireworks ended, she was somewhat disappointed and said, "These fireworks aren't as nice as the ones Xu Jialan bought last year."
The smile on Chen Yao'an's lips vanished in an instant.
Zhou Yao urged her to order the next one.
She walked over expressionlessly and lit another fuse.
Blue-purple fireworks exploded in front of her, and Xu Jialan's image gradually appeared before Chen Yaoan's eyes.
I wonder what he's doing now, whether he's having New Year's Eve dinner with his family. Probably not, Xu Qingbang is bedridden, he probably wouldn't bother having dinner with Wang Yifei and Xu Qing.
He must have eaten it by himself. What did he eat by himself?
He wouldn't just eat a perfunctory meal on such an important day.
Chen Yaoan immediately lost interest in watching the fireworks, but Zhou Yao was so engrossed in watching them that she kept ordering her to light one after another for her.
The fireworks finally ended, and Zhou Yao went to watch the Spring Festival Gala with Yan Shumei. Chen Yaoan wasn't in the mood, and remembering that the dishes in the kitchen hadn't been washed yet, she got up and went into the kitchen.
Chen Yaoan didn't return for half an hour. Her phone, which was on the table, rang several times. Yan Shumei's hearing wasn't very good, and the TV was loud, so only Zhou Yao heard it.
She turned to Yan Shumei and asked, "Where did Yao'an go?"
Yan Shumei glanced out the window. "Why do you care what she's doing? She's busy with her own things."
After a while, the phone rang again, and Zhou Yao had no choice but to run over and answer it.
"Hello."
Hearing Zhou Yao's voice, Xu Jialan was taken aback for a moment. "Auntie, Happy New Year."
Zhou Yao immediately recognized Xu Jialan's voice and happily asked him, "Xu Jialan, when are you coming back?"
Xu Jialan was silent for a while before saying, "I'll be going back in a while."
How much time is left?
"It won't be long, just a few more months," Xu Jialan replied, her voice tinged with anticipation.
"Very good!"
"Is Yao'an there? Can she answer the phone?"
She's not here.
Xu Jialan felt an indescribable disappointment. "Could you tell her that I called? Ask her to call me back."
"Okay." Zhou Yao agreed quickly and hung up the phone shortly after.
After putting down her phone, Zhou Yao went back to watching the Spring Festival Gala and quickly forgot about Xu Jialan's phone call.
Chen Yao'an came out of the kitchen, went inside, picked up her phone from the table, and opened WeChat, intending to send Xu Jialan a "Happy New Year" message. However, after looking at their chat for a while, she finally gave up and turned off her phone.
Zhou Yao was so engrossed in watching the Spring Festival Gala that her eyes were glued to the TV screen.
"Mom, it's getting late, you should go to sleep."
Zhou Yao was very unhappy, "I'll watch for a while longer."
Since it was New Year's Day, Chen Yao'an didn't want to cause any unpleasantness, so she simply let her watch for a while longer.
Around midnight, Zhou Yao finally let out a big yawn and couldn't help but fall asleep. Only then did Chen Yaoan take him to bed.
After Zhou Yao fell asleep, Chen Yaoan also went back to her room to sleep.
Chen Yao'an was completely unaware that Xu Jialan had made a phone call. Although she had considered calling Xu Jialan, she ultimately decided against it.
Xu Jialan hadn't received a call from Chen Yaoan for several days, and finally couldn't hold back any longer, so she called her again.
Chen Yaoan successfully answered the call this time.
Chen Yao'an answered the phone softly: "Hello."
Xu Jialan was momentarily speechless, and after a long pause, she finally managed to say, "Happy New Year!"
Chen Yao'an replied, "Happy New Year!"
Xu Jialan fell silent again, and Chen Yaoan remained silent as well.
After what seemed like an eternity, Xu Jialan spoke first: "How have you been lately?"
“…It’s fine,” she paused, “…And you?”
"Aside from being a bit busy with work, everything else is great."
This time, Chen Yao'an quickly replied, "Are you working during the Chinese New Year?"
"No, I only had a few days off for the Chinese New Year holiday, and I've been busy again these past few days."
Chen Yao'an couldn't help but care for him: "No matter how busy you are with work, you must take good care of yourself and eat on time."
"Mmm," he replied, clearly pleased.
The two chatted idly for a long time, talking about trivial things. In the end, Chen Yaoan wanted to ask him when he would come back, but she held back and didn't ask.
She asked him as if she were urging him on.
The two didn't talk for long, but Xu Jialan was called away halfway through and had to hang up the phone reluctantly.
—
Before long, the one-year period that Chen Yaoan had agreed upon with him was over. When Shi Xinyu gathered together, she asked, "Did Xu Jialan tell you that he's coming back?"
"I didn't say that, I don't know." Chen Yao'an said calmly.
"Aren't you worried at all?" Shi Xinyu seemed even more anxious than she was.
"Why should I be in such a hurry? It's his choice whether he comes back or not. Do you think I can force him back?"
Unexpectedly, Shi Xinyu said, "This is not a bad idea."
Chen Yao'an: "..."
She almost rolled her eyes to the sky.
The two had been exchanging messages for a week. He didn't say anything, and she didn't ask. She really didn't know if he would come back.
After get off work in the evening, as usual, Chen Yaoan passed by the neighbor next door.
That year, she passed by several times almost every day, but never went inside.
Today, when she saw the lights on inside, her heart started racing uncontrollably.
Has he come back?
Previously, the lights were never turned on at this time.
Chen Yaoan took a deep breath, turned around and went inside. The lights were indeed on in the room, but it wasn't Xu Jialan; it was the cleaning lady he had hired earlier. However, the cleaning lady only came during the day and had already gone home by this time.
"Auntie, why are you still here at this hour?"
"Oh, I only remembered when I got home that I forgot to feed the fish in the pond today, so I had to come back again."
Chen Yao'an concealed her disappointment and said, "Oh."
Her gaze shifted to the pond in the yard, where the fish they had bought were still alive and well, some even several sizes larger.
I don't know how it grew so big.
She looked away. "I'm going back now."
In the days that followed, Chen Yaoan forced herself to stop paying attention to the matter, but she couldn't help but think about it all the time.
The next day, Chen Yao'an finished packing up Youye as usual and went home. After locking the door, she walked towards the sidewalk.
Suddenly, a voice called her name from behind.
"Chen Yao'an!"
Chen Yao'an suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She knew that voice all too well; it was even deeply etched into her mind.
He ultimately kept his word.
She turned around and saw Xu Jialan walking towards her with steady and quick steps.
Cherry blossoms fell to the ground, and his feet were covered with fresh petals, creating a trail of blossoms along his path.
2025.11.8
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Author's Note: Seeing the comments, I'm so sorry that some of you were still waiting for this story. I'm truly sorry to have kept you all waiting. Because I'm really poor, I've been busy working part-time lately. I'm so apologetic, deepest bow.
This concludes the article.
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