Chapter 15 Ye Peixiu stands by the car
“That Mr. Wang said I should stay in the hospital for three months, but I can’t stand it. I disagree. Besides, my mother is going back to Beijing at the end of August. How can I not be at home?”
Grandma Xi complained incessantly on the phone.
“It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. It’s not convenient for you to be alone at home on crutches, and I can’t rest easy about it. At least in the hospital, there are nurses taking care of you all the time.”
After much persuasion from Xia Qingwan, Grandma Xi finally softened a bit and asked, "What if the old lady comes back?"
"I'll call Grandma and ask her to stay in the south for a few more days. By the time she comes back, you'll be fully recovered. That's the most important thing."
"well."
Grandma Xi readily agreed.
Although she always complained that the old lady was unwilling to hire a younger housekeeper, Grandma Xi was most afraid that the old lady would think she was too old and send her back to her hometown to live out her retirement.
The old lady was so stubborn and cold-tempered, how could she just abandon her and leave her to her own devices?
"This time it's all thanks to Mr. Ye. Fortunately, he cares about me."
Grandma Xi was speaking when she suddenly paused, as if responding to someone next to her, and then said into the phone, "Your Grandma Liang is here, I'll hang up now."
After hanging up the phone, Xia Qingwan returned to the dining table, ate a few bites of food, grabbed her backpack, and rushed to her senior and professor who were already waiting for her.
-
Entrusted by Liang Xinwu, Wang Jingzi brought a nurse from the hospital to the Xia family's old house to help Grandma Xi pack some personal clothes and daily necessities.
Wang Jingzi didn't want to touch the old man's personal clothes, so he stood in the living room on the first floor and waited, leaving only the nurse to go to the bedroom on the first floor.
Just as I was waiting, I heard a voice calling from outside the entrance, "Grandma Xi, what are you busy with?"
Wang Jingzi looked up and saw a young man appear in the entrance hall.
The two looked at each other and were both stunned.
Wang Jingzi recognized that the young man in front of him was Xia Changping's son Xia Mingzhou.
We've crossed paths a few times in Beiguanfang Hutong.
"Xia Mingzhou? Hello, hello, I'm Wang Jingzi."
Xia Mingzhou vaguely remembered that this man seemed to be Mr. Ye's assistant. Why was he here?
Despite his doubts, Xia Mingzhou greeted him with a broad smile.
"Hello, Brother Wang, what brings you here..."
The two shook hands.
Wang Jingzi said, "By chance, Grandma Xi fell and injured herself at home and needed to recuperate in the hospital. I came with a nurse to pack some clothes and daily necessities."
Xia Mingzhou was even more surprised.
Why would Mr. Ye's assistant have to handle Grandma Xi's matter personally?
But Wang Jingzi's explanation was vague, glossing over the cause, so he didn't press for details.
"You fell and hurt yourself? Are you alright?"
"Grandma Xi has a fractured tibia. She is elderly, so the doctor does not recommend surgery. She needs to rest in the hospital for a few months."
"Oh dear, I need to hurry and find out which hospital and which ward it is?"
Wang Jingzi smiled and said, "I don't know the specifics either. You can call Grandma Xi and ask her when you have time."
Just then the nurse came out of the bedroom, and Xia Mingzhou grabbed her and asked her again.
The nurse glanced at Wang Jingzi, who smiled slightly but remained silent. The nurse then said, "Visits are not allowed yet. I'll go back to the hospital and talk to the doctor. If visits are allowed, we'll tell the patient and have her call you. How does that sound?"
"...Alright then."
Xia Mingzhou left the nurse's phone number.
Wang Jingzi took the nurse away and sent her back to the hospital. Wang Jingzi said, "I won't go up. After Grandma Liang leaves, tell Grandma Xi about this and say that we met Xia Mingzhou when we went home. See how Grandma Xi will arrange it."
The nurse nodded and said okay.
-
That night, Xia Mingzhou returned home and saw Xia Changping lying drunk on the sofa.
Xia Mingzhou covered him with a blanket, poured a glass of water and placed it on the coffee table. He was about to go back to his room when Xia Changping slowly turned over and sat up.
He propped his elbows on his knees, reached for a cigarette on the coffee table, shook it out, lit it, and took a puff.
Xia Mingzhou said, "...You haven't had too much to drink?"
Xia Changping ignored him and leaned back casually. "Someone told me you skipped work this afternoon?"
Xia Mingzhou paused, "...Let's go outside to talk business."
Xia Changping stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly became furious, threw the cigarette in his hand to the ground, pointed at him and cursed.
"...Lying? You're not being honest, and you expect me to investigate?"
After hurling a long string of curses, he sat back down on the sofa, lit another cigarette, and Xia Mingzhou, already used to his unpredictable temper, bent down to pick up the cigarette he had thrown away.
The cigarette butt had burned a scar on the carpet, a crooked brown tooth.
Xia Mingzhou sighed and said truthfully, "I went back to the old house this afternoon. Qingwan told me to go back and visit when I had time. The old lady wasn't home, and neither was she. She was worried about Grandma Xi living alone."
Xia Changping snorted coldly, "You don't listen to a single word I say, but you follow that little brat's every word to the letter."
Xia Mingzhou didn't reply, but said, "You should get some rest."
"stop."
Xia Changping asked, "What did you talk about with Chen Axi when you got back?"
Chen Axi is Grandma Xi's real name. Xia Changping always addresses the two elderly people in the family by their names.
Xia Mingzhou looked up at his father.
To be honest, he didn't know what Xia Changping was planning. He was confused when he asked him to go to the old house a while ago to ask Xia Qingwan about her social circle.
"...Nothing. She's just at home with nothing to do, drinking tea and reading a book."
Xia Changping uttered an "oh," thought for a moment, and then asked, "Have you been in touch with that little girl recently?"
"No, she's busy."
Xia Changping raised his hand and said, "Okay, go to bed."
Xia Mingzhou responded, his eyes rolling around, and after a brief pause, he simply sat down on the carpet. He reached out and grabbed a cigarette from the coffee table, lit one, took a puff, and then said with a casual smile, "Dad, what kind of man did Qingwan meet?"
"..."
Xia Changping glanced at him and asked, "Why are you asking this?"
"Last time, Qingwan said that this was not the case, so I thought, maybe you saw it wrong."
"impossible."
The words were decisive and abrupt, stirring up a cloud of dust as they fell.
Xia Mingzhou waited quietly for a few seconds. Xia Changping did not speak again. Instead, he fell into some kind of deep thought, and it seemed that he would not say anything more.
Xia Mingzhou was about to get up when Xia Changping suddenly spoke up again, "Since you're interested, why don't you go and look into it?"
"Investigate what?"
Xia Changping leaned back, smiling, and said, "Your younger sister is quite something," he paused slightly, then narrowed his long eyes, "she's getting very close to Mr. Ye."
Xia Mingzhou paused as he put out his cigarette, "How is that possible?"
"For years, Ye Peixiu has always eaten alone at that restaurant in the alley. A few months ago, he brought a female college student with him. The two of them were chatting and laughing, and the student was even wearing Ye Peixiu's clothes."
Xia Mingzhou reacted for a moment.
He had also heard about this from one of Qiao Yingxue's followers, but he hadn't taken it to heart, thinking it was just a common romantic affair.
That female student, is it Qing Wan?
"...How did Qingwan know Mr. Ye?"
“That’s why I asked you to investigate,” Xia Changping said, “to see what the situation is really like.”
Young masters like Ye Peixiu and Sheng Junchi only have two types of women around them: one is a family friend of equal social standing, who could be a friend, business partner, or even a potential marriage partner; the other is…
If it's not a family relationship that's well-matched, then no matter what the initial relationship was, it will eventually develop into the latter type of relationship.
Xia Mingzhou was puzzled. How could Qingwan do that?
It seems that not only he didn't believe it, but even Xia Changping was surprised.
Xia Qingwan was such a cold and proud young girl. According to Grandma Xia, she was the one who disdained associating with the sons of the powerful and wealthy. How could she have any connection with Mr. Ye?
"Don't tell anyone else yet, and don't tell your girlfriend either."
"Um."
-
Within just five days, Xia Qingwan changed the packaging of those two packets of white tea four times.
It had to be formal and sophisticated, yet not too intimate, which took a lot of thought. For the last time, she threw away her handwritten words and returned to the original packaging box.
Upon closer examination, this was actually the first time she had ever given a gift to a man.
Fortunately, it was a thank-you gift, which is a legitimate and well-defined type of gift in interpersonal interactions, leaving no room for speculation.
Senior Xiao Zhu saw her busy at her desk, unpacking and repackaging something. She then stared at the wrapping paper she had written on, and asked with interest, "Is this a thank-you gift for that brother?"
"……Um?"
"Didn't you say that your grandma was sent to the hospital because your brother sent someone to visit her?" The senior student pointed. "Is this gift for him?"
"Hmm," Xia Qingwan smiled slightly, "I didn't know what to give as a gift, but since we were here, I decided to buy some local specialties."
"That's good, local specialties can't go wrong."
Xia Qingwan nodded. "I think so too."
Xiao Zhu lay at the end of the bed and said with a smile, "Judging from your expression, isn't he your relative's brother?"
If he were a brother from a relative's family, they would be very clear about the differences between them and would not change the packaging over and over again like this, as if he didn't know what was going on.
“He’s the grandson of my grandmother’s friend,” Xia Qingwan said. “He’s my generation, a few years older than me.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Zhu chuckled, "In the old days, this kind of relationship would have meant an arranged marriage between children."
Xia Qingwan chuckled, "Luckily, it's not the old era anymore, otherwise, how could the two of us be doing research here?"
"That's true."
Xiao Zhu hugged her pillow, looking up at the ceiling. "...I was feeling quite tired and annoyed, but what you said has rekindled my fighting spirit."
"Good luck tomorrow."
Xiao Zhu clenched her fist and said in the same way, "Good luck tomorrow."
-
Unexpectedly, the two bags of white tea had been kept with Xia Qingwan for a month and a half.
At the beginning of August, after completing the field research project, Xia Qingwan returned to Beijing with Professor Zhang and senior student Xiao Zhu.
After getting home and putting down my luggage, I went to the hospital to visit Grandma Xi first.
She was worried that Grandma Xi would be bored in the hospital, but to her surprise, as soon as she opened the ward door, she heard a string of laughter coming from inside.
Grandma Liang was sitting on the edge of the bed, whispering to Grandma Xi, like students chatting and laughing quietly in class.
"Grandma Xi, Grandma Liang."
Xia Qingwan called out with a smile.
"Hey, Qingwan is back."
The two elderly people pulled her and looked at her left and right, "She seems to have lost some weight."
Xia Qingwan took out the gift and asked the two old people to try it on.
The local tie-dyed clothes are not expensive, but you can try them on for a bit of novelty.
"It looks good. This blue color suits me."
Liang Xinwu beamed, "It's kind of you to think of us even after going to the countryside."
"Of course."
Xia Qingwan asked, "How is Grandma Xi recovering?"
"I was just told. I just had a checkup this morning, and the doctor said I'm recovering quite well," Grandma Xi said with a smile. "He said it must be because I'm getting enough nutrition. At my age, my bones are still very good at healing themselves."
"Then you have to do rehabilitation before you can be discharged from the hospital."
Liang Xinwu said, "I'll call Lao Xia another day and ask her to come back a few days later, until you've fully recovered, so she won't come back and throw a tantrum at us again."
“You call her too, and Qingwan calls her too, both telling her not to come back. It’s no wonder she’s suspicious.”
Grandma Xi said.
That's what they said, but before they could contact Xia Huiqing, Xia Huiqing called back first.
She said her sister's granddaughter, a high school student, was going to participate in a physics competition, and begged her to stay a few more days to tutor the granddaughter. Xia Huiqing, a physics professor for thirty years, naturally couldn't refuse.
After this phone call, all three of them felt relieved.
-
In addition to daily trips to the hospital for visits, Xia Qingwan also had to return to school to participate in the follow-up work of the project. Although it was vacation, her daily life was not much easier than when she was in school.
She took some time to text Ye Peixiu, asking if he had time to meet so she could give him the gift.
Ye Peixiu replied, "I'm on a business trip. We'll talk when I get back to Beijing."
After waiting for a while, it was early September and the first semester of sophomore year started.
At the start of the new semester, I'm busy with many things.
After class, Xia Qingwan helped her senior Xiao Zhu organize materials in Professor Zhang's office.
Professor Zhang had some family matters to attend to and left the office first, leaving only Xia Qingwan and Xiao Zhu behind. The two girls finished their work around nine o'clock and came out chatting and laughing, each carrying a stack of documents.
Xia Qingwan closed the door behind her and looked up to see two men walking out of the dean's office next door. They were the dean seeing off a guest. The guest was tall and had long legs, wearing a white shirt and black pants.
Xiao Zhu greeted the dean politely, and Xia Qingwan also nodded and said hello.
The dean, approachable and smiling, said, "It's so late, is Professor Zhang using you all as free labor again?"
Xiao Zhu explained with a smile, and the four of them walked down the stairs one after another.
Upon reaching the lobby on the first floor, the guest said, "Dean, please wait a moment."
"Alright, Mr. Ye, take care."
Xiao Zhu covered his mouth and spoke in a low voice in Xia Qingwan's ear. Xia Qingwan was holding a book and kept glancing at the man's trouser legs and leather shoes out of the corner of her eye, so she barely heard what Xiao Zhu said.
Stepping outside into the lobby and down the steps, Xiao Zhu said, "I'm starving. I need to order takeout as soon as I get back."
At this moment, Xia Qingwan heard the sound of a car door closing behind her. She stopped and cut the Gordian knot, "Senior, you go first. I have something else to do."
Xiao Zhu was a little surprised, but adhering to the sense of propriety in getting along with others, he didn't ask any more questions. He nodded and said with a smile, "Okay, be careful when you are alone."
Seeing that the senior sister was walking away, Xia Qingwan took a deep breath and turned around.
It was late at night and most of the lights in the teaching building were turned off, leaving only silence.
Ye Peixiu, dressed in white shirt and black pants, stood by the car, his figure backlit by the streetlight. A few steps away, he said with a half-smile, "I thought you were going to pretend you didn't know me again."
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