Chapter 18 I Understand
One afternoon in mid-September, Xia Qingwan happened to run into Lin Xiangyu by the lake on campus.
Lin Xiangyu was chatting with some younger students when she saw Qingwan from afar and waved, calling out, "Qingwan."
"Sister Xiangyu," Xia Qingwan walked over with Shi Xiaoyu, "what are you doing here?"
"My junior classmate was working on a project and insisted on interviewing me."
Lin Xiangyu smiled and said, "What about you guys?"
"The weather is nice today, let's come here to recite our lessons."
Shi Xiaoyu answered quickly.
"That's great," Lin Xiangyu said. Her junior called her over again, so she said to Xia Qingwan, "Shall we meet up tonight?"
"OK."
"Then I'll call you tonight."
Lin Xiangyu made a gesture.
As soon as she walked away, Shi Xiaoyu whispered, "I feel like she's 1.8 meters tall."
Xia Qingwan laughed, "When we first met, you insisted that I was 1.7 meters tall."
"That's right, you're 168 cm tall without shoes, and you're 170 cm with shoes on."
Shi Xiaoyu bumped her head against her shoulder and said, "Wow, I want to grow taller too." Then she added, "I told my mom before that I should give birth to me again."
"Then what?"
"Then she slapped me."
The two sat down under a tree by the lake, chatting and laughing, and opened their schoolbags to read.
With heavy coursework and intense competition among classmates, Xia Qingwan rarely had such a moment of complete relaxation. She lay on her knees, squinting at the pages of her book, feeling drowsy.
Shi Xiaoyu hasn't opened a book since she sat down; she keeps tapping on her phone screen.
"Hey, Professor Wang is going to give an open class on appreciating 'Dream of the Red Chamber' over in the auditorium. Should we sign up?"
Xia Qingwan paused, then subconsciously touched her forehead. "...I'm not going to report it."
Seeing her touching her forehead, Shi Xiaoyu also lay on her knees and tilted her head to look at her, "What's wrong with you? Do you have a fever?"
Xia Qingwan smiled and shook her head.
Why is your face a little red?
Shi Xiaoyu carefully examined her complexion. "Could she really have a fever?"
Xia Qingwan pressed the back of her hand against her cheek; it was indeed a bit hot, perhaps from the sun.
She closed her eyes and felt the early autumn afternoon sunlight dancing on her eyelids.
I could even feel the touch of that kiss on my forehead.
To be honest, she couldn't believe it herself. After that kiss, neither she nor Ye Peixiu said anything. In fact, when he drove her back to the gate of the compound, they said goodbye as usual.
And so it went on as if nothing had happened, until today.
-
In the evening, Xia Qingwan went to the cafe where he had agreed to meet Lin Xiangyu.
I thought she wanted to chat with her, so I rushed to the cafe, but I saw Lin Xiangyu typing on the computer screen.
Xia Qingwan ordered an iced Americano, sat down opposite her, and set up her own laptop to work on her group assignment while waiting for her.
An hour later, Lin Xiangyu finally finished and closed his laptop with a long sigh of relief.
Xia Qingwan laughed and said, "Finally finished with work?"
“You bet,” Lin Xiangyu blinked, looking mysterious, “Guess what I’m doing?”
Xia Qingwan shook her head and said she didn't know.
"I want to apply for a Master of Sociology program at NYU."
Lin Xiangyu said.
Xia Qingwan was a little surprised.
Last week, in Grandma Xi's hospital room, Xia Mingzhou mentioned that he wanted Lin Xiangyu to join Xia Changping's company after graduating from university. Since he'd be inheriting the company eventually, the sooner she joined, the better she could get familiar with things.
Judging from his tone, it seemed as if he had already decided on the matter. Why did Lin Xiangyu give a completely different account?
Lin Xiangyu noticed her expression and asked, "Did your brother tell you too? He said I'd join his family's company after graduation?"
That's what he said.
"I have already rejected him."
Lin Xiangyu said, "I don't want to hang out with him in those clubs anymore. It's so boring."
"Why do you suddenly think so?"
It's no wonder Xia Qingwan asked that question. Before being with Xia Mingzhou, Lin Xiangyu was very close to Qiao Yingxue and her group of rich girls, spending their days fooling around, drinking, and playing cards at the club. As a result, many people in the circle knew her. Why would she suddenly be tired of it now?
"Do you still remember Mr. Sheng?"
"……Remember."
Lin Xiangyu sneered and said, "It's really amazing. After that day when they invited us to drink, Mingzhou and that Mr. Sheng somehow became like brothers and started drinking together all the time. Every time, he would ask me to come along."
She was about to graduate and hadn't originally planned to take the postgraduate entrance exam, so she was busy brushing up her resume and running around looking for projects and internships. How could she have time for drinking? Because of this, Xia Mingzhou and he had a quarrel.
"I've already moved out of his house."
"So where do you live now? The dormitory?"
"I'm looking for an internship, and it's inconvenient to live in the dormitory, so I'm staying in a hotel for the time being," Lin Xiangyu finally got to the point. "...I came to you today to borrow some money."
Xia Qingwan knew that she was arrogant and would not speak unless she had to.
"No problem, how much do you want?"
"Twenty thousand, do you have it? I need it for my rent deposit," Lin Xiangyu said. "My mom will transfer the money to me next week, and I'll pay you back then."
"some."
Xia Qingwan immediately took out her mobile phone and transferred 20,000 yuan to her through the bank app.
Lin Xiangyu hugged her gratefully and said, "Actually, it's a bit late for me to apply to NYU now, but I've made up my mind to go abroad. If it's too late, I can just take a gap year."
Xia Qingwan nodded, "Of course it's a good thing to continue studying."
"I'll invite you over for hot pot sometime when I find a place to live."
"good."
-
The day after meeting Lin Xiangyu, Xia Qingwan returned to the Xia family's old house after class on Friday evening, only to find Xia Mingzhou sitting on the sofa in the living room on the first floor.
She called out, "Brother Mingzhou?"
The person on the sofa didn't respond.
When I got closer, I found that he had been drinking and his breath smelled of alcohol.
Grandma was still living at her sister's house in the south, and Grandma Xi was in the hospital. There was no one else at home, so Xia Qingwan could only wash her hands, look up the recipe for hangover soup online, and cook a bowl of it and bring it over.
Xia Mingzhou was still half asleep and didn't even look. He raised his hand and brushed it away, shattering the soup and bowl into pieces.
Xia Qingwan was so angry that she went upstairs to sleep without paying any more attention to him.
Early Saturday morning, Xia Qingwan got up and went downstairs wrapped in a blanket.
Xia Mingzhou was still sleepy, probably because he had woken up during the night. After seeing the mess on the ground, he guessed what had happened. When he saw her come down, he grinned and came over to apologize.
Xia Qingwan pinched her nose and said, "Go take a shower first."
Xia Mingzhou readily agreed, went to his grandmother's bedroom, found two old clothes, and took them to the bathroom.
-
Over the weekend, Ye Peixiu hosted a dinner at Manxianglou Restaurant for his mother, Pei Yaxian, and cousin, Pei Meizhu.
Pei Meizhu was talkative and chattering non-stop throughout the meal.
Finally, she complained, "My cousin told me not to call him."
Pei Yaxian paused, then smiled reassuringly, "Your cousin is busy with work."
"He told me to talk to his assistant if I have anything to say! Listen, is this what a cousin should say?"
"Which assistant?"
Pei Yaxian asked.
"I think his name was something like Wang Jingzi."
“Oh, it’s him,” Pei Yaxian said in a more serious tone. “Wang Jingzi’s grandfather used to drive for Grandpa Ye. You should restrain yourself in front of him and not always act like a spoiled princess.”
"Whatever, I'm not going to see this person anyway."
Previously, when Pei Meizhu was admitted to Peking University through a recommendation program, Ye Peixiu entrusted Wang Jingzi with the arrangements before and after her admission. As a result, Wang Jingzi and Pei Meizhu had several phone conversations.
She found this person's serious and polite manner quite annoying, so she already felt a sense of dislike for him even before meeting him.
Ye Peixiu finally spoke up, "He will take you to visit Professor Chen tomorrow, so you'd better behave yourself."
The sky has fallen.
Pei Meizhu's eyes widened. "What?! You're not taking me?"
Ye Peixiu didn't even raise his eyes, "I'm that free?"
Pei Meizhu reached out to grab his sleeve and act coquettishly, but Ye Peixiu merely raised his eyes slightly, and Pei Meizhu immediately shut her mouth in fright.
But the young girl was not so easily discouraged. After dinner, Ye Peixiu first helped Pei Yaxian into the car and then returned to the driver's seat of his own car. Pei Meizhu seized the opportunity and quickly opened the passenger door and got in.
"Cousin, let's negotiate, okay?"
Ye Peixiu smiled, "What bargaining chips do you have?"
"Because I have no leverage, everything can be leverage," Pei Meizhu said, with a bunch of twisted logic. "Cousin, what do you want me to do for you? I will do it for you, even if it means death."
Ye Peixiu unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. He lit a cigarette at the smoking area under the hanging flower gate at the entrance of the restaurant.
Pei Meizhu peered at him longingly through the passenger window.
Ye Peixiu raised his hand holding the cigarette slightly, "Come down."
Pei Meizhu got out of the car quickly and stood in front of him with her hands behind her back.
Ye Peixiu lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then said, "Do you remember I mentioned to you that I wanted to introduce you to a friend?"
"A pretty older sister?"
"Um."
He said, "Call her and ask her out for dinner."
"Great! I love having dinner with beautiful sisters. Now? Tonight?"
Ye Peixiu gave her an address, "Tell her to come here at eight o'clock tonight."
"Great! I love this place. The glutinous rice balls are especially delicious."
Pei Meizhu asked, "What's the phone number?"
You don't need to come.
"Um?"
Pei Meizhu rolled her eyes, her expression becoming meaningful. Not wanting to gossip at this critical juncture, she immediately played the role of a good boy and made a zipper gesture with her mouth, "I understand."
-
When Xia Qingwan received the call, Xia Mingzhou was scratching his head opposite her.
He didn't understand why Lin Xiangyu suddenly got so angry with him that she moved away.
"When the time comes, tell me the address of her rental house."
Xia Mingzhou said.
Xia Qingwan didn't answer him. She picked up the phone, thinking it was a delivery or something. But as soon as she answered, a sweet voice called out, "Sister Qingwan, this is Pei Meizhu."
She paused for a moment, then said, "Oh, hello, Meizhu."
“My cousin gave me your phone number before. I’ve only recently settled down, so I was thinking of meeting you for a meal.”
Xia Qingwan didn't doubt it and said, "Okay."
"Is this evening convenient?"
The two girls quickly agreed on a time and place.
-
In the evening, Xia Qingwan took a taxi to keep the appointment.
When we arrived, we realized that our destination was a club hidden in an alley.
The waiter seemed to know she was coming and greeted her at the door and led her into a private room.
"Please wait here."
She thanked him, put down her bag, and sat down.
The seat is next to the window, and outside the window is a pond with a few remaining lotus leaves.
She unexpectedly recalled the words Ye Peixiu had spoken under the umbrella in the rain during their first meal together.
As I was staring out the window in a daze, I heard the box door open.
She turned around.
But it was Ye Peixiu who entered.
Many thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. She wanted to ask, "Where is Meizhu?" But the question was immediately drowned out: as soon as she saw Ye Peixiu, all she could think about was that kiss on her forehead.
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