Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Something's Wrong with Me
During the National Day holiday in October, Xia Qingwan left Beijing and went south to visit her grandmother.
Xia Huiqing's ancestral home is in Shaoping City, a Jiangnan water town that has produced many cultural celebrities. Its natural scenery and cultural landscape are both exceptional. It was during the long holiday and tourists were flocking to the area. After getting off the plane, Xia Qingwan saw her cousin who had come to pick her up at the exit, through the crowd of people.
The uncle is Xia Huiqing's sister's only son. He is in his forties and has a son and a daughter. Xia Huiqing is staying in Shaoping City to tutor his eldest daughter in physics.
"Uncle."
"Qingwan, long time no see."
Xia Qingwan smiled and nodded, helping to put the suitcase into the trunk.
Initially, Xia Huiqing had arranged for Xia Qingwan to be fostered in Shaoping City, intending to place her in his home. However, his career was just starting out, and his daughter and son were both under five years old, leading to daily chaos and a lot of headaches. Therefore, he declined Xia Huiqing's request and instead helped introduce a reliable teacher to him.
Later, Xia Qingwan stayed at the homes of three different teachers. Her great-aunt and cousin's family would invite her over for a meal during holidays.
Now, after several years apart, everyone has returned to their places, and life is gradually getting better.
"Does my aunt still live in the same place?"
Xia Qingwan asked.
My uncle laughed and said, "Yes, after your great-uncle passed away, your great-aunt felt lonely living alone. Since this place is close to your cousin's school, she decided to live here after she started high school."
Xia Qingwan nodded and said, "That's great. I heard that my cousin is taking physics tutoring?"
“The teacher said she has a talent for physics,” my uncle said with a smile. “It’s all thanks to your grandma being here. She can give her some extra help and see if she can get into Peking University like you.”
Along the way, we chatted about family matters and soon arrived at the community.
When relatives meet, they naturally exchange pleasantries in a lively manner.
Xia Qingwan was arranged to live in the same bedroom with her cousin.
In the evening, my uncle brought his aunt and cousin over, and the whole family had dinner together.
After the meal, my cousin's uncle, aunt, and younger cousin left before my younger cousin, who had gone out for tutoring, returned home.
My cousin is in adolescence. She doesn’t like to talk to people and is a bit reserved.
My great-aunt joked, "Manman, this is your cousin. We've had dinner together a few times during Chinese New Year before, have you forgotten?"
Chen Yuman ate her food without looking up and whispered, "...Remember."
When it was time to go to bed, after taking a shower and returning to the bedroom, Chen Yuman, who was reading a book, spoke her first words to Xia Qingwan, in a tentative tone, "Sister, you are so beautiful."
Xia Qingwan smiled and said, "You are very beautiful too."
Perhaps because she felt she was easy-going, within two days, Chen Yuman had quickly become familiar with her. After returning from tutoring in the evening, she would quickly eat a few mouthfuls of food and go back to the bedroom to whisper to Xia Qingwan.
Teenage girls have many worries besides their studies. Their mothers are not around, their grandmothers are old, and they have almost no one to confide in. These past two days, Chen Yuman has been talking with Xia Qingwan until late at night every night.
From her period always leaking sideways, to the boys at school bullying her, to her parents favoring her younger brother, to the pressure of the physics competition, she told Xia Qingwan everything like pouring beans, and she cried several times while talking.
Xia Qingwan seemed to see her former self in her eyes.
During the sensitive and turbulent adolescence, I was isolated and helpless.
"Sister, the teacher always says that things will be better if I get into university," Chen Yuman wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and asked, "Will things really be better if I get into university?"
Xia Qingwan asked, "Which university do you want to apply to?"
"Peking University," Chen Yuman said with determination, "I want to apply to the Department of Physics."
"I think you will definitely pass the exam."
Perhaps because her strengths were mentioned, Chen Yuman's expression relaxed a little, and she nodded with a smile, "I will definitely do my best."
Seeing that her mood had eased, Xia Qingwan smiled and said, "I can't guarantee that all your worries will go away once you get into university, but as long as you remember that you are your own master, you can completely control your life. When you encounter problems, solve them. Then, you will definitely get better and better."
"There are some things that are beyond your control, so don't let them consume too much of your energy. Your energy is limited, so allocate it to things you think are worthwhile."
Chen Yuman listened attentively and looked at her without blinking.
Xia Qingwan patted her head and said, "Remember, you are precious and that will not change because of anyone's contempt."
Chen Yuman nodded blankly, and after a while, she said, "...Sister, if I get into Peking University, can we be friends?"
"Of course that's great! We're friends now, and we can see each other often once you go to university."
"Very good!"
Chen Yuman said with a smile, "Sister, I will definitely go to Peking University to find you."
She studied diligently. In addition to receiving tutoring from Xia Huiqing during the day, she also went out for English tutoring every night. Even though it was a holiday, she was still very busy every day.
It was not until the end of the holiday that Chen Yuman was allowed to go shopping with Xia Qingwan.
After buying some clothes, the two girls went to eat hotpot together.
Halfway through the meal, Xia Qingwan received a call from Grandma Xi.
Grandma Xi sighed and said, "Your eldest uncle just came by."
What is he doing here?
"He said he couldn't get through to you on the phone, so he came to visit. He didn't say anything else, just sat for a while and then left." Grandma Xi said, "I think he wanted to find out about Mr. Ye and Mr. Wang, to test me."
Xia Changping did call her twice, but she was busy and didn't answer. She didn't call back either.
“I think this matter has started to go wrong if we keep it a secret. Your uncle probably thinks that the old lady has some other relationship with the Ye family,” he said with a sigh. “Let’s discuss it when the old lady comes back and see what to do.”
A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.
If this continues, even if Xia Huiqing has no contact with the Ye family, I'm afraid Xia Changping will become furious.
Xia Qingwan agreed.
Grandma Xi asked again, "Have you contacted Mr. Ye recently?"
"……No."
After chatting about other things for a while, Xia Qingwan told her to take good care of herself. After hanging up the phone, she was staring blankly at the sesame paste in the small bowl. Chen Yuman on the other side came closer and asked quietly, "Sister, do you have a boyfriend?"
Xia Qingwan smiled and shook her head.
"How could that be? You're so beautiful! There must be a lot of people chasing after you."
“I don’t want to talk about it now,” Xia Qingwan said softly, “...and I haven’t met anyone suitable.”
"I understand. There's nothing you like."
Xia Qingwan smiled but said nothing.
-
When Xia Huiqing got home that evening, she seemed to remember something and said to Xia Qingwan, "Oh right, I'll buy some snacks tomorrow. Since you're on holiday, you can take them back to your Grandma Liang and Mr. Ye when you go back to Beijing the day after tomorrow."
"……good."
After taking a shower, Chen Yuman was doing homework, and Xia Qingwan was sitting on the bed, thinking about whether she should send a message to Ye Peixiu to ask if he was free the day after tomorrow, but his WeChat message popped up first.
"Mr. Ye: How was your vacation?"
"I'm quite happy."
Just as I successfully sent the message and was preparing the wording for the next sentence, his phone call came directly to me.
Xia Qingwan glanced at Chen Yuman, who was writing furiously at her desk, got up, left the bedroom, closed the door, walked to the balcony outside the living room, and closed the sliding door.
Click to connect.
He greeted her respectfully, "Mr. Ye."
Ye Peixiu didn't correct her form of address, but asked in a low and gentle voice, "What did you do during the holiday?"
"I have arrived at my great-aunt Shaoping's house."
“I know,” he said, “I saw your posts on WeChat Moments.”
After he mentioned it, Xia Qingwan remembered that she had posted a message on her WeChat Moments after arriving in Shaoping, and Ye Peixiu had liked it.
For some reason, my mood became a little subtle, like accidentally eating a piece of ginger and thinking it was bitter, but it tasted sweet and astringent when I put it in my mouth.
"...Grandma tutors my cousin, so I wander around outside during the day and chat with my cousin in the evening," she said in detail. "It's quite fulfilling."
"The osmanthus flowers in Shaoping should be in full bloom. Have you gone to see them?"
“Yes,” Xia Qingwan said. “I visited two gardens. There were a lot of tourists, so it was a bit crowded, but I still enjoyed it very much.”
"That's good," Ye Peixiu said. "I saw that the Koelreuteria trees in Shaoping should be bearing fruit, right?"
"Well, there are a lot of Koelreuteria trees planted on both sides of the road here in Shaoping. When they bear fruit, they form a sea of pink flowers, which looks very magnificent." She loves flowers and plants, and she feels a little happy when talking about these things. She can't help but say, "When I lived here as a child, the happiest thing every day was picking up a few fallen fruits on the way home from school. Each fruit pod is pink and yellow and feels very dry to the touch."
Ye Peixiu listened quietly.
In between her words, he also asked some other questions about her childhood.
Xia Qingwan unknowingly talked about a lot: her favorite snacks as a child, her strong subjects, and the teachers who left the deepest impression on her...
After a moment, he realized that he had said too much and seemed a little rude, so he hurriedly tried to change the subject, "You are on vacation too, right? What were you busy with just now?"
"Just finished showering," he said. "I'm smoking."
Perhaps it was because she had just talked a lot and was so excited, but Xia Qingwan had an inexplicable connection with his words. She thought of the last time they had dinner together, when he had trapped her between his body and the door panel. They were so close at that time that she could even feel the warmth of his tall body.
And then there was the first time they ate together, his shoulder was half wet from the rain, and the muscle lines were faintly visible under his white shirt... The feeling of him kissing her forehead, everything was so fresh as if it had just happened in that instant.
My heart started racing and my breathing quickened. Just then, he asked, "And you? What were you doing just now?"
"I just finished showering too."
Xia Qingwan said.
She was stating the truth, and didn't think much of it at first. It was only when Ye Peixiu fell silent on the other end of the phone that she suddenly realized the atmosphere seemed a bit off.
The main reason was that she had something to hide, and the storm was brewing. The more she tried to stop it, the clearer it became.
But there was no way to make up for it now. After a few seconds of silence, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask in a very normal tone, "What are you thinking about?"
She tried to bring the atmosphere back on track, trying to stop the chaos in her mind.
Ye Peixiu replied, "It's a secret."
She felt a surge of turmoil again, when she heard the voice on the other end of the phone say, "Maybe another day, when there's a chance, I can tell you."
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