Chapter 72 "I've thought it through."
Recently, in the office, many master's supervisors, including Professor Zhang, have said that since Xia Qingwan returned, Professor Zhao has become much more efficient and organized in his daily work. He no longer scolds students as often and can be described as having a radiant smile.
"If all the students I teach are like this, I would be willing to teach them for a few more years."
Professor Zhang said this while sipping his tea.
Professor Zhao said cheerfully, "It's your fault that you can't keep people here."
"The way you're saying that makes it sound like Qingwan was targeting the direction you chose," Professor Zhang scoffed. "I know that she initially intended to choose your direction, lining up to consult you, only to be criticized by you as shallow and outdated. And look at it now?"
Even the best students need guidance before they can see the bigger picture.
Professor Zhao looked calm and composed.
"Come on, according to you, you can't teach and nurture students without being harsh? Only someone like Qingwan, who can endure hardship, is intelligent, quick-witted, and resilient..."
As they were talking, the half-open door was knocked on and then pushed open. Xia Qingwan walked in and said with a smile, "Good morning, Professor Zhao and Professor Zhang."
Good morning, Qingyun.
Professor Zhang turned around with a smile, "We were just talking about you, and here you are."
"Stop talking nonsense with him," Professor Zhao put down his teacup and waved, "Come and take a look at this email."
Xia Qingwan put down her bag. "I'm here."
She walked around the table and leaned over slightly to look at Professor Zhao's computer desktop.
Professor Zhao said, "Then let's settle on March?"
"good."
"I'll forward the email to you and you can write a reply."
"good."
Today's work began with this unexpected assignment.
Xia Qingwan is full of energy.
Although the current situation can be described as fraught with crisis, and Ye Peixiu's family's attitude is like a sword hanging over his head, the more uncertain the factors, the more he should grasp what he can control and gain control of his life through one small thing at a time.
Therefore, Xia Qingwan was excited and optimistic.
On the day before the start of winter, Ji Shuyu invited her to his home for tea.
Sheng Junchi's home is deep in the alley. The surroundings are quiet and peaceful, with only the big red doors vaguely hinting at the other world behind it.
There are towering trees in the yard, and the ground is covered with withered yellow ginkgo leaves.
Ji Shuyu entertained her in the greenhouse used for meetings. Just as she sat down and exchanged a few words, she saw a car slowly driving into the driveway through the floor-to-ceiling window.
Ji Shuyu said, "Junchi is back, I have to go. I'm sorry, Qingwan, please sit for a while."
"Okay, it's okay, go ahead and do your work."
Just then, her phone rang, and Xia Qingwan picked it up and answered it.
"The Sheng family has invited you again?"
On the other end of the phone, Ye Peixiu seemed to be flipping through documents.
"Yes, I just arrived."
"If you don't want to refuse, there's no need to be polite with her."
Xia Qingwan smiled, "I'm not reluctant to come. Her home is very cozy. It's quite relaxing to come and sit here occasionally."
"Isn't Ye Garden cozy?"
Xia Qingwan laughed, "It's different."
"How are they different?"
"Shuyu is easy to get along with. It's comfortable to chat with her."
Ye Peixiu laughed, a hint of danger in his voice, and said in a low, half-joking tone, "Xia Qingwan, you'd better explain this to me when you get back."
As they were talking, Xia Qingwan caught a glimpse of Ji Shuyu through the courtyard, looking diagonally into the living room through the French windows. Ji Shuyu took the child from the nanny's arms and placed him on the carpet. The one-year-old toddled forward, and ahead of him, Sheng Junchi bent down and stretched out his arms to wait.
The child staggered closer, and Sheng Junchi picked him up, tossed him up and caught him again, repeating this several times.
Ji Shuyu first looked at them with a smile, then walked over and stood in front of Sheng Junchi. Both of them faced the children in their arms. The family of three was probably saying something funny.
Even without hearing any sound, just looking at this scene can evoke a sense of harmonious joy.
The child was quickly taken away by the nanny, and Ji Shuyu considerately went around behind Sheng Junchi to help him take off his coat.
After taking off her coat, Ji Shuyu walked back to him and helped him untie his tie. At that moment, Sheng Junchi leaned down and kissed her.
Xia Qingwan immediately turned her gaze away.
"...Why haven't you spoken for so long?"
"...It seems that Sheng Junchi and Shu Yu have a good relationship."
She said.
Ye Peixiu paused for a moment, probably because many things were flashing through his mind, and he couldn't find a suitable response.
When Ji Shuyu returned to the living room, she clearly acted more like a little girl than before.
With a slight blush on her face, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Junchi had to look after the child, so I was delayed for a while."
Xia Qingwan smiled and asked, "Are you guys getting ready for dinner?"
“Jun Chi has already eaten out, and we’ve eaten at home too. Right now, Jun Chi is going to work overtime in the study for a while, so it won’t interfere with our chat.”
Ji Shuyu has been inviting Xia Qingwan to visit lately, intending to ask her more about the former Miss Lin Xiangyu.
She heard that of all the women Sheng Junchi had been with, only Miss Lin was someone else's "snatched" from him. Moreover, she heard that Miss Lin was cheerful, lively, and straightforward, and that she and Sheng Junchi got along very well.
She didn't ask much about the people and things Sheng Junchi did at social events, and tried her best not to care. However, there was one person, Miss Lin, whom she was very afraid was the most unforgettable person in Sheng Junchi's heart.
What if, when the child is older, he and she rekindle their old flame?
That Miss Lin is in Beijing.
However, today, back in the reception room, perhaps the sweet shock from just now was too great, Ji Shuyu suddenly didn't want to ask anymore.
The conversation then turned to parenting and graduate school.
Xia Qingwan is a very good listener.
Thus, after the conversation, both parties felt very good. Ji Shuyu asked with a smile, "You're going to pursue a doctorate, when do you plan to have children?"
"...I haven't thought about it yet, probably around 30 years old."
"That's good. Raising a child is stressful, but it's also endlessly fun. Especially," Ji Shuyu smiled gently, "it's the connection between you and him. Just thinking about it makes me feel happy."
At this time, the housekeeper came in and announced that Mr. Ye had arrived.
Xia Qingwan turned her head.
Outside the window, under the dim lights in the courtyard, Ye Peixiu walked along the path from the direction of the garage, wearing a black overcoat and a gunmetal gray shirt underneath. A ginkgo leaf drifted down and landed in front of his shiny leather shoes.
Sheng Junchi came out of the main house to greet him.
The two stood in the corridor and chatted for a while.
Ji Shuyu said, "Mr. Ye has come to pick you up."
Xia Qingwan smiled, and the two of them stood up and followed the housekeeper to the corridor of the main house.
Ye Peixiu and Sheng Junchi looked at the two of them, and Ye Peixiu smiled and said, "School's over, it's time to go home."
Xia Qingwan walked closer and was held in his arms.
Sheng Junchi invited them to sit in the living room for a while and took the child out to show them.
The little bundle of flesh waddled as it walked, nestled on Ye Peixiu's lap, only able to utter indistinct sounds like "Father, Father."
Sheng Junchi said, "Your dad is here!"
This made everyone in the room laugh.
Before parting, Sheng Junchi and Ji Shuyu escorted them to the driveway.
The faint sound of a child crying could be heard from inside the house. Ji Shuyu apologized and went back to the main house first, while Ye Peixiu answered a phone call beside her.
Xia Qingwan was about to get in the car when Sheng Junchi suddenly said, "Qingwan, I have something to tell you."
He lowered his voice slightly, "I suddenly received a remittance of 600,000 yuan in one of my accounts, it seems to be from Xiang Yuhui. I don't have her contact information. Could you please tell her for me that I will transfer the money back to her? Let bygones be bygones, don't bring it up again."
When Ye Peixiu hung up the phone, he heard the tail end of the call and Xia Qingwan said, "Okay."
As he walked around the front of the car, he pointed at Sheng Junchi with his phone and said, "This is a one-time exception. You have to handle your own affairs."
Sheng Junchi gave an exaggerated salute, "Thanks, I'll treat you two to dinner another day."
On the way back, Xia Qingwan stared out the car window in a daze.
What are you thinking about?
Ye Peixiu asked.
She shook her head, hugged his neck, and threw herself into his arms. "I missed you so much today."
Ye Peixiu put his arm around her, but laughed and said, "Nonsense."
"What's wrong?"
"If you missed me, why didn't you come to my office after class?"
"Let's go tomorrow."
When they arrived at Ye Garden and got out of the car, Ye Peixiu asked, "What are your thoughts on Lao Sheng and his wife, and Lin Xiangyu?"
Why do you ask that?
Ye Peixiu opened the door to the main house, and the two of them walked into the entrance. He said, "You and Lin Xiangyu are good friends. I'm worried that you might overthink it."
"I do..."
Xia Qingwan thought as she changed her shoes. Witnessing Sheng Junchi and Ji Shuyu's intimacy tonight, she did have a fleeting thought about Lin Xiangyu. After all, Lin Xiangyu had asked her for advice a while ago about whether to return the money to Sheng Junchi. Lin Xiangyu used to be such a carefree person, but now she was acting so hesitant...
Xia Qingwan witnessed her being injured by Xia Mingzhou and then throwing herself into Sheng Junchi's arms. Now, things have changed with Sheng Junchi, but she seems to still be lingering in the old dream. As a good friend, Xia Qingwan naturally feels sympathetic.
As for the rest...
She could admit to herself that, indeed, for a moment, she seemed to experience again the feeling she had when she and Ye Peixiu parted ways. During that time, she had imagined countless times the scene of Ye Peixiu's marriage. Of course, his wife was a lady from an aristocratic family like Ji Shuyu.
The feeling was like a slow self-inflicted punishment; the more I thought about it, the more painful it became, and the more painful it became, the more I wanted to know what he would be like after marriage.
However, these ideas are like garbage that hasn't been swept away in a corner for years; they have no value in mentioning them, and no need to take them apart and chew them over again.
So, she said vaguely, "...I did think about some things, but they are not important."
Some.
Once bitten by a snake, twice shy.
Returning to his side after many years, she appeared very brave and resilient, but she was probably quite apprehensive. After all, she had never directly faced the powerful resistance behind him, and no matter how brave she was, there would always be some worries in her heart.
When you are worried, if you relax your mind for a moment, you will start to think too much.
Ye Peixiu patted her head and looked down, "Do you feel a sense of things being different now?"
She nodded, "Almost."
Disappointed.
He pinched her cheek and said with a smile, "I think you just overthink things."
"Don't go to Lao Sheng's house for a while. I'll talk to him about Lin Xiangyu's matter tomorrow and let him go there himself."
Xia Qingwan chased him to the bedroom, saying, "But Shu Yu invited me to play. It was probably Sheng Junchi's idea, maybe to make me feel accepted? That's my guess. So, it's not good to refuse his kindness. After all, he's your childhood friend."
"Just keep it in your heart. When you're with friends, how can you expect to repay everything immediately and be completely clean? Isn't it always a matter of you owing me for a while and me owing you for a while?"
Ye Peixiu said as he unwound his wristwatch.
Xia Qingwan chased after him to the dressing room, and stopped at the door when she heard this. She leaned against the door frame and smiled at him, "...What you said makes a lot of sense."
Later, as time went by, she gradually realized the beauty of his words and was unknowingly learning from him.
Ye Peixiu put his watch down and looked at her with a half-smile. "When you first knew me, you always reported every little thing to me in detail. Your style hasn't changed at all."
"I understand what you're saying. The deeper the entanglement, the harder it is to separate." She smiled. "Is that so?"
Ye Peixiu walked over and kissed her.
She said softly, "Then I want to have the deepest entanglement with you and never separate from you again."
How deep?
"The deepest."
"good."
That night before bed, she leaned on his shoulder and listened to him say softly, "Don't overthink it, and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Others have their own solutions."
What about me?
"You have me."
-
Weekend, Shaoping Villa.
Grandma Xi asked while wiping the table, "What time will Qingwan arrive?"
Xia Huiqing flipped through a book on the sofa without looking up, adjusting her glasses. "Noon."
"Catching an early flight? Does that mean you haven't had breakfast?"
Grandma Xi exclaimed "Oh dear!" and straightened up. "I'll go prepare some food."
"We'll have lunch right away when we arrive. What are you planning to prepare?"
“That’s true,” Grandma Xi thought to herself. “I’ll prepare some drinks. Qingwan likes something sweet, so I’ll have milk tea and juice ready.”
Xia Huiqing didn't reply.
She knew why Xia Qingwan had come here.
As early as after returning to Beijing from Nairobi, she made a phone call to report in detail about her reconciliation with Ye Pei.
Since then, Xia Huiqing has pondered and thought about it countless times in her heart, and sighed countless times.
After the initial struggles, worries, and anxieties, a calm and settled peace prevailed.
Xia Huiqing had never witnessed this couple's relationship, but just by observing how they interacted in Liang Xinwu's villa in Shaoping after their breakup, and the way their eyes met and avoided each other, she knew then that this was not over.
Now, after going around in circles, she has returned to the starting point, even to a starting point so similar to that of Xia Xili and Song Nanqiao. Xia Huiqing can't help but feel that fate is playing tricks on her.
I heard Grandma Xi shouting from the kitchen, "Why are you coming from the airport so late? Have you found a car yet?"
Xia Huiqing sighed, put down her book, and walked over. "I'll drive to pick her up."
At noon, Xia Huiqing went to the airport to pick up Xia Qingwan.
Upon arriving at the villa, we had lunch first.
During the visit, Grandma Xi asked about my well-being with a smile, inquiring about everything from my studies and health to my daily life.
After the meal, Xia Huiqing asked her to go to the study.
He was very serious, just like the scene when he brought her back to the capital from Shaoping when she was eighteen years old, and gave her that lecture.
After Xia Qingwan explained everything in detail, Xia Huiqing simply stared at her through her glasses and asked calmly, "Have you thought it all through?"
"I've thought it through."
Xia Qingwan straightened her back and said in a clear and melodious voice, "This is my decision."
Although she kept her eyes down, her voice was steady and firm, unlike back then when she had just turned 20 and was scolded by her grandmother, crying and begging for two more years.
To her own disbelief, seeing things unfold this way, amidst her deep worries, Xia Huiqing felt a faint sense of relief—relief that Xia Qingwan had made a special trip to speak with her in person.
Back then, Xia Xili had a falling out with her family because of Song Nanqiao. The family had never sat down and talked so calmly before; instead, there was only rage and chaos.
In the end, he met such an end.
"...It's good that you've thought it through."
Xia Huiqing asked, "How are things going with the Ye family?"
“His father has a lot of opinions about him, but he hasn’t taken any action yet.”
Xia Huiqing pondered that since they had just gotten back together, it wasn't time for their families to rush to break them up. However, Ye Peixiu was getting older, and she was afraid that this short-lived peace wouldn't last long.
"Okay, remember to let me know if anything happens. If necessary, I will go back to the capital."
Xia Qingwan looked up in surprise.
"...Thank you, Grandma."
That evening, Xia Qingwan told Ye Peixiu about it over the phone.
Ye Peixiu just smiled when he heard that.
"Grandma Xia is a formidable character."
"You know all this?"
“I’ve heard my grandma talk about some things from when she was young.”
One was cold and sharp, the other cheerful and lively; back then, they were a pair of close and influential best friends.
"Wow, I want to hear Grandma Liang tell me about it in detail another day."
"Then you'll have something to listen to."
When old people talk about their glorious past from their youth, they never stop.
As they chatted, Ye Peixiu said, "Old Ke will pick you up from the airport tomorrow night. I have to go on a business trip early this morning."
Where to?
"Nanhua".
Ye Peixiu's trip was to see Xia Qingwan's cousin, Song Yanzhang.
Song Yanzhang had a rough time recently. There was a vacancy in the capital, and he had submitted his application early on and received a recommendation from the local government. However, at the last minute, he heard from someone in the capital that he had no chance this time.
When Ye Peixiu met him in Nanhua, he skipped the polite greetings and simply advised him not to give up and to try again.
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