Chapter 59 "Don't fall asleep, will you?"
Xia Qingwan looked up at the sky, her gaze sweeping across the sky until she saw Ye Peixiu standing on the street.
Dressed in a suit, he stood tall and elegant in the autumn wind.
He seemed not to see her and was walking from the back of the car to the door of the bar.
Pei Meizhu walked out of the bar, greeted him, and looked up at him as she spoke.
Because of the distance, Xia Qingwan couldn't hear what they were saying.
She had just lowered her head to check the time when Pei Meizhu called out to her from afar, "Sister Qingwan."
She raised her head and both of them were looking at her.
In the deep darkness of the night, Ye Peixiu's eyes were sharp and unwavering.
"Come here quickly."
Pei Meizhu shouted.
She smiled and walked towards them, saying, "Are you going back?"
"I'm going to Ye Garden," Pei Meizhu said. "How about I give you a ride home on the way?"
"No need, I'll just take a walk and then I'll take a taxi."
As she said this, Pei Meizhu looked at Ye Peixiu, as if to see if he agreed to the arrangement.
Ye Peixiu had been watching her, and then said, "Weren't we going to Ye Garden to get the book?"
She would have to pick it up sooner or later, and with Pei Meizhu present, it was less awkward. Thinking of this, Xia Qingwan said, "...Okay."
-
Xia Qingwan sat in the back seat.
Pei Meizhu glanced at the expressions on the two people's faces, and finally sat down in the back seat as well.
Ye Peixiu didn't say a word the whole time.
Upon arriving at Ye Garden, he got out of the car first and walked towards the main house.
Pei Meizhu walked behind Xia Qingwan holding her arm and whispered in her ear, "My cousin is pretending to be calm."
This made Xia Qingwan laugh.
A man like him, who remains calm even when Mount Tai collapses before him and is used to handling things with ease, would never need to "pretend" to be calm.
Xia Qingwan's guess was correct. Ye Peixiu was indeed as polite as when he was entertaining his cousin's friends.
There is nothing unusual.
Leading them to the study, Ye Peixiu asked the servant to bring the moving boxes and put them on the desk, "You can find it yourself."
Xia Qingwan left a lot of books here. He searched along the bookshelf one by one, took them out and put them in the box. Finally, he saw the thick collection of Su Shi's poems on the desk.
It was a bit difficult to pick it up with one hand, so I held it with both hands and put it in the box.
While she was busy here, Ye Peixiu sat on the sofa and smoked.
Pei Meizhu lay on another sofa and talked to him across the gap between the two sofas, chattering away, sometimes complaining to him about Wang Jingzi, and sometimes talking about the heavy workload at school.
He kept his eyes down and remained silent the whole time.
The atmosphere could even be described as peaceful.
Xia Qingwan was a little dazed.
A month ago, I didn’t expect that breaking up would be so easy. A month later, I didn’t expect that I could come to Ye Garden so freely to pack up her books.
So be it.
Neither of them had let the other down.
Doing all the mundane things and enjoying the simple pleasures of life, it's all worthwhile to indulge in a fleeting dream of joy.
Ye Peixiu gave her everything a man like him could give.
Favor, preference, cherish, money, status, promise.
If we can live in peace, then when we meet again, it should be just as amicable.
"I've got it."
She looked up and said.
Ye Peixiu looked at her intently for a few seconds, then stood up and put out his cigarette. "There are still your jewelry in the cloakroom."
Since she was already there, she had no choice but to go with them.
Pei Meizhu subconsciously got up and followed her for a few steps. When she reached the corner of the corridor, she realized what was happening and simply turned the corner towards the living room.
Upon entering the dressing room and opening a drawer, Xia Qingwan saw her underwear and thought, "Since I'm here, I might as well take all my underwear with me."
Leaving underwear here is also inappropriate.
While she was packing, Ye Peixiu was taking off his coat and untying his tie.
At first glance, the scene seemed very relaxed and carefree, as if they had not broken up, but just came back from having dinner together and changed their clothes.
Ye Peixiu stood in front of the jewelry tray, untying his watch. Without looking at her, he asked casually, "How have you been lately?"
She was lost in her own thoughts, and after a while she said, "...very good."
"Is the project finished?"
"……Um."
"Won a prize?"
Does he even know these details?
Xia Qingwan couldn't help but look up at him. When their eyes met, the familiar focus and deep affection in his dark, deep eyes were almost overwhelming.
She suppressed the stinging in her eyes, lowered her gaze, and nodded.
"You did so well, aren't we going to celebrate?"
His tone was low and gentle, just like that of a caring elder.
She wanted to say yes, but her throat moved and no sound came out. She could only nod again, turned back to continue cleaning, and faked a cough before saying, "Just now at the bar, Meizhu helped me celebrate."
"That's good."
Ye Peixiu tossed his wristwatch into the jewelry tray with a dull thud, touched his wrist, and turned to leave.
Pei Meizhu was peeking over from the living room. Seeing Ye Peixiu coming out, she asked in surprise, "Why did you come out so soon?"
I thought they would get intimate in the dressing room and then make up.
Ye Peixiu asked, "Have you had dinner?"
"...I just grabbed a quick bite at the bar," Pei Meizhu said, a little confused. "Why are you asking that?"
Ye Peixiu rang the bell to call the servant and asked him to prepare some simple and light meals.
The maid obeyed and left. He then said to Pei Meizhu, "You can have some food with her later."
Pei Meizhu then realized that things were not as simple as she thought.
It seems that her older sister, Qingwan, and her cousin have really broken up.
Ye Peixiu sat down on the sofa reading a book. She wanted to ask him more, but his expression was indifferent, his eyes lowered as he read, and he had no intention of paying any attention to her. She hesitated to speak, and after a long pause, she hesitantly came over and whispered, "Cousin, are you really breaking up?"
"I feel like Sister Qingwan still likes you, why don't you get her back?"
Ye Peixiu turned a page of the book and ignored it.
Pei Meizhu lowered her head and leaned closer to look at his book cover. "What book are you reading?"
There are four gold-plated words on the cover: Night Flight West.
At this time, the servant pushed the dining cart over, and Xia Qingwan also came out and said that everything was ready.
"Sister Qingwan, please have some food with me before you leave."
Pei Meizhu pulled her to sit down in the restaurant, and the two sat facing each other, engrossed in their meal.
Driver Lao Ke helped carry the two large cardboard boxes onto the car.
After the two girls finished their meal, Ye Peixiu escorted them out and asked Lao Ke to take Xia Qingwan home.
Xia Qingwan sat in the back seat of the Maybach, rolled down the window, smiled, and said, "Bye-bye."
Pei Meizhu waved to her, and Ye Peixiu said gently and measuredly, "Go back and rest early, try not to stay up late, and eat on time."
She nodded.
The Maybach pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the driveway through the tall red doors.
She felt only peace in her heart.
-
Pei Meizhu stayed in Yeyuan.
She muttered, "What kind of work did you assign to Wang Jingzi? He hasn't finished it yet so late?"
Why hasn’t this person replied to my messages since the afternoon?
“I’ve come to see you today for this very reason,” Ye Peixiu said. “Wang Jingzi is no longer in the capital.”
"……What's the meaning?"
The brother and sister were in the study. Ye Peixiu was sitting on the sofa smoking, while Pei Meizhu was sitting at the desk. When she heard his words, she froze.
“Your family knows, so I transferred him away.”
Ye Peixiu's words were concise and to the point.
As expected, Pei Meizhu began to go mad.
First, she called her uncle, wailing and complaining, and was scolded over the phone. Then she sent countless voice messages to Wang Jingzi, cursing him for being inhuman, cowardly, incompetent, and irresponsible.
After cursing everyone involved, she pounced on Ye Peixiu to settle accounts.
She cried, "Do you treat me like a sister? How can you treat me like a brother? You are powerful, and your Ye family has connections everywhere. I am afraid of you, but I am your cousin. How can you be so unkind to me?"
Ye Peixiu held the cigarette further away, pinched the back of her neck and pulled her away, saying calmly, "Meizhu, this is not something I can decide."
"Is there anything you can't decide?"
Pei Meizhu's face was covered in tears as she cried out.
Ye Peixiu looked at her quietly, "...Of course."
After making a big fuss and shouting hysterically on the phone, Pei Meizhu was now a little exhausted. She closed her eyes and leaned on his shoulder, sobbing.
Ye Peixiu patted her head.
"If I don't transfer him, you'll be taken back to Shanghai and then sent abroad. Your uncle will send a few tutors to accompany you. You'll be like being in prison abroad. Do you want things to develop like this?"
She shook her head.
"Don't cry." Ye Peixiu patted her. "Go wash your face and calm down."
Pei Meizhu went obediently, sobbing as she left.
Ye Peixiu finished his cigarette, got up and walked out of the study to the pond outside the French windows.
I grabbed a fish food box on the way and stood by the pond to feed the fish.
The koi in the pond are all round and plump, sparkling with golden light, like the setting sun shining on them.
She said that a slender koi carp swimming in the water looks better than one with a big belly and fat waist.
Pei Meizhu even put on some makeup after washing her face.
Unable to find her cousin in the entire house, she peeked into the living room and saw through the floor-to-ceiling window that her cousin was sitting on a chair by the pond, his hands on the armrests, a cigarette between his fingers.
That silhouette was deeper and more distant than the night.
She walked out, took a cigarette from the white cigarette box on the coffee table, lit it with a lighter, and sat on the steps by the pond, half-smoking.
There was silence for a long time, with only the cold night of late autumn flowing silently.
Pei Meizhu asked, "Did he say anything before he left?"
"No."
Pei Meizhu sneered, "That's true. You're the same age. For people your age, breaking up should be commonplace."
As she spoke, she felt like crying again.
Ye Peixiu sat in the chair, without saying a word.
She couldn't help but turn back from the steps and look at him angrily, "You tore us apart with your own hands, don't you have anything to say?"
"You really like him that much?"
"I love it, I love it to death."
"Meizhu," Ye Peixiu said calmly, "If he really has feelings for you, he will make a good career for himself and come find you. If he doesn't even have the courage or the intention, then, let alone your parents, I don't agree with you being together."
"Is the difference between him and me just a matter of future prospects?"
Pei Meizhu started angrily, but her voice gradually faded. "...You clearly know that my parents and uncle would never agree. I just want it now, only now, but you..."
"As long as you want it and as long as he's willing to work hard, your future is possible."
Pei Meizhu's share of inheritance is fixed. As long as her uncle thinks her marriage is a good deal, there is room for negotiation. After all, it is just a struggle for commercial interests.
A problem that can be solved with money is not a problem at all.
Pei Meizhu wanted to refute something, but turned her head and saw him. She saw his jade-like face in the dark night, high above, yet filled with silence.
She suddenly understood why her cousin had broken up with Qingwan.
His last name is Ye and her last name is Pei, and their situations are completely different.
As long as he lives, he has no say in his own destiny.
From the moment he is born, from the moment he is chosen for cultivation, his future is no longer his own business.
It's about taking sides, currying favor with powerful figures, and playing a crucial role in the fate of the family.
Born into a situation, he couldn't remain immune.
-
Xia Qingwan's junior year had a particularly fulfilling first semester. After the final exams, she finished writing a semester report for her research group in the library. Only after receiving the professor's approval did she return to the Xia family's old house in the compound.
The first thing I did when I got home was to make a study plan for the winter break, and then I slowly packed my luggage.
Time suddenly slowed down.
Xia Mingzhou came and invited her to celebrate the New Year together.
"I'm going to my mom's house this year," Xia Mingzhou said. "Do you want to come along?"
"I want to go back to Shaoping."
"Alright."
Xia Mingzhou nodded and said, "I will go back after the New Year to see grandma."
Xia Qingwan brought out two cups of milk tea from the kitchen. "Try it, I just learned how to make it."
"You made this yourself?"
"Um."
To be precise, Ye Peixiu learned it from Ye Yuan's chef. She assisted him and learned a few tricks from him.
Xia Mingzhou took a sip and said, "It's delicious."
After moving back to the Xia family's old house in early October, she lived here alone for the past few months and always felt that the house was very large and empty.
It's usually very quiet, especially late at night.
The afternoon sun slanted in on a winter day, and dust particles danced in the air.
Xia Mingzhou touched the wall of the cup and looked at her for a long time before finally asking, "...Have you really broken up with Mr. Ye?"
It caused quite a stir in the industry.
Everyone else was just watching the fun, but Qiao Yingxue was the only one who was genuinely gloating and celebrating by opening champagne.
At first, Xia Mingzhou was not quite convinced. He did not know Mr. Ye, so he could not judge his thoughts. But judging from the situation at the time, from his perspective, Xia Qingwan had at least developed genuine feelings.
His younger sister has always been well-behaved, completely disregarding the rumors and gossip about the difference in their social status, and was determined to be with Mr. Ye. How could it end so hastily?
"It's time to separate."
It's been more than three months.
Three months and fifteen days.
"What?" Xia Mingzhou said with a smile, "Did you only realize after you got together with him that he's not a very good person?"
Such a young man is cunning and arrogant, and it would be difficult to get along with him in daily life.
"He's fine."
"Come on, birds of a feather flock together. He and Sheng Junchi are childhood friends, what kind of good guy could he be?"
Xia Qingwan found it amusing. "Sheng Junchi is the main target of your attack, isn't he? Why beat around the bush?"
"He deserves it."
Following this bitter remark was the question, "...Has Xiang Yu returned to China?"
"It seems like I'm going back tomorrow, but I won't be staying for more than a few days."
"……so."
After that topic, the two fell silent again. It was as if Xia Mingzhou had come all this way just to ask this one question.
After a short silence, he got up to say goodbye, "Your flight is tomorrow? What time is it? I'll see you off."
"No need, I'll just take a taxi."
-
The next day after arriving in Shaoping was her birthday.
Grandma and Grandma Xi invited her to eat at one of her Huaiyang cuisine restaurants.
When we arrived at the private room, we found out that Grandma Liang was also there.
"Long time no see, Qingwan."
Liang Xinwu said with a smile, "Hurry up and sit down."
Liang Xinwu is also living in Shaoping. "It's my turn to visit you first."
Xia Qingwan said.
"No, we are a family, there is no need to be so polite."
In the past, Xia Huiqing had never celebrated her birthday, but today, the whole process was completed.
Eat first, then serve the cake, and then make a wish and blow out the candles.
"Time to open the presents."
Grandma gave her a set of books, Grandma Xi gave her homemade cheese cookies, and Grandma Liang kept it a secret, "Guess what my gift is?"
Xia Qingwan smiled and asked, "Could it be clothes?"
"You guessed right."
Liang Xinwu smiled and said, "I asked a tailor to make you a small dress, suitable for formal occasions."
As he spoke, he took out a paper box tied with a bow, with another larger and wider gift box underneath.
"...Two portions?"
Xia Qingwan was puzzled.
Xia Huiqing also asked, "Did you prepare two copies?"
Liang Xinwu just smiled and didn't answer. "Take them all apart and see."
Inside the large gift box below, there was a bag, a pair of earrings, and a book, all neatly arranged.
Night Flight Westward.
She suddenly remembered that she had left her book at Ye Peixiu's house. She couldn't find it in the study, and not wanting to bother him any further, she simply stopped looking for it.
The book in the gift box looks new, except that the plastic cover has been removed.
The four people in the box were silent for a moment.
It's an unspoken understanding.
The owner of this gift.
Xia Qingwan closed the gift box and said with a smile, "Thank you, Grandma Liang."
"It's my 21st birthday, it only happens once in my life," Liang Xinwu said, "We have to celebrate it today."
Grandma Xi heard the hidden meaning and asked in surprise, "Are there any more projects?"
Liang Xinwu looked at his watch and said, "Oh, time to go."
The group traveled by car to the lake area.
The four people were divided into two boats: Liang Xinwu and Xia Qingwan were in one boat, while Xia Huiqing and Grandma Xi were in the other.
The boat slowly sailed towards the center of the lake.
Liang Xinwu asked Xia Qingwan to lie down on the open-top small boat, which is common in tourist attractions.
Amidst the slight shaking, there really is a feeling of night flight.
"Don't fall asleep, will you?"
Grandma Liang joked.
Xia Qingwan smiled and opened her eyes, "No. It just felt so good that I couldn't help but close my eyes——"
As he was speaking, the light above his head suddenly became bright.
Bursts of fireworks exploded in the night sky.
Dazzling and brilliant.
Such a shining light can make people's eyes wet with tears in an instant.
She stared blankly.
Clusters of fireworks bloomed one after another, blooming again and again, impatiently.
With its fleeting light, it illuminates the entire night sky.
"Don't cry."
Liang Xinwu quickly handed her a tissue.
Xia Qingwan shook her head, trying to calm herself down, but then she burst into tears at Liang Xinwu's next sentence, "He just wanted to make you happy."
-
That evening, they returned to their villa in the suburbs of Shaoping.
After taking a shower, Xia Qingwan sat at the desk and opened the brand new book "Night Flight West".
A piece of paper fell out from the title page.
There was no signature or inscription on it, only one line of words:
"We have a whole day ahead of us, a whole world to hunt."
A positive and uplifting statement.
She read it several times, and finally, she pursed her lips and put the paper back into the book.
21 years old.
Her life has just begun.
-----------------------
Author's note: "We have a whole day of good times before us, and the whole world is waiting for us to hunt." — From "Westward Night Flight".
Thank you all for waiting. I'll be giving out red envelopes in this chapter.
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