Another month has passed.
Spring returns to the earth, and all things revive. New buds sprout from the trees and grow into green shoots on the branches. Hundreds of flowers bloom and fill the air with fragrance. Birds sing in unison, creating a joyful melody. All of this announces the arrival of spring.
Ling Ruoke's "new" life gradually got on track. Zhuang Yuqi became a part of her life, while her relationship with Zhuang Yicheng remained the same. He would still appear occasionally, but he basically didn't disturb her life.
Her writing has gained increasing recognition. Perhaps because it reflects her own experiences, her words are all the more authentic and moving, and many readers have made it a habit to wait for her daily updates. Each update brings a flood of comments and interactions; editors say her comment section is the most lively and never quiet.
Initially, Ling Ruoke thought that combining her hobbies with making a living would be a good model. Later, she gradually stopped paying attention to how much money she earned each day and focused more on the emotional resonance with each reader. In this process, her mood would improve.
Many readers share their love stories in the comments, mostly about past heartbreaks. In some readers' stories, the male protagonist has already passed away. Whenever this happens, Ling Ruoke feels in her heart that she is still lucky, because Qingfeng is still alive and well.
In public, Ling Ruoke hides everything very well. She never mentions her past to anyone, not a single word. She gets along well with every colleague, but never gets overly close, except for a young girl named Mei Yanting.
In private, she would sometimes drift into a daze. For example, she would occasionally cut her hand while chopping vegetables; or burn herself by dipping her hand into the pan while cooking… But in the quiet of the night, when she poured her emotions into words, she would let her tears flow freely. Her tears would drip onto the keyboard, forming a melody that expressed her longing for Qingfeng and the pain of this love.
The teaching profession is good because it offers many holidays and excellent benefits. For example, there is a trip every quarter.
This year's spring tour is scheduled for a week later, and the destination is Guilin, known as "the best scenery under heaven"! Family members are allowed to register, but at their own expense.
So, little Zhuang Yuqi definitely wanted to go along. Even before the appointed time, he was already incredibly excited. Every night he would sit in front of the computer, researching what fun things to do in Guilin, and chattering away to tell her all about it.
When Ling Ruoke first saw how skillfully Zhuang Yuqi used the computer, she was stunned. A six-year-old child, yet he was already as adept at using the computer as she was.
Every time Zhuang Yuqi told her to go here first and then there, Ling Ruoke couldn't bear to discourage him. The route had already been planned, and no matter how detailed his research was, it was useless!
Originally, Zhuang Yuqi had wanted to invite his father along, but Zhuang Yicheng was too busy and couldn't make it. Because of this, Zhuang Yuqi cried out to him on the phone for a long time. However, this didn't diminish his excitement about traveling with his mother.
Zhuang Yuqi wasn't the only one so excited. The teachers at school were looking forward to the trip every day, constantly complaining that they weren't in the mood for teaching. Among them, the loudest complainer was little Mei Yanting.
"Yanting?" Ling Ruoke watched the girl walk away hastily, head down and face covered, and quickly reached out to grab her. "Yanting, what's wrong?"
"Sister Ximeng, you...you let go of me, I'm in a hurry." Mei Yanting stubbornly refused to let go of the hand covering her face.
"He hit you again, didn't he?" Ling Ruoke forcefully pulled her hand away, and sure enough, there were bruises on her face again.
Mei Yanting finally couldn't hold back her tears, but she still shook her head and defended him. "Sister Ximeng, he didn't do it on purpose. He was just in a bad mood and drunk, that's why he acted like that. He's usually very good to me, really."
Yanting is an orphan who managed to work while studying at a vocational teacher training college. Fortunately, the small city doesn't have high educational requirements for teachers, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get a job. Perhaps because she has suffered so much, she is devoted to someone who is kind to her, even if she is occasionally beaten.
Ling Ruoke also understood that love is something only the person experiencing it truly knows. Perhaps it was really as Yanting said: her boyfriend wasn't bad, he just would drink a couple of drinks when he was in a bad mood, and when he was drunk, he would hit people to vent his anger.
Yanting's boyfriend sells insurance. He also came from out of town and used to be a student at a prestigious university. However, during his sophomore year, he offended someone powerful and influential, who forced the university to fire him and made things difficult for him in every way. Left with no other choice, he fled to this small city.
There are no good jobs in small cities to begin with, and since he didn't have a degree, he had no choice but to take a job selling insurance. There are many people in the insurance industry now, and most people in small cities are averse to insurance because they don't understand it, so it's very difficult. Life was tough, and his temper became short.
Ling Ruoke knew it wasn't appropriate for her to offer any opinions, so she could only say, "Don't go near him when he's drunk. Drunk people are irrational and can do anything. Go to the office first, I'll buy you some anti-inflammatory medicine."
"Thank you, Sister Ximeng."
Ling Ruoke waved her hand and ran quickly out the door. She returned with the medicine in no time.
“Sister Ximeng, I also signed him up for this trip. I think he's under a lot of work pressure and in a bad mood. Maybe a trip will help him relax.” Mei Yanting didn’t dare to look her in the eye, afraid that she would say she was shameless and liked that kind of man, just like others.
Ling Ruoke smiled. "That's good. Money can be earned again. The most important thing is to be happy. I also think he needs to release some pressure. If he doesn't have enough money, he can borrow from me first, and it doesn't matter when he has to pay it back."
Mei Yanting looked at her, smiled and nodded, her eyes filled with tears. "Sister Ximeng, you're so kind!"
Every time she was beaten before, people would say things like, "You should dump that kind of man as soon as possible," and "He's not a man, he's scum." It hurt her deeply; she didn't like them talking about Xu An like that. Xu An wasn't a bad person; he was very, very good to her. Even if there were only two mouthfuls of rice left in the pot, he would save it for her to eat for two days, while he went hungry himself. It's just that the insurance industry is getting harder and harder to work in these days, and he's under too much pressure, which is why he's in a bad mood.
Ling Ruoke smiled and patted her hair. Perhaps it was because she understood so well the feeling of being without parents and having no one to rely on that she felt close to her. Mei Yanting was short, and she treated her like a little sister.
“Sister Ximeng, I wish they were all like you. They say such awful things, always talking badly about Xu An. They have no idea that Xu An is really not a bad person.”
"It's okay. As long as you think this person is good and suitable for you, then stick to your choice. Of course, you should still try to communicate well. No matter the reason, you can't keep hitting people, right?" Drunk people sometimes hit people with tremendous force, so it's best to be careful!
"..."
After everyone had been waiting so long their necks were practically as long as a giraffe's, Friday finally arrived—the day to set off on our trip.
This was the first time Ling Ruoke met Mei Yanting's boyfriend, Xu An. He was quite handsome, about 1.75 meters tall, with tanned skin and good-looking features.
Mei Yanting walked over with him, looking very excited. "Sister Ximeng, this is my boyfriend Xu An. Xu An, this is Sister Ximeng whom I often mention to you. She's such a nice person."
Xu An's first reaction upon seeing Ling Ruoke was somewhat strange. He first stared wide-eyed in surprise, then slowly frowned, squinted, and opened his eyes again, asking, "Your name is Xi Meng?"
Although Ling Ruoke was puzzled, she still smiled and nodded. "Hello. My surname is Hua, and my name is Hua Ximeng."
Ling Ruoke had a vague feeling that this person seemed to know her.
Xu An smiled and extended his hand. "Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name is Xu An. I've often heard Tingting mention you, saying you're very kind to her. I'm truly grateful for your care!"
"Yanting is a very lovely girl, everyone likes her." Ling Ruoke felt that he had suddenly become a different person, more poised and confident. She reached out and shook his hand. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but he seemed to squeeze her hand tightly for a moment, then quickly let go.
Little Zhuang Yuqi has a keen sense of touch; he instinctively dislikes this man named Xu An. So he runs over, pulls Ruoke along, and heads towards the car. "Mommy, let's get in the car!"
"Okay, Yanting, let's go, let's get in the car first." Ling Ruoke was led by Zhuang Yuqi to sit down in the middle.
To separate his mother from the person he disliked, Zhuang Yuqi deliberately had Ling Ruoke sit by the window while he sat in an aisle seat. Sure enough, Mei Yanting and Xuan sat opposite them, while Xu An sat on the aisle side.
On the way to the airport, Ling Ruoke felt that Xu An was secretly looking at her, which made her very uncomfortable. Fortunately, Zhuang Yuqi kept talking to her, distracting her.
While waiting to board in the departure lounge, Xu An pulled Mei Yanting to sit opposite Ling Ruoke and the others. "By the way, where is Sister Ximeng from?"
Ling Ruoke secretly kept a watchful eye on things. "I'm from Z City." In fact, the new identity Zhuang Yicheng had given her was indeed that of a Z City resident.
"Really? Judging from your accent, I thought you were from City A," Xu An said, somewhat surprised.
Ling Ruoke smiled but didn't emphasize it further. She didn't know why, but although Xu An was smiling, that smile never seemed to resonate with her. Did all salespeople develop such a fake, professional smile?
Mei Yanting seemed to sense her embarrassment, so she reached out and tugged at Xu An. "Hey, what are you doing? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were checking her household registration!"
"No, no, I was just asking casually. It's so boring waiting for the plane, I wanted to find something to talk about. Sister Ximeng, don't mind me, I didn't mean anything by it." Xu An waved his hand, seemingly afraid that she would misunderstand.
Ling Ruoke just smiled; this explanation didn't convince her. "It's okay, when we're chatting, we just say whatever comes to mind."
She tried to convince herself that perhaps she was overthinking things. Xu An couldn't be one of Cang Weiwo's people; it couldn't be such a coincidence. Given Cang Weiwo's style, knowing she was here, he would have secretly kidnapped her.
“Yeah, if we have to regulate the topics of conversation, then it’ll turn into a meeting, right?” Xu An smiled like an enthusiastic young man, trying his best to liven up the atmosphere.
Mei Yanting pinched him and scolded, "You think you're so good at talking?"
"That's because you said Sister Ximeng usually takes good care of you, and I rarely get to see her, so I definitely have to make a good impression. You know what, Sister Ximeng really does look like one of my former classmates. She's just as pretty as Sister Ximeng, and there were so many boys in school who liked her that there could have been a line for blocks. But then she found a rich and handsome boyfriend, and all of us had no chance."
As Xu An spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Ling Ruoke.
Ling Ruoke vaguely sensed a fleeting hint of hatred in his eyes. Hatred?
"You're such an exaggerator. All the boys in your school combined wouldn't even make up a few blocks!" Mei Yanting looked incredulous and suddenly pinched him. "Xu An, you wouldn't happen to be one of those boys from those blocks, would you? Tell the truth!"
"..."
Ling Ruoke watched them playfully bickering and simply smiled. Her doubts and wariness deepened.
Little Zhuang Yuqi put her mouth close to Ruoke's ear and whispered, "Mom, I don't like that person, don't talk to him." As she spoke, she pouted.
Ling Ruoke chuckled and reached out to ruffle his hair. In fact, she had heard the boy say this more than once. Whenever the male teachers at school spoke to her, he would pull her aside and whisper this phrase to her.
"Sister Ximeng, is this your son? He's so handsome. Little boy, what's your name?" Xu An seemed to have found a topic to talk about again.
Zhuang Yuqi pouted, twisted her body unhappily, and ignored everyone.
Ling Ruoke was exasperated with the child's tantrum and gave him a light tap on the forehead. "His name is Zhuang Yuqi. I'm sorry, he's too willful."
"It's alright, it's alright. Kids are cute when they have a temper." Xu An didn't seem to mind at all.
Zhuang Yuqi still wouldn't listen to him and dragged Ruoke in another direction. "Mommy, let's go see the airplanes." Without waiting for Ruoke's reply, he kept pulling her along.
"Yanting, you two chat, I'll go with him to take a look."
They walked to a corner further away and stood in front of the glass window to watch the planes take off and land. The little boy pouted, looking very unhappy.
Ling Ruoke was both amused and exasperated. Standing beside him, she ruffled his hair. "What's wrong? Who upset you?"
"Mommy, don't talk to that person anymore, I hate him!" he said, glaring in that direction.
Ling Ruoke wasn't surprised; Zhuang Yuqi disliked any male creature that got close to her. "He's Yanting's boyfriend. We can't be so rude. Wouldn't that make Yanting very sad?"
"In short, try not to talk to him!"
"..."
The plane arrived on time, so we didn't have to wait long.
At the boarding gate, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Xu An stood behind Ling Ruoke. When it was her turn, she noticed him craning his neck, staring intently at her ID card, and then slightly frowning.
Ling Ruoke suddenly realized that Zhuang Yuqi was right; perhaps she really should stay away from this person.
...
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