Extramarital Affair 2 (Revised)
Whoever tries to steal my heart, whoever forgets that was a promise—"The One I Miss"
Because it wasn't a holiday, Xia Tong easily bought a train ticket home. Once on the train, she started to space out. Although she hadn't slept all night and her eyes were bloodshot, she still couldn't fall asleep. After the train stopped at one station, passengers got off, and some who had bought standing tickets took the opportunity to sit down and rest.
"But--but this really is my seat," a soft and timid voice sounded in Xia Tong's ear. Xia Tong opened her eyes and saw a little girl standing next to her, wearing glasses, awkwardly showing her train ticket to the group of burly men opposite her.
But the two men occupying her seat retorted menacingly, "I don't care what your ticket is, I got here first, so my seat is mine!" A young woman in her early twenties sat next to them; she frowned in disgust and shifted her body slightly to the side. It's understandable; no passenger would want to sit next to two grown men crammed into one seat. But disgust doesn't mean stopping them. This is a world where it's all about who shouts loudest and who has the strongest fist, and justice, sometimes, appears in the form of law when someone is most harmed.
The girl was still there, explaining pitifully, "I have to sit on the bus for over ten hours, I really can't stand for long. If I only get off at two stops, then so be it..."
The girl felt helpless; no one around her spoke up for her, making her feel even more isolated and alone. She glanced at Xia Tong unintentionally and saw Xia Tong looking at her too. The moment their eyes met, the girl immediately lowered her head timidly. In that instant, Xia Tong felt as if she saw her former self: timid in the face of adversity, lacking confidence in her speech; with such a meek and submissive demeanor, how could she not be bullied?
I've had enough of being bullied! I never want to be bullied again!
Xia Tong waved to the train attendant who was pushing a cart and selling drinks and snacks: "Her seat is taken. Could you please help me coordinate something?"
The train conductor, who had initially turned around expecting her to buy a drink, was displeased upon hearing this. Looking at the two burly men occupying the seats, he said impatiently, "This isn't my responsibility. Go find the train conductor!"
The two men opposite them kept grumbling, "Go ahead and look for us! We're not afraid even if the train police come looking for us!"
"Then please call your train conductor." Xia Tong sat there, looking at her with neither servility nor arrogance.
"Can't you find someone yourself? Our train conductor is busy, who has time to deal with your little troubles?" The train attendant said in a sarcastic and taunting tone, then pushed the dining cart away and yelled at the little girl blocking his way, "Can't you move aside? How am I supposed to get through if you're blocking the aisle like this?!" The girl was immediately frightened and stood aside.
“Employee number 12407,” Xia Tong read out the string of numbers softly. The woman immediately turned around: “What do you mean?”
"The complaint hotline is 7942222, right?" Xia Tong didn't answer her, but asked to herself.
“That’s right. If you can’t resolve it, call the Consumer Association’s complaint hotline 12315. They’re very good at handling problems,” a boy standing nearby chimed in, unable to stand by and watch.
"Complain? Go ahead and hit me if you dare! Do you think I'm afraid?" the woman shouted.
Xia Tong sat there expressionless and started dialing a phone. Coincidentally, someone actually answered. Xia Tong began to state the train number on her ticket: "Yes, this is train K276. I want to file a complaint..." Upon hearing this, the woman immediately pounced on Xia Tong and snatched her phone.
Xia Tong slowly stood up and looked directly at her: "What? Robbery?" Actually, Xia Tong was still a little scared, but only by overwhelming the enemy with her aura could she avoid being seen through.
The train conductor, already in the wrong and afraid the girl would actually complain, had no choice but to obediently return the phone, no longer speaking rudely, and said with a smile, "I was just teasing you! Young girls like you have such short tempers! I'll go find the train conductor for you right now!"
A moment later, the woman returned with a bald, middle-aged man, looking very serious. She first checked the ticket in the girl's hand, then waved at the two men and said before they could explain, "What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for me to call the train police?"
The two men got up, looking disheveled, and glared at Xia Tong before leaving. The girl finally sat down, bit her lip, and said to Xia Tong, who was sitting opposite her, "Thank you." Then, without waiting for Xia Tong's reply, she quickly lowered her head.
Xia Tong gave a wry smile, took out a pack of tissues from her bag, and silently wiped the sweat from her phone and palms.
As Xia Tong got off the bus, the girl grabbed her arm and handed her a bag of preserved plums: "Thank you, sister. Here, have some for your journey." Xia Tong felt a little embarrassed. How could a grown woman eat a little girl's snacks? She tried to return it to her. The girl clenched her fist and refused, then looked Xia Tong directly in the eye for the first time without looking away: "Sister, when I grow up, I want to be like you, someone who won't be bullied."
Looking at the longing and hope in the little girl's bright eyes, Xia Tong smiled bitterly: "Coincidentally, I used to have this kind of dream when I was a child." She paused for two seconds, then said solemnly: "But now I realize that if you always blame everything on your grown-up self, you will never grow up."
After getting off the train, she went straight home, only to find her mother chatting with a neighbor at the door, carrying groceries. She seemed to have recovered considerably. Xia Tong quickly hid and called her mother: "Mom, have you eaten?"
"Not yet, I'm just about to do it." Mom's voice had regained its former energy and spirit, and she was no longer grumbling.
"Your cold is better? Where's my dad?" Xia Tong asked tentatively.
"It's alright, just a minor cold. Your dad has a business dinner and won't be home for lunch." Mom's voice sounded normal; she probably didn't know about Dad's situation.
"Mom, I have exams in the next couple of days, so I won't talk to you anymore. I need to go prepare. You go ahead and do your work."
"Study hard at school, don't hang out with your classmates, and buy some fruit to eat," Mom quickly instructed.
Xia Tong hung up the phone and took a taxi to the bank where her father worked. She wanted to see what kind of woman her usually serious father was fooling around with. She deliberately chose a window seat in the coffee shop across from the bank, keeping a close eye on the people coming and going. Xia Tong's father, Xia Xinwen, started as an ordinary bank clerk and has now risen to the position of vice president. Since the president is usually not present, everyone tactfully omits the "vice" and respectfully calls him President Xia.
Xia Tong sat there for over three hours before finally seeing Xia Xinwen emerge from the bank. The driver had already opened the car door for him. She immediately dashed outside like a nimble rabbit, jumped into a taxi that had just pulled up to the side of the street, and anxiously patted the back seat, telling the driver, "Quick, hurry, catch that car!"
At this point, the two boys who had stopped the car got annoyed and banged on the car window, shouting at the opposite side, "Hey! Don't you know about first come, first served?"
Seeing that the car was about to leave, and the driver was waiting for her to explain to the two boys, Xia Tong had no choice but to roll down the window and apologize repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my father is sick and hospitalized, I have to get there immediately." Xia Tong already had a pair of bright, clear eyes, and with her pitiful appearance at this moment, she was even more irresistible to the boys. One of the boys grinned and said, "Ah, since it's urgent, we can't delay. Driver, please drive quickly, or the little beauty will cry."
Because of this little incident, the taxi and Xia Xinwen's car had fallen some distance apart. Xia Tong kept urging the driver to hurry up and kept repeating the license plate number of Xia Xinwen's car, afraid of losing track of it. The driver, who was also a chatterbox, saw her anxious look and asked, "Isn't your dad in the hospital? That car isn't an ambulance, why do you want me to follow it?"
"Hey, driver, keep an eye on things! You might lose us while you're talking." Xia Tong stared intently at the car in front of her, not turning her head, and muttered anxiously.
"Hey, there's no use in rushing. There are so many cars on the road. Unless my car grows wings," the driver said with a chuckle as he drove.
Xia Tong then turned to the driver and said seriously, "Uncle, you still have to fly there today. I'm not joking. If you lose them, I'll be homeless. I'll have to stay at your house tonight! See, all my luggage is here. You decide what to do." Xia Tong had never said such unreasonable things to anyone before. Sure enough, when people are pushed to the limit, they can become quite assertive.
"Alright, alright, I'm chasing after him right now. We didn't cook for you at home." The driver said sheepishly, then became serious.
Finally, Xia Xinwen's car stopped in front of Sunshine Elementary School! Could it be that my dad had another child out of wedlock? This thought sent a chill down Xia Tong's spine. If he already had a child, wouldn't that make things even more difficult? If the child was already in elementary school? Then my dad's been cheating on me for many years!
It was dismissal time, and many chattering children filed out. A young woman wearing a bright yellow dress and sporting a perm got into Xia Xinwen's car.
She had a good figure, but was a bit vulgar. Her face was alright, but a bit dark-skinned. Her curves were quite impressive; she'd probably do well soliciting customers in the red-light district, provided she was wearing a bikini. Xia Tong, sitting in the taxi, launched into a barrage of malicious speculations about the woman. Seeing her holding an elementary school textbook, she thought, "An elementary school teacher? With that kind of character?"
Then Xia Tong followed Xia Xinwen to the entrance of a restaurant. The driver was unwilling to wait, leaving Xia Tong to wait outside for a full two hours. This was a high-end hotel in the city. Xia's father rarely took his mother to such upscale places to eat. Of course, with such delicious food, it was only natural to have a beautiful woman by his side. How could he let his unromantic mother spoil his enjoyment?
As darkness fell, Xia Tong had to find a place to stay. After a long day, she dragged her suitcase, looking weary as she walked down the street. Thinking of her mother, who had devoted her life to the family, and her father, who was two-faced in the restaurant, she suddenly felt sorry for her mother. She had seen photos of her mother when she was young; her mother sported the most fashionable curls of the time, standing amidst a riot of colorful flowers, her fair skin appearing even more striking, her smile radiant. Xia Tong knew that even she, usually so gloomy, had never looked so cheerful. She remembered a line of poetry written on the back of the photo that she had never understood: "Amidst the verdant beauty, remember that life is but a dream." Now that she was older, she understood the second half: "If one day love grows cold, may you accept fate and cherish what you have." It resonated so deeply with reality! How could her mother, when she casually wrote those lines in her youth, have foreseen that such a day would truly come?
Xia Tong felt increasingly desolate. Flowers bloom for a season and then wither, but why? Why did you admire her beauty when she was in full bloom, and then carelessly discard her when she withered? But Father, you are no longer a passerby admiring flowers. When you plucked her, there was no other way.
Xia Tong followed her for several days and discovered that Xia Xinwen and that woman always met secretly in a luxurious villa until midnight before Xia Xinwen left. Xia Tong deduced that the villa was bought for this woman by her father, because judging from the mistress's extravagant spending habits these past few days, it was impossible for the villa not to be hers. Xia Tong had never known her father was so wealthy, but she was already numb and no longer felt sad or wronged, because she had seen a father she had never seen before.
She had seen Xia Xinwen groping that woman's thigh with a lewd grin. She had seen him with a potbelly and greasy face helping her sign the bill. Back then, he was no different from any other successful, lustful old man in this society. She just couldn't understand how her father, who was always busy but still made time to care about her studies, and who was always serious but never scolded her, could have become such an ugly person!
That day, Xia Tong went shopping with them. The woman swept through the mall like a locust swarm. After they had gone some distance, Xia Tong went into the store they had just left. The store was decorated in a glittering style, but there were only a few clothes scattered around. Xia Tong immediately spotted the green dress that the woman had just worn.
The shop assistant came over, and Xia Tong smiled at her, pointing to the dress: "Do you have one that I can wear?"
Although Xia Tong wasn't dressed extravagantly, she still seemed worldly-wise. Coupled with her shy and adorable smile, a beautiful woman is always welcome, especially one with such a charming personality. This shop, catering to a high-end clientele, rarely sees customers, so the staff were naturally happy to strike up a conversation with this pleasing young lady.
She lingered in the fitting room for a while, then whispered to the sales assistant waiting outside, "Sister, this one is a bit big, do you have a smaller size?"
The shop assistant outside was naturally pleased to hear the word "sister." The customers of this shop were either rich heiresses or mistresses kept by wealthy men. The heiresses were alright; although they had an undeniable sense of superiority, they were still mindful of their manners. But the mistresses kept by wealthy men were always arrogant and haughty, as if they were afraid that others would look down on their status and the wallets of the men behind them.
When Xia Tong came out in that green dress, several shop assistants gathered around. The simple, flowing cut accentuated Xia Tong's beautiful figure, and the V-neck design perfectly revealed her pretty collarbone. Even more striking were her calves, which were always covered up—smooth, toned, and truly like lotus roots. Xia Tong was already fair-skinned, and wearing this vibrant green dress made her look even more like a porcelain doll.
The shop assistants praised her, saying, "Miss, you look just like a TV star in this dress."
"Yes, she has a particularly good temperament."
"And it really shows off your figure."
Xia Tong laughed shyly, and touched her earlobe foolishly: "I came in because I saw a lady who just went out dressed nicely, and she really is."
An older woman immediately said, "She's dressed nowhere near as nice as you, all flashy and tacky." A woman of similar age next to her immediately gave her a light tap, and the shop assistant who had spoken up immediately shut up.
Xia Tong lowered her head and touched the hem of her skirt: "The fabric is very comfortable, but wouldn't it be too over-the-top for me to wear to school?"
"Are you a student? A college student?" a young female shop assistant with her hair in a bun asked.
"Yes, I study in City A," Xia Tong replied obediently.
“I have a friend who also studies in City A! You know T University? She goes there.” The shop assistant said happily. T University is actually a third-rate school in City A, not very good, and Xia Tong has never been there.
"T University, I know it. Their street dance club is very famous, and the students are all very good-looking." Xia Tong didn't actually know much about the school, but that didn't stop her from making things up in front of this group of women who had never been there.
After chatting with the group of women about all sorts of things, Xia Tong looked at the prices on the price tag and pretended to be surprised: "I saw that lady just now buying so much, I thought I had enough money on me! Sigh, I should have brought my dad to pay for me." Xia Tong bit her lip, looking slightly annoyed, which was quite innocent and cute.
The woman who had just been interrupted said sourly, "The one who pays her isn't her father, he's her sugar daddy!" Women are always gossipy creatures, and they naturally don't hold back when it comes to women they dislike, especially when the woman lets her guard down.
Xia Tong's eyes widened: "That older sister doesn't look much older than me, does she?"
Then another clerk smiled knowingly: "These days, the younger you are, the more popular you are."
“There was a pretty senior in our dorm who did this kind of thing. Every weekend we would see an Audi A6 picking her up. Later, the uncle’s wife came to the school and made a scene. She cried so pitifully. After graduation, the senior went to work at the uncle’s company. I don’t know what happened to her after that.”
"Hmph, a woman like that should be dragged out and drowned in a pig cage, and she calls herself a college student!"
"What's wrong with college students? That woman was a teacher before. These days, who says that being educated equates to being of high quality?"
"Teacher? How did you know?" another shop assistant immediately asked curiously.
"Oh, you didn't know that?! Didn't I tell you? I guess you didn't hear me the day you changed shifts. That time I helped her with her bag, I saw her work ID. She's a teacher, surnamed Zheng, and her name is..." A group of shop assistants chatted animatedly, spitting as they spoke, completely forgetting Xia Tong's existence.
As the saying goes, gossip is like a woman's breasts. You can always squeeze out some cleavage.
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Two updates today~ The female lead is starting to change~ I want to say: I'm writing a novel, not an autobiography; this story is purely fictional. Besides, my initial tag included "forced marriage," so please don't say I'm naive or innocent~ Otherwise, people might really think I'm having an affair with Teacher Chen ╮(╯▽╰)╭ PS: I've changed a few censored words, please don't mind~
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