Chapter 36 Empathy: Help Her Stand Up
Chu Yanxi practically fled from the faculty and staff residential area, which was enveloped in warm lights and whispered happy words.
Night fell completely, and the streetlights lit up one after another, casting her shadow long and short on the cold concrete. The warm spring breeze of Jiangcheng brushed against her cheeks, but brought no warmth; instead, it made her feel exceptionally cold.
Instead of returning to the guesthouse immediately, she wandered aimlessly along a quiet, nameless alleyway, its lights dim. The emotions churning within her were too overwhelming and complex; she needed time and space to process them. The shock and sorrow over the happy memories of her parents, the resentment and re-examination regarding her mother's potential "betrayal," the immense uncertainty about whether her hasty gift of the magic pouch could change the future… all these intertwined and tore at her heart, leaving her utterly confused.
What disturbed her even more was that when she subconsciously recalled her cold relationship with her mother that had lasted for more than ten years, the word Lu Zhe repeatedly emphasized at the negotiation site—"empathy"—was like a sharp thorn that unexpectedly pierced the depths of her consciousness.
"Negotiation is not just a contest of skills, but also a battle of hearts. And the key to opening hearts is often not logic, but empathy."
“Yanxi, your logical reasoning, language organization, and on-the-spot adaptability are all top-notch, but sometimes you stand too high, like a calm bystander, especially when facing female clients. You lack a kind of… down-to-earth understanding.”
—These were the words her mentor, Qin Feng, said to her earnestly after a mission review when she first entered the industry. At the time, she didn't completely agree with them and was even somewhat unconvinced.
At this moment, in the quiet night of this alternate time and space, these two sentences exploded in her mind like thunder.
Chu Yanxi recalled the days after her father's sacrifice, when her mother spent her days in tears. But at the time, she was only eight years old, immersed in her own immense grief and longing for her father, believing that her mother's tears were a sign of weakness, and even subtly blaming her mother for "what's the use of crying?" She completely ignored the double or even triple pressure her mother was under, having lost her husband at the same time, having to raise her young daughter alone, and facing a long and lonely future.
She recalled her mother's later attempts to communicate with her, her cautiousness and attempts to please, which she perceived as hypocrisy and an attempt to "buy" her. She only saw the "happiness" of her mother's new family, refusing to understand the fear and helplessness of a young, widowed, and destitute woman facing the pressures of survival and emotional emptiness. She transformed all her pain over her father's sacrifice and her anger over the broken family into sharp accusations of "betrayal" against her mother, building a high wall of indifference and alienation to completely push her mother away.
She even thought of Zhang Ya—the woman she had judged a kidnapper in the previous world, who ultimately met her demise. Did she truly try to understand the psychological distortion Zhang Ya underwent in the long-term environment of domestic violence and despair? Did she simply label her as "paranoid" and "dangerous" based on rational judgment, thus missing the opportunity for verbal intervention?
An unprecedented emotion, a mixture of shock, regret, and immense sorrow, overwhelmed Chu Yanxi like icy seawater.
She always believed she upheld justice and reason above all else, yet she never truly tried to "kneel down" and see things from their perspective, to understand their world and the predicaments they faced. Was her harshness towards her mother and her "indifference" towards certain female victims rooted in an unresolved resentment towards her father's sacrifice? Because the murderer was a woman, and a woman who would do anything for her lover, did she unconsciously project her distrust and hatred towards women in similar situations onto them?
It turns out that her biggest blind spot was her lack of empathy, which may also be the underlying reason for her failure in the negotiation mission before she traveled back in time.
This realization was like a dull knife, slowly and profoundly severing her long-held self-identity.
Tears welled up unexpectedly, not in a loud wail, but in a silent, torrent.
She cried for the double suffering her mother might have endured that her daughter could not understand, for herself who had missed the chance to reconcile with her mother because of her stubbornness and resentment, and for the lives that might have been lost because her daughter failed to empathize fully. Chu Yanxi leaned against the cold, mottled wall, her shoulders trembling slightly, letting her tears flow freely, as if trying to wash away the frozen emotions that had been accumulating for many years.
After an unknown amount of time, the tears finally stopped. Chu Yanxi wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve and took a deep breath. The cool night air filled her lungs, and her reason gradually returned.
Now is not the time to wallow in regret; she wants to find Lu Zhe. In this unfamiliar time and place, he is the only one who can understand her situation and feelings.
She quickened her pace and returned to the guesthouse. She knocked on the door, but there was no response; it seemed Lu Zhe hadn't returned yet.
Outside the window was the unfamiliar night view of Wuhan in 1998, and in front of me was a tightly closed door. An indescribable sense of loneliness quietly crept in.
Remembering that Lu Zhe had mentioned an address when he left during the day, saying it was where his mother, Chen Jing, was currently living, Chu Yanxi got up almost without hesitation and headed towards that address in the old town.
It was a crowded, dilapidated tenement building area, with electrical wires tangled in the air like spider webs, and the stairwells piled with clutter, filled with the smell of cooking oil and damp mildew. As Chu Yanxi approached the building Lu Zhe had mentioned, she heard a fierce argument, a woman's crying, and a man's arrogant and violent roar coming from the first floor.
"What are you crying for! What's wrong with me drinking a little when I'm upset? If you weren't so useless and unable to earn money, would I have to put up with other people's attitudes every day?!" The man's voice was slurred with drunkenness, and it carried a spoiled and self-righteous tone of complaint.
"Youkun, please stop drinking. The child is asleep, please keep your voice down..." a young woman pleaded in a terrified, tearful voice.
"What are you sleeping for! I'm not asleep yet! Get out of here, I hate seeing you! You always have such a gloomy face!" Then came the sounds of shoving, the sound of something being swept to the ground and breaking, and the sharp cry of a child who had been startled awake.
Chu Yanxi's heart sank; this must be Lu Zhe's parents arguing.
She rushed up the dimly lit stairwell, taking three steps at a time. The peeling wooden door on the first floor was ajar, and the scene inside startled her.
The cramped room was a mess; a low stool was overturned, and dishes on the table were broken on the floor. A man in a wrinkled shirt, with greasy hair and a flushed face, was pointing at a young woman huddled in the corner, tightly holding a boy of about two years old who was crying his heart out, and he was cursing loudly.
The woman's hair was disheveled, her face was deathly pale, one side of her cheek was slightly swollen, and her eyes were filled with fear, pleading, and an almost habitual restraint. Lu Zhe, at this moment, was desperately standing in front of his mother, his chest heaving violently, his face showing suppressed anger and a deep sorrow.
"Have you made enough of a scene?! Take your anger out on me, don't touch her!" Lu Zhe's voice was tense.
"Coming after you? Who do you think you are?" Lu Youkun sneered, his eyes murky and arrogant. He didn't recognize Lu Zhe, only assuming he was a nosy neighbor, and his attitude became even more arrogant. "It's only natural for me to discipline my own wife! She's useless, doesn't even have a job, eats my food and drinks my water, so what's wrong with scolding her a few times? You outsider, mind your own business!"
As he spoke, he reached out and tried to pull Chen Jing away.
Chen Jing shrank back in fright, but still subconsciously tried to find excuses for her husband. Her voice trembled as she said to Lu Zhe, "Young...young man, don't worry about it. Youkun, he's just upset and had a few drinks. He didn't mean it. He's not usually like this..."
This cowardly defense only made Lu Youkun more smug. He shoved Lu Zhe, who was blocking his way, aside and cursed, "Did you hear that? She admitted it herself! Get out of my way!"
Lu Zhe stared blankly at his arrogant father, then turned to see his trembling mother, who was carefully protecting her father. He felt both pain and hatred in his heart. Why was it always like this? Why did his mother still refuse to leave this marriage? Why did she keep tolerating this man who only knew how to raise his fists at his wife and children?
Just as Lu Youkun's hand was about to strike again, Chu Yanxi suddenly pushed open the door. Instead of shouting, she asked, word by word, in an unusually clear, calm, almost icy tone:
"Lu Youkun, besides acting tough in front of your wife and children and asking your parents and sister for money, what else can you do?"
Lu Youkun froze, his eyes bloodshot from drunkenness, and turned to glare at the strange woman who had appeared out of nowhere at the door, her tone mocking: "Who the hell are you? What right do you have to talk about my family's business?"
Chu Yanxi slowly walked into the room, her steps steady. Her gaze swept over the trembling, frightened Chen Jing and the crying child, finally settling on Lu Youkun's face, which was distorted by alcoholism and rage.
Chu Yanxi's voice was calm, but carried a chilling edge: "Who I am is not important. What's important is that I see you clearly! You were laid off, and instead of thinking about how to get back on your feet, all you do is hide at home drinking, and when you're drunk, you take it out on your wife. When you run out of money, you ask your elderly parents for more, and beg from your married sisters. Lu Youkun, you're thirty years old this year, not three!"
With each word she spoke, Lu Youkun's face grew increasingly grim. Chu Yanxi's words shattered the arrogance he wore as a facade, and enraged, he raised his fist: "I'll f*** your mother, I'll tear your mouth off—"
Instead of retreating, Chu Yanxi advanced, grabbing his raised wrist. She raised her eyes, her gaze sharp as a knife, and her voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable intimidating force: "If you punch me like that, I'll call the police immediately! Guess whether you'll sober up faster at the police station or when your parents and sisters scrape together money to bail you out and listen to the police officers' lecture? And guess again, when this gets back to your parents and sisters, to your friends and neighbors, will they praise you, Lu Youkun, as a real man, or will they laugh at you as a good-for-nothing who only knows how to hit women and sponge off his parents?"
The word "useless" reached Lu Youkun's ears, causing his face to flush red and then turn pale.
He always hated being looked down upon, especially by a strange woman so openly despising him. He wanted to argue back, to fight back, but feeling the strength of Chu Yanxi gripping his wrist, meeting her eyes that seemed to see through all his bluff, and looking at Lu Zhe standing straight beside him, his fists clenched, his eyes filled with anger, his raised arm froze in mid-air.
As the impulsiveness brought on by alcohol began to subside, Lu Youkun recalled the embarrassing incident where he had ended up at the police station, where his elderly father had pointed his finger at him and berated him by his older sister who was crying.
Chu Yanxi caught the fleeting hesitation and bluster in his eyes and pressed on: "You think beating your wife makes you look tough? Let me tell you, it will only make people despise you more! Can your parents and sister support you for a while? Can they support you for a lifetime? Can they raise your wife and children for you? Once they've spent all their remaining retirement money and subsidies on you, once your wife has completely given up on you and left with the children, what will you, Lu Youkun, have left? Just this dilapidated house and a bunch of empty bottles!"
Lu Youkun's face turned from red to green, his lips trembled, and he wanted to curse but couldn't utter a single word.
At this moment, she spoke calmly but timidly, her voice trembling with tears: "Girl, please don't say anymore. Youkun... he was just confused for a moment. He lost his job and is under a lot of pressure, he..." She was still trying to find reasons for her husband's violence and to protect his pitiful self-esteem.
Chu Yanxi sighed inwardly. This was a typical symptom of a woman who had been abused for a long time and had extremely low self-esteem. She didn't blame Chen Jing, but turned to look into her eyes, her voice gentle yet firm: "Sister, being laid off or under a lot of pressure is not a reason to hit someone. If your tolerance and forgiveness don't earn him appreciation and change, then it's not kindness, it's indulgence! Doing this will only make him think you're easy to bully, and he'll hit you even more easily next time, do you understand?"
She stared blankly at Chu Yanxi, then at her husband whose face was changing and who was speechless. She tightened her arms around the child, and tears flowed even more silently.
Lu Youkun knew he wouldn't get away with it, so he shook off his hand, took a step back, and slumped onto the old sofa, burying his head in his hands. He stopped cursing and only started breathing heavily.
Chu Yanxi knew that the time was right.
She walked up to Lu Youkun, looking down at him with a commanding tone: "Now, I'm giving you two choices. First, apologize to your wife and children, and promise that from now on, you will never drink and cause trouble again, and you will never hit anyone. Then, like a man, go out and find a job, even a temporary one, to support your family. Second,"
She paused for a moment, her voice icy: "I'll take Sister Chen Jing and the child to get a medical examination right now, and then go to the police station to report the incident. You choose."
After struggling for a long time, Lu Youkun finally managed to squeeze out a vague apology from his throat, filled with resentment and a hint of fear, and swore that he would never do it again.
The storm has subsided for the time being.
Despite his grief and pain, Lu Zhe helped clean up the mess and comforted his frightened younger self.
Chu Yanxi walked to the window, looking at the murky night sky of the old city outside, her mood not light. Lu Zhe walked to her side, his brows furrowed, and whispered his thanks. Chu Yanxi waved her hand.
Lu Zhe glanced at his mother, who was carefully pouring water for her husband and trying to ease the tension, and said in a low voice, "My mother is completely spineless. We're here for her this time, but what about next time? She'll still put up with it and make up all sorts of excuses for him..."
Chu Yanxi turned her head and looked at the pitiful woman who, even after being beaten, still instinctively wanted to take care of her abuser. She recalled the "empathy" she had come to understand that evening, and also her responsibility as a negotiation expert—not only to stop danger, but also to empower victims to escape danger.
Her gaze returned to sharpness and determination, and her tone was full of strength.
"Then help her stand it up."
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