Chapter 115 Chapter 115 Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Porridge is fragrant, soft and glutinous...
At night, after Cheng Yu and A Juan came back from the stall,
As soon as Ajuan saw Su Tianli, she was so happy that she jumped and laughed while hugging Su Tianli.
This made Su Tianli feel a little flattered.
That night, Su Tianli asked Ajuan to make a list of the food that Qian Xiaoshuang had stolen, and planned to have Cheng Yu take it to the police station the next day to hand it over to the police to make a final assessment of the damage to the property that Qian Xiaoshuang had stolen.
It was almost eleven o'clock at night when Zhang Wei came back on his bicycle.
Ajuan is young and can't hide her temper.
As soon as she saw Zhang Wei, she got furious and started throwing plates and bowls.
Zhang Wei didn't say anything. He silently ate the midnight snack that Old Lady Su had left for him, then washed the dishes, made some preparations for setting up the stall tomorrow, and went back to his room to sleep.
But he couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tossed and turned.
"Cheng Yu?" Zhang Wei called out to his roommate in a low voice.
Cheng Yu hummed.
"Talk to me, I feel bad." Zhang Wei said in a low voice.
In the darkness, Cheng Yu got up quietly, "Let's go outside and talk, so as not to disturb the family."
——The old house has poor sound insulation. Sometimes Cheng Yu would be woken up in the middle of the night by the snoring of Old Lady Su from the next room.
Similarly, if Cheng Yu and Zhang Wei were talking in the room, even if they were just whispering;
Other people in the next room, those who are light sleepers and easily alert, can hear it.
Why disturb other people's rest!
Cheng Yu and Zhang Wei went out one after another.
They didn't stay in the yard, but went straight out of the yard and walked to the small playground in the Coal Bureau's family compound.
It was late at night.
The playground was quiet and there was no one there.
Cheng Yu and Zhang Wei sat there for a while.
Zhang Wei finally spoke, "You and Lizhi... who confessed first?"
Cheng Yu answered without hesitation: "Me!"
——Lizhi was bullying people at that time! There was a carload of outsiders there, so she took the initiative to express her feelings quietly, but he took into account the large number of people at that time, so he was embarrassed to respond and failed to express his feelings in time.
However, he took the first step and formally confessed his love to Lizhi verbally!
So Cheng Yu insisted that he won.
Because oral expression is the most formal.
Zhang Wei's voice was filled with tears. "Ali and I... I was the first to confess my feelings."
"Both of us come from bad families."
"Her parents favor boys over girls, and my parents favor my eldest brother and my third brother..."
"When we were in primary school together, she and I witnessed each other's embarrassment."
"I am the second of four siblings in my family. I have an older brother and younger brothers and sisters. At that time, my eldest brother, third brother and I were all studying at the school for children of the chemical factory. My eldest brother was in the first grade, I was in the fifth grade, and my younger brother was in the second grade... The school required us to pay tuition fees, and my eldest brother and third brother paid for it, but I didn't."
"At that time, I didn't dare to ask my parents for money. Whenever I mentioned money, my mother would scold me and my father would beat me. Not only could I not get the class fees, they were not even willing to pay for the tuition."
"There is really no other way. Ali will accompany me to pick up rags and sell waste to earn some money."
"As for me, I've also witnessed how her brother bullied her. In order to help her vent her anger, I even challenged her brother to a fight... The embarrassing thing is, I haven't won yet."
Hearing this, Cheng Yu couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Zhang Wei also laughed.
As he laughed, he started crying again, "Why? How did Ali and I end up like this?"
Cheng Yu was silent.
Zhang Wei said softly, "After we finished primary school, her parents and I didn't want us to continue studying. We thought that primary school education was enough. They wanted us to be apprentices. They wanted me to learn carpentry and she to learn tailoring..."
"I discussed it with her and decided that this wouldn't work."
"If we listened to our parents, the most likely scenario would be... I would go out and find a job when I was 18 or 19, and then start supporting the family. And she would probably be asked by her parents to marry someone when she was 17 or 18, and she would get a generous dowry by relying on her sewing skills."
"Then we agreed to study!"
"Even though studying is useless, you still have to go to the countryside after you finish studying."
"But at least, we can always be together."
"It was because of our belief in being together that Ali and I studied hard... If our grades weren't good, our families wouldn't agree to let us go to school. At the same time, we had to earn our own tuition."
"In fact, we should thank Lizhi... Lizhi used to be worse off than us. We just had to support ourselves and earn enough money for our tuition. But Lizhi had to support a whole family. So Ali and I always followed Lizhi. We knew where Lizhi was setting up a stall and what he was selling, so we followed him... to make some money."
"In this way, we stumbled through the three years of junior high school."
"Then we both started to worry about what would happen if we failed the high school entrance exam... After all, the high school admission rate was less than 20 percent."
"I asked my neighbor Sister Xiao Song for help. Sister Xiao Song helped us with our studies for a whole year. The price I paid was to help her family carry coal briquettes for three years."
"Fortunately, Ali and I worked hard, and thanks to Sister Xiao Song's dedication... Ali and I were successfully admitted to high school."
Having said this, Zhang Wei was stunned.
“…Qian Xiaoshuang actually went to junior high and high school with me and Ali.”
"We didn't have much interaction in junior high school, so I'm not very familiar with her."
"After entering high school, Ali and Qian Xiaoshuang became good friends for a while."
"But then—"
"Qian Xiaoshuang may have done many things against Ali out of jealousy..."
"To be honest, I was very angry at that time. I even helped Ali to take revenge on Qian Xiaoshuang several times..."
"After we graduated from high school, Ali and I went to the countryside."
Zhang Wei sighed deeply and said to Cheng Yu, "You haven't been home these days..."
"That day I went to the Youth Educated Office to ask Ali about her work quota. Unexpectedly, I ran into Qian Xiaoshuang, who was making a scene at the Youth Educated Office. She asked the staff how long she had to wait before she could be assigned a job. She also said that she had been back for half a year, but she still hadn't found a job. Now her family members don't like her, thinking that if she doesn't work, she won't get paid and will have to eat white rice at home every day. Her mother even warned her that if she doesn't have a job again, she will arrange a marriage for her and let her marry a widower in his forties with three children who has been married for the third time!"
"I feel sorry for her..."
"I really saw her crying so pitifully, so I took her home."
"But I really don't have any other intentions towards Qian Xiaoshuang!"
"I just felt sorry for her. When I saw her, it was as if I saw myself and Ali in the past! If Lizhi hadn't helped us, our situation would be exactly the same as Qian Xiaoshuang's!"
"Cheng Yu, tell me, why is this happening..."
"Why did Ali break up with me? Why? She even told me that she wanted to abort the child..." Zhang Wei said sadly.
Cheng Yu said nothing.
After Zhang Wei cried for a while and calmed down a little,
Cheng Yucai asked him, "You just said that when you were in high school together, Qian Xiaoshuang bullied Mao Li?"
Zhang Wei explained, "We were still young at that time and didn't know much..."
"Is it true that Qian Xiaoshuang bullied Mao Li at that time?" Cheng Yu asked.
Zhang Wei nodded, "Yes."
Cheng Yu asked again, "Then why didn't you and Mao Li bully other students?"
Zhang Wei was stunned.
Cheng Yu said word by word: "In other words, Qian Xiaoshuang is bad! She is purely bad! Her badness has nothing to do with her age. So six years ago when she was in high school, she bullied Mao Li, and six years later, when she was in her twenties, she still stole our things... She is bad."
Zhang Wei was speechless.
Cheng Yu added: "Then let's talk about your problem."
"Even you would say that when Qian Xiaoshuang bullied Mao Li six years ago, you stood on Mao Li's side. You even taught Qian Xiaoshuang a lesson to protect Mao Li."
"Then Zhang Wei, why are you unwilling to protect Mao Li now, six years later?" Cheng Yu asked.
Zhang Wei was anxious, "I didn't fail to protect her!"
"I just feel that Qian Xiaoshuang is so pitiful...Her family doesn't care about her, she has no place to live, no job, no income, she has nothing!"
"But Ali is different!"
"At least Ali has me, Lizhi, and Yao Meiyu as friends! And we have a place to live and an income..."
"I always thought Ali could understand Qian Xiaoshuang! I..."
Cheng Yu interrupted Zhang Wei and asked, "So when Qian Xiaoshuang and Mao Li were arguing, you chose to protect Qian Xiaoshuang, who had nothing?"
Zhang Wei's voice stopped abruptly.
Cheng Yu asked: "Zhang Wei, let me ask you another question - do you like Qian Xiaoshuang?"
Zhang Wei stood up suddenly, his face flushed with anger, and waved his fist and said, "How many times do you want me to say it? I have never liked Qian Xiaoshuang!"
"I really just feel sorry for Qian Xiaoshuang, just like—"
Having said that, Zhang Wei looked at Cheng Yu, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
Cheng Yu understood and said without hesitation: "So you saved Qian Xiaoshuang just like you did for me in the past, running around without caring about gains and losses?"
Zhang Wei nodded slightly and admitted it.
"Why?" Cheng Yu asked, "Zhang Wei, why did you save me in the first place? Now, why do you want to save Qian Xiaoshuang?"
Zhang Wei said helplessly: "Because you all encountered difficulties!"
"And I...the help I give you is actually within my ability."
"Cheng Yu, actually I didn't help you much. The one who really helped you a lot was Lizhi." Zhang Wei said.
Cheng Yu agreed with this point, "You are right."
"To me, both you and Litchi have done me a great favor."
"But, I don't need to thank you for your kindness."
"I don't have the ability to repay you yet, so I'll keep this in my heart, thinking that when I have something in the future, I'll repay you and Litchi."
"But Zhang Wei, I'm going to repay you now."
Zhang Wei was stunned.
Cheng Yu asked Zhang Wei, "When you saved me, you had nothing, and I had nothing too. Have you ever thought about what you can do for me?"
Zhang Wei smiled bitterly, "Actually, I don't have much ability. The only thing I was thinking at the time was - as long as I have a bite to eat, I can't let you go hungry."
"So at that time, it's quite embarrassing to talk about it... I always shamelessly took you to eat at Litchi's place. But at that time, Litchi herself was also in a difficult situation..."
As he spoke, Zhang Wei sighed helplessly.
Cheng Yu said to Zhang Wei, "Look, you understand it very well, don't you?" "Ah?" Zhang Wei was stunned. "What did you say?"
Cheng Yu said word by word: "...Look, when you took me to eat at Lizhi's restaurant, didn't you feel embarrassed? Why did you feel embarrassed? Why did you feel ashamed?"
Zhang Wei laughed, "Because... Lizhi doesn't owe me anything! To put it bluntly, she wants to chase me away, and I have nothing to say..."
Cheng Yu, "What about now?"
"Why do you feel at ease taking in Qian Xiaoshuang now, letting Qian Xiaoshuang live in the house rented by Lizhi, and condoning Qian Xiaoshuang stealing Lizhi's property? Yes, we are doing business together, but before the monthly split, all expenses are paid by Lizhi."
"Zhang Wei, why don't you feel that Lizhi doesn't owe you anything now?" Cheng Yu asked again.
Zhang Wei was stunned.
Cheng Yu said: "This is actually because you don't have a clear sense of boundaries."
"In the past, you were unfamiliar with lychees, so you were careful to maintain a normal sense of boundaries."
"But now, you are familiar with Lizhi. You even feel that you and Lizhi are equal because you are doing a small business together!"
"So you think you can be the master of lychee."
Zhang Wei was anxious, "I——"
Cheng Yu stopped Zhang Wei and continued, "In your heart, you think you know Lizhi well enough. After all, you took me to find Lizhi, and later I did get Lizhi's help. So you think that this time you bring Qian Xiaoshuang back, Lizhi will accept Qian Xiaoshuang just like they accepted and helped me before."
"Is that right?" Cheng Yu asked.
Zhang Wei was dumbfounded, "You——"
Cheng Yu said softly: "Zhang Wei, do you understand now? This is the sense of boundaries."
"Each of us has an independent personality, and so does Litchi."
"Lizhi has her own objective judgment. Whether to help me or to help Qian Zhuxiaoshuang... only Lizhi can decide. You can't blackmail her morally, and you can't make the decision for Lizhi."
"Even more so, you can't think that just because you feel sorry for Qian Xiaoshuang, Lizhi must stand by your side and accept Qian Xiaoshuang like she unconditionally accepted me."
"Zhang Wei, you can't do this."
Zhang Wei was stunned for a long time, "I——"
Cheng Yu continued, "Look, you and Lizhi are just friends, yet you still have this idea of meddling in other people's affairs."
"So Zhang Wei, what do you think of Mao Li?"
"You will also say that when you were in high school, Qian Xiaoshuang bullied Mao Li, and you stood on Mao Li's side and protected her."
"Then I'll ask you again - why don't you side with Maury now?"
Zhang Wei looked confused.
He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't utter a word.
It’s not that he doesn’t know what to say.
But——
At Cheng Yu's reminder,
Zhang Wei has gradually become aware of his problem.
But he began to get scared.
He didn't dare to dig deeper.
Cheng Yu said, "...You favor Qian Xiaoshuang because you preconceived that Mao Li has everything, but Qian Xiaoshuang has nothing, so you favor...the one you think is weak, right?"
Zhang Wei's confused eyes gradually became clear.
He remained silent, and nodded with red eyes.
Cheng Yu added: "Zhang Wei, there is a problem with the understanding between you and Mao Li."
"You have been with Maoli for a long time, and you regard Maoli as your property...so you ignore her feelings more and more. Or maybe you think you have all of Maoli's love, so you recklessly think that she will support all your decisions, even if your decision will hurt her, you are sure that she will forgive you."
"Especially, you think you are on good terms with Qian Xiaoshuang. In your eyes, you think that helping me is the same as helping Qian Xiaoshuang, so you ask Mao Li to support you, just like she supported you in helping me, to support you in helping Qian Xiaoshuang..."
Cheng Yu looked at Zhang Wei and said word by word: "Zhang Wei, I will give you two hypotheses. Put yourself in her shoes and think about whether you can empathize with Mao Li."
"The first assumption is that Mao Li is the same as you. One day she saw a man who was particularly pitiful, so she took the man home and took good care of him. Even if the man had framed you before, and the man was lazy and always stole your things. Mao Li could always think of reasons to excuse him. For example, the man was particularly pitiful, he had no money, no job, and no place to live. If Mao Li didn't care about him, the man would have to sleep on the street. Mao Li also advised you not to care too much. Isn't it just a waste you raised at home? What's the matter? It's not like you don't have the money to support the man..." Cheng Yu said.
Zhang Wei was already very angry just by listening to it, and his chest heaved violently.
On second thought——
Aren’t these the gender-swapped versions of him, Ali, and Qian Xiaoshuang?
ah……
It turns out that from Ali's perspective,
Is this matter so uncomfortable and disgusting?
Zhang Wei's face turned pale instantly!
Cheng Yu continued: "The second hypothesis is——"
"You and Mao Li made a lot of money together, and everyone envied you. So Mao Li asked to move back to your parents' house with you. From then on, all the money you two earned belonged to your parents, your brother, and your younger brothers and sisters. You worked hard outside every day setting up the stall, and when you came home you had to serve your parents, your brother, your younger brothers and sisters... and Mao Li told you that you had to do this because they and you are a family, and what family doesn't support each other?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei's eyes widened with anger!
He never expected that Cheng Yu would actually put forward such a hypothesis - this is simply too vicious!
Because he hated his parents, his brothers and sisters.
They pushed him to the edge several times...
He will never forgive them in his life!
Zhang Wei thought again, how could Cheng Yu, as his best friend, come up with such a vicious assumption?
Soon, Zhang Wei understood.
In fact, the core of the second hypothesis is very similar to the first one!
They all use the banner of "kindness" to ignore the other party's feelings, and morally blackmail the other party, using the other party's pain to fulfill their own compassion!
After figuring this out,
Zhang Wei was completely stunned.
Cheng Yu explained, "Zhang Wei, the two hypotheses I proposed, the former is to directly reverse the situation between you, Mao Li, and Qian Xiaoshuang. This is just a superficial reversal of appearances. Do you think you can accept Mao Li's help to a man you hate to the extreme, just as you asked Mao Li to willingly accept your help to Qian Xiaoshuang?"
"The latter is to apply this current event to other events...but the core is the same."
"I don't know if you can figure it out all at once. If you can't figure it out..."
"Then at least think more from Mao Li's perspective - if you want to win her back." Cheng Yu said.
Zhang Wei was silent for a long time, and suddenly smiled bitterly, "I didn't expect you to be a master of emotions... Cheng Yu, have you ever been in love before?"
Cheng Yu also smiled bitterly. "Who would want to date a homeless person like me who is so poor and has no support from his parents? In the past, I had already used up all my time, energy and strength just to survive. How could I have the mind to date? It was only after I met Lizhi that I was given a new life..."
"To be honest, I just found out about you today."
"I am a bystander, but you are the one who is confused... That is why I can see it more clearly than you."
"Of course, your case is a lesson for me."
"I can't be like you, not cherishing all the love from my lover..."
After thinking about it, Cheng Yu felt even more depressed.
Because he felt that
It would probably be difficult for him to get Lizhi's wholehearted love.
After all, a large part of Lizhi's liking for him is because of his face.
Just like what Fu Yan said, "When you serve someone with your beauty, love fades as your beauty fades"...
He is still young now, with a handsome face and a good figure. But when he gets old and loses his looks, what if a man who is more handsome than him appears around Lizhi?
In fact, Zhang Wei has already figured it out.
"I was wrong, and I was very wrong..."
"I will go to the hospital early tomorrow morning to apologize to Ali!"
"I will no longer be involved in Qian Xiaoshuang's case..."
Cheng Yu interrupted Zhang Wei and said, "No, you must take care of it!"
Zhang Wei: ???
Cheng Yu said word by word: "If you still want to save Mao Li's feelings, you must make a break on this matter."
"Think carefully about the second hypothesis I just proposed."
Zhang Wei fell into deep thought.
Cheng Yu yawned, stood up and walked towards home, "Let's go back, we have to get up in a few hours."
"I have to make some lychee porridge."
"The Northwest has its own advantages, except that the climate is too dry."
"Just... make her some preserved egg and lean meat porridge! Litchi loves porridge."
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