Xiaojing felt something was wrong, but she was too busy with her studies and the shop to investigate further.
A few days later, Shen Ailan suddenly took a long leave of absence.
Xiaojing found it strange and went to her dorm room to ask her roommate.
Her roommate said she hadn't returned since going home last weekend, and her family had arranged the long holiday for her, saying she had accidentally broken her leg and needed to rest at home for a while.
Xie Wei's shop was on the verge of closing down due to frequent quality problems and too many people coming to demand refunds and cause trouble. Now that her own shop's business was picking up, Xiao Jing felt much more relaxed.
She thanked Shen Ailan's roommate and planned to visit Shen Ailan's home sometime over the weekend.
Xiao Jing found out where Shen Ailan lived, but when she went there, she couldn't find Shen Ailan.
Shen Ailan's mother said that there were many happy events in the family these days, and she was afraid that with so many people and so much trouble, she wouldn't be able to take care of Shen Ailan. So she temporarily sent Shen Ailan to stay at her maternal grandmother's house in the countryside.
Xiao Jing had no choice but to give up.
But Xiaojing didn't expect that this separation would last for nearly three months, until mid-May when she saw Shen Ailan again.
This time, Shen Ailan stood on the school's tallest building—a six-story comprehensive teaching building—and threatened to jump.
She was emaciated and agitated, disbelieving everyone she heard, and specifically demanding to see school leaders, the principal, and Cheng Jing.
Xiao Jing was immediately summoned by her counselor. When she arrived at the rooftop of the main building and saw Shen Ailan, she was startled by the appearance of the person in front of her.
Shen Ailan was wearing only a tattered dress covered in stains, barefoot, with scratches all over her legs. Her once long, flowing hair had been cut into a short, choppy style, and she looked disheveled, as if she hadn't cleaned herself in a long time.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her expression was frantic, as if she had been stimulated by something.
Previously, she had a cheerful and bright personality.
Xiao Jing's nose tingled, and she almost burst into tears.
"Ailan, Ailan, it's me. I'm Cheng Jing. You're looking for me, I'm here."
Xiao Jing cautiously approached Shen Ailan.
Shen Ailan did not resist her approach.
The counselor subtly gave Xiaojing a wink, signaling her to keep walking forward.
"Quietly..."
Upon seeing Xiao Jing, Shen Ailan stopped shouting and instead burst into tears.
Xiao Jing seized the opportunity to quicken her pace and walk up to her, taking her hand.
Xiao Jing wasn't very strong and wasn't confident she could pull Shen Ailan to a safe position in one go. Therefore, she didn't dare to use force rashly, for fear of provoking Shen Ailan's resistance and putting her in an even more dangerous situation.
Xiao Jing lowered her voice and asked softly, "Ailan, what happened? How did you become like this?"
Shen Ailan's tears fell even harder, and she shook her head, choking back sobs: "It's a long story, I'll tell you in detail another time."
"Jingjing, didn't you tell me before that your sister-in-law is a student at Renmin University? And your brother is also going to teach at Renmin University?"
"Yes, my sister-in-law is currently a sophomore at Renmin University. My brother was invited by Renmin University to teach a new subject this year, and it's still in the preparation stage." To reassure Shen Ailan, Xiao Jing didn't hide anything from her.
"Ailan, is there some difficulty you need my brother and sister-in-law to help you with? If so, don't worry, we are friends, and I will do my best to help you."
When she attempted suicide by jumping into the river, Zhou Xueyi bravely jumped into the icy water and pulled her out. Her sister-in-law, for her sake, tirelessly brought her from the countryside of Henan Province to the capital, thus changing her life forever.
She had received kindness before, and now that Shen Ailan was in dire straits and had reached the point of jumping off a building, she was willing to pass on that kindness in the hope of saving this young life.
Shen Ailan glanced warily at the school leaders not far away, lowered her voice, and whispered in a tone only the two of them could hear, "Jingjing, I want to report Luo Xi and Xie Wei for impersonating someone else. I don't know who to believe, so... could you... could you have your brother and sister-in-law come over? Your brother is going to teach at Renmin University, and he must know some school leaders. I'd like to ask you for your help..."
"Impersonation!!" Xiao Jing's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure? This is no small matter!"
“I’m sure,” Shen Ailan said painfully. “I was locked up at home because I found out about this and wanted to expose it.”
How did you find out?
“I have a distant cousin who works as a nurse at Dongcheng Hospital. She saw me and Xie Wei shopping together at the end of last year, and later she saw Xie Wei and Luo Xi hugging and kissing. Luo Xi and I grew up together, and our families all assumed that Luo Xi and I were a couple, so she thought that Luo Xi and Xie Wei had betrayed me. She took the initiative to find me and told me that Xie Wei had an abortion at Dongcheng Hospital at the end of June last year.”
At this point, Shen Ailan closed her eyes in anguish, and a tear slowly fell from her eye.
“I felt something was wrong as soon as I heard that. The college entrance examination was in early July last year. If Xie Wei really had a miscarriage at the end of June, she should still be at home recovering from childbirth in early July. How could she have the energy to take the exam? So I suspected that Xie Wei did not really take the college entrance examination and that she went to university under someone else’s name. After that, I went to find Luo Xi.”
"But I was so stupid. I thought that once I exposed Xie Wei, Luo Xi would see her true colors and break up with her. I never expected that Luo Xi was also an imposter. Luo Xi said that the child Xie Wei miscarried was his, and that she was five months pregnant when she miscarried. He even lied to me, saying that Xie Wei had damaged her health and could never get pregnant again. He said he was sorry to Xie Wei and told me not to cause her any trouble. To keep me calm, he even said he would break up with Xie Wei and marry me."
“I didn’t agree and said I needed to think about it. I didn’t expect that not long after I got home, Luo Xi came to my house with his family. He told me that I had come to my house to discuss the marriage, but after drinking a bottle of juice he gave me, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was at my maternal grandmother’s house in the countryside.”
Xiao Jing suddenly remembered that when she went to Shen Ailan's house to find her, Shen Ailan's mother said that there was a happy occasion in the family. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly asked, "You married him?"
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