Chapter 30 My People
Zhuang called the police. When the police arrived, Wu Guo and the two men who had beaten him were lying on the ground, the three of them neatly lined up in a row.
The ground was wet from the rain, and the mud stuck to my clothes, making them look black.
Meng Yanxi stood against the wall not far away, one long leg slightly bent, her head down rubbing her right fist.
Jin Zhao felt extremely guilty and stayed by his side, quietly asking if he was injured.
Meng Yanxi didn't say anything, but lifted her eyelids and directly handed her her hand.
The young master's fists were hard, but he probably didn't fight often. He had been pampered for too long and was not tough enough. When he punched someone, he broke his own hand, leaving it red and bleeding.
Jin Zhao's heart clenched slightly, her eyes filled with heartache. She instinctively wanted to take his hand and examine it closely, but then felt that such a gesture was inappropriate. She could only look up at him and apologize repeatedly, "I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" The man looked down at her.
It was getting dark, and the light was dim, making his eyes look even darker and deeper.
Jin Zhao just stared at him for a long while. Then, her eyelashes fluttered slightly. Instead of answering, she asked, "Are you thinking that after all these years, my life is still the same as before, a complete mess?"
"No," Meng Yanxi said calmly. "Without knowing the full story, I cannot comment."
Meng Yanxi's answer surprised Jin Zhao.
Today, let alone the high and mighty Meng Yanxi, anyone who was inexplicably dragged into a fight would probably frown in disgust and keep their distance. But this darling of heaven, who had just given a speech at the university that morning and donated 100 million yuan, a person surrounded by stars and enjoying boundless glory, showed not a trace of disdain in her eyes, only respect.
Without knowing the full picture, I will not comment.
Jin Zhao didn't cry when her phone was stolen, but these eight words, spoken so casually, suddenly brought tears to her eyes.
Meng Yanxi turned her gaze away.
Not far away, Wu Nian squatted on the ground picking up books.
She's completely different from the girl with dyed yellow hair and a foul mouth from ten years ago. Wu Nian has changed a lot, at least in terms of appearance.
Her hair was long, naturally pure black, reaching her waist, and her makeup was flawless and exquisite. Her naturally oval face and large eyes made her look very well-behaved; she even styled her hair in a princess updo, truly resembling a sweet and pretty little star.
Wu Nian used to sing in bars. By chance, she participated in a singing competition. Although she didn't achieve a high ranking, her outstanding appearance still attracted a small number of fans. Later, she signed with a management company and secured a few supporting roles, some with her name and some without, mostly without her name. Naturally, she didn't make much of a splash and remains an unknown female artist, unable to get any lucrative opportunities.
She also tried live streaming, but because she lacked a core selling point, she didn't have many fans and couldn't make much money selling products.
Twenty-eight-year-old Wu Nian was a little better off than eighteen-year-old Wu Nian, but not by much. To maintain the image of a female celebrity and support assistants and bodyguards, she sold her only house. When Jin Zhao returned to China, she still borrowed a car from the company to pick her up.
Jin Zhao saw through her financial difficulties. Even after she found a job and the school arranged housing for her, he still didn't move out of the teachers' dormitory, using the excuse that there were bugs. He continued to share the rent with her and helped her pay the rent.
In the past few months, their lives have actually been developing in a very positive direction.
Jin Zhao found a job, and she finally secured a role with some screen time, scheduled to start filming on October 3rd. The night she got the role, the two went out for seafood barbecue. She seemed to have finally rediscovered her lost youthful spirit, raising her beer to clink glasses with Jin Zhao and saying, "Let's meet at the top!"
She knew that Jin Zhao was different from her; her social circle was very clean, and she had never brought anyone else home except for Wu Fei and Wu Guo, whom she had found herself.
If only these two siblings hadn't been so persistent, she wouldn't have lost her temper and taught them a lesson, and Jin Zhao wouldn't have run into them, almost getting her into trouble in the process.
The three textbooks that Jin Zhao brought back fell to the ground, getting covered in mud and rainwater, turning the snow-white paper into a dirty mess.
Wu Nian squatted on the ground, head down, vigorously wiping with a wet tissue.
There were "Selected Readings in English and American Poetry," "Detailed Annotations of Famous English and American Poems," and a thick book entirely in English that Wu Nian didn't recognize; she had even forgotten how many letters were in English. She could only wipe the pages of the books again and again.
But once the paper got stained with mud and water, it couldn't be wiped off no matter what.
*
When the police arrived, they first took the three men to the hospital to treat their wounds. They were all superficial injuries, except for Wu Guo, who was in slightly worse condition. However, he was able to walk upright after arriving at the hospital and did not need an IV drip or hospitalization. After the medicine was applied, everyone went to the police station together.
Both parties expressed their willingness to reach a settlement, so they all went into the mediation room, where the mediator presided over the mediation.
The only one present who didn't make a move was Jin Zhao; she didn't go in but sat alone on a bench outside waiting.
It was already 8:30 pm, very late. The police station wasn't on the main road, and the streets outside were quiet, with only the occasional sound of a car's tires rolling over the asphalt.
Soon, Meng Yanxi also came out and sat down next to her.
Jin Zhao took out the iodine solution she had just received at the hospital from the plastic bag. She didn't say anything, and Meng Yanxi instinctively extended her hand to her.
It's kind of funny that he broke his own hand while hitting someone. It's also kind of pathetic, since nobody even noticed he was injured. Even at the hospital, no one treated his wound.
Jin Zhao pressed the iodine spray three times onto the back of his hand, the brown liquid spraying onto his pale skin. She then tore open a pack of medical cotton swabs and carefully used them to absorb any excess liquid.
She couldn't help but ask, "Does it hurt?"
Meng Yanxi: "A little."
Jin Zhao: "Isn't it only alcohol that hurts?"
Meng Yanxi paused for a moment, then withdrew her hand: "Then it won't hurt."
Jin Zhao: "..."
Why are you speaking so aggrievedly? It's as if she bullied him.
Jin Zhao silently repacked the spray and cotton swabs, the rustling sound of the plastic bag standing out in the quiet corridor.
Meng Yanxi sat quietly beside her. After a while, she suddenly spoke: "There's nothing to regret. People from different worlds will eventually part ways."
Jin Zhao stared at the promotional text on the opposite wall for a long time without saying a word.
"Have you ever heard of parallel universes?" she asked.
Meng Yanxi didn't say anything, but put one arm on the back of the chair behind her and looked straight ahead, just like her.
Jin Zhao blinked gently: "I've always felt that if parallel universes really exist, then Wu Nian must be me in that parallel universe."
"I'll tell you a secret." Jin Zhao turned his head.
Meng Yanxi looked at her: "What?"
"Actually, Wu Nian and I initially agreed to drop out of school together."
Jin Zhao looked ahead again, his eyes dark and red-rimmed: "Junior high school was a very difficult time. It wasn't just about losing a loved one, but also being wronged, betrayed, and hurt. I don't really remember what those days were like anymore, I just remember so many tears, so much sorrow, grievances, and resentment. Of course, I couldn't concentrate in class, my grades were terrible, and my dance classes were suspended. My world was a torrential downpour, and my wings weren't strong enough to fly away."
She gently shook her head: "As 'To Kill a Mockingbird' says, 'You can never truly understand a person unless you put on their shoes and walk around.' There is no true empathy in this world. Children from healthy and happy families can never truly understand children from families like mine and Wu Nian's. At that time, only Wu Nian and I were wearing the same shoes, only we truly understood each other's hardships and pain."
"We desperately want to make money, to be independent, to create our own world, and to never again live a life of isolation, helplessness, grievance, and tears."
“Wu Nian is two years older than me. I was in the first year of junior high when she graduated. She said she didn’t plan to continue to high school.” Jin Zhao turned to look at Meng Yanxi, her eyes red and swollen, the bright light reflecting the tears in her eyes. “I didn’t stop her. What’s worse, I told her: Wait for me, I’ll be with you in two years.”
"I was so naive back then. After reading a few inspirational articles, I thought I was Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Mark Zuckerberg. I thought that escaping the constraints of school would really give me the freedom I wanted."
"Have you heard a really melodramatic story?" Jin Zhao suddenly asked, "Two people agree to commit suicide together, but one of them goes first, and the other sees her struggle and pain and regrets it."
“After Wu Nian dropped out of school, her situation didn’t improve; in fact, it became even more difficult. Once she left the ivory tower of the school, she saw the thorns and ugliness of the world much earlier: blond hair, smoking, fighting… I was with her, and I saw it all too. That direction terrified me, and I dared not follow it anymore. I studied desperately and ran desperately in another direction. I tried to pull her to run with me, but I could no longer pull her back to school.”
A cold wind blew in from outside, brushing coolly against her ears. Jin Zhao buried her face in her hands, her voice flowing from between her fingers.
"But if Wu Nianxian hadn't tried this wrong path for me, I would be the one struggling on this wrong road now."
The bench was made of metal, and it felt cold at night. Meng Yanxi watched her quietly, her fingers resting on the back of the bench behind her twitching slightly.
After a long pause, he asked in a hoarse voice, "How old were you then?"
"Thirteen."
"Too small."
Meng Yanxi's voice was very soft, so soft that it lacked its usual aloofness, and when it rang in the cold night, it actually brought warmth.
"If you can't even take responsibility for yourself, then it's even less your responsibility to take responsibility for others."
*
The mediation went much more smoothly than Jin Zhao had expected.
She thought the fight had gone so badly that it would at least end up in court, but to her surprise, there was no commotion or compensation involved, and the two parties quickly and amicably signed a mediation agreement.
After leaving the police station, Wu Nian took the three textbooks out of her bag and handed them to Jin Zhao: "Sorry, I got your books dirty."
Jin Zhao took it and said, "It's okay, the school has new ones."
The night breeze was cool. Wu Nian stood still, her hands in her trench coat pockets.
Jin Zhao glanced at the two men in black who went to get their car in the distance and asked softly, "Aren't you going home tonight?"
Wu Nian smiled and said, "Have you forgotten? I joined the crew on the 3rd. Although I don't have many scenes, at least I have a name this time. If it weren't for this incident, I would be on a plane right now."
Jin Zhao asked, "It's so late now, are there still any flights? Why don't we leave tomorrow?"
Wu Nian looked at her quietly, then suddenly said, "Lingling, stop worrying about me."
Jin Zhao's eyelashes fluttered slightly: "Nian Nian..."
“Don’t tell me you weren’t terrified today.” Wu Nian interrupted her, kicking a pebble at her feet as she looked down. “We’re actually from different worlds now. You have your ivory tower and your poetry, and I have my own world and my daily meals.”
Jin Zhao blinked quickly twice, trying to dispel the heat from the corners of his eyes.
Wu Nian continued, "The lease on the apartment was originally due to expire on the 10th of this month. After that, you shouldn't stay here anymore. It's far from your school, and it's really inconvenient for you to travel back and forth. Go back to your school to live. After National Day, winter will come quickly, and there won't be any bugs then. Your school will be allocating apartments next year, right? I'll go and get you one then... Never mind, let's not contact each other for now."
On the other side, Wu Fei and Wu Guo, siblings, followed Meng Yanxi to his car and thanked him.
"Brother Yanxi, thank you so much for today." Wu Guo said, his face covered in bruises.
Wu Fei smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, Brother Yanxi."
The two children's fathers, Wu Liang and Meng Shixu, were elementary school classmates. Although they were separated by vast distances, most people would go to great lengths to find a middleman to establish a connection with a powerful family like the Meng family, let alone someone who already had that connection. Wu Liang had visited the Meng family twice with his children over the years, and Wu Guo and Wu Fei politely addressed Meng Yanxi as "Brother."
Wu Fei had liked Meng Yanxi since she was a child. Today, she was slapped twice in front of her beloved. Her face was still burning with pain. She couldn't help but glare at Wu Nian, who was talking to Jin Zhao. She complained with grievance and anger: "This Wu Nian, she has never been a good person since she was a child. She dresses up in a bad way every day. She is surrounded by a bunch of hooligans and delinquents. She is really vicious and dirty."
Meng Yanxi was looking at Jin Zhao when she heard Wu Fei's words, and her expression turned cold in an instant.
He glanced at Wu Fei and Wu Guo, the siblings: "They've got leverage over you, and you couldn't reach an agreement?"
The Wu siblings' faces turned pale in unison, and Wu Guo even stammered, "Brother Yanxi, what do you mean by that?"
Meng Yanxi: "Anyone in this world can look down on Wu Nian, except you guys."
Wu Guo's heart skipped a beat.
Wu Fei asked incredulously, "Brother Yanxi, are you going to help Wu Nian?"
Meng Yanxi looked at the two of them calmly: "I don't meddle in other people's business. The premise is, don't implicate my people."
"Your people?"
Meng Yanxi ignored the Wu siblings and strode towards Jin Zhao.
As Jin Zhao and Meng Yanxi were leaving, Wu Nian suddenly called out to her, "Lingling."
Now Zhao turns back.
Wu Nian stood there, pulling her thin trench coat tighter around herself: "If you hear any bad news about me later, don't come to see me, and don't ask me on the phone. But if you hear good news about me someday, remember to come find me right away. I'll be waiting to celebrate with you."
Jin Zhao moved his lips and asked softly, "What kind of good news?"
Wu Nian suddenly smiled brightly at her: "For example, I become a big star."
Jin Zhao smiled and said, "Okay! Teacher Wu, keep it up!"
"Keep up the good work, Professor Zhao Zhao! Strive for your professional title and become a renowned professor in the future. Let's meet at the top!"
It felt like returning to the night Wu Nian had worked so hard to get the role. The two sat facing each other at a seafood stall, and the sound of beer glasses clinking under the lights rang out again.
Jin Zhao nodded vigorously: "Alright, see you at the summit!"
*
Meng Yanxi escorted Jin Zhao back to Lanshan Garden and went upstairs with her to get her things.
Like Wu Nian, Meng Yanxi also advised her not to stay here tonight.
Actually, even without them saying anything, Jin Zhao had planned to take her things back to her school dormitory tonight. Although she had just been in a fight, she was still a little scared to go back and get her things by herself. But she had no choice; she needed to take some clean clothes.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Meng Yanxi agreed to come back with her. She didn't even bother to be polite with him, afraid that if she politely said no, he would actually agree.
Although it's an older neighborhood, the apartment itself is actually quite nice. It has two bedrooms and a living room, both facing south, and the living room is very clean.
There were no men's slippers at home, so Jin Zhao took out his own slippers for Meng Yanxi to change into. Meng Yanxi squeezed in with difficulty, and with his long arms and legs, half of his foot was outside.
Jin Zhao squatted down beneath him, looked up apologetically, and said, "It'll be over soon."
I went back to my room to pack my things, wearing my autumn slippers.
Meng Yanxi sat in the living room waiting for her, and picked up the poetry textbook that she had placed on the coffee table and flipped through it casually.
The phone lying to the side suddenly lit up; it was Jin Zhao's. The caller ID showed an unfamiliar local number.
I don't know if it was accidentally touched or intentionally muted, but the phone was silent, with the screen just lit up.
Besides being lucky, Meng Yanxi's intuition is often more accurate. He stared at the unfamiliar number in front of him, the abstract blind date Jin Zhao had set up with that afternoon flashing through his mind, and answered the call.
"Hello, is this Miss Jin? This is Li Jin."
That's true.
Meng Yanxi held her phone to her ear and glanced towards the bedroom.
Jin Zhao was busily packing things inside, as if afraid that he would run away before he could finish waiting.
Meng Yanxi couldn't bear to disturb someone who wasn't important to her while she was busy.
Before Meng Yanxi could speak, Li Jin on the other end of the phone continued rapidly, "It's like this, I had something to do this afternoon and left in a hurry, so I forgot to pay the bill. How can you let the girl pay on a blind date? If it's convenient for you, let's add each other on WeChat, and I'll transfer the money to you?"
Ha, you even want to add me on WeChat.
Meng Yanxi: "It's inconvenient, she's taking a shower."
The person on the other end of the phone fell silent for a moment, then after two seconds, asked, unwilling to give up, "Who are you...?"
"Meng Yanxi".
"Click!" Li Jin hung up the phone.
Jin Zhao quickly packed a few changes of clothes and necessities, and soon pushed his suitcase out.
Meng Yanxi closed the book on her lap, then picked up her bag and phone from the coffee table: "Are you done?"
Jin Zhao nodded: "Alright, let's go."
“There was a scam call just now, I answered it for you,” Meng Yanxi said as she took the suitcase from her.
Jin Zhao felt bad for asking him to do both work and effort, so he gripped the suitcase handle and said, "No need, it's not heavy."
She looked up again and asked, "Are you asking me again if I need a loan?"
Meng Yanxi's brow twitched slightly: "You received it too?"
Jin Zhao told him to go out first, then pulled the door shut and locked it from the inside, saying, "Yes, I don't know what's going on, but I've been getting these calls a lot lately, it's a bit annoying."
Meng Yanxi nodded in agreement and said, "It is a bit annoying. I've already blocked you."
Jin Zhao: "Okay, thank you."
-----------------------
Author's Note: I hope this plot twist won't feel abrupt; it's a story of redemption between the girls. From the moment Wu Nian appeared, I wrote that she was beautiful and had a good singing voice, and that the bar was called "Crossroads," already hinting at her struggles and growth. Because in reality, the likelihood of a child from an unhappy family being deliberately spoiled by a stepmother is far greater than that of Jin Zhao, yet Jin Zhao still appears. Her appearance is a result of her resilient and strong character, which is why she can dance on the ruins. Such a Jin Zhao cannot be influenced by her family, nor by Wu Nian. Conversely, Jin Zhao will definitely influence Wu Nian. Therefore, compared to utterly falling into depravity, Wu Nian should have some struggle; otherwise, it wouldn't make sense.
Jin Zhao became Jin Zhao not because of the male lead, but because she was Jin Zhao first, and then attracted the male lead. However, Wu Nian's growth was because of Jin Zhao. Wu Nian's dream of meeting at the top may not come true; those four words might just be a boast she uses to carefully maintain her friendship with Jin Zhao. But it at least represents her yearning for light, like Oscar Wilde's quote: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." Even those in the gutter may look up at the stars.
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