Chapter 154: Rotten
The apples had been left in a dark corner for several days. The skin was dry and wrinkled, the color more and more vibrant, alluring yet with some dark, black spots. They were completely rotten, lying limply on the table, exuding a foul, pungent smell of wine.
Xia Qian Ge sat alone at the coffee table in the living room. The house was not big, and there was no dedicated dining table. The dishes were usually placed on the coffee table. Over time, the glass had turned a dark yellow, covered with a greasy film.
She sat there, as if she had lost her soul, sickly, as if she had lost all her color, about to become transparent and silent.
Xia Qian Ge looked down at the bread she had just bought from the street, which was placed on the coffee table. The soft and sweet bread was tasteless in her mouth, as if her taste buds had also gone bad.
But she still grabbed the bread slices and put them in her mouth, one after another, stuffing her mouth full. When she couldn’t swallow, she would drink a large mouthful of water and then swallow. She continued until her stomach couldn’t take it anymore.
She felt that she should maintain her sleep and fill her stomach. She had to live well. The dark thoughts that were clamoring and raging in her mind, forcing her to choose to end her life, were all swept away the first time she saw the boy.
He was like a ray of light, calming all her thirst, penetrating into her tiny cells and even her fragile soul. Her gaze was devout… as if she were following an immortal god, just so that the other party could give her a few more rays of light to quench her thirst.
Footsteps came from outside, many, and chaotic.
The sound of the lock turning came from the entryway. Soon, the light from outside squeezed in through the door, and many people rushed into the room. The noisy conversation made the narrow room a little overwhelmed, but it was unprecedentedly lively, a stark contrast to the desolate and cold New Year’s Eve.
At the front of the crowd was a man in a suit and leather shoes. He seemed to be very familiar with the layout of this small house. He was wearing pointed leather shoes that were even shinier than his hair. He walked straight into the living room without stopping and saw Xia Qian Ge sitting in the living room at a glance. An exaggerated smile immediately appeared on his face, and he shouted in a loud voice.
“Qian Ge, Dad is here to pick you up.”
Xia Qian Ge slowly raised her head, her eyes, which were entwined with streaks of blood, staring at the man. She was in a daze for a moment, and then she suddenly realized that today was the day of her mother’s memorial service, and the man in front of her, who looked a bit like her, was her biological father, Xia Changhe.
“Why are you wearing so little? Don’t catch a cold. I’ve been busy with your mother’s affairs these past few days. I really couldn’t find the time to see you. It’s all my fault.”
She stared blankly, not answering. She tilted her head up and stared at the flickering fluorescent light on the ceiling. The pale light fell on her face, making her complexion sickly pale.
The memories of the past, like a persistent curse, wrapped around her, turning into mottled colors, hysterical roars, and the seductive smell of deceit that was now exuding a foul and nauseating odor.
“Yeah, I know. The portrait is in the guest room. You can go get it yourself.”
Xia Qian Ge felt increasingly irritated by the strangers who had barged into the room and were now pointing and commenting on everything. Their eyes roamed freely, scrutinizing the space she called home, their tones dripping with condescension.
“So this is the room that’s going to be demolished? It’s a bit small. A house in the city, this must be worth hundreds of thousands, right?”
“A few hundred thousand? Do you think this is charity? How could Old Xia be so kind? He’s getting married over there, and he’s still willing to come back and clean up this mess? A little birdie told me that this area has just been included in the city. If it’s demolished and he gets a new apartment, he can at least get a hundred-square-meter place nearby. That’s a small million.”
“Huh? Then isn’t Old Xia going to be rich? No wonder he said he was getting a divorce but never went to the civil affairs bureau to get the certificate. So he had this up his sleeve. His wife was so devoted to him and didn’t want a divorce. She probably left all her belongings to him before she died.”
“Hah, then you’re wrong. I don’t know what that woman was thinking. Before she died, she did change the name on the property deed. But unfortunately, it wasn’t Old Xia’s. She only wrote one person’s name, her daughter’s, Xia Qian Ge!”
“Huh? Why?”
“Cough cough, keep it down! Who knows why? She probably felt sorry for the child. Old Xia is now trying to trick the house into his hands. He has to be nice to this girl now, right?”
“That’s true. We’ll have to ask Old Xia to treat us then.”
Xia Qian Ge suppressed the violent turmoil in her heart and walked into the bathroom. She had just stood up, and her curvaceous body was revealed under her thin pajamas. She exposed her delicate collarbone and beautiful ankles. Her waterfall-like black hair was loosely tied up, and a few strands of dark hair fell down, brushing against her porcelain-white skin.
The annoying and mosquito-like discussions were like a shadow that could not be dispelled and chased after her again.
“Yo, I didn’t see it before. Old Xia’s unwanted daughter is a real beauty. She’s so… so beautiful.”
“What’s the use? She’s in college now. It costs a lot of money. To raise such a bottomless pit… will Old Xia’s current wife agree? I think… this girl will have a miserable future.”
…
Xia Qian Ge changed her clothes and walked out of the bathroom. The strange intruders in the living room were gone. Only Xia Changhe was sitting on the sofa, his legs crossed casually, playing on his phone. The ash from the cigarette between his fingers fell, and the spark struggled for a moment on the concrete floor before it was extinguished in the air.
“Qian Ge is ready.”
Xia Changhe looked up and was startled by his biological daughter, who was standing silently on the side. He stubbed out his cigarette on the floor, patted the ash from his pants, and stood up.
He touched his daughter’s pale and thin cheek with great concern. “Then Dad will drive you. We haven’t seen each other in so long. You’ve lost weight, Qian Ge.”
Xia Qian Ge just took two steps back and broke free from the man’s hand. She silently looked at the door, which was swaying in the cold wind. Her dark pupils were filled with an intense, almost tangible hatred. But she hid it well, hiding those things in the dark and gloomy light spots, using a sad and dim pupil color as a cover.
“You probably don’t know them, right? Our family didn’t visit relatives often before. Those are your uncles and aunts. I’ll introduce you at the memorial service later.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Xia Qian Ge nodded and replied briefly.
“Alright then. I’ll go down and get the car first. You can come down when you’re ready.”
The smile on Xia Changhe’s lips grew brighter. He rubbed his hands and walked out of this shabby home. He hadn’t divorced because he had thought that one day his daughter would turn from a chicken into a phoenix, and he might be able to benefit from it. But only those who could get into Jiangnan University could be considered a phoenix. To get into Qingchuan University… at most, it was a chicken turning into a golden chicken. He might not even be able to get his investment back.
But this shabby house, which he had originally looked down on, had suddenly become a golden nugget. And this money-losing daughter had also become a golden phoenix in his eyes. That was a small million in windfall. Just thinking about it, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but rise. He coughed twice and walked away at the corner of the stairs.
Xia Qian Ge silently watched as Xia Changhe left, her gaze fixed on his right hand. From beginning to end, the portrait was held in the man’s single hand, as casually as if he were carrying some trash.
She roughly tidied up the room, wiping away all the traces left by the strangers. Before she left, she suddenly noticed the apples that had been on the shoe cabinet for many days and had not been touched. She looked at the apples in the bag, which were lying limply in the shadows, their skins rotten, revealing the rotten and decayed flesh inside.
So disgusting… she thought to herself. She threw all the apples into the garbage bag, went out the door, and looked back at the house where she had lived for more than a decade, as if she were saying goodbye.
She was never a submissive person. Sooner or later, she would dig out these rotten things from her life. She would not hesitate even if it meant bloodshed.
Xia Qian Ge slowly closed the door and turned to go downstairs.
