Chapter 23: Reunion, Part 1
The days passed plainly. In the blink of an eye, a few months had passed, and it was approaching the end of the year. The weather was getting colder day by day. The flowers in the flowerbeds downstairs had withered, and the grass was yellow and withered.
At the end of the year, life also came to an end.
Today was the Little New Year. The residents of the old neighborhood were old-fashioned, and they all valued tradition. The festive atmosphere was high. The streets were decorated with lanterns and colored banners. The gray and dusty corridors were covered with bright red spring couplets and “fu” characters. Red lanterns were also hung on the intricate black lines that were wrapped around the lime pillars, and they were swaying in the cold wind, replacing the vitality that had been lost in the cold winter.
An Zhi had specially brought a pair of spring couplets when she had come. She had pasted them on the side of Su Yu’s door, and the dry and cold gray wall had suddenly had some festive cheer. The spring couplets were red paper with black characters, and the handwriting was vigorous and powerful. The strokes were like a dragon and a snake. She had specially asked a famous old teacher at the school for them.
“Is Qian Ge not here?”
The little girl was peeking her head into the house. Su Yu was bending down to get her shoes. He had shaken his head and had said, “She’s very busy before the New Year. Su Xi is on vacation these two days. She’s in the house.”
“Xixi is at home.” An Zhi had heard it, and she had let out a sigh of relief. She had cleared her throat, and her sweet and soft voice had slipped into the house. “Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi, I’m here.”
“You don’t want your shoes?”
He had subconsciously pulled her, and she was as if she had been electrocuted. Her fingertips were on his wrist, and she had scratched it, and a very faint red mark had been made. Fortunately, there was no blood.
“What…”, An Zhi had let out a cry, and her expression was flustered. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He had let out a muffled hum, and his reaction was far from as big as hers.
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
She had lowered her dark and round eyes, and her deep and dark eyebrows were drooping with a weak look. Her words were stammering, and she was blushing and was speechless.
She had been nervous before she had come here. The two of them were sometimes alone, and the wall was as if it were squeezing from all sides and was pressing on her. She had always wanted someone to be at home, and it would be better if it wasn’t just the two of them.
At that time, she had thrown down a bold statement. Now she was completely and utterly scared. An Zhi was really a little envious of the her of that time.
“You’re taking a beauty sleep. It’s so noisy.”
Su Xi had heard the commotion and had come out of the room. She had very responsibly blocked the two of them. She had first knocked on the back of An Zhi’s head, and she had seen her tearful and bullied look, and she had just sighed that she was not up to scratch.
She had then turned her head and had glared at Su Yu. She was like a mother protecting her cub, and he had become a villain who was bullying people. “Don’t bully An Zhi. You go and make breakfast.”
“Aren’t you tired of my cooking?”, he had shrugged, and he didn’t understand how it had become such a tense atmosphere.
“It’s really no match for Ms. Xia’s cooking. But the egg fried rice is okay. There was just some leftover rice yesterday…”
She had lightly raised her eyebrows and had teased him. “What? Are you also jealous of your family’s?”
Su Yu had not been poor with her and had gone into the kitchen.
An Zhi’s tense and small face had suddenly brightened. She was holding her chest as if she had escaped a disaster. She had looked at Su Xi with a dry look, as if she were asking for help. But she had been rolled her eyes by Su Xi. “I really taught you for nothing. You’re so stupid… how can you be so stupid? Go back to your room!”
“Oh…”
She was like a deflated balloon, and she had suddenly become shriveled. She had followed behind for a few steps, and then she had felt that something was not right. She had held Su Xi. “No, I’m your teacher. How can you be more fierce than me?”
“Haha. If you had half the authority you have at school, you wouldn’t be like this. You… I think you’re a rabbit. You have a hole, and you’re just trying to get in.”
An Zhi had been so scolded that she had no temper. She had clenched her fists and had puffed up her chest. “Then next time… next time…”
…
There was not much rice left, and two bowls had been fried.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
Su Xi was biting her chopsticks and was not moving. She had raised her eyes and was looking at him.
“Yes. Have a little. I had a little in the morning. I’m not hungry now.”
An Zhi was very enthusiastic at this time. She had looked back at Su Xi as if she were taking credit. She had found that her expression was cold, and she was a little cold.
“I’m going out in the afternoon. I have to take a very long car ride. I’m afraid I’ll get carsick on the way.”
Su Yu had handed An Zhi her chopsticks and had shaken his head.
Su Xi was staring at the hesitation that was repeatedly going back and forth in his eyes. She knew him. This was a matter of his heart. She had wrinkled her nose, and her tone was not good. “Where are you going?”
“It seems to be in the suburbs.”
“I…”
He had opened his mouth, and he had wanted to say something more, but he had been interrupted at once.
“So it’s this matter.”
Su Xi had let out a cold laugh and had put down her chopsticks. She had seen through his not-so-well-hidden thoughts at a glance. She was biting her lip and was a little angry. She had inexplicably wanted to say some harsh words, but she had stopped at her lips, and she had carefully considered her words.
She had to stand with him. “I’ll go with you.”
“It’s not a big deal. She’s living alone in the suburbs. There’s only an old auntie to take care of her. It’s almost the New Year… it’s too deserted. It’s not called the New Year.”
“I think you’re just stupid! Does Xia Qiange know about this? Do I know? Or… are you going to hide it from everyone?”, she had slammed the table with force, and she was really angry this time.
“Su Yu, everyone is here. We still have a lot of contradictions. Then fine… let’s leave them for later to be solved slowly. But don’t hide it. Don’t hold on. We… we really can’t stand the torment anymore.”
As she was speaking, Su Xi had suddenly softened. The matter of him had always made her lose her composure. No, no… she couldn’t be in a mess. There were a lot of people… there was always one person who had to endure, to give in, and to be smart.
She had wanted to take the blame for him, to share it, and not to see him give in vain.
“I know… I was going to tell you guys later.”
His eyebrows and eyes were still twisted with a tangle of emotions, but the words he had said had suddenly betrayed him. The soft-heartedness that had seeped out from his bones was as if the suffering he had endured at her hands had been so simply written off.
Su Xi had felt that to put it bluntly, it was just stupid. How could he be so stupid? But it was him. She still couldn’t not care.
“Is… is it about Sister Gu Zhi?”
An Zhi on the side had chimed in, and her tone was timid. “I know a little. I really don’t understand. But… but…”
She had suddenly become a little excited, and her fair and tender hands, which were hidden under the table, were raised. “Just let Sister Gu Zhi come over. Although… she’s done a lot of wrong things. But at that time, in the nursing home… she was quite pitiful.”
“What happened at the nursing home?”
Su Yu had frowned tightly, and his thoughts were in a mess. He was thinking wildly, and his mind was heavy. It had been vaguely lingering since the New Year was approaching. Gu Zhi had hidden a lot of things from him. But he had heard some of the details more or less.
She had disappeared completely after her business trip. He had later checked the surveillance and had confirmed that the black dress that was always lingering on the long bench of the flowerbed downstairs was her. She had come to find him several times, and she had returned in a resounding defeat. She had a sense of atonement for him, so she had really gone far away at once.
An Zhi had paused for a moment, and her first sentence was like a knife, and it had stabbed him. It had stirred, and his bones were a little limp. He was leaning against the chair in a daze.
She had said that at that time, she had had some psychological problems. It was not serious. Her family was worried about her, so they had sent her to their own nursing home for a period of study. She had lived in the top-tier suite, and there were relatively few people. It was very deserted. The neighbors next door were all old people who were rich and had no children. They were particularly fond of her, and she would also always chat with them.
A few new residents had come. She had heard from the nurse that a young and beautiful sister had come today. She had been in her room all day, and she had been too embarrassed to go and see her. The old people around her were gossipy. After a few days, they had discussed a matter of right and wrong. They had said that a madwoman had come. She was young, and she had a hysteria.
The matter of right and wrong had suddenly spread in the courtyard. Many people had come to see her. Through the transparent window, she was like an object that was on the street for people to play with and discuss.
The woman, who had always been dignified and elegant, and graceful and luxurious, was as if she had… completely fallen. Her dignity had been trampled in the mud, and it could not withstand a few idle words.
The woman had become a madwoman in the eyes of others again, as if it were a late retribution.
The thing she had once hated the most had now found her.
