Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Si Zhengting simply stood there, staring at her.
Perhaps having become tired of crying, she finally stood up, head hung low, and walked over to the benches beside the school field. She sat there silently and stared ahead into the distance.
As the day began to break, the streets started filling out with more people — food vendors began setting up their stalls, and the fragrance of steamed buns began to fill the air.
But the woman sitting in the school remained where she was, seemingly fossilized.
A cold breeze came by. She rubbed her own shoulders, then sneezed.
Si Zhengting’s face also finally regained vigor. Lowering his head and pressing his lips together, he fished out his cell phone from his pocket. It had been vibrating for a very long time, and true enough, there had been more than 20 calls from Su Yanbin.
Just as he was about to return the call, Su Yanbin called once more. “Hey, Leader Ting, what have I done wrong? What’s up with you calling me to the bar for a drink in the middle of the night and then leaving me there alone?”
Si Zhengting ignored his complaints. He asked, “Where are you?”
Su Yanbin began to complain even more severely. “Of course I’m still at the bar! I wouldn’t dare leave with you coming. Leader, just tell me what I’ve done wrong, I promise I’ll make changes…”
Si Zhengting cut him off. “I’m now giving you 10 minutes to come to the Imperial Group Middle School.”
Without waiting for a reply from Su Yanbin, he hung up.
Casting another glance at Zhuang Nainai, Si Zhengting turned around and went to a roadside stall. Only a few moments after he bought a cup of soybean milk and two buns, a flashy sports car arrived at breakneck speed.
The car stopped, and Su Yanbin emerged from the car, panting heavily as he ran toward Si Zhengting. Standing in from of him, the panda-eyed Su Yanbin asked, “Leader Ting, what exactly is going on?”
Si Zhengting passed him the soybean milk and the buns, then said, “Help me take care of her for a few days.”
Leaving Su Yanbin with that strange statement, he turned around and headed toward his car.
The misunderstandings between him and Zhuang Nainai ran too deep. Seeing each other would only make things worse; it was probably better to give each other some space to cool down.
―
Zhuang Nainai stared ahead blankly, her head full of the times she had had with Si Zhengting during their high school days.
The Si Zhengting of five years ago had been haughty, but he had also been cute.
But the Si Zhengting of today only stirred up one emotion in her: fear.
Especially the words he had said last night. Every single word had been utterly hurtful.
She continued sitting without keeping track of the time. As her brain regained clarity and her sadness diminished, rationality returned to her.
Over the past five years, she had had to deal with all sorts of doubters and eye-rolling people, causing her to have an unrivaled emotional capacity. Yet, when it came down to a situation like this, she still had to let herself grieve for a few hours.
After she had finally calmed herself down, a thought violently occupied her whole head and heart.
She didn’t want a life like this any longer.
She had lost control of her freedom the moment she reconciled with her family, and she longed for an autonomous life.
Mother Zhuang could not become the weak point in her life, and neither could Mother Zhuang always be Gu Deshou’s tool in using her.
And so, she was going overseas to find her mother.
But in doing so, that would mean leaving Si Zhengting…
At the thought of this, her heart began to ache once more.