Huang Mao thought he might be hallucinating. If Xing Wu had been kissing anyone else, he would have been shocked, but not to the point of losing control. However, when he saw Qing Ye’s face, his brain went into paralysis, completely stunned – this was far beyond his comprehension.
Qing Ye’s face instantly turned pale as she stood rigidly against the wall. An eerie silence suddenly fell over the quiet alley. Xing Wu broke the deadlock first, pulling Qing Ye over and helping dust off her back, telling her: “You go back first, I need to talk with Huang Mao.”
Huang Mao was still basically petrified. By now, Qing Ye’s face had turned bright red, and she felt like jumping down a manhole. She was about to explode from embarrassment. Xing Wu squeezed her hand: “It’s okay, go on.”
Qing Ye walked anxiously toward the alley exit, too embarrassed to even look at Huang Mao as she passed him.
Out of the alley, Qing Ye’s heart was still beating frantically. Only at this moment did she realize how crazy she and Xing Wu had been, making out in an alley in broad daylight. It was fortunate that it was Huang Mao who came running by – what if it had been Li Lanfang? Or Director Gu? Wouldn’t they have been shocked enough to need smelling salts a hundred times over?
She frantically patted her head, her heart anxious with regret. After walking a bit, she suddenly remembered she’d forgotten to tell Xing Wu about going to Du Qiyan’s mother’s factory in the afternoon, so she turned back.
However, just as she reached the alley entrance, she heard Huang Mao’s shocked voice: “Holy shit, so after all this time, Qing Ye isn’t your relative?”
Qing Ye’s footsteps stopped at the alley entrance. Feeling it wasn’t appropriate to go in now, she decided to wait by the entrance until they finished talking.
Huang Mao asked in confusion: “Then why does she call your mom ‘Aunt’? I just don’t understand. What’s the relationship between your mom and her mom?”
Xing Wu gave him a cigarette and lit his own, taking a drag before saying: “Her maternal grandfather ran a business in Chang City and was quite well-off. But Qing Ye’s mom was sickly since childhood, always ill, and hospitals couldn’t help her. Someone suggested to her grandfather that they should adopt a girl with compatible birth signs to extend her life or some such nonsense. They found my mom through connections in the countryside.
My mom had one older brother and five younger siblings. Rural families favored sons over daughters, so they were eager to give my mom away, especially since they were paid some money.
Then my mom went back to Chang City with Qing Ye’s grandfather, calling her grandparents ‘Mom and Dad’ and her mom ‘Sister.’ The whole family treated my mom well, especially since Qing Ye’s mom’s health improved within two years after my mom arrived.
But you know my mom – vain and prone to comparison. She always felt they treated their biological daughter better than her. Later she became quite rebellious, often running away from home as a teenager, and relations with the family became strained. Her grandfather’s family had status and wanted to save face. When my mom got pregnant at nineteen, they completely disowned her.”
Qing Ye leaned against the wall, her large eyes trembling slightly, her breathing seeming to grow quieter as she silently listened to everything.
Huang Mao took a heavy drag on his cigarette: “So your mom was with your dad in her teens? She married straight away?”
Silence. Qing Ye didn’t hear Xing Wu answer Huang Mao’s question, only vaguely saying: “Anyway, after leaving Chang City, she came here. She hasn’t had contact with them all these years.”
Qing Ye’s hands gradually clenched into fists. Something wasn’t right – Xing Wu had omitted a crucial piece of information. Perhaps Huang Mao hadn’t noticed, but considering Qing Ye’s previous suspicions, she was almost certain Xing Wu had deliberately concealed a contradiction: the reason for Li Lanfang’s frequent teenage escapes. And behind that reason, if Qing Ye wasn’t mistaken, he had deliberately omitted that person – the person he found difficult to speak about.
Qing Ye’s brows furrowed tightly as she slowly crouched down, hugging her arms and quietly staring at the ground.
Huang Mao let out a long sigh: “Brother, let me process this. I need to process this. I always thought… never mind. I think your mom is pretty good to Qing Ye. I mean, they disowned her, but she’s still willing to take Qing Ye in now. Does Qing Ye know about what happened between her family and your mom?”
“Probably not.”
Xing Wu took a drag on his cigarette, his gaze deep as he said quietly: “If you knew your family had thrown someone out and disowned them all these years, and now you had to depend on them, would you feel comfortable?”
Huang Mao suddenly understood. Given Qing Ye’s proud personality, if she knew that her mom and grandfather had refused to let Li Lanfang return home and cut off all contact with her, she probably wouldn’t be willing to trouble their family now. Huang Mao glanced up at Xing Wu, suddenly understanding so clearly how Xing Wu had always been considering Qing Ye’s feelings, her situation, everything.
Before, he had always thought Xing Wu was Qing Ye’s relative – blood is thicker than water, so it was all natural and proper. But today, upon learning their true relationship, Huang Mao felt utterly inadequate. Compared to Xing Wu’s care and protection of Qing Ye, what did his admiration amount to? He gave a bitter smile.
Meanwhile, Qing Ye hugged herself, staring at her shadow, lost in thought.
Just as Qing Ye was deep in contemplation, several An Zhong students were heading home after the marathon and passed by the alley entrance, calling out: “Qing Ye, you haven’t left yet?”
Xing Wu and Huang Mao both startled, exchanged glances, and strode toward the exit. Before they could reach the alley entrance, Qing Ye had already turned to face them, looking at Xing Wu with complex emotions and giving a somewhat bitter smile.
Xing Wu frowned and clenched his jaw. Qing Ye walked step by step until she stood before him, looking directly into his eyes. Huang Mao stamped out his cigarette, picked up the trophy from the ground, and said to them: “I’m tired from running, going home to rest. See you Monday.”
He turned, waved his hand at them, and disappeared from the alley entrance.
The long alley returned to silence. Xing Wu looked down at her, his voice low: “You heard everything?”
Qing Ye honestly answered with an “Mm.”
Xing Wu half-lowered his gaze, his brows slightly stern. After a long while, he let out a long breath: “Well, since you heard it, just remember – you’re staying at my place not just because of my mom’s connection, but more importantly because you’re my girlfriend.”
Qing Ye’s previously gloomy mood suddenly lightened at Xing Wu’s words. Truthfully, she was someone who didn’t like owing favors. If she had known from the start that her family had cut ties with Li Lanfang when she was at her lowest, she would never have had the nerve to seek her help. Perhaps this was why her mom had never told her any of this.
Then she tugged at Xing Wu’s clothes sadly: “How could my grandparents be so heartless? They drove your mom away while she was pregnant?”
Xing Wu looked down at her for a long moment before saying: “Actually, they did give her a choice. Your grandfather’s position was that if my mom was willing to abort the baby, they would still accept her. It was my mom’s choice, so you can’t blame anyone.”
Qing Ye let go of Xing Wu’s clothes, and after a few seconds, she suddenly stiffened and looked up at him: “So… the baby my grandfather wanted your mom to abort was… you?”
Xing Wu didn’t respond, only raising his hand again to press Qing Ye’s head against his chest. He knew she would feel upset after learning the truth. If not for today’s accident, he had never planned to mention this to her.
Qing Ye wasn’t very familiar with her grandparents. After her mom married and moved to Beijing, she only went back once a year at most. When Qing Ye was very young, they didn’t want to tire her with the back-and-forth travel, so visits to the old home were few. Her grandfather passed away when she was in kindergarten, and she had no real memories of him.
The only memory she had was of her grandmother passing away three years after her grandfather. Her parents took her back home for the funeral, and on the way, her father kept telling her that if her mom cried, she should comfort her. But little Qing Ye didn’t understand how her father could predict that her mom would cry when they got there.
At the funeral, when she saw all the adults crying, she was confused about why they were singing while crying.
Then her father told her to cry too. Little Qing Ye had tried to squeeze out a few tears for appearance’s sake, but her grandparents were such strangers in her life. She knew she would never see her grandmother again, but she couldn’t cry.
So she didn’t have any deep impressions of her grandparents and had always thought her mom was their only child. Her mom had never told her about Li Lanfang’s existence, as if everyone was deliberately erasing this shameful past.
And what they found shameful was the child of unknown origins in Li Lanfang’s womb. Qing Ye’s emotions were in turmoil now. If she hadn’t come to Zha Zha Ting, hadn’t met Xing Wu, hadn’t had these experiences, perhaps she would have felt like her grandparents did – that Li Lanfang’s actions weren’t worthy of sympathy. But now she suddenly felt hurt by her mom’s family’s decision, because that child in Li Lanfang’s womb who brought them shame was Xing Wu!
He was the boy who had brought her comfort when she was at her lowest, who had made her smile again when she was depressed and lonely, who could keep her warm in the darkness. If it hadn’t been for Xing Wu constantly picking fights with her and then helping her adapt to life here when she first came to Zha Zha Ting, she probably wouldn’t have lasted even a month.
But her own family had almost demanded to take his life – that feeling hurt.
She clutched Xing Wu’s clothes tightly and said sadly: “For the first time, I think your mom is truly amazing, just for having the courage to give birth to you.”
Xing Wu stroked the back of her head and said with a smile: “You can hug me all you want when we get home. Aren’t you hungry?”
Qing Ye quickly released him and looked up: “Let’s eat out, and afterward, you can come with me somewhere this afternoon.”
Xing Wu and Qing Ye didn’t return to school, but after eating, they went home to change clothes. Qing Ye didn’t want to wear her school uniform for another second – it was like clothes rented from a two-yuan store. Besides, going to negotiate business deals wearing a school uniform would be stupid. People would probably throw them out as kids.
So Qing Ye wanted to command strategic respect, dominate the atmosphere, and create psychological pressure. That way, even before negotiations began, she would have some control over the situation.
Therefore, to appear more mature, she even put on light makeup. Xing Wu had already changed into a leather jacket and black pants and was sitting in the living room waiting for her. He waited for what felt like ages before she was finally ready.
When Qing Ye appeared before Xing Wu wearing a dress-style coat and high-heeled ankle boots, he was stunned for a moment. He stood up, his eyes fixed on her, looking her up and down: “You… put on makeup?”
Qing Ye played with her loosely curled hair and asked him with glossy lips: “How do I look?”
Xing Wu stared at her, the corner of his mouth curling up.
As they went downstairs, Li Lanfang ran out from the backyard to exclaim to Qing Ye: “I was wondering who this beauty was with such a familiar silhouette. Qing Ye, I almost didn’t recognize you like this.”
Qing Ye had delicate features that were clear and gentle without makeup, but with just a bit of eyeliner and eyeshadow, she became incredibly refined and sophisticated, exuding the air of a wealthy young lady.
Even Liu Nian and the others gathered around. Xing Wu stood at the Xuan Dao entrance smoking a cigarette, the corners of his eyes curved as he waited for them.
Qing Ye hadn’t brought many winter clothes here, and this was her only presentable battle outfit. After calling Du Qiyan, the three of them headed toward Du Qiyan’s mother’s factory, which wasn’t far – just in Target Factory District Four.
Who knew that despite the bright morning sun, wild winds had suddenly picked up by the time they left? The skirt of Qing Ye’s coat was blown up by the wind, and she wondered aloud: “How did the weather change so suddenly?”
Du Qiyan said: “There’s a typhoon coming this evening.”
Qing Ye thought they’d better hurry there and back then.
On the way, Xing Wu playfully asked Qing Ye: “You’re not planning to resell sweet potato strips, are you?”
Xing Wu was quite puzzled by Qing Ye dressing up so elaborately to discuss the sweet potato strip business. But Qing Ye said nonchalantly: “Could you not use the word ‘resell’? Makes it sound like I’m speculating. I’m going to properly negotiate for national distribution rights.”
“National what?” Xing Wu immediately burst out laughing and reached out to rub her head: “Has anyone ever told you that you look a bit silly when you’re being serious?”
Qing Ye shook her long hair: “Don’t mess up my hair.”
Du Qiyan secretly glanced at them, feeling that recently the relationship between Qing Ye and Xing Wu seemed quite good, but she didn’t dare make assumptions.