Chapter 8

“Yeah, Yiqing just got back from a business trip to Shanghai, and I dragged him over-”

Chen Rui was halfway through his sentence when his phone suddenly rang.

A slightly deep voice came from the other end, “Are you ready?”

“Yes, yes, you don’t need to come up. We’re coming down now.”

Chen Rui spoke as he picked up my suitcase, “Let’s go.”

I didn’t hesitate any longer, grabbed my bag, and followed him out the door.

Behind me, Jiang Ling seemed to be calling my name, but I didn’t pause my steps, nor did I look back at him.

Qiao Yiqing’s car was parked by the roadside.

As we approached, he was sitting inside the car.

His slender fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel, lost in thought.

I gazed at his smooth-profiled face, momentarily dazed.

Qiao Yiqing was my high school classmate, renowned as a genius in our year.

But he was aloof, and I was rather introverted, so although we sat next to each other, we hardly spoke.

After graduation, I thought I would never cross paths with him again.

Until two months ago, when Chen Rui started an internship at a securities company. I went to visit him at work and discovered that Qiao Yiqing was his superior.

“Yiqing,” Chen Rui suddenly called out.

The man in the seat turned his head, and our eyes met.

I greeted him politely, then thought for a moment and went to open the back door.

Just as I was about to sit down, I heard Qiao Yiqing say, “Sit in the front.”

“Riding in the front helps with motion sickness,” he said calmly.

I was taken aback but didn’t ask how he knew I got carsick. I quietly closed the back door and sat in the passenger seat.

We didn’t speak for the rest of the journey.

By the time we got home, it was already two in the afternoon.

Qiao Yiqing dropped us off downstairs and drove back to the office without coming up.

My mom came out of the kitchen with two bowls of food, gave me a cold look, her expression not very pleasant.

When she saw Chen Rui, her demeanor softened, “The food’s ready, come eat.”

The meal was unusually silent.

My mom didn’t like me, so I didn’t plan to stay home for long. I would move out once I found a suitable place.

In the evening, my mom sat on the sofa knitting.

Perhaps her eyesight had worsened with age; she didn’t notice when the gray yarn ball fell to the floor.

I walked over, silently picked up the yarn, and placed it on the coffee table.

Just as I was about to return to my room, my mom’s voice, tinged with anger, questioned from above, “Why did you break up with Jiang Ling?”

I slowly stood up, saying nothing.

“Jiang Ling told me. It was just a female colleague giving him a watch, nothing serious. Why make such a fuss?”

I looked at her in disbelief, my throat suddenly dry.

It seemed it had always been this way.

When I was a child, classmates bullied me and tripped me on purpose. I came home to tell my mom, who was busy feeding my brother. She showed no reaction, instead scolding me,

“What’s the use of telling me? Why do they bully you and not others? Can’t you find the reason in yourself?”

I never expected her to say something so cold, and I stood there, stunned.

My brother took advantage of my daze to pull my hair mischievously, and I instinctively pushed him away.

Before I could react, a hard slap landed on my face.

My mom soothed my crying brother while glaring at me fiercely.

I ran out with tears in my eyes, not remembering how long I ran until I was exhausted, finally stopping and burying my face in my knees.

In the end, it was Jiang Ling who found me.

He gently patted my back, saying nothing, as if slowly melting away my grievances.

At that moment, I thought, maybe my mom would never be on my side, but Jiang Ling would.

“Enough, be reasonable. He’s coming to pick you up tomorrow. Give him a chance to make amends, and let this matter go.”

My mom’s reprimand brought me back to reality.

She glanced at me, then continued knitting with her head down,

“Even if you don’t think for yourself, think about your brother. Jiang Ling’s mother has so many resources. Your brother’s future…”

I didn’t know how I returned to my room. It was dark, with no lights on.

Outside, there was the sound of a heated argument. I sat motionless on the bed, staring out the window.

I didn’t know how much time passed before the door opened.

Someone gently embraced me, resting their forehead on my shoulder, the suppressed sobs painfully clear in the silent night, “Sis, I’m sorry…”

“I don’t know why she’s like this. We’re both her children…”

I turned to look at him.

His face, so similar to mine, was streaked with tears, his eyes red.

I once tried to hate Chen Rui, channeling all my anger, resentment, and unrequited love for my mom into hatred for him, thinking it would make me feel better.

But as he grew up, he treated me so well that I couldn’t even bring myself to hate him.

“I rented an apartment, just signed the lease. I planned to live there myself, but you can stay there first.”

Finally, I heard him say firmly,

“Your future is yours. I’ll take care of my own future. You don’t need to do anything you don’t want to for me or anyone else.”

“Sis, I’ll help you move tomorrow.”