Waiting for You in a City

As they walked out of the school campus, Xu Qin’s eyes were still moist.

By then, the sun had fully risen, the golden morning light sprinkled the earth, covering the vast winter campus with a thin layer.

Crowds of high school students carrying school bags walked into the campus chattering, and soon spread everywhere, steps, corridors, and teaching buildings.

They were wearing uniforms, their faces were so fresh and young. Xu Qin thought, at that age, she and Song Yan also had the same youthful and clean faces.

It was at this moment that she deeply realized what these past ten years meant.

When she met him at the age of fifteen, she was still an ignorant girl, and he was still a growing boy.

When she parted from him at the age of eighteen, she was still immature and simple, and he was still young and thin.

Now, with the hasty hand of time, she became more mature and silent, and the young boy beside her grew into a tall and broad-shouldered man overnight.

Her man.

Xu Qin’s eyes were slightly wet, she blinked vigorously, sniffed, and looked down at the ring on her ring finger. The diamond sparkled in the sun.

She couldn’t help but smile again.

Song Yan walked aside her with his hands in his pockets, glancing at her from time to time. She had been like this since they left the classroom, looking at the ring for one moment, and smiling foolishly the next.

Still, the ring looked beautiful on her finger. Her hands were thin and white, the ring glistened against them.

When he was picking out rings, he saw this one at first sight, and thought that it would look beautiful on her hand.

Just as expected.

The two were going down the steps, the students moved forward to meet them, and many of them cast curious glances. Usually, outsiders rarely enter the campus. Some students were mischievous and ran through the gap between them. Some students were polite and saw that the two were a couple, stopping when they neared and going around them.

Seeing that she was still smiling, Song Yan asked: “Do you like that so much? You kept staring at it this whole time.”

Xu Qin looked up at him with clear eyes: “I like it a lot, so much that I want to wear it for a lifetime, but I won’t be able to bear to take it off even after a lifetime.” She looked at the ring again, and smiled, “I won’t take it even if I die.”

The wind blew through the bamboo forest, the leaves rustled.

The rustling sound was like the sound of Song Yan’s heart moving.

He also said: “This is an engagement ring. When we get married officially, there will be a pair of matching rings, so it will be convenient to wear on a daily basis.”

Xu Qin pulled his hand out of his pocket and took a look. His nails were cleanly cut, his fingers were slender and well-defined, he must be very sexy with a ring on.

And the ring would declare that he already belonged to someone, thinking about this was a bit self-restraining.

She said: “I’m afraid that when you put on that ring, it will attract butterflies instead.”

He laughed: “Are there not already enough butterflies around me?”

When Xu Qin heard this, she became curious: “Have there been many people pursuing you these past years?” Thinking about what he said before, if every woman he saved devoted their body to him, he would be exhausted to death, and asked again, ” Were there many people who wanted to devote their body to you?”

“A lot.” He said, “Weren’t you one of them?”

“Then why didn’t you take longer to pick, why did you choose me?” Xu Qin said argumentatively.

“I was blind.” Song Yan said.

“……” Xu Qin glared at him, looked at the ring again, and asked, “How did you know my ring size, it fits perfectly.”

“Nonsense. Is there anything about you from head to toe that I don’t know?”

Xu Qin pursed her lips and smiled, her cheeks lightly pink, then suddenly imagined the wildest things, and asked: “When you were not with me, did you sleep with other women?”

“No.” He answered very briefly.

She asked: “Then how did you take care of your needs?”

Song Yan glanced at her indifferently, he could see that she was really happy, she had completely let go of herself when speaking and asking questions.

He didn’t answer, raised his right hand and touched her head.

She was taken aback for a moment, then reacted, and immediately opened his hand.

He let out a laugh.

“Weren’t there so many people who wanted to devote their body to you?” She said again.

“I didn’t like them.” He replied.

She didn’t ask any more.

While talking, they walked by the playground, a few leaves fell from the evergreen trees, the other side of the railing on the courtyard wall was the road outside the school.

Thirteen years ago, it was there.

She left the school gate and had walked less than fifty meters when he blocked her way. The boy raised his chin and said: “Your name is Meng Qin, right? I’ve taken a fancy to you.”

Once he saw her, he never looked away.

After leaving the campus, it was already breakfast time.

Song Yan took Xu Qin to have breakfast outside the school. The auntie at the breakfast shop was still there. Unlike the old campus, the shop looked refurbished, but the signboard was still the same as before, full of memories.

There were too many freshmen and graduates every year, the owner had long forgotten Xu Qin, but she recognized Song Yan, and greeted Song Yan when their bowls were served.

Xu Qin was surprised, and said: “You were really an influential figure. After so many years, the owner still remembers you.”

Song Yan smiled and said nothing, took out a pair of chopsticks and handed them to her.

She didn’t know that after graduation, he came here once a month, except for the time when he was in the army, basically without interruption.

Halfway through breakfast, Xu Qin’s cell phone rang. She took a look and her expression changed slightly.

Song Yan raised his eyes, the incoming call showed “Dad”.

There were many students buying breakfast in the shop, making a lot of noise.

Song Yan said: “It’s noisy here, go answer it outside.”

“En.” Xu Qin weaved through the room full of high school students and went outside to answer the phone.

In less than a minute, she came back and said slowly: “My dad told me to head over, he has something to tell me.”

Song Yan: “Okay. Call me when you’re done.”

“Oh.” After Xu Qin finished speaking, she was still sitting there, a little distracted.

“What are you thinking about?”

Xu Qin was reluctant: “You asked for leave to accompany me, but I’m leaving you behind.”

Song Yan smiled, with a rare bit of youthful scorn, and said: “Then think about it carefully, how will you compensate me?”

She asked seriously: “How? I’m already going to marry you.”

He looked at her for a while, and stopped joking: “It’s okay. Go.”

As Xu Qin was leaving in the car, she realized what he meant by “compensation”, and couldn’t help looking at the sky and sighing “…ah”.

……

They met at a Hong Kong-style tea house by Ba Yan Bridge. There were quite a few people dining in the lobby, but when you walked into the private room area inside, it was much quieter.

Xu Qin felt a little uncomfortable as soon as she entered the restaurant, and became more and more anxious as she walked inside. Thinking of something, she touched the ring on her finger, and felt somewhat relieved.

Pushing the door open and entering the private room, Meng Huaijin was the only one inside. Fu Wenying and her other relatives were not there, nor was Meng Yanchen.

She sighed slightly.

There were several delicate plates of dim sum on the table.

After Xu Qin sat down, Meng Huaijin said: “Eat some breakfast, I ordered it especially for you.”

Xu Qin was already half full, but looking at Meng Huaijin’s haggard face, she picked up the chopsticks and picked up a shrimp dumpling.

On the way to the restaurant, she read the news. The police successfully solved Meng Yanchen’s case. Due to the sufficient and intuitive evidence, and the public apology from the group of college students, everyone not only accepted it, but also defected. The well-intentioned public who were deceived turned their heads and violently attacked Ye Zi, insulting her with all kinds of unbearable words, and demanded that the police severely punish her.

Xu Qin paid special attention to a group of “insiders”, who kept making explosive allegations about Ye Zi’s hunger for money, snobbery, job as a hostess, cheating, seemingly innocent image but actually calculating and manipulative, and other bad habits.

It seemed that Fu Wenying was determined to destroy Ye Zi.

She had always protected her own, and if her son was framed in this way, she would do everything possible to take revenge.

Inexplicably, Xu Qin remembered that when she was in junior high school, there was a girl in her class who always laughed at her Mandarin. After Fu Wenying found out, she went to the school to talk to the teacher and that person’s parents. She didn’t know what she said to them, but later, whenever the girl saw her, she would stay away.

She remembered the kindness of the Meng family.

But she couldn’t pass the hurdle that hurt Song Yan.

She also had some regrets that she shouldn’t have come to face Meng Huaijin, she really didn’t like the anxious feeling of being torn apart.

Meng Huaijin slowly drank tea for a while, and occasionally passed her dim sum. Seeing that she was still engrossed in eating and did not talk, he spoke first: “It’s thanks to you that Yanchen’s matter was resolved.”

“I did what I was supposed to do.” Xu Qin said.

She was still a little defiant, she didn’t look at him from the moment she entered the door, and her words were brief.

Meng Huaijin wanted to persuade her to reconcile with Fu Wenying, and played the emotional card first: “Qin Qin, although you may not believe what I say, but if you were the one who had something happen, your mother would also do everything in her power for you. What she did for Yanchen, if it were you, she would do it too.”

Xu Qin didn’t say a word, and numbly stuffed something into her mouth.

“Similarly……” Meng Huaijin paused for a moment, feeling a little ashamed for what he was about to say next, “If the disobedient one back then was Yanchen, she would have done the same. I admit that we are not good parents. We think more about the interests of the family than about the feelings of our children. But dad still wants to tell you that whether it be me or your mother, we are the same towards you, or towards Meng Yanchen.”

“I believe you.” Xu Qin lowered her head and asked softly, “But, if Meng Yanchen is in pain, mom will feel distressed. But if I am in pain, will mom feel distressed?”

Meng Huaijin was taken aback.

Xu Qin stubbornly refused to raise her head, and asked: “If she does feel distressed, is it the same feeling of distress as for Meng Yanchen, or is it the same feeling of distress as for my cousin?”

“Mom asked me how I could betray my parents for a man. But did mom think about my feelings when she destroyed the person I loved the most? If she thought that I would be in pain and cry, did she feel distressed?”

She clenched the chopsticks tightly with her fingers, she was very calm, but a big tear fell,

“If it were Meng Yanchen, while she was doing it, she would probably feel a little uneasy.”

“So, maybe……mom just doesn’t care about me that much.”

“But it may be my fault. Sometimes I think, if I were more lively, lovable, and talkative, maybe I could have gotten closer to you two when I was a child. But……Meng Yanchen clearly also doesn’t like to talk.”

“Why does mom smile more at him and less at me; why does she hug him on his birthday but not me? I also really want mom to smile at me, and I want mom to hug me.”

She lowered her head and pressed her eyes on the back of her hand, and suddenly stopped talking.

After Meng Huaijin heard her words, his eyes were a little red, and he said helplessly: “When your mother gave birth to Meng Yanchen, it was too hard, so she gives him more favoritism.”

Xu Qin quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and said: “I know. After all, I only came to the house when I was ten years old, so that kind of requirement is too harsh. I understand all this, but……dad, that thing with Song Yan, I can’t move past it. I can’t forgive it.”

“Qin Qin,” Meng Huaijin said a little anxiously, “Family is close relatives that are bound together for a lifetime. There will be friction and pain along the way, and bumpy roads. How can we sever the relationship so easily? When something happens, everyone discusses to solve it—”

“How to solve it?” Xu Qin looked up at him and interrupted, “Return his innocence and future?”

Meng Huaijin was stunned: “This—”

“Have you ever thought about Song Yan’s character that can’t stand even a little bit of bullying. Even if the Heavenly Sovereign bullies him, he will resist and take revenge. But he never thought of revealing this matter. The opponents of the Meng family are not few, he never revealed a word, he let you go. What else do you want from him, to call you mom and dad, eat dinner together with you for my sake?”

This time, Meng Huaijin did not speak.

Xu Qin said: “Of course, you will not agree to my marriage with him, just like I will not forgive what you have done to him. These conflicts cannot be resolved by sitting together and eating two meals. Dad, I’m really tired, I don’t want to face these things anymore, and I don’t want to cry anymore. Please don’t mention it in the future. As for the family,” she smiled faintly, “everyone can live their lives well, if there’s something we can meet, if there’s nothing then there’s no need to force it.”

Meng Huaijin frowned more and more tightly, he still refused to give up, but he was worried that it would be counterproductive, so he hurriedly said: “I won’t talk about it anymore, won’t talk about it anymore. Won’t talk about the past. The days are still long, take your time. Dad still thinks that there is no hurdle that cannot be overcome between family members.”

Xu Qin didn’t say a word, her expression was flat, obviously she didn’t want to waste anymore words on issues like “family” and “reconciliation”.

Seeing this, Meng Huaijin stopped mentioning it and said: “Are you determined to marry Song Yan?”

“He’s already my fiancé.”

Meng Huaijin was taken aback, wanted to say something, but seeing her expression, he finally stopped trying to persuade her and said: “Qin Qin, even if you get married, you can’t live without your parent’s family, right?”

Xu Qin bit her lip slightly and said nothing.

“If you are bullied in the future, you have to come home and find mom and dad.”

“He won’t bully me.” She said firmly.

Meng Huaijin was about to speak again, but saw the ring on Xu Qin’s hand.

He couldn’t help but take another look.

The diamond was not small, the classic model of a famous jeweler, the price could be worth a car. That kid would give everything he had, and he really couldn’t bear to let her suffer a single grievance.

Meng Huaijin suddenly had nothing to say.

He had lived a prosperous and stable life these years, his family was happy, the sons and daughters were married, and he also believed and abided by a set of rules within the family.

This was the case with everyone he came into contact with in his work and life, even the young people under him had to worry for ages over going on a blind date. Your family paid for a car, my family paid for renovations. Your family gave a betrothal gift, so my family bought a three-piece set of gold ornaments.

When the women’s family gave the bride price, they would think about using the money to buy a house instead of a car. Because the house would appreciate in value but a car would fall in value.

As for the man’s family, they would think about spending more money on renovations, and buy a smaller diamond ring. After renovating they could still live in it, but a big diamond would be worn on the woman’s hand.

Over the years, it was rare for him to meet the kind of person who gave everything.

How dangerous it sounded, how stupid, how it made life unknown, uneasy;

But why, was there a faint youthful and fresh power in it, as if you could really feel the warm temperature of the blood, as if you were really alive.

He thought maybe he was getting old. When you were old, you would become timid and reluctant to give. You held everything in your arms, afraid that others would snatch it away.

He had forgotten the fun and joy of making sacrifices for his lover when he was young.

After eating this meal, still nothing was solved.

On the contrary, Meng Huaijin said when he left that if she didn’t want to go home to see her parents for the time being, she didn’t have to go back. If something happened at home, it was okay to wait until then to get together again.

Then he asked: “Can mom and dad invite you out for dinner, is that okay?”

Xu Qin was silent.

Meng Huaijin sighed and patted her on the shoulder: “If you need anything, remember to find mom and dad.”

After saying this, he left.

The street was already full of traffic, and people were coming and going.

Xu Qin walked along the road for a long time, letting the cold wind clear her head, looking at the sky, the weather was still sunny today.

She stood on the side of the road and called Song Yan, and when she heard the beep, her mood gradually improved.

“Hello, Xu Qin?” He picked up the phone, and there was the sound of wind blowing through the microphone.

“Where are you?” she asked, her voice light.

“There’s some business with the team, I have to go back first.” He said apologetically, “I can’t accompany you today.”

She was taken aback for a moment, feeling a little disappointed, but soon recovered, and said softly: “Then you focus on work.”

“Don’t be unhappy.” He coaxed softly.

She smiled all of a sudden: “It’s okay, I’ll just wait for you to come back.”