The afternoon classes passed swiftly, and by four o’clock, school was dismissed. Su Yue, accompanied by Jin Mingyuan, hailed a taxi to Xu Xue’s house. The Xu family, nouveau riche though they were, resided in a lavish villa within the city’s affluent district.
Father Xu, perpetually anxious about integrating into City B’s elite circles, beamed with enthusiastic pride upon seeing the daughters of the Su and Jin families. “Xiaoxue isn’t feeling well recently,” he announced, “she’s in her room. It’s rare that you have the heart to visit her.” Though curious about Su Yue’s mask, he refrained from prying.
“Hurry and sit down,” Mother Xu urged warmly. “Xiaoxue might still be resting. You two just relax for a bit.” She then instructed, “Sister Feng, go upstairs and tell the second young lady to come down. Tell her her sister’s friends are here, and ask her to come down and greet them.”
Sister Feng paused, surprised, before quickly responding, “Yes, ma’am.” Why would the second young lady entertain the eldest’s classmates when the eldest was clearly in her room? Father Xu, though slightly taken aback, offered no objection.
Jin Mingyuan, privy to the family dynamics, interjected, “Don’t bother. Since Xuexue is upstairs, let’s just go up to see her. Wouldn’t that be more convenient?”
“Convenient? What inconvenience?” Father Xu chuckled heartily. “I’ll have someone take you upstairs.”
As Su Yue and Jin Mingyuan approached the stairs, they saw an ordinary-looking girl with a fair complexion but a somewhat pitiful demeanor descending. “Hello, my two sisters. My name is Xu Lian. Are you going upstairs to find my sister? I’ll take you up.” Xu Lian smiled, revealing two small tiger teeth, her demeanor instantly endearing.
Jin Mingyuan frowned, about to refuse, but Su Yue gently tugged her arm. “Thank you,” Su Yue said.
“You two sisters are welcome,” Xu Lian replied sweetly.
Xu Lian led them to Xu Xue’s door. She knocked. “Sister, your two classmates have come to visit you. Open the door.” Receiving no response, Xu Lian knocked again. “Sister?” After a moment, the door creaked open, revealing Xu Xue’s beautiful, pale face. “Yueyue, Mingyuan, why are you here?” She glanced at Xu Lian, then added, “Come and sit first.”
“Sister, then I won’t disturb you. You two can talk happily.” Xu Lian was remarkably considerate, leaving with a smile.
Downstairs, Xu Lian joined Mother Xu. “Have you seen your sister’s classmates?” Mother Xu prompted. “One is the daughter of the Su family, and the other is the daughter of the Jin family. You have to treat them well, or make friends with them. Perhaps one day they will help your father.” Father Xu nodded in agreement.
“But the two sisters don’t seem to like me very much,” Xu Lian observed, admitting her desire to befriend them, especially since they were Xu Xue’s friends.
“Lianlian is so well-behaved, no one won’t like you,” Mother Xu said, touching her daughter’s head reassuringly.
In Xu Xue’s room, Jin Mingyuan plopped onto the sofa, complaining, “I feel uncomfortable looking at your stepmother and stepsister. We’re clearly here to find you. Who cares about your stepsister’s company?”
“If you don’t like someone, you can’t make it so obvious. It will embarrass Xu Xue,” Su Yue chastised, noting that with a stepmother often came a stepfather. Xu Xue’s gentle nature meant she would suffer if she offended her stepmother. Su Yue glanced at Xu Xue, noticing the faint blue under her eyes, her pale face, and her generally unwell appearance. “Xuexue, are you sick? Your face doesn’t look very good.”
“Yes, is it serious? Have you seen a doctor?” Jin Mingyuan also observed Xu Xue’s sickly complexion, as if she’d lost her spirit.
Xu Xue touched her face, lowering her eyes. “It’s just a little uncomfortable, it’s nothing serious,” she whispered softly.
“Is it really okay? You look very wrong,” Jin Mingyuan frowned, disbelieving Xu Xue. “It looks bad at first glance.”
“Xuexue, what’s wrong with you?” Su Yue, adept at reading subtle cues, noted Xu Xue’s shifting gaze and inability to meet their eyes directly.
Suddenly, Xu Xue covered her face and sobbed. “What should I do…” She squatted on the ground, crying aloud.
“Ah? What’s wrong?” Jin Mingyuan gasped, quickly standing, her face etched with anxiety. “What happened? Xue Xue, why are you uncomfortable?”
Xu Xue whimpered softly. When she finally raised her head, her eyes were red, her pale face streaked with tears. She whispered, “I… I’m pregnant.”
Su Yue’s gaze sharpened.
“Hiss!” Jin Mingyuan gasped, her face a mask of shock. “Xuexue, what did you say?” Pregnant…pregnant? “Whose?” Jin Mingyuan slapped herself after asking. “Look at how stupid I am! Does Gu Chengfeng know? Xuexue, are you going to keep the child ?”
Su Yue looked at Xu Xue, sharing Jin Mingyuan’s concern. Getting married wasn’t out of the question; she was an example herself, having married Jiang Ci in her sophomore year.
Xu Xue hugged herself, shaking her head violently. “I don’t want to, I don’t want to give birth.” If her father found out, he would kill her.
Jin Mingyuan frowned. “Gu Chengfeng, does he know? What did he say?”
Xu Xue bit her lip, not humming. She had informed Gu Chengfeng the moment she found out. She remembered his expression upon hearing the news. At the time, Gu Chengfeng had been shocked. “Xiaoxue, we are still young. This child is just an accident… You should get rid of the child.” Xu Xue hadn’t wanted to marry and have children so early, but she hadn’t expected her loving boyfriend to utter such cruel words so easily. “It’s only been over a month, it’s fine, it’s safe. I’ll accompany you.”
Seeing Xu Xue’s silence, Gu Chengfeng coaxed, “You’re only a sophomore. I don’t want you to be pointed at by people in the school, and right now I don’t have the ability to support you. I asked you to borrow some money from your father before. If you had been willing to help me then, maybe I would have already succeeded in starting a business and given you a good life.” His tone held a hint of complaint.
“What I’m living now is a good life,” Xu Xue retorted softly, her delicate face showing hurt. “I’m with you because I like you, not to live a rich life.”
“Right.” Gu Chengfeng, seemingly stung by his own weakness, suddenly sneered. “You are the eldest daughter, I am a poor boy. I don’t make money. How can I support you in the future? The child will be aborted. But if you are rich and willing to give birth, you can, but I won’t recognize it.”
“Chengfeng, do you know what you are talking about?” Xu Xue looked at him in disbelief.
Gu Chengfeng shoved his hands in his pockets. He had initially intended to prolong his playful relationship with this young lady, but now it seemed impossible. “If you have money, I won’t pay for the abortion. It’s not uncommon for you to come.” Xu Xue suddenly felt the man in front of her was a stranger. “By the way, when we were in the woods for the first time, I still kept the photos I took for you. I need money recently. If you want to take the photos back, pay me.” Gu Chengfeng opened his mobile phone, clicked on a photo, and held the screen towards Xu Xue. Looking at the photo, Xu Xue remembered what happened in the woods during that trip, and her face turned deathly pale.
“Xuexue, tell me, what did Gu Chengfeng say? He has to give an explanation,” Jin Mingyuan fretted, dying of anxiety.
Xu Xue’s eyes were red, her voice thin and warm. “I broke up with him.”
“What?” Jin Mingyuan exclaimed. “Is it because he’s unwilling to take responsibility? It’s a shame I told him to treat you well at the beginning, and that person said it nicely. I will help you find him to settle accounts.”
“Mingyuan… don’t go,” Xu Xue cried again, remembering that Gu Chengfeng still held her indecent photos.
“Are you sure you don’t want children?” Su Yue held Jin Mingyuan back, then spoke to Xu Xue. “We can’t help you decide on such an important matter. But if you decide, no matter what, we will support you.”
“No.” Xu Xue covered her stomach, her eyes red, and said firmly, “I can’t.” No matter how weak or foolish she might be, she knew the child in her stomach couldn’t be kept.
“Well, I see,” Su Yue’s face was calm. “If you need, we can accompany you to the hospital.”
“Yes, I can make arrangements for you. I know an uncle who is a dean, and I guarantee good privacy,” Jin Mingyuan responded, having processed the situation.
“Yueyue, Mingyuan, thank you.” Xu Xue looked at her two friends gratefully. “Can you…can you help me keep the secret?”
“Does it even need to be said?” Jin Mingyuan patted her chest and assured, “I will never let other people know.”
When Su Yue and Jin Mingyuan left, they didn’t let Xu Xue see them off, urging her to get some good rest. Descending to the first floor, Mother Xu and Xu Lian enthusiastically invited them to stay for dinner, but Su Yue politely declined. Xu Lian, still eager, courteously escorted them to the door and asked if she could add Su Yue and Jin Mingyuan as friends. Jin Mingyuan, being straightforward, didn’t perceive Xu Lian’s eagerness and directly refused.
It was dark by the time Su Yue returned to Xiaoyanglou. Jiang Ci sat at the table, expressionless, eating slowly. Xiao Haohao heard footsteps, raised his head, and his big eyes lit up when he saw Su Yue. “You’re back.”
“Yeah, I’m so hungry, it’s time to eat.” Su Yue put down her bag and books, walked over, and sat down.
Jiang Ci raised his eyelids lazily, looking at her blurry figure. He sneered, “Someone hasn’t even reached old age, and their memory has already begun to decline. It’s so pitiful.”
Su Yue picked up a piece of stewed pork ribs and gnawed on it.
Jiang Ci snorted, resting his chin in one hand while his chopsticks idly poked the rice in his bowl.
Su Yue took a bite of the spareribs and smiled. “I had something to do today, so I didn’t come back in time. I’ll make you a mango cake tomorrow.” She had promised him two when she returned. “However, you really remember every word i said .”
Jiang Ci sneered, “Oh, I thought that someone’s face is getting thicker and thicker now, and they’re beginning to disbelieve.”
“I didn’t forget, how dare I forget,” Su Yue smiled. She had been preoccupied with Xu Xue all day, truly forgetting.
Hearing this, Jiang Ci made no further sound.
As the night deepened, the silvery moonlight, like a veil, cascaded onto the bamboo. A gentle breeze stirred the bamboo leaves, and quiet enveloped the surroundings. Only the warm yellow lamps glowed in the room, illuminating its gentleness.
Jiang Ci lay on the bed with an icy coolness. Su Yue, accustomed to it, obediently settled beside him. The next second, her soft body was enveloped by his large hands. Su Yue buried her head in his broad chest. She blinked, thoughts of Xu Xue keeping her from sleep.
After a moment, she asked, “Jiang Ci, if I were pregnant, would you let me abort the child?” Although her situation differed from Xu Xue’s, she wanted to know Jiang Ci’s feelings on the matter. Did he like children? No, he already had a child; Xiao Haohao was his son. Could he then accept the possibility of having children with her in the future?
Jiang Ci’s cold black pajama sleeve brushed Su Yue’s face, and his slender fingertips pinched her smooth and delicate skin. He frowned, speaking after a while. “Su Yue, do you want to have a baby for me?”
“I said if!”
“Although you mentioned it suddenly, it’s not impossible for us to have a child.” Jiang Ci’s clear voice became muffled. “Su Yue, I want a daughter.”
Su Yue blushed slightly. “It’s just what if!” she repeated. This man, he was even making a request! However, it seemed he wasn’t resistant to the idea.
His fingertips still pinching her overly smooth face, Jiang Ci snorted in dissatisfaction. “Boring.” Yet, contemplating the prospect of a child, he licked the corner of his mouth. He couldn’t see now, and he didn’t have the energy to engage in such activities. It would be interesting when his eyes healed and he could look at her. Thinking of this, Jiang Ci’s sullen look faded, and he pinched Su Yue’s face. “It’s okay not to have children now, and than as shamless as he is suddenly he said with a ordering tone Su Yue, kiss me.”
Su Yue felt sleepiness creeping in. Hearing Jiang Ci’s words, she kissed the corner of his lips. “Jiang Ci, good night.”
His lips were a little wet and numb. Jiang Ci licked them in dissatisfaction—perfunctory! He wanted to bite those soft lips and taste what was in her mouth’ not this child like pecks