Chapter 36

  This time was worse than during the day, the impact was much greater. Chen Jiayin stopped crying when her whole face was swollen to the point where it was almost unbearable to look at. She was very quiet, so quiet that even speaking seemed to be too much effort for her.

  Several others also lost their language ability, as if silence was the best comfort and farewell at this time.

  It was late at night when Wu Auntie called. Yuan Zhi went outside to answer the phone and came back in. Chen Jia-yin finally spoke up, with a thick nasal tone, "You all go back now, it's so late."

  "I'll stay!" He Sheng said.

  Chen Jiayin shook her head, "I want to be alone for a while, don't worry, nothing will happen."

  It's clear from her appearance that something is wrong, He Song furrowed his brow and didn't move, He Shouci looked around in a circle, then suddenly pulled Yuan Zhi away, also pulling He Song out with him.

  The soundproofing equipment in the small hotel is poor, and just now such a commotion was estimated to be heard by the entire floor. When several people went downstairs, they could feel the curious gaze of passersby.

  Another woman glanced over secretly at that moment, He Shou Si couldn't bear it anymore and fiercely glared back, "What are you looking at? Haven't seen people quarrel before?"

  The other person was startled and quickly quickened their pace while muttering curses.

  Yuan Zhi furrowed his brow.

  The three of them went outside, where there was a small shop next door. He Shouci bought a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, opened it up neatly, lit one up, and handed the cigarette to Yuan Zhi. Yuan Zhi took a drag, seemingly not having smoked in a long time since his relationship with He Song had eased up.

  He Sheng was opposed to this behavior, but today he didn't say anything. It's also good for something to numb people.

  They stood in a row under the eaves of the shop, the weather was cold, and at this point there were no customers, so the boss didn't care.

  He looked at the road ahead, watching as cars and pedestrians passed by, his eyes filled with a sense of bewilderment. After a long while, he finally spoke: "I never thought that such people existed in this world. I thought it was all just news reports, not something that would happen to me... but now that it has..."

  He kicked the cement floor hard and cursed, "Damn it!"

  Heo Soo-yeon was protected too well, his family background may not be comparable to the Yuan's, but it was more than enough for him to squander in a lifetime. He also had a loving and harmonious family with both parents, such a child was blessed by heaven. He knew Yuan Zhi for many years, only knowing that he and Yuan Chongyang were emotionally distant, without understanding any details. As for Heo Soo-yeon, he didn't understand even more, he had never been in contact with the dark side of this world, so when he saw the ugly side of human nature, it was even harder for him to accept and understand. At the same time, his sympathy and pity for the protagonist also increased exponentially.

  Yuan Zhi and He Sheng, they were no different from Chen Jia-yin, seeing this scene was like being slapped in the face, the pain was as if being torn apart, unable to bear, unwilling to face the past, it reappeared in front of them in an unstoppable way, so He Sheng trembled all over, and said those words with a pale face.

  "When a cigarette was burned out, He Shou suddenly said: 'You guys go ahead, I'll stay behind. Fortunately, tomorrow is Sunday and we can rest for another day before class.'"

  He stuffed the cigarette and lighter into his pocket. He looked straight at him, without any hesitation, saying: "No way, just leave you two behind."

  He Shou raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong? Little He Song, don't you believe me?"

  "It's not a matter of trust, you're not familiar with each other, and you don't interact much normally, there's no reason for you to stay. She paused, adding somewhat perplexedly: "Besides, at this time she might not want anyone to accompany her."

  Many people have the habit of being alone at their most embarrassing moments, and they are unwilling to expose this side of themselves in front of others. This is a kind of self-protection consciousness that everyone has.

  "So you're saying leave her alone?" He Guanshu couldn't help but raise his voice, staring at her disapprovingly.

  Yuan Zhi glanced at him and said lightly, "Ask if there's an empty room next door, just open two rooms directly. It's just that the environment on this side is too poor. If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn't have chosen a route with less traffic back then."

  He Guanshi was still not satisfied, so it seemed that the room still had only Chen Jiaoyan alone? In his concept, when friends are in trouble, they should be accompanied by themselves, because that is a person's most vulnerable time.

  Returned to the hotel and asked at the front desk downstairs. It happened that someone in the next room was checking out, so they waited for housekeeping to finish cleaning before the three of them moved in.

  Yuan Zhi called home to inform them, and Wu Shu had a lot of opinions about their overnight stay. Especially since He Song was still a young girl, reputation was a very important matter. Yuan Zhi couldn't avoid getting scolded again and could only promise that it wouldn't happen again in the future.

  He Shouci nervously stuck to the wall from time to time, listening for any movement, muttering: "Hey, hey, why is it so quiet over there? Could something have happened?"

  After finishing speaking, he felt more and more possible, anxiously circling around the original place. Yuan Zhi looked at him suspiciously for a while, then suddenly said: "When did you become so concerned about Chen Jiaoyan?"

  He Sheng, who was sitting on the side in a daze, also looked up at him and followed with a sentence: "I think so too."

  "What's wrong?" Guan asked with a cough, "Nothing, I just think she's quite pitiful. She looks so different from her usual chatty self, it's just that I'm not used to it yet."

  He still prefers to see the energetic Chen Jiaoyan, no matter how they argue, she always looks invincible, as if she has endless energy, unlike today, when she's completely down, and nothing seems to matter to her.

  He sympathized with her experience, and another person would have collapsed in the same situation, but he still hoped to find the old Chen Jiayin back.

  He Shou Si was stunned again, and finally couldn't bear it anymore, so he ran to Chen Jia Yin's side. Soon after, a muffled shouting voice could be heard from the other side of the wall, while the responding voice was almost inaudible, it was unclear whether no sound was made or the voice was too soft to hear clearly.

  He Shuang's eyes were rolling around restlessly, and she was obviously getting impatient. Yuan Zhi looked at her a few times and said, "You'd better stay here and not go."

  "Why?"

  "Because once you step into that house, the atmosphere will become quiet and awkward because you won't speak. He paused for a moment and suddenly pointed to the wall, "Listen carefully, it seems like Chen Jia's voice is coming from there."

  Very small, very weak, if you don't pay attention carefully, you won't notice it at all.

  Yuan Zhi said, "It's probably a good thing to leave the dough there, making a racket so they won't have time to think about other things. Or maybe it'll annoy them and then we can set off the fire."

  These words were not unreasonable, and He Song had no way to refute them.

  That night, two rooms, four children, holding grievances and complaints about life, sat dry until dawn. They still have a long way to go, and what awaits them will only be more painful than now.