Chapter 103

Excerpts from Ye Songming's Diary (II)

After that, life seemed to be the same, and it went on peacefully. Master, I, my neighbors, everyone was the same.

Except for Li Meiling and her daughter, they never came again. I was worried, but also had a fluke, hoping that this abortion experience would make them pay more attention to Xiang Siling's body and never get hurt again.

Later, I encountered some bad things, which made me less and less willing to stay in Yuan'an Clinic.

But what about Zhilan?
On that day, Li Meiling and her daughter, as well as Master, all signed the surgical form before the operation. This was a guarantee for each other. At that time, I put away all the surgical forms. A few days later, Master asked me, "Where is Xiang Siling's surgical form?"

I took out a small stack of ordered information from the drawer and gave it to him. He took it, flipped through it roughly, took out his lighter, lit it, and threw it into the trash can.

My heart was pounding, and I didn't tell him that they were photocopies. Fortunately, he didn't pay much attention to it, and fortunately it was a cloudy day with poor light, and he was eager to destroy it. Maybe he also felt that I had no reason to hide the documents.

I actually don’t know if this makes sense, but I hid all the surgical receipts of that abortion.

Maybe Xiang Siling will never need my help, but what if?
After burning the receipt, Sun Yuanan said, "I know you are still not convinced and feel that the child is miserable. Let me give you a piece of advice: be prudent and protect yourself. When you reach my age, you will understand that life is just like that. It is better to have what others have than what you have. There is no point in being impulsive.

Also, I know you and Zhilan are close, so don't tell her a word about these things. Don't even think about reporting anyone, it's nothing. Besides, if there is something wrong here, you and I can't get away from it, so it's better to pretend you don't know. Zhilan plans to take the civil service exam or the career exam in the future, you don't want to affect her future for someone who has nothing to do with her, right?"

I felt like I was struck by lightning.

Sun Yuanan actually, he actually threatened me with Zhilan's future.

Sun Zhilan was raised by him alone, and they have a good relationship. Zhilan loves her father very much. Sun Yuanan is telling me that if I want to get Zhilan, I must continue to be his silent assistant. Once I open my mouth, he will not only not agree to our being together, but will also implicate Zhilan.

As if it were some kind of omen, Sun Zhilan came to the clinic the next day. She took advantage of Sun Yuanan's inattention, pulled me out, and stuffed my mouth with the Internet-famous beef jerky she had queued up to buy. For the first time in my life, I experienced what it felt like to chew wax.

It was also from that day that I realized that my love with Sun Zhilan might not have any result.

(The following content is written in blue pen, with thicker handwriting and obviously newer text)

I hid Xiang Siling's abortion information for more than half a year and thought the matter was over.

Later, I met a policeman who seemed very responsible. His name was Li Jincheng and even his name sounded reliable.

I told him everything I knew, but we were not familiar with each other, so I was on guard and gave him a photocopy of the abortion information. But he was in a hurry that day, and said he would definitely contact me, and then he took the information and left.

I waited for more than half a month, but Li Jincheng didn't show up. And during those days, I always felt that someone was following me and staring at me outside the clinic. I became more and more afraid, and I suspected that Li Jincheng was not a good policeman. It should be easy for the police to find out the truth. Did he use the information to exchange for benefits with others? Wouldn't I be in danger?

I finally left Xiangcheng and returned to Henan. I called Li Jincheng, but his phone was turned off. I guess I trusted him wrongly.

----

When Li Qingyao saw the three words "Li Jincheng" in the notebook on the high-speed train, her eyes seemed to be glued to it. Her nose felt slightly sour.

Chen Pu was sitting next to her, and he felt very uncomfortable when he read these words.

Brother, it turns out that you got this information seven years ago. But where did you go that night? Where did you disappear to in Chaoyang Homeland along with this information?

Chen Pu reached out and tapped the three words on the notebook: "Hurry." Li Qingyao frowned slightly.

She closed her notebook, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes. Although she said nothing, Chen Pu thought she looked very sad. He reached out and took one of her hands, interlocking their fingers. She didn't open her eyes, nor did she pull her hand away.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I miss my brother."

Chen Pu's five fingers clasped hers tighter, shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm. Feeling the warmth and softness of her skin through the fabric, he felt an indescribable sense of intimacy and satisfaction.

He couldn't help but raise his left arm and press it on the backrest of the front seat. In this way, Li Qingyao had the window on his right and a chair behind him. His whole body was within his arm's reach. There were many people in the car, making a lot of noise, but their corner was a small world of its own.

"Don't be sad," he said gently.

Li Qingyao opened his eyes, and they were like two pools of freshly melted snow, cold and clear. Their faces were only a palm's distance apart. He could even see the tiny hairs on her face clearly.

"It's okay." She even smiled at him, "I'm just a little sad." At this moment, Chen Pu really wanted to kiss her. Kiss her fair face, kiss her watery eyes, and of course, kiss her forever stubborn red lips. His throat was a little dry, and his clasped fingers felt even hotter.

But he didn't move.

Because this is taking advantage of someone's misfortune and is inappropriate. They were just talking about Li Jincheng.

And...what if she doesn't do it? There are so many people around, what if she gets angry and pushes him away? Then everything will be lost, and he will have no place to cry if he goes back to the days before liberation.

You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, stay calm.

Anyway, just holding hands made his heart beat faster and stronger. How could he dare to think more?

However, is holding hands considered taking advantage of someone's misfortune? Chen Pu just forgot about it. He held her hand tightly, with a sincere and concerned look on his face: "If you are tired, take a nap."

"No." Li Qingyao pulled his hand out of his palm very naturally, "I want to continue reading my diary, so I have to hurry up."

She opened the notebook again, and Chen Pu came over to read with her as usual, but his empty hand looked a little sad. He clenched his fist and then unclenched it.

"What do you think?" she asked about Ye Songming's diary.

Chen Pu said, "It still depends on Xiang Siling. I'll talk to her as soon as I get back."

-

Like everyone else, Luo Huaizheng didn't pay much attention to Xiang Siling when he was in high school. But he was the class monitor, helped the teacher to count the grades, and had a good memory. He remembered that Xiang Siling was ranked around 300 in her freshman year, but she was in the top 150 in her sophomore year. Later, Luo Huaizheng got into trouble and wanted to kill her, so he naturally couldn't pay attention to her college entrance examination.

Now Luo Huaizheng recalled that if it hadn't been for what happened that year, Xiang Siling would have had no problem getting into a good undergraduate program.

The project with Xiang Siling's company has been in cooperation for several months and is in the final stage. Although Luo Huaizheng does not want to pay attention to how Xiang Siling performs in Huayu Group, due to the need for work communication and her deliberate efforts, they always meet. Luo Huaizheng cannot help but notice that Xiang Siling is actually a very hard-working and smart person. At least in her hands, Huayu has a smooth transition.

Luo Hongmin passed away suddenly, and Huayu was leaderless. Many leaders had followed Luo Hongmin for many years, and they were all suspicious. Although Xiang Siling was nominally the only heir to Luo Hongmin's shares, there was no blood relationship, and many people were dissatisfied. Naturally, there were also many people who, openly or secretly, created resistance for her to take over.

Xiang Siling didn't say a word and took it all head-on.

Several times, when Luo Huaizheng left Huayu, he saw Xiang Siling's office light was still on, and she was working overtime in a meeting with a group of people. There was also one time when Luo Huaizheng worked overtime until late at night, and saw Xiang Siling was also there, sitting in the office, her face livid, looking at the plan on the computer, she took out a tissue, wiped away her tears, as if nothing had happened.

Luo Huaizheng would not feel soft-hearted or sympathetic towards her because of this, but he had to admit that she had an indomitable tenacity.

Xiang Siling also tried to implement reforms in Huayu. She had a common requirement for all department heads, that is, to select talents fairly and impartially, and everyone's contribution must be shown to her truthfully. Those with great ability and contribution will receive salary increases and various benefits, and vice versa. She also set up a CEO mailbox, which should obviously appear in state-owned enterprises, not private enterprises. But she did it, and sent an open letter to the entire company. Anyone who suffered unfair treatment in the group could write to her directly. Luo Huaizheng, as the person in charge of the outsourcing project, received it.

This made Luo Huaizheng realize that Xiang Siling had a very strong insistence on the word "fairness".

Xiang Siling at work and Xiang Siling in private are like two different people.

When they were together in private, she gave him the feeling of a poisonous snake, colorful, with a slender waist, spitting out her tongue from time to time, but you didn't know which of her words were true and which were false. If you were not careful, you might be bitten by her again like before. He had to muster all his energy to deal with her.

Several days had passed since Xiang Siling told him that she would let him know the truth of the past. Xiang Siling was busy with work as if nothing had happened. In her spare time, she would tease him like a dog she kept in captivity, not caring about the rumors about the two of them all over the company.

Luo Huaizheng has been waiting patiently.

He was very patient. He had always been more patient than most people, and even more so after being in prison.

After work that day, Luo Huaizheng was about to leave when he called Siling: "Huaizheng, accompany me to a place."

The tone was intimate, soft and yet so confident.

"What?"

"Accompany me to see a psychiatrist."

Luo Huaizheng said nothing.

"Today's diagnosis and treatment is very important. I mustered up the courage to do it. I really want you to accompany me, okay?"