490

“Nan Nan, are you crazy?! You can’t hit Yuan Yuan!”

“Little Chu, Yuan Yuan is still a kid. You shouldn’t get angry at what she said.”

Liusu held Chu Yuan in her arms while Dong Xiao Ye held my shoulders from behind. Only after pulling me back a few steps did she separate me from Chu Yuan. Fortunately, they had stopped me, otherwise, I really didn’t know what I would do. After all, I knew better than anyone that Chu Yuan had done nothing wrong.

Seeing me wanting to hit her, Chu Yuan bitted her lips very hard, her eyes were teary. The aggrieved look of her was like a sharp knife piercing my heart. In the end, she still couldn’t hold back her tears and cried out, “Why do you have to endure it? You didn’t owe her anything! It was me who owed her!”

What I worried about the most still happened, Chu Yuan yelled hysterically at Ziyuan: “My elder brother doesn’t owe you anything! Five years ago, it was you who was in the wrong! You just left a letter and suddenly disappeared without saying goodbye. Do you know how sad my elder brother was?! He couldn’t eat or drink for several days! I don’t know what you said in the letter, but I can see that my elder brother was not happy! He wanted to contact you, but he couldn’t. because… I tore up that letter! You just left quietly, without considering my elder brother’s feelings at all! You are just a ruthless and coldhearted woman, you don’t deserve my elder brother!”

Ziyuan was dazed. After a moment of daze, she turned to look at me for verification. However, I had no time to consider Ziyuan’s feelings at the moment. I was more worried about Chu Yuan. What was buried under this bratty girl’s strong personality was an accumulation of guilt and self-blame over the past five years! That was a scar in her heart, and she, herself, was poking that scar…

“Why did you come back, and why did you help that Third Lady bully my elder brother? Why do you hide so many things from him and lie to me? Do you just want to get revenge?! Revenge him for not replying to you in the past five years, and revenge him for not paying attention to you for the past five years!? But what about you? You only just left one letter to him! You have no right to blame him and hate him! Yes, I did hurt you, but you also hurt my elder brother too!”

Chu Yuan, who had always been acting like a good girl in front of everyone, lost her temper completely. It was so strange and scary that Liusu, Dong Xiaoye, and Xiao Dongfang were all stunned by her angry look. They were looking at Chu Yuan in front of them as if she was a stranger.

“Chu Yuan!” I finally increased my voice and shouted at her.

“What?!” Chu Yuan cried at me, “Why don’t you let me say it? You always do this, shoulder everything yourself, even if it is not your fault! All you know is to tolerate no matter how others bully you! If you don’t want to say it, I will say it for you! I know you didn’t mention her in the past five years because you are worried that I would blame myself. I know you have never forgotten her. But why do you still want to protect her even when she treats you like this?! I don’t want it! I don’t want you to protect her like this!”

When Chu Yuan said, “You have never forgotten her”, the expressions of several girls changed a little. Especially Liusu. She has always been very sensitive to my relationship with other women…

I didn’t know how to explain it because I couldn’t even figure it out myself, “Yuan Yuan, there are some things you don’t understand…”

Chu Yuan glared at me and yelled, No! I understand everything! It’s you who don’t understand anything! You always treat me like a kid! You are the one who doesn’t understand anything!”

I am the one who doesn’t understand anything? No. I understand it, but there are some things that I have to pretend not to understand…

Chu Yuan felt guilty for what she did five years ago, but she also hated Ziyuan. After tearing up the letter, she knew that I actually wanted to contact Ziyuan. So she felt very guilty. She, like me, hoped that Ziyuan could send another letter back, but Ziyuan didn’t. Until today, I still didn’t know why Ziyuan didn’t send me any more letters. Was it because she was disappointed in me because I didn’t give her the answer she asked for? Or There were still other reasons… At that time, I was sad and totally ignored Chu Yuan’s feelings. I even blamed her and hated her…

That was the past that I didn’t want to recall. Whenever I dreamed of what happened that day, I would wake up from my sleep in fear. It was a cold night, and I came outside Ziyuan’s house as usual again, naively fantasizing that she would suddenly appear. My parents couldn’t do anything to make me happy and in the end, they had no choice but to let me figure it out myself. That night, it snowed, and the community where Ziyuan’s family was located looked extremely cold, with almost no one coming out. Leaning against Ziyuan’s favorite willow tree, I remembered the memories of playing with her below the tree, which deepened the sadness in my heart. At this time, I received a call from Chu Yuan asking me to go home. That was the first time she threatened me. She told me that she would wait for me outside until I came back. And if I didn’t come back, she would just keep waiting.

In fact, I knew very well in my heart that she was talking in that unreasonable tone because she was worried about me. However, I had a strong grudge towards her because of what she did and did not want to listen to an eleven-year-old girl.

All I thought at that time was that if she did not tear up Ziyuan’s letter, I would’ve been able to resume my contact with Ziyuan. I didn’t scold her afterward because I didn’t want to hurt my stepmother’s feelings, so I hid my grudge and resentment in my heart. But now, she even threatened me? Not wanting to see her, I ignored the text message and called my parents and told them that I would stay at my friend’s place, but in fact, I planned to spend a night in an internet cafe.

When I walked out of the Internet cafe the next morning, I turned on my phone and received a text message from my parents. I still clearly remembered the feeling I had at that time after I saw the text message. It was like being struck by a bolt of lightning. My mind became completely blank like a snow scene in front of my eyes. Chu Yuan really waited for me all night outside! She locked the door of her room, so my parents only thought she was asleep, and no one knew that she had sneaked out and sat in the snow all night. When she was discovered at dawn, she was already unconscious…

The doctor said that if Chu Yuan was sent to the hospital an hour later, they might not be able to save her. I would never forget the first words this bratty girl said to the old man after she woke up from a coma. The first thing she asked was if I had come back to the house or not. People often say that men should not shed tears easily, but at that time, I just couldn’t stop myself from crying.

Since that incident, I vowed that I would never go to Ziyuan’s house again, and would never mention the words ‘Xue Ziyuan’ in front of Chu Yuan. I wanted to completely forget about Ziyuan…

Perhaps, Chu Yuan’s unreasonable personality today has been slowly developed since that incident. Because after that incident, I began to spoil her unconditionally…

“Five years… Five years…” Ziyuan murmured with tears in her eyes: “In the past five years, I’ve thought about various reasons why you didn’t reply to me, but I didn’t expect the answer to be like this…I…I…” Ziyuan couldn’t continue.

I didn’t know how to respond to her. We all had our own resentments and guilt in our hearts, but I had the responsibility to bear Chu Yuan’s fault. I didn’t want to use Chu Yuan’s fault as an excuse to ask for Ziyuan’s forgiveness. That would only make Ziyuan even more guilty.

“That’s enough!” Liusu suddenly shouted loudly, startling everyone. She gently wiped away the tears on Chu Yuan’s face, looked at me and Ziyuan again, and said lightly: “Listen, I don’t understand what you all are talking about, and I don’t know what happened between you in the past, but I know that Ziyuan was responsible for what happened last night.”

Ziyuan looked at Chu Yuan and did not refute.

“But—” Liusu changed her tone and said again: “Nan Nan was right. After five years of separation, you finally came back. So we really shouldn’t mention what happened yesterday. Maybe, you really have your own difficulties and reasons to protect the Third Lady… Anyway, everyone has a part of responsibilities. If Yuan Yuan really has done things that upset you or made you sad before, I am willing to apologize to you on her behalf. Yuan Yuan is only sixteen years old this year. Five years ago, she was just a child. No matter what she did, I believe you will forgive her, right?”

“I…” Ziyuan bit her lip very hard. No one in the room except me could understand her feelings at the moment. It was five years. How many days and nights was that? For the past five years, she had been waiting for my reply, and always wondering why I didn’t reply to her every day… But in the end, Ziyuan nodded gently.

Liusu glanced at the messy dining table, sighed, and said, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to eat this meal at home today, Nan Nan, you and Ziyuan can go out to eat.”

I knew Liusu very well, I immediately understood from her eyes what she meant. She wanted to separate Ziyuan and Chu Yuan temporarily. Both of them need to calm down…

I agreed. Since Chu Yuan had revealed the incident five years ago, then I also had the responsibility to explain clearly to Ziyuan for her. At the same time, I believed that Ziyuan also had a lot of things that she wanted to tell me. For example, why did she not write a second letter in the last five years, or why did she want to avoid me last night…

“Nan Nan, are you crazy?! You can’t hit Yuan Yuan!”

“Little Chu, Yuan Yuan is still a kid. You shouldn’t get angry at what she said.”

Liusu held Chu Yuan in her arms while Dong Xiao Ye held my shoulders from behind. Only after pulling me back a few steps did she separate me from Chu Yuan. Fortunately, they had stopped me, otherwise, I really didn’t know what I would do. After all, I knew better than anyone that Chu Yuan had done nothing wrong.

Seeing me wanting to hit her, Chu Yuan bitted her lips very hard, her eyes were teary. The aggrieved look of her was like a sharp knife piercing my heart. In the end, she still couldn’t hold back her tears and cried out, “Why do you have to endure it? You didn’t owe her anything! It was me who owed her!”

What I worried about the most still happened, Chu Yuan yelled hysterically at Ziyuan: “My elder brother doesn’t owe you anything! Five years ago, it was you who was in the wrong! You just left a letter and suddenly disappeared without saying goodbye. Do you know how sad my elder brother was?! He couldn’t eat or drink for several days! I don’t know what you said in the letter, but I can see that my elder brother was not happy! He wanted to contact you, but he couldn’t. because… I tore up that letter! You just left quietly, without considering my elder brother’s feelings at all! You are just a ruthless and coldhearted woman, you don’t deserve my elder brother!”

Ziyuan was dazed. After a moment of daze, she turned to look at me for verification. However, I had no time to consider Ziyuan’s feelings at the moment. I was more worried about Chu Yuan. What was buried under this bratty girl’s strong personality was an accumulation of guilt and self-blame over the past five years! That was a scar in her heart, and she, herself, was poking that scar…

“Why did you come back, and why did you help that Third Lady bully my elder brother? Why do you hide so many things from him and lie to me? Do you just want to get revenge?! Revenge him for not replying to you in the past five years, and revenge him for not paying attention to you for the past five years!? But what about you? You only just left one letter to him! You have no right to blame him and hate him! Yes, I did hurt you, but you also hurt my elder brother too!”

Chu Yuan, who had always been acting like a good girl in front of everyone, lost her temper completely. It was so strange and scary that Liusu, Dong Xiaoye, and Xiao Dongfang were all stunned by her angry look. They were looking at Chu Yuan in front of them as if she was a stranger.

“Chu Yuan!” I finally increased my voice and shouted at her.

“What?!” Chu Yuan cried at me, “Why don’t you let me say it? You always do this, shoulder everything yourself, even if it is not your fault! All you know is to tolerate no matter how others bully you! If you don’t want to say it, I will say it for you! I know you didn’t mention her in the past five years because you are worried that I would blame myself. I know you have never forgotten her. But why do you still want to protect her even when she treats you like this?! I don’t want it! I don’t want you to protect her like this!”

When Chu Yuan said, “You have never forgotten her”, the expressions of several girls changed a little. Especially Liusu. She has always been very sensitive to my relationship with other women…

I didn’t know how to explain it because I couldn’t even figure it out myself, “Yuan Yuan, there are some things you don’t understand…”

Chu Yuan glared at me and yelled, No! I understand everything! It’s you who don’t understand anything! You always treat me like a kid! You are the one who doesn’t understand anything!”

I am the one who doesn’t understand anything? No. I understand it, but there are some things that I have to pretend not to understand…

Chu Yuan felt guilty for what she did five years ago, but she also hated Ziyuan. After tearing up the letter, she knew that I actually wanted to contact Ziyuan. So she felt very guilty. She, like me, hoped that Ziyuan could send another letter back, but Ziyuan didn’t. Until today, I still didn’t know why Ziyuan didn’t send me any more letters. Was it because she was disappointed in me because I didn’t give her the answer she asked for? Or There were still other reasons… At that time, I was sad and totally ignored Chu Yuan’s feelings. I even blamed her and hated her…

That was the past that I didn’t want to recall. Whenever I dreamed of what happened that day, I would wake up from my sleep in fear. It was a cold night, and I came outside Ziyuan’s house as usual again, naively fantasizing that she would suddenly appear. My parents couldn’t do anything to make me happy and in the end, they had no choice but to let me figure it out myself. That night, it snowed, and the community where Ziyuan’s family was located looked extremely cold, with almost no one coming out. Leaning against Ziyuan’s favorite willow tree, I remembered the memories of playing with her below the tree, which deepened the sadness in my heart. At this time, I received a call from Chu Yuan asking me to go home. That was the first time she threatened me. She told me that she would wait for me outside until I came back. And if I didn’t come back, she would just keep waiting.

In fact, I knew very well in my heart that she was talking in that unreasonable tone because she was worried about me. However, I had a strong grudge towards her because of what she did and did not want to listen to an eleven-year-old girl.

All I thought at that time was that if she did not tear up Ziyuan’s letter, I would’ve been able to resume my contact with Ziyuan. I didn’t scold her afterward because I didn’t want to hurt my stepmother’s feelings, so I hid my grudge and resentment in my heart. But now, she even threatened me? Not wanting to see her, I ignored the text message and called my parents and told them that I would stay at my friend’s place, but in fact, I planned to spend a night in an internet cafe.

When I walked out of the Internet cafe the next morning, I turned on my phone and received a text message from my parents. I still clearly remembered the feeling I had at that time after I saw the text message. It was like being struck by a bolt of lightning. My mind became completely blank like a snow scene in front of my eyes. Chu Yuan really waited for me all night outside! She locked the door of her room, so my parents only thought she was asleep, and no one knew that she had sneaked out and sat in the snow all night. When she was discovered at dawn, she was already unconscious…

The doctor said that if Chu Yuan was sent to the hospital an hour later, they might not be able to save her. I would never forget the first words this bratty girl said to the old man after she woke up from a coma. The first thing she asked was if I had come back to the house or not. People often say that men should not shed tears easily, but at that time, I just couldn’t stop myself from crying.

Since that incident, I vowed that I would never go to Ziyuan’s house again, and would never mention the words ‘Xue Ziyuan’ in front of Chu Yuan. I wanted to completely forget about Ziyuan…

Perhaps, Chu Yuan’s unreasonable personality today has been slowly developed since that incident. Because after that incident, I began to spoil her unconditionally…

“Five years… Five years…” Ziyuan murmured with tears in her eyes: “In the past five years, I’ve thought about various reasons why you didn’t reply to me, but I didn’t expect the answer to be like this…I…I…” Ziyuan couldn’t continue.

I didn’t know how to respond to her. We all had our own resentments and guilt in our hearts, but I had the responsibility to bear Chu Yuan’s fault. I didn’t want to use Chu Yuan’s fault as an excuse to ask for Ziyuan’s forgiveness. That would only make Ziyuan even more guilty.

“That’s enough!” Liusu suddenly shouted loudly, startling everyone. She gently wiped away the tears on Chu Yuan’s face, looked at me and Ziyuan again, and said lightly: “Listen, I don’t understand what you all are talking about, and I don’t know what happened between you in the past, but I know that Ziyuan was responsible for what happened last night.”

Ziyuan looked at Chu Yuan and did not refute.

“But—” Liusu changed her tone and said again: “Nan Nan was right. After five years of separation, you finally came back. So we really shouldn’t mention what happened yesterday. Maybe, you really have your own difficulties and reasons to protect the Third Lady… Anyway, everyone has a part of responsibilities. If Yuan Yuan really has done things that upset you or made you sad before, I am willing to apologize to you on her behalf. Yuan Yuan is only sixteen years old this year. Five years ago, she was just a child. No matter what she did, I believe you will forgive her, right?”

“I…” Ziyuan bit her lip very hard. No one in the room except me could understand her feelings at the moment. It was five years. How many days and nights was that? For the past five years, she had been waiting for my reply, and always wondering why I didn’t reply to her every day… But in the end, Ziyuan nodded gently.

Liusu glanced at the messy dining table, sighed, and said, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to eat this meal at home today, Nan Nan, you and Ziyuan can go out to eat.”

I knew Liusu very well, I immediately understood from her eyes what she meant. She wanted to separate Ziyuan and Chu Yuan temporarily. Both of them need to calm down…

I agreed. Since Chu Yuan had revealed the incident five years ago, then I also had the responsibility to explain clearly to Ziyuan for her. At the same time, I believed that Ziyuan also had a lot of things that she wanted to tell me. For example, why did she not write a second letter in the last five years, or why did she want to avoid me last night…