I Just Want to Freeload on Your Luck - Chapter 29

…

The emotions of everyone in the Zhao family had boiled down to a wreck. They didn’t even know how they got home.

When Madam Zhao got back to the villa, her fingers were still trembling. She was trying her best to calm down, but when she took off her high heels, she lost focus for a while and almost fell down as she lost her balance. Zhao Zhanhuai who was standing beside was hesitant. Nonetheless, he still helped her up.

Madam Zhao didn’t say anything. She pulled up her dress and rushed to her room.

It didn’t take long before the sound of crying came out from the room.

As Madam Zhao’s cries resounded throughout the house, the whole atmosphere became even more depressed and solemn.

Because the nanny and the chef had no idea what happened, they did not dare to stay in the villa and left to their own quarters.

Mr. Zhao was clearly in a bad mood. He looked in the direction of Madam Zhao’s room. He partially blamed Madam Zhao, but he was so exhausted that he didn’t say much. He merely said, “There are still many guests at the birthday banquet who have yet to be sent off. I have to make a trip there.”

The birthday banquet this year could be considered as a total failure.

Also, it just might be the most unforgettable birthday for Madam Zhao.

Madam Zhao had just put on her evening dress and did not have the time to interact with the guests even for just a while. In fact, she received the call from Zhao Zhanhuai before the arrival of a majority of guests— and now they are in this situation. How could their family still have the mood to return to the birthday banquet and continue to receive guests?

Zhao Zhanhuai nodded and said, “I’ll be going to the hospital later. Zhao Mo’s injuries are minor. He didn’t suffer any injuries to his bones. You can be rest assured.”

“How can I be rest assured? All of you only know how to make me worry!” Mr. Zhao adjusted his tie. His face was pale as he walked outside and said, “We’ll talk about Mingxi once I get back. In fact, I want to ask you all about this! I’ve only been on a business trip for a month. How did things turn out to be like this?!”

Once Mr. Zhao left, Zhao Yuning looked tired of it all. He turned and was about to leave as well.

Zhao Zhanhuai hurriedly held him by his elbow, his emotions in a wreck. “Why are you running away?! Zhao Yuning, where are you off to?!”

“Brother, did you forget that I’m still living away from home?” Zhao Yuning sneered, “I only attended today’s birthday banquet because you asked me to, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone! I’m so mad. Mom has yet to apologize to me for slapping me on the face indiscriminately too!”

After he finished talking, Zhao Yuning could care less about Zhao Zhanhuai’s reaction. He took off his tuxedo jacket and threw it into the cabinet at the entrance, turned around and left.

Once Mr. Zhao and Zhao Yuning left, the entire Zhao family villa looked like an empty grave.

There was only the faint sound of Madam Zhao’s cries.

It was so quiet that no one could bear staying there any longer.

Zhao Zhanhuai sat down on the sofa and massaged his forehead in dismay.

After taking a deep breath, he realized that no one else could clean up this mess except for him.

A short moment later, he went upstairs and knocked on the door of his mother’s room a few times.

“Mom, are you okay?”

“…How did things turn out to be like this? Is there still room for us to return everything to how it was?” Madam Zhao recalled the indifferent tone that Mingxi had used when she told them that she had deleted all their photos, asked them to delete her photos and to not carry out illegal activities. The more she thought about it, the more it felt like she was being stabbed with a needle. Her chest was getting tighter and she was experiencing shortness of breath along with heart palpitations.

She cried until she was out of breath. “What do I owe her anyway?! I clearly allowed her to use the card on whatever she wants! Buy any clothes she wants! Whatever she wants to eat! I even personally decorated the room for her… Just! Just why does she hate me so much?!”

Madam Zhao’s cries were so noisy that it was like a mixer in Zhao Zhanhuai’s head.

He closed his eyes and suppressed his emotions. He tried to persuade her, “Perhaps we should reflect on our own attitude.”

Madam Zhao merely continued to cry. After she had calmed down a little bit, she asked a few questions about Zhao Mo’s current situation, and felt relieved after asking. Then, she must have thought of something as she collapsed into a crying fit again.

Zhao Zhanhuai was having a headache. He planned to let her calm down by herself, so he turned and walked downstairs.

There was the sound of a car stopping outside. Zhao Yuan had also returned. As soon as she entered the door, she heard Madam Zhao’s faint sobbing and she knew what had happened.

“I’ll go and talk to her.” Zhao Yuan picked up the corner of her dress and walked upstairs.

Zhao Zhanhuai subconsciously glanced at the gown she was wearing.

For some reason, his throat felt as if something was stuck there.

Mingxi has been pushed out of the house, gone forever in the cold night breeze.

But Zhao Yuan is still wearing Mingxi’s dress.

Actually, this gown did not fit Zhao Yuan— She was much shorter than Mingxi, and the neat fishtail gown that was supposed to be knee-length was dragged loosely behind her.

However, despite the fact that it obviously didn’t fit her well, she still wore it on her body as if it was an obvious thing to do, just like many things before.

A huge example would be a spot in the Chemistry competition; a small example would be a rabbit doll.

Whatever Mingxi has, she will have the same. But what she has, Mingxi cannot touch.

—Although it was supposed to be Zhao Mingxi’s.

Zhao Zhanhuai retracted his gaze with mixed emotions.

Zhao Yuan hurriedly entered the door to Madam Zhao’s room.

Soon, the crying ceased.

Zhao Zhanhuai’s headache was also partially cured.

His assistant had just returned from the hospital. He asked him, “Are you staying home tonight?”

“Let’s go to the company,” Zhao Zhanhuai said with a distracted tone.

He also threw his formal suit on the sofa and left the villa.

He didn’t know why, but he especially did not want to stay in this deserted villa tonight.

Zhao Yuan said something along the lines of, “Mom, you still have me.” So as Madam Zhao was comforted by Zhao Yuan, her attention was slightly diverted, and her mood improved.

But her sight inevitably fell on Zhao Yuan’s evening gown.

For some reason, she found it far too dazzling for her eyes. She couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you still wearing this?”

Zhao Yuan leaned her head on her knees, “Mom, you have such a good eye for fashion. Many people praised that the dress was beautiful tonight.”

“…”

Madam Zhao only felt that in an instant, she had slapped herself on the face with her own words.

—“What do I owe her anyway?”

Why didn’t she owe Zhao Mingxi?

She was always afraid that Zhao Yuan would feel disappointed and rejected because she was not the biological daughter of the family, so she tried various methods to show her love for Zhao Yuan. She wanted to tell Zhao Yuan that she was still her mother, just like before.

So when Zhao Mingxi accidentally picked up Zhao Yuan’s doll two years ago, she quickly rushed over, took the doll and returned it to Zhao Yuan. She said to Mingxi, “If you want this I can buy you another one. Don’t steal Yuanyuan’s.”

Thus, when Zhao Yuan showed her liking for this dress, she didn’t hesitate to give it to her, and thought that Mingxi wouldn’t mind.

But when a child has been pushed aside again and again for two years, how could she not mind? It was precisely these matters that piled up and led to what happened today!

It was herself! In order to maintain the 15 year relationship between her and her adopted daughter, she ignored Mingxi’s feelings during those incidents!

It was she herself who pushed Mingxi farther and farther!

Madam Zhao felt as if a needle was stabbing her in the heart. She was anxious and in pain. She could not continue to see Zhao Yuan wearing this dress, it was like a slap after slap on her face, reminding her of how she used to treat Mingxi.

She quickly buried herself in the blanket and said, “You go out first. Leave me alone for a while.”

Zhao Yuan looked at her in shock, “Mom, why are you suddenly—”

“Get out! Leave me alone for a while!” Madam Zhao’s sobs came from under the blanket.

*

Mingxi sat in the back seat of the motorcycle, clutching Fu Yangxi’s jacket with both hands.

The traffic flowed like a waterfall, and the cold wind blew across her temples on this night. She watched the flashing neon lights across the river, passing by one street light after another as she slowly calmed down.

She belatedly realized, “By the way, where did you get your motorcycle from?!”

Fu Yangxi’s jacket was blown up by the wind. He deliberately said, “I can’t hear you!”

Mingxi had to straighten up slightly. She grabbed his shoulders, climbed to the side of his ears, and shouted, “I said, where did you get your motorcycle from?!”

She was sticking so close to him that even if her breath that came out was blown away by the cold wind, it still fell on his auricle albeit only a little. Fu Yangxi was extremely sensitive there, and a chilling feeling came in an instant.

The tips of his ears suddenly flushed red. His hands shook, causing him to almost lose control over the vehicle.

Fu Yangxi swallowed hard, “Ke Chengwen has a friend who is a vehicle seller, and his showroom was just a few hundred meters away, so we went to pick up a few vehicles.”

“Oh.” Mingxi looked back. There were four or five motorcycles behind him. Mingxi turned her head fully and made a head count. She noticed that all of Fu Yangxi’s followers were there except for Ke Chengwen. She was suddenly struck in realization—

“Wait, where is Ke Chengwen? We left him at the police station!”

Fu Yangxi said, “Why do you care so much about Ke Chengwen?”

“Over here!” Ke Chengwen was driving a sports car as he caught up to them. He lowered the window and beckoned to them.

Ke Chengwen was already 18 and owned a driver’s license.

Mingxi glanced at the four-wheeled sports car that Ke Chengwen was driving and asked Fu Yangxi, “So there are sports cars. Then why did you come here with a motorcycle?”

“Because it’s cool!” Fu Yangxi raised his eyebrows and boasted. “Don’t you think that a few fast-moving motorcycles suddenly stopped by your side, buzzing around you, is like a scene from a movie? Don’t you girls like this sort of thing? It’s a pity that we didn’t have sunglasses on.”

Mingxi: “…”

As expected, Xi ge is truly Xi ge.

Mingxi asked, “Then where are we going?”

Fu Yangxi answered, “Let’s get down first.”

“It’s too cold at night. If we continue to be exposed to the night wind our fingers will go stiff.” He parked the motorcycle by the side of the road, moved his leg over and got out. He then hugged Mingxi’s waist naturally and helped her down. He was blushing as he helped her tuck in her scarf.

Mingxi saw how familiar he was with his actions and felt that something wasn’t right, but her brain was blown by the cold wind and her thoughts became slow. She didn’t notice anything wrong for a while.

The way Mingxi was staring at Fu Yangxi caused him to unnaturally turn his head away. His face was red. The corner of his lips curled up, but he immediately hissed in pain.

Mingxi asked, “Is it painful?”

Fu Yangxi touched the band-aid at the corner of his lips, “Nah, this is just a small injury. There is nothing that I fear.”

Ke Chengwen also stopped the car by the side of the road.

After the rear window was lowered, He Yang poked her head out and beckoned to Mingxi. “Mingxi!”

Mingxi asked, “Why is He Yang here as well?”

“How can you not have some barbecue or something to celebrate such a great day of breaking the cocoon and turning into a butterfly! That’s why Xi ge invited your friend,” Ke Chengwen said. “Zhao Mingxi, get in the car!”

Mingxi felt warmth in her heart. All the unhappiness at the police station seemed to be wiped out.

She walked over there and pulled the car door open.

“Wait!” Fu Yangxi interrupted suddenly. He took huge strides to the door, opened it, and pulled a boy out. “Jiang Xiuqiu, take the passenger seat.”

“We haven’t seen each other for such a long time and this is how you treat your old friend?”

“Hush.”

Jiang Xiuqiu?!

Mingxi’s eyes lit up suddenly— Isn’t this that, that person who is in second place on the list of people who can be freeloaded?

The boy named Jiang Xiuqiu had a pair of almond shaped eyes. He was wearing a high collared sweater which covered the lower half of his face. It was as if he was extremely afraid of the cold, hence he dressed like it was already winter. He glared at Fu Yangxi through his hands. Then when he took a glance at Mingxi’s face, his gaze paused on her. He reluctantly sat down in the passenger seat.

Mingxi’s eyes were fixated on him.

2%!

I have yet to try the 2% return of luck. I wonder what it would be like!

Fu Yangxi was blocking the door of the car and was about to urge Mingxi to get in the car. Suddenly, he followed Mingxi’s line of sight and fell on Jiang Xiuqiu.

Him: “…”

One second, two seconds, three seconds— Fu Yangxi pinched his watch and counted 10 seconds, yet all he saw was Zhao Mingxi still staring at Jiang Xiuqiu!

Is Jiang Xiuqiu that handsome?

She has never even stared at him like this before!

Mingxi came back to her senses and found that Fu Yangxi was staring at her. His face suddenly showed an ugly expression.

Mingxi asked in confusion, “What’s the matter?”

“Your eyesight sure is good at night.” Fu Yangxi tried his best not to be jealous.

He pushed Mingxi in and they both got in the car quickly.

*

Fu Yangxi threw the key to his follower and the motorcycle was driven back.

The group sat down in the warm barbeque shop.

“It’s you?”

“It’s you?”

Mingxi and Jiang Xiuqiu asked at the same time. Both of them were surprised and immediately made an expression of understanding after the questions.

Fu Yangxi stared at Zhao Mingxi, then at Jiang Xiuqiu, and finally at Ke Chengwen who had brought Jiang Xiuqiu over. His fists were almost clenched hard.

Ke Chengwen panicked and motioned with his eyes, ‘He contacted me and told me that he wanted to come. I didn’t go out of my way to bring him over’. Fu Yangxi then glared back with his eyes, ‘You couldn’t have just refused?’. The expression in Ke Chengwen’s eyes got even more bitter. ‘Isn’t he your childhood friend? How could I refuse?’

After several rounds of glaring, Fu Yangxi’s short red hair was blown by the night wind and it made him look like a hedgehog. Because of this, a further layer of frost formed on his face. He flipped through the menu and was acting very annoying, “What do you mean ‘it’s you’, Little Mask? Have you and Jiang Xiuqiu known each other since a long time ago?”

Mingxi explained, “I wouldn’t consider us as knowing each other. I merely took the cello exam at the Palace of Literature and Art for him more than half a month ago. He was the one with the nickname ‘Handsome J’.”

The price was 8,000 yuan. She was wondering who could be such a huge spender. Turns out he is Fu Yangxi’s wealthy friend.

Now that Mingxi thought about it, no wonder the small tender seedlings were growing so fast in those few days. It was most likely that there was an increase due to this matter.

Fu Yangxi pulled a long face, “Then you two have added each other on WeChat?”

Mingxi answered, “Yes.”

She was sitting for his exams on his behalf. How else were they to maintain contact without WeChat?

Fu Yangxi started to feel jealous over what was going on and teased, “Isn’t it such a coincidence then?”

Mingxi said, “Yes.”

Fu Yangxi: “…”

Fu Yangxi only felt that the wound on the corner of his mouth was hurting really badly!

While wiping the chopsticks, Jiang Xiuqiu looked at Fu Yangxi with a smile. Then, he said to Zhao Mingxi, “But it’s different for me. My knowledge of you came from—”

Before he could finish speaking, Fu Yangxi stuffed a piece of cantaloupe in his mouth from across the table. Fu Yangxi was agitated. “You are such a loud mouth and a busybody. I’m warning you, don’t talk nonsense. Eat your fruit!”

Jiang Xiuqiu continued to smile, as if he had a bargaining chip used to threaten Fu Yangxi.

Looking at Jiang Xiuqiu’s meaningful smile, Mingxi wondered if Fu Yangxi was saying bad things behind her back— It was probably when she had just changed classes and tried every means possible to be desk mates with him. He hated her the most back then.

He Yang couldn’t understand what they were talking about, so she broke the deadlock, “The meat is here!”

Mingxi stood up on her own, took the dish from the waiter, and placed it on the table. Seeing the large number of people in the store and the lack of waiters, she subconsciously asked for an apron to wear and said, “You guys go ahead and eat. I am good at barbecuing, so I will cook them for you first.”

Fu Yangxi had never cooked meat before, but seeing how natural it was for Zhao Mingxi to take the tongs and cook, he felt uncomfortable.

He stood up and grabbed the tongs in Zhao Mingxi’s hand. Using his height advantage, he took off the apron she put on from behind. “Sit down.”

Mingxi’s vision was blocked by the apron. By the time she could see again, she was already pushed into the seat by Fu Yangxi.

She was stunned. “You’ll do it?”

Several people looked at Fu Yangxi in surprise.

Jiang Xiuqiu cupped his face in his hands. He gave Zhao Mingxi a few extra glances, narrowed his smile, and noted to himself that something interesting was going on.

“Why? Are you looking down on me?” Fu Yangxi said. “Do you think I can’t cook? You’re obviously trying to provoke me.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Mingxi held back a smile.

Fu Yangxi and Mingxi changed positions. He sat on the outside, cut the meat into several pieces with a pair of scissors, and threw them in in a hurry.

After a while, there was the smell of something burning, and the oil was crackling.

The meat in his hands was as if it was particularly inflexible. It almost flew out.

A waiter nearby looked anxious. He was afraid that the boy with the hedgehog-like red hair would burn down their restaurant. He moved away from a table of people and quickly walked over. “Let me help you.”

Fu Yangxi let go of the tongs in a jealous manner.

“Who wants to eat these pieces?” The waiter referred to the pieces of barbecue that were roasted so thoroughly and so dark that even their parents would not be able to recognize them.

Fu Yangxi looked at Jiang Xiuqiu. Jiang Xiuqiu looked away.

Fu Yangxi looked at Ke Chengwen. Ke Chengwen coughed and looked out the window. “The moonlight sure is beautiful.”

Seeing that no one wanted it, Fu Yangxi’s expression became dull and bleak, “Give it to me.”

“I want a few pieces too.” Mingxi couldn’t bear to see no one supporting him, so she handed her plate over.

Fu Yangxi snorted and tugged down the corners of his mouth despite the fact that he actually felt really happy about it.

However, in the next second, he dumped the charred barbecue on both him and Mingxi’s plates into the trash can.

It’s better to not eat it if it’s burnt.

When they finally started to eat the barbecue, Mingxi stared at Jiang Xiuqiu on the opposite side, and started to hit on Jiang Xiuqiu. She said, “Employer, let’s shake hands. If you have similar jobs in the future, feel free to find me.”

She originally thought that Fu Yangxi’s friend would be as difficult to deal with as Fu Yangxi is, but to her surprise, Jiang Xiuqiu had a very good temper. He smiled and stretched out his hand. “No problem.”

Mingxi was excited. She immediately wiped her hands on her clothes and shook his hands.

Fu Yangxi who was still eating barbecue and had no time to stop them: “…”

As soon as Mingxi touched Jiang Xiuqiu, the young seedling in the flower pot immediately moved.

One and a half buds have grown!

Although there were not as many young buds as when she touched Fu Yangxi for the first time, it was still enough to make her happy!

Mingxi was motivated. She chewed on a piece of barbecue and asked, “Jiang Xiuqiu, did you not come to school for almost a month because you fell ill? There should be a lot of papers on your desk, do you need someone to help you organize it? Do you need someone to run errands for you as well?”

Ke Chengwen silently looked at Fu Yangxi’s face which was turning green: “…”

Before Jiang Xiuqiu could speak, Fu Yangxi pulled Mingxi’s body over, clasped her shoulders with both his hands, and glared at her angrily—

“What, what’s the matter?” Mingxi was confused.

Fu Yangxi pulled a long face as he gave her a fierce glare. After holding back for a long time, he forced out a question, “Are you my follower or his follower?”

Mingxi swallowed the barbecued meat. “Can’t I be both of your followers?”

Is there any professional competition for being the boss?

“No!” Fu Yangxi was anxious and depraved— He wondered if Little Mask really didn’t get it or if she was faking it. Does the word ‘follower’ really mean ‘follower’? Does she want him to take the initiative to pierce through the veil covering the word?

Mingxi asked, “Why not?”

Fu Yangxi flushed red. He said angrily, “One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, okay?”

Jiang Xiuqiu laughed and coughed violently beside him. He drank a mouthful of water and sighed. “What can I do? My personality and charm is simply unstoppable.”

There was a layer of goosebumps on Mingxi’s body. She thought, between 6% and 2%, she would definitely choose Fu Yangxi’s 6%.

“Then I will choose to be your follower.”

The tip of Fu Yangxi’s ears flushed red. He felt relieved. He let go of Mingxi’s shoulders, and gave Mingxi a few pieces of meat in a boss-like manner.

Mingxi said, “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Fu Yangxi triumphantly dusted off the non-existent dust on his body. He raised his eyebrows as he looked at Jiang Xiuqiu, his gaze domineering and cool. “It seems like my personality is the more attractive one.”

Ke Chengwen and He Yang: “…”

Mingxi: “…”

Very good, two layers of goosebumps. Little Mask is clenching her fist. More attractive my ass.

The barbeque restaurant was steaming hot, and the aroma of meat and condiments overflowed. Mingxi felt very warm. Seeing this group of young people playing in front of her, her heart was also warm.

Some things grew silently to make up for the empty corners of her heart.

Midway through their meal, the waiter brought some fruit wine. No one noticed that Mingxi had also drunk two glasses.

By the time Fu Yangxi found that something was wrong with her, he hurriedly stopped her, but she had already drunk three glasses.

Mingxi started to feel dizzy, and the moon outside the window became blurry.

Fu Yangxi shook her.

But Fu Yangxi was starting to become two Fu Yangxi.

She turned her head, and the yellowish-green glass window frame behind her turned into two.

…

Mingxi was leaning her head on her hand. Her beautiful face was flushed, her eyelashes smeared with mist, and her eyes fell involuntarily to the side of the street. There was a grandmother and grandchild selling bright red tanghulu in the cold wind.

The granddaughter was saying something coquettishly. She pulled her grandmother’s sleeves and kept on swinging it. Ultimately, her grandmother couldn’t bear it any longer and took out a tanghulu before handing it to her granddaughter.

When the grandmother turned, she had a kind and peaceful smile on her face. She rubbed her granddaughter’s head with her dirty hands.

Mingxi stared blankly. Suddenly, she couldn’t keep her emotions in anymore. Her nose felt sour and the whites of her eyes were turning red at the corners. All the feelings she had accumulated after she was reborn and found out that her grandmother had passed away poured out in an instant.

Tears flowed down uncontrollably.

“My grandma.” Mingxi cried out, with a hoarse tone in her voice, “My grandma left me thousands of dollars before she died!”

“…”

Everyone at the table looked at her.

“Oh no, Zhao Mingxi can’t drink. She’ll get drunk even with a bit of alcohol in her system.” He Yang just remembered. She herself was a little dizzy as well.

Fu Yangxi quickly got up and pulled Mingxi over to him. He frowned at He Yang. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Mingxi hugged Fu Yangxi like she was holding a telephone pole as she cried.

She couldn’t even see her grandmother one last time.

When she left Tongcheng, her grandmother was uneasy, but she was full of expectations and yearning. She also said to her grandmother that once she got the Zhao family’s love, she would pick up her grandmother and bring her there some time later. Then, when she is admitted to a good university and lands a job, she can provide for her grandmother.

However, not long after she arrived at the Zhao family home, two days before and after her birthday, she continuously called her grandmother but no one answered the phone. By the time she noticed that something was wrong, she received a call from the town.

They said that after she left, her grandmother went to deliver some goods on her own. She was accidentally trapped by the heavy rain and slid down the mountain because of the ailment in her legs. She passed away that night.

The people in the town were kind. They could not bear to call her to inform her until the funeral had been held for her grandmother.

Because of the late discovery, and the medical condition in the town was not so good, they did not even know the exact time when her grandmother had passed away.

At that time, Mingxi was completely stunned.

She rushed back to Tongcheng.

She was silent in the cold mourning hall, crying until she went numb.

She even said that she wanted to help her grandmother live a good life, but in the end it was her grandmother who left her with a worn red cloth bag which contained the tuition fees that her grandmother had saved from not treating her years of painful leg ailments.

It was as if someone flipped a switch in Mingxi, droplets of tears were falling continuously. The tip of her nose had turned red from crying.

She wiped her face messily with her hands.

With hot pepper on her hands, her eyes felt hotter the more she wiped it, and the tears flowed even more violently.

Fu Yangxi hurriedly grabbed the tissue on the table and wiped the tears from her face.

Fu Yangxi had never really seen Zhao Mingxi cry like this where she looked as if she was at the point of collapse. He felt a tightness in his heart and turned to ask He Yang, “Who is her grandma? Where does she live? What is the address? Send it to me.”

“She has already passed away.” He Yang looked at Mingxi sadly. “She— Forget it, it should be okay to say these things.”

He Yang skipped some of the Zhao family’s biological daughters and non-biological matters, and only told Fu Yangxi and the others about how Mingxi had lived in Tongcheng in the North and returned to the Zhao family at the age of fifteen.

The more Fu Yangxi listened, the deeper his frown.

Ke Chengwen looked at Mingxi with mixed emotions. “This is so unexpected.”

In fact, looking at Zhao Mingxi’s outstanding temperament, he thought that she was raised like a spoiled princess. But if one were to really think about it, it wouldn’t be hard to realize that how could a spoiled person be able to barbecue meat and cook so well?

Mingxi’s body was light and fluttering. It was as if her brain was filled with water. She was swaying, but she could hear their conversation faintly. She suddenly cried out sadly again. Grabbing the person in front of her, she banged her forehead upwards and wallowed, “She’s dead. She’s dead because of me.”

Fu Yangxi: “…”

As to what the others said after that, Mingxi could no longer hear them clearly. Even if she did hear it, her mind was slow in processing it. She was unable to identify what they were talking about.

She was immersed in a huge and sorrowful dream, as if she had returned to that day in the funeral hall in her previous life.

Her hands and feet were numb from the cold, and her body was shaking from her cries.

Mingxi vaguely felt that she had been half-carried out of the barbecue restaurant by Fu Yangxi, and that she had vomited all over him. He squatted in front of her, re-tying her messy shoelaces. Then, he gave a few orders to Jiang Xiuqiu and the others.

The street lamp outside the barbeque restaurant shone on the ground. Tiny insects flew around in the cold.

Each breath turned into white mist.

Her tears fell on the ground.

It was terribly cold. Even the tears dripping down her neck were cold.

She had another scarf around her neck.

It was finally warm.

Mingxi hugged the warm telephone pole in front of her.

…

Then, Mingxi completely lost consciousness.

She fell asleep.

…

It is strange how a drunk person would know that they are drunk before they wake up.

She was about to regain consciousness, but it was as if a mountain was pressing on top of her, and she couldn’t lift it up.

Her eyelids were also too heavy and tired. She could only feel a little flickering light.

Like a stuck projector, the only things she could remember were a few sporadic pictures of last night.

The hum of the engine and the slight shaking made Mingxi feel a splitting headache, and the weightlessness during the landing made her stomach twist. She was about to throw up everything she ate last night.

…

By the time Mingxi was vaguely conscious and was about to open her eyes, the first thing she noticed was how cold it was.

What’s going on?

Why is it way colder than yesterday?

Did the temperature drop by a few dozen degrees?

A whole bunch of noises kept invading her ears. The seat was bumpy all the time, and the bones on Mingxi’s body seemed to be not her own.

She tried to open her eyes, her consciousness still a little slow.

What caught her eye was a somewhat dirty car window. Was she in a car?

Human traffickers?!

Mingxi was shocked. She was so frightened that she was completely awake.

Mingxi looked to the left. When she saw Fu Yangxi sitting on her left, Mingxi suddenly felt relieved. Even if she was kidnapped by a human trafficker, so long as Fu Yangxi was with her, someone would pay for her ransom as well.

Fu Yangxi was sleeping out of exhaustion. His lips were pressed tightly and his eyebrows were furrowed. He had a change of clothes and he wasn’t wearing his noise-reducing headphones.

Mingxi quickly realized that the silver earphones were hanging on her ears.

She took it off. Seeing as it was out of battery, she turned it off.

Mingxi looked to the right again. It was a dilapidated and familiar station. The waiting hall was hung with the “囍”* characters that were posted last year and have not yet been taken off. The dust was fluttering, and the cries of people coming and going were very noisy. It was a shabby but thriving place.
*translator’s note: 囍 is a common Chinese character seen and referred to in weddings.

Red, green, and even colorful advertisements were everywhere on both sides of the street.

The car was still driving forward, passing by many tricycles.

On the uneven gravel road, there were garbage dumps at a distance, and the trash cans along the road appeared like furnishings.

Mingxi’s eyelids twitched. Suddenly, she was hit by a sense of familiarity.

Even the deserted soymilk stalls on the corners of the street feel familiar.

The boss advertised with an accent familiar to Mingxi, “Soy milk! Soy milk that are delicious and inexpensive!”

The aroma seemed to overtake her senses.

She stopped breathing altogether.

Her heart was pounding, her forehead involuntarily pressed against the cold car window. She felt the difference in temperature.

She didn’t know how long it took until the bumps finally stopped.

The car went around for a long time before stopping at an old alley in town. The deep and secluded alley was just like how it was in Mingxi’s memory. The ground was covered with moss. It had just rained, and it was full of water.

Looking up, there was a chaotic and ragged tube-shaped apartment. Few windows were closed, most of which were wide open. One or two bamboo poles were stretched out, with faded T-shirts, school uniforms and dried bacon hanging indiscriminately.

…

It was all too familiar.

Just a few steps further down the alley was the small yard where she used to live with her grandmother. There would be some gardenia trees growing inside, a few pots of sun-dried radishes, and some of her grandmother’s shoes neatly arranged.

After realizing where this was, Mingxi’s heart beat faster and faster, and the fingers that touched the car window were slightly trembling.

Some places have changed a little, but most things in her memory have not changed.

A group of teenagers swaggered across the city in groups, holding basketballs to play in a small open area with less rain.

When the car stopped, the driver spoke with a local accent, “We’re here. Wake up and pay up.”

Only then did Mingxi notice that there was a car following behind them.

Ke Chengwen, Jiang Xiuqiu and He Yang rubbed their eyes and got out of the car with a look as if they had yet to fully wake up.

Fu Yangxi also woke up. Once he was awake, he subconsciously glanced at Zhao Mingxi who was beside him.

He yawned and, as usual, with an impatient face, took out a few red banknotes and handed them to the driver. Then, he got out of the car and walked to her side.

He opened the door for Mingxi.

Mingxi’s eyes were red and swollen. She stared at him blankly.

At this moment, she felt as if she was dreaming.

Am I in Alice in Wonderland or something?

How did I end up at the place where I grew up in the span of one night’s sleep? It would clearly take more than 10 hours to get here by train.

But how did she get on the train when she was sound asleep?

Mingxi suddenly remembered the buzzing sound of take-off and landing when she was sleeping— a private jet?

And there is Fu Yangxi— These people—

It was as if they had broken into her dream by mistake.

Fu Yangxi stood in front of the car door. He was holding on to the door, waiting for her to get down.

Against the morning light, his short dazzling red hair warmed the cold morning mist by a lot.

Seeing how stunned she was, Fu Yangxi leaned over slightly, curled up the corner of his mouth and smiled, “What are you still in a daze for?”

Mingxi got out of the car slowly while Fu Yangxi covered the top of the car door.

He kicked a board under the car, enough to cover the water in the mud.

“Wele home, little girl,*” he said to Zhao Mingxi.
*translator’s note: he said this in English.