Sang Zhi feels that his response is too shocking.
What happened to this old man?
Is it because her response is too emotional?
But if she just stayed silent and watched him be mistreated and did nothing like those onlookers who are interested in the spectacle but don’t have anything knowledgeable to say about it, could she be regarded as a person?
Sang Zhi feels that her action is appropriate.
“Ge Ge, don’t take that accident into your heart.” Sang Zhi thinks about it and says: “When I was in Grade 8 and I was being blackmailed, you also helped me.”
Duan Jia Xu: “Em.”
Sang Zhi adds: “Now you are old, it’s my turn to help you.”
“…….”
Just in time they pass a trash can, Sang Zhi throws in the tissues. The time she looks at him, she notices that Duan Jia Xu’s expression is rigid, his smile is gone.
He looks more normal.
He seems to have collect all his thoughts.
Then Sang Zhi watches him.
Duan Jia Xu lowers his eyes, straightens his lips. He knows that his thought is too absurd.
“I’m really crazy.”
“……”
Right, he looks a bit crazy.
But being splashed by another woman in public, indeed it’s quite hurting one’s pride.
Sang Zhi doesn’t know how to comfort him, she gets inside the men’s clothes store. She changes the subject: “Ge Ge, hurry up change into this one. It’s uncomfortable to wear wet clothes.”
Duan Jia Xu doesn’t move.
Sang Zhi takes another shirt and stuffs it to his hand. “If not, just this one.”
He just responds. “Em.”
The time he gets into the fitting room, Sang Zhi strolls around the store. She notices a shirt and holds it up. Suddenly her phone rings.
Sang Zhi takes out her phone and looks at the caller ID. She answers it. “Ge.”
Sang Yan says lazily: “Xiao Gui, what date is your holiday start? I’ll help you to book the ticket.
Sang Zhi frowns: “Why should you rush it? There’s still half month to go.”
“You book it by yourself?”
“You just need to transfer the money to me, I’ll book it by myself.”
“What money I should transfer to you, Am I your Pa?”
“Oh, Papa.”
“…….”
“It’s the end of the month, you should give the living cost.” Sang Zhi touches the man’s coat in front of her. “Ge Ge, you already drag it till the last day.”
“…….”
“If you don’t transfer the money today, then don’t need to transfer again. Just use those money to buy me a coffin.”
Sang Yan laughs coldly: “Every month you take double living costs, aren’t you shameless?”
“How could you say it’s double?” Sang Zhi doesn’t even blink, she says boldly and confidently: “Papa said that he will give half and you half.”
“Is the commodity price in Yi He that expensive?” Sang Yan asks, “That you need 6000?”
Sang Zhi looks at the cloth’s size and flips around. “I even economize on food and living, I even a bit unwilling to buy candy, if not I’ll overspend.”
“Are their candies cost a thousand for pack?”
“No” Sang Zhi’s tone is flat. “A thousand for one piece.”
“……..” Sang Yan says: “Okay, just think I have no Mei Mei like you.”
Sang Zhi is silent for few seconds and says: “Coffin.”
Sang Yan just hangs up.
Sang Zhi hears the cold voice of “Tut tut tut”, she looks at the screen and shrugs her shoulder indifferently. She just places her phone back into her pocket. She continues to find a size and finds XXL size. She takes it.
Sang Zhi turns her body and notices that Duan Jia Xu has changed his clothes. Before she just gave him a black sweatshirt and even didn’t look at the size.
This time she notices it’s well-fitted him.
Sang Zhi takes the XXL size shirt to his front and asks: “Just this one?”
Duan Jia Xu looks at her and says: “You were calling your Ge?”
“Yes, he asked me whether I have booked ticket or not.” Sang Zhi says honestly. Then pass the shirt on her hand to him. “Ge Ge, help me to try this one out.”
Hearing a word “help”, Duan Jia Xu just takes it and asks: “To whom will you give this?”
“My Ge ah.” Sang Zhi looks around. “New Year’s gift.”
“….”
“I’ll also buy one for Papa so later on I don’t need to stroll around again.” Sang Zhi lifts her head and points to the sweatshirt that Duan Jia Xu wears. “Oh right, do you like this one?”
Duan Jia Xu: “Is it good?”
“It’s quite good.”
“Okay just this one.”
Sang Zhi nods and takes out her phone to take a look. Just in time, she notices that there is a transfer notification from Alipay.
She opens it up.
— Sang Yan transfers you 5000 Yuan.
Remark: “Next time we meet up, don’t call me Ge.”
“……..”
Is this his way to sever their relationship.
It’s too heartless.
Sang Zhi blinks and replies quickly: [Okay.]
She chooses another shirt and goes to the cashier to pay it.
Duan Jia Xu takes off his coat and takes out his own phone. He comes forward like he wants to directly buy those three clothes.
“Ay, let me pay.” Sang Zhi doesn’t want him to spend his money. She just pushes his phone away and immediately opens her Alipay app and says to the cashier. “I’ll pay for this together.”
She says it and turns her head to look at him. She says seriously: “Ge Ge, this cloth just think of it my advance New Year gift for you.”
“Okay.” Duan Jia Xu laughs: “Next time I’ll make it up to you.”
Hearing those two people’s conversation, the cashier looks at both of them. She asks curiously: “Are you both brother and sister?”
Sang Zhi startles and turns quiet for few minutes. She nods “Em.”
The cashier: “You two aren’t looking similar, are you really blood-related?”
Duan Jia Xu stands on the side and takes a look at his phone. His appearance looks indifferent.
He listens to her answer.
Sang Zhi: “Em, more or less.”
—-
Maybe because of what that woman did to her, afterwards, Duan Jia Xu doesn’t talk that much. He keeps on thinking and his mind is wandering.
At first Sang Zhi plans this period of time to talk less to him as she could. But looking at him, she could only rack her brain to look for topics of conversation. She wants him to forget all of it.
Looking at her action with confusion, Duan Jia Xu immediately laughs and seems to not thinking about that matter again. He jokes with her.
Sang Zhi doesn’t know where to start.
They both go to the nearby noodle store to have dinner. It’s not early so Duan Jia Xu sends Sang Zhi back to her dorm. Then he drives back to his own apartment.
Duan Jia Xu takes his card and gets into the apartment building. He takes the elevator to the fifteenth floor. The time he exits the elevator, he could see a woman, who is standing in front of his apartment door. He stops there and remembers what Sang Zhi said to him.
Then he takes out his hone and calls the real estate’s number.
That woman’s expression is very bad, she seems to have been waiting for him for quite some time. “Finally you know that you should come home? I thought today you will go and check in at the hotel with that university student?”
The call is answered.
He acts like he doesn’t listen to that woman’s words, Duan Jia Xu’s voice is cold, he says calmly: “I’m the resident of Tower 12, fifteenth floor B. In front of my apartment door there’s a stranger. Please help me to come here and handle this. Thank you.”
She suddenly yells: “Duan Jia Xu!”
Duan Jia Xu hangs up and takes out his cigarette box. He lights one and smokes it. He leans on the wall and says nothing.
That woman’s eyes are red. “Who is that woman?”
“……”
“I’m asking you!”
Duan Jia Xu’s looks tired.
He doesn’t move. He doesn’t reply her.
That woman suddenly walks toward his front and raises up her hand like she is about to slap him.
He notices her movement, Duan Jia Xu looks over and watches her. He smiles but there’s no gentleness.
She is getting angry, she just wants to slap him.
Duan Jia Xu turns his head and raises up his cigarette.
That cigarette touches her naked palm. That woman withdraws her hand and feels in pain. She glares at him and says; “How could you be so lowly!”
Looking at her tears, Duan Jia Xu says. “It seems it’s quite painful?”
“……”
“No, looking at you be so in pain.” Duan Jia Xu laughs: “How could I be so happy?”
“………..”
“How could you have face to be like me?” That woman suddenly starts to cry while watches at him: “Your whole family owe me.”
Duan Jia Xu ignores her and bypasses her. He takes out his key out of his pocket.
“Today that woman is your girlfriend? Don’t ever think about it, a person like you……”
“……….”
“Have no right to live a good life.”
Duan Jia Xu just pretends like he doesn’t listen to it and opens the door.
That woman seems want to use force to get in, then she senses that he isn’t afraid to slap his door on her. She stops.
“Duan Jia Xu, your whole family will suffer bad death.” She slaps the door. She cries and says: “So your Ma just dead, you….”
He closes the door and just blocks all her words.
Duan Jia Xu throws away his cigarette and goes to the bathroom to throw it. He opens his tap water and cleans his hands cleanly, including his arms, that touched by Jiang Ying.
Very quickly, Duan Jia Xu goes to the living room and looks at the photo frames on the TV shelf.
Duan Jia Xu walks over and kneels down. He smiles: “Ma did you hear those words?”
“Don’t take it to heart.”
His mom’s smile still looks so gentle.
Duan Jia Xu touches her face and smiles: “Don’t you think she is great, that after these years she always says those words.”
—–
Duan Jia Xu goes to the bathroom to have a shower.
The time he is done, it’s almost 12:00 p.m., he sits down on the sofa and opens up his television.
The sound of TV makes the living room sounds a bit livelier. Suddenly he remembers that idea. He looks at the photo again. This time he looks at the photo of him and Sang Zhi.
That time, she is just a fifteen years old young girll.
It’s taken from his University graduation.
She was just finished her junior high school
She even thinks of him as her Ge Ge.
Duan Jia Xu closes his eyes and lights up another cigarette again.
The time it’s 00:01 a.m. Duan Jia Xu’s phone rings. It cuts off his thought. He lifts his eyes lazily and looks at his phone. It’s a message from Sang Zhi.
Duan Jia Xu opens it up.
Xiao Sang Zhi: [Wishing Jia Xu Ge a Happy New Year, be happy everyday.]
Duan Jia Xu; [Em, Happy New Year.]
Xiao Sang Zhi: [I’ll sleep now, you should sleep early too.]
Duan Jia Xu: [Okay.]
He opens up Sang Zhi’s contact list. He changes her remark to “Sang Zhi”, then thinks about it, then changes it again to “Zhi Zhi”. Then after a while, he changes it back to “Xiao Sang Zhi”.
Duan Jia Xu remembers the last night he spent at Sang’s family house. Hearing that he has a lot of debts. That young girl just stood beside him and said: “Don’t worry Ge Ge. When I grow up, I will earn money and help you to return it together.”
Duan Jia Xu remembers what Jiang Ying said to him.
— a person like you have no right to live a good life.
Duan Jia Xu straightens his lips.
“Em, I don’t”
He turns off his screen, his face is gentle. He mumbles lowly: “But our Xiao Sang Zhi must lives a good life.”
88tangeatdrinkread 
I think his feelings for her are changing. I hope that whatever is in his past won’t be a hindrance to them.
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Both of them deserve happiness. I really want to know the backstory of his family and that woman’s family.
LikeLiked by 22 people