Ring...ring...ring...
"Hello, Xiao Hongwei speaking."
"Hello, Mr. Xiao. I'm Chen Hansheng. I'm looking for Xiao Rongyu."
"Hansheng, Rongyu is resting now. Try calling again tomorrow."
...
Ring...ring...ring...
"Hello, who is this?"
"Good morning, Mr. Xiao. It's Chen Hansheng again. May I please speak to Xiao Rongyu on the phone?"
"Rongyu has gone out. Sorry."
...
Ring...ring...ring
"Mr. Xiao, this is Chen Hansheng. I'm looking for Xiao Rongyu."
"Rongyu hasn't come back yet. You can call again tonight."
"It's okay. Can you please tell her that I'm going back to campus today?"
This time, the other end of the phone fell silent. Someone had covered the microphone but Chen Hansheng's hearing was pretty good so he could vaguely still hear Xiao Hongwei's muffled voice. "He's going back to school today."
But Chen Hansheng couldn't hear who answered. After a while, Xiao Hongwei's voice came through the microphone clearly again and said, "Hansheng, I'll pass on the message. Stay safe and make sure you let your parents know when you've arrived."
After hanging up the phone, Xiao Hongwei looked at Xiao Rongyu worriedly and asked, "What did you guys fight about? Do you want to talk about it?"
Xiao Rongyu was in her white nightgown as her hair fell loosely on her shoulders. She sat on the sofa while hugging her knees. Her face looked haggard and more angular than usual while her eyes were a little red and swollen.
She did not say anything and just sat there in a daze.
Xiao Rongyu had locked the bedroom door after she came back last night. Not long after, Chen Hansheng called.
Xiao Hongwei knew that this must be related to Chen Hansheng. Xiao Hongwei was a sharp person thanks to his profession in the Public Security Bureau and as a father.
"Your mother will be back soon and she will definitely ask questions when she sees you in such a state," said Xiao Hongwei with a sigh.
But his words finally got a reaction from her. Xiao Rongyu didn't want her mother to see her like this or know anything so she immediately went to freshen up herself.
"Rongyu."
Xiao Hongwei stopped her. "Are you and Chen Hansheng seeing each other?"
Xiao Rongyu suddenly turned around and said, "No, not in the past, not now, and not ever!"
Xiao Hongwei sighed. He was an experienced criminal investigator so he could easily tell when his daughter was lying.
In the afternoon, Xiao Rongyu's mother, Lu Yuqing, came home from work. She saw her husband washing vegetables in the kitchen and took off her coat to help.
"Where's Rongyu?" asked Lu Yuqing.
"She just got up."
Xiao Hongwei decided to cover for his daughter for now.
Lu Yuqing was a little puzzled. "She rarely wakes up so late."
"It's the holidays. It's normal to sleep in for a few more hours." Xiao Hongwei pretended to be a little impatient as he responded so that Lu Yuqing would not continue asking.
After a while, Xiao Hongwei casually asked, "I remember you and Chen Zhaojun's wife are quite close, right?"
"Liang Meijuan? We used to be quite close. But not recently."
"Then let's have a meal with them when we're free. Friends should keep in touch more often," said Xiao Hongwei as he picked vegetables.
"Why? Is Chen Zhaojun going to be promoted?"
Lu Yuqing, who was also working in the government, wondered.
Xiao Hongwei did not know whether to laugh or cry. "We are already so old. Why would we still want to be promoted? I just thought it'd be nice to have a get-together."
Lu Yuqing knew her husband was hiding something but did not ask any more questions. Xiao Hongwei's work often involved a lot of confidentiality, so family members knew not to ask too much.
"Alright, I'll go help Rongyu with her hair. And I'll give Liang Meijuan a call when I'm free."
After Lu Yuqing left the kitchen, Xiao Hongwei wiped off the water on his hands and sighed. "We're getting older by the day. We need to make plans for our children."
...
The parents in Chen Hansheng's house were also distressed, but for slightly different reasons.
"What did I do in my past life to deserve this? I married into the Chen family and waited for my son to grow up. But in the end, I realized that my son is a heartless scumbag."
Liang Meijuan was upset that Chen Hansheng had insisted on returning to campus before the holidays ended.
"I'm the class president now. Time doesn't belong to me. I have duties to the students of Public Administration Class 2. Mom, I can't help it either."
Chen Hansheng was packing his luggage as he spoke.
"Ugh, I really don't know how or why they chose you to be the class president."
Liang Meijuan knew her son well. When he didn't want to tell the truth, his mouth would run like a train.
Chen Hansheng had always packed his luggage by himself. Chen Zhaojun and Liang Meijuan would not interfere. This was a habit formed over many years. However, when she saw that there were two packs of goose meat, a specialty of Port City, in the bag, Liang Meijuan asked, "Are they for the students in your dormitory?"
"No, they're for my professor," said Chen Hansheng.
This time, he wanted to especially gift local specialties for Guo Zhongyun to thank him for helping him out during the fight incident and also to continue their good relationship.
After all, Chen Hansheng could not simply give Guo Zhongyun money as it will not only change the nature of their relationship, but it is also illegal to do so.
Before he left, Liang Meijuan handed Chen Hansheng one thousand yuan. But he did not want it at all. "I'm not short of money now."
"How much money do you have left from the two thousand yuan you brought with you when you started school?" Liang Meijuan was worried.
"Half of it is gone." Chen Hansheng told the truth.
Liang Meijuan was stunned. "It's only been a month. How did you use it?"
When Chen Hansheng was studying at home, the living expenses of the family would only be around a thousand yuan a month. Now that Chen Hansheng was going to college, Liang Meijuan and Chen Zhaojun only needed a few hundred yuan for their daily expenses each month.
"Eating, drinking, and buying groceries. A man has to socialize," said Chen Hansheng indifferently.
"You don't even have a girlfriend and you're learning how to socialize?"
Liang Meijuan almost laughed out of anger, but she was also a little puzzled. "Then why don't you take this thousand yuan?"
"I've earned another 2,500 yuan from other places. I'm not short of money."
Chen Hansheng didn't want to explain too much. He pushed the door open and said, "Mom, Dad, I'm leaving now. You guys take care of yourselves at home. If you have nothing to do, just fight. Just don't divorce."
Liang Meijuan suddenly felt a little lonely.
"Zhaojun, are we getting old?"
"Why do you say that?"
"I feel that Hansheng doesn't need us anymore. He doesn't want money and he doesn't want to talk about things. He already has his own world."
Chen Zhaojun smiled and gently hugged his wife's shoulders. "Isn't that good? We can worry less in the future."
"That won't do!"
Liang Meijuan suddenly raised her eyebrows. "I still have to take care of this little b*stard's children. Do you have any colleagues or friends who have a suitable daughter? I'll let them get married as soon as they graduate from college."
"Maybe."
Chen Zhaojun did not know that Chen Hansheng and Xiao Rongyu had already 'broken up' as Rongyu's figure appeared in his mind.
...