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墨書 Inktalez
After leaving his mother's office, Xu Wen wandered around the campus, unsure of where to go. It felt as if the difficult path ahead was not Qinglan's, but his own.
Throughout his life, he had never realized how helpless one could feel. He had thought of countless paths for Qinglan's future, but each one seemed unfeasible. How could someone as elegant and pure as her endure such hardships? He dismissed every option one by one.
His mother had asked him to vent to her first, but how could he even begin to speak?
As mealtime approached, he continued to roam the campus, unable to figure out how to meet her now.
Be cheerful? Be happy? Clearly, he couldn't manage that; he felt too weighed down by depression.
Burdened with worries? Frowning? That was also something he didn't want to do. When had he ever frowned in front of Qinglan? In the past, seeing her was like watching a white cloud drift across a clear blue sky, lifting his spirits and expanding his heart.
He hesitated to go to the place where Qinglan was staying, but he felt compelled to because she had given him her number when he came to school, asking him to inform her about the start of classes. Her concern indicated that subconsciously, she was worried about something.
She had also mentioned that the baby would be born in a few days, and then she would be free. Once the child was born, she would immediately start her internship and return to her studies.
Xu Wen even advised her that after giving birth, she would need some time to rest before going back to work. They had argued about it for a bit; she seemed busy and happy looking for a nanny through a home service agency in Beijing.
Thinking about all this made Xu Wen's heart ache.
As he slowly walked toward the school gate, feeling helpless, Lin Xi called. It seemed she was worried too.
As soon as he answered the phone, Lin Xi asked urgently, "Does the school already know about Qinglan's situation?"
Xu Wen was startled and asked, "How do you know?"
"It seems it's really her," Lin Xi said, her voice becoming hurried and trembling.
"Our college is buzzing; everyone is talking about it," Lin Xi said breathlessly. It appeared she was hurrying somewhere.
"Someone in your college already knows?" Xu Wen's heart sank again.
Good news seldom travels far; bad news spreads like wildfire.
Chinese people have always been keen on spreading gossip. What they see around them either brings people together or leads to collective condemnation. Moreover, gossip spreads even faster on campus, especially when it concerns matters between men and women; everyone is eager to discuss it.
"Yes, I've heard from other departments. Some classmates' parents work at the school, so I guess you should know what's going on," Lin Xi asked anxiously.
"Not good," Xu Wen replied.
"Where are you now?" Lin Xi inquired.
After Xu Wen told her he was at the school gate, Lin Xi asked him to wait for her; she would be there shortly.
As Lin Xi walked toward the school gate, Xu Wen detailed to her over the phone what had happened this morning in their courtyard and his mother's conversation with him.
Before the call was finished, Lin Xi arrived at the school gate.
"Is there no room for negotiation?" Lin Xi looked at Xu Wen hopefully. Besides Xu Wen, she didn't know who else they could rely on.
Xu Wen pondered for a moment and said, "Let's see. The current situation is to take it one step at a time. What I'm worried about now is how to tell Qinglan about this."
"We can't tell Qinglan right now. We have to wait until she gives birth. Anyway, we already know the outcome; whether we say it early or late, the result will be the same. We should focus on handling everything before the outcome is revealed."
Xu Wen nodded, and they both agreed to go see Qinglan first.
Just as Xu Wen and Lin Xi got into the car, they received a call from Jiang Liuying. She immediately asked Xu Wen, "What's going on with Qinglan?"
Jiang Liuying's voice was loud, and the phone echoed. Lin Xi could already hear Jiang Liuying's question; she whispered, "It seems everyone already knows. That's how it is these days—good news doesn't spread, but bad news spreads faster than cancer cells."
"It's complicated," Xu Wen said before advising Jiang Liuying not to pass this news on to Qinglan.
Meanwhile, in Qinglan's dormitory, chaos erupted as Hu Jiao'er and Shen Xiaomeng stared at Jiang Liuying, hoping that the news she got from Xu Wen was just a rumor.
But the truth was that everything was real! Like a bolt from the blue, it left the three of them stunned and speechless in the dormitory.
On another note, Xu Wen and Lin Xi also traveled in silence toward Qinglan's rented place. Along the way, they stopped by a supermarket to buy some groceries.
Once downstairs, they discussed with Xu Wen for a while about not telling Qinglan for now. They adjusted their emotions and pretended to be cheerful as they approached her door.
Xu Wen opened the door, and Lin Xi called out to Qinglan from outside, but there was no response from inside. Usually, Qinglan would be in the living room watching TV, just a wall separating them from the door. In the past, as soon as they reached the door, Qinglan would hear their footsteps and would typically be waiting at the entrance to take their shoes. Xu Wen and Lin Xi had reminded her several times not to move, especially in these last few days; each time they left, they instructed her to stay home and not do anything. Yet every time they returned and opened the door, she would still be standing there.
However, today felt different. When they opened the door, Qinglan was not at the entrance, but the TV in the living room was still on. The characters in the show were arguing loudly, but Lin Xi could still discern a faint sound of painful groans amidst the noise.
Lin Xi looked at Xu Wen in confusion and did not take the shoes Xu Wen handed her; instead, she rushed into the living room without changing her shoes.
Qinglan was lying on the floor of the living room, curled up with her hair disheveled. Her pale face was twisted in pain, and her weak groans were shallow and faint. There was a pool of blood on the floor, and a white phone was stained red halfway, a shocking sight.
"Lanlan!" Lin Xi shouted.
Xu Wen, following closely behind, quickly stepped forward to embrace her. "Qinglan." He had already pulled out his phone from his pocket.
A little over ten minutes later, an ambulance rushed past the entrance of the community.
Several hours later, a loud cry of a baby echoed from a hospital...
...
...
Six years later...
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