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墨書 Inktalez
It was early morning again. Cheng Qiuyi was peacefully sleeping while holding Liu Shuhan, when the timely cries of baby Song Luyao rang out.
In the blink of an eye, Song Luyao had been tormenting them for four days. Liu Shuhan nestled in Cheng Qiuyi's arms and covered her ears in despair. "Qiu Yi, make the baby stop crying. I'm so tired..."
Cheng Qiuyi also irritably covered her head with a pillow. "When will this life come to an end..."
For four nights, Song Luyao had cried on schedule, and not only did she cry, but she insisted on being held by Liu Shuhan. Once held, she wouldn't let go; this little one was very sensitive—if she was put down for less than two minutes, she would start crying again. This had resulted in Cheng Qiuyi and Liu Shuhan not getting a good night's sleep for four days and five nights. Liu Shuhan had taken leave from work to take care of her, and after a few days, the only feeling they had was that taking care of a child was much more exhausting than delivering packages.
"Fortunately, you and I can't have children," Liu Shuhan said while holding Song Luyao in one arm and supporting the bottle with the other to feed her. She felt extremely relieved. "With such a little tyrant, even if I had ten of myself, I wouldn't be able to manage."
Cheng Qiuyi had nothing much to contribute, so she just sat beside her, yawning and making light conversation. "Who was it that insisted on keeping this little tyrant? Now you know what it's like?"
"I didn't know Yao Yao could cry so much at such a young age! If I had known, I wouldn't have kept her even if it killed me."
As if responding to her godmothers' complaints, the little tyrant Song Luyao, while drinking milk, grinned widely with her toothless mouth.
Liu Shuhan poked Song Luyao's nose. "Laughing away, my little tyrant! Do you know your godmothers haven't slept well for days?"
After finally coaxing Song Luyao to sleep, it was already seven in the morning. Liu Shuhan climbed onto the bed to catch up on sleep while Cheng Qiuyi got ready and went downstairs to run, planning to bring back some breakfast.
As she passed through the living room, she saw Cheng Boming practicing horse stance.
Cheng Qiuyi and Liu Shuhan had been busy with Song Luyao these past few days and hadn’t had time to take him to school. Cheng Qiuyi simply took a week off for him. Cheng Boming didn’t seem to mind; he practiced horse stance every morning and evening and spent his days studying from textbooks and doing exercises—completely unlike the chubby boy Cheng Qiuyi remembered.
Cheng Qiuyi walked over and kicked Cheng Boming's backside, causing him to stumble and fall onto the floor.
"What are you doing!" he shouted as he got up.
"The most important word in standing horse stance is stability. With your knees weak and legs unsteady, you call that a horse stance? The old lady practicing Tai Chi downstairs is better than you."
Cheng Boming took it as Cheng Qiuyi deliberately picking on him and changed positions to continue holding the horse stance.
"Pull your butt back, keep your upper body straight, raise your hands level, and make sure your thighs and calves form a ninety-degree angle."
He silently adjusted his posture according to what Cheng Qiuyi said, and Cheng Qiuyi nodded before heading downstairs.
On her run, Cheng Qiuyi encountered Yuan Ying.
It had been a while since they last met; Cheng Qiuyi thought she had returned to A Country but was surprised to find her still in C City.
Yuan Ying honked her horn at the running Cheng Qiuyi and leaned out of the car to tease, "Hey beautiful, interested in grabbing a cup of coffee together?"
Cheng Qiuyi had been running for over half an hour without losing her breath. She turned to look at Yuan Ying, "A-Ying? Oh, where are you off to this time, trying to charm some girl? You even bought a car."
"Pfft, that's called pursuing someone. What do you know?" Yuan Ying opened the car door, signaling for Cheng Qiuyi to get in. Cheng Qiuyi stopped, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and got into the car.
"Shall we find a place for tea?" Yuan Ying asked.
Cheng Qiuyi casually draped her towel over her neck. "Turn left up ahead and stop by the dumpling shop for a bit."
"Got it, so you really see me as your driver now?"
Cheng Qiuyi ignored her as Yuan Ying parked the car in front of the dumpling shop. Seeing Cheng Qiuyi carrying soup dumplings, steamed buns, soy milk, and fried dough sticks in both hands, she laughed, "Is your Shu Han arguing with you again and not cooking? Can you finish all this?"
Cheng Qiuyi leaned back in her chair and sighed, "You have no idea, I have a family member visiting."
"What happened? What could make you so worried?"
Cheng Qiuyi shook her head. "Never mind that. How about you? Have you completed your resignation procedures?"
"Yeah." Yuan Ying's craving for cigarettes kicked in as she twirled one in her hand. "I still have some documents to sign back in A Country. I'm leaving tomorrow; I came to say goodbye."
"That was fast?" Cheng Qiuyi was surprised. "At least wait until Shu Han and I are done with these busy days to see you off."
"Christmas is coming up soon. Once the company has its holiday break, who knows how long it will take to get everything done? Besides, I'll be back after I finish my business this time; I'm planning to settle down back home."
"Why not come to C City? You'd have someone to look after you."
Yuan Ying declined. "I want to go back to S City; it's time to clean my parents' grave."
Cheng Qiuyi understood. Yuan Ying had been living a carefree life for years, appearing to enjoy herself while actually leading a more ascetic life than anyone else. She had a knot in her heart that she hadn't unraveled for over a decade.
"Going back is good; after all, it's home." Cheng Qiuyi took the cigarette from Yuan Ying's hand. "Quit it."
"After more than ten years of smoking addiction, it's not that easy."
"That's still easier than forgetting someone."
Cheng Qiuyi rolled down the car window and with a precise arc, flicked the cigarette into the trash can two meters away. "A-Ying, find another one," she said. The words were harsh, but Cheng Qiuyi truly did not want to watch Yuan Ying suffer like this.
Yuan Ying scoffed, "If Liu Shuhan died, would you find another one?"
Cheng Qiuyi lowered her eyes.
No, I would die with her.
"You would die with her," Yuan Ying said as she opened the car door. "Get out, I'm leaving."
As she was about to drive off, Yuan Ying added, "Ye Jing's case goes to final trial next week."
"Got it."
"Then that's it. Goodbye."
The world is filled with countless sufferings, yet love is the most tormenting of all. Others cannot help; one can only carve out a bloody path for oneself.
When Cheng Qiuyi's patience with Song Luyao reached its limit, Yan Cailing finally arrived to pick them up.
Liu Shuhan and Cheng Qiuyi stood at the door, both sporting dark circles under their eyes from lack of sleep, which startled Yan Cailing. "What happened to you two? You look like you haven't slept in days."
Cheng Qiuyi didn't say a word; she handed the baby to Yan Cailing and tossed the packed baby supplies to A-Zhi beside her, then slammed the door shut and pulled Liu Shuhan back inside to sleep deeply.
"What... what happened to this couple?" Yan Cailing turned to ask A-Zhi.
A-Zhi shook his head in confusion.
Their original intention was to help the children develop a bond with Cheng Qiuyi and Liu Shuhan, and they even encouraged them to have a child. Unexpectedly, it backfired; it seemed that not only did Cheng Qiuyi dislike children, but Liu Shuhan did as well.
"Is Yao Yao really that terrifying?"
A-Zhi continued to shake his head. His daughter was the cutest little angel in the world; how could she be that scary?
...
On the day of Ye Jing's trial, Cheng Qiuyi attended along with Liu Shuhan and Qin Jiang.
Throughout the proceedings, Ye Jing's eyes were fixed on Cheng Qiuyi. She looked haggard, her hair had grown longer, and the ends no longer rested at her neck, falling softly around her. She had lost her once imperious pride, standing quietly like a young person just coming of age.
Ye Jing had done many unsavory things in her early years, daring to engage in anything that even made Cheng Qiuyi feel uneasy. In the end, the court sentenced her to a suspended death sentence.
A suspended death sentence generally means she wouldn't be executed, but even so, Ye Jing's life was essentially over.
A once-prominent figure ended up like this; the entire C City was filled with sighs for quite some time.
Qin Jiang leaned on his cane as he listened to the verdict and walked at the back of the crowd after the court adjourned. The teacher's laxity led to Ye Jing's current state; Qin Jiang could only blame himself for being too indulgent with her in the past.
"Master." After leaving the courthouse, Cheng Qiuyi greeted Qin Jiang.
"Teacher." Liu Shuhan hesitated before also greeting him. She felt somewhat intimidated by this former teacher and kept her head down quietly as she listened to Cheng Qiuyi chat with him.
Qin Jiang nodded in return and glanced at the court, "Different people require different teachings; I forgot that there are a hundred ways to educate a hundred people. I owe A Jing an apology."
"Master, everything that has happened to her is her own doing."
"I only know how to teach but not how to nurture. Fortunately, I have only taken in two disciples in my life; otherwise, I don't know how many lives I would have delayed." Qin Jiang coughed a few times and said to Liu Shuhan, "Shu Han, I have been rude to you in the past. Please don't take it to heart for Qiu Yi's sake."
"Teacher, don't say that! Everything you did was for Qiu Yi's benefit; we all know that!"
Qin Jiang self-deprecatingly replied, "I thought I was doing well for both of them, yet in the end, they both suffered greatly. It's just old age catching up with me."
"By the way, I ran into your mother, Lady Liu, a few days ago."
No one had ever referred to Xu Ruyun as Lady Liu before; when Qin Jiang said it, Liu Shuhan was momentarily stunned before reacting. "My mom? Is she doing well?"
"She spoke with great energy, so you needn't worry. However... it seems she is trying to arrange a blind date for you."
Liu Shuhan's face turned red and pale in turns, and Cheng Qiuyi's expression was also not very pleasant.
"I understand your thoughts; delaying things can work for now, but some matters cannot be postponed."
Liu Shuhan and Cheng Qiuyi exchanged glances, their fingers tightly intertwined. "Thank you, Teacher. I know what to do now."
Later, Cheng Qiuyi visited Ye Jing once more.
Ye Jing sat across from Cheng Qiuyi in prison attire, separated by glass.
"I thought the junior sister I watched grow up would be so heartless, Qiu Yi, but you still came."
"This is my first time here, and it will also be my last."
Ye Jing smiled bitterly. "I'm already satisfied that you could come."
"I'm just asking you, how did you know that my mother was killed by Cheng Tianhong?"
"I wanted to have you, so naturally I learned as much as I could about you." Ye Jing unconsciously revealed his usual mischievous smile. "Who knew you would still escape?"
"Crazy."
Ye Jing clenched his fist and slammed it against the glass. "Not crazy enough. I'd rather be shattered than remain whole. It would have been better if you had died at my hands back then than for Liu Shuhan to benefit today!"
Truly unrepentant.
Cheng Qiuyi turned and walked away. She should have known there was nothing to say to a madman like Ye Jing.
Ye Jing pressed his forehead against the glass, his eyes reddening as he laughed. To be shattered rather than remain whole—how could that be so easy to achieve? Qiu Yi, it turns out I also find it hard to let go; even the cruel-hearted Ye Jing finds it hard to let go.
Letting go or not, one misstep leads to another; there's no turning back now.
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