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墨書 Inktalez
The wind scattered her voice completely, and Mosen could not hear it.
After Mosen left, Jiang Liuying focused entirely on preparing for her interview and graduation project.
Before the winter break, the results for graduate school recommendations were announced, and all four recommended students were accepted. The classmates urged the four recommended students to treat them to a meal, so Jiang Liuying consulted Xu Wen.
Xu Wen said, "It's no big deal to treat everyone, but I probably won't have time to join. I'll cover the cost of the meal."
Jiang Liuying thought for a moment, realizing it was probably because of Qinglan. Everyone understood Xu Wen; he would definitely not mind paying for the meal and enjoyed spending time with his classmates. Therefore, his lack of enthusiasm this time could only be explained by Qinglan's situation. After Jiang Liuying relayed Xu Wen's words to the classmates, they all expressed understanding. Who knew that throughout their four years in college, he had always liked Qinglan? Now that Qinglan was at home on sick leave, with her condition unknown, he surely had no mood to enjoy himself with everyone.
Liuying couldn't help but think of Qinglan again. Xu Wen's behavior further convinced the classmates that Qinglan's situation was definitely not good. Whether she was genuinely ill or affected by An Shaojie's sudden departure abroad, it cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.
Before they knew it, summer vacation arrived, and the campus was deserted. The once lively campus turned quiet and desolate in just two days, leaving only tall French parasol trees standing silently in the wind with a few fluttering dry leaves.
On the eve of the holiday, Beijing experienced heavy snowfall, blanketing the entire campus in white. The students walked lonely through the snow before heading home in different directions.
Of course, Qinglan could not go home; she was now a heavily pregnant woman due to give birth after the Spring Festival. Before the break, she called her brother Liu Jiawei, who was working part-time in Shenzhen, to say she had taken a part-time job and would not be returning home for the winter break.
Liu Jiawei did not think much of it; as a graduating student himself, he understood that many graduates do not go home at this time due to internships or thesis work. Although he was in a vocational program and did not need to do a thesis project, he knew there were undergraduates at his school who had to complete graduation projects. They were also busy looking for jobs. Many graduates had already started working or were doing part-time or temporary jobs to gain experience for their upcoming formal job searches.
He also wouldn't return home immediately after the break; he mentioned he needed to help his master for about ten days and would likely return home just before the New Year. He assured Qinglan that he had already sent word through fellow villagers working in Shenzhen to inform their father and mother about her situation so that she could take care of herself without worry. Later on, he would have the villagers tell their parents that she wouldn’t be coming home.
Qinglan said, "When you go home for the New Year, make sure to listen to Father and Grandma well. Don’t shout at her anymore; take good care of them and celebrate the New Year joyfully."
Liu Jiawei said, "I know, you just need to take care of yourself."
At this point, Qinglan's voice began to choke up, but she held back her tears, not wanting to make a sound. After a moment of silence on the phone, Qinglan decided to hang up because she was afraid that if she spoke another word, she would break down completely.
Just as she was about to hang up, she heard a voice on the line, "Is An Shaojie okay?"
Qinglan's body suddenly stiffened. She covered her mouth to prevent herself from crying out. She wanted to say she didn't know, but those three words just wouldn't come out clearly. In the end, she hung up the phone.
After pouring out her feelings, Qinglan was already in tears. Life is truly unpredictable and full of twists; the impulsive and reckless brother who used to anger Father and Mother and annoy the Villagers has now become a diligent and considerate son. Meanwhile, she, who was seen as a good child and student by her parents, relatives, classmates, and teachers, had done something disgraceful and could now only hide in the shadows, unable to face anyone or even return home to care for her family.
Although she had acted on impulse and stubbornly decided to keep the child as if protesting against something, Qinglan knew deep down that she hadn't really thought through what her future path would be or how she would live her life. How would she face her family, relatives, classmates, and teachers? How could she explain her mistakes to them? Most importantly, she didn't know whether her choice was right or wrong; the things she fantasized about and clung to were uncertain.
Qinglan gently touched her soon-to-be bulging belly, squinting at the sky. The sun was lazily bright and somewhat blinding; it was rare for the sky to be so blue and the clouds so white, drifting leisurely.
During her first year of work when the New Year holiday came around, Simple had taken leave early from the company and joyfully returned home because Chen Yang was waiting for her in the Provincial Capital. She had discussed with Chen Yang that during this holiday they would visit each other's parents. Excitedly, she didn't even think about inviting Qinglan to go home with her. Moreover, she had already guessed that Qinglan had broken up with An Shaojie and gotten together with Xu Wen. She understood how people in love felt; they wanted to be together all the time. Since the National Day holiday began, she and Xu Wen had almost refused to meet anyone else, living happily in their sweet little world. Xu Wen's family was in Beijing; Qinglan definitely wouldn't return home during the holiday anyway. Besides, they hadn't even reached the holiday yet; it was uncertain whether Qinglan would go home or not. It was best not to disturb their little world together. So Simple only called Qinglan the night before going home to say that she would be returning tomorrow. Then she casually asked when Qinglan planned to go home and if she wanted to come back with her.
Of course, this was followed by a probing question; Simple wanted to prove whether her judgment was accurate enough—whether her ability to analyze people's psychology was strong enough and whether her ability to judge situations was sharp enough. This was part of a training project she had just completed at work regarding observing and analyzing customer psychology and making decisions based on developments.
"I'm not on holiday yet; how can I go back with you?" Qinglan pretended to exclaim.
On the other end of the line, Simple burst into laughter, feeling proud of her accurate judgment as she said, "Alright then! I knew you would respond like this even before I called. I could even guess your tone and demeanor! It's not because you're still working; it's because you can't bear to leave Xu Wen!" Simple laughed even more heartily. Qinglan forced a sad smile; when did she become such a good actress? She couldn't tell reality from fiction anymore—not only could she speak convincingly but others could also sense her tone and demeanor without seeing her. It was truly sad; after genuinely loving someone, it turned out she'd learned how to pretend instead. Even if it was fake, she still had to keep acting. Qinglan smiled playfully and said, "Sure."
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