1987 My Era

Chapter 643, The Two Women Break Off Their Ties and Arrive

The second major event on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival was the death of Liu An.

Or, to put it another way, Liu An was found on the verge of death in an alley near Wujiaochang, and later died in the hospital despite attempts to save him.

According to rumors coming from the hospital, Liu An is in a terrible state—so terrible that his fate is practically a weaker version of Lady Qi's.

After the incident, based on Liu An's injuries, the police immediately suspected Li Guoyi, but they were unable to find any concrete evidence at the scene.

Where was Li Guoyi at this time?
This guy is in the dorm. He's smoking and playing cards with Zhou Zhangming, Li Guang, Hu Ping, Zhang Bing, and Tang Dailing, laughing and joking as usual.

Seeing that Li Guoyi was losing every game he played, losing more than 20 yuan in a row, Zhou Zhangming advised, "Old Li, you're having a bad day. Stop playing. If you keep losing, the rest of us winners will feel embarrassed."

Based on Li Guoyi's past temperament, he would definitely not listen to advice and would definitely shout that he would fight to the end.

But today, Li Guoyi was different from usual. He looked at his watch, then put down the cards in his hand and said, "Brother Zhou is right, we can't play these cards."

As he spoke, he pulled out a pack of premium Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, opened it, and said to his buddies, "It's a pity that Uncle Heng isn't in the dorm, so he can't join me for one last cigarette."

Hearing this, the roommates were stunned.

Li Guang asked abruptly, "What do you mean, 'last cigarette'? You're quitting smoking? Damn it! I'm not saying this to be mean, but Lao Li, you can't quit smoking."

Li Guoyi grinned and said, "Coward! Who said I was going to quit smoking? I'm going to heaven! Hey! I heard there are lots of beautiful women there."

Zhang Bing, Zhou Zhangming, Hu Ping, and Tang Dailing looked at each other in bewilderment.

Finally, Hu Ping frowned and said, "Old Li, stop talking nonsense. You can't just use the word 'heaven' carelessly."

"Hehehe, Brother Hu is right. I was just being cheeky. Here, I bought these cigarettes especially for you. Let's all try them." Li Guoyi offered cigarettes to everyone.

Everyone felt that Li Guoyi was acting a bit strange today, but they still didn't refuse and took the cigarettes and gathered around to smoke.

Halfway through his cigarette, Li Guoyi, seemingly sensing his impending doom, suddenly stood up, grabbed a stack of books from the bedside, picked up "Water Margin" and read it for a while, then threw it into the trash can: "I'm still too soft-hearted. I can't be as decisive as Song Jiang and Yang Xiong. This lousy book is better left unread."

He then picked up the Criminal Law, glanced at it, tossed it aside, and shook his head, saying, "What a waste of time! What a waste of time!"

Finally, Li Guoyi held up four or five Buddhist scriptures, touched each one with his right hand, and chuckled as he finished, saying, "Hehe, brothers, when you get promoted and become rich, remember to burn some beautiful women for me."

Just as the group was still dazed, the dormitory door suddenly opened. A school leader walked in, followed by their counselor Liu Jia, and then a group of police officers.

There was also a pregnant woman in the middle.

Upon seeing Li Guoyi, the police officers spontaneously surrounded him.

The lead police officer pointed at Li Guoyi and asked the pregnant woman, "Is it him?"

The pregnant woman frantically examined Li Guoyi, then nodded repeatedly, took two steps back, and stammered in horror, "It's...it's him!"

Li Guoyi offered no resistance. Before being taken away, he tilted his head and winked at the pregnant woman, saying, "You are a person with great fortune. Raise your child well."

The criminal law was not studied for nothing. Originally, Li Guoyi had done this perfectly, and the police could not even find a trace of evidence of the crime at the scene.

Physical evidence could not be found, but through interviews, a witness was found, and the only witness was this pregnant woman.

At that moment, Li Guoyi also noticed the pregnant woman who had suddenly appeared. When he walked up to her, she was terrified. She sat on the ground, trembling and teary-eyed, too scared to even beg for mercy.

But Li Guoyi only stood in front of her for a moment before letting her go. He thought of Le Yao, who had once had an abortion for him, the thing he regretted most in his life. So he stopped in his most violent moment and did not give in to an innocent person.

When Li Guoyi was taken away, everyone in dormitory 325 was stunned.

Hu Ping asked his advisor, Liu Jia, "Teacher, what law did Lao Li break?"

The counselor said, "This has nothing to do with you. Focus on your studies."

The school leaders and counselors comforted the group for a while and then left.

The dormitory fell into dead silence. Five grown men stood in the middle of the room, not uttering a single word for a long time.

Later, Zhou Zhangming picked up the criminal law and "Water Margin" from the trash can, and suddenly his heart skipped a beat. He thought, "Old Li, Old Li wouldn't have done something to Liu An, would she?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bing, Tang Dailing, Li Guang, and Hu Ping all shuddered.

The next second, Tang Dailing ran towards the door, "I'm going to check if Liu An is in the law school's men's dormitory?"

"I'll go with you." Hu Ping followed after them.

After Tang Dailing and Hu Ping left, Zhang Bing said in a low voice, "Actually, Lao Li had a good hand today. He got a lot of good cards, but he played them all separately. He let them win."

Because there were too many people and no seats available, and because Zhang Bing cherished every penny and was reluctant to play cards, he just watched the others play from the sidelines.

So Zhang Bing saw through every hand Li Guoyi played. At first, he couldn't understand it, but now he's realized that Li Guoyi never intended to win.

Zhou Zhangming stopped in Bengbu, saying, "No wonder I lost so much. I knew Lao Li's card skills weren't that bad."

Some things, once they happen, can't be hidden. Especially when it's someone as alive and well as Liu An, who will never come back. Not long after, this shocking news spread.

When Wei Xiaozhu heard the news, she was having dinner with Dai Qing in their dormitory. The two girls had brought the food back to eat.

When Liu Yanling rushed back to the dormitory to tell the two girls the news, there was a loud "bang," and Wei Xiaozhu's face turned pale, and the bowl and chopsticks in her hands fell to the ground.

Dai Qing and Liu Yanling asked in unison with concern, "Xiaozhu, are you alright?"

It took Wei Xiaozhu a long time to come to her senses before she managed to say, "It's nothing."

For the next two hours, Wei Xiaozhu stood by the window, gazing at the horizon like a wooden sculpture, without saying a word.

Dai Qing stayed by her side silently.

Liu Yanling cleaned the house and stayed by her side.

Worried about Xiaozhu, Sun Ye, Zhao Meng, Cai Yuanyuan, and Wei Sisi, who gradually learned the news, all rushed back to dormitory 107 from various corners of the school.

Seeing the worried looks in her sisters' eyes, their concern for her, and their attempts to distract her, Wei Xiaozhu was very touched. She forced a smile and said, "I want to go for a walk. Who will come with me?"

The girls looked at each other, and finally all their eyes fell on Dai Qing.

They all felt that Wei Xiaozhu's words were implicitly directed at Dai Qing.

That's true. In the dormitory, Dai Qing and Wei Xiaozhu were the closest. They had been inseparable since their freshman year and were like sisters.

No, the two women's relationship is even better than that of biological sisters.

After leaving Girls' Dormitory Building No. 12, Dai Qing asked, "Where would you like to go for a walk?"

Wei Xiaozhu said, "Yanyuan, I want to go to my aunt's place for a while."

Dai Qing guessed as much and followed them toward Yan Garden.

Unfortunately, Wei Xiaoquan wasn't home today, but he ran into Bai Wanying in his rented room on the first floor. The latter was folding origami cranes by the window.

As Dai Qing passed by the window, she peeked out and asked Bai Wanying, "Wanying, why are you closing up shop so early today?"

Suddenly being called by name, Bai Wanying, who was engrossed in folding origami cranes, shuddered. Turning around and seeing Wei Xiaozhu and Dai Qingshi outside the window, she immediately said, "You're here! Come in and sit down. I'm folding origami cranes for Li Guoyi."

Wei Xiaozhu walked in: "You've heard about it too?"

Bai Wanying was calmer than everyone else. While folding paper cranes, she told the two girls to pour themselves some tea: "It doesn't matter whether you hear it or not. When I learned that Li Guoyi had been frequently going to Jing'an Temple to burn incense in the past month, I knew that this day was not far away. I just didn't expect it to be so soon. I thought it would be during the summer vacation."

Upon hearing this, Dai Qing immediately recalled a scene from a few days ago on the bus: Li Heng, she, and Li Guoyi had just bumped into each other. On the bus, she had asked Li Guoyi several questions about burning incense, but Li Guoyi just laughed it off, so she didn't take it too seriously.

Recalling the past, Dai Qing, belatedly realizing what had happened, asked Bai Wanying, "You really guessed it?"

"It's not really a guess, just a woman's intuition."

Bai Wanying expressed her thoughts: "Li Guoyi is usually a joking and carefree person. He always treats everyone with a condescending attitude. I never believed he would believe in Buddhism. Unless he wanted to do something bad and was seeking solace."

Wei Xiaozhu and Dai Qing remained silent, staring intently at Bai Wanying.

Bai Wanying looked up at the two women: "Do you think I'm too cold-blooded? You clearly sensed that Li Guoyi was going to do something bad, but you didn't stop him?"

Before the two women could reply, Bai Wanying continued, "When he went to help out at the braised food shop, I tried to persuade him many times, both openly and secretly, but to little avail."

In fact, it was all preordained.

Given Li Guoyi's personality, none of us could stop him. Besides, I couldn't possibly use this baseless woman's intuition to tie him up or restrict his freedom. That would be breaking the law.

Wei Xiaozhu asked, "What are these origami cranes?"

Bai Wanying said, "I just dozed off by the window and dreamed of Li Guoyi. He was dressed in a funeral shroud and stood by the window, asking me to fold a jar of origami cranes for him as a prayer. He said he was a terrible person in this life and wanted to be a good person in the next."

Wei Xiaozhu and Dai Qing faced each other in silence.

After a long silence, Dai Qing asked, "Aren't you afraid to have this kind of dream in broad daylight?"

Bai Wanying said, "I heard that he let the pregnant woman go, and I believe he won't harm me."

I heard that Wei Xiaozhu and Dai Qing were sitting at the desk, the three of them folding origami cranes together.

The glass jars weren't big; they were the kind used for canned oranges. With many people working together, they stacked the jars together in no time.

Wei Xiaozhu asked, "How do we deal with them?"

They refer to origami cranes.

Bai Wanying said, "We'll burn incense for him on the seventh day after his death."

These words were somewhat heavy, and the three women felt short of breath.

After a while, Wei Xiaozhu stood up and said, "Let's not go inside, it's a bit stuffy. Let's go for a walk."

Bai Wanying said, "I just wanted to go to Lushan Village, you can push me there."

The girls had a very good relationship, so Bai Wanying didn't beat around the bush and just said what she meant.

Wei Xiaozhu asked, "Are you going to see Li Heng?"

Bai Wanying nodded: "I heard he has a telescope. I really want to see the vast universe tonight, so I won't have so many random thoughts."

Thinking about it, it makes sense. Faced with the boundless universe, Earth is just a grain of sand, and humans are just dust in the universe. Reflecting on this, one might suddenly realize that the joys and sorrows of human life are just that—just that.

....
The third thing was that Yu Shuheng ran into Huang Zhaoyi in a high-end brand store in a bustling downtown area.

At that moment, Yu Shuheng pushed open the door and entered.

Huang Zhaoyi was paying the bill and preparing to leave.

And then, by sheer coincidence, they bumped into each other.

Yu Shuheng glanced at the belt in Huang Zhaoyi's hand and immediately understood: the other party was choosing a birthday gift for Li Heng.

Actually, Teacher Yu also came to buy a birthday present. But after seeing the belt in Huang Zhaoyi's hand, she instantly lost interest in buying anything from that store.

Yu Shuheng asked, "Are you free?"

Huang Zhaoyi was somewhat surprised, thinking that they would just pass each other by like this, but she didn't expect that the man surnamed Yu would take the initiative to talk to her. She said, "Yes."

Yu Shuheng extended an invitation: "Shall we go sit in the coffee shop across the street?"

Huang Zhaoyi said, "I'm sorry, I don't like drinking coffee."

Yu Shuheng squinted at her, not believing for a second that Huang Zhaoyi didn't like coffee.

Because when Liu Bei secretly investigated Yangpu Xinwo before, she found a lot of coffee beans and a set of coffee grinding tools in the house.

From this, we can infer that Huang Zhaoyi not only loves drinking coffee, but also has a great deal of knowledge and expertise about it.

Facing the imposing Yu Shuheng, Huang Zhaoyi was not intimidated at all. As she walked towards the door, she said, "I know you love tea. I know there's a nice teahouse nearby."

Yu Shuheng smiled and followed.

Huang Zhaoyi then drove a Santana and Yu Shuheng drove a Mercedes, arriving one after the other at an old street teahouse.

Upon entering the teahouse, they ordered a pot of Biluochun tea, and the two women sat across from each other at a table.

Yu Shuheng asked curiously, "You seem to really like that Santana?"

She knew Huang Zhaoyi; she owned four or five nice cars, but Huang Zhaoyi often drove a Santana.

"Ah."

Huang Zhaoyi nodded and said, "The car itself isn't anything special, but it's very meaningful to me."

Hearing this was very meaningful, Yu Shuheng recalled what Li Heng had once told her: he had no choice but to have a relationship with Huang Zhaoyi because Liu Yue had drugged him.

Could it have happened in that Santana outside?

Yu Shuheng asked, "Does Li Heng like riding in that car?"

Huang Zhaoyi hesitated for a moment before replying, "It's alright. He doesn't care which car it is; he's more interested in my body."

Upon hearing this, Yu Shuheng realized that the other party had misunderstood, thinking that she was not asking about the car, but rather whether Li Heng liked to ride in her car.

The previously peaceful atmosphere suddenly turned tense and volatile due to this misunderstanding.

Yu Shuheng immediately dropped the pretense of politeness: "I heard that you pursued him relentlessly before without success, all thanks to Liu Yue drugging you?"

Instead of answering, Huang Zhaoyi asked, "Did you sleep with him?"

Yu Shuheng held the teacup in both hands. "What do you want to say?"

Huang Zhaoyi said, "He has done it to me no less than 10 times, but Liu Yue only drugged me once."

The meaning is simple: drugging could only lead to one sexual encounter, but subsequent encounters cannot be explained by drugging. The only explanation is that Li Heng fell in love with her body.

Therefore, whether or not she was drugged is no longer important; as long as the outcome is what she wants, that's all that matters.

Yu Shuheng smiled slightly upon hearing this: "I have a habit when I eat; I like to eat the less desirable parts first, and save the good ones for later to enjoy."

In other words, Li Heng is only eating the inferior food now to whet his appetite; he hasn't even had a taste of the good stuff yet. Once he starts eating the good food in the future, he will naturally lose interest in the inferior food.

Huang Zhaoyi had just used her full power up close, and she immediately retaliated with a ruthless retort.

Huang Zhaoyi said, "I can't agree with your way of eating. I've never eaten anything bad since I was a child. Every bite has been the best."

Despite Huang Zhaoyi's apparent weakness and lack of confidence in front of Li Heng, she is, after all, a woman of the Huang family, the most beautiful woman in the Huang and Liu families for three generations. With so many accolades, how could she be an easy person?
The reason why Consort Huang was so subservient to Li Heng was for one reason only: she loved him to the core. Because of the illegitimate nature of her rise to power and her age, she was somewhat insecure and anxious.

Point to point!
Both women, born into wealthy and influential families, have their own pride. If they don't fall out, they can live peacefully and amicably.

Once the facade crumbles, there's no room for sentimentality, and no one will back down in public.

Yu Shuheng took an elegant sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "Li Heng is indeed a top-quality man. Not only do you want to have him, but many women do too. Haven't you ever thought about why Liu Yue drugged him before she left the country? Was it really all for your benefit?"

Huang Zhaoyi asked, "What do you mean?"

Yu Shuheng said, "You know perfectly well what I mean. Li Heng is in good health and has strong abilities in that area, so it won't be a big deal if you have a taste. But you'd better keep an eye on Liu Yue and not let any scandalous things happen in your Huang family."

Huang Zhaoyi wanted to retort, but the words caught in her throat. She wasn't stupid, because she had also suspected Xiao Liuyue's motives.

She had even thought more than once: what would Xiao Liuyue have done if she hadn't been able to reach Xiao Liuyue by phone that day?
The answer is almost obvious: Xiao Liuyue will most likely sleep with Li Heng.

The private room suddenly fell silent, each of the two women lost in their own thoughts.

After a long silence, Consort Huang asked, "You came to see me today just for this?"

Yu Shuheng said, "Yes, but not entirely."

Huang Zhaoyi looked at her.

Yu Shuheng said slowly, "You bought a villa on Wukang Road and are neighbors with Xiao Han. Are you betting your life on Xiao Han?"

Huang Zhaoyi was a little angry: "Are you investigating me again?"

The word "again" not only exposes the past in a bloody way, but also widens the wound now.

Yu Shuheng shook her head and said frankly, "I did investigate you before, but I withdrew my team halfway through. But no matter what, it was my fault."

As for the villa on Wukang Road, it was a coincidence. I happened to have my eye on your house and intended to buy it, but I never expected that you were the owner.

Huang Zhaoyi inexplicably believed this. Although the two women were rivals in love and did not get along, they both had their own pride. They did what they did and disdained to lie.

Huang Zhaoyi composed herself and asked, "Did you go there for Grandpa Ba? Or for Xiao Han? Or both?"

Li Heng is Ba Jin's last disciple, and they usually have a close relationship. It would be very beneficial to become Ba Jin's neighbor.

Yu Shuheng said ambiguously, "I promised him that I wouldn't use any tricks on his confidantes. But the premise is that his confidantes follow the rules."

Huang Zhaoyi stared intently into her eyes, and understood the intentions of Yu Shuheng's other half.

A death stare, Yu Shuheng didn't back down at all, silently looking back at the other person.

In a fleeting moment, Huang Zhaoyi sneered, "If I were a few years younger, and you dared to say that to me today, I would tear your mouth apart."

After saying this, Huang Zhaoyi slammed the teacup she was holding onto the table, grabbed her bag with her right hand, and got up to leave.

Watching her departing figure and the mess of tea on the table, Yu Shuheng appeared remarkably calm, as if everything was within her expectations.

After calmly finishing her tea, Yu Shuheng placed a banknote on the table and left.

Yu Shuheng took the initiative to contact Huang Zhaoyi today for two reasons:
First, remind Consort Huang to keep a close eye on Liu Yue, both now and in the future, and not to let her guard down.

Clearly, Consort Huang took this to heart.

Yu Shuheng's second objective, gained through the villa on Wukang Road, was to understand Huang Zhaoyi's intentions and place her bets on Xiao Han. This was extremely disadvantageous for her.

This is also detrimental to Li Heng.

In Yu Shuheng's world: Li Heng's love of playing around is a fact, and it can't be changed overnight. Since it can't be changed, she'll just silently follow behind him and protect him.

Therefore, she opposed Huang Zhaoyi supporting Xiao Han to disrupt the current situation, as this would disturb Li Heng's mind, distract him, and have an immeasurable impact on his golden creative career.

Of course, all of this is from Yu Shuheng's perspective.

She didn't know that Li Heng was reborn. She didn't know that Li Heng could write so effortlessly.

I don't know that Xiao Han was Li Heng's legal wife in his previous life.

They simply thought Xiao Han wasn't as honest as Mai Sui, and they simply couldn't allow anyone to distract Li Heng during his prime creative years.

If Huang Zhaoyi's act of setting aside her dignity to be completely obedient to Li Heng and accommodating him in everything is an extreme form of love, then this is an example of love.

Even if it meant offending Huang Zhaoyi, Yu Shuheng's willingness to give him a peaceful environment was another form of extreme love.

.....
On the other side, Lushan Village.

When Wei Xiaozhu and Dai Qing pushed Bai Wanying to the end of the alley, the building at number 26 was locked, and Li Heng was not home.

Upon hearing the news of Lao Li's accident, Li Heng rushed to dormitory 325 to find out what was going on.

When he learned that Li Guoyi had willingly been taken away by the police, he immediately gave up his idea of ​​going to Principal Sun's house.

Because the matter is very clear: Li Guoyi did not resist, and there are witnesses present, which means that Li Guoyi was the one who did Liu An's thing, and Old Li has also directly admitted it.

Tang Dailing and Hu Ping left the male dormitory of the law school and returned.

After entering, Tang Dailing said in a hoarse voice, "I want to drink tonight, who's going to keep me company?"

The roommates looked at each other, remained silent, and then followed each other out of the dormitory, heading desolately towards Old Li's Restaurant.

Throughout the entire dinner, no one made a sound, no one talked about the pretty girls at school as usual, and no one told dirty jokes. They just drank, one glass after another.

By the end of the drinking session, everyone was pretty much drunk.

At this moment, Zhang Bing slammed his wine glass upside down on the table, sighed, and said, "I'm the oldest in the dorm, six or seven years older than all of you. It's my fault for not keeping a close eye on Lao Li, sigh..."

As he spoke, Zhang Bing burst into tears.

Even Tang Dailing, the most righteous of them all, shed tears.

The others remained silent, all feeling uneasy.

Even if Li Guoyi is not a good person, they have been together day and night for two years, haven't they?
I don't know how the drinking party ended, but everyone had drunk quite a bit. Those who could hold their liquor drank baijiu (Chinese liquor), while those who couldn't spontaneously switched to beer. In the end, the six of them, supporting each other, staggered back to Fudan University.

As they entered the school gate, Zhou Zhangming asked, "Old Heng, are you going back to your dorm tonight? Or are you going to Lushan Village?"

Li Heng rubbed his throbbing temples: "I have something to do tomorrow morning, so I need to prepare tonight. It's getting late, so I'll go back to Lushan Village. After I'm done with this busy period, I'll go back to my dorm for a while."

Li Heng agreed to go back to the dormitory for a while, a request made by everyone at the dinner table.

Without saying a word, Zhang Bing and his four companions personally escorted him to the entrance of the alley in Lushan Village, watched him enter the alley, and then turned back home.

As he slowly made his way to the end of the alley, Li Heng was a little dazed. He looked up at the women on the upper floor.

At this moment, Sun Manning, Wei Xiaozhu, Dai Qing, and Bai Wanying were all in the attic of Building No. 26, some chatting and others fiddling with their binoculars.

Sun Manning, with her sharp eyes, was the first to spot Li Heng. Leaning on the railing, she asked with a grin, "Hey! Li Heng, where did you go? With so many beautiful women at home, you must have gone out to pick up girls again."

Li Heng rolled his eyes and shouted drunkenly, "Stop babbling and come down to open the door."

"Oh, oh!" Sun Manning said twice and quickly ran down to open the door.

Opening the courtyard gate, Sun Manning sniffed the air. "How much did you drink? You smell so strongly of alcohol."

Li Heng replied, "10 bottles of beer."

Sun Manning circled around him, then realized what he meant: "Drinking with your roommates? Because of Li Guoyi?"

Li Heng is right.

Upon hearing this, Sun Manning stopped teasing him and hurriedly reached out to support him.

Li Heng glanced at her sideways and said in a daze, "Don't get so close."

Sun Manning whispered in her ear, "Was it because I was too generous that you were distracted?"

Li Heng rolled his eyes again, utterly exasperated with this girl. Sun Manning helped him to the sofa on the second floor and poured him a glass of iced tea.

Li Heng asked, "Where are Ye Ning and Shi He? Why aren't they here?"

Sun Manning said, "Shihe's birthday is tomorrow, and we're planning to cook a big meal. We're preparing some ingredients in advance, such as salted goose. Ningning is helping out, and I'm here to keep Xiaozhu and the others company."

Li Heng asked, "Have you seen Teacher Yu come back?"

"No, not yet. I haven't seen her since this afternoon. She probably won't be back tonight," Sun Manning analyzed.

Li Heng frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I need to make a phone call."

Sun Manning asked, "Should we call Teacher Yu?"

Li Heng nodded. "I need to talk to her about something."

He had just gotten up when Wei Xiaozhu came in from the attic outside.

Bai Wanying didn't move, still exploring outer space through the telescope. Dai Qing swung on a swing next to her, occasionally chatting with Bai Wanying.

Wei Xiaozhu asked him, "Li Heng, are you busy right now?"

Li Heng said, "I'm going to make a phone call."

Wei Xiaozhu asked, "Go to Shihe's house to get it?"

Before Li Heng could speak, Sun Manning chimed in, "He reeked of alcohol and was completely drunk, so he could only go to Shihe's house to get a beating."

Then Sun Manning asked Wei Xiaozhu, "Did you need to see him for something?"

Wei Xiaozhu said, "I'll take him to the neighbor's."

Sun Manning let go of him, clapped her hands and said, "That's great! He's too heavy, it's hard for me to support him, so I'm handing him over to you."

Li Heng waved his hand and said, "It's okay, I can walk by myself, just a little slower."

Wei Xiaozhu indeed did not help him up, but followed closely beside him.

After leaving the second floor and seeing that there was no one else around, Wei Xiaozhu suddenly asked, "Since Mai Sui is your woman, why didn't you accompany Mai Sui back to Shaodong?"

Li Heng said, "I have something to do tomorrow."

Wei Xiaozhu asked, "Is it because of Shihe? Did you celebrate your birthday with her?"

Li Heng, gripping the stair railing with his right hand, stopped and asked, "Comrade Xiaozhu, why do you think that?"

Wei Xiaozhu asked, "Don't you really like Shihe?"

Li Heng did not deny it.

After staring at him for a while, Wei Xiaozhu said, "I really can't think of anyone else besides Shihe who could drive you so crazy. To make you temporarily put aside your companionship with Maisui."

Li Heng exclaimed in surprise: "Crazy?"

Wei Xiaozhu said, "I saw what happened between you and Shihe at the library."

Li Heng's head exploded with a bang, and he stammered, "What...what did you see?"

Wei Xiaozhu chuckled to herself, "It's rare to see you looking so guilty."

Li Heng, clinging to a sliver of hope, asked, "Tell me, what exactly did you see?"

Seeing that he wouldn't shed a tear until he saw the coffin, Wei Xiaozhu said in a low voice, "Kiss. ​​You and Shihe kissed against the bookshelf. Although you were a bit chauvinistic during the process, I could tell that Shihe must have fallen for you too, otherwise she wouldn't have let you kiss for so long. And she wouldn't have not turned against you afterwards."

His hopes dashed, Li Heng remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Who else saw it?"

Wei Xiaozhu gave her a reassuring look: "I specifically observed the surrounding environment; I was all alone at the time."

Shihe usually relaxes by that window after spending some time in the study room. I went to find her that day, but I didn't expect to find you all…”

Li Heng patted his forehead with his right hand, and a sentence came to mind: "Don't do something you don't want others to know, unless you do it in the first place."

He asked, "Have you told Shihe about this?"

Wei Xiaozhu asked, "Do you think I'm that stupid?"

Li Heng's eyelids twitched: "You shouldn't have told me. It would have been better if you had kept it from me."

Wei Xiaozhu remained silent for a long while before saying, "If it's for Shihe's sake, I feel sorry for Maisui."

"I see," Li Heng said. "I didn't expect you to have this side to you."

Wei Xiaozhu asked, "What does 'like this' mean?"

Li Heng said, "He has a clear sense of right and wrong."

Wei Xiaozhu said, "Just think of me as someone who's in a bad mood today and wants to vent."

Li Heng asked, "About Lao Li and Liu An?"

"Let's not talk about them anymore, it's all in the past." Wei Xiaozhu looked away.

"Okay," Li Heng agreed.

After a long silence, Wei Xiaozhu said, "Let's go over there. I'll also take this opportunity to see what dishes Shihe is going to cook."

Li Heng responded and moved his feet again.

Upon arriving at Building 27, Li Heng stood at the kitchen door and said to Zhou Shihe, who was busy at work, "Comrade Shihe, may I borrow your phone?"

Zhou Shihe didn't turn her head and quietly said okay.

Li Heng went upstairs and left.

Wei Xiaozhu watched his retreating figure until he disappeared at the entrance of the second-floor corridor before entering the kitchen.

His first call was to Mai Sui.

A stranger answered the phone, and when he learned that the caller was looking for Mai Sui, he immediately helped him find her.

While waiting for someone, Li Heng heard bursts of heart-wrenching cries, the sound of firecrackers, and the noise of a band. It was very noisy.

Not long after, Mai Sui came over. "Li Heng, is that you?"

Li Heng said, "It's me. When did you get home?"

"An hour ago," said Mai Sui.

Li Heng asked, "Has my second sister met up with you yet?"

Mai Sui nodded, "My second sister arrived earlier than us and has been waiting for me and Sister Zeng at the airport exit."

Li Heng asked again, "Have you had dinner?"

"I ate some, but I didn't have much of an appetite," Mai Sui said dejectedly.

Li Heng comforted him, saying, "Everyone has to go through birth, aging, sickness, and death. Take it easy. We're still young, so look forward. If you succeed in the future, your grandfather will be happy for you even in the afterlife."

"Yes, I know. I'm just so sad thinking that I'll never see Grandpa again." Mai Sui said, her voice trembling with tears.

Just as Li Heng was about to speak again, Li Lan spoke up.

Li Lan pulled Mai Sui aside, took the receiver, and said, "My sister-in-law was already in a bad mood, and she can't stand hearing your voice. You made her cry with just a few words. Let's end it here. I'll take good care of Mai Sui. Bye."

Simple and brutal, the call was ended without warning.

Li Heng: "..."

Wheat Ear: "....."

This was the first time Mai Sui had experienced her second sister's style, and she was a little unaccustomed to it for a while.

But the word "sister-in-law" silently brought the two women closer together.

After sitting quietly on the sofa for a while, Li Heng started making a second phone call, this time to the Yu family.

Luckily, Teacher Yu answered the phone.

"Hello. Who is this?"

"Teacher, it's me."

"Li Heng?"

"Yes."

What's that sound?

"Too drunk."

"Where did you call at this hour? My house? Or Shihe's house?"

"Shihe's Home".

Why not go to the teacher's house?

"I'm a little drunk and too lazy to unlock it, so this side is more convenient."

“Okay, that’s a so-so reason,” Yu Shuheng said.

Li Heng cut to the chase and asked, "Teacher, are you coming back tonight?"

Yu Shuheng pondered for a moment, then asked in a soft voice, "Little man, do you want to borrow the teacher's car?"

You guessed it right away!
Are you fucking that smart?

Even if you're that smart, you shouldn't say it out loud.

Don't I have any pride?

Li Heng thought to himself, but he admitted it very readily: "Yes, I have something to do tomorrow and I need to use the car."

It seems her guess was right. The young man's attention must be for Song Yu. Yu Shuheng thought to herself, and then parted her red lips slightly: "I'll be back later, and I'll give you the car keys then."

"Thank you, teacher," Li Heng said quickly.

He had only thanked them halfway through when the other end of the phone hung up, leaving only a dial tone.

Li Heng glanced at the red receiver in his hand, then put it back.

That night, Li Heng went home and fell asleep on the sofa, without even taking a shower, which was unusual for him.

Seeing this, the group of girls did not disturb him and quietly left Building 26, gathering in the neighboring Building 27.

Around 11:30 p.m., Yu Shuheng returned and immediately took out her key to open the gate of the No. 26 building.

The women in the attic next door stopped their chatter and watched all of this from afar.

Wei Xiaozhu glanced at Zhou Shihe, then at Teacher Yu, and then at Dai Qing. She couldn't help but feel a little emotional: Li Heng is truly charming; he has almost captured all the outstanding women in one fell swoop.

Enter the room and go up the stairs.

Yu Shuheng looked around the stairwell, turned on the light, and then sat down on the sofa.

After sleeping for more than an hour, Li Heng was woken up by the glaring light. Half-opening his eyes, he groggily said, "Teacher, you're here."

Yu Shuheng asked, "You said you were going to stay home with Grandma tonight, but you called me here with just one phone call."

Li Heng looked apologetic.

Yu Shuheng took out the Mercedes keys from her bag and placed them on the coffee table: "The car is at the alley entrance, the usual place."

"Yes," Li Heng replied.

Yu Shuheng looked him over for a moment and said, "You smell so strongly of alcohol, you haven't showered yet, have you? Go take a shower and come to my place later."

Li Heng sat up abruptly, and said in a daze, "Go, go to the teacher's house."

Yu Shuheng said, "If you don't want to go, then I'll stay here overnight. I took a shower at home before coming here."

Li Heng's mind went blank for a moment, unable to understand what had gotten into the intellectual and elegant Teacher Yu? She wanted to sleep with him tonight?

Teacher, don't you know how many eyes are watching next door?

Tonight is different from before. Comrade Zhou Shihe, Comrade Manning, and that girl Ye Ning are all next door. Wouldn't it be awkward if Sun Manning came running over making a scene tomorrow morning?

Yu Shuheng seemed to know what he was thinking, but still said slowly, "I was upset outside today, so you have to compensate me."

"what?"

Li Heng exclaimed, "Who would dare to make you suffer?"

Yu Shuheng said, "Don't ask, or you won't be able to sleep tonight."

What does it mean to not be able to sleep?
Without the hypnotic effect of alcohol, Li Heng probably won't be able to sleep tonight.

In other words, you deserve to be sleepless.

Thinking that Song Yu might come tomorrow, he was filled with thoughts and couldn't sleep at all.

After taking a shower, Li Heng lay down in the second bedroom, not Mai Sui's room, but the second bedroom across the hall.

Yu Shuheng really didn't leave. She closed the door and slept in the same bed with him.

In the neighboring building No. 27, Wei Xiaozhu, Sun Manning, Ye Ning, Bai Wanying, Zhou Shihe, and Dai Qing, a total of six people, were secretly keeping an eye on the movements in building No. 26.

Around 12 o'clock, the living room light in building number 26 went out, and then the light in the secondary bedroom in the corner against the wall came on.

Those who know Li Heng well know that he rarely sleeps in this bedroom.

A short while later, the light in the second bedroom also went out.

At this moment, Sun Manning started timing, her thought being: Wait!

After waiting for half an hour, there was still no movement from building number 26.

But we didn't see Teacher Yu come out of the building.

Just as the women were lost in their own thoughts, Ye Ning suddenly broke the silence: "Only one bedroom light was on tonight. The two of them...they didn't sleep together, did they?"

After these words were spoken, the attic became eerily quiet.

Sun Manning felt like strangling Ye Ning, thinking: This idiot really knows how to bring up the most awkward things; she has absolutely no sense of propriety. If I were Li Heng, I'd steal a moment from my busy schedule and shove a dragon whip into her to death.

Sun Manning cursed Ye Ning in her heart, stretched and said, "Ugh, I'm so sleepy, I'm going to sleep, I'm not going to keep you company."

I heard that Wei Xiaozhu, Dai Qing, and Bai Wanying have also gone to sleep.

The small building has many rooms; there's enough room for three more women to sleep comfortably.

After the others left, Ye Ning asked Zhou Shihe, "Shihe, aren't you going to sleep yet?"

Zhou Shihe leaned against the railing, looking at the night, and said gently, "Ningning, you should go to sleep first. I'm not sleepy yet."

"Alright, alright, I'm not keeping you company anymore, I'm really sleepy." Ye Ning called out and went inside as well.

The once bustling attic was now deserted, with only one person remaining.

At one point, Zhou Shihe's gaze unconsciously fell on the small building at No. 25 diagonally opposite, as if she were weighing something in her mind.
...

The second bedroom in building number 26.

Yu Shuheng waited for a long time in the dark, but the little man didn't climb on top of her as eagerly as usual, and she felt inexplicably disappointed.

She knew that her place in his heart was still far inferior to that of Song Yu.

That's right, she insisted on sleeping with him tonight, just to subtly test how far she was from Song Yu.
result…

As a result, Yu Shuheng was depressed.

An hour later, Ms. Yu got up quietly, put on her clothes and shoes in the dark, and left secretly.

I left the second bedroom, left the second floor, and left Building No. 26.

The moment the courtyard gate opened, Zhou Shihe in the neighboring attic breathed a sigh of relief, followed by confusion.

A head full of question marks?

She thought: Logically speaking, even if the two of them didn't have a relationship, Teacher Yu wouldn't leave halfway through, let alone leave halfway through.

Did Li Heng and Teacher Yu have a fight?
Shouldn't.

Zhou Shihe immediately dismissed the guess. Given Teacher Yu's good manners, she wouldn't rashly argue with Li Heng.

That is how the matter?

Zhou Shihe thought for a long time, but still couldn't figure out the crux of the problem.

Yu Shuheng returned to her own small building.

Zhou Shihe watched the lights on in Building 25 come on, and then watched them go out. Finally, she went back to her room. Another hour passed, and she went back to her room and fell asleep immediately.

Shortly after Zhou Shihe went inside to sleep, Li Heng came out of building number 26, right on time.

He didn't take the proper route, nor did he use a key to open the door. Instead, he climbed over the wall and entered building number 25.

Upon hearing footsteps in the hallway, Yu Shuheng, who was preoccupied and unable to sleep, immediately became alert, got up, locked the door, and waited quietly.

A moment later, footsteps reached the living room on the second floor.

Hearing some familiar footsteps, Yu Shuheng, who had pricked up her ears, smiled gracefully and asked through the door, "Li Heng?"

"Hmm." Li Heng walked straight to the master bedroom.

Having received confirmation, Yu Shuheng opened the bedroom door and looked at him meaningfully, "Why did you come here?"

Li Heng said in a daze, "I haven't even asked you yet, teacher, why did you leave without a word? You didn't even say goodbye?"

Yu Shuheng asked, "You really didn't know when I left?"

Li Heng ignored these words, walked into the bedroom by himself, closed the door, then picked her up and kissed her.

Yu Shuheng turned her head away, thwarting his attempt: "Answer my question."

Li Heng took two steps forward, laid Ping on the bed, then rolled over and pressed himself down on top of her, saying, "Let's talk about it after I'm done with my work."

(n words omitted here.)
....
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 1989 was the Dragon Boat Festival.

Just after 3 a.m., three private cars left the Chen family home and headed to the airport.

The car in front has bodyguards, and the car behind also has bodyguards.

In the middle car, besides the driver, Song Yu and Chen Xiaoyu were sitting in the back.

That's right, it's Chen Xiaoyu.

Given Song Yu's personal influence, it would have been very difficult for her to leave the capital.

But with the Chen family involved, Chen Xiaoyu, Song Yu's best friend, could leave the capital. For others, this might be difficult, but for Chen Xiaoyu, it was just a matter of a word.

Normally, the Chen family wouldn't arrange bodyguards; a driver would suffice. But they did today.

Because of this, Song Yu didn't sleep at school last night, but went back to the Chen family home with her best friend Chen Xiaoyu.

Before dawn, the two women boarded the plane.

After the plane left Beijing, Chen Xiaoyu looked outside and asked, "Old Song, have you contacted your partner yet? Are they coming to pick us up at the airport?"

Song Yu said calmly, "No."

Chen Xiaoyu was surprised and turned to look at her: "No?"

"Ah."

Song Yu nodded and said, "I'm not in a hurry to go to Fudan University. I need to go to another place first."

Chen Xiaoyu asked, "Where to?"

Song Yu said, "Jing'an Temple."

Chen Xiaoyu asked, "Is Jing'an Temple far away?"

Song Yu said, "I checked the Shanghai map. If I go to Jing'an Temple, I should be able to get to Lushan Village before noon."

Chen Xiaoyu became interested and said expectantly, "I heard from Xiao Feng that your man is a great cook. Then we can have him cook for us at noon so we can taste the great writer Li's cooking. I'll have something to brag about to others later."

Song Yu smiled beautifully, "Okay."

Chen Xiaoyu then asked, "By the way, what are you going to Jing'an Temple for?"

Song Yu said, "Going there will fulfill a long-held wish."

Chen Xiaoyu didn't understand at all: "You've never been to Shanghai, how come you're involved with temples there?"

Song Yu said, "Keep it a secret for now."

"Oh, what can I do? You're so pretty, I just fall for your charms."

Chen Xiaoyu stopped asking questions, closed her eyes and said, "We're up so early, let's take a nap. It'll take two hours to get to Shanghai, I'm going to have a good look around Shanghai this time."

Song Yu wasn't thinking about sleeping; she was staring blankly out the window.

(End of this chapter)