1987 My Era

Chapter 651, One Wave Subsides, Another Rises

One question and one answer.

One stood half-turned at the entrance of the stairwell, the other sat on the sofa, facing each other, their eyes filled with thunder and lightning.

His gaze was sharp, and the atmosphere was chilling.

The two women were evenly matched, neither willing to concede to the other!
Just as Li Heng was about to speak to ease the tension, and just as he was about to negotiate, footsteps came from the stairwell again.

The footsteps were chaotic, suggesting that more than one person was approaching.

Hearing the noise, Zhou Shihe, who was at the entrance of the building, glanced down at the stairwell and then turned around as quickly as possible without thinking.

Under the watchful eyes of Li Heng and Song Yu, she entered the washroom.

Reaching the washroom, Zhou Shihe turned on the tap, cupped her hands to splash water on her face, and washed away the tear stains from the corners of her eyes and her face. She then did the same to wash away the tears on her collarbone. Finally, she took the washcloth that Mai Sui usually used and washed her face again.

After washing her face, she looked down at her collar, which was soaked with tears. After a pause, she simply swept her hair forward and used the tips of her hair to cover the wet collar.

Because the bathroom door was not closed, Li Heng saw all of Zhou's actions and was immediately dumbfounded, wondering who the person was.

What caused Comrade Shihe to react so strongly?

As time passed, the footsteps in the stairwell finally reached the second floor.

Li Heng looked closely and exclaimed, "Wow!" He discovered that the visitors were actually Zhou's mother and Teacher Yu.

Wei Xiaozhu was following behind.

No wonder!
So it was Zhou's mother who came. No wonder Zhou Shihe wanted to wash away the evidence of her tears as soon as possible to avoid being discovered by her own mother.

If her mother noticed her crying, it would directly expose her relationship with Li Heng, and it would be easy for people to guess that she had been arguing with Song Yu for more than an hour.

Zhou's mother walked in front, looked around, but didn't find her daughter in the living room. She couldn't help but ask Li Heng, "Li Heng, isn't Shihe with you?"

Li Heng pointed to the washroom, "Yes, Auntie, she's in the washroom."

Zhou's mother turned her head and looked towards the washroom, just in time to see her daughter coming out of it.

The mother and daughter looked at each other, and neither of them said a word for a moment.

Zhou's mother scrutinized her daughter for a while, then glanced at Song Yu discreetly, and finally at Li Heng. In the end, she said nothing and asked nothing, but warmly extended an invitation to Li Heng and Song Yu, "I heard from Manning that you and Shihe are born on the same day, Li Heng, and today is also your 20th birthday. It's really rare to be born on the same day, month, and year."

The food at home is ready, let's go over and have some. Everyone else is here, only the three of you haven't come down yet, so Teacher Yu and I came to check on you.

In fact, after not seeing her daughter come home for more than an hour, Zhou's mother naturally had many doubts, but she wisely did not ask. Instead, she subtly pulled Teacher Yu over.

As for Wei Xiaozhu, we met her in the courtyard on the first floor, and out of concern, she came up with us.

Li Heng had already promised Miss Zhou to attend her birthday banquet yesterday, and now that there was such a good opportunity to back out, he naturally wouldn't let it pass, and immediately agreed.

After agreeing to Zhou's mother's request, he spoke to Song Yu in a consultative tone, saying, "It's lunchtime, let's not keep them waiting, let's go over and have something to eat. I'll cook dinner at home, and we can have a lively feast for everyone."

Song Yu smiled beautifully and stood up with him: "Okay."

No matter how much she and Zhou Shihe didn't get along before, in public, Song Yu would show great respect to Li Heng and give him a lot of face.

For men, sometimes face is more important than life itself, and Song Yu certainly wouldn't let him down in this regard, nor would she embarrass him in front of others.

Yu Shuheng remained silent, glancing at Zhou Shihe and then at Song Yu, thinking to herself with amusement: It seems Zhou Shihe has met her match; it was unclear who won or lost just now.

Unlike Teacher Yu, Wei Xiaozhu, hiding behind the crowd, was filled with worry, concerned for Shihe and anxious for Li Heng. As for Song Yu, she didn't know her well and didn't feel any emotional connection with her.

However, this was the first time Wei Xiaozhu had seen Song Yu, and she was immediately struck by her beauty. No wonder Wanying said that Song Yu and Shihe were equally beautiful; it was indeed true, she was just too gorgeous.

Seeing that Li Heng and Song Yu agreed, Zhou's mother glanced at her daughter again subtly, then greeted everyone with a smile and began to go downstairs.

Afterwards, the group filed downstairs.

Zhou Shihe walked at the very back, and Wei Xiaozhu waited for her.

Only after everyone left Building 26 did Wei Xiaozhu find a chance to quietly ask, "What were you talking about? Why did you talk for so long?"

"We chatted about everyday things, and I didn't expect to stay this long," Zhou Shihe said with a slight smile.

Wei Xiaozhu wanted to say something more, and she wanted to ask, "Are you alright?", but she swallowed the words back.

Wei Xiaozhu felt that from Shihe's perspective, neither she nor Wanying knew about her relationship with Li Heng, so it was best not to bring it up rashly. Otherwise, it would easily make Shihe lose face.

after all.

After all, Li Heng's womanizing ways are well-known. First there was Xiao Han, then Mai Sui, then Teacher Yu, and now there's Song Yu, the epitome of womanhood. All of this subtly suggests that the future of Shi He and Li Heng's relationship is still uncertain and full of variables.

If Song Yu hadn't appeared, Wei Xiaozhu believed that Shi He would have had a very high chance of winning in the end.

But today, Shihe and Songyu battled for more than an hour. Although we can't know the details of the battle inside, it must have been quite fierce.

This also indirectly shows that Shihe has met a real rival; Shihe cannot win over her love rival or force Song Yu to back down in a short period of time.

Back at Building 27, Wei Xiaozhu and Bai Wanying, who were waiting at the gate, exchanged a glance and then Wei Xiaozhu shook her head.

Seeing Li Heng and Song Yu arrive together, Bai Wanying was somewhat surprised, but then she realized: it was probably thanks to Zhou's mother; Li Heng probably hadn't given up on Shihe yet; Shihe probably lost today.

Bai Wanying's reasoning for deducing that Shihe had lost was very simple: if she were Song Yu, and if she had come all this way but failed to defeat Zhou Shihe, she certainly wouldn't have come to the birthday banquet.

Even if Li Heng helps Shi He, she will simply walk away, too lazy to watch the two of them showing off their affection.

However, even if Song Yu wins, it's likely only because she had the advantage of favorable timing, location, and circumstances; her victory is probably not significant. Otherwise, Shi He would have returned long ago, and Li Heng wouldn't have dared to bring Song Yu so openly—wouldn't that be blatantly inviting hatred? Therefore, after a series of deductions, Bai Wanying concludes that Song Yu wins this battle of wits, but it's probably a Pyrrhic victory, and by a small margin. Moreover, Shi He might be dissatisfied and want to regain some ground.

Perhaps Shihe is preparing to take matters into her own hands, leveraging her geographical advantage and the advantage of being close to the source to wage a protracted war against Songyu.

Bai Wanying pondered this, glancing at Song Yu and Shi He, her gaze finally settling on Li Heng: This man is truly! Truly irresistibly charming. Perhaps only he in this world is worthy of beauties like Shi He and Song Yu vying for his attention.

Just now, Chen Xiaoyu kept praising her best friend Song Yu, saying she was one of a kind, unparalleled in heaven and earth. Ye Ning initially scoffed, not believing it. Could someone as beautiful as our Shihe really be more beautiful?
But when Ye Ning saw the naturally elegant Song Yu, he opened his mouth wide in astonishment.

Not only Ye Ning was stunned. Everyone else in the room, including Zhou Shihe's aunt, uncle, and cousin, was also deeply attracted by Song Yu's beauty. For no apparent reason, they couldn't help but secretly compare Shihe and Song Yu.

The younger aunt approached Zhou's mother and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Is this Song Yu really Li Heng's girlfriend?"

Zhou's mother said, "It seems so, according to Manning."

Guessing is one thing, but hearing it with my own ears still made my aunt a little uneasy and confused: "Isn't Li Heng's girlfriend that Xiao Han? Isn't she still having an ambiguous relationship with Mai Sui?"
Last time you said that Teacher Yu Shuheng had also taken a liking to him, so how come Song Yu is here now? What's Li Heng doing? Does he have magic? How did he manage to gather so many beautiful women together?

Zhou's mother agreed: "Who says otherwise? I'm starting to admire him too."

The aunt suddenly remembered something and asked, "Why did Shihe stay over there for so long? She didn't even care when relatives and friends came to visit; she was just taking care of their girlfriend. Is she and Li Heng particularly close?"

After careful consideration, Zhou's mother said, "The relationship should be quite good, but I didn't expect it to be this good."

The younger sister-in-law took two steps closer and lowered her voice again, saying, "Sister-in-law, even someone from a family like Teacher Yu and a woman like Song Yu have fallen for it. This Li Heng must be very good at coaxing women and understanding their psychology."

Shihe is so beautiful, and she gets along so well with him. We have to be careful. If something happens in the future, it will be a real problem, and we'll regret it then.

From a woman's perspective, the aunt actually admires Li Heng very much, finding him very handsome, charismatic, and talented. But if Li Heng were to use his methods on her own niece, she would definitely not be happy.

After all, Li Heng was too promiscuous; he wasn't a good match, nor was he the best partner for a woman.

Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother glanced at Li Heng from a distance, then looked at her daughter who was serving rice and getting chopsticks. After thinking for a moment, she said, "What you said makes sense. I'll talk to her about it later."

At this point, the aunt hadn't considered the possibility that Li Heng and Zhou Shihe had developed feelings for each other. Instead, she fully trusted her niece's judgment and pride, believing she wouldn't be deceived by a man with sweet words.

This meal was particularly lavish; it was Zhou's 20th birthday, and the Zhou family prepared a total of 20 dishes, which were just enough to fit on a large round table.

Fortunately, it was a large round table, enough to seat all these people.

Today is Zhou Shihe's birthday, and it's her special day. Everyone is chatting and laughing, and they're all urging her to sit in the head seat.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Shihe's next sentence silenced everyone.

Zhou Shihe smiled and said to Li Heng, "It's your birthday too, don't be shy, come sit with me."

Where should we sit?

Of course, I should sit in the head seat.

The aunt stood there, stunned. She looked at Shihe, then at Li Heng, and then hurriedly turned to look at Song Yu and Yu Shuheng. Suddenly, she felt like her brain wasn't working properly.

The aunt thought to herself: There are two women present who are entangled with Li Heng: Song Yu and Yu Shuheng. Moreover, Song Yu is openly dating Li Heng; what is my niece up to?
Is he going against Teacher Yu?
She had heard that her niece and Teacher Yu had differing musical philosophies and significant disagreements. But surely it didn't warrant such targeting?
Besides, there's Song Yu there too.

Could it be to help her best friend Mai Sui?

With the wheat harvest gone, my niece is keeping an eye on Li Heng to prevent him from being lured away by other women.
But no matter how I think about it, it just doesn't feel right.

My aunt was completely bewildered, as were my uncle and aunt, who kept looking at each other.

Ye Ning shouted, "Damn, Shihe is awesome!" Then Sun Manning rolled her eyes at her, and that was it. She just kept laughing. She was the most supportive of Li Heng and Mai Sui getting married in the future, so she didn't like Teacher Yu that much.

As for Song Yu, Ye Ning really couldn't be jealous. It was just that Song Yu was too high-level, so high that even her cousin Ye Zhanyan couldn't compare. Moreover, she heard that Song Yu and Mai Sui were very close friends, so she remained neutral.

Sun Manning tilted her head and stared at Shihe without saying a word, unlike her usual noisy self.

Yu Shuheng smiled slightly, completely unconcerned whether Zhou Shihe was targeting her. Instead, she leisurely poured herself a cup of tea and slowly drank it.

Aside from Yu Shuheng and Song Yu, the only two people in the know at the scene, Wei Xiaozhu and Bai Wanying, couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

Wei Xiaozhu asked in a low voice, "What is Shihe trying to do? Today is her birthday, and there are so many people watching."

Bai Wanying, in her wheelchair, was also confused: "They're too bold. Could it really be a rebound after hitting rock bottom? I'm really worried for Li Heng. For Shihe to say something like that, it's probably because Li Heng and Shihe's relationship is deeper than we imagined."

Their feelings were certainly deep. They had kissed, and in a public place like the library reading room, for a full two minutes. This showed that Shihe was completely captivated by the love web Li Heng had woven. Wei Xiaozhu thought to herself, letting out a silent sigh.

In the past, Wei Xiaozhu considered Shihe and Wanying to be the two smartest girls. But judging from Shihe's behavior today, she seemed to be going all out. Could it be that Shihe had been humiliated by Song Yu at Building 26?

Chen Xiaoyu's eyes widened as she whispered in her best friend Song Yu's ear, "Old Song, this vixen is too arrogant! This is blatant provocation! Can we tolerate it? If we can't, let's beat her up. I saw a small hoe for weeding flowers in the corner of the room. It should be handy. After we beat her up, we'll run away."

Surprisingly, Song Yu appeared extremely calm at this moment. She had a faint smile on her face as she turned her head to look at Li Heng's face.

At that moment, the person most heartbroken in the room was Zhou's mother. She had originally planned to have a heart-to-heart talk with her daughter that evening, to have a private conversation, to learn more about her daughter's studies and life at university, and at the same time, to subtly inquire about Li Heng's love life.

But before she could even figure out what tone to use that evening, how to ask, and how to best protect her daughter's self-esteem, her daughter had already given her a "surprise."

What a "surprise"!
There was no joy, only shock.

Zhou's mother carefully observed her daughter's facial micro-expressions for a while, and at the same time, she did not miss the subtle expressions of Li Heng and Song Yu. A woman's intuition told her: there is a story here, and something unusual is going on.

She wanted to find some clues.

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(End of this chapter)