Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

The voice on the other end of the phone was still calm, but with a hint of heaviness: "There is something I want to tell you. You have to be prepared to face it."

Li Xiangqian suddenly felt uneasy. He could almost feel the hesitation of the man when he spoke. The tension spread in the air like a flame that could not be extinguished. "What's the matter?"

The person on the other end of the phone sighed softly, as if considering how to start: "You know, we all choose to give up on some things, but can we really give up everything? The choices you made are still affecting you, and now they are also affecting everything around you."

Li Xiangqian's heart skipped a beat. At that moment, he seemed to have returned to a moment many years ago. At that time, he might not have understood the consequences, but just made a hasty choice with a foolish impulse. But now, looking back, the traces of those decisions have long been deeply imprinted in his life.

"What do you want to say?" Li Xiangqian's voice was low and a little angry, but it could not hide the deep anxiety. "Can't you be more direct?"

The silence on the other end of the phone lasted for a few seconds, and finally a clearer voice was heard: "Li Xiangqian, you are not the only one who will bear the consequences, there are others as well. Jia Zhang, she..." At this point, the person on the other end suddenly stopped, as if hesitating whether to continue.

Li Xiangqian's heartbeat accelerated rapidly, and countless possible scenarios flashed through his mind. He held the phone tightly, and his fingertips were numb from holding it too tightly. He felt like he could hardly breathe.

"What happened to Jia Zhang?" Li Xiangqian's voice became hoarse, but still firm.

The voice on the other end of the line paused, as if weighing the next words. "She knows something, and you should know it. You can't hide any longer, Li Xiangqian. You need to give her an explanation."

This sentence hit Li Xiangqian like a bolt from the blue. He could hardly believe what he heard. His heartbeat became faster and faster, and even his breathing became rapid. "What did you say?" Li Xiangqian repeated in a low voice, his tone full of disbelief.

The person on the other end of the phone didn't say anything else, just hung up. Li Xiangqian's hand tightly grasped the phone, looking down at the device that had gone black, everything in his mind became blurry. What did Jia Zhang know? How did she know those things that he never mentioned to her?

Li Xiangqian's mind seemed to be swept by a gust of wind, his thoughts were confused, and his emotions were surging. His eyes wandered around, as if he wanted to find a fulcrum to support himself, but there was nothing. He took a few steps and suddenly stopped, realizing what he had been avoiding. A heavy question suddenly emerged in his heart - should he tell Jia Zhang, tell her all the truth?

He looked down at the shopping bag in his hand. The items in the bag were no longer important. The supplies bought for emergency seemed to have lost their meaning. Li Xiangqian's mind gradually became clear. Jia Zhang asked him what he was doing, but he never told her what he was doing.

He took another deep breath, his lips trembling slightly, as if he had made up his mind.

Li Xiangqian's steps suddenly stopped. He felt as if he was being pulled by an invisible force and could not move forward. His heart was still in turmoil. The words on the other end of the phone were still echoing, like an invisible thread tightly binding him. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, but even so, the uneasiness in his heart could not be dispelled.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, looking for a place of his own to sort out his thoughts, a familiar figure appeared in his sight. It was Jia Zhang.

She was still so calm, as if she could maintain her usual calmness in the face of any difficulties. But today, there was a kind of determination hidden in her eyes that he had never seen before. Li Xiangqian could almost feel her overwhelming aura, as if it wanted to swallow him up.

"You still won't say it?" Jia Zhang's voice was flat, like a water surface without any emotion. She stood in front of him, her eyes so deep that it was hard to fathom.

Li Xiangqian's heart suddenly sank, and he felt a vague sense of oppression. He didn't want to face her sharp eyes again, and even felt a little scared, as if he was facing some invisible judgment. He clenched the shopping bag in his hand, almost crushing it.

"I... I have nothing to say." Li Xiangqian's tone was weak, but he still tried to be strong. "You should know that I am not the kind of person who can easily share my past."

Jia Zhang still didn't move. Her eyes were like a sharp knife, cutting through Li Xiangqian's defense. She looked at him and sighed softly: "You said that, do you want me to believe it?"

Li Xiangqian suddenly felt that he was forced into a dead end. He lowered his head and bit his lower lip tightly. The pain and anxiety in his heart almost swallowed him. Why did Jia Zhang always force him like this? How could she see through so many of his weaknesses? Over the years, he had always thought that he could hide in silence, but at this moment, facing her eyes, he felt that he had nothing, and all the disguises had become meaningless.

"What do you want?" Li Xiangqian finally couldn't help but burst out, his voice was a little hoarse and painful, "I tell you, I can only do what I can do now, and I don't have the ability to bear the rest."

Jia Zhang didn't answer. She just looked at him quietly. There was no anger in her eyes, but a faint sadness. Her voice was very soft, but it made Li Xiangqian feel deeply hurt: "Li Xiangqian, the question is not whether you can do it, but whether you dare to do it."

This sentence was like a bolt of lightning, splitting all of Li Xiangqian's defenses. He was stunned for a moment, his mind blank. Dare to do it? The weight of this sentence was too heavy. Li Xiangqian knew that what he had been avoiding was not responsibility, but the courage to face the truth.

Jia Zhang looked at him in silence, as if she was not going to let him go. She approached him step by step, as if to force him into a corner with no way out. "How long do you think you can escape? Li Xiangqian, you have the courage to take everything, why don't you have the courage to admit the mistakes you have made?"

"I...I..." Li Xiangqian's throat was dry, and the words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't spit them out. He was powerless to refute. Every time he faced Jia Zhang, he always felt like a weakling who could not withstand a single blow. All his excuses and calmness became meaningless in front of her eyes.