mynovelweb Chapter 52 Tears of a Young Girl
Chapter 52 Tears of a Young Girl
The playground was bathed in the orange-red light of the setting sun after school.
The white lines on the track were scorching hot from the sun. Song Huan ran ahead, with Xiao Yunqing following behind, her ponytail swaying back and forth.
After running two laps, Xiao Yunqing slowed down, her breathing became heavy, and her steps became sluggish.
Song Huan turned and glanced at her. "Can't handle it anymore?"
"Bullshit, a woman can't say no!"
Xiao Yunqing glared at him, gritted her teeth, and followed him for another half lap.
Finally, when she was completely exhausted, Xiao Yunqing stopped, supporting herself on her knees with both hands and panting heavily.
"You...you run first...I'll rest for a bit..."
Song Huan also stopped, walked back, and stood next to her.
Her face was flushed, her forehead was covered in sweat, stray hairs clung to her face, and her breathing was still uneven.
Song Huan heard her heartfelt words, and felt a soft warmth, like being soaked in warm water.
[Finally, we can run together legitimately.]
Don't worry about being found out.
You didn't expect that, did you? I saw it coming a long time ago.
He pretended not to hear, took out two bottles of honey grapefruit juice from his bag, and handed one over.
Xiao Yunqing seemed to like this flavor. He took it, unscrewed the cap, and tilted his head back to drink a big gulp.
A little honey grapefruit juice spilled from the corner of her mouth, dripping down her chin onto the track. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, not caring at all.
The two sat on the steps by the playground, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun, leaning against each other.
After finishing her honey grapefruit water, Xiao Yunqing placed the bottle aside, put her hands behind her back, and looked up at the sky.
The sky was very blue, with a few clouds drifting slowly in the wind.
"Song Huan".
"Um?"
"Remember to wait for me after you finish running the 1000 meters at the sports meet."
"Why would I wait for you? Men and women don't run together."
Xiao Yunqing turned to look at him and said matter-of-factly, "Let's go back to class together after I finish running the 800 meters."
Song Huan looked at her and smiled, "Okay."
Xiao Yunqing was satisfied. He stood up, dusted off his pants, and said, "Let's go home."
The two of them put on their backpacks and walked out of the playground side by side.
The setting sun shone on me, and my shadow stretched behind me, very close.
When they reached the school gate, Xiao Yunqing suddenly stopped, took a chocolate bean out of her bag, and stuffed it into Song Huan's hand.
"This is a reward for you."
"What's the reward?"
"Come run with me today." After she finished speaking, she turned around and walked away, her ponytail swinging, her steps as light as a cat that had stolen a fish.
Song Huan looked at the chocolate beans in her hand, smiled, unwrapped the candy, and popped it into her mouth.
The only sound on the playground was the wind blowing across the track.
Lin Yue stood in the corridor on the fourth floor of the teaching building, looking at the two figures at the school gate.
A girl with a ponytail walked ahead, her steps light and quick.
A boy followed behind, hands in his pockets, strolling slowly.
She looked at it for a while, then lowered her head.
She was holding a new notebook with only the two words "Song Huan" written on it.
She lightly touched the name with her finger, then turned and went into the classroom.
The classroom was empty except for the light from the window, which cast long shadows on the desks.
Lin Yue walked to Song Huan's seat, pulled out the chair, and sat down.
She had just wiped the desktop clean; it was spotless.
She drew a line on the table with her finger, then drew it again, and finally stood up, neatly arranged his textbooks, put the pens in his pencil case, and placed the pencil case on top of the textbooks.
After doing all that, she took a step back to look at it, then reached out and moved the pencil case one centimeter to the left before smiling with satisfaction.
She walked to the door, turned off the light, and locked the door.
The corridor was quiet, and her footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell.
As she reached the top of the stairs, she glanced back.
The classroom door was closed, and the windows were pitch black; you couldn't see anything.
She turned back, went downstairs, and walked very slowly.
Lin Yue's home is on the third floor of an old residential building.
The hallway lights were out, and the stairwell was pitch black. Lin Yue felt her way up the handrail and reached her front door. Just as her hand touched the doorknob, she heard a sound from inside.
"You still have the nerve to ask me for money? How much has that woman you're keeping on the side cost you?"
It was Zhao He's voice, high-pitched, like a chicken being strangled.
"What's wrong with me keeping a woman? It's none of your business!" a man's voice, rough and reeking of alcohol, said. "If you could have given me a son, would I be looking for someone else?"
Lin Yue's hand stopped on the doorknob.
"Can't give birth to a son?" Zhao He's voice became even shriller. "I gave birth to three! All three are daughters! Which one did you care about? How many times did you beat the eldest? You forced me to abort the second! You forced me to have an abortion of the third! She was over six months pregnant! Do you even know that was a living, breathing person?!"
"Bullshit! Your inability to give birth to a son is your problem! Whose fault is it that your womb is useless?"
"Is my stomach betraying me?"
Zhao He cried, her voice shrill and hoarse, "Your gambling addiction has left you with a mountain of debt. Who paid it all off for you? I've been groveling and being talked about behind my back, all for whoever it was for?"
"For whom? For yourself! You think I don't know? You're hooking up with that guy surnamed Wang outside, isn't it just for his money?"
"I'm after his money! Who would I spend his money on? To pay off your gambling debts! To support your mistresses! Lin Suo, do you have any conscience?"
"Conscience? What's a conscience worth?" the man sneered. "If you really had a conscience, you wouldn't have raised your daughter like that. Look at Lin Yue, just like her mother, a money-losing burden."
Lin Yue stood outside the door, her hand gripping the doorknob, her knuckles white.
She heard something inside fall to the ground and shatter.
"You can scold me if you want, but don't scold our daughter!"
"I cursed her! She's a money-loser! Having a daughter is a money-loser! You gave birth to her, she's a burden to you, you're a burden to me, the whole family is a money-loser!"
"Get out! Get out of here!"
"Get out? Give me the money, and I'll leave right now!"
"No money! Not a single penny!"
"No money?" The man's voice suddenly drew closer, laced with threat. "You think I don't know? Didn't that guy surnamed Wang just give you some money?"
"That's Xiaoyue's transfer tuition! Don't even think about touching it!"
"Tuition fees? What's the point of a money-loser going to school? She should just go back and marry a man, then she can collect a dowry."
Lin Yue suddenly pushed the door open.
The two people in the living room were stunned.
Zhao He stood by the sofa, her hair disheveled, a red mark on her face, and her skirt torn askew.
The coffee table overturned, the cups shattered on the floor, and water splashed everywhere.
The man standing opposite was in his forties, tall and thin, with sunken eyes, a stubble beard, and wearing a wrinkled shirt with the cuffs rolled up, revealing his arms with bulging veins.
He saw Lin Yue, paused for a moment, and then smiled.
That smile carried a hint of mockery and disgust.
"Hey, the money-losing bastard's back."
Lin Yue stood at the door, not moving.
Zhao He walked over and blocked her way. "Lin Suo, are you leaving or not?"
Lin Suo glanced at her, then at Lin Yue, and snorted, "Let's go. But give me the money."
"I have no money."
"No money?" Lin Suo took a step forward and reached out to push Zhao He.
Lin Yue instinctively stepped in front of him, but he pushed her, causing her to bump into the door frame and her shoulder to ache.
"What are you doing!" Zhao He screamed and lunged at him to push him away.
The two started fighting.
Zhao He scratched his face with her fingernail, and he slapped her hard, sending Zhao He crashing to the ground, her forehead hitting the corner of the coffee table.
Lin Suo didn't look at her, turned around and rummaged through the cabinet, pulling out the drawer and scattering things all over the floor.
He found an envelope, squeezed it, and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Lin Suo! That's Xiaoyue's transfer tuition!" Zhao He got up from the ground, his forehead was cut, and blood was flowing down, covering half of his face.
Lin Suo didn't even look at her. He walked to the door, kicked away the broken glass on the ground, and pushed the door open to go out.
The door slammed against the wall, bounced back, and then slammed shut again.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two loud bangs, and the motion-activated lights in the hallway turned on and off.
Zhao He stood in the middle of the living room, panting, blood dripping from his face onto the floor, one drop, then two.
She stood for a long time, then slowly squatted down, buried her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling, but she didn't make a sound.
Lin Yue stood at the doorway, watching everything. The living room looked like it had been ransacked.
The coffee table was overturned, the teacups were broken, the sofa cushions were torn out and thrown on the floor, and the drawers of the TV cabinet were open, with everything inside turned out.
Passbook, ID card, a few letters, an old photo frame.
The glass of the photo frame was broken, and a corner of the photo was exposed. It was of Lin Yue when she was a child, with two little braids and smiling, showing her two front teeth.
She squatted down and picked up the broken glass piece by piece.
One of the pieces was very sharp and pricked my finger. It hurt for a moment, and then a bead of blood came out.
She ignored it and continued picking up the pieces.
After picking up the big ones, I picked up the small ones. My fingers were stained with blood, which I rubbed onto the glass, leaving them red.
Zhao He remained squatting on the ground, not moving.
Lin Yue glanced at her, wrapped the broken glass in newspaper, and put it in the trash can.
Then lift the coffee table up, put the sofa cushions back, and close the drawers.
There was a new scratch on the TV cabinet, and she tried to wipe it off with a cloth, but it wouldn't come off.
Zhao He slowly stood up and walked to her side.
The bleeding on his forehead had stopped, and a layer of dark red scab had formed.
She watched as Lin Yue put things back one by one, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.
"Mom, go wash up," Lin Yue said.
Zhao He didn't move; she stood there, looking at her daughter's hand.
There was blood on my fingers, streaks, I don't know if it was from a cut or a scrape.
She opened her mouth, but her voice was hoarse.
"Yueyue..."
Lin Yue didn't look up. After putting the last item away, she turned and walked towards her room.
I stopped at the door.
"Mom, I don't want to go back to Jingnan."
Zhao He stood in the living room without saying a word.
Lin Yue calmly pushed open the door to her room and closed it.
But the moment the door closed, Lin Yue sat on the floor leaning against it, and tears finally fell.
She bit her lip and remained silent. The living room was quiet, and Zhao He didn't make a sound either.
The sound of Lin Su cursing and swearing drifted in from outside the window.
She sat for a long time, then stood up, wiped away her tears, walked to her desk, and opened a drawer.
The glass bottle is still there, the colored paper is still there, and the half-folded pink star is on the table.
She sat down, picked up the star, and continued folding.
My fingers hurt a lot.
The cut was still bleeding, staining the colored paper and spreading a small patch of red.
She didn't wipe it, and continued folding.
Fold it into a triangle, then fold it again, and then fold it again.
A star was stacked up, pink with a small patch of red on it, like the color of a flower petal.
She put the stars into a glass bottle.
She took out another piece of paper and began folding it. Tears fell onto her hand.
I want to stay here.
I don't want to go back to Jingnan.
I want to continue sitting at the desk behind him, and continue watching him every day.
Even if he never knows that when she helps him collect his homework, she secretly puts her notebook next to his.
enough.
That's enough.
She looked at the stars in the bottle, tears still flowing silently.