Chapter 55

  Yuan Zhi came back that day and bought her a cactus, as well as two rabbits, each locked in its own cage, one black and one white.

  He Sheng was delighted and squatted on the ground to feed them with vegetable leaves.

  Yuan Zhi bumped into her and said with a smile: "Give them names, and when we raise them to be plump, it's good to eat and set up tombstones."

  He Sheng's hand paused in feeding, his eyes gazing deeply at him.

  "Alright, alright, I didn't say anything." Yuan Zhi was stared at by her until his hair stood on end. He hastily backtracked, raised his hand to rub her hair and muttered, "This child's words are getting harder and harder to understand."

  He Sheng finished feeding the leaves, staring at the two fluffy balls inside, and found them more and more adorable. He inserted his fingers into the cage to poke their erect ears.

  In between, it was stuck and almost couldn't be pulled out. Yuan Zhi stopped her and said, "Be careful not to scratch your hand."

  Then he opened the cage, grabbed the rabbit by the ears and pulled it out, dragging it in front of He Sheng, "Which one do you like?"

  "He Shuang pointed at the white one and said, 'This one, hold it gently, or its ears will be broken.'"

  "Stupid, rabbit ears are meant for carrying." He handed the black one to He Song and smiled wickedly: "I've helped you raise the one you like, consider it yours now."

  She handed over the particularly lively black rabbit that kept jumping with its hind legs, "You raise this one, remember to treat it as if I'm raising it. If you can't even keep it alive, then you're done for."

  He Xiang carefully held the black rabbit, her fingers sinking into its fluffy fur felt very comfortable. She nodded seriously and said, "I will definitely take good care of it."

  Under the eaves was paved with square large marble, Yuan Zhi had thought to let the rabbits race and see, but a phone call made him go to the company again, his face suddenly became very ugly.

  He has been busy lately, leaving early and returning late, and hasn't spent a few good minutes with He Song. This kind of helpless feeling makes him feel very annoyed.

  He Sheng understood and handed over the rabbit in his hand, "Don't worry, I'll help you take care of it too."

  Yuan Zhi put his mobile phone into his pocket, forced a smile, and then picked up his briefcase and left.

  After that day, He Song tried to ignore Yuan Chongyang's last slightly suggestive words and didn't mention the matter to anyone. She thought that as long as her mind was firm, the other party wouldn't be able to come up with a way to separate them.

  Children of this age are still too naive after all. Compared with Yuan Chongyang, they have not only a few decades of life experience but also ruthless and merciless hands.

  This summer, He Yuanyue did not return to the big mountain where she was born and raised, but instead stayed in school to work and earn money. She tutored during the day and distributed flyers at night, feeling very tired but also fulfilled. The amount of money she earned may seem insignificant to city dwellers, but it would take a long time of hard work and saving for people from the mountain to accumulate such an amount.

  He Wanyue put away the deposit book and left the bank to return to school. She lived a peaceful life in this corner of the world, never thinking that her quiet existence would be suddenly disrupted.

  She had her hands tucked in her pockets, the corner of the bankbook scraping against her palm with a slight pain, her eyes fixed on the bulletin board, which was filled to the brim with unbelievable things.

  The above content is a detailed analysis of her family background, from her miserable life to her downfall, vividly described, with scattered passersby who are also students who have stayed on campus, and rumors suddenly emerged, with great force, instantly shattering her life. The words "mistress", "bar girl" and other terms that are not accepted by the student community all stuck to her in this summer.

  He Wan Yue stood in front of the bulletin board for a long time, her face deathly pale, numbly listening to the ridicule and scornful accusations mixed with laughter and chatter, these people would never have imagined that the protagonist was the young girl standing woodenly in front of them.

  After a long wait, when everyone had left, she moved her fingers and then frantically rushed forward to tear those dazzling papers into shreds.

  There were not a few people who stayed in school during the summer vacation, and although there were not many who knew He Yuanyue, there were still a few. On that day, her glorious deeds spread throughout the school, and the strange looks made He Yuanyue feel ashamed, even though she understood that this matter had nothing to do with herself.

  She endured the chill in her heart for half an hour in the dormitory, finally unable to bear the suspicious or disdainful glances cast by others from time to time, got up and walked out.

  The sky hadn't darkened yet, and she had given herself a rare day off, not having to work tonight. The cars on the road kept coming and going, and she walked numbly into the warm summer breeze until the neon lights by the side of the road began to flicker. As the temperature lost its earlier scorching heat, she squatted down directly at the side of the road, paused for a moment, then collapsed onto the ground with a thud, her eyes empty and her heart full of grievances, yet somehow not crying.

  After a long time, someone kicked her ankle. It was a young man in all black, with neat short hair and a square face. He was a stranger to He Yuanyue.

  The other party spoke first, their tone was flat with a hint of coldness, "Don't you feel curious about what happened today, He?"

  Her expressionless face stared at him, "What have you done? Who are you? Why did you do this?"

  "I am who you don't need to know." The man swung the transparent plastic bag in his hand and threw it at her, "Take a look!"

  She paused for a few seconds, picked up the bag, and pulled out what was inside. It was just a photo, obviously taken secretly. The people in it were not unfamiliar to her. A young man and woman, He Song holding a cup of milk tea and taking another sip, Yuan Zhi tilting his head to wipe her mouth, both with expressions that brought envy and warmth.

  She struggled to her feet, stumbled a little, and then looked again at the man who was watching with an air of cold curiosity. She raised the hand that held the photograph. "What do you mean?"

  "The other party said: 'It's very simple. As long as the little girl in the photo leaves automatically, all the problems you are facing now can be solved effortlessly.'"

  So everything she faced today was inexplicably humiliating because of He Song?

  She tilted her head and said incredulously, "Don't you think this request is too absurd?"

  Let's not talk about her relationship with He Sheng for now, just one Yuan Zhi is someone she can't handle. How much Yuan Zhi protects He Sheng can be seen from the way they interact, how can she make He Sheng leave? Whether He Sheng leaves or not is one thing, but whether Yuan Zhi will let her leave is another matter altogether.

  "Whether things can be achieved depends on your skills, and as for what kind of results you will have to bear, it also depends on your progress."

  He Wanrui couldn't bear it anymore and shouted: "You should go find Yuan Zhi, not me!"

  "Alright." The man turned around, "It's best to keep this matter a secret from Young Master Yuan, but if you insist on leaking it out, that's not impossible either. It's just that your goal might be harder to achieve." He paused for a moment, using an exceptionally cruel tone towards He Wan Yue: "Think about being looked down upon with contempt and disgust, and the future without any light in sight. Can you guess if there's a possibility of receiving an expulsion notice in another month or so? If the hype isn't big enough, there might be even more exciting things waiting for you."

  He Wanrui suppressed the sourness in her eyes and gritted her teeth, saying: "You're going too far, I'm not familiar with He Sheng at all, she can't possibly leave that place because of me."

  The man chuckled softly and didn't make a sound, then turned around and slowly walked out, his black figure slowly merging into the traffic flow, finally disappearing from sight. He Yanyue tightly grasped the photo, her eyes finally unable to hold back tears that fell one by one onto the dirty ground.

  How many hardships must a university student from the mountains endure? How difficult was her journey to get this far? Those humble struggles, the tireless efforts day and night, now seem like a nightmare that fills one with fear and exhaustion. Just when life had started to look up, although not as carefree as people here, at least it's no longer as difficult as before. With more effort, maybe after graduation, she could bring her parents and brother over too. These may not be grand wishes, but they were the driving force that kept her going until now. Yet, in just one night, everything was destroyed without warning.

  "He Sheng!" She nervously smiled, her face still streaked with tears, and then furiously whispered again: "He Sheng!"

  It was actually ruined by someone I hadn't seen in years and thought would never be in contact with again.

  At the intersection of the street, Yan Bai held the steering wheel with one hand and supported his chin with the other, his eyes fixed on the front, "Has it started?"

  "Yes." The speaker was the same man with a national character face as just now, but his attitude and tone were much more respectful.

  "What is the time limit set by General Yuan?"

  "Half a month."

  "I bet you can't handle it."

  Yan's words left the man with a national character face momentarily embarrassed and at a loss for what to say.

  "It's nothing." He started the car, "I was just joking with you."

  Then he drove the car away.

  Wu Shu gets up every day to prepare breakfast for the two children before going out to buy vegetables, and Yuan Zhi is often called to the company, so there will be a lot of time when He Sheng will be alone.

  This morning, Wu Shu had just left when someone came to the door. This person was not unfamiliar to He Song, but she was shocked by his ugly face and eyes that seemed to want to swallow her whole.

  He Sheng held the black rabbit in his arms, the rabbit kept kicking its hind legs and nibbling on the leaves with its mouth, He Wan Yue stared blankly at him, somewhat unable to react.

  He Wan Yue saw her silly appearance and angrily said: "Follow me."

  He Sheng pinched the rabbit's soft ears and took a step back, "Where are you going?"

  "Leave first and talk later." His eyes glanced at her hand and said with disgust: "Throw this thing away, quickly."

  He Xiang stood silently watching her, after a long while he finally turned around and put the rabbit in its cage, then followed her out. Author's note: Pray for Kunming~!