Chapter 84

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Protagonist:

Jiang Wenyu

That day, she arrived in Jianghai City; for a young woman who had never been to a big city, the moment she stepped off the vehicle and saw the sea of people before her, she momentarily forgot herself.

After a brief moment she dazedly merged into the crowd, becoming an inconspicuous part of that sea of people, and then formally stepped into Jianghai City.

At first she was full of confidence, confident she could make a life here, but after experiencing a series of events, she nearly lost herself.

The meaning of her coming to Jianghai City was thus lost, yet she dared not go home, did not even dare write a letter back.

Carrying self-blame, regret, and unwillingness, she stubbornly carried on living.

Only those who have personally experienced it can understand how grueling life in a big city is.

She had a goal: save money, twenty thousand yuan!

Only by saving that much could she return to her parents with a clear conscience, then kneel and apologize.

But she had been here for as long as half a year; let alone twenty thousand, she had worked herself to the bone yet earned only nearly two thousand yuan, a full ten times short.

Fortunately she was not afraid of hardship and could sing; at night she went to that place to show off her voice, during the day she worked everywhere, tirelessly, though in reality she was already utterly exhausted.

Until this day she returned home and suddenly discovered the house door was open for some reason; a thought flashed through her mind, she rushed through the door — a man stood in the room, a man who shocked her pale: Jiang Wenyu.

She did not stop to think why Jiang Wenyu would be here, unhesitatingly bypassed him to her own room, and after a frantic search found that the two thousand yuan she had painstakingly saved was indeed gone without a trace.

She burst into tears at once, and shouted at the top of her lungs.

She did not suspect Jiang Wenyu; as for who had taken her money, she already had the answer in her heart.

Besides grief she had to face the man she had once pursued; that feeling was hard to fathom — she wished she could flee this place immediately.

Not until evening, after her attempt to get the money back proved fruitless, did she run into him once more.

Back home, she did not sleep all night; the next day she lay in bed until noon, eye sockets dark and red, the whole person looking utterly haggard.

"Let's just rest today..." she murmured to herself, powerless to rise, not even wanting to cook.

She did not think about how she should carry on from now on; she had indeed had thoughts of going home, but she could not, and did not dare.

When she heard Jiang Wenyu mention that Chen Fu was bedridden with illness she was indeed moved, but the self-blame and unwillingness in her heart made her abandon the idea of returning.

She had taken the twenty thousand yuan from home; Chen Na knew perfectly well where that money came from — it was the money Jiang Wenyu had first given to Chen Fu and Chen Mu as filial support; precisely because of this, when Jiang Wenyu stood before her, her heart could never calm down.

Thump thump thump—

Three knocks on the door pulled Chen Na, immersed in her thoughts, slightly back to awareness; she slowly rose, got off the bed, and went to the entryway.

"Who is it?"

Having learned from the previous lesson, when she returned last night she had installed a latch on the inside of the room door, making it very hard to open from the outside.

"Me, Jiang Wenyu."

Chen Na's body instantly shuddered; she took a small step back, her face turning cold: "What are you here for? I said I'm not going back!"

Jiang Wenyu's voice immediately came from outside again.

"I came to find you because I have something to give you."

Chen Na pressed her lips, her eye sockets reddening again, and shouted: "I don't want to see you!"

Just five simple words; she herself did not know why she blurted them out; her resentment toward Jiang Wenyu had actually faded considerably, yet every time she saw him she could not suppress the flutter in her heart.

Another moment passed before a sound came from outside again.

"I'll leave the thing at the door."

As the words fell, the sound of "deng deng deng" footsteps going downstairs came from outside.

Only when that sound gradually faded and disappeared did Chen Na let out a long breath; she carefully opened the door — the hallway was empty, the man had long since left, but on the ground lay a square object wrapped in old newspaper; sharp-eyed Chen Na immediately picked it up, her face full of surprise.

She hurriedly shut the door, tore open the newspaper, and carefully counted — exactly two thousand yuan!

"He... where did he get it back from..."

The incredulous Chen Na suddenly noticed a few lines of small characters on the torn-off newspaper.

"I know a police comrade; he helped contact the Public Security Bureau here, and fortunately with me as a witness they barely managed to recover the money."

Below that there was another line.

"I won't persuade you to go back; if not for Chen Lan's sake I wouldn't even have come looking for you alone. Consider it a kind reminder: go to the Post and Telecommunications Bureau today, there should be a letter for you there."

"..."