Xu Ni’s suicide was a mystery. No notes, no messages.
Shen Fang tore apart their home, desperate for answers.
Until the floorboard was lifted.
Everyone froze.
Scratched in awkward, twisted letters were words like hands choking the air:
Save me, save me, save me.
Xu Si.
Save me.
Why did Xu Ni want someone to save her?
Why was my name written there?
Shen Fang grabbed my neck, screaming hoarsely,
"What did you do to Ni Ni?"
"Did you hurt her?"
"Why aren’t you dead instead?"
I didn’t get it either.
Why?
Was Xu Ni asking me to save her?
Or was it because of me she needed saving?
Shen Fang’s hatred barely registered.
I sank into deep confusion.
Xu Ni what were you trying to tell me?
That night, I took over her room.
After the door closed behind me, I crawled beneath the bed.
Not a speck of dust. Cleaner than the already spotless floor.
I switched on my phone’s light to shine on the floorboards.
Half covered in cramped, crooked characters.
My trembling hand reached toward my name.
So, Xu Ni, you wanted me to save you.
Shen Fang glared at me.
"How’d you get in here?"
I sipped my porridge, unbothered.
"Locking me out last night was the first and last time. Or else...."
"Or else what?"
She sneered coldly.
"This is my house. I let you in or I don’t. Xu Si, what are you doing?"
She screamed, backing off yet unable to stop herself.
I grabbed Xu Ni’s hair, raised scissors to her scalp.
She lay still except for a muffled groan of pain at the start. No words.
Shen Fang trembled with rage and fear.
"Let go of Ni Ni. What are you doing?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Don’t move. Otherwise, I won’t know if I’m cutting hair or neck."
Shen Fang gasped.
The sharp snip cut a large clump off Xu Ni’s waist-length hair.
Shen Fang’s howl sounded like I’d cut flesh.
That sound pleased me.
I swung with the scissors, letting strands fall across the floor.
Shen Fang’s sobbing echoed in my ears.
Xu Ni looked miserable, uneven hair and scattered fragments everywhere.
Yet she kept her gaze lowered, as if none of this involved her.
Finally, I dropped the scissors.
In the next instant, Shen Fang lunged at me, pushing me out.
She cupped Xu Ni’s face.
Yelling, she grabbed a nearby stool.
I bolted. Near the door, a flying stool hit my back.
Pain made me gasp for breath, but I ran down the stairs, only to collide with Zhou Wei on his way up.
"What’s wrong? You look pale. Are you hurt? What’s all that noise upstairs? Did you argue with your mom?"
"Get lost."
Zhou Wei’s face darkened. He grabbed me.
"Why are you always like this?"
"Xu Si, can’t you speak normally?"
"You’re like a rock in a cesspool, stinky and stubborn."
"Why can’t you change your temper?"
"No matter what, that’s your mom. You..."
I took a deep breath and shook him off.
"Early in the morning, don’t force me to slap you."
"Xu Si....."
"Zhou Wei," I glared coldly.
"You pampered little rich kid, stay away from me, stay away from my family, and stay away from Xu Ni."
His lips pressed into a thin line, face hardening.
"I can’t."
"Xu Si, no matter what, I won’t give up on Xu Ni this time."
"I’ll protect her, no matter what."
I let out a cruel laugh, dripping with sarcasm.
"Protect her? Who do you think you are?"
"Does she even remember who you are?"
"You know nothing, but here you come playing hero. Moron."
Days passed neither fast nor slow.
I’d severed ties with that family completely.
As long as I was around, the house froze into an icebox.
Shen Fang took Xu Ni to get her hair fixed. Now she looked like a tomboy.
Her attitude toward me grew colder.
She wouldn’t even glance my way.
I kept working long days, running around nonstop.
The only annoyance was Zhou Wei.
After disappearing for three or four days, he began showing up at the dessert shop every day.
Staying for hours.
No words passed between us.
But I knew he often stared at me, lost in thought.
Summer was halfway over.
I’d just received my first paycheck in this lifetime.
Meanwhile, the day I’d been waiting for finally arrived.
Tomorrow, Xu Ni was to perform at the city’s grand music concert, fully broadcast live.
For such an important occasion, our perpetually busy father absolutely had to be there.
Shen Fang’s nervousness was obvious to the naked eye. She stayed glued to Xu Ni, making her play the pieces over and over. She kept telling her not to be anxious, repeating, "You must do well, no mistakes, absolutely no errors."
I snorted at all that.
Shen Fang shot me a glare.
Before dawn, Shen Fang had already dragged Xu Ni out of bed to practice again. I groaned and buried myself deeper into my blanket, drifting back to sleep.
By the time I woke again, they were both gone.
The dessert shop was surprisingly busy. After hustling through the crowd, my cousin winked at me.
"Where’s my silly little brother today? Why didn’t he come?"
"No idea, probably off cultivating his soul or something."
"Whatever that means."
I smiled, giving no explanation.
That evening, at home, Shen Fang was practically doing a little victory dance, singing praises about how proud she was of Xu Ni. Apparently, the performance had been flawless. But not a trace of Xu Guoyong.
"Where’s my dear old father? Three times he’s passed by the house and not come in?"
Shen Fang’s face stiffened. My words clearly hit a sore spot.
"You have no idea how busy your dad is. Otherwise, where would all your food and drinks come from? You think making money is easy?"
"Oh really? I thought he was busy keeping his girlfriend happy."
"Stop talking nonsense."
"Fine," I shrugged, "Let’s just say I’m making it all up."
Shen Fang wore a dark expression and blocked my path.
"You know something, don’t you?"
I toyed with her patience, a half-smile playing on my lips.
Just as she was about to explode, I spoke slowly.
"At the Junhao Hotel, I saw him. He was holding hands with some woman, walked right in."
Shen Fang’s face twisted. She grabbed her bag from the table and stormed out.
Compared to Shen Fang, I hated Xu Guoyong even more.
As a child, I once relied on him. He wasn’t as biased or mean as Shen Fang. He often disapproved of her behavior, saying, "Both hands are flesh and blood. How can you be so unfair?"
So I told him all my sadness and grievances.
I said, "If Mom and Dad get divorced, I want to live with you."
Xu Guoyong patted my head, full of sympathy and comfort.
But that night, while arguing with Shen Fang, he blurted out,
"Si Si wants us to divorce. She doesn’t want to live with you. Look how bad you are as a mother."
Then he picked up his suitcase and left.
Shen Fang watched me coldly, grabbing my hair and dragging me from the living room into the kitchen, making me kneel there all night.
I cried and called Xu Guoyong, begging him to come home, telling him I was scared.
He scolded Shen Fang on the phone and comforted me, but he never came back.
Is that what love is?
Shen Fang bluntly told me she didn’t love me.
Xu Guoyong said he loved me and cared for me, but did nothing finally telling me he loved me but was powerless.
Chapter 04
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