Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Wang Meili was lost in her tangled thoughts and didn’t notice someone calling her.

The girl approaching was in her early teens with two braided pigtails. Her name was Yang Fangfang. Her mother ran a small shop at the street corner, which offered phone call services. The girl often helped pass messages to the neighbors for her family.

"Auntie, Mom just got a call from the U.S. She asked me to check if it’s your relatives. The caller said they’d call back later."

Wang Meili was still dazed, and she was about to say no.

But Xu Jia reacted quickly, "Yes, yes! They’re our relatives. Did they say anything else?"

"No, they just asked if Granny Xue still lives here. My mom thought for a long time before remembering. The call cost a fortune, so she kept it short." Yang Fangfang tossed her braids and added, "My mom said you should go wait there. They’ll call again in half an hour. Incoming calls cost one yuan a minute."

"One yuan?!" Wang Meili blurted.

Yang Fangfang replied, "It’s an international call—this is a steal! Outgoing calls cost two yuan per minute. I can’t chat anymore—my mom needs me to watch the shop."

With that, she dashed off, her braids bouncing.

Wang Meili looked at Xu Jia, then at Granny Xue, gritting her teeth.

Making amends with Xu Meng was hopeless now. Better to put her own daughter in the spotlight instead.

Since they had gone abroad, even if they came back looking for family, they could find a way to cover it up.

Wang Meili gathered her thoughts and said to Granny Xue, "What if I tell Xu Jibai that Xu Jia is their real daughter? Do you think they’d believe it?"

Xu Jibai was Xu Meng’s father. The two families were distantly related, but not too far in kinship.

Granny Xue, who’d been muttering curses, suddenly fell silent, her eyes widening in disbelief. "You mean—you mean—"

Wang Meili had already calmed down. "Exactly what you’re thinking. We’ll pass Xu Jia off as their real daughter. If this works, I’ll take good care of you."

———

Xu Meng walked Huang Xiaoying over to the factory, helped her tidy her bed, and glanced around the room before saying, "If you need anything, just let me know."

Huang Xiaoying, as breezy as ever, replied, "I don’t need anything! I think the factory is great. Look at all this space, and the people outside are so lively. I really like it here."

Then she went back to unpacking.

Other female workers gradually moved in as well. They all knew Xu Meng and paused their tasks to greet her when they saw her. The factory had a canteen on-site, where the cook—a woman hired from the village—had already started cleaning the kitchen and preparing meals. There was a ready-made stove in the factory, so a separate kitchen wasn’t needed. The cook had begun cooking by then.

Xu Meng stayed for a while but felt like a stranger. When mealtime came and everyone invited her to eat, she declined.

Huang Xiaoying, seeing her insistence, walked her out of the factory and said before parting, "Head back soon, alright?"

When Xu Meng arrived at Changchun Alley, the yard was deserted.

Next door, Yang Sanshu had just seen off some guests. Noticing Xu Meng standing in the yard, she asked, "Xiaoying moved into the factory?"

Xu Meng lowered her head. "She said the heat made the trip unbearable."

She knew Huang Xiaoying wasn’t wrong, but the house felt off with her gone. Walking under the eaves, she saw the clothes she had washed the day before still hanging. As she gathered them, she muttered, "Did she pack enough clothes?"

At dinnertime, the three children were nowhere to be found. Xu Meng went to look for Feng Yanwen, but she wasn’t home either—apparently, she’d gone to dine with some big shot and had given Sister-in-law Qian half a day off.

Alone, Xu Meng put water on to boil and took out a bundle of dried noodles. She pinched off a few strands, then lost her appetite, so she put them back in the cupboard and slipped outside. It was dinnertime, and as Xu Meng walked out, several neighbors greeted her, automatically asking, "Eaten yet?"

On the way, she only nodded in greeting when she ran into acquaintances, as Xu Meng walked in a daze toward Shijia Hutong.

It was rush hour, and the streets were bustling with crowds. As she bypassed that area and reached Shijia Hutong, the streets grew quieter.

A familiar figure appeared before her, followed by Han Jiming himself.

Perhaps not expecting her to come at this time, Han Jiming scratched his head and said to her, "Head inside and wait for me a while. I still have some unfinished work, and a few classmates are coming to see me later. I’ll take you out to eat then?"

Compared to her loneliness, Han Jiming always seemed surrounded by a never-ending stream of friends and tasks.

Xu Meng said, "If you’re busy, I can come another day."

She did her best to act unfazed.

Today, she didn’t even enter the courtyard of Shijia Hutong, nor did she hug Han Jiming goodbye. She simply turned and walked away. By the time she got home, her thoughts were still scattered, so she pulled out a book from the shelf to read.

The alleyway buzzed with nighttime activity—late workers cooked dinner, others were strolling after dinner, and everywhere was filled with the laughter of children.

Though her eyes were fixed on the book, her thoughts wandered.

This scene felt all too familiar.

Wasn’t this the life she’d always known? But why did it suddenly feel so unfamiliar now?

One summer, she had planned a trip with Chang Xi, originally intending to travel from Sichuan to Tibet, then take the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway to Xinjiang, pass through Qinghai, and eventually return to Beijing. They had plenty of time, stopping wherever they pleased, and the journey had been thoroughly enjoyable.

But halfway through, a last-minute call pulled Chang Xi away.

At the time, Chang Xi had been apologetic and even asked her, "I don’t like the idea of you traveling solo. Why don’t we drive back together, and I’ll accompany you again next year?"

Xu Meng hated last-minute changes to plans, and she had experience traveling solo before. She had often wandered alone without issue, so she told Chang Xi, "You go ahead. I’ll keep traveling on my own and play it by ear. If I really don’t feel like driving anymore, I can always ship the car back."

So the two parted ways in Lhasa.

But once Chang Xi left, it didn’t feel right. In the past, she had always been able to happily make new friends when traveling alone, but this time, she couldn’t.

She had once been used to staying in hotels by herself, yet after Chang Xi left, she felt incomplete—even though she had complained about Chang Xi’s light snoring before.

At night, the endless night swallowed her whole.

She couldn’t adjust to this feeling on the first day, and by the second, it became even more pronounced. Even ordering food felt lonely.

In the end, Xu Meng only made it to the Ngari region, without even making it to Xinjiang, before turning back to Lhasa. After staying there for a few days, she shipped the car back and flew home.

After that experience, she preferred solo trips from beginning to end than part ways with someone midway.

Xu Meng stared at the book, remembering Han Jiming’s offhand "I’m busy."

She thought of him leaving again and again. Though the separations were brief, she missed him more intensely with every parting.

When he first went to Singapore, he hadn’t crossed her mind much.

But this time, when he went to Qinghai—even though it was just over a month—she missed him so much. She couldn’t stop herself from overthinking: the female voice she heard in that Qinghai hotel, the woman she saw outside the mall. Rage and dread surged through her.

Xu Meng gave up on the book entirely.

When she stepped outside, she realized it was already dark—two hours had slipped by unnoticed.

Suddenly, she didn’t want to stay indoors anymore and needed some air. Just as she reached the entrance of the alley, she saw Han Jiming lingering there, head down.

He stood there motionless, his eyes fixed intently in this direction. It was unclear how long he had been waiting, but the moment Xu Meng stepped out, he spotted her and immediately strode forward, stopping only at a safe distance. His gaze remained on her, full of bewilderment and hurt.

Xu Meng knew she had been too emotional—she shouldn’t have treated him like that earlier. Yet, she was burning up inside and she just had to let it out. Even so, she couldn't find the words. As they drew closer, they both spoke at the same time.

"Sorry."

"Sorry—"

That little hurt feeling inside Xu Meng only grew stronger. She didn’t understand why. She knew she shouldn't be angry with Han Jiming, yet she just wanted to snap at him. He was the only one she ever lost her temper with. Even with an old friend like Chang Xi, when she abruptly canceled plans, Xu Meng would simply say, "Go take care of your business." But if it were Han Jiming, she knew she’d probably start a fight, yell at him—for no reason other than that he was Han Jiming.

Others had no obligation to feel guilty toward her.

Xu Meng felt tears spring to her eyes, spilling over before she could stop them. This only left Han Jiming at a loss. He had no idea why she had suddenly started crying. Wiping her tears, he asked, "What’s wrong? What happened?"

Xu Meng ignored him, giving him a light kick with her toe. "Jerk."

It wasn’t hard—more like when a kitten bats at you.

Yet Han Jiming genuinely sensed her frustration. Glancing around to confirm no one was watching, he took her hand and made her hit his chest several times, urging her, "Hit me like this. This'll make you feel better."

After a few strikes, Xu Meng’s anger melted away. She let out a sudden laugh.

"I wasn’t even angry." Not like she'd been acting angry, after all.

"But my gut told me you were. If I don't fix this today, I might suffer later."

Han Jiming pulled her into his arms, hidden in the shadows.

At first, Xu Meng struggled, and Han Jiming fumbled to hold her still.

Gradually, she stopped resisting, her quiet sobs making her seem like some hurt little creature.

Han Jiming sighed, murmuring softly, "Little thing, what’s the matter?"

He kissed the top of her head, his large hand gently stroking her back as if soothing a child. "I don’t know why you got upset—maybe you were just in a bad mood. But you can take it out on me. Just don’t walk away like today. When you left earlier, I wanted to chase after you, but I was afraid you’d be too angry to calm down. So I just waited here, thinking if you wanted to see me, you’d come out."

Xu Meng: "..." You really overthought it. I wasn’t coming out to look for you.