Chapter Thirty-One: Who's More Foolish

  "Who told you?" Situ Xin asked in puzzlement after reacting.

  Yao Qiyun said: "Before you ask me questions, shouldn't you answer mine first?"

  "Alright, I went to find him." She didn't wait for Yao Qiyun's response and quickly continued: "However, I have a few more things to add. You mentioned 'last night', but it was actually before 8 o'clock. I didn't enter his home, we just talked at the door about Xiaogen's retention. I had called him earlier and he told me that this time he would only be staying for one night, so I had to hand over Xiaogen's hospital proof in person at that time."

  Situ Xuan tried to get everything out in the open as concisely as possible, because what she couldn't bear to watch were those scenes in TV dramas where a couple in love would be entangled in misunderstandings. One of them would shout with a pained expression: "Listen to my explanation, listen to my explanation...", while the other would shake their head like a rattle drum and say: "I won't listen I won't listen I won't listen..." before rushing out into the vast rain, leaving behind an infinitely melancholic silhouette for the audience. Every time this happened, she wished she could rush into the TV screen and grab the protagonist's collar to finish their conversation for them. She firmly believed that problems that could be explained were never really problems at all.

  Yao Qiyun pulled down her hand that was still wrapped around his waist and turned to face her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "But it was just yesterday's matter, you came back late, and we only said a few words this morning. Besides, it's not a big deal, and you don't report every detail of your daily activities to me, do you?"

  "How is that possible?" Yao Qiyun was half-believing and half-doubting, but his expression had eased up a lot. "You just said a few words to him at his doorstep, and he gave Xiaogen another chance to retake the exam?"

  "I guess so."

  She thought it was over, but Yao Qiyun shook his head and smiled after hearing this. "Situ Xuan, you're still hiding something from me. If not, when you knew that Bang Cheng became Xiao Gen, you would be so happy to call me at the first time, definitely. But you didn't mention a word."

  Situ Xuan did not refute him. She had never thought about it that way, but now that he mentioned it, she had to admit that he was right. Who else in this world could see through her like Yao Qiyun, as if the ghost in her soul made her have no place to hide in front of him.

  "Don't be like a husband who's been cheated on..." She wrapped her hands around his neck, smiling intimately. However, the moment she touched his body, she felt him subtly lean back. At this point, Citu Xuan saw clearly into his eyes. She had an illusion that the person standing in front of her was no longer the one closest to her, but rather the gloomy boy from years ago who had nothing and stepped into an unfamiliar world, protecting himself with extreme caution and vigilance, afraid of not being affirmed, so he had already negated it in his heart.

  Yao Qiyun's suspicious and scrutinizing gaze infuriated Sito Yan, who withdrew her hand on her own initiative, with a displeased expression: "You must want me to confess that I slept with him last night before you can feel at ease, right?"

  "You know I didn't mean that. I've told you many times, Zou Jin's reputation is not good, even if it's just a rumor, why do you have to go against the grain and give others an excuse? You say you're for Xiao Gen, but first of all, he himself was wrong to miss the make-up exam, and the rules should be equal for everyone. He got held back and can't blame anyone else. The problem is that even Xiao Gen himself didn't go find Zou Jin, let alone you saying you just said a few words at the door, but who cares about these things? In other people's eyes, what's the difference between you and those female students who sneak into the professor's house at night?"

  He knew he had gone too far, but he refused to take it back, and instead looked away, his face sinking as he gazed out at the distant river of car lights on the highway.

  Situ Xing was so angry that she trembled with rage, "Yao Qiyun, if you have the guts, say something even more outrageous. I'm so cheap that for the sake of a friend's re-examination, I'd go and flirt with the deputy dean..."

  "Please keep your voice down, you want to alert the people downstairs, I don't think so." Yao Qiyun lowered his voice and let out a long sigh, "I didn't say that, but others..."

  "I don't care about others, I only ask you, aren't you very familiar with me? So I'm just this kind of person in your heart, is this the trust you can give me?"

  "What about you? You ask me to trust you, but didn't you also lie to me, Situ Xin? Trust is mutual!"

  "I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid later. I was just afraid that you would say those words to me again, and it turned out that's exactly what you said. I also want to tell you, yes, Zou Jin is a hypocritical bastard, when we were at his doorstep, he put his hand on mine and said he liked me. You're smart, you guessed everything right, if I had told you all this from the beginning, would your reaction have been any different? Repeatedly asking him if he really didn't succeed, repeatedly saying 'Si Tu Jue, I told you so'. I know how stupid and naive I am myself, I just hope there's someone who can patiently listen to me tell the whole story from start to finish, and then say one sentence: it's okay, don't worry. Instead of constantly reminding me how wrong I was."

  "Alright, nothing's wrong", this sounds like Wu Jiang's tone, could he be the person you're hoping for?

  "Go to hell!" As he spoke, Yao Qiyun was pushed back several steps by Situ Xue's furious anger, his back against the railing of the rooftop. Situ Xue's hand trembled as he pointed directly at Yao's face, "How dare you say that!"

  Yao Qiyun turned his face away, avoiding her fingers that were almost poking at his cheek. "Is this what your mother taught you about manners?" He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth, but every word that Situ Yue said was like a heavy drumbeat pounding in his heart. Jealousy, anger, loss... and then deep exhaustion.

  The two of them fell silent, and under the distant streetlights, Yao Qiyun could also see that Situ Xuan's eyes were red. A stone accidentally hitting the lake shattered the sweet tranquility, and only then did they realize through the ripples that a whirlpool had been lurking deep down all along. Perhaps the problem had nothing to do with Wu Jiang, or even Zhou Jin was not the ultimate key.

  After a while, Yao Qiyun turned around and picked up the clothes on the shelf, "It's very cool on the rooftop at night, didn't you say you had a bit of a cold? Go downstairs to sleep."

  Situ Xuan didn't move, but when he lifted his head and took a deep breath, tears still fell from the edge of his raised chin.

  Yao Qiyun thought that since she was willing, he would let her be alone for a while. However, as he walked past her, he realized that he still couldn't bear to ignore her tears. Situ Xuan had always been a very proud person, and since the day he met her, he had rarely seen her show weakness in front of others, and the few times she did, it was all related to him.

  He freed one hand to gently wipe away her tears, "Sorry, Ah Yue, I'm not as broad-minded as you imagined, nor am I unwilling to believe you. I just hope you won't make me more anxious in this relationship. You can go through fire and water for your friends, but what about me? Occasionally think of my feelings too."

  "Ah, yes, what are you to me? I'd like to hear you say it. Say it out loud, dare you?"

  Yao Qiyun slowly lowered her hand in a sarcastic expression. He walked a few steps and heard Situ Xuan calling him back.

  "Wait."

  He didn't turn around, but his footsteps stopped immediately.

  "I'm asking you again, who told you about last night's thing?"

  "You'd better not ask. As a petty person like me, I usually counter with: why are you so concerned about who said it, are you feeling guilty?"

  "I just want to know who is so bored and despicable!"

  "There is no wall that doesn't let wind through," this principle Si Tu Xuan wasn't unclear about, but she couldn't accept that this wall was so full of holes, in just one night's time, the wind blew towards her most unwilling direction.

  It's said that only three people knew about this matter from start to finish... no, it should be five. But among them, Si Tu Xuan thought that two of them would absolutely not be stupid enough to publicize the unglorious drama in which they were the main characters, so there were only Wu Jiang, Xiao Gen and herself left.

  She thought for a long time and decided to ask Xiao Gen. At that time, Xiao Gen had just finished re-taking the make-up exam, and as soon as he saw her, his first sentence was: "I was just thinking of finding you, Sutou, do you think it would be bad if I went to Wu Jiang's birthday party empty-handed..."

  "Never mind that, I'm asking you something." Situ Xuan also didn't bother to beat around the bush, "Xiao Gen, when I went to find Zou Jin about your makeup exam, did you tell anyone else?"

  "There's no need, you didn't tell me not to say it." Xiaogen hastily replied.

  "Really? Alright..." She was already feeling a bit embarrassed to directly ask someone if they were the one who leaked the secret, so she didn't ask any further. When it was time to part ways, she casually said: "What's with the formalities? What does he lack? If you really don't want to go empty-handed, just give him a card."

  "Oh." Xiaogen nodded, watching Situ Jin about to leave, then thought for a moment and chased after her, standing in front of her with an embarrassed expression, hesitantly saying: "That...Situ, I remembered something, don't be angry..."

  "Sze-to's impatient nature couldn't take it anymore. 'If you keep talking nonsense and don't get to the point, I'll really lose my temper.'"

  Xiao Gen rubbed his hands together and said with difficulty: "Shao Cheng came to find me after returning home, she told me sorry... actually it's not her fault... I, I just wanted to say, I told her, don't worry too much, this matter has been resolved, she didn't believe..."

  "Then you're saying I went to find Zou Jin for you?" Si Tu Jue was stunned, and continued along the lines of his words.

  Xiao Gen nodded helplessly.

  "You... how can you say I'm good!" Si Tu Jue said exasperatedly to Xiao Gen, probably realizing soon that getting angry had no practical significance, and could only helplessly wave his hand, turn around and leave.

  "Xiao Tu, what's wrong? I only told her one person, don't be angry......" Xiao Gen asked somewhat anxiously as he followed behind her.

  Situ Xueyue walked faster and faster.

  "If you don't want me to kick you into the pond, then back off right now."

  At night, when Situ Xuan arrived at "The Back of Time", the small shop had just started to get lively. The veteran waiter, Ah Yuan, who had a long face, nodded slightly towards the front as soon as he saw Situ Xuan, "You have friends who have already arrived."

  Xīng walked in the direction indicated by Sītú Xīn, towards the VIP room of this store, which was also the only one. The room was booked by Wú Jiāngdìng, who intentionally chose the location for his birthday party at a small store that Sītú Xīn liked, with the intention of making amends, which everyone knew about.

  Actually, it didn't take long for Situ Xuan to calm down. She thought about it calmly and realized that Wu Jiang wasn't at fault. He had his own choices and judgments, and she was being too harsh on him. However, after bumping into a few snags with her, Wu Jiang learned to avoid her when she was in a bad mood. Situ Xuan couldn't bring herself to make amends with him, so they dragged it out for almost a week. This was the longest time they had lost contact since middle school, when Wu Jiang went abroad with his father for "inspection" and didn't contact her for ten days. As a result, she had conflicts with Yao Qiyun, and in her frustration, she couldn't even find comfort from the person who suited her best. Sometimes, she had to admit that Wu Jiang's strange logic and nonsensical philosophy could still have a soothing effect at times.

  She had friends, but as she grew older, how many people could she really trust? Xīu Yuè also knew that a friend like Wú Jiāng was an irreplaceable resource; once lost, he would be gone forever. So when she couldn't decide who told Yáo Qǐyún about the matter, she'd rather suspect herself of talking in her sleep than doubt Wú Jiāng. There was no reason, just a thought: he wouldn't do that. On Wú Jiāng's birthday, he called her and although she pretended to be tough, how could she not go?

  Before he even approached, Situ Xuan had already seen Wu Jiang waiting by the door of the private room.

  "Auntie, if you don't come, I won't live to see another year." Wu Jiang flattered and welcomed her with a smile.

  "If I don't take this opportunity to beat you up, how can I sleep at night?" Si Tu Xie gave him a white eye, and the two of them laughed as they pushed open the door and entered.

  There was only one person in the private room, humming along to the accompaniment and singing a song to himself. It wasn't unexpected that Wu Jiang would invite Qu Xiaowen on his big day, but what was surprising was that it seemed like he had invited more than just her tonight. In the past, they had never appeared together as a couple in front of friends, so this was a rare sight. Situ Xue was even more astonished that the normally aloof "Goddess" Qu Xiaowen could be so thick-skinned after being caught in an affair with Zou Jin by Wu Jiang's friend, and yet she still seemed to be getting along with him without any issues. As soon as Situ Xue entered the private room, the singing continued unabated.

  Wu Jiang and Situ Ke sat down and asked: "Why are you alone? Didn't I also invite Yao Qiyun, how could he let you act alone?"

  "Don't come. I'll inform him for you, but whether he comes or not, I don't know."

  "Fallen out? You've been quite short-tempered lately, want a cup of Wanglaoji?"

  Situ Xuan forced a smile and said, "It's just pre-exam syndrome."

  "Hey, what's the big deal about this written test? It's a done deal."

  "It is said that Professor Gao's master's degree is also difficult to take."

  "Changed instructor?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "You really don't plan on having a drink to quench your thirst?" Wu Jiang actually opened a can of iced tea, timely shifting the topic, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.

  As the accompaniment faded away, Qu Xiao's singing also came to an end. She turned around and put down the microphone, Wu Jiang handed her a drink with great care.

  "It's so cold outside, what's the point of drinking this?" Qu Xiaowen said with a smile.

  Wu Jiang scratched his head, "Wait a minute, I'll go ask why your green tea hasn't arrived yet. There aren't enough waiters."

  He said and opened the door to go out, leaving only Situ Xuan and Qu Xiaoyan in the room. Situ Xuan asked himself with a clear conscience, but thinking of that day's matter, he also felt a little embarrassed.

  Qu Xiao Wan cried that day, and at that time, there was no panic of ugly things being exposed in her tears, only the despair of a lover. It's hard to say whether she would blame the cracks with Zou Jin on Si Tu Jue or not. After all, the situation at the time was difficult to explain clearly. Si Tu Jue wasn't afraid of her making trouble, but rather that things would get out of hand and make Wu Jiang, who was a respected elder, feel uncomfortable.

  As expected, Qu Xiao circled around and sat down next to Si Tu Jue.

  Situ Xuan's face remained calm and expressionless, but he was secretly on guard.

  "Wu Jiang said this place was your recommendation. I just said that such an interesting place doesn't seem to be his taste." Qu Xiaowen's first sentence didn't come with the expected ferocity, but rather in a casual tone, as if chatting with friends. In fact, Wu Jiang and Qu Xiaowen had been ambiguous about each other for years, and Situ Xuan didn't get along with her, having different goals and not being able to work together.

  "Is it? This private room name is also special, you've heard of it too, called 'Time Black Hole'." Si Tu Xuan responded indifferently, looking at what kind of trick she was playing.

  Who would have thought that Qu Xiaowen nodded, and then there was no more conversation. The unresponsive music started again, and it was the same song she had just sung. Situ Xuan watched the lyrics with nothing to do, thinking of the first time he saw her a few years ago when they were camping, and she seemed to be singing this song too.

  "Wu Jiang likes this song." Qu Xiaojuan hummed along with the tune, she had a very moving voice.

  Cui Xuan'er smiled: "Wu Jiang is great in every way, but he likes some things that are inexplicable."

  "Right, I think so too." Qu Xiaowen raised an eyebrow and nodded in agreement, "Especially me." She seemed to have amused herself, biting her lower lip and laughing uncontrollably.

  Situ Xun shrugged and thought to herself, "She won't be able to take too much stimulation and go crazy, will she?"

  "I quarreled with him for a whole night, because of you." Qu Xiaojuan lowered her head and fiddled with her hair, speaking as if it was someone else's business. Situ Xuan was stunned for a moment before realizing who the "he" referred to.

  "The next day, before dawn, he packed his bags to catch a flight, and I sat there alone, with many things shattered. Actually, I knew what he said was true, it had nothing to do with you, he liked you just like he used to like me back then. If I had kept my distance from him back then, maybe in his eyes I would still be a star in the sky now, but I'm dumber than you, I dove right in and ended up not even being a shooting star, just a muddy pit."

  "What's the point of Wu Jiang, anyway? It's all just a muddy pit. I'd rather raise some small shrimp and crabs to play with." Si Tu Xuan curled her lip.

  Qu Xiao Wan smiled and didn't answer.

  "Xī tuò jué, wǒ shì yào xiè xiè nǐ de."

  Translation: "Sze-to Yuk, I want to thank you."

  "Thanks for what? Thanks for not eating his set? I'm not doing it all for your sake."

  "I don't need anyone to complete me." Qu Xiaoyu said: "Whether I leave or stay, it's all my own business. You think he only has eyes for you now because you're better than me? In fact, if you responded to him, the outcome wouldn't be much better than mine. He's that kind of person, when he loves, he really loves, and when he doesn't love, he really doesn't love. Only what can't be obtained is forever the most beautiful."

  Now Situ Xin can confirm that Qu Xiaowan is basically normal because she still speaks in a way that is unpleasant to others.

  "Wu Jiang is simply a fool, being teased into a frenzy and even applauding along." Qu Xiaojuan's sarcastic smile made Situ Xuan feel a wave of disgust, but he forced himself to remain silent.

  "Thank you, it's because you didn't tell him about that day, no matter what your reason was. At least when I was having the hardest time, this fool stayed with me and got through it with me. Even if one day the fool becomes smart and leaves, for that period of time, this thank you is worth it."

  "Did you really think he didn't know at all?" In the end, she stopped herself and only said, "After all, who is more foolish, it's really hard to say."

  "Of course he's even more foolish, I asked this fool: 'I myself can't stand my own temper, how come you don't hit me a couple of times?' Do you know what the fool said? He said: 'If a woman treats herself as a princess, then the man beside her will feel like a prince; on the other hand, if she treats herself as a maid, then this man is just a farmer.' Tell me, can there be anything more foolish than this?"

  This is indeed what Wu Jiang would say, and Si Tu Jue lowered his head with a bitter smile.

  "When I came in just now, the waiter asked me if I believed that time would flow backwards. If it did, what would I do when I went back to the past? In each year's box, I stuffed a piece of paper with a note for my past self: 'One day, there will be an idiot who will say something so stupid that I won't be able to respond at all.' Even in a pit of mud, I would find it hilarious - this idiot is waiting for me in the future."

  She still smiled as if nothing was wrong, and Situ Xuan pretended not to see the flash of tears in her eyes.

  That fool soon led several friends in, still holding that pot of freshly brewed Tieguanyin. Qu Xiaowen didn't drink a few mouthfuls before suggesting to leave, Wu Jiang asked her why she wouldn't stay a bit longer, she casually said there were too many people, it was like a farmer's market, the people present could only stare at each other, no one dared to speak up.

  Wu Jiang smiled apologetically at everyone and said he would send her back. Qu Xiaojuan, however, generously asked him to stay and entertain their friends.

  "Situ, anyway you're just sitting there, why don't you come with me to the entrance and hail a taxi?" she said turning to Situ Xuan.

  Wu Jiang was also taken aback, not knowing how she suddenly looked at Situ Xuan with different eyes. Situ Xuan, carrying Qu Xiaowen on his back, gave Wu Jiang an unbearable expression, but still gave her face and stood up to follow her out.

  They didn't have much common topics to talk about, and they walked silently side by side until they reached the entrance of the store, where a taxi happened to pull over.

  Qu Xiao Wan turned around, the wind blowing against her swept all her loose hair to the front of her face, covering it completely, and even when she brushed it away, it still fell back in place.

  "Situ Xuan, you should also be careful."

  "What?" Situ Xin didn't understand Qu Xiaowen's sudden sentence.

  "I don't know what to be careful about, but the farther away from Zou Jin, the better. A small muddy pit is nothing, I'm afraid it's a whole cesspool behind, even Zou Jin..."

  What Qu Xiaowen said afterwards, Situ Xuan didn't hear clearly. Even if she said that behind her back was a deep abyss of ten thousand feet, at this time, Situ Xuan couldn't care about it either. She saw two people getting out of the taxi that had stopped steadily one after another.

  Of course, those two people also saw her.