Chapter 1396
Unrequited Love 50
Chapter 1396 Unrequited Love 50
This mother-in-law appeared in his life twice in a previous life. Once before he married Xu Yanzhen, and again at Xu Yanzhen's funeral.
Xu Yanzhen died unexpectedly. She was particularly angry at Xu Yanzhen's funeral. She grabbed her collar and questioned herself for not taking good care of Xu Yanzhen.
Now, is she here to see Xu Yanzhen to see Zhou Jinxu? Back then, Xu Yanzhen refused to introduce her to her, so Song Shuyue took the initiative to arrange a meeting with him…
Putting all that aside, Shi Cheng looked at Xu Yanzhen with almost greedy eyes. In his memory, she was thin, melancholy, and quiet, but in reality, she was warm and plump, clearly someone who had been well cared for.
The saying "Loving someone is like growing a flower" holds true.
After suppressing her tears, Xu Yanzhen felt some relief from the emotional turmoil in her heart. She reached for a tissue, but unexpectedly, a handkerchief was pushed in front of her.
Xu Yanzhen paused when she saw the checkered handkerchief. She didn't touch it, but instead picked up a tissue from the table and slowly wiped away her tears.
"Shi Cheng, what are you doing here?"
Zhou Jinxu also uses handkerchiefs, but they are mostly solid colors. Shi Cheng, on the other hand, prefers plaid patterns, and his handkerchiefs are almost always plaid. Just by looking at the handkerchief, Xu Yanzhen can tell who is on the other side.
Her coldness and aloofness left Shi Cheng speechless. He put away his handkerchief and said, "I came here for coffee. I heard the cappuccino here is very good."
"Teacher Xu, what happened to you?"
Xu Yanzhen rubbed her red eyes, not bothering to find out where Shi Cheng knew the cappuccino here was good, but simply said, "It's nothing, you can continue drinking your coffee, I'll go back first."
Without any romantic feelings, Shi Cheng was truly a stranger in her eyes. Since he was a stranger, there wasn't much to say. Xu Yanzhen was even less willing to discuss matters involving her privacy with others.
Shi Cheng knew that Xu Yanzhen, though seemingly gentle and calm, was actually quite cold inside. Once she completely gave up on someone, she would unilaterally sever all ties cleanly and decisively, without any lingering attachments.
Take Jin He for example. After she and Jin He divorced, she deleted all of Jin He's contact information. Even after they got married, she never saw Jin He again, and she would always avoid any gatherings involving him.
Watching Xu Yanzhen leave, Shi Cheng downed his overly sweet cappuccino in one gulp. The drink, which was normally cloyingly sweet, now tasted incredibly bitter.
Back in the car, Xu Yanzhen sat quietly for a few seconds: "Teacher Tan, what's Shi Cheng doing here?"
Tan You snapped her fingers: "I thought you wouldn't ask."
Xu Yanzhen gave a slight smile: "Teacher Tan."
Tan You snapped her fingers: "The car accident last time allowed him to glimpse your past with him."
Xu Yanzhen's fingers twitched slightly, then she smiled and said, "I see."
She then calmly drove away.
Seeing her so calm, Tan You raised an eyebrow, then laughed: "I admire you more and more, Teacher Xu, you are really decisive."
It was rare to hear praise from Tan You, and even though Xu Yanzhen was in a heavy mood, she couldn't help but smile: "Teacher Tan knows how to make people happy. Teacher Tan, I'm especially glad you're by my side at this time."
Tan You chuckled, "I'm also honored to have witnessed your life. Teacher Xu has a lot of personal charm; she knows when to cut ties. If you hadn't died in that car accident, I believe you would have managed your life very well in your past life." Xu Yanzhen corrected her, "I've always managed my life very well. I've always understood one principle. I never crave a man's love; if he loves me, I accept it gladly."
"If he doesn't love me, I will love myself even more. I won't hurt myself because of a man's love or lack thereof, even if there is pain in the process, I will let go when it's time to let go."
Tan You laughed: "That's why we have a lot to talk about."
Xu Yanzhen smiled faintly; she also felt she had a lot to talk about with Tan You. It was undoubtedly very precious to have someone who could see into the deepest part of her heart and accept her completely.
Tan You didn't ask Xu Yanzhen how she would handle her relationship with Song Shuyue. Xu Yanzhen was an adult, and if it weren't for an unexpected accident, she would be perfectly capable of handling everything in her life independently.
Therefore, she only needs to act as an observer to witness how Xu Yanzhen manages her life, and appear as her support when necessary.
When Xu Yanzhen got home, she applied ice packs, but when Zhou Jinxu returned, he still noticed that her eyes were red.
Zhou Jinxu felt bad. He pressed his fingertip against Xu Yanzhen's eye corner and said, "You were quite happy when you went to school this morning. Who made you unhappy? It shouldn't be the students. Han Yu and Shi Yu manage the class very well."
Who did you run into?
Xu Yanzhen knew she couldn't hide it from Zhou Jinxu, but of course she had no intention of concealing it. She tossed her phone onto the dining table: "This afternoon, my...my mother came to the school to see me. She wants to see you."
Zhou Jinxu remained expressionless, only tightening his grip on Xu Yanzhen's hand.
Xu Yanzhen looked at him; "I refused."
Zhou Jinxu didn't speak, but his gaze gradually became serious. He didn't believe that Xu Yanzhen's refusal to introduce him to her mother was due to a lack of confidence in their relationship; there must be other factors involved.
Xu Yanzhen squeezed his hand: "If she is presentable, I would definitely take you to meet her without hesitation when we first got together."
She paused, then spoke with great difficulty: "She...she abandoned me and my father when I was two years old and got involved in someone else's family."
Zhou Jinxu immediately understood that this was because she felt her mother had such a shameful past. With extremely high moral standards, she considered it a stain on her mother's reputation, and she was worried that she would have a bad impression of her because of her mother.
“She is her, and you are you.” Zhou Jinxu pulled her into his arms and gently stroked her back. “You said it yourself, she left you a long time ago.”
Tan You deliberately kept Xu Yanzhen's past a secret. Even though Zhou Jinxu's assistant was highly capable, all he could find out was about Xu Yanzhen's life after university.
“That’s not how it is,” Xu Yanzhen shook her head and snuggled closer to Zhou Jinxu. “After she left me and my father, she got involved in Li Daoming’s marriage. Because she gave birth to another son, Li Daoming and his wife divorced.”
“When I was five years old, my father passed away, and she took me to the Li family. I lived in the Li family until I was fourteen. In the second year of junior high school, I moved out of the Li family.”
"After that, I never went to the Li family again."
Zhou Jinxu paused, "So young? What happened?"
He thought of Xu Yanzhen's claustrophobia and couldn't help but make a bold guess: "In which year did you develop claustrophobia?"