SWG Chapter 33
by VolareChen Yuexin’s heart skipped a beat and she quickly looked over.
In the comments section, someone said that this photo looked familiar, and the one sitting down looked like the owner of Tonight Intoxicated across the street, Ruan Shengyi. Beauties are simply a perfect match.
“…”
Chen Yuexin breathed a sigh of relief and slapped Ruan Shengyi on the head. “That’s your regular customer, not someone from your family.”
“How do you know?”
“Ruan Shengyi, have you lost your mind? Do the people in your family even know your current name? They know you as Ruan An, not Ruan Shengyi.” Chen Yuexin’s teeth ached with anger, wishing she could pick Ruan Shengyi up and slam her on the ground. “You’re being way too paranoid right now!!”
“I…” Ruan Shengyi trembled and said softly, “But, someone knows I changed my name to Ruan Shengyi.”
“? You never told me that.”
Wait, this person had never told her that someone knew about her name change, which made her outburst just now seem really stupid.
Chen Yuexin scratched her head, paced around a couple of times, “Someone really knows? A relative? No, why didn’t you say anything after all these years?”
Ruan Shengyi closed her eyes, feeling weak, and said, “I didn’t expect this to happen. As long as my name isn’t online, it’s hard for people back home who know to connect me with Ruan An, after all, they’ve only heard it, not seen the characters.”
She sighed.
If she had escaped with nothing, she might not be so afraid, but she had left with all the inheritance and relocation money left by that crazy woman. When she left, her aunt was even calling her, asking her to come live with them.
A group of people were vying to demand, even force, a twenty-year-old adult to “live as a dependent” in someone else’s home, but before the house was demolished, not a single one of them stood up to help her, who had just lost her mother, to sort out her chaotic life.
How ridiculous.
And how terrifying.
How ridiculous that she even tried to trust them, asking them to help her with the procedures, which allowed them to hear her new name, which only two people knew.
As she grew older, she gradually began to understand why, in the last period of time, the crazy woman, when she was occasionally lucid, would rather spend money to pull strings to help her change her name, and she was also grateful that the people at home wanted to avoid responsibility and were unwilling to be her crazy mother’s guardian, which made many things possible.
And it gave her a way out.
Chen Yuexin looked at her like this, knowing that there was nothing more she could say, she resigned herself to sitting next to her, and said softly, “Anyway, think about it carefully, I think you’re a bit of a scared bird right now.”
“You can try to talk about it, you can tell me everything, why can’t you tell her?”
Ruan Shengyi looked up at her, “…I don’t want to tell you either.” Wasn’t that because she was young and ignorant back then?
“Is that the point? Anyway, think about it yourself!” Chen Yuexin’s teeth itched with anger, wishing she could slap her.
She had already slapped her several times, so one more slap wouldn’t make a difference.
Stupid ghost!!
Ruan Shengyi hugged herself tightly and said, “I’ll think about it.”
She could only think about it herself.
The Xiao Wenyu she knew also had her pride. After she turned her head away and refused that kiss, Xiao Wenyu would also retreat to her proper position. Even though she was right across the street, she still avoided her for almost half a month, completely out of sight.
Before she figured it out, she was not qualified to ask Xiao Wenyu to understand her.
The most confused person in this matter was Xie Yu.
In the evening, Xie Yu called, starting with a long string of questions, finally landing on a sentence: “Why did you make Teacher Xiao angry again? Xiao Wan said that after Teacher Xiao hung up your phone today, she couldn’t even stand still.”
She and Ye Min, led by Li Wan, had now begun to call Xiao Wenyu “Teacher.”
There was no extraordinary story, just the mutual appreciation between the workers across the street.
Ruan Shengyi suddenly clenched her fist, opened her mouth, and then realized that her vocal cords were trembling.
“Are you talking?”
The boss Ruan really wanted to speak, but she couldn’t. Her throat felt like it was stuffed with a sponge, absorbing all of her moisture. Her throat was so dry that even breathing became hoarse.
Xiao Wenyu, couldn’t stand still?
Did she have other things going on, was she too busy recently, or…
Ruan Shengyi didn’t dare to think deeply. She was afraid that this moment of impulse would drag another person to face hell with her.
Those dark souls crawling out of hell, could she face them alone?
She tried to take a breath, released her fist, and said, “…Xie Yu, pay more attention to the people coming and going in the store these two days. Also, pay attention to the opposite side, be careful.”
Xie Yu was slightly stunned, “What happened?”
“Someone posted a photo of me and Teacher Xiao, taken in her shop.”
Ruan Someone also suddenly felt that the title Teacher Xiao sounded better than Boss Xiao, so she called it together.
Xie Yu stood up suddenly, “High-definition uncensored?”
“…Half of it was censored, but someone said my name in the comments.”
“There are many people in this world named Ruan Shengyi, okay, relax. I’ll keep an eye on it, but it might be a little difficult to get close to Teacher Xiao…” Xie Yu said earnestly, “Xiao Wan said that Teacher Xiao is really angry, what did you say?”
Ruan Shengyi: “I said, can I ask her to delete all the photos.”
Xie Yu: “And then?”
Ruan Shengyi paused, she wasn’t sure if she could say it, but she did want to hear other people’s opinions. She was too confused and helpless right now, she said: “Teacher Xiao said, can’t she even accept a censored photo being spread?”
“…I know your answer.”
Ruan Shengyi sighed deeply, “I can’t.”
For the safety of everyone, she had no other answer.
“You just can’t get over the hurdle in your heart.”
“…How can I get over it?”
Suddenly, Ruan Shengyi seemed to hear Ye Min’s voice.
Ye Min: “I said she lacks love training.”
Li Wan: “Is Boss Ruan really a first love?”
Teacher Ruan was completely dumbfounded, “Hello? Who’s listening?”
Xie Yu: “What? I’m the only one listening!” Even though she said that, the sound of elbowing people to get them away from her was not small at all.
Ruan Shengyi sneered, “Xie Yu, your salary this month…”
“What? Can’t hear, the signal is not very good, too many people, hello hello hello–”
“Ah, you want a cup of Drowning? We can do it, Boss, talk later!”
Ruan Shengyi: “…”
Interrupted by this random remark, her mood was surprisingly peaceful, and her finger stopped at Xiao Wenyu’s column.
She had not yet added a note to Xiao Wenyu, Xiao Wenyu’s avatar was an extension of her WeChat name, the bright moonlight reflected a soft light on the rippling water.
Such photos were usually taken by Xiao Wenyu herself.
Ruan Shengyi subconsciously clicked on the avatar and turned up the brightness, and suddenly found many familiar objects on the shore.
She stroked the picture, searching for these things in the depths of her memory, exploring little by little, suddenly…
Ruan Shengyi jumped out of bed like crazy, put on her clothes casually, grabbed the coat next to her and wrapped it around her body, called a taxi while going downstairs, and the taxi was already parked at the door when she arrived.
“The small river next to Yecheng Normal University, please drive faster, thank you.”
Before the car stopped, she quickly jumped out, strode towards a place she often searched for online, compared it with the picture on her phone, and slightly adjusted her direction.
Gradually, the familiar pictures overlapped.
Ruan Shengyi looked at the scenery in front of her, and then at the pictures on her phone, gradually, gradually…
She lowered her wrist weakly, and tears instantly filled her eyes.
Those pictures she had seen countless times on her phone, the scenes she longed for, the school she yearned for but didn’t have the courage to come to, were now united in two places.
Ruan Shengyi let out a low wail, knelt on the ground in exhaustion, and tears instantly drowned her.
She suddenly remembered that summer nine years ago.
At that time, Ruan Shengyi, who had just graduated from high school, returned home and met a pair of clear eyes that were black and white.
Ruan Qing seemed to have accurately timed her rare lucidity, tidied up her clothes, combed her dry hair, sat in the middle of the room. On her thin face that had turned yellow due to long-term malnutrition, a pair of eyes were rarely bright, and she was looking at her with a smile.
Ruan Shengyi pushed her glasses and said astringently, “Mom…”
Ruan Qing patted the sofa next to her and called her over.
A withered wrist came up and gently stroked the back of Ruan Shengyi’s hand, and said softly, “An’an, has your university admission notice arrived?”
Yes, at that time she was still called Ruan An.
An as in peace of mind, An as in tranquility.
But she had not brought a trace of peace of mind, a little tranquility, to the person she loved most.
Ruan Shengyi stroked the bridge of her nose, looked away, and said in a low voice, “It’s here, Yecheng Normal University.”
Ruan Qing trembled instantly, patted her hand, and kept saying, “Good! Great! Great! Let mom see, okay?”
Ruan Shengyi buried her head and said, “I threw it away.”
Ruan Qing was stunned.
Ruan Shengyi: “Our family is in this situation, and your body can’t be separated from people, they don’t care about you…”
Ruan Qing shook off her hand excitedly. Her dry lips were trembling violently, and only short and rapid “you…” sounds remained between her lips and teeth. A pair of clear eyes quickly became turbid.
Eighteen-year-old Ruan An rushed over and hugged her crazy mother tightly.
She was afraid, but she was no longer afraid.
She hated, but she loved more. She knew who this person was for, so she couldn’t let go.
She said almost pleadingly: “Mom, can you be more awake for a while? Mom, for me, okay? Mom, look at me, okay?”
“I have the ability to take the university entrance exam. I asked, as long as I get my graduation certificate, I can take the exam whenever I want in the future. I will definitely go to Yecheng Normal University, okay?”
“Mom, I really can’t leave you, Mom…”
Everyone despised her mother, but only she knew how much her mother loved her. Only she knew that at that moment, when her mother trembled and called her name, called her An’an, everything she gave up was worth it.
Half a year later, Ruan Qing passed away.
Two months after Ruan Qing’s death, the old house at home happened to be on an important planned traffic line, and the government came to requisition the house, compensating Ruan Shengyi two million.
At the beginning of 2017, Ruan Shengyi left her hometown, carrying all the money, and left Shacheng.
It is now 2024, and Ruan Shengyi has finally seen the school she has dreamed of for many years but has never had the courage to come to, and saw the traces left by the person she likes here.
But this time, she no longer had the courage to rush over and hug her tightly.
Ruan An could be youthful and impulsive and do some reckless things.
Ruan Shengyi was not qualified to force another person to bear the consequences with her.
Just like the rippling night scene on the river next to Yecheng Normal University, what is engraved on it are the years they missed.