Blazing Sun~Chapter 21

 

Chapter 21

The weather has been unpredictable these past few days. It was sunny when I left D University, but suddenly there was thunder and lightning, and a torrential downpour began on the way.

The taxi stopped in front of the coffee shop. I got out and rushed inside, already a little wet.

I pushed open the door, and a wind chime rang out. There were very few people in the shop, only Rongrong as a customer. She was sitting by the window, wearing a clean white sweater dress, and looked at me when she heard the sound.

I sat down opposite her and took a tissue to wipe the water droplets from my face. Rongrong glanced out the window: "It suddenly started raining so hard."

"Yeah." I put down the tissue. "Why did you suddenly contact me?"

She kept looking out the window. "I remember the day I came to Shanghai for work, it was raining just as hard. I didn't expect it to be raining like this when I leave."

I then noticed a large suitcase behind her and asked in surprise, "You're leaving Shanghai?"

"To Shenzhen, my flight is tonight." She turned her gaze from the window to me. "I've been thinking about whether I should see you before I leave, and I couldn't help but send you a text. I didn't expect you to actually be here. It must be fate."

I was filled with doubt. Had she broken up with Sheng Xingjie? But why was she leaving Shanghai? Was Sheng Xingjie still bothering her, or was she too deeply hurt to leave this place of heartbreak?

Just as I was about to ask, the waiter brought over a cup of milk tea.

"I figured you'd be here soon, so I ordered this for you. You like these drinks, right?"

"Yes, thank you."

Rongrong looked at me, her eyes strange. "Actually, I know you pretty well."

"That's not necessarily true," I couldn't help but retort. "Have you forgotten how you wrongly accused me of hiding your interview call?"

"Back then... it didn't really matter whether I went to Shengyuan or not. It wasn't like I only had this offer. I was just happy to have caught you red-handed... I did wrong you about that, and I formally apologize."

I was somewhat surprised. The image of running into her outside the hotel on New Year's Day suddenly flashed through my mind. She had also apologized to me then, but with a completely different, aggressive attitude.

What made her attitude suddenly change so drastically?

A strange feeling welled up inside me, and I couldn't bring myself to say anything like "it's all in the past." While I was still hesitating, she said, "The anonymous email in my inbox was from you, wasn't it? You don't need to deny it. Not many people know anything about Sheng Xingjie."

I was taken aback, my strange feeling deepening. I subconsciously frowned and said, "What are you talking about?"

Rongrong completely ignored my answer, smiled, and said, "It's okay if you don't admit it. Do you want to know how Sheng Xingjie and I broke up?"

"You broke up with Sheng Xingjie?"

"Of course! You told me he was pursuing someone else, so of course I had to break up. Do you want to know how I did it?"

A smile suddenly appeared on Rongrong's face. "I took pictures of the intimate text messages he sent me, registered a new email address like you, and anonymously sent them to his grandfather, Mr. Sheng, and his uncles. When it came to light, Sheng Xingjie confronted me. I pretended I knew nothing and asked him what happened. He connected it to our gathering, remembering I went to the restroom without my phone, and said you must have taken the pictures while I was in the restroom. How stupid! With so many people around, how could you take such pictures? But he believed it without question and rushed to tell Mr. Sheng he'd been framed, haha."

"At first, I gave him chances, but he kept lying to me and even became increasingly impatient. Later, when things were exposed, he showed no remorse, guilt, or apology whatsoever. Instead, he accused me of being vain and spreading rumors, which is how you caught me. What does he take me for? I never took advantage of him in the slightest during our relationship, and he treated me like this."

Rongrong laughed twice, her cheeks flushing an unusual red. “But it’s okay, he’ll be punished. Sheng Xingjie thought I still loved him, so I pretended not to break up with him, and in the end, he didn’t dare see me and had his mother deal with me. What kind of man is he?”

She spoke rapidly, yet the events unfolded in such an unbelievable way. I suppressed my racing heart, gathered my thoughts, and slowly said, "You mean, you received an email you thought was from me, an email telling you that Sheng Xingjie was pursuing someone else. You discovered that Sheng Xingjie was indeed cheating, but instead of breaking up immediately, you arranged to meet me. The excuse of going to the restroom and not answering the phone was a deliberate act, and you even kept emphasizing the photo incident during your call with Sheng Xingjie."

I recalled the details of that dinner party, "You were the last to leave that day. After you left, you took a picture of the text message Sheng Xingjie sent you and sent it to Grandpa Sheng and the rest of the Sheng family, misleading them into thinking it was from me, is that right?"

Rongrong exclaimed admiringly, "You're so smart, you figured it out so quickly. So composed? Not angry at all?"

"Why?" I said coldly.

"Why? Sheng Xingjie insulted me like that, am I just supposed to silently back down and swallow this insult? Of course not. But can I make a scene? No, then all the slander and abuse will be directed at me. He might even retaliate, and in the end, I'll be ruined, surrounded by rumors, while he'll be unscathed. Why? Everyone was once a privileged young lady, why should he?"

"You want revenge but are afraid of being retaliated against, so you're transferring your hatred onto me?"

"The dignified Miss Nie, of course, isn't afraid of Sheng Xingjie."

"Even if you think I was the one who sent you the email to warn you?"

"What good intentions do you have? If you were truly trying to be kind, why are you doing this so secretly?" Rongrong sneered, "You just want to use me to bring down Sheng Xingjie for your boyfriend."

I finally heard the answer I had suspected, and I felt utterly exhausted, wanting to say nothing more.

Rongrong, however, seemed unable to contain herself. "I could have kept it a secret. Even if they came to you, you couldn't be sure the email was from me, could you? But, after doing something so brilliant, wouldn't it be a shame if no one appreciated it? Besides, Zhuang Xu taught me all of this."

This whole thing had taken an even more absurd turn. I finally couldn't contain my surprise and stared at her in shock.

She smiled slightly. "We grew up together. No matter how much we've argued or fallen out, when he needs to help me, he won't stand idly by. He'll always be by my side."

The rain pounded against the window. There was a noise at the door; another guest had entered.

Rongrong looked towards the door, a smile spreading across her face. "Zhuang Xu's here."

Memories flooded back.

What? Another joint trial?

I slowly leaned back in my chair, watching the tall figure approach and pull out a chair.

It was a round table against the wall, with exactly three seats. Rongrong and I sat facing each other, and with Zhuang Xu joining us, it seemed to form a strange triangle. But I didn't want to get involved at all.

"You're late," Rongrong said with a smile.

"What do you want?" Zhuang Xu asked in a deep voice.

"I haven't told you yet, I'm going to Shenzhen. I have a few interview opportunities there, with much better pay than at Shengyuan, so I wanted to say goodbye."

Zhuang Xu said calmly, "Congratulations."

Rongrong said, "I didn't expect that the people I wanted to see most before leaving would be you guys."

Zhuang Xu's eyes flickered slightly, and he answered irrelevantly, "Shenzhen has a very good future."

Watching them go back and forth like this, pretending to be something they'd never do, I suddenly found it both funny and annoying. "Alright? What are you two acting for?"

I looked directly at Zhuang Xu: "Did your advisor come too? Why all this fuss? I know he helped you, and he will always help you, so what?"

Zhuang Xu lowered his eyes expressionlessly.

"Even if you want to prove your love is unbreakable, you don't have to pick on one person. Can't you just pick another?"

I looked at Rongrong mockingly. "You really have an eye on me. In your eyes, I'm the one who warned you about Sheng Xingjie's infidelity, and instead of thanking me, you schemed to make me take the blame. Unfortunately, all your tricks are probably useless. The emails you sent to the Sheng family—whatever the content, intimate text messages? Or something else—you say I sent them, so it's me? What's the use of Sheng Xingjie's unilateral assertion? It's been several days since it happened, and the Sheng family hasn't dared to come to me for confirmation."

"However, your self-directed drama has made me realize that kindness should be reserved for those who deserve it. Thank you for letting me wake up without paying any price. I'll treat you to coffee today; consider it a farewell gift for your happiness as you traveled to Shenzhen."

Her expression hadn't changed much until I finished speaking, but she suddenly bit her lip.

I had no interest in staying any longer and called the waiter, "Check, please."

The rain outside was getting heavier. Even with the eaves providing shelter, raindrops still hit my face as soon as I opened the door. But I'd rather stand in the rain than share a room with them.

Unexpectedly, a few minutes later, they came out too. I didn't turn around, and the people who came out behind me didn't say anything either, standing silently beside me.

Through the rain, I could vaguely see a taxi with its "For Hire" light flashing. I was about to wave when Zhuang Xu raised his hand first.

The taxi stopped. Zhuang Xu said to Ye Rong, "Aren't you rushing to catch a flight?"

Ye Rong was somewhat surprised, hesitatingly taking a step forward. The taxi driver rushed out in the rain and helped her load her suitcase into the trunk.

Ye Rong walked slowly towards the taxi, but after a few steps, she turned back, her gaze falling on me. "We won't see each other again, will we, unless Si Liang and Xiao Feng get married?"

She raised her head slightly as she spoke. "Nie Xiguang, maybe what I did was useless. It's just because I had fewer resources. Everyone has their glory days. You can continue to look down on me, but who knows what the future holds?"

"Then good luck," I said coldly.

The taxi driver started urging her on.

She walked to the car and opened the door.

In those final moments, Rongrong stood in the rain, looking at Zhuang Xu, her eyes filled with countless unfathomable emotions: "If I could go back to the past, I wouldn't listen to my parents anymore."

"Have a safe trip," Zhuang Xu said calmly.

The taxi drove away, leaving only Zhuang Xu and me under the eaves. I instinctively moved aside. Zhuang Xu shifted slightly, hands in his pockets. "I'll leave after I've said a few words. You don't need to avoid me like this."

I stared at the white rain, surprised he actually had something to say to me, but I didn't turn to look at him, remaining silent and unmoved.

He also looked at the rain, and after a while spoke, "You really surprise me, an anonymous letter."

He scoffed, "Who taught you to write that? So eloquent now, did they teach you that too?"

I finally couldn't hold back anymore, turning to question him, "Why did you do this? Couldn't she just break up with Sheng Xingjie? Why did you have to scheme against us, dragging us into this?"

"'We'?" he repeated playfully, "I schemed against you?"

"So be it," he said indifferently, "Just think of it as me wanting to cause Lin Yusen some trouble. If he blames you, you can break up with him."

It was an utterly unbelievable statement. I looked at him, speechless.

He chuckled again. “What you said inside was quite insightful. So, what do you think Ye Rong should do? Be deceived and just swallow her anger? Not fight back?”

He was leading me into a logical trap.

I quickly calmed down and carefully organized my thoughts: “Ye Rong was deceived by Sheng Xingjie. Of course she can fight back, even if it involves me and Lin Yusen, that's fine, as long as one of your goals isn't to harm us.”

“But what are you bragging about now? What are you so smug about? You're smug, yet you've hurt us. So that's one of your goals, isn't it? And what's your basis for that? A unilateral, baseless accusation that I have ill intentions.”

“It's laughable, but it's not surprising you did this. It's not the first time. In your heart, everything I do has ulterior motives, that hasn't changed. But Zhuang Xu, please remember, I've never hurt you.”

“Never?”

I'd said a lot, but he only replied with three cold words.

The torrential rain seemed to burn with a cold, burning flame in his eyes.

I involuntarily took a step back.

A taxi burst through the rain curtain. I waved frantically, wanting to get away from this place as quickly as possible.

The taxi stopped, and I was about to rush over when Zhuang Xu stopped me in a low voice.

"Stop."

I paused.

"Ye Rong did ask me for help. She has some things that are detrimental to Sheng Xingjie. If handled properly, she can get away unscathed, and it won't involve you...you guys." He slightly twitched the corner of his mouth. "But she chose to release those photos. I'm too lazy to guess her real purpose, and I have no interest in getting involved. Do you understand?"

Without waiting for my reaction, he turned and stepped into the rain.