Chapter 286

Hiding her true self and being mature. Xia Yan knew that back then they were just friends, far from being able to open up and share their innermost thoughts without speaking to others, still in the stage of building mutual trust. "I was first in my class in the college entrance exam!" "No one taught me. All the teachers I encountered before treated me like a plague, no one even treated me like a human being." "If they bullied me, I would stay far, far away from them; if they scolded me, I would pretend I didn't hear it; if they wanted to hit me, I would run away... After that, I left school and lived alone at home, living my own life." Her tone gradually calmed down, and the girl was no longer as emotional as before, but slowly and softly said, "But what I wanted, what I fantasized about, was to have people by my side like those other children." Hua Xin's words weren't just for herself. Hearing this, Xia Yan, who was standing to the side, paused, the beer can he was holding in his mouth. A self-deprecating and bitter smile slowly appeared on his face. Yes. How could he not have fantasized? Why did he become good friends with Hua Xin? They seemed to be from completely different worlds, two completely different types of people, seemingly destined to never cross paths. Even if they became friends, it would likely only stay at the level of "classmates" or a fleeting encounter. But Xia Yan understood why perfectly. A wounded wolf will hide its injury to prevent other wolves from discovering it. Otherwise, if the other wolves find out, its status in the pack will plummet, and it might face ostracism and suppression from all the wolves. Wounded, it can only silently lick its wounds, praying for a quick recovery, hoping it won't be discovered and made public. Otherwise, there's no way to survive in the pack. To survive, it seems one can only pretend to be uninjured, even if it's excruciatingly painful, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor. Sometimes, it even has to pretend to be incredibly strong, capable of hunting prey alone. Aren't humans the same? Only after encountering another "wounded wolf" like himself will he remember that he isn't the fierce, powerful wolf he pretends to be, but also a wounded wolf. Xia Yan remained silent, drinking and eating quietly, but the confusion and sorrow in his eyes grew deeper, like an abyss in the darkness. Listening was the best comfort Hua Xin could offer in her current state. "It's funny, really." For some reason, Hua Xin, who had been pouring out her emotions, couldn't help but laugh. "The reason I saw them again was because..." "The house I lived in for over ten years, the house they didn't want, the house they abandoned me in and didn't have time to take with them." "You know, Lao Xia, it was because they wanted to sell the house I live in now that they contacted me after all these years." "Just for that one thing." "No matter how I was doing before, how much I suffered, even if I looked different, whether I was in college or still in high school, how I was eating and dressing..." "At least when you see me, you should at least say, 'You're still alive,' right?" "At least that would make me feel a little better." After saying what had been weighing on her heart, she seemed to feel much lighter. Hua Xin turned her head away and gulped down the remaining half-bottle of beer in one go. Even though her strength had always been ridiculously weak, she still managed to crush the entire can. The girl's voice suddenly turned into a slightly angry laugh, trembling slightly. There was no roar, no shout, only a murmur, as if questioning herself: "Ha... am I really that unpopular?" "Why does it seem like they treat me like I'm invisible?" "Dead is dead, alive is alive, it's like my existence or non-existence has nothing to do with them." Xia Yan took a deep breath, turning to look at Hua Xin, hidden in her hood not far away. His voice wasn't as strained or overtly comforting, but Hua Xin could easily hear the firmness and reassurance in his tone. "We'll always be good brothers." He always seemed to be like that. That damned gentleness, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change it. Hua Xin turned her head slightly, her eyes already slightly moist, her long eyelashes glistening with tiny droplets of water, trembling with each blink. Seeing her father, who had once again remarried, seeing him again, was she really as calm as she appeared? Could she really be completely indifferent to all of this, like a piece of wood, accepting whatever came her way? Hua Shanming did. From their brief conversation, it was clear how much he valued this new family, while she seemed like a stranger discussing "business." Whether it was about changing her ID information or selling the house, Hua Shanming would subconsciously say, "My wife and children are waiting for me," to end their meeting. Hua Shanming had already left Shanghai. He had returned under the pretense of tourism and seeing "old friends" to secretly meet her, and only during this time did he have the time to sell the forgotten house for money. Hua Xin remained silent, saying nothing. As for Chen Yu, her blood-related "mother," after getting her phone number from Grandpa Liu, Hua Xin didn't feel any particular emotional fluctuation. Perhaps because she had seen Hua Shanming, she had already mentally simulated his reaction. And indeed, that was the case. At first, Chen Yu was stunned for a moment. The girl could sense that she really wanted to hang up and didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Perhaps she was curious about why she had Chen Yu's number, or perhaps she was curious about Chen Yu's normal state now, so she hesitated for a moment and didn't hang up. Taking advantage of this moment, Hua Xin calmly told her, like a machine, about Hua Shanming wanting to sell the house, left her phone number, and then hung up the phone. She couldn't remember the number, and didn't know why she accidentally deleted it. Both Hua Shanming and Chen Yu were equally indifferent and subconsciously tried to distance themselves. The more they acted this way, the more Hua Xin missed the person besides Xia Yan who cared about her. "I didn't tell you," Hua Xin leaned back on the bench, looking at the clearly visible moon in the sky, as if this would allow her to return to that distant past. "After they left, a neighbor auntie was incredibly kind to me." "Her surname is Li, just like how kind you are to me." "She would take me out for good food, give me clothes, and even take pity on me and invite me to stay at their house. Her husband was also very kind; he didn't stop her from meddling, nor did he look down on me." The girl shielded her eyes with her arm. The bright moon disappeared from view. "She said she would definitely finish university, grow up, and live independently." Her sleeve was wet. It was wet with tears. "Xia Yan, you said good people will..."