Volume 1 Chapter 35 The Same Country

  "Didn't Du Ruo say she was going to practice dancing? How did you two end up here?" Su Xia looked at Du Ruo and An Junli's sweet appearance, asking involuntarily.

  "An Junlei is here, how can she bear not to come!"

  "Ah, it hurts so much." Suddenly, a cry came from afar, it was Du Ruo's voice.

  "Ah, it's Du Ruo, let's go take a look." Su Xia pulled Meng Xi along as they ran up.

  "What's wrong with you, Du Ruo?"

  "Just now I probably stepped on a stone and didn't stand firm, so I twisted my foot." Du Ruo said painfully.

  "What can be done? There are still ten days before the competition." Fang Li anxiously massaged Du Ruo's feet, and with a bit of force, Du Ruo cried out in pain.

  Du Ruo hung her head, looking anxious and painful, tears streaming down her face. After all the hard work and preparation, just as everything was ready, she sprained her foot before the competition, what a disaster. The girls were all in an uproar, like ants on a hot pot, An Junli directly picked up Du Ruo and ran towards the highway. Fang Li looked at their backs, feeling a surge of sadness in her heart. It turned out that An Junli was really so worried about Du Ruo.

  "Look, Du Ruo's heel is broken in half, he must be seriously injured." Su Xia also looked worried.

  "No, this shoe heel has obvious signs of being cut with a knife." Mo Xiao walked over to pick up Du Ruo's fallen shoe, and a thought flashed through his mind, but would the truth really be as he suspected?

  "As expected, Du Ruo is indeed the next victim. Xu Ran is really too despicable!" Meng Xi slapped her thigh and cursed Xu Ran.

  "Don't say that too early, just because he's the beneficiary, we can't conclude that she's a bad person, maybe she's just being used as a pawn." Mo Xiao said thoughtfully.

  Fang Li didn't know where to start with Mo Xiao's words, she was still staring blankly into the distance, unaware that sand had gotten into her eyes. When she rubbed them out, she stubbornly took away her bitter tears. Fang Li would never understand what was between her and An Jun Lei, whether it was because of her own mediocrity that she wasn't worthy of him, or if there was something about Du Ruo that she could never learn.

  I just want someone to promise me a lifetime of happiness, so I can bravely face growing old. An Junli has an enchanting gaze and broad shoulders, but now he's carrying on his back a girl with tears in her eyes like pear blossoms in the rain. He can worry for her, do everything for her, while in his heart, I'm just like that broken high-heeled shoe, only worthy of An Junli's disdain. Fang Li thought this and burst into tears, squatting on the ground and covering her face.

  "What's wrong with you, Fang Li?" Mo Xiao anxiously helped Fang Li up and leaned his head on his own shoulder.

  "Fang Li, don't worry, Du Ruo will be fine." Meng Xi came over to mediate. Su Xia and Meng Xi both knew that Fang Li's heart had been given wholeheartedly to An Junli, and from then on, it could never be taken back, only to be left idle and at the mercy of others.

  "If you're worried about Fang Lei, let's go take a look!" Mo Xiao wiped away the tears on Fang Lei's face with his hand. "You really cry too easily, don't always be like this, it hurts my heart."

  Fang Li smiled and grabbed Mo Xiao's hand, wiping away her own tears. Then they rushed to the hospital together to see Du Ruo.

  "It's okay, nothing serious happened, just sprained a bit and didn't hurt the bones. However, it will take only a month to recover."

  "What's going to happen now? There are only ten days left until the competition, Du Ruo has paid so much for this competition and will definitely not give up."

  "She said she would definitely participate in the competition, even if she fell on stage, she had to participate." An Junli's eyes dimmed for a moment, but quickly recovered that brightness. "So Mo Xiao, I beg of you to help her out, she can't dance as well as she used to now, but this prize is too important for her no matter what."

  Junli...

  "I know it's not good, but with Du Ruofei's strength, she would have won anyway, I'm just afraid that she really will fall on the stage."

  "Alright, I'll remind them that Du Ruo is competing with an injury, please take care of him." Behind the door, Du Ruo was stuck to the door listening to this conversation, feeling a sense of joy and fulfillment, his brother's eyes finally had hope. Their family would no longer have to suffer from sudden misfortunes, at this moment fate was finally fair to them.

  Du Ruo lay quietly on the bed waiting for An Junli, she felt that she actually owed An Junli an apology because she had used him in the competition. An Junli was a person who truly cared about her and someone she wanted to truly love wholeheartedly. When she finally had enough money to cure her brother's illness, she could start a passionate and earth-shattering romance with An Junli.

  Du Ruo thought that life would be so beautiful at that time, she no longer had to go against her conscience and do those things that were condemned. If it weren't for the helplessness, who wouldn't want to be a good person? But some people are born without even having the opportunity to be a good person, is it the fault of fate or the true and false reality of life.

  An Junli sent Du Ruo back home and returned to his own cold home. How long has it been since he came back? He's always been at Mo Xiao's place, freeloading food, drink, and accommodation, because when he's with others, he feels the air around him has temperature, and he's still alive. When Xi Jia's parents allowed it, the three of them would squeeze onto one bed together. Brothers should be like this, sleeping together, living together, and dying together in the end.

  An Junli sat on the bed at home, the bed creaked miserably due to no one sleeping on it for a long time, piercing through the silence in the darkness. An Junli took out a cigarette and slowly lit it up, the moment the flame appeared, An Junli suddenly felt very uncomfortable, quietly staring at the rising flames shining brightly into his eyes. How long has it been since he returned home? How long has it been since he visited his mother?

  A few days ago, the prison called to say that my mother's illness had relapsed and she was sent to a mental hospital for treatment. However, I didn't have the courage to see her, as the perfect mother I once knew had suddenly become a madwoman. The original mother was an elegant noble lady, but now she is in such a pitiful state. When she falls ill, she suffers torment in the hospital, and when she recovers, she has to return to prison to suffer again. Both options are painful, it's almost better when she's not aware of her situation.

  Du Ruo is also a pitiful person, so An Junli treats her with such seriousness and kindness, just like he does to Xi Que. Because of some shared hardships, they are like people from the same country. The affection from the bottom of his heart makes him and Du Ruo slowly get closer, but that's just the care of a wandering brother towards his sister. He and Xi Que, Du Ruo are all people who rely on each other for survival, even Yan Ran makes her feel like she wants to protect them.

  An Junli saw that Xi Ya had a shallow affection for Nai, perhaps it wasn't yet ripe enough to be called love. But it moved people, just like using soft fingers to continuously pluck the strings of a zither, producing a gentle and beautiful sound. From then on, Xi Ya often dragged him along to find Nai to drink together, he knew that from now on, Xi Ya's heart would no longer only have brotherly love.