Twenty-four

  He really left and the remaining days did not receive his call, and when going out, he did not meet him again. She felt relieved at the same time, but also a little lost. However, the promise was not so easy to keep because Gao Tian almost came home every night after dinner to play Go with her father, and didn't particularly look for her, but the two of them would play for two or three hours in silence, leaving exactly at 9 o'clock every night.

  She couldn't pretend not to see it, nor could she continue hiding in her room with growing resentment towards Gaotian. Her parents didn't mention the previous incident again. At Friday's dinner, she carefully told her parents that she planned to return to work on Sunday afternoon. Her father put down his chopsticks and said heavily: "Don't go to Wucheng, come back to Rongcheng and find a job."

  "Xue Xue, your father means that as a girl, it's not easy for you outside, so it's better to come back and be with us. If you're worried about the company, don't worry, your father will take care of it."

  She suddenly plucked up her courage and said: "I don't like that Gaotian at all."

  "Dad got angry again: 'What kind of person do you like, a singer in a bar? They even followed you home.' She didn't expect Dad to say something like that, but immediately understood that they knew everything, although she had no idea how they found out."

  The word "selling out" pained her. She thought of Ye Fan's serious and focused expression on stage, his wandering eyes: "Yes, I like him, just because I like him. I don't care what he does for a living, I don't care if he can take me to America or not, I don't care if he will bring me happiness and peace of mind. I just like this person. You've already arranged the next twenty-three years of my life, but I want to make my own choices from now on. Is that wrong?"

  These words not only shocked her father and mother, but also deeply shocked herself. From childhood to adulthood, she had never been so rude to her parents, nor had she ever spoken out her mind so directly. Her father's education was that girls should be reserved and tactful in their speech.

  It's all over, it's all messed up. She thought to herself.

  "Dad was indeed angry and slapped the table: 'Get out, from now on you're no longer my daughter.' He turned around and went into the house. Mom, afraid that Dad would get too angry, took a deep look at her and followed Dad into the house."

  She sat alone at her desk, wondering why things had turned out this way, all because of that Ye Can Ran who had jumped out of nowhere and was destined to disrupt her life.

  Gao Tian pressed the doorbell at this time. After opening the door, Gao Tian keenly sensed that something was off about the atmosphere in the house. Mom came out of the study room and said somewhat flusteredly, "Xiao Gao, I'm sorry, Uncle Wei is not feeling well today and can't play chess with you."

  Gao Tian said, "That's okay. Can I take Ru Shuang out for a walk then?" He spoke naturally and calmly, as if he had been rehearsing the lines for a long time. His mother hesitated and looked at her daughter.

  As the frost was about to cut off the reason, he heard Gao Tian say that and calmed down. "Okay, I'll change my clothes and come out." His mother let out a sigh of relief: "Just in time to take Shuang Shuang out for a stroll too." Face was still important, but not to the point where it didn't matter at all.

  Gaotian and she walked together with a fist-sized distance between them, both feeling puzzled. The usually cheerful little master who would play with her was now clouded over with gloom.

  After a long silence, Gao Tian finally spoke up: "I didn't tell you that I majored in psychology for my Ph.D." She seemed to not have heard him at all.

  "People who study psychology need to be calm and rational, able to step out of themselves to analyze others' thoughts. A single glance or a slight movement can reveal one's secrets." She didn't know why Gao Tian wanted to say these things to her.

  "I want to apologize for what I said to you last time about going to America."

  "She said faintly: 'No need to apologize, I've long forgotten.'"

  "After so many years of studying, I have mastered the skills and basic elements required for psychology, so it's not true that I'm too picky and haven't dated a girl yet."

  "The real reason is that the girls I dated in the past all thought I was too calm and rational, not romantic enough, so they chose to leave me. When they left me, I was very calm but my heart wasn't without pain."

  She began to listen carefully.

  "The last time I went to Wucheng was because my first love girlfriend was there. I asked her not to beg her to go to the United States with me, she refused me and would rather be with a married man."

  She inexplicably thought of Liu Qing.

  "It was later on the bus that I saw you, your face had the same sadness and loss as mine. That's why I paid special attention to you. It was also because of this that I said I would take you to America, I thought you were like me and needed to escape." She turned her head to look at Gao Tian's face, this normally refined and calm face was now saturated with worry. "It was later that I found out you and I are different." She felt her eyes getting hot and wet again.

  "Mian City, this small place has no secrets. You and him are just like me and her back then." Without asking again, he lit a cigarette and the faint smoke rose between his fingers.

  "Why don't you try harder?" she couldn't help but ask, her heart now completely devoid of disgust and filled with sympathy for Gao Tian, even putting aside her own troubles for the time being.

  "Because she really fell in love with that person." The words came out of Gaotian's mouth like a bitter fruit. "When I was still young, I thought everything was possible as long as I worked hard. Now I realize that some things can't be done no matter how hard you try. Back then, for the sake of promising her a beautiful future, I didn't cherish her well, and now I know that once you miss it, you can't turn back."

  She lowered her head and thought of herself.

  "These past few days I've been wanting to find an opportunity to apologize to you, but you've been avoiding me. Today I finally got it out." She felt relieved, so that's how it was.

  "Just before you came, I had a fight with my dad because he wouldn't let me go back to Wucheng, but I promised that I would definitely go back." Because of Gao Tian's heartfelt confession, the distance between them was shortened. At this moment, Gao Tian seemed like an older brother who could share his troubles with.

  "I can help you persuade him because no matter what your parents say, it's all for your own good and they hope you'll be fine. But you need to think carefully." Gao Tian stopped and stared at her: "You need to think clearly about what you want, once you've decided, there's no turning back regardless of whether the future is bright or not." His words were laced with temptation, and tempting things often came with danger. She lifted her head, firm and word by word: "I need your help."