Chapter Thirty-Two: Returning Home

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My Fiery Girlfriend

Chapter Thirty-Two: Returning to My Hometown

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Chapter Thirty-Two: Returning to My Hometown

The three of us sat there in relative silence, forming a striking contrast with the noise and commotion outside. To be honest, I wanted to find something to talk about. Otherwise, how was I supposed to get through the entire day without going stir-crazy?

Before I could think of a topic, the phone in my pocket suddenly rang. I took it out and glanced at the screen, and emotions immediately surged within me. I could not even tell whether it was sorrow or something else.

The number displayed belonged to a stranger, yet I clearly remembered that it was Luo Qing’s phone number. After returning last night, however, I had deleted every one of her contact details. I wanted to erase her from my world completely.

“Hello. Who is this?” I deliberately pretended not to know her and asked in a low voice.

The person on the other end was clearly caught off guard by my sudden question. After a brief silence, she finally said, “Yang Chen! How dare you delete my number!”

“You’ve got the wrong person.” Hearing the resentment in Luo Qing’s voice, I hung up without another thought.

The moment the call ended, the phone rang again. I had intended to switch it off, but after hesitating for a moment, I answered.

“Where are you now?” Luo Qing sounded somewhat anxious. I had no idea what was happening on her end, but… what did any of it have to do with me?

“On the train home. I’ve been traveling for quite a while.” I no longer bothered to skirt around the subject and spoke directly. “Getting up so early was exhausting. If there’s nothing else, I’m going to hang up.”

“I don’t believe you. I’m at your place right now. Hurry back.” Her voice was no longer as irritated as before. Instead, it sounded strangely forlorn.

I gave a small laugh and said casually, “Why would I lie to you? Besides, that isn’t my home anymore… It never really was. That shabby room was nothing more than a filthy, boring doghouse.”

I kept mocking myself, even borrowing the vicious words Zhao Kewen had once used to describe my rented room. It was true—I had lived in Yichun for the past two years worse than any dog belonging to a wealthy family. I lived on instant noodles, played a battered guitar, and sang empty songs about dreams and love… Heh. Wasn’t the place where a dog lived a doghouse?

“You… should come back to Yichun first. I have something to discuss with you.” Luo Qing seemed to want to say more, but the words would not come out.

“Can you stop joking around?” I said irritably. “What am I to you, a toy? When you like me, you hold me close, and when you get tired of me, you kick me aside. I mean less to you than your stuffed bear. At least you wouldn’t slap it across the face before throwing it away!”

If you want me to stay, I stay; if you want me to leave, I leave. I call myself a dog, and suddenly that means I really am one? Enough with the damn jokes. I couldn’t laugh anymore.

Luo Qing fell silent for a long time. After listening for a while without hearing anything, I hung up again.

From now on, Luo Qing and I would no longer live in the same world. She could live her life, and I would live mine. We owed each other nothing, and we would never meet again.

I had spoken rather loudly during the latter half of the call, apparently disturbing Su Xuefei, who had been absorbed in the snowy view outside the window. She finally turned to look at me and asked softly, “Was that your ex-girlfriend?”

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I nodded slightly but said nothing more. I did not want to discuss Luo Qing, myself, or the story between us. It was no longer a memory to me. It was poison—the culprit that had robbed me of happiness.

My phone vibrated faintly, apparently indicating a new message. When I opened it, irritation flared again. It was from Luo Qing.

The message was simple:

“If I don’t see you within three days, you’ll bear the consequences.”

I glanced at it and laughed outright. What was this supposed to mean? Was she threatening me? With her powerful family and enormous wealth, playing with me was no more difficult than playing with a tiny insect. But if I could not afford to fight back, couldn’t I at least hide? If she had the nerve, she could send someone to Jinlan and drag me back herself!

I paid no attention to the threatening undertone of the message. I slipped my phone back into my pocket, then put the other half of Su Xuefei’s earphones in my ear and began listening to music.

The rest of the journey became even more boring. After finishing her snacks, Li Xiaoya began yawning and soon fell asleep with her head on the table. From time to time, Su Xuefei asked about various places as we passed them. I was not particularly familiar with most of them either, but I could still explain a few things about the usual sights and local stories. Goddess Su listened with great interest.

By afternoon, I had been sitting in my seat for an entire day and was exhausted. Whenever I closed my eyes, I felt as if I might fall asleep immediately, but I forced myself to stay awake. Su Xuefei did not speak much, yet she remained quite energetic. Perhaps she had slept well the previous night, or perhaps taking a train was still novel to her. In any case, she looked far more alert than I did.

“If you’re tired, sleep for a while,” Su Xuefei said. She removed her earphones and gestured for me to get some proper rest. “I’ll hold Xiaoya. You can rest with your head on the table.”

I shook my head and replied softly, “You’re accompanying me home, after all. I can’t very well leave you here alone to be bored.”

“I’m not bored. I think it’s rather interesting—listening to other people talk and watching the snowy scenery outside. Everything feels so natural and beautiful.”

“All right, then. I’ll sleep for a while. If you get bored or need to use the restroom, just wake me up.”

To my surprise, Su Xuefei really did lift the sleeping Xiaoya onto her lap. I then naturally leaned over the table, closed my eyes, and prepared to sleep.

When I groggily opened my eyes again, it was already completely dark outside. I tried to sit up, only to discover that at some point Su Xuefei had tilted her head against me and fallen asleep. In her arms, she still held Li Xiaoya, who was sleeping soundly.

I gave a helpless, bitter smile, but I could not move for fear of waking her. All I could do was lower my head onto the little table again and rest with my eyes closed.

At last, after more than ten hours of hardship, we arrived at our destination: Jinlan. I woke the dazed Su Xuefei and Li Xiaoya, gathered our things, and hurried off the train.

“And you said you weren’t bored. You slept even more soundly than I did.” I laughed several times as I looked at the unfamiliar city before me and inhaled two deep breaths of icy air.

“You both fell asleep. How could I not be bored?” Su Xuefei pouted and teased me unhappily. “I only let you sleep longer because you looked exhausted.”

“We’re finally home. Come on, let’s take a look at the hometown I’ve lived in for more than twenty years.”

I led them out of the station. The roads before us were covered in snow, and I stood by the roadside to hail a taxi.

“It feels so fresh and clean here, but there are hardly any people!” Su Xuefei said as she followed behind me and looked around.

Once we found a taxi, I gave the driver my home address. The three of us set off again, heading toward home.

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“Yang Chen…” Su Xuefei called my name hesitantly.

I turned around and looked at her in confusion, asking what was wrong.

“Perhaps… we should wait until tomorrow morning before going to your house? It’s already so late. Your parents must be asleep, and it doesn’t seem very appropriate for us to arrive now.”

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it. What’s wrong? Don’t tell me Goddess Su is shy.”

Su Xuefei neither agreed nor shook her head. I wondered if she really was embarrassed, so I quickly added, “It’s fine. You’re both my friends, and it’s perfectly normal for friends who have come from far away to stay at my house for a few days… It’s not as though you’re my girlfriend. What are you shy about? Just think of it as a hotel.”

At that, Su Xuefei gave me a gentle look and nodded slightly without saying anything more.

After getting out of the taxi, I led Su Xuefei directly to my front door. I took out my key, somewhat awkwardly, and unlocked it. Apparently hearing the sound, my mother switched on the living-room light the moment I entered.

A beautiful woman whose years had begun to show came out from the inner room. At first sight of us, she looked puzzled and asked hesitantly, “Who are you?”

I gave the somewhat bashful Su Xuefei an embarrassed smile, then called softly, “Mom, it’s me, Chen.”

“My son?” She seemed unable to believe that I had really returned. Taking two steps closer, she looked at me with concern and said, “You’ve been struggling out there for years, and you’ve grown so thin!”

Then she noticed Su Xuefei and the little girl, Li Xiaoya, standing behind me. Still puzzled, she asked, “Son, who are these two?”

“This is Su Xuefei, a very good friend of mine. She came to visit our hometown during her break… And this little girl is Li Xiaoya, Feifei’s younger sister.”

I hurriedly introduced everyone, then asked in a low voice, “Dad’s sleeping in the inner room, right?”

“No. The old man went out to play cards. He hasn’t come back yet.” My mother brought several pairs of slippers for the three of us, then stood beside me and whispered, “Son, this girl is so pretty. Is she your girlfriend?”

I quickly waved my hands. “Absolutely not. How could I be so lucky?”

“Come in, Miss Su. Little girl, don’t stand in the doorway. Come on inside. You’ve been sitting in the car all day, so you must be tired. You should all get some rest early.”

As she spoke, my mother walked into the living room and filled every cup with tea. Watching her, I felt a warmth and familiarity I had not experienced in a very long time. I wanted to embrace her aging body and say, “Mom, I’ve missed you.”

Once inside, Su Xuefei had lost all her earlier liveliness. She sat very quietly on the sofa beside me, almost like a machine. Whenever my mother asked her a question, she answered with a smile, ensuring that the conversation never fell silent.

“Mom, do we still have enough room for everyone to stay?” I glanced around the house. It had changed slightly from before, though not enough to be obvious.

“Of course. You sleep in your old single bed, and Miss Su and the little girl can sleep in the large double bed in your room.”

With that, my mother cheerfully set a cup of tea beside Su Xuefei and spoke in a warm, peaceful voice.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Returning to My Hometown

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