Wu Cailan’s eyes welled. Then tears trickled down her face.
She hated how overbearing Ye Tianxin was. She hated how cold and unfeeling her husband was.
“Will that do?”
Ye Tianxin walked up to Wu Cailan and said softly, “Mrs. Di, I know that you had only done that because you were too upset. Di Shanshi is a very good classmate of ours. Go and find him quickly. All of us are waiting for him to come back and take the college entrance examinations.”
Wu Cailan nodded hurriedly.
She did not dare to push Ye Tianxin. She did not dare to do anything else.
Wu Cailan walked around the campus aimlessly. Mayor Di followed behind her, and the two went home.
All the pent-up emotions that Wu Cailan had been keeping had erupted then.
When they reached the house, she started throwing and smashing everything that she could reach.
Mayor Di stood by and watched unfeelingly. He did not even try to stop Wu Cailan.
The floor was a mess. The television, cups, bowls, glasses, skincare products, clothes, food in the fridge—everything was on the floor.
Wu Cailan was exhausted from all the smashing.
Her eyes were red and filled with disappointment.
“Were you satisfied when you saw me bending over and apologizing to that brat?” Wu Cailan yelled. “Are you satisfied now? I was humiliated!”
Mayor Di’s eyes were calm.
“You know better than anyone else why Shi ran away from home,” Mayor Di responded calmly. He refused to look at his wife. “Wu Cailan, you are an educated woman. Don’t you feel guilty for trying to frame an innocent girl?”
“Is it not her fault? She pretended to be pitiful and seduced our Shi…,” Wu Cailan accused Ye Tianxin. She wouldn’t let it go.
“Haven’t you liked someone when you were younger as well? And weren’t there people who liked you as well? Wu Cailan, think about it. Whose fault is this? Take some time to cool down. In the meantime, I will sleep in the office.”
Then Mayor Di left.
Wu Cailan sat on the floor and covered her face with her hands. She cried hysterically.
Wu Cailan cried for a long time. She stayed up all night, crying. When morning came, she began to clean the mess she created.
Meanwhile, the class resumed as usual after Wu Cailan’s apology.
Li Xiaohui passed Ye Tianxin a note slyly. On the note, she wrote, “Di Shanshi was secretly in love with you? I couldn’t tell!”
Ye Tianxin wrote back to Li Xiaohui, “Pay attention in class.”
After class, Mr. Chen said to Ye Tianxin, “Tianxin, I hope that you will not be affected by what had happened. The dean and I will not allow this incident to happen again…”
Ye Tianxin was worried about where Di Shanshi had gone. “Then, Mr. Chen,” Ye Tianxin spoke, “if Di Shanshi can’t come back to school before the college entrance examinations, does that mean he will not be allowed to take the exams?”
“That’s right. But Mayor Di will definitely find him. Don’t worry about him too much. Focus on the upcoming college entrance exams.”
There was no news from Di Shanshi in the days that followed.
A week had passed… Mayor Di seemed to have given up searching for Di Shanshi. Wu Cailan had also gone back to work.
The 20th of May was Ye Tianxin’s 18th birthday.
There were 16 days left to the college entrance examinations.
On that day, Ye Tianxin saw her grandmother’s lovely face the moment she woke up. Grandmother reached out and caressed Ye Tianxin’s face.
“Tianxin, happy birthday.”
“Grandmother…”
Ye Tianxin hugged her grandmother. Her grandmother had put on some weight as she recuperated from her surgery. There was also a slight hint of smell—probably due to the medicines she was taking—coming off her.