After Escaping Marriage - Extra 18
Chapter 161: Extra 3 - Parallel World
Cheng Zhanxi didn't dare to look back, afraid Yu Qingtang would see the tears on her face.
In the VIP lounge, Song Qingrou gently patted her daughter's back, the fabric on her shoulder already damp with Cheng Zhanxi's tears. The two men stood by helplessly; one held a box of tissues, while the other had opened his laptop but hadn't typed a single word in a work email for a long time.
Cheng Zhanxi had cried before, but this time was different. She didn't know how to describe the feeling. If she had to, it was like she was an adult.
But parting was inevitable.
The Cheng family silently accompanied their daughter who was going abroad to study. The airport terminal outside the security checkpoint was also silent.
Cheng Zhanxi's group had been gone for a long time, their figures overlapping one another, the distance between them now vast. Yu Qingtang didn't speak, nor did she leave.
Wei Tingyu and Yu Ci exchanged a glance but didn't go over to disturb her.
After a long while, Yu Qingtang finally withdrew her gaze, lowering her head slightly to hide all her emotions.
A hand suddenly rested on her shoulder. Yu Qingtang turned to see her mother's face. Yu Ci squeezed her shoulder gently and said softly, "Let's go home."
Yu Qingtang nodded.
She looked at Yu Ci, her lips pressed together, her expression on the verge of tears.
Yu Ci prepared to embrace her, but Yu Qingtang sniffled and said in a voice with a faint nasal tone, "I'll go straight to school."
Yu Ci looked at her and said, "Okay."
Yu Qingtang sat in the back seat of the car and left the airport. Behind her, planes soared into the distant blue sky, flying away.
Cheng Zhanxi didn't cry for too long. She took the tissue from her father's hand, wiped her swollen eyes, and lowered her head to turn on the e-reader she carried with her.
As soon as she boarded the plane, Cheng Zhanxi fell asleep. After a long flight, they landed.
"I'm going to make a call." Cheng Zhanxi turned on her phone, enabled roaming, and walked past two blond, blue-eyed foreigners to find a quiet spot.
The phone rang once, then twice, before Yu Qingtang picked up.
"Hello," she said.
"Guess who this is," Cheng Zhanxi said with a laugh, telling a joke that wasn't very funny.
"I guess you're Cheng Zhanxi." Yu Qingtang patiently played along. If she didn't, she wouldn't know what to say to her.
"Haha, you're right."
The words they couldn't say face-to-face only led to a more awkward stalemate on opposite ends of the phone line.
To break the stalemate, Yu Qingtang wanted to laugh a little like her, but she couldn't manage it, so only silence remained.
Cheng Zhanxi's smile slowly faded. "I've arrived," she said.
"...Mm."
"What are you doing?"
"In the dorm."
The dorm...
It was a word that sounded so distant from Yu Qingtang.
She was quiet for a moment, so Yu Qingtang took the initiative to ask, "Did you just get there?"
Cheng Zhanxi answered without thinking, which made it sound more natural. "Yeah, I called you as soon as I arrived."
Yu Qingtang smiled.
Through the phone, Cheng Zhanxi seemed to sense her mood and smiled as well. "I'm going to the hotel to drop off my luggage first. I'll call you again later."
"Okay."
Cheng Zhanxi hung up. Just a few seconds later, her mood sank uncontrollably. She turned to look back the way she came, her eyes turning red again. This time, she didn't let the tears fall. Instead, she took a few deep breaths, composed herself, and walked back.
They took a taxi to the hotel they had booked, had a meal, and on the way back to the room, Cheng Zhanxi eagerly took out her phone.
Song Qingrou asked, "What are you doing?"
Cheng Zhanxi had just finished typing the country code for China and replied, "I'm calling Yu Qingtang."
"Now?" Song Qingrou asked.
When else? Cheng Zhanxi thought. She had been holding back for a long time; she could barely taste the big meal they just had.
Song Qingrou raised her wrist to look at her watch. "She's probably asleep. Wait until she wakes up to call."
Cheng Zhanxi froze and looked at the sunlight outside.
She belatedly remembered the seven-hour time difference with China. Her bright, sunny morning was the dead of night in the GMT+8 time zone.
Cheng Zhanxi slowly put her phone away and lowered her head.
Song Qingrou ruffled her hair.
GMT+8, the dormitory.
All was silent.
Yu Qingtang lay on her side, one hand holding the phone by her pillow. The screen's faint glow illuminated her face, making her look like a lonely boat adrift on the sea.
The screen dimmed, then quickly lit up again.
Yu Qingtang stared at the home screen without blinking.
At five-thirty in the morning, the wake-up call sounded from downstairs.
The students grumbled but got up without delay. When they saw Yu Qingtang standing in the middle of the dorm, fully dressed, they were so shocked their jaws nearly dropped.
A roommate asked, "Did you wake up early, or did you not sleep at all?"
Yu Qingtang curved her lips into a smile.
The roommates didn't ask any more questions. They clattered about, washing up, changing into their camouflage uniforms for military training, and rushing to the athletic field to assemble.
Cheng Zhanxi was counting the hours. Just as she was debating whether to call, a short message from Yu Qingtang arrived: 【Military training. Not allowed to bring phones. Back at nine p.m.】
Cheng Zhanxi: “…”
“Qingtang, let’s go, we’ll be late,” a roommate urged from the doorway.
“Coming.”
Yu Qingtang put her phone in a drawer and took one last look back.
In the dark drawer, the screen lit up, then lit up again as the phone vibrated from an incoming call.
Cheng Zhanxi couldn't get through, but she persistently dialed a few more times. After listening to the automated female voice say no one was answering, she finally gave up and went with her parents to look at houses.
The day flew by. At dawn in Paris, it was nine-thirty at night in China. Yu Qingtang called.
She went out to the balcony and closed the door.
Her roommates exchanged glances, sharing a knowing smile.
Longing washed away all unspoken thoughts. Cheng Zhanxi sat on the edge of her bed under a dim yellow lamp, chattering nonstop about everything she had held in all day—the things she'd encountered, the people she'd met.
Yu Qingtang listened with a smile, responding every now and then.
A roommate glanced over casually and froze.
The young woman on the balcony had a smile more dazzling than the lights.
Cheng Zhanxi drank two glasses of water before asking, "What time is lights-out for you guys?"
"Eleven."
It was already ten-fifty. Cheng Zhanxi said quickly, "Then you should hurry and get ready for bed."
Yu Qingtang lowered her eyes.
But...
Cheng Zhanxi urged her, "Go on. I'll text you whatever I haven't finished saying. You can read it after you're done."
The corners of Yu Qingtang's lips lifted into a smile. "Alright," she said.
"Go, go, go."
"I'm going."
When Yu Qingtang returned, her inbox was full of text messages from Cheng Zhanxi, filling the screen. She quickly replied, "I'm back," then read them one by one, her smile growing wider.
A week later, Cheng Yi and the other two returned to China. Cheng Zhanxi saw them off at the airport.
After Song Qingrou and the others entered the departure lounge, Cheng Yi sat on a sofa, feeling a complicated mix of emotions. "Xixi didn't even cry just now," he said, his tone complex.
Song Qingrou shot him a look. "Cheng Yi, what do you mean by that? Are you hoping our daughter would cry?"
Cheng Yi didn't dare to speak.
Cheng Yuanxi completely understood Cheng Yi's feelings. "Dad didn't mean it like that. When Xixi and Qingtang parted, she cried her eyes out. But this time, parting with us..."
It seemed like she wasn't the least bit reluctant to see them go.
"Alright," Song Qingrou said. "How do you know she isn't crying in private? I shared a bed with Xixi last night. I know better than anyone whether she was sad to see us go."
Cheng Yi's and Cheng Yuanxi's eyes lit up at the same time.
Song Qingrou couldn't stand the way the two of them were competing with Yu Qingtang for affection. She sighed softly and said, "She's just grown up."
So she's learned not to show her emotions, and she's also afraid of making her family worry.
The two men's expressions fell again.
Their precious daughter/sister would have to make her own way in the world alone now.
Cheng Zhanxi moved into her apartment abroad. It was a decent size, with air conditioning and heating, and she could cook her own Chinese food. Back home, with a housekeeper and her parents around, she rarely cooked. Cheng Yi had specially left his recipes for her, and her suitcase was packed with hot pot bases and chili sauce.
That evening, Cheng Zhanxi opened the refrigerator and saw it stuffed full of groceries. Tears suddenly welled up uncontrollably.
She made her first dinner as a student abroad. It looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful—she must have inherited Cheng Yi's skills. Cheng Zhanxi sent a photo to Song Qingrou. Song Qingrou put down her chopsticks, and Cheng Yuanxi handed her a few tissues. She took them and wiped her tears.
After seeing the photo, Cheng Yi and Cheng Yuanxi's eyes also grew a little red.
Cheng Yi put down his phone and said in a hoarse voice, "Let's eat."
Song Qingrou took a couple of bites but had no appetite. She put down her bowl and chopsticks and went back to her bedroom.
At night.
Song Qingrou heard Cheng Yi tossing and turning behind her and turned to look at him.
Cheng Yi said guiltily, "Did I wake you?"
"No, I wasn't asleep," Song Qingrou said. "I wonder how Xixi is doing."
Cheng Yi pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back. He felt a dampness on his neck.
Yu Qingtang lay on her dorm bed, arms tucked behind her head, gazing at the moonlight outside through the balcony's glass door. The moonlight was clear, tinged year after year with the sorrow of parting.
-The meal I made [Photo]
-Make it for me next time
-Then I'll have to learn a few more dishes, hahaha
-I'll be waiting
Cheng Zhanxi read through the message history over and over again, and she herself tossed and turned countless times before finally drifting off to sleep.
The admission requirements for the Paris Academy of Fine Arts, one of the world's four great art academies, were strict. Among the one-third of students who were foreigners, even fewer were admitted from the same country. Cheng Zhanxi happened to meet Yu Jianxing, a sculpture student from her year. The two hit it off immediately and quickly became friends.
Yu Jianxing also heard Yu Qingtang's name from her—the person Cheng Zhanxi mentioned every single day.
"Your girlfriend?" Yu Jianxing teased.
"No, no," Cheng Zhanxi denied quickly. "We're good friends who grew up together."
Yu Jianxing drew out a long "Ohhh" but didn't say anything else.
The time difference and their increasingly busy studies made it difficult for them to maintain daily calls. The phone calls became less frequent, and their messages were mostly filled with "good morning" and "good night."
Cheng Zhanxi wasn't the type to wallow in her emotions, much less fall apart because of their separation. She still had her own world, and it was now even wider.
Cheng Zhanxi stood at the top of a rock face, clapping the chalk from her hands. She flashed a peace sign at the camera with a brilliant smile. A girl with bronze skin had her arm slung around Cheng Zhanxi's shoulders, and they were surrounded by a large group of young men and women of a similar age.
Yu Qingtang saved the photo, then cropped out Cheng Zhanxi by herself and set it as her chat background.
In December, for Cheng Zhanxi's eighteenth birthday, the Cheng family made a special trip abroad to celebrate with her. Yu Qingtang was taken on a trip by Teacher Tian and could only send her gift and wishes on time. Two days later, she "passed through" Paris and met Cheng Zhanxi near her school.
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