Chapter 77: Past Events

After the passing of Jiang Pingsheng, Liang Shu had her first dream of him.

She remembered it vividly; in the dream, Jiang Pingsheng was as charming as ever, his smile so captivating, as if it could melt the winter snow.

He said, "Ah Shu, long time no see. Will you come and take me home?"

Jiang Pingsheng's spirit lingered in this city, so it was on her first night here that she dreamt of him.

At this moment, Liang Shu squatted on the ground, slowly extending her fingers, spreading them to touch the cold ground in front of her where Jiang Pingsheng had just stood.

"A Sheng, I've come to take you."

...

Jiang Pingsheng was adopted by the Ni family when he was ten years old.

After so many years, Liang Shu vaguely remembered that the weather was fine that day, the sunlight warming her face.

She watched from the corner as the Ni couple held Jiang Pingsheng's hand, and Jiang Pingsheng?

He gazed at Liang Shu in the corner, his gaze very focused.

The head of the orphanage was introducing Jiang Pingsheng's achievements to Mr. Ni, such as the arithmetic problems he solved, the paintings he drew, and the various handicrafts he made.

The head of the orphanage praised the ten-year-old Jiang Pingsheng to the skies.

As it turned out, the head was not exaggerating about Jiang Pingsheng.

Later, Jiang Pingsheng had enough ability to impress them.

Liang Shu followed them cautiously, her eyes full of curiosity.

Mr. Ni was flipping through Jiang Pingsheng's portfolio, thick with pages, each one depicting portraits, all of the same person.

That person was Liang Shu.

The head of the orphanage, seeing these drawings, had moist eyes. She turned to glance at Liang Shu, who peeked shyly from behind the door frame, a tiny girl with neatly braided hair and mischievous, bright eyes.

She hid quietly behind, seeming shy, but when everyone's gaze shifted to her face, she could smile at everyone.

Mr. Ni could guarantee that this was the most beautiful and charming girl he had ever seen in his life.

Such a stunning little girl, it was easy for him to match her with the person in the portrait.

Mr. Ni frowned, looking at the head of the orphanage. "This..."

The head sighed, "Pingsheng has the best relationship with A Shu. A Shu is a very sensible child, but unfortunately, she still hasn't found a family..."

Jiang Pingsheng glanced at Liang Shu outside the door, his spine straight, bowing respectfully to Mr. and Mrs. Ni. When he spoke, his teenage voice was pure and his pronunciation clear, "Uncle Ni, could you also take A Shu with you?"

The Ni couple were not very wealthy, living a modest life.

But they were both over forty, married for so many years, and had never had their own children. In the end, after discussing it, they decided to adopt one.

They finally settled on Jiang Pingsheng at the orphanage.

Mr. Ni was a high school teacher, and his wife was a laid-off worker. At that time, teacher salaries were not high, and they wanted to raise Jiang Pingsheng well, so they could only afford to raise one child.

Plus, Mr. Ni was not stupid; he could hear the helplessness in the head's words. How could such a beautiful child not find a family? There must be some other reason.

When he was in a dilemma, Jiang Pingsheng said again, "I can eat only two meals a day. I'll give my breakfast to A Shu, and I'll only eat half of my lunch and dinner, the other half for A Shu. I won't let you have any extra expenses because of A Shu's presence."

"Kind people have donated clothes to us before, all ages included. You won't need to buy me clothes for several years. I only ask that you buy A Shu a new outfit every Chinese New Year, as she loves to look beautiful."

A ten-year-old boy spoke clearly and confidently, shocking everyone present.

The head couldn't help wiping away tears, sighing once again.

Mr. Ni glanced at Liang Shu beside him, feeling choked up. He was also moved by Jiang Pingsheng's words. He put his hands on the boy's shoulders, "You know you're describing the ideal situation. Since we've decided to adopt you, we'll give you our best. But if we were to raise two children..."

Jiang Pingsheng understood the rest of the conversation without it being said.

He nodded, indicating his understanding, then he called Mr. Ni "Uncle Ni" and knelt down in front of everyone, bowing to Mr. Ni, "Uncle Ni, thank you very much for choosing me as your family, your son. But please forgive me, I cannot leave A Shu behind. There are also other outstanding children here; you can consider them too."

This move surprised Mr. Ni. He hurriedly helped Jiang Pingsheng up, feeling even more fond of him in his heart.

The head secretly wiped tears on the side.

Mr. Ni sighed and exchanged a glance with his wife, "Let Uncle think about it again, okay?"

Jiang Pingsheng bowed again, "Thank you."

The Ni couple said they would consider it and then went out to discuss with the head.

In the room, only Jiang Pingsheng remained. Liang Shu slipped in from the doorway, running a few steps to his side and crouching down beside him.

The nine-year-old girl reached out her small hand and rubbed his knee, her voice clear and tender, "Brother A Sheng, are you in pain?"

Jiang Pingsheng smiled at her, gazing at her intently, "Ah Shu, how many times have I told you, don't call me Brother A Sheng, call me A Sheng."

She lowered her head, muttering, "But the headmistress said I should call you Brother A Sheng."

"Are you going to listen to me, or to the headmistress?"

Liang Shu bit her lower lip, looked up at Jiang Pingsheng, and slowly said, "I'll listen to A Sheng."

A smile spread across Jiang Pingsheng's face as he took her hand.

"Why did you kneel just now? The floor is so hard," Liang Shu asked him.

But Jiang Pingsheng didn't answer. He looked at the person in the portfolio, his eyes soft, and tightened his grip on Liang Shu's hand, "Ah Shu, you must be happy every day. You've never done anything wrong. Those things that happened in the past have nothing to do with you, you know?"

Liang Shu lowered her head again, this time without saying anything.

Jiang Pingsheng turned his head to look at her, and said very seriously, "Ah Shu, I will definitely take you away."

...

When Ni Xiuli asked about Liang Shu, he was very puzzled. He said, "Such a beautiful girl, why hasn't anyone adopted her? I think she has a good personality, very likable."

At this point, the headmistress sighed again.

"Many families liked Ah Shu, even more than the families who adopted Pingsheng. Ah Shu was adopted by three families before, but accidents happened..." The headmistress shook her head, "Later, they all sent her back."

"What's the reason? Is she mischievous?"

"No, Ah Shu is very well-behaved."

The headmistress slowly recalled, "She went to the first family when she was five years old, stayed for a year. They were well-off, in the midst of their career rise. Because they wanted a daughter, they took Ah Shu in. But less than a year later, they went bankrupt and sent her back."

"Later, she found a second family, stayed for more than a year. Originally a harmonious family with an older brother three years older than her, but I heard that one day she accidentally ran outside the yard, an eight or nine-year-old child ran out to find her, almost bitten to death by a rabid dog..."

Later events were self-evident; Liang Shu was sent back again.

"The third time, Ah Shu didn't stay long with that family, only three months," the headmistress looked at Ni Xiuli, "Ah Shu is a good child, but I won't hide it from you. That family found out about the previous two families' incidents somehow, and heard about taking her to see a fortune teller, who said she carried bad luck and wasn't suitable for their family, unable to control her."

Ni Xiuli was a teacher, and the quality of both husband and wife was higher than average. After hearing this, he just shook his head, "This fortune teller better not delay this child. Everything follows the law of cause and effect; superstition like this has no scientific basis, it's not worth believing."

The headmistress smiled, "It's rare that you think this way. But for some people, it's better to believe in something than nothing at all. However, Ah Shu is doing fine with us, nothing has happened."

After a pause, the headmistress added, "Ah Shu doesn't know about these things, whether you ultimately adopt her or not, please don't let her know about them."

But Jiang Pingsheng heard all of this without missing a word.

Ni Xiuli nodded, "I understand. I don't believe in this myself; it's just that our current situation really isn't suitable for adopting two children... I really like Pingsheng. Please, find some time to persuade him more, Headmistress."

...

In the end, it was Liang Shu who persuaded Jiang Pingsheng.

"A Sheng, just go with them. Uncle Ni promised you, can you come back to see me anytime? The headmistress has been so good to me, and it's nice here. I'm willing to stay here with her forever."

Jiang Pingsheng embraced Liang Shu, his expression remarkably calm. "Ah Shu, I won't leave you."

"This time, will you listen to me, okay?"

It was a year later that Jiang Pingsheng left the orphanage.

The day after Liang Shu's tenth birthday.

Later on, he indeed kept his promise to visit Liang Shu every week, bringing her many things she had never seen before.

He tutored Liang Shu in her studies, ensuring she didn't fall behind like the other children outside.

Then, Liang Shu left too.

She was thirteen at the time.

Until she turned eighteen, Jiang Pingsheng never saw her again.

Those four or five blank years seemed as if Liang Shu had evaporated from Jiang Pingsheng's world.

Jiang Pingsheng was extremely filial to the Ni family, and he himself was outstanding, but he and Ni Xiuli had differences regarding Liang Shu's issue.

Their true reunion happened when Liang Shu was about to enter university.

She ran out from the Lu family and met Jiang Pingsheng, who had been searching for her everywhere.

Jiang Pingsheng questioned her, "Why did you leave the orphanage without a word? Where did you go afterward?"

At that moment, with tears falling onto Jiang Pingsheng's skin as she hugged his neck, she said, "Let's not dwell on the past, okay?"

Saying she didn't want to dwell on the past, Jiang Pingsheng didn't press further.

It was as if those few years when he desperately searched for her were just a dream he had.

Liang Shu had changed.

She was no longer the cheerful and smiling Ah Shu she used to be.

Instead, she was now aloof, no longer following him around, and hardly ever smiling.

Jiang Pingsheng even saw her smoking.

It was in a western restaurant.

It was dinner time, and Jiang Pingsheng asked her what she wanted to eat. Liang Shu said, "Anything."

So he asked her, "How about western food?"

Liang Shu replied, "Sure."

That day left a strong impression on Jiang Pingsheng. He ordered the most expensive steak, which cost him half a month's living expenses, although he wasn't short on money now.

He cut his own steak into small pieces and exchanged it with the complete one in front of Liang Shu.

Jiang Pingsheng thought...

So he put down his knife and fork, and cautiously asked her, "Ah Shu, should I ask the waiter for two pairs of chopsticks? We can use them to eat, okay?"

The person sitting across from him seemed to suddenly awaken from her own world. She gave him a faint smile and shook her head, "Just eat."

Liang Shu picked up her fork and ate three pieces of the steak in front of her.

As she went for the fourth, she mechanically put it in her mouth. But the next moment, it seemed like she couldn't bear it anymore. She couldn't even hold on until she reached the restroom, and started vomiting while leaning on the table.

Jiang Pingsheng saw it clearly. The steak she had just eaten was now all vomited out.

He helped Liang Shu to the restroom, without even bothering to apologize to the other diners.

Jiang Pingsheng wasn't that particular. Since there was no one in the women's restroom, he just helped Liang Shu in and locked the door.

Even though she had vomited everything out, the retching didn't stop. In the end, only acid water was left.

Finally, Liang Shu felt a little better, sitting on the ground with her knees hugged to her chest and her eyes closed.

However, Jiang Pingsheng's mindset shattered.

Witnessing such desolation, does he dare to inquire what happened in the past to lead to this desolation?

He half knelt on the ground, embracing her, burying his face tightly in her neck, "Let's not eat anymore, we'll never have Western food again, I'll cook for you at home, alright? I'll cook for you, my culinary skills are excellent now, you'll surely love it."

She could eat other things with him, but whenever she ate Western food, especially steak, she would vomit.

Liang Shu sensed the scalding hot tears splashing onto her skin, she opened her eyes, weakly saying, "A-Sheng, it's my own problem."

Once something becomes a shadow, it will accompany one for the rest of their life.

Someone knocked on the door outside, Liang Shu leaned against him and stood up, "Let's go outside."

The air in the corridor was pleasant, and you could also see the night view of Yucheng.

Liang Shu looked at Jiang Pingsheng, who was silent and reserved beside her, then suddenly turned to him and said, "There's mouthwash in my bag, could you please fetch it for me? "

After Jiang Pingsheng brought her the requested item.

What he saw was the image of her leaning against the railing smoking, slender white fingertips holding a touch of crimson, pale blue smoke rising, Jiang Pingsheng felt that she was thin to the point of sharpness in her jaw.

She had learned to smoke now.

Jiang Pingsheng walked up to her, glanced at the cigarette in her hand, looked out with a deep gaze, and said, "Ah Shu, I'll move out to take care of you, shall we rent a house together?"

At these words, a frivolous smile appeared at the corner of the woman's mouth as she looked at him sideways, "I'm only a freshman, and you want me to live with a man?"

What she didn't say was, would Uncle Ni agree?

Jiang Pingsheng never knew, but Liang Shu always remembered.

Before she was taken away by the Lu family, the once dignified and esteemed high school teacher found her in such a pitiful state.

At that time, she was thirteen years old, in the third year since Jiang Pingsheng left the orphanage and continued to care for her meticulously.

So Liang Shu hadn't changed back then, she called out to him with a smile, "Uncle Ni."

But Ni Xiuli's gaze was complex. Suddenly, he knelt before her. A man well past forty suddenly kneeling before a thirteen-year-old girl, how chilling.

Liang Shu was startled, staring at Ni Xiuli.

Ni Xiuli said, "Ar Shu, can you promise Uncle one thing?"

She was stunned, neither nodding nor shaking her head.

"I heard someone will come to take you away soon, to a very prominent family with a strong foundation. You will surely lead a happy life in the future, so..." Ni Xiuli's eyes were full of pity, his voice choked, "Can you promise Uncle not to see Pingsheng anymore in the future?"

Liang Shu's face was puzzled, her hands clenched. "Why? A Sheng will be unhappy if he knows."

"He's very smart, only fifteen years old this year and he's already completing high school courses. He's a genius, he needs to focus on studying, without any disturbances. To ensure a bright future for him, can you promise Uncle?"

Never see Jiang Pingsheng again...?

Liang Shu couldn't do it, so she shook her head. "A Sheng will be unhappy if he knows."

"So Uncle begs you, don't let him know. After you go to the Lu family, don't contact him anymore, okay?"

Ni Xiuli's plea, Liang Shu did not agree.

But later, she overheard a conversation between the headmaster and Ni Xiuli in the principal's office.

Ni Xiuli said, "Principal, I am pleased to adopt Pingsheng. He excels in all aspects, but he's very stubborn when it comes to Liang Shu..." He paused for a few seconds, "I used to believe in science, but I can't gamble with Pingsheng. I heard that A Shu was sent to the orphanage because her parents died shortly after her birth, is that right?"

The usually amiable female headmaster remained silent this time.

Ni Xiuli continued, "Pingsheng has a long way to go in the future. He can't let go of Arshu, so I'm here to help him let go. As time goes by, new things will appear around him, and those unforgettable things will eventually be forgotten."

"I only ask the headmaster not to tell him who adopted A Shu. The Lu family is a prestigious and prominent household, capable of handling her. In the future, let Pingsheng forget about our family."

The headmaster sighed upon hearing this.

Who could have thought that this girl would carry the burden of a life from the Lu family before even being taken there?

Yet they still accepted her. This was her blessing. In the future, she could rid herself of the ominous aura around her in such a prestigious family. As for Jiang Pingsheng, let it be.

Liang Shu listened to all these words without missing a single one.

She suddenly understood that although Jiang Pingsheng had always treated her the same as before, he must have had many disagreements with Ni Xiuli because of her.

But now he was about to take the college entrance examination. Liang Shu might not understand what college meant at this moment, but every time she saw the fatigue in Jiang Pingsheng's eyes, she realized how hard it must be to prepare for it.

It was already so difficult, yet he still came every week to tutor her. It must be exhausting.

So she decided not to find him for the time being. She would live well in her new family, and one day, she would stand shoulder to shoulder with him for real.

But she didn't believe she was destined to harm others, nor did she believe that she, who was so kind and harmless, could cause harm to those around her.

So when Jiang Pingsheng asked her at this moment, "A Shu, shall we rent a house?"

What would Ni Xiuli do if he found out?

Liang Shu knew that the current Jiang Pingsheng was outstanding. He was only nineteen years old and had already been admitted to graduate school at Yuda, a prominent figure at Yuda. 

Such a talented person, Ni Xiuli must have invested a lot of effort in him. How could she bear to ruin such a good Jiang Pingsheng?

So Liang Shu refused.

Throughout her freshman year, Liang Shu kept refusing Jiang Pingsheng.

She didn't study well, mingling with various people in society, even smoking and fighting, she participated in all. Jiang Pingsheng saw it, and it hurt him deeply.

The turning point came in Liang Shu's sophomore year.

Aunt Mei came to school to urge Liang Shu to study hard. Just as she left, Jiang Jiucheng arrived.

At the school gate, Jiang Jiucheng wanted to find Liang Shu.

But he was intercepted by Jiang Pingsheng first. This year, Jiang Pingsheng had seen him too many times.

He demanded money from Liang Shu, using some excuse or another.

Jiang Pingsheng couldn't tolerate this man, so he beat Jiang Jiucheng up at Liang Shu's school gate.

Within two days, Jiang Jiucheng gathered a group of people and beat Jiang Pingsheng.

When Liang Shu arrived, she happened to see someone wielding a stick and viciously striking Jiang Pingsheng on the back of his head, causing the tall young man to fall to the ground with a resounding thud.

In that moment, her mind went blank.

She called the police, rushed over, and embraced Jiang Pingsheng's body, her hand cradling his head, where a sticky crimson pool formed in her palm.

Her eyes glared fiercely at Jiang Jiucheng, as if she wanted to devour him. Tears streamed down her face like a torrent. "How could you hit his head? How could you hit his head?"

In Liang Shu's eyes, Jiang Pingsheng was such an outstanding person. If it weren't for her, this wouldn't have happened.

That year, Jiang Pingsheng had become a peculiar figure in Liang Shu's dormitory mates' eyes.

One roommate sneered in private, "It's simply inconceivable. That genius from Yuda, actually obsessing over a lunatic for a year. I heard last time he even got beaten up because of her."

Someone chimed in, "Perhaps he's a weirdo too."