Chapter 77: Xuduo’s rejection
This was Xuduo? I stood in front of the man. He appeared weaker than I had imagined. He was very pale and his body was thin and flimsy. Was it due to the bone marrow surgery?
“Hi, my name is Lin Yixin. Today, I’m here because of Principal Lu Wenxue. Do you still remember him?”
*Bang*. Xuduo quickly ducked back into his apartment and forcefully slammed the door. While the door was in motion, the wind blew and my hair stuck onto my face.
“I don’t know any Lu Wenxue. Please leave!” Xuduo yelled from the inside.
He refused to see me and locked me out?
My fingers were fidgety as I fumbled with the button on my shirt. This was not what I had expected…
I got rid of the hair that was sticking on my face as I knocked again, “Mr. Xu, I am not here to force you to do anything. I just want to have a talk with you.”
But regardless of how many times I knocked, Xuduo seemed to have disappeared. There wasn’t a single sound coming from within. It was as if he was fearful of the words “Lu Wenxue”.
I regretted making my intentions clear so early….at this rate, this will not do. It appeared that he will not open the door for me today. I can’t waste all my time on him.
I sighed deeply and noticed a half transparent old granny attentively watching me from the stairs. It was a ghost, and I couldn’t pretend not to see her. So, I smiled and slightly bowed at her.
“You are?” Suddenly, someone spoke up. I thought it was the old granny as I hastily lifted my head. But it was a gentle looking woman who was holding a food basket in one hand. She kindly asked, “Are you here for Xuduo?”
“Ummm…yes…you are?”
“I’m his girlfriend. My name is Xiaoai. What’s wrong? No one answered the door? When I left, he was still at home. Perhaps he had stepped out?” Xiaoai took out her keys and was about to open the door, “Why don’t you come in and take a seat while you wait for him to return.”
“Wait!” I prevented Xiaoai from opening the door. If she opened the door now, it would put me in a bad position. Instead….
“If possible, could we speak first? My name is Lin Yixin.”
“You want to speak to me?”
——
Xiaoai took me to a nearby cafe. She seemed a bit anxious as she sat across from me. She kept rubbing her hands together. Every time she appeared to want to say something, she would hesitate. Her behaviour was making my heart unstable.
I couldn’t take it anymore and suggested, “If there is something you want to say to me, go ahead!”
Finally, her face turned red as she asked, “Are you Xuduo’s lover? Are you here to take him away from me?”
*Pu* I choked on my coffee so hard that I saw stars. *cough cough*. “I…..oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” *cough cough* She instantly handed me a tissue to wipe my mouth.
I must explain immediately before she imagined worse things in her mind.
“Don’t worry, I’m not that type of person. Today, I merely came for Xuduo. Since you’re his girlfriend, have you heard of a person named Lu Wenxue?”
“Lu Wenxue?” After hearing his name, Xiaoai’s eyes teared up and tears began to fall. She looked so pitiful, “Are you talking about Teacher Lu?”
“Don’t cry! What’s wrong? Was it something I said?”
I was concerned. Why was she so emotional?
“I’m also Teacher Lu’s student. Xuduo and I both came from the mountains.”
“Ah?” Suyang only gave me information on some of Lu Wenxue’s influential students. There wasn’t anything about the average student Xiaoai, so I wasn’t aware…
“Then why are you crying just because I mentioned your teacher?”
Xiaoai clutched my hand as she took a deep breath, “Because I have always believed that Teacher Lu was innocent. I was his student. He had always treated us wholeheartedly. I don’t know what happened, but I know Teacher Lu’s character. He is definitely not the beast that everyone thinks he is!”
Xiaoai’s words made my heart turn warmer. Although she wasn’t very successful nor had much power, at least she was a student that trusted Lu Wenxue.
Perhaps I could understand why Lu Wenxue wanted to remain in such a poor and remote place for years.
Now, I was the one holding onto Xiaoai’s hand, “Thank you for believing in him. If Teacher Lu could hear your words, I’m sure he would be very touched.”
“But not all students think this way…. Xuduo…. He…..” Xiaoai lowered her head as disappointment flashed through her eyes.
“Xuduo, he…..”
Xiaoai gave me an account of what happened to Xuduo:
“After the news came out about Teacher Lu, many work unit said that students of Teacher Lu were indecent people. So, his co-workers began to push Xuduo aside and exclude him. There was a period of time when he went through depression because of this. He actually went to see a psychiatrist for help. But ever since he donated his bone marrow to help the sick child, his co-workers have treated him a lot better. They’re no longer against him and treats him as a good person who saved a life.”
“Don’t tell me that Xuduo’s real reason for saving the child was to alter the biases people had of him due to Teacher Lu?” I testingly asked.
Xiaoai didn’t respond.
My guess was correct.
“If that’s the case, then he must really hate Teacher Lu? No wonder….” I had no idea that the problem would be so severe on Xuduo’s side. I touched the rim of my coffee cup and finally made up my mind.
Even if I could not convince Xuduo to help us, I want to at least get rid of the misunderstanding he had of Lu Wenxue. If I leave it without doing anything, both Xuduo and Lu Wenxue will suffer.
“Xiaoai, actually, earlier I saw Xuduo. But due to the misunderstanding he had about Teacher Lu, he probably won’t open the door for me again. But no matter what, I want to see him once more. There’s something I have to say to him. Could you help me?”
“I….. I can try, but I can’t guarantee….” Xiaoai agreed to my request, but wasn’t sure if it will be successful.
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to force it. Just try your best.”
So, for now, I’m temporarily letting Xiaoai deal with Xuduo.
Now, I have Mo Xiaotian and Ye Lili left. They were both high profile people that were difficult to meet.
The chances of encountering Mo Xiaotian was so low. Sources say that ever since she had gotten married, she was a full time wife of a rich and powerful family. She rarely left the house.
As for Ye Lili, she was always rushing around with rich people’s problems. There wasn’t any trace of her.
While I was sulking, Suyang called.
“What do you want?” I said out of despair.
“Where are you?”
“I’m underneath Xuduo’s building. I had a face to face interaction with him earlier.”
“Were you able to convince him?”
I hesitated. Should I tell Suyang what happened? But if I do, would I seem very useless?
“No, it didn’t go as smoothly as I thought it would. He is very resistant. I’m trying to think of a solution right now…. Oh yeah, in terms of Mo Xiaotian and Ye Lili, I have no idea how to get to their circles. It is very difficult….”
“Don’t worry about those two. I have figured it out. Just put your focus on Xuduo.”
“You’ve figured it out? What do you mean?” My eyes instantly lit up; as if I had discovered a new glimmer of hope.
“There is a charity event party tonight. They will both be attending. I also happened to receive an invitation. So don’t worry, I will take the responsibility to convince the both of them.”
Suyang was about to hang up the phone, but I yelled to stop him, “Ai ai ai!!! Wait!”
“What?”
“So you’re going to go to the charity event party alone? You don’t need a female partner?” I asked. I hope Suyang could understand what I was trying to say.
My internal heart was screaming. Bring me! Bring me too! I want to go too!!!!
“No need. I’ll be attending with Mi Fan.” Suyang flatly replied.