Chapter 23: Record of Moving to the City in the 90s 23

Life is unpredictable.

She had thought she and Yu Zexiu would be able to keep going together. It was Su Huandan’s first romance in two lifetimes, and she did like Yu Zexiu. Even if it wasn’t love, for someone like Su Huandan, that kind of affection was already a rare and intense expression of feeling.

But then what happened?

They were not being forced apart because of anything else, like being from mismatched families, or incompatible personalities, or anything like that. They had to separate because Yu Zexiu was going abroad to study.

Yu Zexiu was going abroad to study.

It wouldn’t even be that long, about five years or so. For a man, that really wasn’t such a big deal. Even after returning from overseas, he still wouldn’t be thirty. He would still be young and in his prime, the perfect age to build a career.

But for a woman, youth only lasts so many years. How many five-year stretches can she afford to waste?

Yu Zexiu was not the kind of man who only cared about romance. He had his own ambitions and dreams, and those ambitions and dreams required him to study abroad and learn specialized knowledge.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t study it at home, but the country really couldn’t compare to overseas right now.

The 1990s were a peak period for people from this country going abroad to study. Any family with a bit of money wanted to send their children overseas to learn more advanced foreign technology, so they could come back and develop their careers, or serve the nation.

Before Su Huandan died, she had known this very clearly. Of the students who went abroad in the 1990s, not many truly came back.

Still, that was not a reason for her to force Yu Zexiu to stay.

Su Huandan felt that her relationship had reached its end.

Yu Zexiu, however, had been planning to take Su Huandan abroad with him.

The first time they talked about it, they couldn’t agree, and the conversation ended badly.

Back in the dorm, Su Huandan lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. Compared with the pain of an imminent breakup, what she felt more strongly was anger. She thought Yu Zexiu had something wrong with his head.

We’re just dating. Why the hell would I go crazy and follow you to another country?

The reason I came back after being reborn was to make up for the regrets of my last life. I want to care for my parents in their old age and see them off at the end. I want to watch my two older sisters live happy and healthy lives. I just want to stay where my parents can see me, so whenever they miss me, they can look at me.

Su Huandan’s wishes after being reborn really were that simple.

Go abroad?

Leave her parents far behind?

It was never part of Su Huandan’s plans. Even if it was only for five years, she still didn’t want to do it.

Her parents would spend those five years worrying themselves sick at home. It would be stranger if they managed to live comfortably.

Her parents had only just moved from the countryside into the city. If they could put down roots in the city in this life, that alone would be an achievement. Their way of thinking had always been simple contentment. As long as the family could stay together, they didn’t need their daughter to become exceptionally accomplished. They only wished for her safety and good health.

The very idea of their daughter going abroad was something they would never even dare imagine.

After Zhang Meijuan found out about it, she let out a sigh and tried to comfort Su Huandan. “Studying abroad can be good or bad. It depends on what you choose. If you’re doing it for your education, to go out and learn the good things other people have, then that’s a good thing. But if that’s not what you’re pursuing, then going abroad isn’t a good thing for you. Besides, you and Yu Zexiu aren’t married. Even if you were married, people can still get divorced. Following him overseas is too risky.”

Su Huandan nodded. “I’m not going abroad to study. I don’t have that kind of ambition. After I graduate from college, if I still want to continue studying, I can stay here and do a master’s or a PhD. There’s no need for me to go abroad for school.”

Yu Zexiu knew he couldn’t talk Su Huandan into it, but he refused to give up, so he went to her home.

This was the first time Yu Zexiu had met Su Huandan’s family.

Looking at the young man who had come to their door, Su Dakui took in only his appearance and bearing, and thought to himself, so this is the kind of boy my youngest daughter likes.

He really was outstanding. His presence was too remarkable. Someone like this could not have been raised by an ordinary family.

When they heard why Yu Zexiu had come, Jiang Chunhua was so angry that she started cursing on the spot. “If you’ve got a screw loose, go see a doctor. My unmarried daughter is perfectly sane, and she’s not going overseas with you to suffer.”

Jiang Chunhua wanted to say more, but Su Dakui stopped her.

Looking at Yu Zexiu’s flushed face, Su Dakui smiled. “You’re a good kid. The moment I saw you, I knew your family wasn’t ordinary. Son, you and my third daughter are dating, and we have no objections. Even if you two get married in the future, as parents, even if we feel uneasy deep down, we still wouldn’t stop you. But because of your own plans, you want to take my daughter abroad too, and that won’t do. I know my daughter. She has never had such big ambitions. She was never going to go abroad. My daughter is deeply attached to her family. Don’t tell me you don’t know that? So you must have failed to persuade her, which is why you came here instead, right? Then I’m sorry, but no matter what, we as her parents are not going to ignore our own daughter’s wishes.”

That speech sent Yu Zexiu away.

In the end, after the end of their sophomore year, neither of them said the words to break up, and Yu Zexiu went abroad alone.

Su Huandan stayed silent for two days, and in her heart, the relationship was over. Even if she never got the chance to say the word breakup to his face.

After setting foot on American soil, Yu Zexiu called his mother as soon as he got off the plane. “Mom, do you think it was right for me to leave Huandan just a letter? Should I fly back and talk to Huandan in person? It’s only five years. If Huandan waits for me for five years, I’ll come back.”

Listening to her son, Ms. Meng was utterly confused. What did he mean he had just left a letter behind? He should at least explain himself clearly.

After her son finished speaking, Ms. Meng’s heart skipped a beat. Her son had been tricked. That girl from the Zhao family in the Military Compound really was scheming. So she’d set her sights on her son?

And she even thought her son would definitely marry her?

Tsk. So calculating, just like her parents, rotten to the core.

“Son, that girl from the Zhao family has already started processing the paperwork. I heard she’s going abroad to study too. If your mother isn’t mistaken, she’s going because of you. Old Master Zhao is already gone, and as for her father, it seems he’s about to retire internally¹ and make room for someone else. So that girl has set her sights on our family. Do you understand?” After Ms. Meng finished speaking, Yu Zexiu’s face darkened.

Without another word, he hired a car and went straight to the school to complete his enrollment procedures. Then he took a week’s leave on the grounds of poor health, bought a plane ticket, and came back.

When Su Huandan saw Yu Zexiu show up at her door, she was stunned. Hadn’t he already gone abroad?

The whole school was going crazy spreading the news.

“I did leave, but then I came back. I originally left you a letter, but the person I asked to deliver it was unreliable. I figured you probably wouldn’t get it, so I flew back again. After all this, I’ve realized letters really aren’t reliable. It’s better to say things face-to-face and get it all out in the open.” Su Huandan agreed with what Yu Zexiu said.

If it was something he could say outright, why bother writing a letter at all?

Yu Zexiu looked into Su Huandan’s eyes nervously. “Give me five years. Five years from now, I’ll definitely come back. Wait for me for five years, okay?”

Su Huandan didn’t respond. She thought to herself, I’ve already broken up with you in my heart, so why would I wait five years for you?

In the end, Yu Zexiu didn’t get the answer he wanted. This time, he boarded the plane feeling dejected. What a coincidence, that Miss Zhao, the one he’d gotten along pretty well with before and who had volunteered to help him deliver the letter, was also on the plane.

Translator’s Notes