Chapter 54: She Is Exceptionally Outstanding

In the pitch-black room, Meng Xingzhe didn’t dare close his eyes, let alone fall asleep peacefully.

It was so dark that the moment he closed his eyes, he would see those eyes, glowing like a hungry wolf’s, staring at him with a greedy and destructive desire. Just thinking about those bloodshot eyes made him so anxious he could hardly breathe.

Yao Jia noticed that Meng Xingzhe was twisting the corner of the blanket tightly. If the blanket had feelings, it would surely be crying out in pain by now.

On this stormy night, even her maternal instincts extended to the blanket.

She told herself, let’s chat with him for a while, if only to relieve the blanket’s suffering.

She thought of the overseas call she received before bed, sighed softly, and began to speak.

“Do you think all parents in the world love their children? Do they love each child equally?”

The darkness served as the perfect camouflage, allowing people to let go of their inner fears and speak words usually buried deep within.

“I think they do,” Meng Xingzhe replied from his sleeping bag. “Parents must love their children, every one of them. Otherwise, why have them?”

Yao Jia chuckled.

“But there are children who are not born out of love.”

Meng Xingzhe didn’t speak, but his strong sense of inquiry was palpable in the dark air.

Yao Jia smiled, thinking she might as well have a heart-to-heart with him tonight. Tomorrow morning, she could just claim she had amnesia or was talking nonsense.

The long-standing parent-child relationship at home had been suffocating her. She needed to vent on such a stormy night, under the cover of darkness.

She said to Meng Xingzhe, “I have an exceptionally outstanding sister at home, the kind who has always been the pride of others. She’s the family’s glory. No, not just the family; even distant relatives boast about her excellence, saying, ‘That exceptionally outstanding Yao Hui, I’m related to her! So, my kids won’t be too bad either!'”

At that time, Comrade Yao Bingkun proudly groomed Yao Hui as his successor, and she never disappointed him. No, it wasn’t about disappointment; she always exceeded his expectations.

“But you know,” Yao Jia continued, with Meng Xingzhe listening quietly, “the saying ‘Heaven is jealous of talent’ is not without reason. My sister fell seriously ill in her teens, a condition that required the umbilical cord blood of a newborn sibling to have a chance of recovery.”

Yao Jia laughed, “So, that’s how the world got someone named Yao Jia.”

Meng Xingzhe felt a faint surprise, but more than that, an indescribable sympathy. From her laughter, he almost heard loneliness.

The sound of rain outside made the room’s darkness seem even quieter, highlighting the subtle emotions floating within.

Meng Xingzhe was so drawn to Yao Jia’s words that even his fear of the dark momentarily faded.

The rain seemed to lessen compared to earlier, and the thick clouds in the sky finally tore open a small gap, allowing the moon to peek through.

That sliver of moonlight brought a faint glow to the room, no longer leaving it in complete darkness.

Meng Xingzhe turned over in his sleeping bag.

He looked at Yao Jia on the bed, lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling she couldn’t necessarily see.

Her eyelashes were outlined against the night, the weak moonlight casting a gentle and serene shadow on her face, as if she were lying in a dream.

She sighed softly.

The air in the room seemed to sigh with her.

“My sister was so outstanding, but unfortunately, heaven is jealous of talent, and she fell ill, only treatable with sibling umbilical cord blood. My mother was already of advanced age, and to save my sister, she went through a lot to conceive me.”

Yao Jia laughed again.

“My birth was so difficult and precious. But sadly, my value wasn’t in myself, but in my ability to save another life.”

Her soft laughter merged into the air, carrying a weight that pressed on Meng Xingzhe’s heart.

She laughed as if unwilling to accept her fate, yet resigned to it, bearing a burden beyond her years.

“Did your sister recover?” he asked.

“Yes, you could say she did. Her life was saved, but she can’t exert herself and must spend the rest of her life in recuperation.” That’s why she stays abroad, in a place with air quality and climate suitable for recovery.

“You know, my sister is truly exceptional! We have a room dedicated to all her awards, trophies, and banners from childhood. It’s so full that I don’t dare open the door, or they’ll spill out.” Yao Jia spoke in a deliberately light, even joking tone.

“My sister never got anything but first place in exams. She’ll never know what it’s like not to be number one.”

She chose her words carefully, shielding her family’s background while discussing their parent-child relationships.

“My father, well, he’s a small businessman. He originally groomed my sister as his successor, hoping his business would grow stronger in her hands. Even when she fell ill, he didn’t abandon this hope. He dreamed that once she recovered, she could still take over. It wasn’t until doctors said she couldn’t continue working that he, in his grief, reluctantly turned to me. I wasn’t interested in his business, so I found a job to escape his fallback plan.”

Yao Jia laughed again, a nonchalant smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Unfortunately, I’m a fool. All our family’s intelligence and excellence went to my sister, while only health came to me. My sister’s brilliance makes me seem so mediocre, so my parents are always disappointed in me. Especially my father, who always said, ‘Can’t you learn from your sister? When will you understand? Can’t you be like her and strive, so your mother and I can worry less?'”

Yao Jia recalled her father’s tone when he spoke to her like this, and her heart ached.

Meng Xingzhe sensed her breathing become slightly hurried.

Outside, the rain pattered against the window, as if lamenting the grievances imposed by the clouds. In the dim moonlight, he saw her eyelashes tremble. Those lashes stirred a butterfly effect within him, a whirlwind of compassion in his chest.

He had never felt this way before. He wanted to comfort her, to console her, feeling almost helpless in his desire.

He hesitated, lifting a hand, hesitantly reaching above her head, gently patting it.

Yao Jia laughed.

She turned her face in the darkness to look at him, “That pat was quite fatherly.”

After a pause, she added, “I really did feel comforted by you just now. Thank you.”

She turned her face back, continuing to gaze at the unfathomable ceiling, “Because my dad always said that, over time, I became rebellious. The more disappointed he seemed, the more I acted out to spite him.”

After she finished speaking, Meng Xingzhe let out a soft “ah.”

“What are you ‘ah’-ing about?” Yao Jia asked.

“I was thinking, no wonder you’re so rebellious sometimes, always going against people.”

—No, what he really wanted to say was that he finally understood why even a little praise made her so happy and content. Knowing this, his chest felt tight.

Behind her carefree laughter lay a sadness she never shared.

His chest felt increasingly tight, and he thought it must have nothing to do with her, just the rain making the room stuffy.

From an angle she couldn’t see, he rubbed his chest lightly and asked, “What about your sister? Is she a good sister?”

Yao Jia blinked at the ceiling, “Yes, she’s a good sister, never said a harsh word to me. She’s never spoken harshly to anyone, always gentle. She’s truly amazing.”

“Sounds like,” Meng Xingzhe said, “you don’t dislike your sister.”

Yao Jia thought for a moment and nodded. “I don’t dislike her,” she said, pausing. “Even if I don’t dislike her, there’s still a lingering sense of unease, so I’ve never been very close to her. Think about it, I didn’t even have control over my own birth; it was all for her to survive. So after her illness was cured, I really felt like a spare part. I’ve always lived in her shadow, constantly being compared to her. Sometimes I resent her in my heart. Why does she have to be so outstanding? She’s so exceptional that it makes me feel miserable.” She laughed as she said “miserable,” a laugh that made Meng Xingzhe’s heart tighten slightly.

She suddenly turned over, facing Meng Xingzhe.

In the moonlight, her face was like a painting, her eyes holding a misty sheen like the morning lake, silently expressive.

Meng Xingzhe’s heart skipped a beat. He felt unusually unsettled tonight. He thought it must be the darkness playing tricks on him.

“Tell me,” Yao Jia said, lying on her side and looking at Meng Xingzhe in the sleeping bag below, “if I ask you again the question from earlier—do all parents in the world love their children? Do they love each child fairly?—would you still answer ‘yes’?”

Meng Xingzhe sat up straight in the sleeping bag, meeting Yao Jia’s gaze.

She lay on her side, and he sat upright.

Looking into her eyes, he forgot the fear the darkness usually brought him and said, “Yes, I still believe that.”

After a pause, he told her, “You’ve always looked at your family’s issues from one perspective—the perspective where you feel wronged. Have you tried seeing it from a different angle? Not necessarily from your parents’ viewpoint, but as a third party looking at your family dynamics. If these parents didn’t love their younger daughter, they wouldn’t have such high expectations of her. They have endless hopes for her because they love her.”

Listening to Meng Xingzhe, Yao Jia felt her heart start to beat faster.

She actually agreed with Meng Xingzhe’s perspective. There were a few incidents where she tried to see things from a different angle, and it did make her understand Yao Bingkun a bit more.

“I’ll tell you, when I was young, I went through some things too, and from then on, I realized that the most selfless love you’ll ever receive, the kind that would sacrifice everything for you, comes only from your parents,” Meng Xingzhe said to Yao Jia. “You love to argue, so you must lack effective communication with your parents. You probably start arguing after just a few words.”

Meng Xingzhe was getting into it. “I can totally imagine the scene. For instance, your parents might say, ‘You’re not ambitious enough. Why don’t you learn from your sister’s excellence?’ Based on what I know of you, you’d definitely say, ‘Hey, if I were that excellent too, how would my sister stand out as especially excellent?'”

“…”

Yao Jia found Meng Xingzhe a bit scary, guessing exactly how she would retort to her father’s words.

“Judging by your expression, I know I guessed right,” Meng Xingzhe said. “But the more you do that, the angrier your parents get, thinking you’re immature and unambitious. And you, the more you feel wronged, like an extra child.”

Yao Jia thought Meng Xingzhe should be a psychologist. She wondered if he had relatives with similar experiences or if he had observed such situations closely to understand the psychology and behavior of those involved so well.

“Seeing your eyes widen like that, I know I hit the mark again.”

“So, what do you think I should do?” Yao Jia sincerely asked Meng Xingzhe for advice.

Meng Xingzhe leaned forward, looking into her eyes. “Yao Xiaojia, I have a basketful of flaws, but I do have one virtue: filial piety. I’ve never spoken harshly to my parents. Hard to imagine, right? But I really only argue with outsiders.” Meng Xingzhe laughed.

“As the younger generation, out of filial respect, why not take the initiative to change? After all, parents are naturally older than us, especially yours, who had you later in life. Even if they live long, how many more years do you think they can accompany you? So take the initiative to improve your relationship with them,” Meng Xingzhe advised Yao Jia.

His words made Yao Jia’s heart beat faster. He was right. No matter how long-lived, her parents couldn’t accompany her forever.

“Next time you talk to your dad, try not to argue, not to retort, not to go against him. Try starting with non-rebellion and engage in effective communication.”

Yao Jia thought Meng Xingzhe made sense. As long as people can engage in effective communication, there’s no problem that can’t be solved.

“As for you and your sister, try thinking from a different perspective.”

Meng Xingzhe suddenly felt he was being unusually meddlesome tonight. He was doing it for the person in front of him, hoping she could resolve her issues with her family and find happiness. He couldn’t help but meddle, her unhappy sighs weighing on his heart, suffocating him more than the darkness.

“You think you came into this world to save your sister, so you feel like you’re unnecessary. But why not think of yourself as an indispensable gift in your sister’s life?”

Yao Jia’s eyes brightened. From a different perspective, she was precious.

“You don’t need to resent your sister. In fact, she gave you life. Without her illness, you wouldn’t have come into this world, right?”

Meng Xingzhe looked into Yao Jia’s eyes, using all his skills to help her find a way to happily coexist with her family.

“In this world, even if you feel many things are unresolved, are you missing an arm or a leg? No. Are you so poor you can’t eat? No. Compared to unhappy times, aren’t you ultimately happier more often? So would you regret coming into this world?”

Yao Jia was taken aback by Meng Xingzhe’s question.

She quickly thought it over and shook her head.

No, she didn’t regret coming into this world. Aside from complaints about her parents’ favoritism, she truly had many happy moments. Her parents never deprived her of food, clothing, or enjoyment. She had close friends, and in over a month of work, every thank you she heard, every problem she helped colleagues solve, and turning former adversaries into friends—all of these made her happy.

And the friends she made after starting work—Tian Huasheng, Bei Luonan, Chen Luoxi, Hao Lidan… and Meng Xingzhe. They all made her feel her existence was worthwhile.

She couldn’t help but smile. “Meng Xingzhe, thank you.” Outside, the storm continued, drenching the world in chaos. Yet her emotions had never been so clearly sorted out as tonight. “You’ve helped me untangle most of my knots!”

With most of her emotional knots untied, her mood relaxed, and her body followed suit. Fatigue crept in, enveloping her.

Yao Jia yawned.

She asked Meng Xingzhe, “I’ve talked about my issues. Now, let’s talk about you. Why are you so afraid of the dark? Do you have a story too?”

Meng Xingzhe sat in the sleeping bag, leaning back. He rested against the headboard, pondering how to answer her question without revealing too much.

As he turned his head, he noticed she had closed her eyes.

She had fallen asleep.

The room remained dark, and no one was talking to him anymore. Yet looking at her sleeping face, he felt neither anxiety nor fear, just an inexplicable calm.

He couldn’t help but lean closer to look at her face. He felt like he was under a spell.

She slept peacefully, her breathing light and even, her eyelashes casting small fan-like shadows on her face. Her cheeks seemed to be enveloped in a serene dream. She slept like an innocent child, a child that evoked tenderness.

His heart pounded, and he involuntarily raised his hand, gently, as if enchanted, to touch her cheek.

So smooth, so soft, so delicate. His fingertips grew hot, as if they might melt.

She furrowed her brows, lightly rubbing against the pillow, as if about to wake.

He was so nervous he held his breath.

She didn’t move again, didn’t wake.

His heart still pounded, matching the rhythm of the storm and thunder outside.

He told himself: Meng Xingzhe, you can’t keep looking. You need to turn away, lie down, and go to sleep!

He really couldn’t keep looking. If he did, he’d have a heart attack.

But his rational mind couldn’t control his eyes. He leaned against the headboard, head turned, watching her sleep peacefully. He felt himself becoming peaceful too, the darkness now seeming less daunting.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, what time it was. Suddenly, the room lights came on.

The power was back.

She was startled by the sudden light, frowning, uneasily rubbing against the pillow again.

He quickly got up and turned off the main light, leaving only the lamp on the bedside table. Her lamp.

Sitting back on his sleeping bag, he noticed her anxiety had faded, and the furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

Suddenly, he realized that if she woke up and saw the lamp on, she’d immediately grab her blanket and pillow and return to her room.

He quickly reached out and turned off the lamp.

Then he lay back into the sleeping bag with a sense of relief.

He thought he must be crazy. How could he find such comfort and peace even in a sleeping bag? How could he feel at ease without the lamp?

As he realized this, his mind went blank with a loud buzz.

He couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the girl sleeping peacefully on the bed.

She slept in the room’s darkness, making it tranquil and beautiful. Her slow, gentle breathing turned the darkness he feared into something tender.

His heart began to pound like thunder again.

He touched his pounding heart, almost despairingly thinking—

It’s over.

Even though he had tried hard to resist this fact, finding all sorts of reasons to forbid himself from thinking this way, all that resistance and effort lost their effect on this stormy night.

He thought he might have fallen for her.

At some point, the rain stopped, the clouds dispersed, and the sun shone brighter than usual, as if offering a post-rain blessing.

Yao Jia was awakened by the overly bright sunlight.

As she opened her eyes, she was stunned, her mind going blank for a full three seconds.

She tried to process the scene before her.

She lay on a large bed, closer to the middle. Meng Xingzhe was lying on the edge.

She was lying on her side facing him, and he was also on his side facing her.

In front of her was a close-up of his sleeping face. She had never seen a man’s sleeping face this close in the morning.

His eyelashes were thick and long, his nose was high and straight, his lips were lightly pressed together, and his sleeping appearance was handsome and gentle.

If his current look were in a drama, it might make countless girls scream.

Yao Jia looked at Meng Xingzhe’s sleeping face and let out a scream.

The scream immediately woke Meng Xingzhe. He opened his eyes, still dazed, raised a hand to cover her mouth, stifling her scream, and in a swift motion, ended up on top of her.

For a moment, Yao Jia’s mind went blank. The sudden weight on her felt like it pressed directly on her heart.

She had never been this close to a man before. Their bodies were in close contact, and she couldn’t tell if it was him on fire or her feverish, but the contact between them felt scorching.

He had a dazed look, like a handsome prince lost in a trance. No, it was more like he was the one who entranced others into his spell.

Yao Jia felt her heart pounding almost to the point of overload.

She pulled his hand away, pushed his shoulder, and kicked him off the bed.

He sat on the floor as if he had just experienced some enchanting dream, his expression still dazed and bewildered, as if savoring something.

Yao Jia sat up and fiercely asked, “Who told you to get on the bed?!”

Meng Xingzhe looked up at her, took a moment to react, and then spoke. His voice, like his eyes, was dazed and slightly hoarse: “It got too cold in the second half of the night, and the sleeping bag made my kidneys ache. You know how important kidneys are to a man, right? So I got on the bed, but I only slept on a tiny edge!”

He even made a gesture with his fingers to show how “small” it was. His current sly demeanor was a far cry from the wise mentor he had been in the dark last night.

Yao Jia thought he was actually a mischievous demon, revealed in the light!

Looking at his “small” gesture, she felt her anger rising.

How could it be a small edge? Could a small edge fit his six-foot-one frame?!

In her anger, she picked up a pillow from the bed and started hitting the annoying guy at the bedside.

Meng Xingzhe, surprisingly, didn’t fight back this time.

Suddenly, both of them fell silent.

There seemed to be a sound outside the room, like something had fallen to the floor. Listening closely, it sounded like a basin had slipped and kissed the ground.

Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe exchanged glances, thinking it was probably Tian Huasheng who had returned early and was preparing to wash up for work.

Yao Jia was nervous. She got off the bed, stood by the door, and listened for a while with her ear pressed against it.

Hearing the noise outside seemed to have stopped, she turned to Meng Xingzhe and whispered, “I’ll leave my blanket and pillow here for now. I’ll come to get them tonight when Xiao Tiantian is in the kitchen cooking!”

With that, she quickly opened the door and hurried out.

But just as she was about to reach her own room, she froze.

She and Tian Huasheng, who was coming out of the bathroom rubbing his stomach with one hand and his butt with the other, stared at each other.

“…”

“Hey? Jia, why are you coming out of Brother Meng’s room?”

Yao Jia quickly composed herself, full of righteousness, and said, “I went there to use the bathroom.”

Tian Huasheng immediately looked apologetic and said, “Oh, sorry, I took a bit long in the bathroom! The weather suddenly changed, and I caught a chill that upset my stomach!”

Yao Jia thought, luckily, this kid had an upset stomach, which allowed her to cover up her tracks.

To prevent Tian Huasheng from having time to question the plausibility of borrowing a bathroom, like why she looked so panicked when they made eye contact earlier.

Yao Jia quickly changed the subject and asked Tian Huasheng, “Do you have any medicine for diarrhea? I have some, want me to get you a couple of pills?”

Tian Huasheng said, “I have some too.”

Yao Jia: “Mine are sugar-coated.”

Tian Huasheng immediately said, “Then I’ll take yours.”

“…” Standing by the door, listening to the conversation outside, Meng Xingzhe almost bumped into the door.

For several days, Meng Xingzhe felt like he was in a fog.

He had never felt this way before.

After realizing his feelings for Yao Jia, all his senses seemed to become muddled and slow.

He didn’t know if this was a kind of escape mechanism. Because she had a boyfriend, he wanted to remain in a haze, avoiding thinking about what he should do.

At work, he even deliberately controlled himself not to turn and look at her. He feared that one look would break him out of his protective haze, making him acutely aware of his feelings for her, aware that she had a boyfriend, aware that he needed to make a decision.

Even during breaks, he avoided the break room, preferring to take the elevator down to the first floor and step outside for a breath of fresh air.

Outside the building was a large flower bed with only one tree, a centuries-old giant with a trunk several people wide, a living relic. Next to the flower bed was a newsstand that sold cigarettes.

Meng Xingzhe actually knew how to smoke, having learned in high school, but he disliked the lingering taste in his mouth, so he never smoked.

But today, he felt like having one.

He walked to the newsstand, bought a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, then headed to the back of the tree. It was shady and quiet there, perfect for a solitary smoke.

He found someone there, a very dignified person.

The man saw him, looked at the cigarette pack in his hand, and spoke first.

“Could I have a cigarette?”

Meng Xingzhe shrugged, opened the pack, and walked over.

He handed the man a cigarette and offered the lighter.

The man lit the cigarette, held it between his fingers, but didn’t rush to smoke.

Meng Xingzhe also lit a cigarette, held it between his fingers, and didn’t smoke.

The man slightly moved his mouth, as if attempting a faint smile. He seemed like someone who rarely smiled, and when he tried to be friendly, his movements were stiff, as if he wasn’t used to it.

“Why are you holding it without smoking?”

“What about you?” Meng Xingzhe smiled and asked back.

“My youngest daughter doesn’t like me smoking. Sometimes, when I can’t resist the urge, I just light one to smell the smoke.” The man said.

“I wanted to smoke, but I’m worried about the smell in my mouth afterward. I don’t want to bother my colleague next to me when I return to work.” Meng Xingzhe said.

“Why are you sitting here alone?” Meng Xingzhe thought for a moment and asked.

The man replied, “When I need to think, I come here to sit. My assistant waits on the other side of the tree, keeping others from disturbing me. You managed to get here because my assistant just went to the bathroom.”

Meng Xingzhe was momentarily surprised, raised an eyebrow, and said, “Then today is my lucky day, to have stumbled upon the chance to share a smoke with you, Chairman.”

Yao Bingkun tried to move his mouth again, giving a not-so-practiced, incomplete smile.

He asked Meng Xingzhe, “Which department are you from?”

“The Customer Service Department, call center.” Meng Xingzhe replied.

Yao Bingkun responded with an “Oh?” and asked, “I know there’s a young woman in your call center who answers calls…

Once, during a phone call, she managed to pick up a distress signal from someone trapped in a pyramid scheme. I heard she even has the same family name, Yao, just like me. So, how’s this young lady doing now?”

Meng Xingzhe nodded with a smile, speaking clearly, “She’s quick at learning anything, truly exceptional.”