Chapter 35
The large balcony that extends outwards on the first floor of the villa has floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, and the overhead ceiling is also made of glass.
On a sunny day, the sun shines in without blind spots, and the whole balcony is like a big conservatory.
After seeking Xu Jinchao’s consent, Aunt Li used a foam box to sow vegetables such as small tomatoes and strawberry seedlings on the balcony.
Now that the night is dark outside, only the warm light is shining inside, and this balcony has become a beacon in the night sea.
Green plants and vegetables of different heights surround the balcony, and the interior is warm like spring. Song Jiao’s Chlorophytum hangs in the southeast corner, and the two look at each other across the flowerpot.
Because Xu Jinchao pushed the Chlorophytum pot with his fingers naively just now, those long green and narrow leaves of Chlorophytum swayed between her and Song Jiao at this moment.
She saw the night light reflected in Song Jiao’s eyes, the shadow of the leaves swaying slightly, and her little self.
The thin iron chain of the flowerpot lock made a very small creaking sound. Aunt Li was preparing dinner in the kitchen. The sound of the range hood colliding with the tableware came faintly, creating a symphony full of life.
Xu Jinchao knew that Song Jiao would not do meaningless things. She almost never made a whim, and all her words and deeds had behind-the-scenes thinking.
The same is true for this invitation, which must be the result of Song Jiao’s careful deliberation.
This is indeed an invitation, and even more precious. After all, who would ask irrelevant people to easily participate in the worship of their mother?
Xu Jinchao was a little moved, because Song Jiao rarely mentioned her family. The last time she talked to herself, she still wanted to see Song Yikang in prison.
At that time, the relationship between them was not so peaceful, and Song Jiao did not have the freedom to travel.
Although Xu Jinchao did not mean to restrict, Omega acquiesced that the rules left by [Xu Jinchao] still worked. She wanted to visit her father, but she still had to ask the other party.
It was at that time that Xu Jinchao suddenly realized that there were still so many estrangements between her and Song Jiao, and they were far from being as close as she thought.
This further aroused Xu Jinchao’s thoughts about his relatives and many doubts about his own existence.
And many things in the later daily, subtle and silent changes in the direction of good.
Song Jiao can now drive around in a car, Xu Jinchao will never intervene, and there is a tacit trust between them.
Song Jiao wanted to visit her mother’s grave, but she didn’t need to inform Xu Jinchao, but she took the initiative to talk about it and invited her to go with her.
This may be some kind of hint, Xu Jinchao thought, hinting that he can go deeper into her life, including her past and her family.
If the place they are going is not a cemetery, and what they want to see is not Song Jiao’s mother’s tombstone, this is even an act of introducing friends and family to each other.
Xu Jinchao felt Song Jiao’s implicit friendliness, and she was sure that this was not her over-analysis, but something that Song Jiao passed on and hoped she could understand.
Xu Jinchao said, “No problem, I will accompany you.”
She hesitated to think about whether she should say something to Song Jiao, thank her for her invitation, or should she comfort her so that she would not be too sad.
Song Jiao didn’t respond immediately, because she just said the words, and suddenly remembered Xu Jinchao’s graffiti on the paper after she was drunk.
The couple with friendly faces and warm smiles.
Xu Jinchao obviously cares about his parents very much, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to paint such a gentle portrait.
She also thought of Xu Jinchao’s wet eyes that she saw after returning home. Song Jiao felt that Alpha must have cried.
Song Jiao is not sure whether Xu Jinchao will be reminded of her parents. Ordinary people seem to miss their parents, especially her friends are very emotional.
The two fell silent for a while, and finally Song Jiao spoke first:
“My mother was always busy.”
She chose to talk about her own past events to divert Xu Jinchao’s possible disappointment.
Song Jiao never mentioned these things to anyone, and they were always hidden in her memory. She never even mentioned them to her father, because Song Yikang always overreacted to the past and made some unusual and crazy behaviors.
As the words landed, Song Jiao realized that the image of her mother in her heart was not so vague. It seemed that as she blurted out, it immediately became clear, real, and lifelike.
More details were also recalled by her, Song Jiao said slowly: “She is very beautiful and can dress herself up. She is always very energetic, but she is more focused on her work.”
Song Jiao raised the braids on her shoulders with her fingertips, and played with it finely, as if picking up those shadowed pasts and fiddling with them in the palm of her hand.
“I like her combing my hair. She has very good hands and can braid a lot of beautiful braids, but she doesn’t braid me a lot in person, so I learn her method and braid it for myself every day.”
Song Jiao raised her eyes, her pupils were thick and clear, the spider plant had stopped shaking, and the quietness reflected in her eyes.
She showed off her intelligence in an almost smug tone: “I can always learn, without my mother’s teaching.”
“So even when she’s not around, I can keep my hair in good shape. My auntie at home only combs my ponytails, and only my mother can do so many braids.”
Song Jiao found with some doubts that Xu Jinchao’s expression didn’t seem right. She was indeed attracted by her words, but she showed a little love and sadness.
This is contrary to her purpose. Song Jiao hopes that Xu Jinchao will not think about negative things before sharing her private interactions with her family.
Song Jiao thought about it, and she emphasized, “I was very happy at that time.”
She played a little word game, happy of course, but not as much as the context suggested. It was a luxury experience for her.
Unexpectedly, Xu Jinchao looked even more sad for her, Song Jiao had to comfort her in turn:
“Don’t be sad, I’m fine now.”
Song Jiao does feel very good now, perhaps because she lacks those vivid, positive emotions that ordinary people can have at will. Correspondingly, when she loses something, she will not suffer as much as ordinary people.
If you lose, you will gain, she thinks it is fair.
Song Jiao stretched out her hand, her fingertips touched Xu Jinchao’s hair across the spider orchid leaf, and her five fingers went deep into it, combing her carefully, trying to make her happy.
Xu Jinchao’s hair is longer. She always pulls up her long hair in the company. Now when she goes home, she takes it apart and drapes it under her shoulders.
The curly hair that Alpha had permed before was no longer looked after by a hair stylist, so the arc of the waves was no longer so obvious.
Her hair is not as fluffy and exaggerated as Song Jiao’s, and her hair is much softer than hers.
Although Xu Jinchao has a bright and sharp face, he has soft hair that is consistent with his personality.
Song Jiao stroked these beautiful long hair with excellent feel, and suddenly thought: “I’ll braid your hair, okay?”
She expected to see Alpha nodding to herself, Xu Jinchao would rarely refuse her, even if Song Jiao’s request was sometimes unconventional, she would always agree very tolerantly.
Seriously, no one has ever condoned Song Jiao like this before, allowing her to gain the upper hand and do all kinds of unreasonable actions.
However, Song Jiao has confidence in her own hair-weaving skills, she can take care of Xu Jinchao well, and she is sure to make the other party happy.
Xu Jinchao was dragged to the living room by Omega and sat on the sofa. Song Jiao said to her, “Wait for me, I’ll go get something.”
Seeing Song Jiao fly upstairs like a light bird, Xu Jinchao felt a little heavy.
Although Song Jiao spoke in a relaxed and ordinary tone, it made the childhood experiences she told seem even more lonely.
Song Jiao is very sensitive in certain aspects, and she can always look at what happened to her objectively.
She said that her mother was very busy and could not interact with her often, so the degree of busyness would not have the filter of personal senses, but the mother really neglected to accompany Xiao Song Jiao.
Xu Jinchao could almost imagine how when her mother was combing Xiao Song Jiao’s hair, she stared at the movements of her fingers and recorded all the details in her heart.
Then when there is no one, Xiao Song Jiao will look in the mirror and re-enact the braids that her mother combed for her, and also try to find the joy of getting along with her mother from this process.
Xu Jinchao guessed correctly, the only deviation was that the joy Song Jiao had been looking for was only a little bit.
But also because of its rarity, it was exceptionally bright, and it became that touch of color in the black and white world, which made her unforgettable.
Song Jiao went downstairs with the small box, and Alpha still sat obediently and waited in place, which made her very satisfied.
Omega brought some aids for braiding, such as rubber bands, clips, and clips.
The night when she first came to this world, Xu Jinchao slept under Song Jiao’s bed. In order to prevent those Alpha instincts from acting up, she found a roll of ribbon on Song Jiao’s dressing table and tied her wrist.
Therefore, Xu Jinchao knew that Song Jiao had many gadgets to decorate her hair, and she seemed to be a very beautiful girl.
Song Jiao moved to the pedestal, pressed her fingertips on either side of Xu Jinchao’s cheeks, looked at her face, and seemed to be thinking about how to braid her hair.
Xu Jinchao wanted to speak. She had a lot of things to ask. She once thought she knew Song Jiao very well, but now it is far from enough.
Much of her understanding of Song Jiao comes from “Jiaojiao”, but how can the creation of a true personality be fully described and displayed in words?
Song Jiao seemed to have made up her mind. She sat closer to Xu Jinchao, picked up the comb, and combed the long black hair in her palm.
Her movements were extremely skilled, fast and light, Xu Jinchao could only feel a slight tug, but not the slightest bit of pain.
Song Jiao was confident in her technique, so she took the hair clips to hold the combed long hair in sections.
She picked up one of the locks and heard Xu Jinchao say, “I see that you have braided many hairstyles. Did your mother braid them for you?”
Song Jiao focused on her actions: “Of course not, she is really busy and doesn’t have time to tie my hair.”
“How busy is it?” Xu Jinchao asked, “I always go home every day.”
Song Jiao shook her head: “She doesn’t go home often and often has to work overtime. My dad’s words are fine, but I may only see my mom once or twice a week.”
This frequency is a bit exaggerated. Qiao Chu and Song Yikang are both senior executives of the Xu family. Xu Jinchao is a little puzzled why Song Jiao sees less Qiao Chu than Song Yikang.
She heard Song Jiao continue: “My mother works very hard. I think she probably wants to prove herself.”
Xu Jinchao was stunned.
Song Jiao said softly, “She’s an Omega. It’s always harder to prove herself than others. I sometimes think that she might not be so tired when she died, and she could finally lie down and rest.”
Listening to Song Jiao’s words, Xu Jinchao gradually reacted.
Xu Boyang is an Alpha chauvinist, and under his hands, Beta is hard to come out.
Qiao Chu was the only Omega in the company’s management, which itself has proved her ability.
But in the way Xu Boyang once talked about Qiao Chu, he seems to only regard the other party as Song Yikang’s subordinate, even if Qiao Chu’s actual value at work may be higher than Song Yikang’s.
Song Jiao changed positions and braided the other side of Xu Jinchao’s hair. She mentioned her mother’s death lightly.
“During the National Day holiday, they wanted to take me out to play, but there seemed to be something wrong with the company. My mother answered Uncle Xu’s call and was about to rush over. My father didn’t agree, but she insisted. She left. , and then never came back.”
Song Jiao’s voice was calm: “My dad didn’t allow me to see her for the last time. He left me at home and went to the hospital by himself. But I heard from others that my mother’s car was hit head-on by a large trailer with a failed brake. Come on, it’s rotten to scrap metal.”
Xu Jinchao suddenly shuddered, she realized that, to a certain extent, Qiao Chu was almost forced to death by Xu Boyang.
The crash was an accident, but not quite.
She also finally understood what was wrong with Song Yikang’s eyes in Xu Jinchao’s memory.
Perhaps from Song Yikang’s perspective, Xu Boyang was the indirect murderer who killed his wife. This indirect murderer had no guilt or sympathy, and was indifferent to Qiao Chu’s death.
It’s as if it wasn’t a person who died, but a tool that didn’t work so well.
And Xu Jinchao, the adult Alpha daughter of the indirect murderer of his wife, has to take away his only remaining child by force.
Faced with such a desperate situation, Xu Jinchao can understand Song Yikang’s despair and extremes.
She was also suffocated by Qiao Chu in Song Jiao’s description, those endless crazy work, the goal of recognition that can never be achieved.
Just because she knew Xu Boyang’s definition of Qiao Chu, her death was particularly ironic and tragic.
Xu Jinchao also understood Song Jiao’s words. When Sisyphus, who was pushing the boulder up the mountain, died in the middle, this might really be a relief for Qiao Chu. *
Song Jiao noticed her strangeness, stopped her movements, and looked at Xu Jinchao.
She found that Alpha’s expression was quite complicated, and it was difficult for Song Jiao to analyze what kind of expression it was.
Only then did Song Jiao remember that Xu Jinchao seemed to be able to empathize with people, especially what happened to her.
Song Jiao didn’t know what Alpha had in mind, but it was impossible to maintain such a state.
She held Xu Jinchao’s cheek and comforted him: “Don’t think too much.”
Song Jiao said: “People want to live in the present, it’s pointless to go back to the past. The important thing is that you will always be good to me and protect me, right?”
Xu Jinchao nodded heavily in her palm, and she also held Song Jiao’s hand before saying, “Of course.”
Song Jiao smiled at her and told her softly, “Then I will also treat you well and protect you. I am a very fair person.”
She knew that it was a bit funny to say these words in her current state, after all, she had nothing at the moment.
All Song Jiao can offer Xu Jinchao is a promise for the future. She has some clues about it, but she doesn’t plan to be honest with Xu Jinchao now.
Omega continued to make up for Xu Jinchao, while Xu Jinchao was thinking about another thing.
She thought of Xu Jinchao’s mother from Qiao Chu.
Xu’s mother was not young when she gave birth to Xu Jinchao. She seemed to have been injured during childbirth.
Xu’s mother treats Xu Jinchao very well. She is a gentle woman, but her health is getting worse and worse, and she will always get sick. The child can only be handed over to the nanny.
Later, she became very ill, and Xu Boyang also isolated his wife and daughter.
After a long time, Xu Jinchao relied more on the nanny and the frequent father, and the impression of his mother was that of a sick woman.
It is also a coincidence that Xu’s mother died of illness when Xu Jinchao was 10 years old, and Song Jiao was also 10 years old when Qiao Chu died, but there was a 4-year age difference between the two.
Xu Jinchao didn’t have much affection for his mother, and Xu Boyang didn’t mention his deceased wife very often. In the past, she visited her mother’s grave very few times.
Xu Jinchao felt that Xu Jinchao was a little cold. She remembered that Xu’s mother left all her inheritance to her daughter, and she got it when Xu Jinchao became an adult.
She said to Song Jiao, “I’ll also go to worship at that time… I’ll worship my mother and sweep her tomb.”
Xu Jinchao couldn’t say Dad to Xu Boyang, but he respected Xu’s mother.
Song Jiao said, “Okay, then we’re done.”
She fixed her hair bun firmly with a small clip, adjusted her sideburns rolled back, and took a mirror for Xu Jinchao to look at.
Xu Jinchao found that Song Jiao’s hands were indeed very dexterous. She braided multiple strands of twists, which seemed to be pulled back casually, and then braided these thin braids into thick strands, hanging low behind her head.
The hair on the temples is not fully collected, but is combed into a fluffy air feeling, which decorates the whole.
“It’s beautiful,” she praised.
Aunt Li has already brought the food to the table and greeted the two hostess in the restaurant: “It’s dinner!”
On the day of the public holiday, Xu Jinchao got up early. She didn’t make up, put on a dark formal dress, and pulled up her long hair.
She asked the housekeeper about the location of Xu’s mother’s cemetery, which happened to be in the Beicheng Cemetery of Juzhou.
Song Jiao dresses similarly to hers. Both of them dress very seriously. Xu Jinchao ordered flowers the day before and could drive to pick them up in the morning.
Song Jiao looked the same as before, but Xu Jinchao was a little nervous.
Before leaving, Omega was still in the mood to make fun of her: “Why are you so nervous, you walk with the same hands.”
Xu Jinchao saw that Song Jiao really didn’t care much, instead of pretending to be relaxed, and she was infected by such a mood and relaxed.
She responded: “You are my wife now. I’m seeing my mother-in-law. Isn’t it normal to be nervous?”
Song Jiao jokingly warned: “Then you have to behave better and make my mother like you.”
Xu Jinchao pretended to think about it, and said to himself, “I think I am quite pleasing to the elders.”
Although the two went out early, the road conditions were not very good today. Since it was a public holiday, there were not a few people traveling.
Finally arrived at Juzhou Beicheng Cemetery, Xu Jinchao parked the car in the parking lot, and Song Jiao each took flowers for worship, and went to the cemetery where Qiao Chu’s tombstone was located.
After entering the cemetery, the attitude of the two became serious and stopped joking.
Xu Jinchao saw Ms. Qiao on the photo of the tombstone. The woman in the black and white photo had a bright smile and full of confidence. This seemed to be a photo of her when she was young, very beautiful and youthful.
Song Jiao swept away the surrounding dust with her own hands, and placed the carnations and white daisies in her hands in front of the tombstone, and Xu Jinchao stopped by.
Song Jiao put three sticks of incense for her mother, and she stood quietly in front of the tombstone for a moment before saying:
“Mom, take a good rest down there. I’m fine, don’t forget about me.”
Her expression was indifferent, but Xu Jinchao was a little sad. The more calm she was, the more sad she was for what Song Jiao had encountered.
After Song Jiao and her mother finished talking, she looked up at Xu Jinchao and motioned her to come forward.
Xu Jinchao gently placed the flowers prepared for Qiao Chu next to Song Jiao’s bouquet. She was embarrassed to call herself Song Jiao’s wife again, but said:
“Hello Auntie, I’m Song Jiao’s friend. My name is Xu Jinchao. I will take good care of Song Jiao and prevent her from being wronged.”
After speaking, she bowed to Qiao Chu’s tombstone.
When Xu Jinchao straightened up and the two stood for a while, Song Jiao said to her, “Let’s go, let’s go see Aunt Lian.”
The atmosphere in the cemetery is very peaceful, the surrounding greenery is very good, and there are many birds chirping.
Xu Jinchao’s mother’s name is Lian Tian, who lives up to her name. Even the lady’s face is very soft. She sits upright in the posthumous photo and smiles at the people outside the photo.
This is not Xu Jinchao’s mother, and it should be Xu Jinchao that even the lady longs to see. It’s a pity that her daughter didn’t remember much about visiting her mother before, and she won’t in the future.
For the first time, Xu Jinchao felt guilty for occupying Xu Jinchao’s identity. She silently put down the flowers, not knowing what to say to Ms. Lian.
Even in the world of “Jiaojiao” as far as she knows, Xu Jinchao is morally corrupt, and she persecuted [Song Jiao] by illegal means, and was eventually punished by the law.
Xu Jinchao sighed and didn’t say anything after all, but looked at Song Jiao.
Song Jiao probably understood her mentality and stepped forward to put down the flowers.
Go out of the cemetery and get back to the car.
Song Jiao sat in the co-pilot, fastened her seat belt, and said to Xu Jinchao:
“I have something to tell you.”
Song Jiao’s attitude was very serious, Xu Jinchao didn’t know what she was going to say, and looked at it a little blankly.
Song Jiao said: “I need 500,000 cash, not a credit card limit.”
She stared at Alpha’s face, who looked a little surprised, but still waited to hear the follow-up.
Song Jiao told Xu Jinchao her plans and future prospects for social networks as concisely and clearly as possible.
She did not show any ambition to the co-developer [Yu], but she revealed it to Xu Jinchao without reservation, even if she was not sure that Xu Jinchao would have some confidence in her own judgment.
Xu Jinchao did believe her, but it was an emotional commitment, and Song Jiao was of course clear about the difference.
“…So, if it’s just for the students of Changnan University and even the universities around Juzhou, I have enough money to rent a server and put the website online. But I want more than that.”
“Once it is promoted according to my plan, the growth rate of users will be very amazing. The initial investment of 500,000 is actually a conservative estimate.”
Song Jiao didn’t see any contempt or perfunctory on Xu Jinchao’s face.
In fact, Xu Jinchao’s eyes were so hot that Omega was sure that he saw admiration in it.
Xu Jinchao was indeed shocked. After listening to Song Jiao’s statement, she almost sighed softly.
“Song Jiao, you are a genius.”
The days when he came here, Xu Jinchao had already discovered that the Internet in this world was just a budding industry and belonged to an emerging industry.
Against this background, Song Jiao, an indigenous person, almost accurately predicted the arrival of the era of online social networking.
“Jiaojiao” did not explicitly state the industry Song Jiao eventually engaged in, but she was banned by Xu Jinchao for 4 years. She must have missed the wave of the Internet at that time, but she still ignited a great flame.
She almost hated Xu Jinchao and everything she did, but she said decisively, “No problem, I’ll give you this money, you don’t have to pay it back.”
If it was Xu Jinchao’s compensation for Song Jiao, 500,000 was actually too little.
Xu Jinchao looked at Song Jiao with burning eyes, but Song Jiao frowned.
Song Jiao: “I’m not borrowing money from you.”
Omega retorted seriously: “Make it clear, I want you to invest in me, you invest 500,000, and I will give you 20% of the shares. This is very different from borrowing money.”
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The author has something to say:
Silly boy, wake up! ! Your wife is going to take you off! ! !
*Sisyphus is a Greek mythological figure, and the specific story can save her. Here it refers to Qiao Chu’s ineffective and hopeless labor. Under Xu Boyang’s inherent impression, she will never be able to make the other party face up to her ability.
PS: I’m joking, I won’t only eat my wife at the moment, don’t worry!