Pu Sangzhi clearly rembered that since last year, the number of tis her parents had fought had increased.
Due to the worsening of the business and the declining living standards, the number of tis her father asked for a divorce had also increased.
And because of the divorce, endless argunts had started in her ho because her mother was unwilling...
Such argunts had continued for nearly a year, only stopping in the first half of this year when her father’s company went completely bankrupt.
However, following the bankruptcy of her father’s company, instead of facing the debts together, her father disappeared overnight.
At that ti, Pu Sangzhi and her mother realized that regardless of whether he could get a divorce or not, her father’s plan was to flee.
The man disappeared from their lives, taking with him a bunch of creditors. However, due to his company’s large scale, a small number of private creditors still targeted Pu Sangzhi and her mother for debts.
Therefore, during the last sester of the ninth grade, Pu Sangzhi’s life was thrown into chaos.
She would be blocked by creditors on her way to school and after school, she couldn’t return ho, and even renting a room required frequent changes...
In Shanghai, house prices were expensive, the monthly rent was high, and monthly leases were not accepted; at least a quarterly lease was required.
But often they couldn’t stay for a full quarter, as they would be discovered by creditors who would co demanding debts.
Then they had to move again, wasting the rent for that quarter...
During the last sester of the ninth grade, Pu Sangzhi’s schooling suffered greatly.
She often skipped classes, frequently...
During the most desperate tis, she and her mother even stayed at their horoom teacher’s house.
Latter, after the creditors visited, causing disturbance at the horoom teacher’s place, she and her mother realized that there was no place left for them in Shanghai.
Thereafter, they shifted from frequent moving to frequent changing of schools.
In just that sester, spanning only a few months, Pu Sangzhi transferred from Shanghai to Hangzhou, and then from Hangzhou to Wenzhou... enduring a life of constant upheaval and hardship.
If it weren’t for her excellent academic performance, the schools would not have been so lenient towards her.
Fortunately, in the end, she completed her studies and successfully passed the secondary school entrance examination.
After the examination, their new residence with her mother was discovered by the creditors once again.
Even the sumr vacation was spent in turmoil... Ultimately, with no other options, her mother called her seriously ill grandmother who was hospitalized, and the two of them returned here.
This was the rental house left by her grandmother, a very old house. Because her grandmother needed long-term hospitalization due to cancer, it was vacant and had now beco a sanctuary for her and her mother.
In just a few years, Pu Sangzhi had experienced too many life changes.
She also gained a completely different understanding of the people around her.
Like her father...
The father who had always been very gentle with her since she was little, who spoke softly and never got angry, the well-mannered, responsible father... no longer existed.
In the half-year of constant displacent, Pu Sangzhi’s image of him had shattered.
On countless holess nights, she and her mother would sit on a park bench, holding their heads and crying, huddling together.
In such tough tis, the once dependable father was gone.
Only the two won were left, trembling under the imnse pressure of debts.
Yet even so, she still couldn’t bring herself to bla her father.
Just like now, looking at the ssage her father had sent her, her expression darkened, anger filled her eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself to delete the ssage.
Pu Sangzhi held the phone, staring at the ssage for a long, long ti.
"Mom, I’m taking the phone for now... I’m going back to my room to practice dancing."
Just as she realized she was getting emotional, she quickly made up an excuse to Chen Huifen, and hurriedly left.
Behind her, Chen Huifen’s concerned voice carried over, "Sister Sangzhi, don’t overexert yourself."
The more she heard Chen Huifen’s concern, the more complex Pu Sangzhi felt inside.
She rushed back to her room in one breath, closed the door, and leaned back against it, taking several deep breaths.
It took a lot of effort for Pu Sangzhi to suppress her emotions and pick up her phone again.
Looking at the words her father had sent her on QQ, although it was a ssage from two months ago, she still replied with trembling fingers.
She replied: Mom and I are not doing well, what are you planning to do?
Having sent the ssage, Pu Sangzhi stared at the screen for a long ti...
No reply.
He must not be around.
She also wondered which city, which place he was in now, and what was he doing?
After a mont of silence, Pu Sangzhi sent him another ssage: "Don’t co back. We’re living a stable life now, and we can manage without you."
After sending this ssage, Pu Sangzhi locked her phone and placed it on the ground.
She told herself to be tough, not to be soft-hearted.
The days of instability were nearly over, ever since she started high school, living in this small place comfortably and peacefully.
Pu Sangzhi didn’t ask for wealth or luxury, just a peaceful life and an unspoiled educational path.
So he’d better not co back.
Don’t reappear in her life and disrupt her peace.
She allowed herself to think selfishly.
Yet, a minute later, she couldn’t help picking up her phone, unlocking the screen, and retracting this ssage.
Seeing only a ssage withdrawal notification on the screen... Pu Sangzhi took a long breath, holding her phone and gasping for air.
At that mont, her heart accused her of being selfish.
No matter what, he was her father, the man she had always loved dearly.
Thinking this way, Pu Sangzhi gradually cald her emotions.
...
At just past six o’clock in the evening, soone knocked on Pu Sangzhi’s door.
At that mont, Pu Sangzhi stood at the kitchen window washing dishes, while Chen Huifen was working inside the house.
Pu Sangzhi opened the window and looked sideways towards the front door.
As she expected, she saw Huo Feng and Lin Qianqian.
"Hey," Pu Sangzhi called out to them.
"Sister Sangzhi, Brother Feng and I are back! Have you had dinner? Let’s go to tutoring!"
Lin Qianqian bounced from the doorway to the dishwashing window.
Huo Feng followed Lin Qianqian with long strides, his hands in his pockets, lips curved in a happy grin.
"I’ll finish the dishes first, go and get ready, and I’ll co find you later," Pu Sangzhi told Lin Qianqian first. Only then did her gaze follow behind her, falling on Huo Feng, "It’s already late, you should head back."
"I just got here and you’re telling to go back?"
Huo Feng arched his eyebrows, standing firm in the distance, "I’m not leaving, unless you drive ho."
Lin Qianqian chuckled, interjecting between the two, "Sister Sangzhi, Brother Feng missed you a lot. We even brought you cake!"
Huo Feng said, "It’s a pity, so people just don’t want to enjoy their blessings. Don’t you think she’s a bit old-fashioned?"
Lin Qianqian snickered on the side: "Yes, yes."
Huo Feng continued, "So people just can’t see the good intentions of others, always looking at others with a particular perspective, don’t you think her mind is blocked by lard?"
Lin Qianqian kept laughing: "Yes, yes."
The two of them sang and spoke, turning their conversation to Pu Sangzhi.
Pu Sangzhi, knowing she couldn’t outtalk them, simply capitulated, "Alright, stop hassling . You two go wait at Qianqian’s place, I’ll co over after I finish the dishes."
Once Pu Sangzhi agreed, Huo Feng and Lin Qianqian both cheered.
The two clapped their hands together and turned to walk into Lin Qianqian’s house.
Standing at the window, Pu Sangzhi watched these two freely moving figures deeply...
She thought to herself: Such people, they live happily. Certainly happier than her...
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