Life Plan

Chapter 24, The Most Effective Rejection

This was the first time Liu Chichi had deliberately ignored her roommates' gazes. Usually, if they stared at her for more than a minute, she would immediately turn around and ask, "What's wrong? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Liu Chichi tried to calm her chaotic emotions. This was a scholarship, not a grant; it was not only money but also an honor, so it was perfectly normal for her to strive for it.

This strange atmosphere persisted until that night, when her roommate knocked on her bedside table: "Chichi, about the scholarship..."

Liu hesitated to lift the bed curtains, and the entire dormitory fell silent, but she knew everyone was waiting for her answer. Her hands unconsciously gripped the blankets tighter, and her molars seemed to ache again.

She was nineteen that year, and her dire circumstances were tearing at her pride. She frankly admitted that her poverty was not easy for her. She turned over, her voice soft: "I'm sorry, I need this honor."

The already fragile friendship quickly dissipated. Perhaps there was never any friendship to begin with; it was just that they no longer needed her to recite lessons or reserve seats, and they no longer took the initiative to ask her about things during group activities, or even sit at the same table for meals.

Liu Chichi took the money to the hospital. The toothache was caused by an impacted wisdom tooth growing horizontally and pushing against her molar. Liu Chichi spent three weeks having all her impacted wisdom teeth extracted.

She had spent all her money and felt empty inside.

Liu Chichi comforted herself, it's okay, it was always like this, it's just going back to the old days. She memorized the class schedule, the activity locations, submitted her PPT assignments alone, and went to her general education classes alone.

I just sometimes wonder if she would have made good friends if she gave up the scholarship.

If she abandons her own affairs to pick up Xiao Qiao, can she and Zhou Ya continue to be friends?

Liu walked unsteadily out of the hospital, the autumn evening breeze waking her up. She took out her phone; the children's hospital was in the same district as her home, twenty-seven kilometers away, and the app estimated a taxi fare of seventy yuan.

Liu Chichi switched to the bus route again, which required three subway transfers. The last bus to her door had already stopped running, and the subway journey would take one hour and forty minutes, followed by a 1.4-kilometer walk home.

A taxi ride is estimated to take 35 minutes, while transferring to a bus and walking is estimated to take 2.5 hours.

It's okay, her time isn't valuable. If she leaves quickly now, she can catch the third subway train; any later and she won't.

Liu Chichi looked at the taxi bill and thought that it had already cost her thirty yuan to take Xiao Qiao to the hospital. Fortunately, she was already working and wouldn't have to worry about transportation costs anymore.

During her hospital internship, her salary card was in her mother's hands. When she joined the company, she secretly got a new salary card. Every month, she would transfer 1,500 yuan into the old card to pretend that her salary had been deposited. She would also use this card for temporary withdrawals, and carefully save the rest of the money.

Life without money is too hard; only saving money can give her peace of mind.

Liu Chichi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Where exactly is the line between people? How much consideration does one have to have for others to have a friendship?

The next morning, the first message that popped up was Zhou Ya's apology. Liu Chichi's mind had just cleared up, and thinking about yesterday's scene made her feel uneasy, so she crossed out the message.

Not replying is the most vehement form of resistance she can mount.

When Zhou Ya sent her the third apology message, Liu Chichi finally typed in the chat box: "It's okay."

She earnestly tried to convince herself, "Let it go, it's not a big deal. Zhou Ya has already apologized, so let's just let it go."

She took too long to convince herself, and Shen Shuyi, seeing that she hadn't blinked for a while, shook her hand: "Are you out of your mind?"

"no."

"What happened?"

Liu Chichi turned to look at her, hesitating whether to speak. But the autumn sunlight shone on Shen Shuyi's smooth forehead, giving her an angelic, ethereal appearance. Perhaps it was because Shen Shuyi always managed to handle those tricky social problems perfectly, but Liu Chichi felt an unprecedented urge to confide: "It's Zhou Ya."

She recounted her first meeting with Zhou Ya and what happened last night, trying hard to tell herself it was nothing serious, just a few words from her. After all, Zhou Ya was a mother, and it was normal for her to be anxious about her child. But she still felt uncomfortable because of Zhou Ya's accusations and gaze yesterday.

"Wait a minute," Shen Shuyi's expression was extremely exaggerated, "So you're saying this because you want to forgive her?"

"Actually, she's really good to me, really, it's just that I can't get over it..."

"So you still want me to convince you to forgive her?"

Shen Shuyi's tone turned cold, and her smooth forehead was raised high again.

Noticing her mood, Liu Chichi gave a slightly embarrassed smile, "If it's difficult for you..."

"Stop laughing, it's hideous." Shen Shuyi's tone became even colder.

Liu Chichi's stiff smile vanished instantly, her eyes drooped, and she looked a little aggrieved, as if she had offended someone again.

Do you think she really said those things to apologize?

"Right?"

"Today is Thursday, if I remember correctly, it's your day to pick up your child. Tell her you won't be going anymore."

Liu Chichi stared at the unsent "I'm sorry" in the chat box. She had never rejected anyone so decisively before, and she couldn't bring herself to do it for a long time: "But I already promised her."

Shen Shuyi gritted her teeth in exasperation and poked her head. The same action made her subconsciously think of Liu Chunhong, as if she was about to hear some harsh words. She quickly closed her eyes.

"You," Shen Shuyi's voice softened, "then you should forgive her first."

Liu Chichi puffed out her cheeks: "I don't really want to forgive her either." This was the reason she was constantly tormented by internal conflict; she felt uncomfortable whether she forgave her or not.

"It's asking you to forgive her, not that you sold yourself to her. Forgiving her is like letting yourself off the hook."

The "It's okay" message was finally sent, but as Shen Shuyi expected, after Zhou Ya sent two polite exchanges, she quickly got to the point: "Don't forget to pick up Xiao Qiao tonight!"

She also added a "mischievous smiley face" emoji: [It's Thursday today!]

Liu typed and deleted repeatedly, rambling on for four lines just to lay the groundwork for one central idea: I don't want to go.

I deleted it in the end.

Shen Shuyi glanced at him with one eye: "Do you know the quickest and most effective way to refuse?"

"What?" Liu Chichi was really curious. Whenever she racked her brains to find an excuse to refuse, the other party would easily dismiss her excuse.

You called her saying "I won't go".

"They hit you, and then what?"

Shen Shuyi frowned in surprise: "What do you mean, 'then'? I'm not going, that's all. Do you have some excuse that you need her help with?"

"No." Liu Chichi looked at the two lonely words on the page and subconsciously wanted to retract them. Would such a dry rejection make the other party think she was very impolite?