Xia Manxi leaned against the seat of the bus, hoping to get some rest. She was still weak from the transfusion, and she was unable to sleep as usual. Tired as she was was she was still going to the Long Foundation.
It was a bad decision, all things considered, but she could not sit still in her apartment. The walls were beginning to feel smaller and smaller, and she wanted reprieve, no matter where it was.
The release she wanted however proved to be elusive today. Behind her were two chatterboxes talking about the news she had been trying to suppress all morning.
"Ahhh she is so beautiful. I want a wedding dress as beautiful as this one. Her husband is drop dead gorgeous too. Some people are just blessed!"
"I thought such wedding exist in books , but look at how big it
"What did you expect from the Chen and Jiang families? With the way Chen Lihua's mother dotes on her, do you think it would ever be a small wedding?"
Xia Manxi's lips curled downward. she rummaged through her bag and placed her wireless earphones in her ear. Shortly after, music was playing very loudly in her ears, which meant sleep was impossible.
The only meager consolation was that she could no longer hear their chatter.
Chen Lihua got married over the weekend, and pictures began circulating yesterday. People were so awed by the scale of the wedding it went viral. It was all good press, but Xia Manxi did not want to see it. All her feelings of inadequateness from her childhood sprung up, and it did not help that she began looking at them obsessively against her better judgement.
Seeing their bright smile and carefree demeanor stung, despite everything she told herself over the past few months. Her mother used to smile at her like that once too, many years ago. Before she became her burden.
When she was younger, she had a mother and father who doted on her and gave her everything she could ever want. Her sister was the one who was hidden away ironically and her deepest shame. After all she brought a child whose father was unknown into a new marriage, and feared that she would be looked down on.
Her happy life ended the moment Chen Henglin entered it. He was Chen Lihua's biological father, and wanted to take her away. Her mother ambitious as she was, rekindled their old flame and married Chen Henglin, taking her along. She never saw or heard from any of her relatives from her father's side again.
Her father also disappeared from her life completely.
The marriage was seen as a true love story by everyone, at least openly. Everyone was happy except for her. She could not even cry, as that would just make her mother angry. Chen Lihua then suddenly became her darling, and she was not even allowed to claim any relationship with them publicly.
She was fortunate she still had her sister, so it was not always unbearable. She loved Chen Lihua dearly and wished she was happy, but getting close to her meant being entangled with that family. She got a clean break, and all she could do now was move on.
Like Chen Minghao had.
She did not mean to, but she saw pictures of him at the wedding smiling. She had not seen him smile like that in so long it felt like a distant memory. It seemed that she was an old, forgotten part of his past now.
She hated herself as usual for feeling hurt, but little could be done. She would be better eventually.
The only problem was that she herself did not believe in her consolation.
The bus arrived at her stop, and she stumbled up, wiped her tears and walked as steadily as she could despite her dizziness.
When she entered the foundation the first thing she did was to rush into the bathroom to redo her makeup. By the time she came out, she looked like she always did, smart with nothing out of place.
When she got back to her station, the other employees were surprised to see her there, but could only whisper to themselves. ##Cui Xia## however too startled to see her there and dropped her pen, her face turning white.
Xia Manxi ignored her, set her things down and went to look for Liang Meirong.
She knocked, and when she heard the polite voice beckoning her to enter, she did.
Liang Meirong however looked very surprised to see her there.
"Xia Manxi? Why did you come in today? I was not expecting you at all."
"No worries, I was dying of boredom at home, so I had to come in and help."
Liang Meirong tapped her chin and looked her up and down. "Hmm, you seemed to have recovered from your cold rather quickly. You seem fine. Here, come help me with something." Liang Meirong said distractedly, pointing to some folders on her desk.
Xia Manxi frowned. " Who said I had a cold?"
Liang Meirong shrugged. "It was Bai Xia who told me you suddenly fell ill yesterday and needed to leave." Liang Meirong furrowed her brows slightly. "Is anything the matter with what she said?"
Yes, there was, there was quite a lot. What was so wrong about donating blood to Sun Lanshan's son?
Xia Manxi smiled. "No, there is no problem with what she said."
Liang Meirong did not think much of it and sat down. "Come help me sort these out."
"Okay." Xia Manxi replied and stepped forward. However as they worked, Xia Manxi kept looking at Liang Meirong, thinking about how to ask the questions she had in her heart.
"Is something the matter?"
"Well.....I did not want to seem too probing, but I heard that you and Madam Long went to the hospital. Is everything okay?"
Liang Meirong sighed. "It's about Sun Lanshan. You know she has a son, right? He got badly injured while playing and needed blood, but he was given an incompatible type, so it became a much more serious issue than it should have been."
"That sounds.....horrible. I am so sorry about that. Was he able to get a compatible donor?"
"Yes, fortunately. Finding blood for O patients is a little troublesome."
Xia Manxi suppressed a frown. She was a B, and it was not possible for her to donate to an O. What was going on?
She had originally not said anything to Liang Meirong because she felt something was off, but now was it a good idea?
Sun Lanshan and Bai Xia were hiding something, even lying to Liang Meirong and everyone else. What was the big deal about a child's blood type?"
Liang Meirong yawned and stretched. "I am so so happy you are here. I even have to cover for Auntie Shen and Sun Lanshan today. They are still at the hospital."
"You are really close, it is enviable. Madam Long treats the two of you like her daughters."
"Of course, we practically are, and Xiaoyao is her grandson. How would she treat Sun Lanshan badly?
"Oh, I did not know that. It just sounded weird to me since Madam Long has one son, and you are engaged to him."
Liang Meirong's expression turned complicated, and the document she had been holding fell to the desk suddenly.
She turned to Xia Manxi with a wry smile. "It's complicated, but Liang Meirong's son is Aunt Shen's grandchild. Everyone knows this, but you are new, so you may not. For everyone's sake, never mention anything about Xiaoyao's father, okay?"
Xia Manxi nodded slowly. "I understand."
Liang Meirong grabbed her hand, a grateful expression appearing on her angelic face. "Thank you, let's get back to what we were doing."
With that, Xia Manxi could no longer ask anything. She had pried too far. No matter, she did not want to think about their matters any more.
She did not want to get involved.