I kept listening to him, and with every word he spoke, my heart felt a little lighter, even though everything around me had fallen into chaos.
"What happened to you? Why are you not saying anything? Do you really wanna kill me with your silence, you silly girl?" he asked.
"No, I won't. I just..." I was about to tell him everything, everything that had happened today, but something stopped me, and that something was Yuan himself.
He was working so passionately these days. I couldn't drag him into my problems. No doubt my problems were like a never-ending process. He had nothing to do with them. I wanted to share everything with him, I really did, but I couldn't. Sometimes we can't control things, and sometimes we have to leave everything to the current circumstances only. And right now, my circumstances were not good enough to tell him.
"What happened? You went silent again," he asked, breaking all my thoughts.
"Nothing, Yuan. I just got distracted," I said.
"Where?" he asked.
"Not by anything specific. I just got lost because after such a long time I visited my city, it has changed a little, and I am just sitting here on a bench remembering my old memories," I said.
"Then it must be really good for my girlfriend, because you missed your city so much. After such a long time you visited there, it really made your Mr Heart happy, isn't it?" he asked.
"Of course. How well do you know me?" I asked.
"The same way you know me," he replied.
I smiled.
For a moment, I forgot everything. Every problem in my life disappeared for those few seconds. Yuan's impact on me had always been like this. He always made me forget the problems in my life, and today also, while talking to him, I forgot everything that had just happened.
"You know what? I also wanted to come to Chongqing with you, but because of my tight schedules, I couldn't make it," he said.
"Better luck next time," I replied.
"Aren't you too happy that I am not there with you?" he asked.
"Of course not, Yuan. What are you saying?" I asked.
"Of course you are, silly girl. Otherwise you wouldn't say 'better luck next time,'" he said.
"So what are you thinking?" I asked.
"I am thinking that maybe you are thinking that since your boyfriend is not there, you can go and catch up with your old friends. But let me tell you very clearly that it is a bad idea, because I won't let you do catch up with your old friends when I am not around you," he said.
"Any specific reason?" I asked.
"Of course there is," he replied.
"What?"
"What if in your old friends group there is some boy who secretly has a crush on you and tries to pursue you?" he said.
I laughed. I really laughed.
"Yuan, now this is too much. You are thinking like there is really a C-drama going on, but let me tell you clearly, there isn't," I said.
"How can you be so sure?" he asked.
"Because the scenario you are explaining can never happen," I said.
"Why?"
"Because I don't have any other friends besides Wang Ruoxi in my whole high school life. She is my one and only best friend since first class, my childhood friend. And if you are talking about boys, then let me tell you this too, none of the boys ever proposed to me or even tried to pursue me."
"Stop joking. I won't believe you."
"Why?"
"Because I know the truth."
"What truth?"
"The truth that my girl is so beautiful that not only your high school, but the whole Chongqing has eyes on my girl," he said.
"Trying to flatter me? Let me tell you that you have already flattered me enough."
"No, I am not trying to flatter you. I am trying to share my fear with you," he said.
"Yuan, I have already told you. I won't repeat it."
"But I still won't believe that nobody proposed to you. It's really impossible," he insisted.
"Yuan, it is the truth. Nobody dared to propose me because maybe they never saw me that way..."
I paused.
"Or maybe I was too busy with you that the whole world became blurred for me."
"Now you have started flattering me," he said.
"No, I am really not."
"Of course you are."
"My silly girl, why do I feel like you are becoming very cunning after going back to your hometown?" he asked.
"It's not like that."
"So tell me, are you done with today's schedule?" I asked.
"Hm," he replied.
I smiled softly.
"I miss you."
"But I miss you more... many more times more," he said.
I smiled again.
"Of course you do, Yuan. I know you do. But the only thing I bother about right now is that you should not put too much focus of yourself on me. It is not good for you."
"Nothing about my girlfriend is bad for me."
"And you know what? I am telling you already, if you are planning to leave me, or if anyone tries to snatch you away from me, they will pay for their consequences," he said.
I smiled hearing that.
"Yuan Yuan, why are you thinking like I am going to run away from you?" I asked.
"Because I have a feeling that you might," he replied.
"How could you even think that?"
"You already know very well that since the age I understood what love really was, my whole focus was on you. My whole world revolved around you, only around you. At that time I really didn't care what was happening around me... I was captivated by you since then."
"And now?" he asked.
"I haven't completed my sentence yet, Yuan, so hear it fully first."
"Okay then, continue."
"I want to say that since I was captivated by you then, I am captivated by you now, and till the last beat of my Mr Heart, I will still be captivated by you."
I smiled.
"In simple words... Zhao Shiza is captivated by Xu Yuan."
"My silly girl never leaves a chance to astonish me."
"Okay, okay. If I talk more then I won't be able to sleep tonight. Good night, return home soon after your shoot is finished."
And then I hung up.
I knew he was about to ask me about Pa. That was why I ended the call quickly. I couldn't lie to him because even if I tried, he would catch me immediately.
I took a deep breath, trying to let my worries disappear into the cold air.
Then suddenly I remembered something he had said today:
"If anyone tries to snatch you away from me, they will pay for their consequences."
But he didn't even know that my own Pa was against us.
Suddenly my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I calmed myself and picked up the call.
"Hello?"
A voice from the other side asked,
"Are you Zhao Shiza, daughter of Mr Zhao?"
"Yes... I am. But who are you? Why are you asking this?" I asked worriedly.
"Mr Zhao fainted in front of his home. He is alone here. Please come quickly. Someone in the neighborhood told me that his daughter returned today."
The moment I heard those words, everything disappeared from my mind.
The argument.
The anger.
The pain.
Everything.
Without thinking for even a second, I stood up from the bench and started running through the roads while still holding the phone.
"Please don't hang up! I am reaching there! Please make my Pa lie down on the couch and try to bring him back to consciousness, please!" I said while running breathlessly.
"Okay, relax. I am doing it," the other person said.
And then...