Chapter 197 — A Sorrowful Past
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Tang Yun, haven't you seen what's in Kang's heart? Tell him." Wei Zhao was driving, but he kept an eye on Tang Yun and Kang; seeing Tang Yun hesitate, he knew at once what was holding her back.
"But..." Tang Yun wavered. Kang's feelings — of course she could see them. If Kang could stay at Xiao Fen's side, then perhaps Xiao Fen might get better. But Xiao Fen's past was a tragic one; if she spoke of it herself, could Kang accept it?
"No buts. Keep saying 'but' and Kang will worry himself to death," Wei Zhao said with a laugh.
Tang Yun sighed, and in a quiet, faint voice began to talk: "Xiao Fen, Liu Xinwen, and I grew up together in the shantytown from the time we were small; we were very close. But in our last year of junior high, a boy forced his way into Xiao Fen's life..."
"Kang Zhaoming?" Kang clenched his fists, his face changing slightly. In truth he had already guessed as much; he only wanted to confirm it from Tang Yun.
Tang Yun was in the front, unable to see Kang's expression, and so did not notice anything unusual about him: "Yes, Kang Zhaoming. I didn't expect you to remember that name..."
Tang Yun had mentioned the name Kang Zhaoming to Liu Xinwen only once before, and she had never expected Kang's memory to be so good. It seemed he truly had set his heart on Xiao Fen...
As Xiao Fen's closest friend, Tang Yun naturally hoped Xiao Fen would recover quickly and not live every day sunk in depression. She had consulted a doctor back then, but the doctor said Xiao Fen's illness was in the mind, and that the best cure would be for her to begin a new romance and forget the sorrow of the old one.
Tang Yun did not approve of young love, but special cases called for special measures. If Kang and Xiao Fen really could come together, that was something she would be glad to see. Only — once Kang learned the particulars of Xiao Fen's situation, would he still...
But Wei Zhao caught Kang's furious look in the rearview mirror, and a faint sense that something was wrong stirred in his heart.
"Kang Zhaoming pursued Xiao Fen with great fervor..." Here Tang Yun could not help shooting Wei Zhao a glare: "Kang Zhaoming's family was well off, very rich. At school he was the sort of spoiled young master whose slightest word drew a hundred responses, and Xiao Fen, young and ignorant, fell for it..."
Wei Zhao smiled bitterly. What are you glaring at me for? I'm not a spoiled young master... And besides, I haven't even begun to pursue you... All those things before, they really were misunderstandings!
"And so they got together..." Tang Yun continued: "At first the two of them got along well enough, but later Kang Zhaoming grew more and more distant from Xiao Fen. When Xiao Fen asked him what was wrong, he proposed that they break up..."
"Of course Xiao Fen refused. By then she had already fallen deeply in love with Kang Zhaoming... and she had already had... that kind of relationship with him..." At this Tang Yun's face flushed faintly. Though she was eighteen and counted as an adult, she was still a girl after all, and speaking of such things still made her shy: "She went to find Kang Zhaoming and ask him for an explanation, but she saw Kang Zhaoming getting into a taxi with another beautiful woman. Xiao Fen would not give up; she chased the taxi, calling Kang Zhaoming's name, but Kang Zhaoming only turned his head and gave her one cold glance, and did not tell the driver to stop...
Liu Xinwen and I tried to call Xiao Fen back from behind, but she would not listen; she stubbornly chased that taxi. And just then a big truck came and knocked Xiao Fen down...
Even so, Kang Zhaoming did not get out of the car to see Fen; he simply drove away. And within a few days he transferred to another school and was never seen again. Xiao Fen's leg was left crippled; from then on she could only walk with a limp, and she could not walk for long — ordinarily she had to sit in a wheelchair...