After Breaking the Ice-Beauty's Heart - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: You Keep Walking Forward, Running Forward, Flying To Higher Places.

This was Zhou Nianzhi’s first time in Song Yuli’s car, and she felt quite uneasy.

Before getting in, she mustered up the courage to put her bag in the back seat, only to be startled by Song Yuli’s quiet command, “You can sit in the passenger seat.” She almost dropped her bag.

Zhou Nianzhi agreed with a meek “Okay,” quickly placed her bag in the back, and opened the passenger door. She hesitated for a moment before getting in.

Song Yuli urged her softly, “Get in quickly. We should get back sooner.”

Zhou Nianzhi reluctantly got in, fastened her seatbelt, and placed her hands on her lap. She stayed silent, continuously turning her head to look out the window in an attempt to distract herself.

The car started and drove on the road, heading toward the highway entrance.

Song Yuli asked, “Are you carsick?”

“No,” Zhou Nianzhi replied.

“Then why do you look more nervous than me, the one who’s driving?” Song Yuli’s tone was a little more relaxed.

Zhou Nianzhi bit her lower lip. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why she was so nervous herself. It was probably because her dad’s accident had left such a deep scar, so that no matter how much time passed, every time she got in a car, a deep-seated fear from the bottom of her heart would still wash over her.

They got on the highway and the speed picked up, but Song Yuli still drove very steadily, which made Zhou Nianzhi feel a lot more at ease.

She let out a breath and relaxed a little. “When did you get your driver’s license?” she asked.

“In college,” Song Yuli replied.

Zhou Nianzhi said, “Oh,” and sighed in wonder, “You were so busy in college, and you still managed to learn how to drive?”

After passing a car, Song Yuli checked her rearview mirror, moved out of the fast lane, and returned to the second lane. “I’m a fast learner,” she said.

Zhou Nianzhi nodded in agreement. In their first year of high school, Song Yuli was at the bottom of the class. In her second year, she suddenly leaped into the top ten. With even more effort, she managed to create a miracle, going from last place to the top ten of their entire grade.

The distance between them went from a few hundred people, to dozens, and finally, they were right next to each other, neck and neck.

At first, Zhou Nianzhi insisted on helping Song Yuli with her homework. That was until she saw the ranking, and she was completely stunned. Other classmates ran over, confirmed that Song Yuli wasn’t there, and quietly leaned in to ask Zhou Nianzhi, “Zhou Nianzhi, you’re amazing. How did you help Song Yuli with her homework? Can you teach us, too?”

Thinking of this, Zhou Nianzhi couldn’t help but smile. Her reflection on the car window showed her grin.

Let me think. How did she so dramatically tuck her bangs behind her ear back then, and then, with her nose in the air, say so smugly—

“Oh, it was nothing, really.”

So pretentious.

So funny.

Zhou Nianzhi’s smile was hard to hold back. The more she thought about it, the funnier it got.

Song Yuli, glancing in the rearview mirror, noticed the smile on the person next to her. She turned her head back to look at the road ahead and asked, “What are you thinking about? You seem so happy.”

“Maybe it’s because we’re going back,” Zhou Nianzhi said, looking at the road signs outside the window, feeling the car’s movement as it rushed toward home. “I was just thinking about high school again.”

“Didn’t you used to think high school was painful?” Song Yuli held the steering wheel, her eyes on the road.

Zhou Nianzhi let out a long sigh. Her experiences over the years flashed before her eyes like scenes from a movie. “Now that I’ve grown up, I finally understand ‘youth doesn’t know the taste of sorrow.'”

In the past, being criticized a little felt like the end of the world. Making a careless mistake on a single problem would make her feel depressed for a long time. If a friend went to the bathroom with another classmate and didn’t ask her, it was a reason to cry, make a fuss, and threaten to end the friendship.

Now, her skin was so thick that she wouldn’t even know if someone was scolding her. As long as she didn’t miscalculate money, everything else was a small matter. As for friends, eating alone was the norm. How could she still find those friends she could confide everything in? Getting to say a few words to someone occasionally felt like a rare treat.

Song Yuli sped up a bit and said, “Growing up has its advantages, too.”

What advantages?

Zhou Nianzhi quickly glanced at Song Yuli from the corner of her eye, then immediately looked back out the car window, feeling guilty.

What made growing up so hard for Zhou Nianzhi was that she could no longer be a naive daughter wrapped in love, and she could no longer be a partner who openly accepted someone’s affection.

She would rather be wrapped in thorns than let her carefully protected flower blossom.

The old Zhou Nianzhi always thought that as long as they loved each other, life would be simple, and all troubles and hardships could be cast aside.

That was until fate waved to her, and she said—

“Hey, you’re Zhou Nianzhi, right? Here you go, this is your destiny.”

The smile on Zhou Nianzhi’s face faded again, and she rested her head weakly on the back of the seat.

Song Yuli must have noticed the change in her mood. She asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Just focus on driving,” Zhou Nianzhi said, her heart hurting, her words not entirely kind. “Don’t mind me.”

Just as Zhou Nianzhi had thought on the day they broke up—

You keep walking forward, running forward, flying to higher places.

Just don’t, under any circumstances, look back.

Don’t mind me.

Song Yuli didn’t say anything and just kept driving forward.

“I just got a waitlist ticket from home to here,” Zhou Nianzhi said, looking at a message on her phone. “I won’t trouble you on my way back. I’ll pay you for the gas when we get there.”

Song Yuli only said one word: “Okay.”

Just like that, three hours passed in a flash.

Song Yuli drove so steadily that Zhou Nianzhi didn’t feel carsick at all.

“There’s a rest stop ahead. I’ll get some gas, and we can take a break, eat something, and then continue,” Song Yuli said, changing lanes to the right. After a bit of driving, she pulled into the rest stop.

After getting gas, Song Yuli parked the car in the parking lot. Once the car was stopped, Zhou Nianzhi opened the door, got out, took a deep breath of fresh air, and stretched her waist after sitting for so long.

So young, and her back already hurt after sitting for just a little while.

Song Yuli saw this and asked, “Does your back hurt?”

Zhou Nianzhi nodded first, then quickly shook her head. For some reason, if anyone else had asked this, she wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But at this moment, the person in front of her was Song Yuli.

The intimate memories that had just started to fade from her mind suddenly came rushing back. But Song Yuli had only used two simple words, and those memories came bounding back into her mind.

She waved her hand in front of her face, trying to hide her slightly flushed cheeks, and immediately changed the subject, walking toward the restrooms. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

Song Yuli followed her, saying, “Me too.”

Zhou Nianzhi took a sharp breath, speeding up her pace. The two little people in her mind started chattering incessantly.

Oh my god.

Little Zhou Nianzhi.

Please stop these chaotic thoughts in your head.

Imagine you’re just a passenger.

Song Yuli is the driver you hired.

Don’t forget you have important things to do.

Please, stop thinking about this! Ahhhhhh—

Zhou Nianzhi finally finished in the bathroom and washed her hands. She splashed cold water on her face, which made her feel a lot more awake and less hot.

Then, Song Yuli took two steps closer, looked at Zhou Nianzhi, and her voice softened. “Has it been hurting all this time?”

Zhou Nianzhi forced a smile. Every word was painful. “No, it doesn’t hurt anymore… it doesn’t…”

Song Yuli probably didn’t understand her emotions. She just tilted her head, her eyelashes fluttering, and looked at her with clear eyes.

Zhou Nianzhi really wanted to scream in her head.

Ah—

Don’t look at her, a person with a mind full of filth, with such clear eyes!

“Hungry?” Song Yuli understood that she probably didn’t want to talk, so she didn’t look at her and changed the subject. “Let’s go eat some instant noodles.”

“Okay,” Zhou Nianzhi replied with a muffled voice, covering her stomach. “I’m hungry.”

Song Yuli went back to the car and brought out two cups of instant noodles. “Which one do you want?” she asked.

Zhou Nianzhi hadn’t yet snapped out of her chaotic thoughts from earlier. She just picked one at random. It was only after she opened it that she remembered she had bought some herself. Why was she taking Song Yuli’s again?

She owed her another favor.

They went to get hot water for their instant noodles. To avoid making eye contact with Song Yuli, Zhou Nianzhi’s gaze shifted, and she saw a mother and daughter. The petite mom was holding a sleeping child in one arm, and with her only free hand, she was trying to hold on to another child who was crying and wanted to buy snacks. The mom’s hair was messy, probably also from a long car ride, and she had gotten off at the rest stop to walk around.

Zhou Nianzhi’s heart ached. She looked away, looked at the instant noodles in her hand, thought for a long time, and then said, “Song Yuli, do you think it’s true that ‘a mother becomes strong’?”

Song Yuli shook her head. To be honest, the concept of a “mother” was very vague to her, so she could only ask, “What do you think?”

“‘A mother becomes strong’ is a myth,” Zhou Nianzhi said, her fingers gripping the edge of the instant noodle cup. She remembered Sheng Ning’s busy figure in the kitchen. She, too, had such a frail body, but she had to work with her dad to support their family.

Her heart ached, and she let out a soft sigh, continuing, “Women are already strong. It’s just that most of the time, their value is only discovered after they become mothers.”

Women were already strong. Under their delicate shells lay unyielding souls like stubborn rocks.

If a woman were to be compared to water, it wouldn’t be limited to the gentle trickle of a stream. They possessed the resilience and arrogance of a surging river, and the power and courage to break through hard stone.

Water had the ability to nurture all things.

Similarly, it could also follow a stream and run toward freedom.

Zhou Nianzhi pressed the button and watched the hot water pour into the instant noodles.

“That’s a beautiful way to put it,” Song Yuli praised from the side. If she weren’t holding a cup of instant noodles, Zhou Nianzhi would have been afraid that she was about to clap for her on the spot.

Zhou Nianzhi smiled faintly. “You’re too kind,” she said.

They both finished getting their hot water, placed their forks on top of the instant noodles, and found a nearby bench to sit on.

Zhou Nianzhi placed her cup of instant noodles on the table in front of her. From the corner of her eye, she saw that the mom had already taken her children back to her car.

Suddenly, she heard Song Yuli next to her say—

“Love can also fill a person with strength.”

Zhou Nianzhi froze, then smiled and nodded. “Yeah,” she said.

In her memory, her mom was a high-level player with a teleportation skill. Whenever she needed her, her mom could instantly appear in front of her.

Her mom also had a universal smile. If she ever got into trouble, her mom could always smile and mediate the situation.

Her mom also never seemed to be hungry. Whenever Zhou Nianzhi bought something delicious and shared it with her, she would always get the same reply: “Oh, I’m not hungry, you should eat it all yourself. Oh, by the way, you should eat less of this…”

In reality, her mom didn’t have any superpowers.

She was just a normal person.

A normal person who loved her child very, very much.