Being "Crushed" - Chapter 33
Chapter 33
“Hey? Song Song, are you busy…?” As soon as the call connected, Zhou Su’s slightly low and downcast voice came through the receiver. Although she tried hard to hide her bad mood, that trace of grievance in her trembling voice was still caught by the always sensitive Song Yuhan.
Song Yuhan frowned slightly and immediately asked with concern, “What’s wrong, Susu? What happened?”
Zhou Su was about to speak recklessly, but then she remembered that Song Yuhan was still on a business trip in Zhonggang and didn’t want to distract her, so she stopped herself and sighed softly, “Nothing, I just miss you a bit… When are you coming back?”
“Probably the day after tomorrow. But what’s going on? If there’s anything, you have to tell me, no hiding it from me!” Song Yuhan pursed her lips; her tone was a bit firm, but Zhou Su felt very touched by it.
“Okay, I’ll tell you in person when you come back!” She moved the phone a little away from her ear, sniffled faintly, and then spoke again, “How are you coming back? What time will you arrive? I’ll pick you up then!”
Song Yuhan thought for a moment. Although Song Zhihan said he could give her a ride, he was so busy with work, and it was just a small thing—she didn’t want to trouble her brother…
“My flight isn’t booked yet. But your work is so busy… Are you sure you want to come?”
Considering Zhou Su was now a lawyer, working day and night, Song Yuhan felt uncertain about her words.
Zhou Su held back her tears, fearing the person on the phone wouldn’t believe her, immediately nodded repeatedly—but forgot it wasn’t a video call, so Song Yuhan couldn’t see her gestures. “I will! When you come back, I definitely will pick you up!”
“Alright then. Once I confirm the flight info, I’ll send it to you right away~”
“Definitely!”
Just before she couldn’t hold back the sobbing any longer, Zhou Su hastily hung up the phone.
Song Yuhan was a bit surprised by the sudden disconnection and called Zhou Su back twice, but she didn’t answer. She assumed she was busy again and didn’t pursue it further…
So much had happened today… After booking the ticket and sending the flight info to Zhou Su, Song Yuhan quickly fell asleep.
After hanging up, Zhou Su stood in front of the sink, staring blankly at herself in the mirror. The delicate makeup was completely gone; on her face now were only endless desolation and messiness… She closed her already sore eyes and took a deep breath, flicking off the strange stuff stuck in her hair.
Suddenly, she forced a smile, as if mocking her own lack of grit.
Even though being splashed with water by an angry client wasn’t the first time it happened, why still hadn’t she gotten used to it?
Since she got admitted to Zhongjing University of Political Science and Law, she had been very happy, but the ambitions and hard work from those years had been worn down almost to nothing by years of exhaustion and confusion. She suddenly felt suffocated, thinking maybe she was crazy to have chosen this profession.
Severe lack of sleep, endless overtime and competition wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the clients who, even when they were clearly in the wrong, behaved aggressively and sometimes even resorted to violence. This made her mentally exhausted and developed a natural resistance and disgust toward her profession.
She didn’t know how much longer she could hold on, but she had already held on for a long time… and giving up now was simply unbearable.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, and a mature voice came from outside—
“Susie?”
Hearing the mentor’s voice, Zhou Su quickly wiped the tears from her face, suddenly appearing a bit flustered.
“Teacher…”
A woman wearing professional attire with a steady aura walked in. She gently patted Zhou Su’s shoulder in comfort, “I’ve already handled the situation. You don’t need to hide here anymore.”
“Thank you, teacher. This time it was my fault for not handling it well…” Zhou Su suddenly felt guilty, lowering her head and avoiding the gaze of her mentor Su Shi.
Su Shi was silent for a moment and sighed softly, “Clients losing control happens often. It’s not your fault. Don’t be too hard on yourself.” She handed Zhou Su a piece of paper and brushed Zhou Su’s damp hair back, “You’ve done well enough.”
Looking into those seemingly calm but warm eyes, Zhou Su was a little dazed, “Really?”
“Of course.” Su Shi was amused by her confused look and without hesitation gave her affirmation, adding with a self-mocking smile, “I was much clumsier at your age. The speed at which my teachers had to clean up after me couldn’t keep up with the frequency of my own mistakes. Ah, enough embarrassment.”
Zhou Su was choked up but attracted by her words and stopped sobbing, laughing unexpectedly. Then, suddenly feeling awkward, she said, “Sorry, teacher, I shouldn’t be laughing…”
“Isn’t that exactly why I said it? To make you smile. Now that the tears stopped, don’t let them flow again, okay?” Seeing her finally smile, Su Shi breathed a silent sigh of relief, glanced at her expensive watch, and urged, “It’s late, go home and rest.”
Zhou Su obediently nodded, watching Su Shi’s departing back with eyes full of admiration.
Unlike Song Yuhan, Zhou Su came from an ordinary family. Both her parents were very average salaried workers, and she was their only child. You could say she was raised like a boy, strong-willed and tough, always doing things herself, never wanting to trouble others.
In her youth, she always wore a military-style short haircut, looking exactly like a boy… Because of this, not only did boys tease her, even the girls in class were reluctant to play with her.
If Song Yuhan was admired by everyone but too distant to get close, Zhou Su was the opposite—disliked by many for being too different, neither fitting in with the girls nor accepted in the boys’ exclusive groups.
But Zhou Su never really cared about this.
She and Song Yuhan had opposite personalities—one cold and sensitive, the other cheerful and bold—but shared similar social experiences.
In short, they were destined to be friends.
One day, because Zhou Su accidentally dirtied her pants, she stayed alone in the school bathroom, afraid to come out. She asked many passing people for help—some ignored her, some pretended to agree but didn’t help, and some really couldn’t help and left apologetically…
Only Song Yuhan was willing to run all the way to the school clinic to help her at no trouble, and from then on they became the closest friends, leaving many beautiful memories in their youth. This friendship extended into their lives afterward.
On the way home, Zhou Su looked at the flight info Song Yuhan sent on her phone with a bright smile.
She always felt that in her boring and lonely world, Song Song was the most precious gift given to her by heaven—no exceptions.
Although due to their different family backgrounds, she was often teased by low-emotional-intelligence male classmates as the “most loyal servant of the young lady,” she didn’t get angry. Instead, she only heard the word “most” and secretly felt happy.
Unexpectedly, when Song Yuhan heard it, she spoke up for her recklessly in public:
“What young lady, what servant, that’s nonsense! She’s my best friend.”
Zhou Su still remembered how Song Yuhan looked then. Usually so calm and quiet, she actually got angry for her—something rare.
But she didn’t think this Song Yuhan was scary; instead, she silently decided to be her best friend for life.
Over the years, although they went to different schools and studied different majors, fortunately, they were still in the same city… which let them witness each other’s toughest times.
She stayed up night after night preparing for the law exams, while Song Yuhan buried herself in study and internships, trying to heal from heartbreak.
Seeing how Song Yuhan’s state had improved so much in the past two years, and that she had recently been promoted to producer, Zhou Su was happier than if she had gotten a raise herself!
But she never expected that just one trip to Zhonggang would turn everything upside down again.
When they met, Zhou Su gave Song Yuhan a big bear hug as usual. Although Song Yuhan was helpless, she was long used to this kind of enthusiasm.
“You’re finally back! Who was there in Zhonggang? You stayed so long!” Zhou Su pouted in dissatisfaction.
Song Yuhan blinked innocently and handed over the gifts she brought back from Zhonggang, smiling, “I’ll tell you later. You tell me what happened that day first.”
“What happened? Which day?? Huh, I forgot…” Zhou Su paused, completely pushing that day’s grievances out of her mind. She was just so happy to see Song Yuhan; that was how lovable she was—making people forget all their troubles the moment they saw her. “Ah, never mind, let’s go eat something delicious! It’s on me today! You have to tell me how you spent those days in Zhonggang…”
So, just after getting off the plane and before she could even report to Song Zhihan, Song Yuhan was pulled by Zhou Su to a restaurant.
Looking at the full table of delicacies, the first thing Song Yuhan noticed was the deepening dark circles under Zhou Su’s eyes. “Have you been resting poorly lately, working overtime a lot?”
Zhou Su gave an embarrassed smile, waving her hand casually, “Serving the people, it’s my duty! Hey, don’t just talk about me, tell me what kind of bad luck you ran into in Zhonggang?”
Hearing this, Song Yuhan hesitated for a moment, unsure how to begin, “Well… not much, it’s just… I think I angered someone I shouldn’t have.”
“You also know how to get into trouble? Didn’t expect it, Song Song, you’re getting more capable!” Zhou Su looked delighted and praised her, but after thinking, her expression suddenly became serious, “Who did you anger? They didn’t bully you, did they?”
Looking at those eyes full of concern, Song Yuhan tightened her grip on the utensils and shifted her gaze, “…Lu Sifang.”
“Lu…???” Zhou Su was stunned, then her smile slowly froze and disappeared. She doubted if she heard wrong, “Who???”
Everyone around was startled by her suddenly raised voice, but Song Yuhan had expected this reaction and put down her utensils seriously repeating, “Lu Sifang…”
After confirming she wasn’t mistaken, Zhou Su widened her eyes in disbelief, her face clearly saying “what a disaster,” then closed her eyes and angrily said,
“Song Song, you’re crazy!!!”