I Am The Third Party (GL) - Chapter 21

As soon as I heard those words, I began to hallucinate.

The air materialized, surrounding me in a cube. Lights continuously flowed into the cube, turning into a transparent liquid that rose up little by little until it submerged my head.

I barely managed to detect the outside world through the swaying waves. When I opened my mouth, all I breathed in was a salty and bitter liquid. I wanted to cough, but my throat had no strength, so I could only open my mouth in vain.

I couldn’t float up, and I couldn’t sink.

“So,” I smiled, holding her shoulders with both hands, and said in a deep voice, “You have to fulfill your responsibilities and treat her well. A girl’s sincerity is the most precious treasure that cannot be wasted. Take care of yourself and take good care of Sinan.”

I thought about it, crawled out of her arms, and said, “Don’t make yourself too uncomfortable. It’s hard enough to survive. If you can’t enjoy happiness in battle, it’s really pitiful.”

I don’t know what exactly happened between Qi Xi and Yan Sinan. In my eyes, Qi Xi’s dependence on Yan Sinan is at the same level as a baby’s dependence on a wet nurse.

Qi Xi said they had known each other for a long time, and perhaps it was during those endless days of suffering that Yan Sinan offered her one of the few moments of tenderness and light.

The first ray of redemption that shines into hell is always the most sacred, inviolable of sin. That savior-like position in a person’s heart is almost unshakable.

In Qi Xi’s hellish existence, Yan Sinan brought her a window to heaven, and thus Yan Sinan became Qi Xi’s savior.

That’s just how I imagine it, based on my intuition.

Don’t laugh at me; my intuition is always spot on.

I have no right to criticize Qi Xi and Yan Sinan’s relationship, but honestly, I despise the relationship of savior and redeemed.

It’s akin to emotional dependence and subordination, where one person, in a subordinate position, looks up to the other, while the superior sees the love they offer as more of a handout. Over time, such a relationship becomes a one-way affair, one that goes without return.

This inequality leads to inequality and fracture.

Relationships require interaction.

I can help you, but I hope you understand that my help, and my very being, is merely a tool, a medium, an opportunity. Ultimately, it’s you who will truly save you and help you stand up.

You are independent, a complete individual. We walk side by side, supporting each other.

I knew Qi Xi was watching me, her eyes filled with nothing but silence and thought.

Not in the mood to care about her thoughts, I quickly closed the door.

————————————————

After Qi Xi confessed her past, our relationship didn’t improve.

On the contrary, there were signs of regression.

The problem lay primarily with me.

I remained focused on my work, moonlighting as her nanny, preparing every meal and washing every piece of laundry. Everything was much the same as before,

except I no longer talked back to her.

Come to think of it, we didn’t interact much before. Our

interactions were mostly bickering, usually initiated by my backtalk, and ended with her threatening to shut me up.

Now that I don’t talk back, I simply respond with “um, ah, oh” to everything she says.

Naturally, our conversations have become less frequent.

Qi Xi and I just have a simple roommate relationship, and that’s it.

She’ll probably move out soon. She has plenty of houses anyway, so she can live wherever she wants. It’s best if she goes back to live with Yan Sinan. Since her legs aren’t working well, she should take care of her.

Honestly, I have a lot of respect for Yan Sinan.

I used to dislike her a little because of her attitude towards Qi Xi, but now, I truly admire her.

She looks so delicate, yet she graduated from a prestigious university and is a renowned designer at a young age. Just in terms of academics, I’ve always admired the likes of academic geniuses.

When Qi Xi said Yan Sinan had lost a leg to save her, I was completely stunned.

My god, this act of risking one’s life for someone you love is so cool!

A coward like me, if someone I love were in trouble, I’d really question whether I’d risk my life to save them.

Oh, I’m just a coward, a spineless person. I can never really tell whether I love her or not, and I don’t dare to. Ultimately, I’m just too self-centered and selfish.

“Boss,” a slender, white hand reached out to me. A snow-white ribbon was tied around the wrist, and a paper card was tucked between the index and middle fingers. “I just got my salary yesterday. This is a gift for you.”

“Huh?” I took the card. It had an embossed pattern on the surface. I opened it, revealing several neatly written lines of small characters inside. It was a poem.

Autumn days are translucent,

painted on the golden earth of the forest

. Autumn days smile at the whole world.

How wonderful is sleep without distractions,

gradually making the flowers and grass weary.

A red grape wreath hung by the bed.

Autumn days no longer have any desires,

its fingers so cold and merciless,

they flicker everywhere in my dreams, and

white snowflakes fall.

“It’s not for eating.” I closed the card and curled my lips. Seeing Xiao Xuewu smiling at me, she said, “I eat some divine food sometimes.”

“You wrote this?”

Xiao Xuewu curled her eyes. “No, it’s Söderlanger.”

Söderlanger? I knew he was a foreigner. I didn’t know him.

I was feeling awkward and didn’t know how to continue the conversation when my phone rang. I hurriedly took out my phone to see who was calling, Qiao Zhengguo. Damn, Dad!

Answering a call from Qiao Zhengguo would have been worse than continuing the awkward silence with Xiao Xuewu.

Stay calm, stay calm. I took a deep breath and said, “Hello, Dad, I’m fine. I see Sun Minrui almost every two days. We’re doing fine. Don’t worry. Neither of us has that intention. If you don’t have anything else, I’ll hang up first. What about work?”

“You heartless girl!”

Oh my God, my dad is so full of energy that the earth would shake when he roared.

“Dad! What’s going on? I’m really busy.”

“Xianyu, come here quickly. Hey, what’s your name? Xiao Qi, what’s the name of this martial arts gym?”

Wait, Xiao Qi, who is my dad calling and who is he with?

“Oh, Cangya, I know, I know. Xianyu, hurry up and take a taxi to Cangya Martial Arts School, it’s on Jianjia Street in Luyu District, come and have a look, oh my, this is really great, look at the way that young man punches, wow–“

My right eyelid twitched, and my intuition told me that something seemed to have happened… something not so good…

“Dad!”

I might have shouted a little too loudly, even Xiao Xuewu turned her head and looked at me.

“Hey, you little b1tch, why are you shouting so loudly! Come here quickly!”

“No,” I put my feet on the corner of the table and leaned my head down, “Who are you with?”

“I’m with Xiao Qi. Come on, Xiao Qi, come here and tell Xian Yu. She asked who I was with.”

Then there was a brief rustling sound, and then I heard Qi Xi call out “Little Fairy.

” “Don’t worry, Uncle Qiao is with me now. He’s at Cangya Martial Arts Hall. You can take a taxi and I’ll reimburse you for the fare.”

“Why would my dad be with you?”

“Didn’t I promise your dad that I would take him to the martial arts hall to practice when he was free? Look, this morning Uncle Qiao said he was free and so he came together.”

…

Qiao Zhengguo! Do you have any shame? Don’t tell others that you are my dad!

“Excuse me, Qi Xi, could you please take care of my dad for me? I’m really busy and can’t come—”

“Qiao Xianyu, I command you in your father’s name to come right here, right now, immediately!”

“Dad!”

“If you hadn’t come, you’d have to pay me back the two hundred thousand you borrowed to open the shop!”

“… Hey, Dad, I’m coming. How could I not come? I miss you so much. I’ll be right here with you. Come on, wait for me, Dad. I’ll be right there!” I took off my apron and tossed it on the bar, slung my bag over my shoulder, and hurried out the door. I turned back and said to Xiao Xuewu, “Xuewu, take care. I’ll try to be back soon.”

Xiao Xuewu winked at me and gave me an OK sign. I blew her a kiss in return and hailed a taxi, eager to get to Dad.

They say a daughter is her father’s lover in a past life, but I must have been my dad’s slave in that life. I’m still a slave in this life. Every time I run into my dad, nothing good happens!

The starting price was eight yuan, and the ride was forty-five yuan. I hurried to Cangya Martial Arts Hall.

A man in a coat came up and asked if my last name was Qiao. I said yes, and he took me upstairs.

When I looked up, there was my dad, dressed in a white coat, drinking Kung Fu tea in a very serious manner.

“Dad!”

I walked over. Qi Xi pulled a chair for me and introduced me to a middle-aged man in a Tang suit. “Uncle Yan, this is my good friend, Qiao Xianyu.”

Before I could react to who this Uncle Yan was or what was happening, my heroic Mr. Qiao Zhengguo spoke again. “Old Yan, come here, let me introduce you to my poor, clueless daughter, Qiao Xianyu. She’s nothing compared to your Sinan. Haha, excuse me, but don’t blame me!”

“Uncle Qiao, you’re so modest. I think Sister Xianyu is fine, Dad, don’t you think?”

I looked up at the slender woman in a blue and white porcelain cheongsam and a white magnolia hairpin. She smiled softly and held a pot of tea. Everything about her seemed perfect, except for the odd gait caused by her limp.

She placed the tray on the table, lowered herself to sit next to Qi Xi, and gently took his arm. Turning, the two of them smiled at each other.

At that moment, I suddenly began to understand the literary sensibilities of people like Xiao Xuewu. I remembered the card she gave me. Inside,

it read, “A red grape wreath hangs by my bedside. Autumn days hold no more yearnings. Its fingers, so cold and merciless, flicker faintly in my dreams, and white snowflakes drift down.”