Siheyuan: Starting from the Old Society

"Yes, you have borrowed from several companies. When can you pay it back?"

"We have to support our family, too. We can't just lend you all the money, right?"

......

Sha Zhu was so embarrassed by the neighbors' words that he could only return home in shame.

"How is it? Did you borrow the money?" Qin Huairu's face suddenly darkened when she saw Sha Zhu returning empty-handed, and she asked in a bad tone.

"No...I couldn't borrow it..." Sha Zhu lowered his head, not daring to look directly into Qin Huairu's eyes.

"What? You didn't borrow it?" Qin Huairu was furious when she heard this. "What's wrong with you? You can't even handle such a small matter? I think you just don't want to buy shoes for Banggeng! You useless thing!"

As she said that, Qin Huairu picked up the broom and hit Sha Zhu on the head.

"Why are you hitting me? I didn't do anything wrong?" Sha Zhu said aggrievedly while dodging Qin Huairu's attack.

"How dare you talk back? You heartless thing! I'm so unlucky to marry you!" Qin Huairu became angrier and angrier as she spoke, and her attacks became harder and harder.

Sha Zhu was beaten so badly that he ran away in fear, but he didn't dare to fight back. He could only let Qin Huairu vent her anger.

At this moment, a tall and handsome figure suddenly appeared at the door...

Sha Zhu held his head in pain, but those images were engraved in his mind like a brand, lingering. He couldn't accept that the woman who kept saying she loved him and wanted to live with him would actually betray him and deceive him!

"No! This is not true! I don't believe it!" Sha Zhu suddenly raised his head, stared at the light curtain with red eyes, and roared, "You lied to me! Why did you lie to me!"

The old voice only sighed with a hint of compassion: "I show you these not to make you suffer, but to make you see the reality clearly and make plans early."

"Reality? What a bullshit reality!" Sha Zhu roared, "Huai Ru is not that kind of person. She must have some difficulties!"

"Hardship? Haha..." The old voice seemed to have heard a joke, and the tone was full of sarcasm, "What hardship could she have? She just treats you as a sucker, a tool for her and her children to live a good life."

"Shut up! You're talking nonsense!" Sha Zhu was so angry that he stood up suddenly and wanted to rush into the light curtain and tear the person who was speaking into pieces.

However, before he could take a step, he felt a black screen in front of his eyes and lost consciousness.

......

When Sha Zhu woke up again, he found himself lying on a wooden bed. The surrounding environment was dark and damp, and the air was filled with a moldy smell.

"Where is this?" Sha Zhu struggled to sit up, looked around and found himself in a dilapidated room. There was only a bed, a table, and a few chairs in the room, nothing else.

"Are you awake?" An old voice sounded in my ears.

Sha Zhu turned around and saw a ragged old man sitting by the bed with a bowl of steaming porridge in his hand.

"Who are you? Where is this?" Sha Zhu looked at the old man warily and asked.

"This is...your home." The old man sighed and said.

"My home? My home is not..." Sha Zhu was about to refute, but a flash of lightning suddenly flashed through his mind, and those dusty memories emerged like a tide.

He remembered that this was Love in Siheyuan, and he was the famous "Silly Zhu" in the Siheyuan, He Yuzhu.

"I... I'm back?" Sha Zhu muttered to himself, his eyes full of disbelief.

"You didn't come back, you just had a dream, a very long dream." The old man shook his head and said.

"Dream?" Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Yes, it's just a dream, a nightmare..."

He lowered his head, looked at his rough hands and worn clothes, feeling mixed emotions.

"Kid, are you okay?" the old man asked with concern.

Sha Zhu took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, raised his head, and gave the old man a forced smile: "I'm fine, uncle, thank you."

"It's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay." The old man smiled kindly and handed the porridge in his hand to Sha Zhu, "Come, drink this bowl of porridge. You've been unconscious for a day and a night."

Sha Zhu took the bowl of porridge, lowered his head and started drinking.

The porridge was very hot, but it made him feel extremely warm, as if he was back in his childhood when his grandmother was still alive and would cook him a bowl of hot porridge every morning.

"Child, you just said you had a dream. What did you dream about?" asked the old man.

Sha Zhu took a sip of porridge, hesitated for a moment, and then told the old man what he saw in his dream.

"What did you say? Qin Huairu she..." The old man's face suddenly turned ugly after listening to Sha Zhu's story.

"Uncle, tell me, will Huairu really treat me like she did in my dreams?" Sha Zhu raised his head and looked at the old man, his eyes full of confusion and helplessness.

The old man was silent. He didn't know how to answer Sha Zhu's question.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the door, and a sharp and harsh voice came in:

"Silly Zhu! You damned bastard! What are you doing hiding in the house? Come out and cook! My mother and children are starving!"

When Sha Zhu heard this voice, he was stunned. The bowl of porridge in his hand fell to the ground with a "smack" and broke into pieces...

Sha Zhu held his head in agony, but those images were like a brand, deeply engraved in his mind, lingering. The old voice was still echoing in his ears, like an invisible hand, dragging him step by step into the abyss of despair.

"No! This is not true! I don't believe it!" Sha Zhu stood up suddenly and roared towards the empty space, his voice full of anger and unwillingness.

"You don't have to struggle. This is your fate and you can't escape it." The old voice carried a hint of mockery, as if mocking Sha Zhu's ignorance and powerlessness.

Sha Zhu felt a black screen before his eyes. When he woke up again, he found himself lying on the bed. Everything around him was so familiar, yet with a hint of strangeness.

"Shazhu, are you awake? You worried me to death!" A gentle voice sounded in his ears. Shazhu looked up and saw Qin Huairu sitting beside the bed, looking at him with concern.

She was wearing a white Dacron shirt, her hair was braided into two long black braids, and her face was a bit sickly pale, which made me feel pity for her. Sha Zhu thought he had returned to the past, back to the time when they first met.

"Huai Ru, what's wrong with me?" Sha Zhu struggled to sit up, but felt weak all over.

"You suddenly fainted in the park, and everyone was scared. Luckily, I happened to pass by today and sent you to the hospital." Qin Huairu said, reaching out to tuck the corner of the quilt for Sha Zhu.

"Yes...you sent me here?" Sha Zhu found it hard to believe. Was everything he had seen before just an illusion?

"Of course it's me, who else could it be? Look at you, you're confused." Qin Huairu gave Sha Zhu a reproachful look, her eyes so gentle that they seemed to drip water.

Sha Zhu looked at the familiar face in front of him, feeling mixed emotions. He didn't know whether he should believe Qin Huairu, nor did he know whether he should believe that old voice.

"Huai Ru, you...tell me honestly, have you ever..." Sha Zhu hesitated for a long time, but still asked.

"Is there anything?" Qin Huairu looked at him with confusion.

"Have you ever... done anything to let me down?" Sha Zhu mustered up his courage and looked straight into Qin Huairu's eyes.

Qin Huairu was stunned at first, then her face changed, tears burst out instantly, and she choked and said, "Shazhu, how can you doubt me like this? Don't you know how I treat you? For this family and for my children, how much suffering and grievances I have endured, have you forgotten? How can you wrong me like this?"

Qin Huairu was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, looking so pitiful. Sha Zhu felt even more conflicted when he saw her like this.

"Huai Ru, don't cry. I'm just asking casually. Don't take it seriously." Sha Zhu was at a loss as to how to comfort Qin Huai Ru, but he felt even more confused in his heart.

He didn't know who to trust, nor did he know what to do. Was he really going to watch himself walk towards that tragic end step by step?

At this moment, the door of the ward was suddenly pushed open, and a greasy-haired and powdered man walked in. When he saw the intimacy between Qin Huairu and Sha Zhu, his face suddenly darkened.

"Qin Huairu, why are you here?" The man's tone was full of questioning, with a barely perceptible panic in his eyes.

Sha Zhu looked at the man and suddenly felt that he looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him.

"Deputy Director Li, I..." Qin Huairu's face turned pale when she saw the person coming. She explained hesitantly, but her eyes intentionally or unintentionally avoided Sha Zhu's gaze.

As Sha Zhu looked at the scene in front of him, he suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. Could it be... could it be that what the old voice said was true?

"Deputy Director Li, I, I came to the hospital to see a distant cousin of mine." Qin Huairu explained hurriedly, her eyes wandering, not daring to look at Sha Zhu.

"Distant cousin? Why haven't I heard that you have a cousin living here?" Deputy Director Li obviously didn't believe Qin Huairu's explanation, and his tone became stern.

"I, I..." Qin Huairu was speechless after being asked by Deputy Director Li. Her face turned even paler and her body began to tremble slightly.

When Sha Zhu saw Qin Huairu like this, the last glimmer of hope in his heart was shattered. That old voice echoed in his ears: "Sha Zhu, Sha Zhu, you are such a fool! Do you think Qin Huairu really loves you? She just wants to use you!"

Sha Zhu felt a buzzing in his head, and his vision went dark, and he almost fainted again. He struggled to sit up, but because of his weak body, he fell powerlessly on the bed.

"Shazhu, are you okay?" Qin Huairu saw that Shazhu was acting strangely and hurried forward to support him, with a barely perceptible trace of panic and guilt in her eyes.