Obscuris Labyrinth

After his uncle and eldest paternal uncle left, Zhao Yuxuan's life seemed to have been pressed a special button, and thus began a completely different journey. Every day, he was deeply mired in anxiously waiting for the progress of his parents' case. The feeling of anxiety, like an ant on a hot pan, was gnawing at his heart all the time. Meanwhile, his living state also seemed to have undergone earth - shattering changes.

On the surface, it seemed that everything still maintained its former appearance. Every night, Zhao Yuxuan and Chen Shihan still returned to their warm and loving little nest like two tired birds returning to their nests. During the day, they were still accompanied by Zhao Qiyang and Wu Junhui as before. However, just as there are often undercurrents beneath a calm lake, in fact, everything was changing quietly, and Zhao Yuxuan gradually and profoundly realized the great power of money in this imperceptible change.

After settling all kinds of miscellaneous accounts, Zhao Yuxuan was shocked to find that he had only a little over ten thousand yuan left in his hand. It was like a treasure chest that had been full of treasures suddenly became empty, with only a few gold coins left at the bottom of the box, emitting a faint light. What's worse, Chen Shihan's parents had stopped providing her with living expenses long ago without his knowledge. This situation was undoubtedly like punching another big hole in the already precarious boat, which meant that Zhao Yuxuan had to bear the daily expenses of the two of them alone. This was undoubtedly a huge challenge for him who used to be a big spender.

When he was with Zhao Qiyang and Wu Junhui, his once - heroic manner seemed to have been blown away by the wind and disappeared without a trace. In the past, when ordering food, he was like a spendthrift nobleman, never looking at the prices on the menu. As long as it was something he wanted to eat, he would order it without hesitation. Those high - end dishes were like regular guests on his dining table. He also often took the initiative to propose going to various entertainment venues to have fun, as if money was just a meaningless string of numbers to him. But now, before ordering food, he would always stare closely at the prices on the menu like a cautious miser. Those expensive dishes were like thorny roses, and he no longer dared to touch them easily. As for taking the initiative to propose having fun and such things, he couldn't even think about it.

At this moment, like a bolt of lightning streaking across the night sky, Zhao Yuxuan suddenly remembered a sentence he had read in an old dusty book: "A horse is weak because it is thin; a man is not carefree because he is poor." Only at this moment did he truly understand, as if being suddenly enlightened, how profound these wise maxims left by predecessors were. It was a pity that his previous life was like a smooth road, so uneventful that he couldn't understand the profound meaning hidden behind these words at all.

In just one month, Zhao Yuxuan felt as if he had fallen from the clouds to the mortal world and could no longer be as carefree as before. Although he thought he had tried his best to cut down on expenses in all aspects of life, treating every expense as carefully as cutting his own flesh, when he checked his bank card balance after a month, he found that the number on it had still decreased by more than five thousand yuan mercilessly, leaving less than nine thousand yuan. In the past, even if he spent fifty thousand or a hundred thousand yuan a month, it was like scooping out a ladle of water from the sea without blinking an eye. But now, when this mere five thousand yuan was spent, although his eyes still didn't blink, his heart seemed to be gently grabbed by an invisible hand, trembling slightly, and an indescribable pain and uneasiness spread in his heart. At this rate of spending, his little remaining money was like a nearly - burned - out candle and would be completely exhausted in one or two months.

As a result, Zhao Yuxuan's behavior began to become less and less free and easy.

First of all, his once - big - brother - like demeanor gradually disappeared. In the past, whenever he had dinner with Zhao Qiyang and Wu Junhui, he would always pay the bill in a潇洒 manner, either asking the boss to keep the tab or paying without hesitation, looking like a generous king bestowing rewards on his subjects. But now, things had changed dramatically. He learned to wait silently, with his heart like a little rabbit in his arms, hoping that Zhao Qiyang and Wu Junhui would take the initiative to pay. After all, the three of them had been friends for more than ten years. During these long ten years, when they ate, drank and had fun together, these two friends had never spent a penny. Now that his economic situation had changed so much, he thought, shouldn't they also show some kindness? At the beginning, Zhao Qiyang and Wu Junhui were obviously a little unaccustomed to this sudden change, and a look of confusion and surprise showed on their faces. However, they quickly reacted, and finally Zhao Qiyang paid the bill. At the moment when Zhao Qiyang took out the money, Zhao Yuxuan deliberately pretended to be reading a newspaper, but his face felt as if it were being roasted by fire, burning hot in waves. That feeling was like having done something shameful and being caught on the spot, so ashamed that he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He kept blaming himself in his heart, thinking that he was really not a good enough friend, but the cruel reality was like a high wall standing in front of him, forcing him to do so.

Secondly, he lost the grace that a man should have. One day, the sun shone through the glass of the shopping mall on the dazzling array of goods. He went shopping in the mall with Chen Shihan. Chen Shihan's eyes were attracted like magnets to a famous - brand coat. This coat was on sale, only costing more than seven hundred yuan. It seemed to be tailor - made for Chen Shihan. When she wore it, it made her look graceful, youthful and beautiful, as if she were a model walking out of a fashion magazine. But in Zhao Yuxuan's heart, a fierce struggle was going on. Shamelessly, he deliberately said that this dress was not nice, and his voice sounded so unnatural to his own ears. In the end, this dress was not bought. He kept cursing himself in his heart, thinking that he was really not a real man. He thought that he couldn't even buy his beloved woman the clothes she liked, and now he didn't even dare to look at the price tags of those clothes. He was like a cowardly wimp, really useless.

As time passed day by day like flowing water, Zhao Yuxuan's economic situation became more and more straitened, as if he were stuck in a bottomless quagmire, sinking deeper the more he struggled. He could no longer afford to take the convenient and fast taxis and could only take Chen Shihan to squeeze into the overcrowded buses. Every time he stepped onto the bus, the narrow carriage was filled with all kinds of smells, and the people were packed together like sardines, filling his heart with helplessness and bitterness. He no longer ate in comfortable restaurants to enjoy delicious food as before, but began to take his lunch box and squeeze among the crowds in the school cafeteria to get food. Every time he entered the cafeteria, the noisy voices of people were like surging waves crashing towards him. When he was getting food, he would secretly curse the cafeteria worker for being too stingy in his heart. He watched helplessly as a good plate of stir - fried shredded pork with green peppers was shaken a few times by the worker with his superb dish - shaking skills. The originally full shredded pork disappeared as if by magic, and finally only the bare green peppers were left lying in the lunch box, like a desolate desert.

All these changes had to endure all kinds of stares from others. These stares were like invisible arrows, shooting straight at him. Among these stares, there were sympathetic ones, with a touch of pity in them, as if looking at a wounded little animal; there were mocking ones, full of disdain and sarcasm, like cold blades cutting across his skin; there were sighing ones, with a sense of regret in them, as if feeling sorry for his former glory and present downfall; there were jeering ones, full of malice, like a group of demons laughing at a loser. Under the gaze of so many people, Zhao Yuxuan felt as if he were stripped naked. He thought he was like a clown being exhibited under the spotlight, with nowhere to hide. You know, although he was not the most handsome boy among all the universities in Xingyao City before, he was definitely the most famous one. Almost all the female students in all the universities in Xingyao City knew him, and 80% of the male students also knew him. Sometimes, having such a great reputation also brought a lot of helplessness.

In such a situation, two possible ways out flashed through Zhao Yuxuan's mind like a revolving lantern.

The first way was to call his relatives and ask them to raise some money for him. He thought that his parents must have funded them when they were alive. In his memory, his parents had always been helpful people. However, when he thought of his grandparents and his maternal grandparents, his heart felt as if it were pressed by a big stone. His grandparents and maternal grandparents were in poor health and still immersed in the grief of losing their son and daughter. He heard that his grandmother was ill and hospitalized, and that money was to be saved for the elderly to support their old age. This was his filial piety as a junior. As for those uncles, aunts, and maternal aunts and uncles, he didn't want to see them sending him money while being unhappy in their hearts. He knew that money was sometimes like a double - edged sword. Although it could solve the temporary difficulties, it might also harm the family relationship. So, this idea flashed through his mind like a meteor and was quickly dismissed by him.

The second way was to do part - time jobs like many classmates from poor families. However, this meant that he had to stand at stalls, carry plates, and do those dirty and tiring jobs. Although he had never looked down on classmates who did these jobs, and he knew that every job deserved respect, when it was really his turn, he felt as if he were pressed by a big mountain and couldn't summon up the courage at all. His heart was in a fierce struggle between self - esteem and reality. On the one hand, he knew that this was a way to solve the current predicament; on the other hand, he couldn't overcome the obstacles in his heart.

Days passed slowly like a snail crawling in sadness, confusion and torment. Three months had passed since his parents' death. During these long three months, Zhao Yuxuan called Liu Jiahao almost every other week to inquire about the progress of the case. Every time he made a call, his hands trembled slightly, and his heart was full of expectation, but every answer he got was like a basin of cold water, ruthlessly extinguishing the fire of hope in his heart. The only clue in this case seemed to be the note he provided. Liu Jiahao had already gone to Xiling to investigate in person, but so far there was still no result.

At this time, Zhao Yuxuan was at his wits' end, with only three hundred yuan left in his bank card. Looking at that pitiful number, he couldn't figure out why, even though he had been as thrifty as a miser, the money still flowed out so quickly. When he saw Chen Shihan start to call home to ask for money, his face flushed "shua" all of a sudden, and he really wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. These days, he had rarely gone out to play with Zhao Qiyang and Wu Junhui. Although the three of them still met at school every day, Zhao Yuxuan felt that the relationship between them was a little more estranged than before. In fact, this couldn't be blamed on Zhao Qiyang and Wu Junhui, because he himself didn't want to go out and play with them anymore either, so as to avoid the embarrassingly suffocating feeling when paying the bill. At this time, Chen Shihan was his everything. She silently followed him to squeeze into buses and cafeterias, enduring the ridicule of some female students. Zhao Yuxuan secretly vowed in his heart that if one day he could become prosperous, he would surely compensate her like treating a princess.

Four days after Chen Shihan made the call, her father, Su Qiyang, and her mother, Ye Wanqing, actually arrived at the school. That day on the campus, the sun was a little dazzling. Chen Shihan found Zhao Yuxuan and asked him to follow her home.

When Zhao Yuxuan saw Chen Shihan's parents, he found that they were no longer as enthusiastic as when he had visited their home before. Their eyes were as cold as the winter lake, and their words also carried a lukewarm feeling, like a wind without temperature. Zhao Yuxuan was a clever and sensitive person, and he immediately understood that it was because they knew that his economic situation had changed and that Chen Shihan had called to ask for money. At that time, he made up his mind in his heart that he would rather do part - time jobs or sell some of the furnishings in the house than take a penny from them.

After arriving home, Su Qiyang and Ye Wanqing first quickly checked the spacious and luxurious house. Their eyes were shining with satisfaction, like two pirates who had discovered a treasure. But when they saw a large pile of instant noodles on the living room table, their expressions became gloomy again, like the sky suddenly covered by dark clouds. Ye Wanqing waved to Chen Shihan and said, "Shihan, come with me. Your father has something to ask you."

Chen Shihan looked at Zhao Yuxuan, her eyes full of trust and comfort, and then followed her parents into the study on the right, and then the study door was closed.

Zhao Yuxuan sat on the sofa in the hall and turned on the TV. There was a lively program on TV, but although his eyes were fixed on the screen, he had no idea what was being shown on TV at all. His heart had long flown into the study like a runaway wild horse.

From Su Qiyang and Ye Wanqing's attitude towards him today, he could already guess what they would say to Chen Shihan. But he believed in Chen Shihan. He was her first boyfriend and also her first man. Originally, he was not a particularly single - minded person, but in the two years since he had been with Chen Shihan, he had never looked at another woman. He treated her wholeheartedly, and as long as Chen Shihan needed something, he would give her the best. Moreover, he could clearly feel Chen Shihan's dependence on and love for him, which was definitely not fake.

He had full confidence in Chen Shihan.