Journey of Lies

"You're not going to Chiang Mai this time planning to catch them cheating, are you?"

Jiang Xia opened her mouth, but only asked him in return, "If it were you, wouldn't you want to know who interfered in your relationship?"

"Interference? Isn't it the other person who's having an affair who gives you the opportunity? Would anyone hold a knife to someone's throat and force them to cheat these days?"

She disliked Sheng Zhi's tone and remained silent for a long time, her lips pressed tightly together.

As soon as the car pulled into the apartment parking lot and came to a stop, Jiang Xia opened the car door and got out.

Seeing her walking ahead in a huff, Sheng Zhi couldn't help but get out of the car and call out to her, "Hey, aren't you going to take your luggage?"

Jiang Xia had no choice but to turn back. Once Sheng Zhi had taken the suitcase, she snatched it from him and asked, "Are all men like this? Cheating is like a daily routine for you?"

"What I mean is, even if you find that woman, so what? Are you going to get a divorce?"

Jiang Xia gripped the lever tightly, speechless at Sheng Zhi's words.

"You don't still not know who that person is, do you?" Sheng Zhi seemed to have guessed.

Jiang Xia stopped talking to him and strode towards the elevator with her suitcase.

As she entered, Hu Junxi opened the door to throw out the trash. She saw Jiang Xia returning angrily, with Sheng Zhi standing ten meters behind her. It was obvious that something was wrong.

With a "bang," Jiang Xia accidentally kicked over the box while changing her shoes.

"I'm sorry, I'm going back to my room to pack my things. I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

With another 'bang,' Jiang Xia slammed the door shut.

Hu Junxi, who had been dozing off, was wide awake and grabbed Sheng Zhi, asking, "What happened? Did you two have a fight?"

Sheng Zhi shrugged and placed his suitcase against the wall.

"You two had a fight? What happened?"

"We didn't argue, I just said a few things she didn't like to hear."

What doesn't she like to hear?

"...Get out of the way."

Seeing Sheng Zhi raise an eyebrow, Hu Junxi swallowed hard, stepped aside, and waited until Sheng Zhi went into the bathroom before leaning against the door and asking, "Those things before... cough cough, you've never argued with a woman before."

Sheng Zhi turned on the tap and washed his hands absentmindedly. He didn't understand why he said those words. When it came to other people, he could easily come up with glib and flattering words.

After this little incident, the house became so quiet it felt completely deserted.

Jiang Xia didn't come out for lunch either, so Hu Junxi leaned in at the door to comfort her: "Jiang Xia, don't be angry with Sheng Zhi. That's just how he is; once you get to know him, he likes to say hurtful things... Shall we go out for lunch together? Or should we order takeout?"

"No need, I have no appetite, you guys eat."

After Jiang Xia finished speaking, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep. When she woke up again, it was already seven o'clock in the evening, and her phone under her pillow kept vibrating.

It was my mom, Zhao Lan, calling.

"Xiaxia, have you had dinner yet? I saw on the news that everything has returned to normal in Bangkok."

"Hmm..." Jiang Xia rubbed her rumbling stomach.

"Your father and I just came back from Xiujie's house. So many days have passed, and we've almost finished dealing with all the messy funeral arrangements. They also know about the earthquake in Bangkok and said they regret sending you to handle things in Thailand."

Jiang Xia lowered her eyes and replied in a muffled voice, "I'm going to Chiang Mai first thing tomorrow morning. I don't know if it will be easy to sell the house here..."

"Sigh, the price doesn't matter, as long as we don't lose too much. I think Xiu Jie's parents look more than ten years older these past few days. His father's temples have turned white. We've been talking about Xiu Jie all night. Such a good kid, he's been talented in art since he was little, and your relationship is so stable, how could you be so foolish as to jump into the river?"

Listening to her mother's nagging, Jiang Xia felt increasingly upset and interrupted, saying, "Mom, I'm going to pack my luggage now. I'm not going to talk to you anymore."

"Okay, be sure to be careful."

"Okay, bye-bye."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Xia lay back on the bed, tears of grievance streaming down her face and into her hair.

"Knock knock—"

A knock sounded at the door. Jiang Xia paused for a moment before sitting up in bed. "...What is it?"

Not hearing a reply from the person outside the door, Jiang Xia could only wipe away her tears and get up to open the door.

I opened the door and saw Sheng Zhi standing there, his hands in his pockets.

"I'm here to apologize. I'm sorry."

Jiang Xia didn't expect him to apologize, after all, what he said was just the truth, which wasn't very pleasant to hear.

"Jun-hee went out on something. I haven't eaten yet. Let's go grab something to eat nearby."

I was going to say no, but the rumbling in her intestines was impossible to hide.

*

After passing through the alley, the adjacent street was extremely narrow, but the small shops on both sides of the road were bustling with customers.

"How about Thai food? Authentic Northern Thai flavors."

"Um."

Jiang Xia followed him for a hundred meters and arrived at the door of an extremely inconspicuous little restaurant.

This shop was the cleanest one on the whole street, and the two of them went in and found that there was only one table left.

The owner, a native of northern Thailand, warmly invited the two to sit down.

Perhaps in an effort to cater to the Chinese community, this area, though not a tourist zone, still features machine-translated Chinese menus.

Jiang Xia doesn't have many preferences when it comes to food. As long as it's not too spicy, she's fine with it. In this respect, she's much more open-minded than Xu Xiujie.

Hsu Hsiu-chieh doesn't eat seafood, onions, or garlic, and he avoids certain poultry by their heads, saying that the protruding beaks make him uncomfortable.

Sheng Zhi ordered several dishes, all of which tasted great, and the two of them also opened two bottles of beer.

Jiang Xia doesn't have a habit of drinking, but she feels that recent events warrant a drink.

"Actually, I haven't thought about any of those things you mentioned. Things like tearing each other apart, yelling at each other, or ruining each other's reputation, don't mean anything to me."

If Hsu Hsiu-chieh were still alive, she might have broken down and made a scene.

"Then what are you going to Chiang Mai for? To have fun?" Sheng Zhi asked, feigning confusion.

Jiang Xia took a sip of ice-cold beer, frowned, and swallowed it. "Go sell the house."

"Buy a house?"

Jiang Xia shook his head and said more clearly, "Selling a house. He bought a house in Chiang Mai a few years ago, but things have changed, and his family wants to sell it... By the way, you've been in Thailand for many years. Is it easy to buy and sell houses here? I checked online, and it says that house prices have been rising in recent years."

Sheng Zhi put down her chopsticks, rested her elbows on the edge of the table, and said seriously, "Prices did rise after the pandemic, but they've stabilized in the last two years. Why did your husband buy a house in Chiang Mai? Was it for investment?"

"That year, the pandemic had just started to get serious, and he happened to be stuck in Chiang Mai. Later, he heard that a Greek family was leaving Thailand and they were selling the house to him cheaply, so he bought it for half price."

Compared to housing prices in China, housing prices in Thailand are equivalent to those in third- or fourth-tier cities in China, let alone half the price.

Sheng Zhi nodded silently, noting it down. "I accompanied Junxi when he bought this apartment. The process wasn't too complicated. It would be better if you could find a reliable agent. Do you have any friends in Chiang Mai?"

"Yes, I'll ask her to help me look for it later."

*

7:30 in the morning.

Sheng Zhi packed breakfast and went downstairs just in time to see Jiang Xia get into a Grab and leave.

He hurried upstairs and saw that Jiang Xia had cleaned the room where he had stayed for two days and had a note on the refrigerator.

The neat handwriting expressed gratitude for the past few days.

Sheng Zhi put away the note, pushed open Hu Junxi's door, and saw him sleeping sprawled on the bed. He went over and pulled back the curtains, and the sunlight woke him up.

"What are you doing...?"

"Get up quickly to see me off, Jiang Xia has already left."

"She's gone? Wasn't her flight at 11 o'clock?" Hu Junxi groggily got up, picked up his phone to check the time, and asked, "Why did she leave so early?"

"I guess they don't want to trouble us. I bought breakfast and will eat it on the way. Hurry up and get dressed."

Sheng Zhi threw the clothes at him. "You have five minutes to get out of here."