Even though she was as professional in boxing as the male coaches, in this male-dominated field, they still liked to treat her as an anomaly and tease her.
"Then let me introduce myself, Huangfu Shaohua." Huangfu Shaohua formally extended his hand, wanting to shake hers. "I'm not joking, I want to pursue you, and I'm serious."
Daisy playfully opened his hand and said, "Then you'll have to win against me in the boxing ring first."
"Okay," Huangfu Shaohua responded seriously.
Daisy was momentarily taken aback by his earnest gaze, but she still felt she was overthinking it. She didn't want to be toyed with by these men.
...
When Huangfu Mengyao returned to her parents' home, she did find a hint of familiarity in her room.
To jog her memory, her mother took out photo albums from her childhood to adulthood and looked through them with her, reminiscing.
She saw that the people in the albums were indeed herself, but she was still a stranger to those she was photographed with.
In this luxurious home, she didn't have to do anything herself. When she had nothing to do, she would search her room, thinking that before her marriage to Song Jiaping, there might be some photos or mementos from their courtship.
However, she couldn't find anything related to Song Jiaping. Instead, in the computer's digital albums, she found quite a few photos with Hong Jiaxi.
In the photos, she was smiling happily, appearing to be a couple with Hong Jiaxi.
She couldn't help but feel frustrated, not understanding what was going on, and searched the computer folders again and again.
Finally, in a hidden folder, she found a photo of herself with Song Jiaping.
They were wearing the iconic uniforms of Doctors Without Borders. They weren't very close, with almost a person's distance between them. The background was a hospital in a war zone, with the afterglow of the setting sun in the distance.
Song Jiaping hadn't lied to her; they had indeed been Doctors Without Borders together.
But why did it seem from the photos that she and Hong Jiaxi used to be closer?
Did she originally like Hong Jiaxi, and then changed her mind after working with Song Jiaping as Doctors Without Borders?
Was she a heartbreaker?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was her own fault. Would Song Jiaping still come to pick her up?
After she went out for cake with Hong Jiaxi, did Song Jiaping start to hate her, which is why he sent her back to her parents' home and never wanted to bother with her again?
Feeling scared, she tried calling Song Jiaping's phone, but it was turned off.
She didn't want to wait any longer and wanted to go find him.
But he had said he was going on a business trip outside of Lancheng.
How could she have forgotten to ask where he was going on the trip, and now she didn't know where to find him?
After returning to her parents' home, she found herself with many questions and a headache from overthinking.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. She closed her computer screen and asked, "Who is it?"
Her mother's voice came from outside, "Yaoyao, someone is looking for you, come quickly and see who it is."
She immediately thought it was Song Jiaping who had arrived. She quickly opened the door and ran towards the hall, only to find Hong Jiaxi standing there, a wave of disappointment washing over her.
"Yaoyao, look how excited you are, slow down." Her mother followed behind her.
Seeing Mengyao run out so quickly, Hong Jiaxi happily asked, "Mengyao, do you feel better after coming back?"
Mengyao gave him a polite smile and said, "I'm okay. Why are you here?"
"I told Auntie that I wanted to take you out for a walk," Hong Jiaxi said, coming up to her. "Auntie said you've been cooped up in your room since you got back, which isn't good for your body or mind."
"Okay, I'd like to go out for a walk too," Mengyao agreed readily.
Mengyao's mother wanted to cheer her up, saying, "Good, good, it's better when young people are together and have things to talk about. Go out and relax, have fun."
"Auntie, don't worry, I'll bring her back before it gets dark," Hong Jiaxi said politely.
"Jiaxi, what are you saying? I've watched you grow up, I have no reason not to trust you. Hurry and take Yaoyao out."
Seeing that he had completely gained Mengyao's mother's approval, Hong Jiaxi naturally took Mengyao's hand and led her out.
Mengyao secretly pulled her hand away and got into the car by the door, asking, "Where are we going to relax?"
"To the places we used to go to," Hong Jiaxi said. He didn't mind that Mengyao couldn't accept him yet, confident that he could make her remember and fall in love with him again.
However, Mengyao said, "Before we go to the place you want to go, can you let me go somewhere first?"
"Where?"
"To my and Song Jiaping's home."
Hong Jiaxi felt a dull ache in his chest, but he still agreed, saying, "Okay."
When they arrived at the place she had left only a few days ago, she found that the key to the front door was no longer in its original spot. No matter how much she knocked, no one responded.
Hong Jiaxi also knocked on the door beside her, and there was still no response.
"There should be no one in this house. Did you leave something inside? How about I call a locksmith?"
Mengyao quickly stopped him, saying, "No, never mind. He told me he would be on a business trip out of town for a while."
"Then he probably hasn't returned yet."
Mengyao said with a heart full of sadness and disappointment, "Let's go."
Hong Jiaxi couldn't have asked for anything more. He got back into the car with her and they went to a beautiful campsite in the suburbs.
When they knocked on the door, Song Jiaping was inside. He made no sound and did not open the door.
He heard not only Mengyao's voice at the door but also Hong Jiaxi's.
He hadn't expected that in just a few days, she would be with Hong Jiaxi again.
They had been very much in love before, so it wasn't strange that she remembered him and got back together with him.
Had she left something behind?
He remembered that when she left, he had cleared out all her belongings.
He couldn't help but walk into the bedroom they had shared again, opening the wardrobe and all the drawers. He found nothing left behind.
Precisely because nothing was left behind, his heart suddenly felt empty, thinking how he had forgotten to leave something, at least a memento.
...
Today, after work, Susu left the studio and went to the boxing club.
She wanted to practice boxing and also talk to Daisy about finding Tang Tang's parents.
She bought a salad on the way to tide herself over. When she arrived at the boxing club, she saw Daisy teaching a male student how to use the punching bag.
From the look of the student, he was still a beginner.
Daisy also saw her and waved, telling her to go change first.
She understood and went to the locker room.
Huangfu Shaohua, who was hitting the punching bag, asked, "You have another student, and it's a female student. It seems you're not the only woman who likes boxing."
"You'd better focus and don't get distracted by pretty girls," Daisy admonished him in a coach's tone.
Huangfu Shaohua kept hitting the punching bag, but his mouth was busy. "Heaven knows, I've been practicing with my eyes straight ahead. Don't wrongly accuse me."