At the hospital entrance.
"Xiaoqin, what can I say to you?" Zhong Xiaoqin's mother sighed.
His father was also shaking his head.
"Oh, Mom and Dad, please don't worry about me. I'm fine now."
"This is your second marriage. What will you do in the future? How can I not worry about you? There will be a day when you will regret it." Zhong Xiaoqin's mother was very disappointed with her.
"Don't worry, I have absolutely no regrets. I've had enough of that kind of life."
Seeing that she wanted to talk, Zhong Xiaoqin quickly said, "Okay, Mom, Dad, please stop worrying about me. I'm already an adult, don't I know what I want?"
After comforting her parents for a while, she called a car to take them away.
Looking at the rear of the car driving away, Zhong Xiaoqin sighed.
She also knows that her parents are worried about her future life, but now she feels that she is living a good life and believes that her choice is not wrong. She has no regrets.
After returning to the rental house, Zhong Xiaoqin talked with Zhong Xiaoyang for a while and shared with him what happened today.
Zhong Xiaoyang chatted with Zhong Xiaoqin briefly before ending the conversation. He wasn't in the mood for romance right now, so it was good enough that they could keep in touch on a daily basis.
Zhong Xiaoqin didn't know the details, but she knew that Zhong Xiaoyang's family was in trouble. Zhong Xiaoqin understood the sudden change in the family and even offered comfort.
In the blink of an eye, another month has passed.
A lot happened during this period.
Wang Yan, Gu Jia, Xu Ziyan and their family of three spent another happy and wonderful time in Henglu Village.
Henglu Village has undergone a lot of construction and its appearance has changed dramatically.
Gu Jia was not short of money. Not to mention what Wang Yan gave her, she also got several million from the house in Junyue Mansion. Therefore, she did not expect to make a fortune from the tea.
There was still a lot of money left over for normal operations, and most of it was used to develop Henglu Village.
He helped the elderly and lonely people in the village who lived in poverty to repair their houses and left a sum of money for the village to be used as a special fund for caring for the elderly.
In fact, the villagers are very simple and honest, and they usually take good care of the elderly. But everyone's living conditions are not good, so they can't help too much. And the money from Gu Jia basically solved the problem.
The road up the mountain is very slippery when it rains and is too unsafe, so it has been leveled and reinforced.
The village's stone pavement remains untouched, having only been briefly repaired to avoid inconvenience for the elderly with mobility issues. After all, the accumulation of years on this stone pavement is what brings back memories for generations of people who grew up here at midnight, and what haunts the wandering souls of those who have left.
Wang Yan thought that their memories would definitely include "the mossy, uneven stone path paved towards the hillside next to the willow tree in front of their home."
The children's school was made of wood, which had decayed over the years, so we repaired it. We also bought a lot of books for the children to read after school, and replaced the desks and chairs with new ones.
There were also some other minor adjustments, but overall, Henglu Village has changed a lot.
People put on happy smiles and look forward to the next season's tea coming out soon.
Because Gu Jia said that after each sale, the remaining money would be used to develop Henglu Village.
The excited old village chief didn't know what to say, so he pulled Gu Jia and kept saying thank you. Then the whole village held a banquet to celebrate the better days. After a long time of contact, the unfamiliarity disappeared, and he also knew that Wang Yan was an open-minded person, so he poured Wang Yan's wine into his mouth.
If you don’t drink, it means you are not accompanying them well, if you don’t drink, it means you look down on them, if you don’t drink, it means you are not giving them face.
Wang Yan was too embarrassed to refuse, that would be such a bummer. He drank from one meal to the next, and he was not a drunkard. He would vomit if he drank too much. In the end, he really couldn't stand it anymore. He was really scared. It happened that the purpose of this trip was achieved, and it was almost time for him to stay. He quickly took Xu Ziyan, who didn't have enough fun and didn't want to leave, and Gu Jia, who was laughing so hard, back to Shanghai in a mess.
Ever since the last incident with Wang Manni, Jiang Chen has been spending time with Wang Manni almost every day.
Wang Manni knew what Jiang Chen meant to her, but she didn't say it.
Jiang Chen knew that Wang Manni knew what he meant to her, but he didn't say it.
After work, Wang Manni would go to Jiang Chen's coffee shop from time to time to sit and chat.
I don't know if she has finally gotten over it, but Wang Manni has started to smile. She only talks to Jiang Chen about the sadness of having nothing to show for it after eight years of wandering, and to Zhong Xiaoqin about her boredom with her current life.
It seemed that after this experience, she had seen through everything, accepted her fate, and was ready to bow her head.
Jiang Chen saw all this and felt pain in his heart. However, he tried his best but still couldn't open his mouth.
After so much fear, the result of Zhong Xiaoyang's family is finally out.
His father definitely didn't run away. In the end, their family's house and his house in Shanghai were saved, along with tens of thousands of cash, and that was all gone.
After such a long time, the initial discomfort has long been over, and the result has been expected. Zhong Xiaoyang is in good condition. After all, there is nothing he can do if things are not good. Life must go on, right?
His mother had also come through it step by step. Perhaps it was just womanly nature; she couldn't accept the sudden collapse of her thriving family and career. She was a little scared at first, but now she's feeling much better.
After settling his mother down, Zhong Xiaoyang returned to Shanghai.
He is no longer the rich second generation he used to be, and he has to worry about his life.
Of course, what needs to be done must be done.
Zhong Xiaoyang put all his things at home and went to find Zhong Xiaoqin.
He knew the address; Zhong Xiaoqin had told him.
When Zhong Xiaoqin came home from get off work, she saw Zhong Xiaoyang sitting at the door and was extremely surprised.
"Hey, why didn't you tell me when you came back?"
Zhong Xiaoyang forced a smile and said, "Isn't this just a surprise for you?"
As he said that, he walked forward and hugged Zhong Xiaoqin very tightly.
Zhong Xiaoqin also felt the emotions expressed by Zhong Xiaoyang and did not resist.
After a long while, unable to bear the looks from the people passing by, Zhong Xiaoqin patted Zhong Xiaoyang and said, "Okay, everyone's watching. Let's go in and talk."
Zhong Xiaoyang let go silently without saying anything.
But Zhong Xiaoqin felt inexplicably distressed when she saw his red eyes.
After entering the house, Zhong Xiaoqin said, "You haven't eaten yet, right? How about I go buy some food and we eat together?"
Zhong Xiaoyang shook his head and pulled Zhong Xiaoqin to sit on the sofa.
"I miss you."
"You know, you've been comforting me all this time..."
As he spoke, Zhong Xiaoyang hugged Zhong Xiaoqin again. Perhaps because he thought about how a rich second-generation man like himself also had to worry about making a living, his true feelings were revealed and he burst into tears.
Zhong Xiaoqin silently patted Zhong Xiaoyang's back and whispered comforting words.
"Okay, okay. It's okay. I'm with you."
After a long time, Zhong Xiaoyang felt that it was enough, so he let go of Zhong Xiaoqin and wiped away his tears.
Zhong Xiaoqin handed him some papers and asked with concern, "What happened?"
Zhong Xiaoyang, with red eyes, of course couldn't tell the truth, otherwise he must be sick.
He embellished what had happened during this period and told Zhong Xiaoqin.
After hearing this, Zhong Xiaoqin said worriedly, "Ah? Is Auntie okay?"
"It's okay, don't worry, I've settled everything."
Seeing that Zhong Xiaoqin wanted to talk more, Zhong Xiaoyang quickly changed the subject. He was afraid that his story would not make sense, so he said, "Okay, okay. Let's not talk about this anymore."
Then he held her face in his hands and looked into her eyes: "Do you love me?"
Zhong Xiaoqin hasn't reacted yet, after all, the gap is a bit too big.
Seeing Zhong Xiaoyang pretending to be strong, Zhong Xiaoqin panicked a little. She didn't know if it was love, so she just kept silent.
The atmosphere became tense, and Zhong Xiaoyang slowly leaned over.
Zhong Xiaoqin closed her eyes nervously.
Feeling the warmth on her lips, Zhong Xiaoqin responded subconsciously...
The atmosphere was already heated, so if not now, when would it be? Zhong Xiaoyang tentatively wrapped his arms around Zhong Xiaoqin's neck and slowly moved them downwards.
This time, no one came to talk about Chen Yu's silent dedication, nor did they say that he was not used to interacting with Zhong Xiaoyang. In her heart, Zhong Xiaoyang was the beautiful person she thought he was.
Zhong Xiaoqin's body was stiff, but she didn't refuse. She really felt sorry for this boy who used to be sunny but now had a forced smile.
There was no sudden ringing of the phone, no unexpected arrival of uninvited guests. Everything was so smooth, so... natural.
Afterwards, Zhong Xiaoqin hid under the quilt with the shyness of a young girl.
I felt embarrassed and anxious when I thought about what happened.
What made her feel embarrassed was that she silently compared herself in her heart and found that Zhong Xiaoyang was indeed a young man with strong firepower, much stronger than Chen Yu.
What worried her was that she hadn't thought of giving herself away so easily. Would she be looked down upon? Would she be considered a casual woman?
The quilt was suddenly lifted up and Zhong Xiaoqin screamed "Ah".
Seeing Zhong Xiaoyang staring at her, she was so embarrassed that she quickly grabbed the quilt to block him: "Don't look, close your eyes."
Zhong Xiaoyang took a break for a while, then, feeling very proud of himself, he turned over and pressed on her, biting her in the mouth.
Zhong Xiaoqin also became obedient and stopped resisting, subconsciously agreeing.
Zhong Xiaoyang vented, he wanted to release all the frustration and sadness he had felt during this period of time.
Zhong Xiaoqin was enjoying herself. She wanted to completely forget about Chen Yu and love this sunny boy wholeheartedly.
Afterwards, Zhong Xiaoqin was no longer embarrassed. She was a little tired after the two rounds. She lay in Zhong Xiaoyang's arms with the afterglow and her pretty face flushed.
"Will you be nice to me?"
"For a lifetime."
"Um."
After hugging for a while, Zhong Xiaoqin felt a little hungry and didn't want to go through the trouble of cooking, so she took out her phone and ordered takeout.
The two of them ate a little, tossed and turned for a while, and then fell asleep.
Wang Yan and his family of three returned to Shanghai and rested for a day as usual.
The next day, everyone went to school and work, everyone was busy with their own things.
It has been such a long time and the company has a lot of backlogs of affairs. Wang Yangao has to deal with them for a while before he can have some free time again.
Gu Jia was much better. After upgrading her circle of wives, she made an appointment with Zhong Xiaoqin and Wang Manni to get together again.
It's been almost a month since we last met, and everyone has changed a lot.
"Manni, how are you?" Gu Jia knew what was going on and asked Wang Manni first.
"It's okay, but after this time I figured it out."
Seeing both of them looking at her, she laughed at herself and said, "I've wasted eight years in vain. Perhaps this isn't my destiny after all."
Zhong Xiaoqin asked from the side: "So you want to go back to your hometown?"
"I've been hesitating for a while. I haven't made up my mind yet. Let's see."
The two of them didn't say anything. It was their own business, and what could they, two locals, say?
After a pause, Gu Jia said, "Oh, by the way, Manni, let me tell you something."
"You go ahead." Wang Manni nodded.
"This morning, when I was having tea with my wife's circle of friends, I heard what they said. I don't know if it's true or not."
"It's about a man named Liang who was expelled from his family. He was working in Shanghai when he was spotted by his former friends. Not long afterward, the Liang family fell into disarray, and now they've basically all gone into hiding abroad."
"They are from Hong Kong Island. I don't know if they are Liang Zhengxian's family. They don't know their specific names, they just mentioned it."
Wang Manni was stunned by the sudden shock. Scenes flashed through her mind of Liang Zhengxian's strange behavior after returning from Hong Kong Island. "Yes, yes. Everything matches up."
Thinking of Liang Zhengxian's hesitation to speak the night before he disappeared.
"It must be Liang Zhengxian, it must be him."
Wang Manni's face looked ugly, she was both shocked and scared.
She remembered the conversation they had when Liang Zhengxian had just returned from Hong Kong Island and they had finished their business.
The questions she asked were about marriage.
"Almost, just a little bit."
Zhong Xiaoqin looked at Wang Manni's changing expression in a daze, but she finally understood and asked with concern, "Manni, are you okay?"
Wang Manni was startled awake and said in a daze, "Ah? Ah, nothing. I was just thinking about something."
Even though everyone knew what was going on, she didn't want to talk about Liang Zhengxian anymore. What was she saying? That after hearing the news, her longing for Liang Zhengxian had halved? That not only had her resentment towards Liang Zhengxian vanished, but she was also grateful for him letting her go?
Changing the subject, he said, "Let's not talk about me anymore. Let's talk about you, Xiaoqin?"
"You look a little different today. You look particularly good."
"If you have any good news, tell us quickly."
Gu Jia also said beside him: "Yes, Xiaoqin, you are indeed different today."
Zhong Xiaoqin felt embarrassed when she mentioned this.
She said shyly, "Zhong Xiaoyang and I are together."
"Haven't you been together for a long time?"
After saying that, Wang Manni reacted and said "Oh" with a meaningful look on her face.
Then he said, "Tell me quickly, what's going on? A while ago you said he was back home, and it's only been a few days."
Although Gu Jia felt a little bad, she didn't say anything and could only say "oh" along with Wang Manni. After all, she was the same, so how could she have the nerve to criticize others? Besides, Zhong Xiaoqin looked so sweet, if she said too much, she would lose her friendship.
Zhong Xiaoqin began to tell her sweet and romantic love story with a happy face, recounting what happened that day.
After hearing this, Wang Manni happily said to Zhong Xiaoqin, "I wish you happiness, Xiaoqin."
Gu Jia could only say "I wish you happiness." Everyone has his or her own path, and she has no right to interfere.
Then the topic became lighter and they talked about Gu Jia's life in Henglu Village.
Although Gu Jia knew that she was able to achieve her current situation more because of Wang Yan's resources.
But her hard work in this process cannot be ignored. She is really happy with the current achievements, especially seeing Henglu Village getting better and better.
Gu Jia told the two about Henglu Village and some tea factories.
Naturally, he received a lot of praise, as well as envy and jealousy.
At night, Zhong Xiaoqin lay in Zhong Xiaoyang's arms happily and sweetly.
Wang Manni lay alone on the bed, with Gu Jia's words echoing in her ears. She tossed and turned for a long time and couldn't fall asleep.
She thought very clearly that Liang Zhengxian ran away because he already knew what she was thinking and what kind of woman she was.
In other words, Liang Zhengxian never took her seriously from beginning to end.
She really wanted to thank Liang Zhengxian. If he had agreed at that time, Wang Manni knew that she would definitely file for divorce.
What would she do if Liang Zhengxian refused to leave her because he was a little disgusting?
And after the divorce, what should she do as a woman who is getting married for the second time?
How could she face her aging parents in her hometown and the gossips of her neighbors?
I thought a lot without realizing it.
Thinking about the many things she had experienced in Shanghai over the years and the many people she had met, she really didn't want to go on and couldn't hold on any longer. She was tired.
Her parents have called her many times to urge her.
"Perhaps it's time to go back?"
For some reason, Wang Manni suddenly felt a lump in her throat and burst into tears.
Because here lies her lost youth, her unfulfilled wishes, and her heart that is unwilling to compromise and does not want to be ordinary.
But now she is old, her dreams have been dashed, and she has gained nothing, not even a little bit.
Wang Manni asked herself in her heart: "Do you regret it?"
With snot and tears flowing together, she gritted her teeth and said, "I don't regret it."
I cried, thought, felt sad, and missed the past, and I fell asleep without knowing when.
The next day, Wang Manni submitted her resignation at work.
The process went smoothly and nothing bad happened.
My colleagues were also concerned about why I left the company so suddenly.
Wang Manni just smiled and said, "I miss home."
It was unknown what the colleagues were thinking, but everyone had a look of deep thought on their faces, with expressions that were difficult to describe.
Afterwards, he made an appointment with Zhong Xiaoqin and Gu Jia to meet up again in the evening to have a good drink, a wild drink, and also to say goodbye.
Wang Manni didn't know what she was saying goodbye to. Was it to the city of Shanghai? Or perhaps to her past self?
Strolling along the streets filled with traffic every day and neon lights every night, I unknowingly arrived at Jiang Chen's coffee shop.
Thanks to Brother Xia Feng for the 200 coins reward.
Thanks to (book friend 20190312090224100) for the reward of 100 coins.
Thanks to Brother (Cong Bu Shi Zi) for his first annual reward of 100 coins.
Thanks to Brother Cheng (Cheng Jie'an) for his monthly ticket support.
Thanks to Brother (Audi Double Diamond A8) for the monthly ticket support.
Thanks to Brother (lijinhui) for the monthly ticket support.
Thanks to Brother (Come and Eat Jackfruit) for the monthly ticket support.
I would like to thank all the good brothers who voted and recommended me for their support.
Thanks to all the brothers who spoke and those who did not speak but just read for their support.
Thank you brothers for your kindness to me.