Chapter 94 You are the only candidate

There were a bunch of people in the ward, silent and sobbing. Pei Yifeng accompanied her out of the ward. After three days of companionship and farewell, she had not shed a single tear. Standing at the hospital entrance, half of her face was hidden in a large camel-colored cashmere scarf. She called Long Weihe and said she would go back tomorrow. There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Lin Yao comforted her, "Don't be sad, grandma bless you." "Go eat something." Pei Yifeng stopped and looked at her. "When are you going back?" "I'll go with you tomorrow too. I'll send you off, and then I'll..." He smiled downcast. The two took a taxi to the old street. It was past three in the afternoon and many shops were closed. There was a small beef vermicelli hot pot shop owned by an old acquaintance. He recognized Lin Yao and was willing to cook for them. Lin Yao ordered two bowls and asked him if his taste had changed. He shook his head. She told the owner that she wanted one bowl with beef clear soup, duck blood and no cilantro, and the other bowl would be the regular shop. She also ordered some spicy hot pot. The boss quickly finished the meal, and she pushed the clear soup toward him. "Go home, Yaoyao," he urged. She ate her own food, unresponsive. "I've been to your house." She paused, looking at him. "I'm going back this time for this. My mother told me to make it clear to your mother that she doesn't regret being with her. If it weren't for your mother's care, I wouldn't have been born. When she left, she didn't hold any grudges against her, only gratitude. She wanted her to let go of those things and not make things difficult for you. She must be tired, too." Tang Ruifen had seen her at the hospital these past two days; she was a completely different person, softened and cautious. She asked her several times when she would be home for dinner. She picked at the vermicelli in her bowl and said, "I know." "Want to go to the ferry later? I really want to. This should be the last time I'm going back here." She nodded. At the ferry in winter, migratory birds can be seen on the river surface. Perhaps because there's less rain upstream, the water level is relatively low, and the water is clearer than usual. Pei Yifeng reminisced about the fun they used to have together at the ferry, and she laughed. She saw a much more relieved look on his face. "I'm sorry I caused you trouble last time I went to your house. Did he give you any trouble?" He suddenly asked about Lin Yuxun. "No." "Why didn't he come?" "He was busy." "What does he do?" "Drone." "Are you really happy with him?" She paused subconsciously. They had just gotten together, in the budding stage, and with so much going on, she wasn't sure, and she had no experience, what love really meant. A long period of unrequited love had accustomed her to a certain feeling: love doesn't mean happiness, and she nodded perfunctorily.

There was a group of people in the ward, silent and sobbing.

Pei Yifeng accompanied her out of the ward.

After three days of companionship and farewell, she has not shed a single tear.

Standing at the hospital entrance, half of her face was hidden in a large camel-colored cashmere scarf. She called Long Weihe and said she would go back tomorrow.

There was silence on the other end of the line. Lin Yao comforted her, "Don't be sad, grandma bless you."

"Go eat something." Pei Yifeng stopped and looked at her.

"When will you be back?"

"I will go with you tomorrow and send you there, and then I will..." He smiled.

The two took a taxi to the old street. It was past three in the afternoon and many shops were closed. The owner of a small beef vermicelli shop was an old acquaintance. He recognized Lin Yao and was willing to cook for them.

Lin Yao ordered two bowls and asked him if his taste had changed. He shook his head. She told the boss that she wanted one bowl with beef clear soup, duck blood, and no coriander, and the other bowl should be the regular one in the store. She also ordered some spicy hot pot.

The boss finished it quickly and she pushed the clear soup to him.

"Go home, Yaoyao," he advised.

She just ate her own food and didn't respond.

"I've been to your house."

She put down her chopsticks and looked at him.

"I'm going back this time for this matter. My mother asked me to make it clear to your mother that she doesn't regret having been with her. If it weren't for your mother's care, I wouldn't have been born. When my mother passed away, I didn't hate her at all. I only felt gratitude towards her. I want her to let go of those things and not make things difficult for you. She must be very tired herself."

Tang Ruifen saw her in the hospital these two days and she was a completely different person, softened and cautious, and asked her several times when she would be home for dinner.

She picked at the vermicelli in the bowl and said, "I know."

"Want to go to the ferry later? I really want to go. This should be the last time I come back here."

She nodded.

In winter, there are migratory birds on the river at the ferry. This is probably because there is less rain upstream, the water level is relatively low, and the water is clearer than before.

Pei Yifeng told her about the interesting things they had done together at the ferry and made her laugh.

She saw that his face looked much more relieved.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble when I went to your house last time. Did he give you any trouble?"

He suddenly asked about Lin Yuxun.

"No."

"Why didn't he come?"

“He’s very busy.”

"what does he do?"

"Drone."

"Are you really happy with him?"

She subconsciously paused. They had just gotten together, it was still a budding relationship, and there were so many things going on. She wasn't sure, and she had no experience, what love was really like. A long period of unrequited love had accustomed her to the feeling that love didn't mean happiness. She nodded and replied, "Yeah."

It was raining and snowing, and it was very cold. She called Tang Ruifen and said she would go home for dinner in the evening and invited him to join her.

Tang Ruifen cooked a table full of dishes for them.

Lin Xiangrong was not at home, saying he was busy with the farewell ceremony tomorrow morning. Tang Ruifen knew that he did not dare to face the two young people.

After struggling fiercely with Chen Lanjing, Tang Ruifen seemed to collapse as the other person walked away, like a trapped beast that had been struggling with all its might, and when the cage was opened, she suddenly collapsed from exhaustion, not knowing where to go.

She still remembered some of Pei Yifeng's previous tastes, so she didn't talk much and just talked about eating in a clumsy way. This was probably the only way she could express herself.

For the first time, Lin Yao saw a weakness in Tang Ruifen, her strength gone. She also realized that she had aged a lot.

Lin Yao thought it was sad that the meal didn't taste good. The misunderstandings and hatred in this world would not dissipate until a person was gone and there would never be a chance to see them again, but the damage caused was irreversible.

They were home, and had dinner. Lin Yao wanted to give Pei Yifeng a perfect farewell. If he could truly say goodbye to the past, move on, and live a good life, she would have no shadows or regrets.

Pei Yifeng wasn't insensitive. He was grateful for the three days he'd spent with her. He knew she was telling him that, even though she no longer loved him, she cared about him and would love him in another way for the rest of his life. This was the support he needed to move forward.

He consoled himself by thinking that her feelings for him went beyond love. Love might fade, but this feeling would never fade.

She went to stay at the hotel she had booked, and Tang Ruifen did not interfere. As she left, she finally smiled at her and told her to take care of herself.

Pei Yifeng lived in the hotel next to her, and they went back together.

It was nearly ten o'clock in the evening, and snowflakes were flying on the street. The two got out of the taxi and walked towards the hotel where Lin Yao was staying.

"It's the first time in several years that it's snowing since I came back," Lin Yao said with a smile.

"I've been in the south for so long, I don't see much snow. Are you cold?"

"It's not cold."

She looked up at the sky and reached out to catch the light snowflakes.

"Brother Xiaofeng, I want to go back by myself tomorrow."

"Will he pick me up at the airport? Inconvenient?"

She said nothing. She wanted to go her own way with him.

Arrived at the door of her hotel.

"...I'll listen to you. Let's go our separate ways." He stopped and followed her, respecting her and not making things difficult for her.

She said goodbye first.

"Yaoyao, let me hug you. The kind of hug we had when we were kids."

He opened his arms and smiled frankly, wanting to say goodbye in this way.

She smiled at him too, walked forward and hugged him, then let go.

Surprise suddenly appeared on his face and he looked behind her.

She followed his gaze and looked back, startled.

Lin Yuxun stood straight at the revolving door of the hotel lobby, his eyes piercing through the several meters of cold air, revealing complexity.

Pei Yifeng smiled and nodded to him as a greeting, then looked at Lin Yao, "Yaoyao,"

He took two steps back and said, "Goodbye!" Then he turned around and walked quickly forward.

Lin Yao looked at his back, took a few steps back, turned around to look at the person standing still behind him, and slowly moved towards him.

His eyes softened and he looked at her steadily without saying a word.

"Why are you here?" She stood closer to him.

He opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself, and suddenly pulled her into his arms, rubbed his face against hers lovingly, held her face to look at her carefully, and kissed her on the lips.

A kiss that tells a story.

Lin Yao lowered her head, and he put his forehead against hers and said, "I should have come earlier."

"Just arrived?"

"Yeah." He hugged her again, "I should be with you."

"Come in, it's cold outside," she said.

He took her hand and walked into the lobby to get the suitcase from the waiting area.

After entering the elevator, he started to talk a lot.

"I wanted to come the day Long Weihe contacted me, but she told me to wait for her notification. She only notified me to come in the afternoon."

Long Weihe went to see him that night and spent four hours talking to him: one hour on how he should communicate with the auditors, and three hours on Lin Yao's case.

She told him everything about Lin Yao's relationship status from beginning to end, everything between her and Pei Yifeng, past and present, and everything she had endured. He said he was coming, but she suppressed him, saying that Lin Yao didn't want to tell him because she knew he was under a lot of pressure and wanted him to focus on his own affairs. She also had her own concerns. She wanted to be with her grandmother quietly for the last time, and she also wanted to have a closure with Pei Yifeng without regrets, giving Pei Yifeng the time he needed to say goodbye. She said that his coming would only increase Lin Yao's psychological burden, and hoped that he would give her space and wait patiently.

In the past few days, he had been sending messages saying he missed her and when he called, he just let her do it, and ended it with a few short sentences. He had been thinking about so much, thinking about how to cherish his relationship with her, and thinking about what choices he should make about family matters.

"Why are your hands so cold?"

Entering the room, he held her hand and rubbed it between his palms.

"It's very cold here. This room doesn't have floor heating. You're not wearing enough."

Seeing that he was only wearing a windbreaker over his shirt, she took her hands off to turn on the air conditioner, then went to the bathroom to turn on the hot water and asked him to come over and wash his face with hot water.

As she took out a disposable towel from her suitcase and handed it to him, she asked, "How did you negotiate the audit?"

She knew everything about Long Weihe's talks with Li Xuan, and how Li Xuan had spoken with Auditor Feng. Li Xuan had also called and said she'd treat her to a meal when she got home to express her gratitude. The only thing she didn't know was how he had come to terms with the situation.

She had asked him about it over the phone last night, and he had only said it had been taken care of. Grandma was going through a difficult time at the time, so she hadn't been able to ask in detail. She had wanted to call him tonight to ask about it.

When she asked this, he suddenly went crazy, threw the towel on the table, wiped the water off his face, pulled her to the chair, forced her to sit down, squatted in front of her, and held her hands.

"Lin Yao, listen to me," he said, his face in agony. "The stupidest thing I, Lin Yuxun, have ever done, the thing I regret the most, is asking you to do things for me. Every time we meet, we talk about these things, and now you..."

He paused. "I don't want any more of this between us. You've completed the mission and helped me a lot. The cooperation should end and the agreement has expired. We should just have a good relationship. I only need your love."

He wanted to completely sever the employment relationship, redefine the future relationship, and was unwilling to mention Tongya to her again.

She frowned slightly, "You still have a lot of things to do..."

He interrupted, "I'm not avoiding these things. These are my own responsibilities. I've been trying to break free for over a decade, getting dragged into it again. I always wanted to resolve it quickly, get out of it, be free, and take advantage of others...Tongya's situation isn't just a power game. It can't be resolved in a month or three. It won't be over by just dealing with those two people. It'll take a year or two...As long as this business continues, there will always be problems."

She understood what he meant and he made his choice.

"Lin Yuxun, you can't escape. It's destined from birth. You're destined not to be at ease, destined to bear the burden. The candidate you need, it's not that I don't want to find you, it's because you have no choice. At least at this stage, you must go it alone. You are the only candidate, the best candidate. But this road is very difficult and will be very tiring..." She burst into tears, "If you make a choice, try to accept it, otherwise you will be very tired..."

He raised his body and kissed away her tears. "But it would be tiring for you to accompany me. I wouldn't have time to accompany you, and you would have to bear many risks..."

She pulled her hand away and touched his face. "We each chose our own path. I have no concerns."

He buried his face in her arms for a long time.

She went to take a hot bath first, then came back and told him to take a bath.

After getting into bed, she saw that Long Weihe had missed a call, so she called back.

"What did you say to him?"

"Nothing much, just told me about the situation over there. Has the person arrived?"

"arrive."

"Send me the flight number and I'll pick you up tomorrow."

"Need not."

"Shi Zhenglin wants to treat you to a meal on Sunday, New Year's Day. Why don't you invite Lin Yuxun to join us? We should get to know each other and celebrate the new year together."

"We'll talk about it later."

"Never mind, let's make the decision and book a place together."

He came out of the shower, drying his hair, and waited for her.

She hung up the phone, moved to the side of the bed, lifted a corner of the quilt, and motioned for him to get on the bed.

He came in and held her close to him.

"Your grandma...you must be feeling very uncomfortable, right?"

She put her face against his chest and said nothing.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" He stroked her hair.

"The farewell ceremony is in the morning, and I've booked a flight for the afternoon."

"Take me with you."

She looked up at him, "Are you sure?"

"certainly."

"We have a lot of family and relatives here. If you go, you have to be prepared. They will ask you about your identity."

"You don't want to introduce me as your boyfriend?" He kissed her cheek, then thought of some questions. "I haven't visited your parents yet. Would it be bad to do this rashly? I'll visit your home tomorrow at noon. What arrangements can you make?"

After much deliberation, she finally decided not to take him home, but simply to say goodbye. She explained to him that her family was very busy and that there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. And so it was; it wasn't the best time.

"Have you slept well these past few nights?"

"I stayed at the hospital for two nights and didn't get much sleep."

"Sleep well."

He pulled the quilt on her side and hugged her tighter.