Chapter 24 Love and Responsibility

On the last day of November, millions of people struggled to squeeze onto a narrow log bridge leading to some uncertain future.

Lin Ke felt relieved after finishing her exam.

Si Yuming was away on a business trip, and Aunt Chen and Si Xiaotie came to pick him up from the exam venue. The little girl was holding a bunch of sunflowers and rushed up to them as soon as she saw them: "Mom is so great!"

Lin Ke picked up her daughter, and at the same time Aunt Chen handed her a cell phone that was on a call, pointing to the screen and mouthing: "Sir."

She freed her hand to answer the phone: "Hello?"

A clear, gentle voice came from the other end: "How is it?"

Lin Ke smiled and answered confidently, "Barring any unforeseen circumstances, nothing should go wrong."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you." This thank you wasn't just for the congratulations; having him around for the past month had made things much easier for her. Apart from taking care of Si Xiaotie's bath, she didn't need to worry about anything else. She only needed to focus on preparing for the exam.

Lin Ke asked, "When are you coming back?"

"It will take a few more days."

"Will I be able to make it in time for Meng Jing's wedding?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a lowered voice said, "Yes."

"OK."

Lin Ke has entered vacation mode. She doesn't plan to take on any work while waiting for her results, and she will use the remaining time to prepare for interviews.

I took Si Xiaotie to Yuanyuan's house over the weekend. Yuanyuan is a well-behaved girl, but her parents are too strict and don't let her be a child.

While Si Xiaotie was out with his friends, Lin Ke invited Zhang Man over.

She's been too busy these past two or three months, so we can only chat with her occasionally. Zhang Man's divorce went more smoothly than Si Yun's. The other party didn't want to make a big fuss and agreed to all of Zhang Man's requests, leaving her the house, the car, and half of the marital assets.

So the woman who came in this time had bright red lips and high heels, and was very flamboyant. "Keke, I've figured it out. Love and marriage are all bullshit. Only the money in your own hands gives you confidence."

"Money makes you vulgar."

Zhang Man glanced at her and said, "Do you think everyone is like you, outstanding, hardworking, and idealistic? I have no ambition in this life. Making money, making money in every way, is my life goal."

She leaned closer, raised an eyebrow, and said ambiguously, "Besides... marriage not only confines my freedom, but also my body."

Lin Ke pushed her away and laughed, "What nonsense."

"Ha, what a mess? Have you only ever slept with Si Yuming in your entire life?"

"..."

"Is he thirty?"

"..."

The next second, Zhang Man's gaze turned deep again, "Keke, after going through this, I understand that men are just accessories. In my life, I am the protagonist."

Lin Ke smiled faintly and lowered her head to pick up her coffee.

In the evening, when I went to pick up Si Xiaotie, the little girl stood at the door saying goodbye to Yuanyuan and hugged her tightly, saying, "Yuanyuan, you have to miss me!"

“I want to…” Yuan Yuan replied slowly.

Si Xiaotie let go and gave Yuanyuan a big kiss. "Bye-bye, Yuanyuan. I'll come find you again next time!"

Then he took his mother's hand and looked back every few steps, his hand almost disappearing from sight.

After going home for dinner, Lin Ke bathed and put her to bed. Before falling asleep, the little one lay in bed making little babbling noises, "Mama~"

"Um?"

"Mommy~"

"Why."

I love you so much.

"I love you too, baby."

"I miss my dad."

Lin Ke turned over, picked up her phone, and first asked Si Yuming what he was busy with. She would call him back after he replied.

"Wife." The voice was deep and magnetic, somewhat different from usual, indicating that he had been drinking at a social event.

Si Xiaotie put the phone to his ear, "It's not my wife, it's Xiaotie~"

Without playing music out loud, Lin Ke could only hear her daughter speaking one sentence at a time.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

"My mom and I are sleeping."

"Daddy, I love you."

"And what about Mom?"

Lin Ke looked down and saw the little girl had already chuckled and hung up the phone. She then snuggled into her arms and took two deep breaths, saying, "Mommy smells so good~"

Then, remembering something, she jumped out of bed, found her little dinosaur in her pile of toys, and climbed back onto the bed on all fours, muttering to herself, "Sleeping with my baby dinosaur~"

Lin Ke covered the little girl with a blanket and said, "Goodnight, baby."

"Goodnight." Si Xiaotie closed his eyes contentedly, hugging his doll, and said softly, "Mommy, Daddy loves you too."

Lin Ke was taken aback. Looking down, she saw that the little girl was already fast asleep, her chubby cheeks squeezed together in her arms. She smiled helplessly, bent down and kissed her.

...

Meng Jing's wedding was on Wednesday, so Lin Ke went ahead to pick up Si Xiaotie and dress her in a beautiful outfit before they set off.

Si Yuming went straight there after getting off the plane.

Meng Jing works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so the wedding ceremony was kept simple, with only a few tables of close relatives and friends invited today.

The wedding was held in the old courtyard house. When I was a child, several families lived in one courtyard house. Later, everyone moved away, and the whole courtyard was left to the Meng family.

Now, after renovation and rearrangement, the courtyard house has been transformed into a classical Chinese garden.

Si Xiaotie was attending a wedding for the first time. He was stunned when he entered the room and saw all the dreamy floral sofas. "Mom is so beautiful!"

Lin Ke glanced around and couldn't help but recall her own wedding a few years ago. The ceremony was simple then; they exchanged wedding rings in front of family and friends, fulfilling their promise to spend their lives together.

Her heart nearly stopped beating when he kissed her amidst the cheers.

"Mom!" Si Xiaotie grabbed her hand, his face full of anticipation, "I want to get married too!"

Lin Ke snapped out of her daze and chuckled, "How old are you? Why are you getting married?"

"Then I want to grow up quickly!"

Lin Ke didn't discourage her, "Okay, then when Xiao Tie grows up, Mom will arrange the most beautiful wedding for Xiao Tie."

"Yay!"

As the mother and daughter were talking, the groom came over to greet them.

Meng Jing rarely sees Si Xiaotie because he is away from home most of the year, so the two are a little unfamiliar with each other when they meet. However, Si Xiaotie is not afraid of strangers and sweetly calls out, "Uncle, you are so handsome!"

Meng Jing squatted down to be at her eye level and smiled, "Who's more handsome, your uncle or your dad?"

Without hesitation, Si Xiaotie grinned and exclaimed, "Uncle is handsome!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding air pressure dropped.

Lin Ke turned around and saw a cold-faced man.

Meng Jing also saw it, and proudly picked up the little girl, glancing sideways at the person at the door, "Then let her be your uncle's daughter, and you don't need your father anymore."

Si Xiaotie also saw his father and chuckled, "Okay, okay."

Si Yuming shifted his gaze from Lin Ke to his daughter, reached out his hand, and the little girl, who had just refused to accept her father, immediately leaned in and threw herself into his arms.

Meng Jing: "I thought you wouldn't be able to make it back in time."

"Isn't this a welcome return?" Si Yuming smiled, holding his daughter in one arm and taking the hand of the elegantly dressed woman beside him with the other. "Let's go."

Mrs. Meng Jing is also in their circle, but she is quite young. I heard she is still in college and is about the same age as Lin Ke when she got married.

Upon entering the main room, Meng Jing introduced the couple to his wife: "This is Yu Ming and Lin Ke."

Si Xiaotie didn't hear his own name called, so he added loudly, "And Xiaotie too!"

The bride was amused and, seeing how cute the girl was, asked affectionately, "How old is Xiao Tie?"

Si Xiaotie looked up, squinted his eyes and smiled: "Four years old."

Lin Ke reminded him, "He's not even four years old yet."

"Anyway, he's four years old!"

"Hahahaha, okay, four years old."

The girls chatted amongst themselves. Meng Jing and Si Yuming went inside to greet the elders. Jin Yang was already there and made the elders smile.

Grandpa Meng sighed as soon as he saw Si Yuming, "None of you are as promising as Yuming. If you had gotten married earlier, your children would be playing together now."

Jin Yang laughed loudly: "What's there to be afraid of? I'll have a son who can pursue Xiao Tie in the future. Isn't it popular for older women to date younger men these days? Younger men are more caring, Grandpa, you know that?"

Si Yuming glared at him directly, "You wish."

After chatting for a while, the three of them went to the bridal chamber. The bridal chamber was the same place where Meng Jing used to live, except for some red festive decorations.

Jin Yang looked at the bed almost entirely covered with "jujubes and osmanthus blossoms" and laughed, "Our grandpa really wants a grandson, you'd better hurry up."

"Shuxia is still young, there's no rush."

"Oh, you feel sorry for people?"

Meng Jing glanced at him and said, "You should also settle down."

"Hey, what's with the 'getting married' mentality? I'm not getting married, I'm a man who doesn't want to get married."

They started chatting about other things, unaware that the silent man had taken a hand-sewn amulet from the bookshelf.

The character "珂" is clearly visible in the bottom right corner.

......

By early December, the northern part of the city was completely winter. The branches and leaves had all fallen, and the wind outside at night was like a dull blade, hurting people.

The wedding banquet ended at nine o'clock, and Si Xiaotie, who had been playing all night, was drowsy.

Lin Ke held her daughter and said, "Do you want to hang out with Meng Jing and the others again? I'll take her back."

Si Yuming didn't reply, but took the child from her arms. Si Xiaotie mumbled a couple of times and then nestled skillfully on his father's shoulder. "Let's go."

They remained silent the entire way.

After arriving home, Si Yuming carried Si Xiaotie into the house, while Lin Ke went to take a shower first.

When I came out again, the living room was empty, but there was a dark shadow on the balcony.

The lights of the residential area outside the window contrasted with the flickering fireworks in his hand, giving off a sense of loneliness.

Lin Ke glanced at the vodka she had left on the table, then at the figure hidden in the darkness. After a moment of silence, she walked over.

He seemed to be in a daze, only turning around and stubbing out his cigarette when he got close.

Their eyes met in the darkness, and the faint neon lights outside the window fell on his profile, but his eyes were shrouded in shadow, so she couldn't see his expression. But she could sense that he seemed very sad.

"What's wrong? Did something happen at the company? Or is there something you haven't resolved with your sister?"

Si Yun and Qin Ru's divorce case has entered the process, and winning the case is not a big problem. Si Yun is much calmer now and has already taken Manman back.

I saw on my WeChat Moments a couple of days ago that she went on a trip with Manman.

He didn't answer, he just stared at her quietly.

Lin Ke saw a similar sadness in those eyes once again, a feeling that was completely unfamiliar.

The night grew deeper, so deep that you could hear each other's deliberately soft breathing, breathing that had intertwined and mingled with each other on countless nights, but now only rose and fell in calm.

"I have something to tell you," he suddenly said.

"Um."

Can I ask you a question first?

"Can."

Were you afraid of me when you were little?

Lin Ke hadn't expected such a nonsensical question, and smiled, "I guess so."

When Si Yuming was a child, he was serious and rarely smiled, which was quite frightening.

But he was the smartest of all the children. He seemed to know everything. While Jin Yang was still getting spanked by his grandfather, he was already participating in math and programming competitions.

He was also imposing and authoritative; a single sentence from him could intimidate the other children into obeying him. Therefore, Si Xiaotie's leadership qualities were inherited from him from a young age.

But he's not always scary. He carries small candies and gifts with him, and when the kids fight, he's the first to try and stop them, then he takes out candy from his pocket to comfort them.

But he seemed dissatisfied with the answer, and his face darkened.

Before Lin Ke could say anything, Si Yuming spoke up again, "Lin Ke, you asked me before whether it was responsibility or love for you, and I've thought about that question seriously since then."

"I think love can turn into responsibility, but responsibility can also turn into love. I can't lie to you that I married you because of love, but I'm not a casual person who would build a family with a stranger."

"I married you out of a selfish motive to fulfill my grandfather's wish. I never thought about divorcing you and I looked forward to our future together. I am very sorry about that."

These two sentences were enough for Lin Ke to process, especially the last apology, which she didn't understand.

He continued, his deep eyes falling on hers, "When we first got married, Si Xiaotie hadn't yet appeared in our world. I think that was a wonderful time. We went to Northern Europe for our honeymoon, and you were always so shy that you wouldn't even look me in the eye."

“During the months we got married, you were busy with your graduation thesis, even busier than me. But you couldn’t drive, so I had to pick you up from school. From the company to the Foreign Languages ​​University, you had to cross two main roads and then go up an elevated road. Your school gate was always crowded, but that part of the journey was the most relaxing time of my day.”

"Later we had Si Xiaotie. I was at work that day. Actually, my grandfather had secretly told me the news, but he told me to pretend I didn't know. I had no idea what the people below reported or what documents I signed that day."

A smile gradually appeared on the man's face. "When I got home, you seemed very nervous and scared. You couldn't say a word when you looked at me, and you were trembling when I hugged you."

"Although Xiao Tie was an accident, she is also one of the most important gifts in my life."

"Later, my grandfather passed away and Xiao Tie was born. At that time, I could no longer take care of both family and work at the same time. Over the years since then, I do owe you an apology."

"Lin Ke, you've worked so hard all this time."

"So whether it's love or responsibility, it's become indistinguishable."

Lin Ke listened silently, her eyes gradually reddening, and a tear fell as the wind blew.

Si Yuming stepped forward, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, then opened his coat and wrapped her in his arms. "Are you cold?"

The woman in his arms shook her head.

He held her tightly.

Speaking again seemed difficult, yet gentle and calm, "Siyun told me that you signed an agreement when you got married?"

Having known each other since childhood, married for several years, and worked together for a few months, Si Yuming understands that her dream is not for anyone else. She is serious and meticulous in translating every sentence, and sits confidently and poised at the translation desk. She loves her job.

I put in all my effort during this month of exam preparation, without a moment's slack.

He understands and respects her ideals.

The reason for my emotions at this moment is clear.

He was missing a very long period of her life; as Si Yun said, she had no idea who she had liked or loved.

Meng Jing?

Maybe, but who it is isn't that important. What's important is that there's someone in her world, and that he might still be in her heart right now.

Lin Ke tilted her head slightly, "You know?"

"yes."

"That agreement..."

He asked softly, "Did Si Yun force you to sign?"

Lin Ke was quiet for a moment, then pursed her lips and replied, "No."

There was another long silence, the wind seemed to howl even more, and each gust of cold air made them feel their hearts beating more clearly.

After a long while, Si Yuming lowered his eyes and looked into her eyes: "Lin Ke, all these years, have you ever liked me?"

"Si Yuming..."

The man touched her face and said gently, "If you have me in your heart, let's live a good life together."

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Author's note: Here comes the little red envelope~