83. Girlfriends' Talk

Ling Ling stood on tiptoe and kissed Yu Chuanbei's soft lips as a token of gratitude. "Then, why don't you go to the master bedroom and sleep for a while? Don't come out tonight, okay? You have your own bathroom and toilet anyway. I'm afraid Xinhua won't feel comfortable with you out there." "Okay—whatever the mistress decides! Alas, it's a shame I can't hold you to sleep tonight." Yu Chuanbei hugged her tightly and shook her. Ling Ling reluctantly broke free from his embrace and walked out the door. When Ling Ling and Rong Xinhua returned home, she found that the living room seemed to have been simply tidied, there was an extra quilt in the guest bedroom, and a freshly filled bottle of cold water and a plate of freshly cut fruit were placed on the coffee table. Ling Ling felt a warm feeling well up in her heart, but she couldn't show it in front of Rong Xinhua, who was currently trapped in love. "Xinhua, I'll prepare a new set of toiletries for you. Just wash up. Then I'll stay with you in the guest room, and we can have a good chat tonight, just like those intimate gatherings we used to have in bed after lights out in the dorm." Ling Ling tried to speak in a lighthearted tone, hoping to ease her grief and anger. Rong Xinhua's eyes were swollen and her nose was red, still unable to shake off the intense emotion of the argument. She said hoarsely, "Goodbye, Ling Ling. I'll just sit in your living room for a while. I've already disturbed you so much. I won't take up your things anymore. You'll have to clean up again if I stay here for one night." "Oh, that's fine. I've been inviting you all along, and you're being so reserved!" But Xinhua insisted on sleeping on the sofa, so Ling Ling had to bring two blankets to join her. "I want to drink," Rong Xinhua said sadly. Ling Ling then brought two bottles of red wine and some snacks from her store. As soon as the wine was poured, Rong Xinhua downed the entire glass in one gulp. Ling Ling tried to persuade her, "Xinhua, you and Qingshi have such a strong relationship. Don't let a momentary argument over who's right and who's wrong ruin it." Rong Xinhua filled her own glass with another, saying with a wry smile, "How passionate our love was back then seems so childish and ridiculous now. An 18-year-old girl has no idea what she truly needs to live a good life. By the time she's 28, she'll realize how naive and foolish the decision she swore to herself she'd never regret was. But by then, it'll be too late." Xinhua tipped her head back to down another glass of red wine. Ling Ling opened a bag of potato chips, wanting her to have some snacks, but she refused. Ling Ling didn't know exactly what had happened between him and Ren Qingshi, so she tried to find the right angle to persuade her, "You've been through so much together, all that...

Ling Ling stood on tiptoe and kissed Yu Chuanbei's soft lips to express her gratitude. "Well, why don't you go to the master bedroom and sleep first? Don't come out at night, okay? You have your own bathroom and toilet anyway. I'm afraid Xinhua will feel uncomfortable if you're outside."

"Okay - I'll leave it to the hostess! Alas, it's a pity that I can't hold you in my arms while sleeping tonight." Yu Chuanbei hugged her tightly and shook her. Ling Ling reluctantly broke away from his arms and walked out the door.

When Ling Ling pulled Rong Xinhua back home, she found that the living room seemed to have been simply tidied, there was an extra quilt in the guest bedroom, and a freshly filled bottle of cold water and a plate of freshly cut fruit were placed on the coffee table.

A warm feeling welled up in Ling Ling's heart, but she couldn't show it in front of Rong Xinhua, who was trapped in love.

"Xinhua, I'll prepare a new set of toiletries for you, so you can just wash up. Then I'll stay with you in the guest room, and we can have a good chat at night, just like the times when we used to have a chat with our best friends in bed after the lights were turned off in the dormitory." Ling Ling tried to speak to her in a relaxed tone, hoping to ease her grief and anger.

Rong Xinhua's eyes were swollen and her nose was red. She was still unable to extricate herself from the violent quarrel. She said in a hoarse voice, "Goodbye, Lingling. I'll just sit in your living room for a while. I've already disturbed you so much. I won't take up your things anymore. You'll have to clean up again if I stay here for one night."

"Oh, it's okay. I've been inviting you guys over before, but you're still being so reserved with me!"

But Xinhua still insisted on sleeping on the sofa, so Lingling had to bring two blankets to sleep with her.

"I want to drink." Rong Xinhua said sadly.

Ling Ling then brought two bottles of red wine and some snacks from stock.

As soon as the wine was poured, Rong Xinhua downed the entire glass in one gulp. Ling Ling tried to persuade her, "Xinhua, you and Qingshi have such a good relationship. Don't let your relationship be damaged by a momentary argument about who is right or wrong."

Rong Xinhua poured himself another glass of wine and said with a wry smile, "However passionately we loved back then, how childish and ridiculous it seems now. An 18-year-old girl has no idea what she truly needs to live a good life. By the time she's 28, she'll realize how naive and foolish the decision she swore to herself she would never regret was. But by then, it's too late."

Xinhua raised her head and drank another glass of red wine. Lingling opened a bag of potato chips and wanted her to have some snacks, but she refused.

Ling Ling still didn't know what exactly happened between him and Ren Qingshi, so she tried her best to find the right angle to persuade her: "You have been through so much together, those days are irreplaceable."

Rong Xinhua sneered and said, "Looking back on those days, it was truly the failure of a young girl who was poisoned by romance novels and inadequate family education. At that time, I was arrogant and thought that boys from wealthy families were playboys. I was afraid that they would be sharp-tongued and vulgar. I didn't want any man to feel superior to me. I must always be looked up to. Then I got together with Ren Qingshi. She surrendered to me, and I was addicted to his words praising me. I thought at the time, what's money? I have it, I don't care about it. And this man will always regard me as his beloved. No matter what I do wrong or say wrong, he will accept me unconditionally. I even foolishly thought that even if I cheated, as long as he was willing to come back, he would definitely forgive me and love me as before.

But now, we can't say more than a few words without arguing. Gradually, he stopped arguing with me. Every day, he's like a dead fish, his eyes bulging and lifeless. Today, my daughter talked to me about her moral education class, and I guided her on her future mate selection. I feel it's my obligation to pass on all my life's experience to my only daughter so that she can find a better partner in the future. Granted, I said she shouldn't date someone like her father, but was Ren Qingshi worth getting so angry about? He even cursed at me, you know?! He, Ren Qingshi, actually cursed at me! I still remember the look in his eyes at that time; he wanted to hit me. Haha, how ironic!

Rong Xinhua drank the new glass of wine in one gulp.

Ling Ling finally understood the source of their conflict today, but marriage was too complicated for her to judge. She could only weakly say, "When you were in college, Qingshi was also a talented student in the department, and he had his own pride. When you quarreled, he was just angry. After all, you are husband and wife, and it will be over after you vent."

"It's over, but what happens next? Are the two of us going to continue living this lifeless existence? Everything in life right now is not what I want. We live in a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment in Tiantongyuan, with our family of three and his parents living there. Whenever relatives from our hometown come to Beijing, whether for tourism, study, or medical treatment, they treat our home as a Beijing embassy, ​​eating, drinking, and living for free. Our lives are completely disrupted. Whenever we have a fight, his parents insist on going back to their hometown, and the child is often sent to a daycare center. Do you know how crowded the Tiantongyuan subway is? In order to rush to pick up the child so that he won't be the last one to leave, I either have my shoes squeezed off, a woman's hairpin scratches my hand, or my hair gets caught on someone's backpack, almost ripping off a piece of my scalp. I really don't want to live like this for even a single day!"

Ling Ling now roughly understood the reason for Xinhua and Qingshi's quarrel. Besides giving her a sincere ear, she also encouraged her to hold onto hope for the future. "Isn't the public institution where Qingshi works now quite good? It's in charge of cultural affairs, which happens to be Qingshi's area of ​​expertise. He has a bright future ahead of him. So your current tight financial situation is only temporary. Just hold on for a few more years and you'll be fine."

Rong Xinhua, however, wasn't prepared to swallow Ling Ling's chicken soup. She shook her head and said, "Today's social stratification is very serious. If you can't achieve your first leap by passing the college entrance examination, your second leap by finding a job, and your third leap by getting married, your life is basically over. You can only struggle and trudge through your current class, with no peace. We've known each other for ten years, and ten years after ten, looking back, it's still so dull and boring."

In my twenties, I felt I was different from everyone else. I possessed a powerful capacity for love. If I chose, I could use my wisdom to generate an endless supply of love. My partner and I stayed together when we loved each other, and separated when we didn't. Looking back now, I realize how young and naive I was. Love was just a trick to procreate. Once you get married and have children, you're trapped in a tedious life, facing a quagmire every day, unable to extricate yourself.

Ling Ling still hoped to give her some hope: "You and Qingshi finally achieved the right result. You are now living a life that countless people envy."

Xinhua still shook her head. "Being envied by people who are worse off than me doesn't comfort me. I should at least be able to live the same standard of living as people of my equal abilities. Alas, Lingling, you're still in the honeymoon phase of love and haven't gotten married yet. You won't understand many of the things I'm telling you. When Ren Qingshi and I were in love, I wouldn't have believed these words even if someone who'd been through it had told me. No, that's not right. Your boyfriend has a better foundation and a higher starting point than Ren Qingshi. Perhaps you won't encounter the same situation as me in your life."

Ling Ling quickly defended herself, "How could that be, Xinhua? Everyone has conflicts and contradictions. Yu Chuanbei and I also have periods of fatigue. People in different situations just have different conflict points. If both sides can get along well, they can still be together happily. Don't wipe out the feelings between the two of you just because of one or two quarrels."

"Haha, you should get married first. After getting married and having children, you will find that it is not the two of you who are getting together, but the shadows of two families, or even three generations. What love, what romance, in marriage, the only things left are whether the other person turns off the lights, whether to scroll through the screen to get discount coupons, and who pays more, your mother or my mother. All marriages are nothing more than these issues, just unfolding in different forms. So, it is better to find someone with good conditions and reduce some anxiety in a life full of troubles; instead of finding someone with zero starting point, and both adults and children suffer together." Rong Xinhua's eyes were still full of disappointment.

Author's Note

Liu Qiu

author

05-13

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