Chapter 49: You sold yourself for 20,000 yuan

He also sat on the bed, touching Wenjing's half-dry hair with his fingers. Li Wenjing held his hand and put her face in his palm. His palm was cold.

"You gave the report to your friend and didn't talk to me."

"It's just a partial reference, not the original document. I was going to tell you, but the news came through so quickly. It was so short that even she didn't react. I'm sorry."

"Is that your explanation? You said you were translating for me, but why didn't you tell me before telling your friend? This is my job. I only allowed you to translate it if it wasn't classified, but that doesn't mean you can send it out. If it was classified, I'd have lost my job by now. Luckily, Gustave and Pierre didn't pursue the matter."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Li Wenjing turned around and buried herself in the quilt. He put his hand on her shoulder, patting her gently while continuing to apologize.

"Headquarters has sent a committee to investigate. I heard there are government officials involved. Everything will be investigated thoroughly..."

"I've signed the security report and will give it to the dean tomorrow."

The hand on her shoulder stopped, and Li Wenjing continued, "This matter is over. Don't mention it again."

"I came to you just to ask, did they force you to sign? Don't hand it in, okay?"

Feeling a little breathless under the quilt, Li Wenjing lifted the quilt and happened to meet his gaze. "What do you and your friend want to do by doing this?"

Hearing this, he froze, as if he saw someone he didn't know. He blinked twice and said, "It's for Africa, for the disadvantaged groups, for those who have no money."

Gu Weiyi was already very unhappy at this moment, and his tone was several degrees heavier than usual. "What about you? Why do you have to listen to Gustav? You can't sign. You can't let him block the sky with one hand."

"It's a one-handed cover."

If it were any other time, Li Wenjing would have laughed out loud, but at this moment her heart was filled with bitterness and a bit of anger.

"You're not doing this for Africa, you're doing this to bring down Gustav."

"I don't!"

"Really? Is that right? Have you seen my files? Have you read the letters?"

"As soon as his company arrived here, it polluted the environment, sparked fighting between tribes, and even caused safety accidents. How much blood was stained? These things should be reported. Gustav will do more for Africa than he realizes."

"But Pierre has already agreed to change it, so no one will die," Li Wenjing said. "Have you ever considered that because of a piece of news about you and your friend, many people are out of work. They go to the oil fields and our company every day, asking when we can start work. If I sign a day late, the procedures will be delayed, and the injured people won't get paid, and they won't have food to eat! Have you ever asked them if the workers accepted Gustav's minimum offer of $20,000? What else can they do? Going to the beach with Europeans and Chinese on vacation, selling their bodies for money, is that what you want to see?"

"Twenty thousand yuan! Just for twenty thousand yuan, this little short-term gain, you sold yourself and your workers out!"

Gu Weiyi stood up from the bed, his eyes already red.

Li Wenjing felt that he was distancing himself from her.

"You can't say that to me. What does 20,000 yuan mean? People here only make 2,000 yuan a year. That's ten years to earn. They need to work and earn money. What are your long-term interests? How long? More than ten years?"

"If they give them 20,000 yuan, the people here will spend it all right away. They need hospitals, schools, and laws to guarantee their future survival..." He paused, "How much did Gustav give?"

Li Wenjing's heart felt like it was being pierced by countless needles, leaving many holes and bleeding at the same time. She really didn't have the energy to explain to him, "Go away, I don't want to talk about it."

He remained motionless. "Answer me."

"Fifty thousand yuan."

"Fifty thousand?"

Gu Weiyi bit his lip and began to tremble uncontrollably. It started from his lips, then spread to his cheeks, neck, hands, legs, and then his entire body, causing him to twist and turn, out of shape. Li Wenjing jumped up from the bed and hugged him. He pushed Li Wenjing with his shaking hands. His hands were weak, but he was clearly pushing her. Li Wenjing let go of him with tears in her eyes. He stumbled and fell on the sofa, still shaking. Li Wenjing poured him a glass of water and stayed by his side, waiting for him to calm down.

He lay on the sofa, looking at Li Wenjing, tears in his eyes. Li Wenjing put the water next to him and said, "I'm sorry, I..."

With a "clack", the glass fell to the ground, and there were broken glass pieces everywhere. Li Wenjing looked at him like this, not knowing whether it was because his shaking hands could not hold the glass, or if he was deliberately angry with her. He bent down to clean up, his foot slipped and he accidentally put his whole palm on the ground, and when he raised his hand again, blood flowed to the ground, mixing with the blood on the ground. Li Wenjing quickly squatted down to grab his hand to check, but before she could touch him, he stood up, put his hands behind his back, and didn't move, just looking at her.

Li Wenjing waited for him to speak. As long as he spoke and gave her another kiss, she would forgive him, let go of the matter of Gustav, and explain everything to him. She needed the money. Her mother's illness was in the late stage and she had to be transferred to another hospital... But Gu Weiyi's eyes were empty and no emotion could be seen. After a long time, he let go of her hand and the blood had already coagulated.

"I'm sorry, I'll take care of the wound and the one on the floor. Go to the living room and rest first."

Li Wenjing was stunned for a few seconds, then followed him out and took his arm, "Your hand is injured, let me do it."

"You don't have to take care of me like this." He shook his head and sighed again. "Neither of us can change our stance, can we? I know how much 20,000 yuan is, and how much 50,000 yuan is. He offered you an acceptable price, and you accepted it. I can't interfere. This is your business. As you said before, Westerners always look at Africans with arrogant sympathy, and you don't need this kind of sympathy. I understand, and I don't want you to sympathize with me and make me feel useless and incapable of doing anything. You worry about me just because I'm cleaning windows."

Li Wenjing's hand slowly loosened, and he continued, "But I don't know what love is. Do I love you? I don't believe our relationship is an exchange of interests, like you and Gustav have always done. Maybe you think that our relationship is essentially about two people comforting each other. You are always brave and energetic, telling jokes when things are difficult, and rushing forward when encountering problems. I like the good things about you and the feeling you bring to me. It makes me feel that life is still hopeful. Now that this feeling is broken, I am very confused. Do I still love you?"

His eyes, filled with misty melancholy, passed through hers, as if he wanted to see through her as a person, but her heart was tightly closed, and he could not see her.

"I walked towards you intuitively, but why is it still so painful? I'm sorry, this is all my fault. I feel stupid. I don't know how to love you, and I can't handle the pain. That time in front of the sacred tree, you said you would be affected by me, sentimental and cry easily. I have always accepted your sympathy for me, but it's not in vain, and it's also consuming you. I'm afraid that because of me, you will be even more unhappy, and there's nothing I can do for you."

"Is that what you think? I'm with you because I sympathize with you?" Li Wenjing looked at him. "Stop talking about that. I want you."

He took a breath and raised his head slightly, as if he didn't want Li Wenjing to look down on him or even sympathize with him. "Wenjing, I'm leaving."

Li Wenjing was caught off guard. She took two steps back, nearly falling onto the sofa. She didn't sit down, but stood before him. She wondered if he was abandoning her. She froze for a moment, her thoughts racing through countless possibilities: was he leaving? Was he abandoning her? Or was he simply taking some time apart to cool down? Li Wenjing's mind was in a tizzy, unable to comprehend a single thought. He wouldn't give her an answer. If only he'd come over and give her a hug, a kiss, she'd soften her heart. But he didn't do anything. She turned and went to the bathroom, afraid to cry in front of him and appear weak.

In front of the bathroom mirror, she wiped her eyes. A moth was dying and fell on the sink, but it was not completely dead. Li Wenjing thought about it and put it outside the window.

After coming out, he cleaned the room and bandaged the wound on his hand. Li Wenjing packed his computer, books, and some clothes into a bag. Passing by the bathroom, she saw his toothbrush and towel and hesitated for a moment before picking them up. Instead of packing them up, she simply held the bag with the clothes and books in front of him.

It doesn't matter, everything is fine, she thought, and brought the luggage to him. She pretended to be relaxed and asked him, "Where are you going? Congo?"

"I can't say for sure. I've had a lot of urgent tasks lately, so I haven't had the chance to tell you in the past few days. I was afraid you'd worry."

"But I'm already very sad."

"I'm sorry, me too."

"I know we can't handle it right now. I'm still emotionally reeling and can't talk to you about anything," Li Wenjing said. "I'm leaving soon, going back to China."