Chapter 129: True feelings are easily changed. Tears are a river of sorrow, flowing into the deep sea...

The others didn't react for a moment, but Xu Sirui, having witnessed Zhu Yingning's various primitive and magical skills that were completely different from those of the city dwellers, was the first to understand. He raised his upper body and looked at her, asking curiously, "Ye Di?"

"I don't know if it's a proper leaf flute, but it's okay to blow a scale out of the leaves." She placed the leaf flat on her lips, folded it slightly upwards, and blew air out of her mouth.

The melody of "Walking on a Country Road" sounded again. This time, unlike the gentle sound of a human voice, the music was crisp and high-pitched, like an arrow shot from a bow, bursting out from between her lips with a force that could pierce the night sky, splitting the listener's five senses and giving them goose bumps.

"What the hell, what the hell." Sun Mingyuan stared with his eyes wide open. With a limited vocabulary, he could only repeat these two words in a low voice.

With a smile on my face, I hum a country song and let my thoughts fly in the evening breeze.

How much loneliness and melancholy were blown away by the evening breeze and forgotten on the country road.

No one sang, but the lyrics automatically emerged in everyone's mind as the music changed. The evening breeze, countryside, cattle, shepherd boy and sunset glow that seemed distant and unreal when she sang suddenly materialized in this small box.

Weeds sprouted from the leather sofa, trees took root in the cabin floor, and the wind from the mountains howled and swept into the electronic equipment—

Mountains grow from the ocean.

Nature turns into the air flow between her lips and teeth, blowing into everyone's ears.

After the song ended, everyone was stunned for a long time until Sun Mingyuan took the lead in standing up and applauding again, and the silence was broken. This time it was not a joke, nor was it about encouragement or comfort, but purely out of sincere admiration.

"This is so cool!" After clapping, Sun Mingyuan leaned forward and said with a flattering smile, "Can you teach me how to play it, Teacher Zhu? I want to show off after I learn it."

Zhang Lin pushed him away and said, "Get lost! With your character, if you learn this, you'll be just like a monkey eating leaves in the eyes of others."

"Who are you calling a monkey?"

The two of them naturally started fighting again.

Zhou Tianqing pulled Zhu Yingning to his side and praised her generously, "You played the flute so well, Yingning. You have a rare natural and unpretentious aura. Just now, when you played, you really looked like a mountain elf. I was wrong. I shouldn't be the one teaching you. I should ask you for advice when I get the chance. You're truly gifted in this area."

Zhu Yingning felt so embarrassed by her praise that she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She shifted her butt on the sofa, not knowing where to put her hands. She stammered a thank you. Xu Sirui spoke softly beside her, saying, "Don't embarrass her."

"How can this be called embarrassing?" Zhou Tianqing said with a smile, "I like her so much that I can't wait. I'm just expressing my love frankly. Unlike some people who were clearly stunned just now, but..."

"Hello!"

That hint of laziness disappeared instantly. Xu Sirui sat up from the sofa with a somersault and stopped Zhou Tianqing from saying anything else in time, "...Don't talk nonsense."

If his cheeks weren't so red, this sentence might have been more powerful. Zhou Tianqing glanced at him and the smile on her face became more obvious.

After all, she was his aunt. He couldn't just rudely scold her and tell her to get out of here like he did to Sun Mingyuan and the others. He could only stand up and say, "I'm going to go outside to see the sea view."

"Oh... okay." Zhou Tianqing wasn't going to let him go easily. Smiling, he gently pushed Zhu Yingning forward and said, "Yingning, come along too. You can see more clearly from the deck. Are you saying you've never seen the sea?"

Her last words successfully stifled the protest in Xu Sirui's throat. He swallowed his words silently and went to open the door of the box in embarrassment.

There was wind on the deck, and the salty and humid sea breeze made the sea surface slightly wrinkled.

Zhu Yingning crouched on the railing a few steps away, looking down at the sea. The propeller and engine churned the water into white foam, which dragged behind the stern. The night sea was black, like a man-eating abyss, and the white foam seemed to be salivating.

“Does sea water taste salty?” she asked.

"It's salty and bitter," he replied as he pulled her up from the railing. "Don't lie there like that. It's dangerous if the railing breaks."

She obediently stepped back a few centimeters and stopped putting all her weight on the railing.

Speechless for a moment.

They looked at the sea and the tall buildings on the shore in silence. This silence did not make people feel awkward. On the contrary, Zhu Yingning felt quite comfortable. It was like they were very familiar friends who tacitly chose to remain silent.

The sea breeze blows in gusts.

Just as she was pointing at a building with two lines on its top and wanted to ask him if it was the Bank of China Building, a child holding a water gun passed by her and bumped into her on the back.

"Sorry." Realizing that he had bumped into someone, the child apologized lightly in a mixture of Chinese and English.

Zhu Yingning thought the voice sounded familiar, so she turned around and looked with wide eyes, "Yangyang?"

What a coincidence.

Xu Sirui turned around when he heard the voice. When he saw that it was indeed Yangyang, his handsome face immediately fell: "Why are you haunting me?"

Yangyang was also surprised, but then he showed his adult demeanor, shaking his head and commenting, "What a fuss!"

"Where's your mother?" Zhu Yingning leaned down slightly. "She's with you, right? Don't let her get lost again this time."

"I won't get lost again." Yangyang pointed behind him, "She and my dad are over there on the deck watching the sea."

"Your father is here this time."

Then, as if to echo their conversation, a familiar male voice came from a place not far away, with a hint of anger: "Xu Siyang, I told you not to run around, and you forgot again, didn't you? Come back quickly!"

Yangyang stuck out his tongue and ran over with his gun.

Sometimes Zhu Yingning would wonder if fate was so fickle. Love could deal a heavy blow to people at the peak of their happiness, with even less warning than a roller coaster. At least those who rode the roller coaster were prepared to fall before getting on.

And what did they have? They were completely unprepared, like two lambs thrown into a whirlpool, naive and ignorant to the point of being pitiful.

She didn't know whether Xu Sirui was defeated by this blow, but at that moment, she clearly felt that her intestines were twisted together by an invisible hand, like a rotten rag, being pinched and strangled, squeezing out all the nutrients in her stomach.

Xu Zhengkang approached them, then stopped in shock upon recognizing their faces. Zhu Yingning stared at him, her gaze devoid of meaning, pure disbelief. She felt a strange sense of dissociation, akin to when, as a child, you practiced the same character over and over in your homework book, and after so long, every stroke became unfamiliar. Now, Xu Zhengkang's features felt strangely unfamiliar to her.

She even preferred to believe some fantastic assumptions, such as that the person in front of her was not Xu Zhengkang, but an alien in Xu Zhengkang's skin, or Xu Zhengkang's long-lost twin brother.

How could he be here? And how could there be a child with a name so similar to Xu Sirui?

Although they knew clearly that Xu Zhengkang could have come to Hong Kong on a business trip, or come here to travel with his lover and illegitimate child - in fact, they had not seen him for many days. Just as Xu Zhengkang forgot that today was Xu Sirui's birthday, they also forgot that a man who has not returned home for a long time is most likely to have another family outside.

She clenched her fists, trying to stifle the trembling of her body. She felt cold all over, and her teeth couldn't help but chatter. Even she, an outsider, felt so uncomfortable. She didn't dare to imagine what Xu Sirui's expression and feelings would be like now.

While her mind was in a mess, Xu Sirui, who was standing beside her, spoke. Instead of the earth-shattering words she had expected, he just chuckled softly and uttered two words: "...No wonder."

Zhu Yingning finally had the courage to turn her head to look at him. He had no expression on his face, as if he was watching an insignificant farce, with a cold and numb indifference on his face.

"Xu Sirui..." She couldn't help but call him out.

Xu Sirui came back to his senses and reached out to grab her wrist: "Let's go back."

He pulled her into the cabin. His strength was not very strong, but Zhu Yingning was still pulled by him. She only had time to look back for the last time, and happened to see Xu Siyang's mother not far away. She seemed to have heard the movement here. She walked out of the darkness with a thin silver cloak around her and stood timidly behind Xu Zhengkang.

They walked further and further away, causing the faces of the family of three in the distance to become blurred.

**

Back in the cabin, Zhou Tianqing and the others didn't notice the strange atmosphere between them, and even laughed and teased: "Why are you back so soon? Why don't you stay outside for a while?"

Zhu Yingning tried to hide it with a smile, but it wouldn't come out. The corners of her mouth felt heavy as if two huge rocks were hanging on them, and her cheeks were stiff. Instead, Xu Sirui calmly replied, "Well, it's still more comfortable to sit in the cabin."

A gorgeous three-tiered cake was already on the table. It was so exquisite it couldn't even be called a cake; it was more like a work of art. Zhou Tianqing pointed at it and said the waiter had brought it in after they left. "I designed the whole thing myself, and I hired a renowned baker here. You absolutely have to try it."

Sun Mingyuan immediately flattered her: "Sister, you are so amazing and talented! You are my goddess."

"Why call me sister? Call me aunt. Your mother and I are of the same generation." Zhou Tianqing corrected him with a smile.

Sun Mingyuan, who was always flattering, said, "How can that be! No matter how I look at you, I always think you are my elder sister. I can't bring myself to call you aunt when you are so young and beautiful."

Zhou Tianqing shook his head and smiled even more helplessly.

After everyone had fun for a while, Zhou Tianqing reminded them: "Put the candles on first. You can play with the cake however you want after you finish eating it. Don't let it melt if you leave it out for too long."

Upon hearing this, the boys excitedly stood up to help light the candles. As the star of the day, Xu Sirui was naturally pulled over and forced to wear the birthday hat that came with the cake. He was handsome, and the hat didn't look cheap or funny in it. Some people even believed it was a new style for the show.

He was surrounded by Sun Mingyuan and others and brought to the cake. Zhu Yingning carefully observed his expression. Seeing that he always had a smile on his face to deal with everyone's enthusiastic cheering, for some reason, she felt even more heartbroken than seeing him sad and lost.

Seventeen candles filled the room, the middle one a jet candle. After turning out the lights, everyone sang the birthday song, each with their own tune, but thankfully it was lively and loud enough. The candles burned, sending out tiny, multicolored fireworks. The candlelight illuminated his handsome face, even the down on his face was clearly visible.

Someone is taking pictures.

Some people are applauding.

Some people were setting off fireworks.

The box was filled with joy and laughter.

Everything was so warm and beautiful, but when Zhu Yingning looked at the perfect smile on the corner of his mouth and his cold and numb eyes that did not smile at all, she felt her heart sinking.

She wanted to tell him to stop laughing, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. If she didn't let him laugh, would she make him cry in front of so many people?

Zhou Tianqing urged him to make a wish, but he closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

"How long is that wish you made?" Sun Mingyuan couldn't help but complain, "Be careful the God of Wishes might think you're greedy."

But she felt that he was not making a wish at all, he was just daydreaming, with nothing in his mind.

And he is not greedy.

But even so, the God of Wishes did not fulfill his wish.

After making a wish, the candles were blown out and the people standing close to the lights turned on. At the urging of others, Xu Sirui began to cut the cake. His slender fingers held the exquisite cake knife and his cuts were precise, like a doctor performing surgery.

He cut out many plates of cake and distributed them to everyone. Under Zhou Tianqing's concern, he took a fork and took the first bite. He commented calmly, "It's delicious."

"Yingning, you come and eat too." Zhou Tianqing entertained her warmly again.

She took the cake plate, scooped up a piece of the fluffy cake with her fork, and brought it to her mouth. She thought the cake should be delicious. Zhou Tianqing's taste was unquestionable. The reason she used the word "should" was because her taste buds had temporarily wandered away from home. The cream melted on her tongue, dense and delicate, but she couldn't taste anything. After a few bites, she felt a little tired.

Unlike her, Xu Sirui never stopped eating the cake. Since the cake was ordered to be large, Zhou Tianqing encouraged everyone to eat more. So he kept stuffing cream and cake base into his mouth like a machine that received instructions. After finishing one piece, he ate the next one, as if stuffing enough could suppress the emotions that were trying to emerge.

After witnessing him eat four pieces of cake in a row, Zhu Yingning finally couldn't help but whispered a warning: "...Stop eating."

Xu Sirui acted as if he didn't hear anything and mechanically picked up the fifth piece of cake.

"Fuck Xu Sirui, how can you eat so much?" Sun Mingyuan was shocked by Xu Sirui's appetite. After marveling at it, he couldn't help but complain sourly, "You eat so much but don't gain weight. Is there any justice in this world?"

Everyone just thought Xu Sirui was in a good mood and ate a lot, and no one took it seriously. Zhu Yingning watched from the side, but she thought he was about to vomit from the cake.

"Stop eating." She reached out and tried to pry his arm away.

Xu Sirui moved sideways to avoid her hand. His voice was deep and muffled, as if his throat was clogged with cream: "Leave me alone."

He finished the fifth piece of cake in no time and went to get the sixth.

Zhou Tianqing, who was helping cut the cake, could hardly keep up with his eating speed: "Ruirui, no matter how delicious it is, you should be a little more restrained. Even though I told you to eat more, it's not the way to eat it. Be careful not to get an upset stomach later."

He ignored it and forked up a large spoonful of cream.

Seeing that he had finished the sixth piece and was about to take the seventh, Zhu Yingning became anxious and grabbed his wrist without saying anything: "I told you not to eat it."

As a result, Xu Sirui actually used the other hand that was not strangled by her to reach for the cake. Her anxiety instantly turned into anger, and she yelled: "I said - don't eat it!"

The shout was so shocking that everyone in the box was frightened and looked over at her. Zhou Tianqing was so surprised that she forgot to continue cutting the cake.

She couldn't care less about all that for the moment. She whispered "sorry" to the others and then forcefully pulled Xu Sirui up and led him out of the suite.

She couldn't explain where she wanted to take him, but she felt that he had to leave this space. Otherwise, in front of so many people, he was so noble and concerned about his reputation that he would definitely rather starve to death than let his emotions run wild.

After walking aimlessly for a while in the corridor, the sound of his footsteps muffled by the wool carpet, Xu Sirui, who had been dragged forward by her, finally moved, grabbed her wrist, and said only three words: "...I want to vomit."

Zhu Yingning was stunned for a moment, then turned around to find that his face was pale and sweat was beaded on his forehead. He covered his mouth with his free hand.

The situation was critical. She estimated the distance and thought that if she walked back now, he might vomit on the way, so she quickly pulled him to the nearest trash can and poked down the lid of the trash can.

The trash can was dark and gave off a sour smell like rotting fruit peels. Stimulated by the smell, he felt that all the cakes he had just eaten were covered with stomach acid and rushed to his throat.

He didn't want her to see him in such a state of disarray, especially with her hand still poking at the trash can lid. He was afraid her hand would get hurt when he vomited, so he simply elbowed her away. But Zhu Yingning stood firm as a rock, and he was so weak that he couldn't push her away. His stomach churned to the extreme, and he couldn't bear it any longer. He leaned over the edge of the trash can and vomited everything he had just eaten.

No matter how good-looking a person is, he or she will not be elegant or romantic when vomiting.

Not to mention the visual experience, the smell is a disaster.

Zhu Yingning remained calm and gently stroked his back with the hand that was not holding down the lid of the trash can. When she realized that he had almost finished vomiting, she turned around and asked the waiter to ask for mineral water and asked them to come and deal with it.

He held the mineral water bottle, looking confused and dazed. She led him to the sink, and at her instruction, he unscrewed the bottle cap, rinsed his mouth with water, and then spit it out, like a puppet.

After repeating the same steps three or five times, Zhu Yingning took the bottle from his hand and handed him a piece of paper.

He didn't answer.

She was about to pass it to him again when she saw tears streaming down his face.

Tears are rivers of sorrow, flowing into the deep sea.

Her heart was gripped by his tears, but her hands gradually dropped, and she weakly pressed the tissue on the wet sink.

A few seconds of silence seemed like centuries, and Zhu Yingning opened her arms and hugged him from the front.

He had the sweet aroma of cream and a faint sour smell from vomiting. It was not pleasant at all, but she hugged him tightly.

Xu Sirui didn't push her away, nor did he respond. He simply stood there, like a scarecrow in a wheat field, standing there for eternity. Although he was crying, he made no sound. Tears streamed down his cheeks, gathered at his chin, and were silently pulled down by gravity.

She patted him gently on the back with her palm, even though she felt that this weak comfort had little effect.

She didn't know how much time had passed before she heard his choked voice, struggling out from the waterfall of tears, so weak that it was difficult to hear clearly without listening carefully.

He spoke, as if talking to himself:

"When I was seven, my mother had a sudden whim and told Xu Zhengkang she wanted a star in the sky. He said, 'I'll pick it for you right now,' and then bought the naming rights for a small satellite."

"During the summer when I was ten, my mom had appendicitis. It was actually just a minor surgery, and she only needed two or three days of recuperation. But Xu Zhengkang still turned down all his work and took care of her for a full two weeks. I don't know why he was so concerned."

"After all these years of marriage, whenever my mother asked for something to eat in the middle of the night, he would get up to cook it or buy it. He never let my mother do any housework, so much so that she didn't even know that potatoes were the same thing. My mother had endocrine disorders for a while, gained weight, and had a lot of acne, but Xu Zhengkang still used her photos from that period as his phone and computer screensavers, saying she was the most beautiful person in the world. Not the most beautiful woman, but a beauty that surpassed all human beings—all men and women."

"I can't imagine that he treats my mother so well while having another family. Can you imagine it, Zhu Yingning?" He smiled, tears welling up in his mouth, his body trembling in her arms. "How old is Xu Siyang this year? Five? Or six? It takes at least a year from preparing for pregnancy to getting pregnant. That's when I was ten years old. When he turned down work and stayed by my mother's bedside to take care of her day and night, he might have already cheated on her.

"Maybe when he was praising my mom's beauty, he was thinking of another woman. Maybe when he was telling me not to play games, he was thinking that fortunately he still had Xu Siyang to cultivate. Why can someone be so hypocritical and two-faced like him?"

His tone was filled with despair, and Zhu Yingning felt heartbroken, but she didn't know how to comfort him. She remembered that when he was still participating in a variety show, he once said that the foundation of marriage is love. This concept was taught to him by his parents through words and deeds. At that time, she thought he was innocent and adorable, but now this innocent fantasy was shattered by his father himself, shattered completely.

It turns out that not only is the beginning of marriage based on interests and deception, but the process of marriage is also composed of betrayal.

The image of my father collapsed again and again, and finally collapsed into ruins all over the ground.

He reached out and held her shoulders, his eyes confused, as if he was desperate to find an answer. He asked her, "Is it because sincerity is fickle, or is it because you never had sincerity from the beginning?"

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Author's words: This chapter has been merged into one, so it will not be available tonight at 10:30 [glasses]