Chapter 140

Waiting for the flowers to bloom again, waiting for the right love to return.

The study window was cracked open, allowing the mountain wind outside, carrying a drizzle, to sneak in. The wind blew in strangely and scattered the ashes in the iron bucket everywhere.

The flickering firelight reflected on Cheng Sangluo's face, his handsome features filled with indifference and hatred towards Lin Jin. As those obsessive and morbid remarks entered his ears, his hands, hanging by his trousers, slowly clenched into fists, revealing clearly visible veins.

She seemed to have gathered her strength, and suddenly growled urgently, "Enough!"

In her anger, she shoved Lin Jin, who was blocking her way, away forcefully. Suddenly realizing she had used too much force, she quickly pulled him back.

Lin Jin stumbled and fell into Cheng Sangluo's arms. The shirt, soaked by the rain, felt icy cold, and even his heart seemed to have lost its warmth, chilling her ears.

She habitually listened to Cheng Sangluo's heartbeat, but this time, apart from the slight rhythmic beating, she could no longer detect any hidden emotions. Perhaps the once passionate love was quietly fading away.

Cheng Sangluo placed her hands on Lin Jin's shoulders and took two steps back, conveying all her distance through her silent movements. After a moment of silence, she said, "I'm sober now, so everything I say next is not nonsense."

At this moment, her mind was much calmer, but this only made the wind outside the window, carrying rain, seem even more turbulent.

"I'd rather you yell at me or hit me than see you so calm!" Lin Jin crouched down, trying to escape, then suddenly covered her ears tightly with her hands, screaming hoarsely, "I won't listen! I won't listen!"

Cheng Sangluo sighed sadly and squatted down.

She reached out and stroked Lin Jin's slightly disheveled hair, her dull eyes filled with tenderness and earnestness. "Can you let me finish what I have to say?"

"I was just saying things in anger at the bar, please don't take it seriously, okay? Let's not break up, okay?" Lin Jin was completely distraught, frantically grabbing Cheng Sangluo's hand and slapping herself repeatedly across the face. "It was wrong of me to slap you, I shouldn't have embarrassed you in that situation. Why don't you hit me back... hit me back... I won't hold it against you... I really won't..."

This beautiful woman, who was once so arrogant and seemingly invincible, has cast all her pride into the abyss, and now all that remains is to feign weakness and submit to compromise.

She looks pitiful, but more than that, she evokes a heartbreaking sense of humility.

It was too humble, so humble that Cheng Sangluo felt like a stranger.

Cheng Sangluo has never denied that she no longer loves Lin Jin. She just doesn't like the current Lin Jin, so how could she bear to hit the person she loves so deeply?

"Lin Jin, calm down, please don't do this, please stop pushing me!" she pleaded painfully, while simultaneously shaking off the hand gripping her wrist. "Can we talk this out calmly?"

"What else do you want to talk about? You keep talking about divorce and leaving, but you clearly promised you wouldn't leave me alone. Why did you break your promise so quickly?" When Lin Jin looked up again, she was already in tears.

She cried quietly; apart from the barely suppressed sobs, there were hardly any other whimpers.

But the more she suppressed her tears, the more Cheng Sangluo wanted to escape.

Cheng Sangluo gently wiped away the tears welling up in Lin Jin's eyes with her fingertips, her expression filled with sorrow, yet she stubbornly poured out her heart: "I've told you time and time again that our love was wrong from the very beginning, because it was filled with concealment and deception, which is why it won't end well. No one in this world can't live without someone else. Maybe separating isn't a bad choice. I have my own path to walk, and you have your own plans, so my life shouldn't be lived according to your plans. Let me go, and let yourself go too."

When love becomes so intense that it tears one apart, choosing to leave is never the only painful experience for Lin Jin; Cheng Sangluo also suffers the torment of making the same choice.

A caged bird yearns for freedom, while the Antarctic ice dreams of spring. Their love runs counter to each other, creating an irreconcilable conflict.

"Do I have to rip my heart out for you to see in order to prove how deep my love is, how reckless I am in it?" Lin Jin wiped her nose in a moment of disarray, then sat back down in her chair, looking utterly dejected.

She was completely exhausted, with only weak breaths remaining, like a glass cup that had been smashed on the ground, shattered so cleanly that it could never be pieced back together.

Faced with Cheng Sangluo's firm choice, she became obsessed with overcoming her own stubbornness, always unable to understand why, when everything was under her control, she couldn't control the person she loved most.

Lin Jin's eyes lost their light as he looked at Cheng Sangluo, and the signature fake smile on his lips disappeared. His gaze lingered for so long that it felt like time had stood still, like the endless cycle of the four seasons.

She tried to match the person in front of her with the figure in military uniform in her memory, but suddenly realized that something was missing. However, she didn't know what was missing, and she couldn't match them together no matter what she tried.

It was not perfect; the ending of waiting alone through countless cold winters was ultimately not perfect.

As Lin Jin contemplated this ending, tears welled up in her eyes, but a smile played on her lips, tinged with the bitterness of unrequited love.

"Cheng Sangluo, you are free. Congratulations on escaping this hell on earth..." Her tone was calm as she leaned back and quietly closed her eyes, silently grieving in her heart: the hateful people were gone, the people she loved were gone, and she was left all alone in this hell on earth.

Lin Jin's letting go came unexpectedly. Cheng Sangluo stared blankly at her relieved expression, feeling as if her heart had been punched hard, and her eyes and nose began to sting from the pain.

Cheng Sangluo knelt down in front of Lin Jin, took it upon herself to lift Lin Jin's hand and gently rub it against her face, her smile tinged with tears. "You asked me if the rice ball was good? No, it wasn't. It was hard and stuck in my throat, but once I swallowed it, I wasn't hungry anymore. I protected the flower very well, but I didn't take good care of her. It's my fault for starting well but ending badly. I need to go to a sunny place to nourish the fertile soil, wait for the flower to bloom again, and wait for the right love to return."

They were so alike, tormenting each other, and both as stubborn as stones.

But stubborn people are born with a dislike for looking back.

......

Despite a whole night of wind and rain, the first light of dawn finally arrived as scheduled.

When Lin Jin woke up, she found herself lying in the bedroom. She knew without a doubt that Cheng Sangluo had carried her back to the room.

She lay on her back, seemingly overwhelmed with grief, her eyes devoid of any emotion. The person who had been holding her heart had left home, leaving her feeling empty and miserable.

Unlike before, Lin Jin was not flustered when she could not see Cheng Sangluo. Instead, she was calm, as if everything that happened last night was a dream, or as if everything she had experienced before today was just a dream.

She listlessly threw off the covers, slipped on her slippers, and went into the bathroom. As soon as she entered, she habitually looked at her toothbrush, her fine eyelashes trembling slightly.

The absence of toothpaste on the toothbrush seemed to be telling her that the elusive moonlight had dissipated into the night before.

Cheng Sangluo left, taking a part of Lin Jin with her. So she became a chipped cup, and a moon that could never be full again.

Lin Jin braced her hands on the washbasin, her lips trembling uncontrollably. Strands of hair covered her haggard face, and warm, glistening tears, which initially fell drop by drop, eventually turned into a torrent that burst forth from the tip of her nose.

"Cheng Sangluo..."

In the empty bathroom, a soft, choked sob suddenly broke the silence.

"I'm here." The AI ​​smart butler in the villa responded with that familiar voice, carrying the creator's fantasy of comforting loneliness, and a joy without warmth.

This was perhaps the last bit of comfort Lin Jin could grasp. At least when the sound of longing echoed throughout the space, she could deceive herself briefly, even if it only lasted for a few fleeting seconds.

She leaned against the wall all alone, repeatedly calling out, "Cheng Sangluo."

"I am here."

Lin Jin still wouldn't give up, her calls gradually turning into a hoarse, breathy whisper: "Cheng Sangluo..."

"I'm here." The smart home assistant's responses came and went, but they could never fill the emptiness in his heart.

"Cheng Sangluo..."

"I am here."

*

Wrapped in a thick cotton coat, Cheng Sangluo boarded bus number 67 in the early morning.

She had stayed by Lin Jin's side all night without closing her eyes, so now she was sitting in the last row of the bus, taking a short nap with her eyes closed.

The swaying of the car body was meant to lull me to sleep, but I didn't sleep soundly. I guess it was because I had something on my mind that I was so restless.

Wandering aimlessly through the bustling city, time seems to slow down, amplifying her loneliness.

When the announcement for the final stop came over the loudspeaker, she rubbed her tired eyes, slung her backpack over one shoulder, and got off the bus.

Quanshan Peninsula is like a treasure trove she stumbled upon by chance. The free scenery includes wind and sea, as well as moments of solitude and relaxation, which can heal her wounded heart to some extent.

She strolled to the breakwater where people fished, and as she gazed at the sea view, a hint of disappointment appeared on her face.

In the depths of winter, the sea near the shore is murky, with layers of dark brown mud and sand rolled up by the surging waves, which echoes her gloomy mood.

Perhaps because she had been living with Lin Jin for a long time, Cheng Sangluo was no longer as stingy with herself as before. At least she was willing to spend money to rent fishing gear, and even forgot to bargain with the shop owner.

Carrying a fishing rod in one hand and a plastic bucket and a small stool in the other, she walked deeper and deeper along the path leading to the center of the sea until she stopped at the end.

The weather today was less than ideal, with strong winds and high waves, and there were hardly any anglers to be seen.

After casting his line and setting up his fishing rod, Cheng Sangluo sat on a small stool, staring blankly at the vast, boundless sea.

Before we knew it, most of the morning had passed, and since no fish were taking the bait, things had quieted down.

"If you can't catch fish, you can fish for me!"

Teasing laughter came from behind her, but Cheng Sangluo didn't turn around to look at the person who came. She just kept her head down and started feeding the bait again.

"Eat something, even if you don't have an appetite, you can't neglect your body." Shu Wan knew how bad it was for someone who had just broken up, so she carefully prepared a hot bento box and bottled water.

"Thank you." Cheng Sangluo never refused food, especially after choosing to fall from grace and return to a life of eating whatever she could find. So she started eating like a wolf, back to her old ways.

Our meeting today began on the way back to the villa on the hillside last night.

Shu Wan asked Cheng Sangluo a question: 'How determined are you to break up with Lin Jin?'

Cheng Sangluo didn't answer directly, but left it as a mystery: 'If you want to know, just go to the breakwater at Quanshan Peninsula tomorrow morning. If you see me tomorrow, could you talk to me about the future?'

Shu Wan took out a pack of tissues from her bag and handed it to Cheng Sangluo. To keep the atmosphere from getting too somber, she asked with a smile, "Young man, are you okay?"

Cheng Sangluo continued to shovel large mouthfuls of rice into her mouth, as if she was expending all her energy on eating.

It didn't stop eating until its mouth was stuffed full like a hamster's.

She covered her bulging mouth, chewing as she shook her head and nodded at Shu Wan, unable to explain what was good or bad about herself.

"Don't answer yet, let me guess what you want to talk to me about." Shu Wan got tired of standing, so she simply turned the plastic bucket upside down and used it as a stool.

After pondering for a moment, she smiled at Cheng Sangluo and easily gave the answer: "People don't live the same way forever. The time you spent with Lin Jin wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. You've been influenced by what you see and hear, so you've changed a bit. You've experienced life in the clouds, so it would be unreasonable not to have some longing for it, right?"

Cheng Sangluo swallowed the last bite of rice and went straight to the point: "I want to start a business."

Shu Wan played with her phone, showing no surprise whatsoever, as if everything was within her expectations. She even praised, "Not bad, you're starting to have ambition. You've learned a bit from Lin Jin."

"I'm just planning my own future, it has nothing to do with her." Cheng Sangluo immediately denied Shu Wan's assessment, but her tone sounded unsure, as if concealing her true intentions.

"Oh? Is that so~" Shu Wan raised her eyebrows and asked in a drawn-out tone, as if she had already seen through Cheng Sangluo's thoughts.

She paused for a moment, her smile fading, and said seriously, "Praise is fine, but you need to understand one thing: I'm a businesswoman. A businessman's greatest characteristic is to seek profit and avoid harm. I don't care about anything without profit or value. The reason you came to me is simply because you had no other choice. Please don't take offense if I'm being blunt, but to be honest, what value do you have outside of someone like Lin Jin? You have neither background nor connections. What can you offer me in exchange for profit? In other words, what benefits can you bring me?"

Cheng Sangluo was listening attentively to Shu Wan's reasoning, but gradually lost focus as she spoke.

In that instant, she stared intently at Shu Wan, only to see another face etched deep in her memory, and her eyes shone with a long-lost light.

'I'm a businessman, after all; it's all about exchanging benefits.'

'You know I'm a businessman; I need an equal exchange of benefits.'

'I've put so much effort into this, I should at least get something in return, after all, I'm a businessman~'

In his mind, Lin Jin initially wore a hypocritical smile, but as their relationship warmed up, her smile became bright and generous. Until a strange love brewed amidst the tension, the beautiful woman began to reveal her playful and coquettish side.

As Cheng Sangluo listened to the conversations in different memories, the corners of her lips unconsciously curled up. Those past events were vivid in her mind, as if they were right in front of her, and could easily stir up her joy.

However, she quickly returned to her lost and bewildered state because Shu Wan had hit her sore spot—without Lin Jin as her backing, you are nothing, and not even worth considering.

Lin Jin... Lin Jin... Lin Jin...

Why is it that even without her, the world is filled with her shadow, hidden between the lines, deep in memory, and in every little detail?

[Author's Note]

1. My pre-order novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for collection.

2. Sharpening my knives, ready to pounce on the readers, hehe~

3. I keep asking myself: Is this article good? Is it really good?

Why is the data bad? Did I not write it well? Leave a comment in this chapter and I'll send you a red envelope!