Seeing the word "husband" on the caller ID, Gu Yueji gripped her phone tightly, her hardened heart softening slightly.
I thought to myself, maybe it's not what she thinks.
She wiped her face, sat up, and answered the phone.
The person on the other end of the phone wasn't Ye Zurong, but his mother, and what she said next filled Gu Yueji with utter despair.
"Gu Yueji, right? I'm Ye Zurong's mother. I'm not one to mince words, so I'll just tell you directly. Don't call Ye Zurong anymore. He's married now, someone else's husband. If you keep bothering him, you're a homewrecker, you know? I've always disapproved of your relationship; you two really aren't a good match. Now that Ye Zurong is married, whatever he's done to you, whatever he's done to you, just don't call him anymore."
Gu Yueji's breathing slowed down. After a few seconds of silence, she said calmly, "Auntie, let Ye Zurong answer the phone."
Ye Zurong's mother became even more agitated by his words: "Why are you listening to the phone? I'm telling you, you have no reason to make a fuss. Xiaoyuan's father is the director of the Public Security Bureau. Her family is rich and powerful. Ye Zurong will soon be a civil servant in the public security system. Can you give him all that? I beg you, please don't hinder his happiness, okay?"
Gu Yueji remained in the same position, without even changing her breathing, and said into the microphone again, "Let Ye Zurong answer the phone."
Before Ye Zurong's mother could say anything more, a quarrel erupted from the other end of the phone, but the voices were so low that Gu Yueji couldn't hear what they were saying.
Then, with a loud 'bang' as the door slammed shut, Ye Zurong's familiar voice rang out, "Yueji."
Hearing his voice again that day and night, for some reason, Gu Yueji's tears flowed uncontrollably in the blink of an eye.
She struggled to hold back her sobs and asked in her usual tone, "What your mother said isn't true, is it? How could you possibly get married? You're my boyfriend, who are you going to marry?"
There was silence on the other end.
Gu Yueji recalled telling her friends that she and Ye Zurong could never argue because Ye Zurong would fall silent whenever she got angry. Everyone envied them, saying they were very sweet, with Ye Zurong giving in to her and not arguing. But they didn't know that she hated him for pretending to be mute whenever something happened.
She finally snapped, "Speak! What exactly did you do?!"
He paused, then said in a tone full of guilt, "Yueji, I'm sorry, it's my fault."
Gu Yueji felt a sudden chill, a feeling like when she was a child playing by the lake and fell in—a bone-chilling cold she would never forget.
"Why?"
Ye Zurong fell silent again. He was mild-mannered and sometimes took a long time to say something, she knew. She used to wait patiently, but now she didn't want to wait even a second longer. "There's nothing to think about, just say what you mean and answer me right now!"
This time he didn't stay silent. "I took my parents to the hospital a while ago. The doctor said they were in poor health and needed to take medicine every month. My parents hope that I can settle down in my hometown and take care of them."
"Just because of that?"
“I’ve felt a lot of pressure these past few years. It’s like no matter how hard I try, it’s useless. Instead, I’ve accumulated a lot of debt.”
"Aren't we getting better? Our sales were already increasing before you even got home."
"It's no use. Even if you increase your monthly income, you won't be able to pay off the debt in a few years."
"So what? You want me to pay this debt all by myself?"
"No, you calculate how much money we owe each other. We'll split it in half. Send me the amount, and I'll pay you back once I've saved enough."
Gu Yueji laughed as if she had heard a ridiculous joke, and then laughed out loud. "Ye Zurong, do you know what you're saying? Before you went home, we were still planning together when to pay back the money, and that you would take me home for the New Year next year. Now it's only been two months, and you're telling me you're married and you want to cut ties with me. Do you think that's ridiculous?"
"I know I can never repay what I owe you in this lifetime, or perhaps I can take on a larger debt, but I don't have it right now. You'll have to wait..."
"Ye Zurong, let me ask you two last questions."
"Um."
Do you love me?
There was a two-second pause on the other end, then a "love".
Do you love your wife?
This time the pause was even longer, "I will love you."
Gu Yueji smiled as she wiped away her tears, pulled out a tissue to blow her nose, and then spoke slowly and deliberately into her phone.
"You've got it wrong. You don't love anyone, you only love yourself."
**
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