Chapter 134 Disheartened
On this joyous occasion, everyone drank freely.
How wonderful! This group of people has finally become a couple again.
The happiest of all was Siwei, a man who was thirty-six and still single. He was so happy to see others getting married that he was practically floating on air from drinking.
Pulling Shen Jingsi, who had been sitting silently in the chair all night, he said earnestly, "Third brother, I've been there. Take my advice: if you really can't bear to part with Xiao Zhenzhu, then be on your best behavior and, while she still has some affection for you, put in all your effort to win her back."
He pointed to the table next to the elders and said, "I can see it. That second brother of Feng has his eyes on Little Pearl. Look, he's even met his grandmother's parents."
At the banquet, Lu Zhenyu changed into a festive lotus root pink cheongsam and sat next to Feng Jinzhou, chatting with Feng's second mother, who was holding her hand with a kind expression.
The girl's smile was so radiant that it made the man feel like a deserter, and he awkwardly looked away.
Shen Jingsi remained silent, genuinely unsure of what to say.
After exchanging pleasantries with the two mothers for a while, Lu Zhenyu returned to the table. The seat next to Siwei was empty, and the chair was cold.
Where are they?
The officer's face was already flushed from drinking. He squinted and tilted his head back, "You mean the third brother?"
Lu Zhenyu nodded.
"I'm leaving, my heart is too fragile, I can't stand it anymore, I'm running away."
Lu Zhenyu frowned.
She wanted to take the opportunity to ask him how he was considering the divorce, but she left already?
Si Wei seemed to see her doubts and chuckled, "Then what else can we do? That silly boy has been smitten with you since he was a child, so much so that he can't resist. Letting him stand aside and watch you and Feng Jinzhou being all lovey-dovey is more devastating than castrating someone and then raping them."
When did she and Feng Jinzhou become so affectionate?
Despite his swaying from drinking, Siwei has sharp eyes. "See, you still won't admit it."
Helpless, he slapped his thigh and shook his head, "Women, they're all the same. They use us and then forget about us. Cold-blooded and ruthless, that's you!"
Lu Zhenyu laughed instead of getting angry.
She realized that this wasn't an insult directed at her, but rather a veiled attack on her ex-girlfriend.
He walked over and whispered in Siwei's ear, who was slumped over the table with a wine bottle in his arms, "Jing Si may not be, but you absolutely deserved it."
Little Red Eyes snapped open. Si Wei scanned left and right, finally catching a glimpse of a figure strolling leisurely out of the banquet hall with arms crossed. He raised his hand and pointed angrily, "You! You've gone too far!"
Even a smiling face deserves a beating, let alone one who's been grinning at her for over a decade. This is just hitting him where it hurts!
…
Fog rose in the suburbs late at night.
In the thick, oppressive haze, a graceful figure stepped through a small doorway in the armored gate, and slowly walked towards the manor villa with her arms crossed.
The servants were stunned when they saw Lu Zhenyu. "Madam? Is it really you?"
Lu Zhenyu didn't remember them, yet felt a deep sense of familiarity. After a brief chat, she asked, "Is Jing Si home?"
The servants in front of them smiled almost imperceptibly, glancing furtively at the second floor with slightly evasive eyes. "The master... he's not here. He hasn't come back yet."
Did they go to handle some urgent work?
Lu Zhenyu didn't suspect anything, but since she was already there, she glanced around the five-story villa and remembered the greenhouse that Manman had mentioned before. "Could you take me to see it?"
The servants immediately led her to the back garden.
When the lights were turned on, the dazzling array of flowers in the greenhouse caught the girl's eye.
She stepped inside, and a servant followed, saying, "Madam, what you used to love most was squatting over there tending to those camellia trees."
Lu Zhenyu followed her to the tree that was already three times her height, and her gaze fell on the third tree, which was relatively smaller than the first two.
Somewhat puzzled, "Why is it the only one with an IV bag hanging on it?"
The servant replied, "It was never as sturdy as the other two when it was young. A couple of years ago, its roots were almost rotten. It was only because the master didn't give up that he pulled it out, cleaned the roots, and replanted it in a new place. It slowly got better after that."
Unable to explain, unable to understand, Lu Zhenyu had no memory of these camellia trees, but at this moment, looking at the small tree with the IV bag hanging on it, her heart inexplicably swelled.
She suddenly felt a warm, wet sensation at the corner of her eye, and she raised her hand to touch it in a daze; it was tears.
Did I plant this tree?
"You and your husband planted it together back then."
For some reason, Lu Zhenyu asked, "When you were pregnant with that child?"
The maid hesitated for a moment, then nodded reluctantly, pursing her lips. "Yes."
On her second night back in China, Lu Zhenyu told Shen Jingsi that when she learned about the past, strangely enough, she felt heartache but not pain.
But now, she was contradicting herself by the very words she had uttered that night.
My mind was completely blank, but my heart inexplicably tightened, felt heavy, and had a slight aching sensation as it beat.
-
The bedroom was pitch black and so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
There was a knock on the door three times, followed by a voice saying, "Sir, Madam has already left."
Shen Jingsi, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, responded, "Have someone follow them."
"Captain Wang has already sent people."
"knew."
As the footsteps faded away, the man blinked his eyes, which were even more silent than the surroundings, picked up his wine glass, and took a swig.
In the blink of an eye, there was another knock on the door. "Brother, are you asleep?"
After a moment of silence, the tightly closed door was pulled open, and Shen Jingsi, reeking of alcohol, looked up and said, "Why are you here instead of spending your wedding night with your wife?"
Seeing that everyone was unharmed, Shen Jinchuan felt relieved.
He had sensed that his older brother was not in a good state these past few days, and tonight he suddenly left early, so he was afraid that something had happened to him again.
He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Manman is chatting with her friends. I'm bored and wanted to ask you to have a couple of drinks with me."
The two brothers went up to the balcony, each holding a glass of whiskey.
It took seven years from dating to marriage. Although Shen Jinchuan's love life wasn't as complicated as his older brother's, it was still full of minor setbacks.
Now, the girl he had secretly loved for many years was his rightful wife and was pregnant with his child. Shen Jinchuan was so happy he was almost floating on air.
"I think I suddenly understand why you and my sister cried while drinking with us back then."
Shen Jingsi, slumped back in the wooden chair, smiled. "Right? I feel like the happiest man in the world."
Shen Jinchuan nodded, "I'm so happy, I don't even dare to let go of your hand. It feels a little unreal."
A few seconds after she finished speaking, she looked up at Shen Jingsi, who was gazing at the sky, and asked, "So, what about you, brother?"
"What about me?"
"Are you about to let go?" Letting go of the happiness you've finally managed to grasp.
Shen Jinchuan had wanted to ask his brother this question for a long time.
For the first three years, he refrained from seeing Lu Zhenyu because he didn't want to disturb the girl's rare freedom and happiness.
"So what now? Why aren't you charging forward?"
Shen Jingsi stood there, stunned, without saying a word.
Shen Jinchuan knew the answer, which was simply two words—inferiority complex.
His brother became ashamed. The once powerful young master of the Shen family, who had dominated the capital, was now burdened by deep guilt and remorse after learning about the girl's experiences over the past five years, which distorted his very being.
After finishing a long stretch of work, he could stay up all night and travel to the city where the girl lived.
As a passerby a hundred meters away, I accompanied her to watch penguins migrate, stroll through cherry blossoms, cross vast deserts, chase the elusive aurora borealis, climb ice cliffs, go deep-sea diving, and challenge Mount Everest, among many other things.
But he could no longer use the identity of Shen Jingsi to stand openly in front of her and ask, "Would you still be willing to close your eyes and let me steal a kiss from you one more time?"
It's not that he's afraid, it's that he feels he's not qualified.
Under heaven, anyone can love Lu Zhenyu again, but he alone, Chen Jingsi, has no right to.
Looking at those increasingly unfocused dark eyes, Shen Jinchuan felt a pang of pain in his heart.
"Brother, give it a try. Maybe sister never blamed you at all. Maybe she's been waiting for you too?"
Wait for him
Zhenzhen?
Whether it was the darkness of night or the weight of sorrow, the once vibrant and bustling capital city has been swallowed up.
The strength he feigned in public, the crumbling backbone behind the scenes, was completely eroded by the darkness of grief.
He lowered his unfocused eyes and shook his head. "It shouldn't be."
How can you be so sure?
It wasn't that he was certain; it was the girl who said it herself.
But when he thought of what she said that night, Shen Jingsi looked up, unable to suppress his tears, and covered them with his hand. As his lips trembled, he let out a sob, "She... has already asked me for a divorce."
Shen Jinchuan frowned and remained seated there for a long time.
It was unbelievable and even more perplexing. "But she told Manman too."
Shen Jingsi slowly looked over, "What did you say?"
"She said she only regarded Brother Feng as a close friend."
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