Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Goodbye
[Ding Dong! Congratulations to the host for completing 32% of the strategy mission! Please keep up the good work!]
The mechanical voice in his mind was harsh and cold. Tao Ning silently and quietly watched the man kissing his wrist, and finally pulled his hand back.
The man lowered his head, maintaining the same posture of holding his hand, like a stiff sculpture.
Tao Ning couldn't see the expression on his face. After a long moment, she said softly, "Zhao Jingqun... I'm sorry."
Zhao Jingqun lowered her eyes and never looked up at him. After hearing his words, she pretended to be calm and asked, "Daibao... let's elope, okay? Let's find a place where no one knows us. I'll support your education. I swear, I will never let you suffer the slightest hardship. Give me three years, and I'll let you live in the best house in Star City. I..."
"Zhao Jingqun."
These three simple words, clearly spoken in a very soft voice, easily interrupted the man's eager words to prove himself.
Zhao Jingqun finally looked up, but his eyes were frighteningly red. This man, whose eyes were always filled with indifference and cruelty, now looked like a child who was about to be abandoned. He looked at Tao Ning on the hospital bed with some pity, and a look of confusion on his face.
The early morning light shone in, casting the shadows of the two people on the white wall. The shadow on the bed was thin, and the simple words made the tall shadow under the bed tremble instantly.
"Let's...let's break up."
"……Why?"
Zhao Jingqun closed his eyes, then opened them again. His emotions suddenly became calm, as if nothing had happened. His tone was even a little tough: "Tao Ning, tell me... why?"
After a long time, there was no second sound in the ward. Finally, Tao Ning looked at his dull red hair. He remembered that when he first met him, the red hair was flamboyant and unrestrained, and the owner of the red hair always had a cold smile on his face, looking very difficult to mess with.
But only Tao Ning knew how hot and passionate his embrace was. After living in his house for a while, black roots had grown under her red hair.
He looked at it for a long time, and finally said, "Because of your red hair."
Zhao Jingqun looked at Tao Ning calmly as she spoke, and the latter repeated, "...I don't like your red hair."
- Your red hair is very eye-catching. You will rest it on my thighs and ask me to see if there are any white hairs growing. If I don’t find any, you will use this as an excuse to kiss me.
Looking at his ears again, Tao Ning continued, "...I don't like your earrings."
——You would deliberately rub my neck with your earrings. The cool temperature of the earrings wandering on my smooth skin always made me shy. I pushed you away, but you refused to stop.
"I don't like..."
"That's enough! Tao Ning." Zhao Jingqun growled, and finally almost begged him: "Stop talking... Stop talking."
He gasped, his fists clenched beneath the hospital bed, nearly bleeding. His nails dug deep into his flesh. Only the pain could keep him from losing his mind. He was like a lone wolf, driven away by its mate and left to linger on. "Does it have to be like this?"
Tao Ning looked at him in silence for a long time, then nodded very slowly and lightly.
The clock in the ward moved for a moment, and finally, the man left the place without saying anything.
Since then, Tao Ning never saw Zhao Jingqun again. But on the night he returned home, he saw the photos sent to him by the system.
The background is the vast universe. Under countless dazzling galaxies, the earth is like an inconspicuous blue dust, falling alone in the mysterious ocean of the universe.
[System, is there anyone else doing this kind of strategy mission? ]
[Uh... well, this is confidential to our research institute, I can't tell you. Idiot, what's wrong with you?]
【fine. 】
After a while, the system heard its host ask again: [Is Zhao Jingqun okay?]
[Fool, I told you, I can't see the things and people you can't see.]
【oh. 】
Tao Ning didn't ask any more questions. His room at home was mostly empty. Zhao Jingqun hadn't taken anything with him, except for the love letter. He hadn't returned since that day at the hospital. Tao Yuan gradually sent all his belongings, both original and purchased, to Secretary Liu's home.
But there was one thing Tao Yuan didn't find, which was the mobile phone Zhao Jingqun gave him, because it was hidden by Tao Ning.
Tao Yuan, of course, knew about this and asked him seriously, "Where's your phone? Tao Ning, hand it over. We can't take even a single needle from him."
The boy who was scolded by her lowered his head, still looking the same as before, neither resisting nor saying a word, like a slow-witted snail that would retract into its shell when stimulated by the outside world.
Tao Yuan finally softened his heart, sighed, and said with a straight face, "Forget it. That phone must be quite expensive. I can sell it for a lot of money later... If you dare to contact him privately behind my back, I will beat you up, you know that? You can forget about the phone."
"Um."
The boy promised Tao Yuan, but in the dead of night, he would stare blankly at the screen of his mobile phone without any messages. However, he would only stare for a while before he could not resist the sleepiness and fell asleep.
He returned to his normal life. There were only about ten days left before the end of summer vacation. The system told him to wait patiently for news about entering the city, while Tao Yuan was preparing a farewell banquet for him.
Tao Ning refused, "Just eat at home."
Tao Yuan said, "How can that be? You won't be back for a year or two. It's inconvenient for me to go to the city, and it's inconvenient for you to go home. We can only see each other once every few months..." As she spoke, tears flashed in the eyes of this strong-willed woman again. "No, you must listen to me on this matter. I will contact those relatives tomorrow and call everyone to see you off."
Tao Ning couldn't persuade her, so he had to agree. He counted the days, never opened his phone again, and put away the luggage he had packed for the trip to the city.
Xiao Meng was reluctant to let him go. These past few days, she insisted on sleeping with Tao Ning. When she curled up in his arms, she would naively ask, "Uncle, what does an airplane look like? Mom said there are very fast cars in the city. What are they called?"
"I don't know." Tao Ning touched his head and looked at the dilapidated concrete ceiling above him. "It should be the high-speed rail."
"Oh... then uncle... will you take the high-speed rail to the city..." Xiao Meng muttered and fell asleep in a daze.
Tao Ning did not answer. Faced with completely unfamiliar things and fields, he finally felt a little confused about the unknown.
A few days before departure, the house suddenly became lively. First, Li Xiangdong, who had been driven away by Tao Yuan that day, came back. Also, Tao Ning's eldest and second sisters, whom she hadn't seen for six or seven years, came with their families, including nephews and nieces whom Tao Ning had never seen before.
They happily congratulated Tao Ning, "Oh, our Tao family's ancestors are finally proud! Ningning is going to study in the city, and her tuition is completely free! This is such a great honor for our family!"
"Yes, yes," the second sister agreed with a smile, "If our father knew about this in the underworld, he would be so happy that he would drink several bowls of wine. He just likes to have a little wine whenever he wants..."
Tao Ning, who was being watched like a tourist attraction, sat at the dinner table and did not respond, which made the eldest and second sisters so embarrassed that they could only laugh dryly. The house was very noisy because there were three children in total.
One of the nieces was clamoring to eat the only chicken leg, and the other two nephews also wanted to eat it. But normally, Tao Yuan would give the chicken leg to Xiao Meng and Tao Ning. But now there were three children at once, plus Xiao Meng and Tao Ning, there was not enough to go around.
To show her courtesy, the second sister patted her daughter's hand as she stretched out her chopsticks and said, "Eat, eat, eat! All you do is eat! When you can be as good at studying as your uncle, you'll be worthy of eating this chicken leg." After that, she picked up the chicken leg and placed it in Tao Ning's bowl, saying happily, "Good Ningning, eat it! Eat more and grow taller, and make us proud when you go out..."
She rolled her eyes. "Ningning, which school did you attend after moving to the city? Do you have the phone number of the person who sponsored you?"
Seeing that she got there first, the eldest sister was immediately unhappy and quickly told her two sons to get the oatmeal milk they had bought from their bag. "Hey, what's so delicious about this chicken leg? Our Ningning needs to eat more tonics..."
After hearing this, the second sister was dissatisfied again. The two began to quarrel. Li Xiangdong was so upset that he took the bowl and went out. Tao Yuan was still in the kitchen serving dishes. When she came in and saw the two of them about to fight, she shouted angrily: "Are you guys done yet?! If you don't want to eat, get out!"
"Sister, your words are still so harsh..."
Tao Ning had no appetite for food. He quietly packed up the dishes and left the main hall. He returned to the house and continued packing his luggage. He didn't actually have much stuff. After cleaning the house, he only had two burlap bags and a very heavy backpack.
He sat on the bed in a daze. The phone interface lit up. Tao Ning quickly picked up the phone. It was a text message with the note "husband" -
【fraud. 】
Tao Ning's heart skipped a beat. He stared at the two words in a daze. In the end, he didn't reply and turned off his phone.
The next afternoon, Tao Yuan took her family of more than ten people, young and old, to the largest restaurant in town. Of course, she had collected money from all relatives in advance, as this was her ultimate goal.
The whole family was halfway through their meal when the waiter suddenly came over and whispered in Tao Ning's ear, "Handsome boy, there's a man named Zhao waiting for you at the door."
Tao Yuan was already drunk, but she had been particularly sensitive to Tao Ning's affairs recently. When she saw the waiter whispering in his ear, she glared at him and asked, "What are you doing, Tao Ning?"
The others, unaware of what had happened, accused Tao Yuan of being too strict with her younger brother. They said, "He's just a boy, what could possibly happen to him?" Tao Ning remained calm and said, "Sister, the hotel prepared a cake for me and asked me to go get it."
Tao Yuan impatiently told the others to shut up. After hearing this reason, he sighed that the service in big hotels was really good, then waved him away.
When they arrived at the hotel entrance, it was actually quite dark. Tao Ning looked around and instantly, someone covered his mouth from behind and carried him sideways into an alley.
Tao Ning was about to struggle when the strong and familiar smell of tobacco surrounded him from behind, and he gave up in an instant. In the darkness, he could vaguely see the beard on the man's chin, which looked tired and worn, and the taut lines, which foreshadowed that the man was in a very bad mood.
Zhao Jingqun carried the person in his arms all the way to a secluded streetlight before putting him down. As soon as he put him down, he spoke directly: "Tao Ning, I dyed my hair black and threw away all my earrings. Now my car is outside this alley... Are you willing to come with me?"
Tao Ning looked at him intently, and then she realized that the man in front of her had changed a lot. His once flamboyant red hair had been dyed black, which concealed some of his ruffian temperament. In his simple shirt and trousers, at first glance, he actually looked a bit like a boy next door.
The man's ears were also clean, nothing was missing. He stared at her with only his dark eyes, bloodshot inside, his lips cracked to the point of bleeding. In those eyes were anticipation, anxiety, fear... and the love he spoke of.
What had he been through these past few days? Tao Ning wanted to ask, but she didn't say anything.
So the two of them looked at each other in this dull and dim alley, but no one spoke. It rained heavily a few days ago, and the water on the eaves did not dry up. It kept falling to the ground like beads with broken strings, making a clicking sound, which coincided with the gradually solidifying heartbeat.
It was not until Tao Yuan's anxious call came from a long distance that Tao Ning clearly realized that it was time to get back on track.
Finally, Zhao Jingqun watched the young man's thin back as he left the dim alley step by step. He was speechless for a long time. A clear voice came from behind him: "Brother, aren't we leaving yet?"
Zhao Jingsui came over in high heels. She could only see the man's silent back, alone in the dim light. There was only his shadow on the ground, nothing else.
"……elder brother?"
She felt confused and stepped forward to reach out her hand to remind this brother who had no feelings for the Zhao family, but when she saw the expression on the man's face, her hand in mid-air completely froze.
Raindrops continued to fall from the eaves, making a dripping sound.
It turned out that he was crying.
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