Li Jing paused, her hand holding the pen pausing, the nib spreading a small blot of ink on her lesson preparation notebook.
She didn't look up, but remained silent, slowly erasing the stain with an eraser.
Wang Sufeng waited for a long time without a response. Her heart skipped a beat. She put down the green beans, moved closer, and spoke with a cautious, tentative tone:
"Honey, Mom's talking to you, can you hear me? Why isn't Xiao Guan asking you to go to the movies anymore? Are you two okay?"
Li Jing looked up at her mother with a complicated expression. The bright sunlight outside the window made her face look pale.
She remained silent for a long time, so long that Wang Sufeng was almost losing patience, before she heard her daughter speak in a tone that was trying hard to remain calm, "He... probably won't come. We're not in contact anymore."
"What?!" Wang Sufeng's voice rose instantly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "You two aren't in contact anymore?! What do you mean you're not in contact anymore?!"
Overwhelmed with emotion, she abruptly stood up, causing the small stool to wobble. "How many years have you two been together? You were inseparable since you were preparing for the college entrance exam. Now that you've graduated from university and settled into your jobs, why haven't you kept in touch?!"
Li Jing was upset and lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously picking at the edge of the notebook. "It's nothing, I just feel that maybe...neither of them wants to take it further."
She tried to conceal the turmoil in her heart with the most understated tone.
"I didn't mean it that way?!" Wang Sufeng almost laughed in anger, her voice shrill and sharp. "Li Jing! Do you think your mother is stupid enough to be fooled?! If you didn't mean it, would you have stayed up for years? If you didn't mean it, would he have kept looking at our alley every day? If you didn't mean it, would you have stayed up several nights knitting that crooked tree-like scarf for him?!"
She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her chest heaving violently. Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, her eyes widened abruptly. "Daughter, tell Mom the truth! Is it... is it because Guan Hongqi has become successful now, and his family's financial situation is getting better and better, so he looks down on our humble family?! Does he think our family is not good enough for him?!"
Hearing her mother speculate about Guan Hongqi like this, Li Jing felt a pang in her heart and almost instinctively retorted, "Mom! What nonsense are you talking about! It's not his problem! It has nothing to do with his family!"
Her tone was urgent, with an instinctive protectiveness.
"If it's not his problem, then it's yours?!" Wang Sufeng immediately turned the tables. "What's going on with you, child? Such a wonderful marriage, it was almost settled, how could it just fall through like that? You better explain this to your mother! Are you trying to drive me crazy?!"
She shoved Li Jing's shoulder hard, both angry and anxious, her eyes reddening.
After all, her daughter isn't young anymore!
Li Jing was being pushed and shoved by her mother, feeling a tightness in her chest. All the grievances and stubbornness that had been building up since before graduation surged up at once.
She stood up abruptly, her voice weary and tinged with a barely perceptible sob, "Mom! Please stop asking, okay? I know my own situation! Please, just go do your own thing and leave it to me!"
After she finished speaking, she turned around and tried to hide back in the inner room.
"I don't care?! If I don't care about you, who will?!" Wang Sufeng was furious at her daughter's unyielding attitude, and felt a deep sense of helplessness. "How old are you? Huh? You've already... this perfectly good relationship is gone just like that. How am I supposed to explain this to your father? What will your uncles and aunts think?"
She was panting heavily, and after pacing around the small room twice, as if she had made up her mind, she suddenly stopped. "Fine! You won't tell! You're amazing! You're not worried, but I am!"
She walked to the chest of drawers, pulled open the drawers with a clatter, and rummaged through them, muttering to herself, "Since you and Xiao Guan didn't work out, I'll go find your Aunt Zhang tomorrow. She has a lot of connections! And your Aunt Wang, her nephew seems to work in a government office. I heard he's a pretty honest guy... I don't believe my daughter can't find a good boyfriend without Guan Hongqi!"
Blind date...
Li Jing stood with her back to her mother at the doorway of the inner room, her hands gripping the door frame tightly, her knuckles turning white.
She didn't turn back, nor did she vehemently object to her mother arranging blind dates for her.
She listened silently to her mother's angry and resentful nagging, like a statue that had lost all expression.
Perhaps... she should move on.
She really doesn't have many years left to waste!
...
Ten days passed in a state of depression and her mother's nagging. In the end, Li Jing could not resist Wang Sufeng's almost forceful arrangement and agreed to meet someone.
The meeting place was a newly opened restaurant with a relatively elegant ambiance.
The other person's name was Zhao Zhigang. He worked in a government agency and had a secure job. As his name suggested, although he wasn't as tall and handsome as Guan Hongqi, he was still neat and tidy. His speech and behavior carried the composure and a touch of restraint unique to those in the system.
The meal was relatively peaceful. The two chatted about their work, with Zhao Zhigang doing most of the talking and Li Jing occasionally chiming in. However, her thoughts were like willow catkins floating in the air, never quite settling down.
After dinner, Zhao Zhigang suggested going to see a movie, the newly released "Juvenile Delinquents," saying it was very educational.
Li Jing nodded indifferently.
People were coming and going at the entrance of the movie theater.
Just as they were about to enter with their tickets, a man with his wife and children walked towards them. The two met face to face and were both stunned.
"Li Jing?" Lin Qiangguo exclaimed in surprise, his gaze quickly sliding from Li Jing's face to the unfamiliar Zhao Zhigang beside her, his eyes filled with surprise and inquiry.
He was holding his three-year-old son in his arms, and his wife was holding his arm.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
