Chapter 24
Tang returned home, quickly took a shower, and went back to her bedroom.
It's quite rare that this workaholic didn't work overtime. He was really exhausted today and just wanted to lie in bed and get a good night's sleep.
There was only one nightlight on in the room, not enough to illuminate the entire space. Half of the bedroom was immersed in darkness and the other half was shrouded in dim yellow light, dividing it into two sides of light and darkness.
Tang Hui lay on the comfortable bed with his eyes closed, his mind a jumble of thoughts. The scene of his conversation with Shen Bining kept replaying in his mind, occupying all his thoughts.
Not long ago, he got a "girlfriend".
That's right, it's Shen Bining. She agreed to his request and was willing to play along with him to fool Lisa.
The condition for the exchange was that after Lisa completely gave up on returning to the United States, he and Shen Bining would go to see Zhou Nianhua.
The most ridiculous part of the whole deal was that the exchange was proposed by Tang Hui himself. Tang Hui agreed to Shen Bining's request that as long as she helped him trick Lisa away, he would also help her complete this job.
From beginning to end, Shen Bining never forced or threatened him. In fact, when he took the initiative to propose an exchange, Shen Bining stared at him in astonishment for a long time, as if she couldn't believe that the request came from his mouth.
Why would he propose this exchange? Tang Hui repeatedly tried to ask himself this question, and each time he finally recalled the words Shen Bining had said to him before she left.
Shen Bining asked him, "Tang Hui, do you know why you took the initiative to propose this exchange? Because deep down, you also long to see your father one last time. Whether you want to confront him and accuse him of murdering your mother, or you want to find out why he did it, or even after all these years you still miss your biological father, you want to see him again. Don't deny it, those of us in hospice care have all studied psychology, you could say we're half experts, your lies won't fool me."
So it turns out he really wanted to see Zhou Nianhua again, which is why he asked Shen Bining to help him put on this act. He clearly knew how he should repay Shen Bining; if he really minded, he could have just found another girl.
In the darkness, a voice kept whispering in Tang Hui's ear: "Tang Hui, admit it, you still have deep feelings for Zhou Nianhua. Whether it's love or hate, this feeling is hard to sever. He's dying, and you just want to see him one last time. But you don't want to admit it, you don't want to admit you want to see him, as if admitting it would be a betrayal of your deceased mother, proving you're an unfilial son who has forgotten the murder of his mother. So you used Shen Bining and Lisa as an excuse, asking Shen Bining to pretend to be your girlfriend to trick Lisa away, and then you naturally agreed to Shen Bining's request as a reward. That way, you can justifiably deceive yourself, saying, 'It's not that I want to see Zhou Nianhua, I'm forced to, it's a deal with Dr. Shen, I had to agree to Dr. Shen's conditions to get rid of Lisa's entanglement, and I had to compromise myself...'"
Tang Hui suddenly chuckled softly in the darkness, a desolate and helpless laugh. After laughing, he murmured to himself, "Tang Hui, Tang Hui, so you also have a cowardly side that dares not face the truth. You can even deceive yourself."
Then he thought of the advice Qi Wang and Song Ziyi gave him at the dinner table that evening. They both felt that he should go see Zhou Nianhua to avoid regretting it in the future.
It turned out that his two brothers understood him so well. They knew his obsession with Zhou Nianhua, and they also understood his awkwardness and stubbornness. In order to prevent him from regretting it in the future, and to fulfill his true feelings, they took the initiative to play the "bad guy" and persuaded him to go see Zhou Nianhua.
Shen Bining, who also knew him well, was right; he wanted to see Zhou Nianhua one last time.
This time, he was determined to ask that man face-to-face what difficulties and circumstances had forced him to pick up that knife and stab the person next to him so frantically and resolutely.
When he saw his wife lying in front of him, covered in blood, did he feel more regret or sadness, or perhaps he just felt relieved?
*
The second day of the gathering was Friday, and Shen Bining was in a very good mood all morning.
When she arrived at the cafeteria humming a little tune, her regular dining partner Chen Nian was startled by her ruddy complexion.
"What are you doing? You're in such a good mood, your smile is practically reaching the back of your head. Did you win the lottery?" Chen Nian pushed a plate of food that she had already prepared in front of Shen Bining and asked in surprise.
Shen Bining smiled mysteriously, beckoned to Chen Nian with her finger, signaling her to come closer. She leaned over and whispered, "Sister, I have a boyfriend."
Chen Nian was extremely glad that she hadn't started eating first, otherwise she would have definitely spat out her food right now, and her image would have been completely ruined.
She stared at Shen Bining in shock, swallowed hard, and tried to keep her voice from trembling. "Don't tell me your boyfriend is Tang Hui."
"Bingo, you got it right." Shen Bining lightly flicked Chen Nian's chin with her finger, her tone full of teasing.
"You two...you're serious..." Chen Nian was completely taken aback by this incredible move. Although she organized last night's gathering to introduce Shen Bining and Tang Hui, their relationship was developing too fast, leaving her, the matchmaker, completely bewildered.
When the party ended last night, Shen Bining and Tang Hui were still acting very polite and not very familiar with each other. How did they become boyfriend and girlfriend overnight? What happened on the way home when Shen Bining drove Tang Hui?
If Chen Nian didn't know that Shen Bining and Tang Hui weren't open-minded or casual people, she would have suspected that the two of them had done something impulsively last night that led to the rapid change in their relationship.
Just as Chen Nian was about to ask what had happened between Shen Bining and Tang Hui after everyone separated, Shen Bining explained, "Of course it wasn't for real. I've only met him a few times, how could things develop so quickly? I just helped him with a small favor, but of course, it wasn't for nothing."
"What kind of help does he need from you?" Chen Nian asked suspiciously, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper. "And what kind of help is pretending to be in a relationship?"
Actually, she hadn't known Tang Hui for very long, and they hadn't met many times, so she didn't know him very well. If it weren't for Qi Wang vouching for Tang Hui's character, and if she hadn't trusted Qi Wang so much, she would have seriously doubted whether Tang Hui was some respectable but scumbag.
However, if Tang Hui really took advantage of her sister's vulnerability, she would immediately rush to the law firm and beat him to a pulp, and strictly forbid Qi Wang from associating with such a person again.
Shen Bining didn't intend to hide anything and told Tang Hui in detail how he was being harassed and pursued by his cousin, how he wanted to find a girl to pretend to be his girlfriend to trick his cousin away, and their agreement. She added at the end, "I heard that this idea was actually suggested by your Qi Wang and that Song Ziyi. A few grown men tricking a little girl, that's pretty despicable."
Chen Nian finally understood and smiled, "Actually, you can't blame the three of them for lying. I've heard Qi Wang talk about that little cousin's deeds. She's really an extraordinary woman. If it weren't for Tang Hui's kinship with her and the moral constraints inherent in Chinese people, I would have advised Tang Hui to accept it."
Chen Nian had heard Qi Wang mention Lisa many times, and she was very familiar with the story of her little cousin's courageous pursuit of her cousin. So, while eating, Chen Nian told Shen Bining what she knew.
Shen Bining had previously imagined that the story between Tang Hui and Lisa would be very dramatic, but after listening to Chen Nian's account, she realized that she had been too conservative in her imagination.
She suddenly understood Tang Hui's helplessness and despair, and also understood why he was willing to use "going to see Zhou Nianhua" as a condition to ask her to come out of retirement and pretend to be his girlfriend to deceive people, because being entangled with Lisa was a more dangerous thing.
Shen Bining admired Tang Hui for being able to endure for so many years. If it were her, she would find a man to pretend to be a gay lover and quickly deceive her little cousin away.
"Hearing you say that, Tang Hui has had a tough time. What has he been through all these years?" Shen Bining said, half sighing and half joking.
Chen Nian also sighed, "I heard from Qi Wang that Tang Hui's personality is very cold, probably due to the unfortunate experiences he had in his childhood. He rarely makes friends or gets close to people, and it's said that he's never even had a girlfriend. All the girls who pursued him in college were rejected by him without hesitation. But he is also very sentimental. Once he's committed to a relationship, he will cherish it very much. Whether it's his aunt's family or his friendship with Qi Wang and Song Ziyi, he cares a lot about them. That's why he can't bring himself to speak ill of the girl he grew up with, especially since she is the only child of his aunt's husband, whom he is most grateful to."
"If I agree to help Tang Hui deceive my little cousin, am I being a bad person?" Shen Bining suddenly became uncertain and asked anxiously.
From Chen Nian's words, it's clear that Lisa really, really likes Tang Hui, yet she's lying to this young girl along with Tang Hui... Help! I feel like I've become the villainous female supporting character in a novel.
“You’re doing this for Lisa’s own good. Tang Hui can’t accept her, even if they’re not related by blood. It goes against the moral values ingrained in our Chinese people. Since there’s no future for her, we should let the girl face the facts sooner rather than later, so as not to delay her,” Chen Nian comforted her.
Shen Bining tried to accept and process Chen Nian's comforting words. After a long while, she smiled and said, "I hope so. I just hope I can successfully deceive my little cousin and send her home as soon as possible. Then I'll take Tang back to the prison to see Zhou Nianhua. At that time, his troubles and my job will be resolved. You know, Zhou Nianhua's condition is very serious. He won't last much longer. I'm so afraid that in the end, taking Tang back to the prison will just be to collect Zhou Nianhua's ashes. He should see his father one last time."
"And what about you and Tang Hui?" Chen Nian suddenly changed the subject, her smile both ambiguous and aggressive. She pressed on with a slightly overbearing tone, "Aren't you really considering developing a real relationship with Tang Hui?"
Shen Bining's smile froze on her face instantly, and then, visibly, her expression turned indescribably sad, her eyes filled with tears.
It was as if Chen Nian's suggestion had stirred up some painful memories for her, and she recalled that past she didn't want to face, letting sadness overwhelm her.
Chen Nian panicked a little. She and Shen Bining had only known each other for about a year, yet they had already become best friends. But she dared not say that she understood Shen Bining very well, and she had never seen the usually cheerful and optimistic girl show such a sad expression.
Intuition told her that she had probably said the wrong thing.
Just as Chen Nian blushed and was about to apologize, Shen Bining looked up at Chen Nian, gave a sad smile, and said in a choked voice, "Didn't you want to know why I'm twenty-seven years old and have never been in a relationship? Niannian, do you want to hear my story?"
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