The story afterward
Yu Miaomiao explained to Liang Qiu in the simplest language and quickly ended the conversation.
Liang Qiu wanted to chat a bit more, but seeing the other person's impatient expression, he was afraid that saying too much would annoy her, so he reluctantly returned to his seat, but his eyes were still carefully observing Yu Miaomiao's every move.
He saw Yu Miaomiao approach the older man, Jiang Chengyi, take his hand, say something, her brow furrowed slightly, looking somewhat worried.
At the company, no matter how big the crisis, Sister Miao never showed the slightest worry, but calmly deployed her troops and issued orders.
Her self-assured confidence and fearless demeanor were truly captivating, and anyone would be impressed by her abilities and charm, including Liang Qiu.
He never expected that Sister Miaomiao would show such an expression.
But……
Liang Qiu felt a pang of sadness.
But he also really wanted Sister Miaomiao to worry about him.
hateful!
Liang Qiu viciously poked at the lamb chops on his plate. This old man was truly ungrateful; faced with Sister Miao Miao's concern, he merely smiled and shook his head—how perfunctory!
If it were me, I would definitely pat my chest and assure Sister Miaomiao not to worry, that I could handle anything, and demonstrate my abilities in the process. This way, my standing in Sister Miaomiao's eyes would rise, and Yu Miaomiao would treat me even better...
Liang Qiu was so engrossed in his wonderful daydreams that he couldn't help but laugh.
Just then, he saw out of the corner of his eye that Jiang Chengyi stood up and walked outside. After thinking for a moment, he followed him.
Yu Miaomiao watched Jiang Chengyi's departing figure, her furrowed brows not fading.
Just now, she felt that strange feeling from this morning again when she saw Jiang Chengyi. She was quite sure that he was in a bad mood, but when she asked him, she only got the answer that he was "nothing". In order to avoid it, he even made an excuse to go to the bathroom!
This can only mean that Jiang Chengyi is hiding something from her, and it's something very important.
Such incidents have been extremely rare over the past decade, causing Yu Miaomiao considerable concern.
Just as she was about to catch up with Jiang Chengyi, the drunk CFO came over again, grabbed her hand, and tearfully reminisced about the hardships the company had faced along the way, cursing the inhumane client. She used every means to finally get rid of the drunkard and was finally able to leave.
-
Jiang Cheng stood in front of the sink.
The hotel's bright lights illuminated every detail of his facial imperfections.
The skin is no longer smooth, and there is pigmentation. Due to fat loss, the cheekbones are more prominent, the cheeks are thinner, the eye sockets are deeper, and there is a shadow between the corners of the mouth and the jawline, as well as... wrinkles at the corners of the eyes.
As a medical professional, he is acutely aware of every change in his own body. He knows that each day brings a little more time to his life than the last.
But until this morning, he had been trying to convince himself that these were just minor, harmless changes and had nothing to do with aging.
But the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were so glaring and ugly, like a sharp knife, cutting through the facade he had tried so hard to maintain, making Jiang Chengyi realize this so clearly for the first time—
He is human, and he is getting old.
Inevitable, unstoppable.
Yu Miaomiao is still so young; she has only lived less than a tenth of her life.
Perhaps now, he and Yu Miaomiao can still be considered a decent match.
But what about ten, twenty, or thirty years later...?
His hair was gray, his back was hunched, his steps were slow, and his face was covered with wrinkles. They looked more like father and daughter, more like grandfather and grandson, and certainly not like husband and wife or lovers.
Wrinkles are just the first signs of a cruel future.
Jiang Chengyi certainly believed that Yu Miaomiao still loved him, but what right did the old and frail Jiang Chengyi have to deserve Yu Miaomiao's love?
Or to take it to an even more extreme level, Jiang Chengyi, reduced to a handful of yellow earth and buried in the ground, would only be a burden on Yu Miaomiao's long life, not a lover.
Jiang Cheng stared at himself in the mirror, then suddenly gritted his teeth and slammed his fist hard on the marble pool surface, a few streaks of blood seeping out along the water.
A dull thud echoed in the room.
The pain brought him back to his senses. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and suppressed his chaotic emotions. When he opened his eyes again, he was once again the indifferent and calm Jiang Chengyi.
The loss of control just now felt like an illusion.
He calmly washed away the bloodstains and straightened his clothes. Just then, he heard footsteps behind him, followed by a smiling voice, "Uncle Jiang, you're here too."
Jiang Cheng didn't turn around, because Liang Qiu's repulsive figure was already reflected in the mirror.
He lowered his head to wash his hands, completely ignoring the person. Since Yu Miaomiao wasn't present, he didn't need to pretend to be gentle and polite anymore.
Liang Qiu, however, continued talking to himself, "Uncle Jiang, do you know, Sister Miaomiao has always been my goal."
“YM has been my most admired person since I was 10 years old and started programming. When I learned that she was going to start a business, I contacted her immediately and managed to secure the position of investor.”
His voice softened, “After getting to know Sister Miaomiao, I found that she is very different from the person I imagined. She is more capable and more outstanding than I thought. Programming is just one of her many strengths.”
He looked at Jiang Chengyi, "The company's listing is just a small starting point. Sister Miaomiao will go much further and higher, making the whole world know her name, and I will accompany her to the top. And you,"
He finally revealed his true thoughts, looking at Jiang Chengyi with disdain in his blue eyes, "You're just an ordinary professor, old, and you don't have anything in common with Sister Miaomiao. How could you be worthy of such an outstanding Sister Miaomiao?"
Jiang Cheng slowly dried his hands before looking at Liang Qiu and saying, word by word, "Miao Miao is not an object. No one needs to decide who is worthy of her and who is not."
Liang Qiu retorted angrily, "You're talking nonsense! That's not what I meant at all!"
"I just care about Sister Miaomiao. I don't want her to be held back by an old man like you. She deserves someone better!"
"Who is the better person?"
"It's definitely not you!"
"It wasn't me..."
Jiang Cheng looked up and stared intently at Liang Qiu. "Could it be you?"
Liang Qiu suddenly stammered, his face turning bright red as if steam were about to rise from it. He waved his hands frantically, stammering, "I...I didn't mean that, don't...don't talk nonsense, I just...I just felt..."
Then, his voice gradually lowered, "It seems... it's not entirely impossible..."
"Enough!"
A clear, cold voice broke into the room between the two of them. They both looked up and saw Yu Miaomiao standing at the door.
Yu Miaomiao glared at Liang Qiu, clearly having overheard their conversation.
Liang Qiu, like a child caught doing something wrong, said in a small voice, "Sister Miaomiao..."
"Liangqiu".
She approached the young man and, for the first time, called his name with such solemnity and seriousness.
Liang Qiu immediately panicked. He had a vague premonition that something bad was about to happen, and without thinking, he apologized, "I'm sorry, Sister Miaomiao, I shouldn't have—"
Yu Miaomiao interrupted him, her voice cold, "Who gave you permission to judge Jiang Chengyi like that?"
"Jiang Chengyi is my lover. He doesn't need to be compared with others, and there's no question of whether he's worth it or not, because I will only be with him."
Anger flashed in her eyes, an anger that left Liang Qiu at a loss, wanting to say something in his defense but daring not to.
Yu Miaomiao continued, "I don't need an outsider to interfere in my love life."
“Liang Qiu, remember your place. You are just an investor in the company. If I find you treating my lover like this again, I won’t hesitate to find another investor.”
After saying that, she pulled Jiang Chengyi out of the restroom.
Liang Qiu stood there blankly, not chasing after him.
His limbs were numb, and his heart was throbbing with pain, as if he had just lost something very important, but he still didn't understand what that thing was.
His cheek felt cool, and when he reached out to touch it, he found it was tears.
-
Yu Miaomiao pulled Jiang Cheng towards the elevator.
Jiang Cheng asked, "Aren't we going back to the banquet hall?"
She huffed and puffed, "I'm going home. I don't want to see that person again!"
She didn't even want to mention Liangqiu's name.
When they reached the car, she opened the back door, pushed Jiang Cheng inside, sat on his lap, and voiced her question: "You've been unhappy all day, is it because of him?"
Her face showed pure worry.
Jiang Cheng looked at Yu Miaomiao, his eyes seeming to hold a thousand words, but he didn't say a word.
His lover's words made him both happy and sad.
He was happy because Yu Miaomiao's love for him was as honest and passionate as ever. She would be so unforgiving in front of outsiders, just to protect him, and she would care about his slightest emotional changes.
The sadness stems from the inability to reciprocate with the same level of honesty.
He was anxious and panicked about his aging, but he was ashamed to say these ridiculous thoughts out loud.
Finally, he hugged Yu Miaomiao tightly, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and remained silent for a long time.
Yu Miaomiao seemed to sense something as well, wrapped her arms around his back and patted him gently, offering a somewhat clumsy attempt at comforting him, "Don't be sad."
After a very long time, Jiang Chengyi finally let go of Yu Miaomiao. He smiled and said, "Thank you, Miaomiao. I was just feeling a little sad all of a sudden, but I'm fine now."
"That's a lie."
Yu Miaomiao exposed his lie, "You're clearly very sad right now too."
Jiang Cheng gave a wry smile. "Why is Miaomiao always so perceptive about these kinds of things?"
"Because it's you, I can feel it."
Yu Miaomiao cupped Jiang Chengyi's face in her hands and looked at him earnestly. "No matter what happens, I will face it with you. Don't keep it all bottled up inside."
Jiang Cheng felt a lump in his throat. He knew he should brush this off. Yu Miaomiao trusted him so much that she wouldn't pursue the matter further.
As a demon, she had already sacrificed so much by deciding to be with him, a human. How could he possibly voice this small trouble?
But... I shouldn't have lied to Miaomiao.
Jiang Chengyi told himself this, but he knew it was just a clumsy excuse.
The real reason was that he could no longer bear these fears alone.
He had lived in fear for many years, and his fear only grew with age. Occasionally, he would be awakened by terrifying dreams in the middle of the night. He could only hold Yu Miaomiao tightly, his only comfort, and whisper his tales, but he dared not actually wake her until dawn.
But now, he suddenly wanted to tell everything to the lucid Yu Miaomiao.
Finally, Jiang Chengyi spoke in a hoarse voice: "Will Miaomiao dislike me for getting old?"
Yu Miaomiao took this issue very seriously.
She turned on the car's roof light, examined the other person under the warm yellow light, and finally replied, "I like it very much, and I don't mind it at all."
Jiang Chengyi, now 34, has indeed changed quite a bit compared to when he was 20 or 25, but Yu Miaomiao only felt that he had become more handsome.
"What about ten years from now?"
Yu Miaomiao thought for a moment, "You'll be 44 in ten years, and you should still look good then."
"What about in twenty, thirty, or forty years?"
Jiang Cheng gave a bitter laugh, "I will slowly grow old and eventually become a decrepit old man, extremely ugly. If Miaomiao stays with me, she will only be subject to countless speculations and become an oddity in everyone's eyes."
Yu Miaomiao's expression turned serious; she finally understood why Jiang Chengyi was sad.
She said, "We can move to the mountains or live abroad. Anyway, we have a lot of money. I don't care what people say. I don't like your appearance."
“I’ve already thought about this, you don’t need to worry.”
What happens after I die?
"..."
Yu Miaomiao did not answer.
Jiang Cheng tilted his head back, and their foreheads touched. He closed his eyes, but his eyelashes trembled incessantly.
His voice was hoarse, “I thought I had convinced myself long ago, but today I realized that I had just been lying to myself not to think about it.”
"Miaomiao, I'm sorry, I was too selfish."
"I shouldn't have gotten close to you, shouldn't have let you know I like you, shouldn't have been with you... Maybe it would have been the best choice for us if we had never met."
"That's not how it works."
Yu Miaomiao stubbornly shook her head, "I have never regretted being with you. Over the years, I have always been grateful to have met you."
Jiang Cheng stared intently at Yu Miaomiao, his eyes filled with reluctance and sadness. "But I'll be dead soon, and there are so many years to come. Miaomiao, what will you do?"
It was precisely because he never doubted Yu Miaomiao's love for him that he felt even more pain and regret.
"Stop talking!"
Yu Miaomiao's heart ached terribly, but she didn't know how to comfort him, so she simply silenced him with a kiss.
She used a lot of force, and the taste of blood instantly filled their mouths, but neither of them cried out in pain. Instead, they deepened their kiss without even realizing it.
It's unclear who grabbed whom, but the two of them fell onto the cushion together.
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