Have you ever seen rain made with money?
The woman skillfully chopping vegetables never looked up, while Jin Yanzhi watched the figure he had longed for, focused on cooking.
The emotions that had churned within him for so long ultimately couldn't be suppressed. He took out his phone, opened the photo of Lai Cai at the hospital, got up, and went to his wife's side. The water in the pot was bubbling away, and the egg white and yellow yolks that had been knocked off were slowly taking shape in the boiling water.
Even if you don't care about me, don't you care about your own dog?
The person watching the food in the pot glanced at the screen but said nothing. She seemed calm, not happy about the sudden appearance of the man who had come from China, and not even worried when she saw her dog being examined by the vet.
Lin Zhen'er seemed to have made up her mind and remained silent. After bringing her friend's noodles into the house, she set out chopsticks on the table and sat down to eat heartily. She had lost some weight these days, and the glass of red wine beside her slowly emptied. Whether it was the effect of the alcohol or the heat from the hot soup, the woman's eyes and cheeks began to redden again.
The noodles in the bowl were seasoned with his most familiar condiments: sesame oil mixed with white pepper, and topped with a slightly runny egg yolk. The cramped space, the small table, and the two heads sitting face-to-face, where if they looked down too far, they would accidentally bump into each other.
Everything was just like the rented room where he proposed a few months ago. The cooked noodles were smooth and soft, but the man's throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, making him feel more and more uncomfortable as he ate. He held the bowl, afraid that he would lose control and cry out loud.
"So what exactly changed that made you stop persisting? The night I proposed, you cooked me the exact same bowl of noodles."
Back then, I helped you move, bringing you home with two truckloads of luggage, thinking we'd never be apart again. My wife, I cherished you like a precious jewel, and the Jin family is still as wealthy as ever. Why did you leave me and run off to Italy? Why weren't you happy at all after I flew so far to see you?
This was the most humiliating moment Jin Yanzhi had ever experienced since birth. His bowl was completely empty, and the woman opposite him was still silently drinking, not responding to his gaze. The atmosphere was maddening.
Nothing has changed. You did a great job. It's me; I've never figured out what I wanted.
After having money and love, I suddenly longed for freedom. Jin Yanzhi, you're wonderful in every way, and you'll only get better. Don't bother with a lazy person like me anymore.
She still wouldn't look at him, got up to clear the table of dishes, and prepared to wash them. The man, his eyes brimming with tears like a puppy, quickly got up, bumped into the irregularly shaped ceiling with a thud, and deftly turned on the tap and grabbed the scouring pad.
This scene is so similar to the moment they decided to give themselves to each other, except that I am now feeling awkward and timid.
"Didn't you ask me if I love you? I love you, but I received too little when I was a child, and I want too much when I grow up. So even though I love you, I am always prepared to turn my back on you."
If you want to end this situation, we can…
She was interrupted by a muffled thud. The scouring pad, soaked with countless drops of dish soap, was slammed to the ground by the man, letting out its final groan. Even now, Lin Zhen'er hadn't considered divorce; she couldn't understand how her words had just slipped out of her mouth.
Furious and frustrated, President Jin finally managed to turn around from the sink:
"Shut up! What do you want to say! You want to get rid of me? Let me tell you, you're dreaming!"
I don't understand why you have to sacrifice our happiness for your freedom. Have I ever restricted you? Why! Why can't you be like you were in the beginning, even if it's just pretending? You could still pretend to love me!
You can keep asking for money, resources, anything you want! I'm willing to be your shortcut indefinitely. If loving me means leaving me, then you don't need to love me anymore; just stay by my side.
Jin Yanzhi's voice grew softer and softer, and his words became increasingly absurd.
The woman standing there looked at the dejected man and his tearful eyes, and with all her might, she managed to restrain herself from hugging him. To be consumed by love was such a painful thing; it was a pity no one knew when they first met.
The weather was supposed to be quite warm today, but now Lin Zhen'er felt cold all over. She watched as the person opposite her went from looking dejected yet expectant, to slowly losing interest, and then turned to grab their coat and head for the door.
The words in her heart rolled around on her lips, and the pain in her palms was accompanied by dampness. She longed to grab the sleeve of that coat and become a human-shaped pendant to cling to him, just like before. Although many images flashed through her mind, the woman's feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, and she wouldn't move an inch.
"I brought you some things. Calm down. I still have things to do in Pingyang. Wait for me to come back."
The person closing the door did the same thing as before, pushing it inward to make sure it was secure before leaving. As the footsteps faded into the distance until they disappeared from her ears, Lin Zhen'er finally felt like a punctured balloon, slowly and stiffly walking back to her bedroom.
The room was so small that it could only fit a bed and a few simple storage boxes. The man's belongings were conspicuously placed on the blankets: a gift box tied with a bow, its weight surprising the person who picked it up.
When the ribbon was opened and the lid was lifted, several thick stacks of cash and a photo frame were inside, like a loaded pistol, precisely aimed at her heart.
The background of the photo frame is Pingyang's home. Golden fallen leaves are piled thickly on the ground in the garden. They are sitting on the ground, and Laicai is nestled obediently in his mother's arms, showing his pink tongue. Everyone in the photo looks very happy.
The woman, who had covered her face, could no longer control herself. She buried her face in her knees, letting her tears soak her skirt and dampen the surging memories in her heart.
"I think you should just tell him about your brother."
"There's no reason why you two, who love each other so much, can't be together just because that old gambler is bothering you!"
A friend's voice appeared at the doorway just in time, and a wine glass and a tissue were handed to her. Lin Zhen'er gazed at the twilight filtering through the curtains in the distance, and the scene in her mind returned to that afternoon before she went abroad.
The so-called father she had hated for years was standing in the new house arranged by the Jin family, with the elementary school boy and the woman he had been seeing for who knows how. He laughed greedily, having accepted all the savings his daughter had brought back.
New requirements have been put forward again:
“You asked them to arrange for us to go abroad. My son’s future cannot be delayed. If he stays in Xijiang, he will not have the opportunity to receive a good education.”
"Let the Jin family buy us a house in Canada, or Australia is fine too. You can just send me money every month, that way I won't bother you anymore, and it'll save everyone trouble. He's my youngest son, he absolutely can't be mistreated."
It wasn't until that moment that she understood that fatherly love wasn't absent in him, it was just that it had never been shown to her. The boy opposite her, hearing his father's words, spat triumphantly at her, his chubby belly protruding, grinning as if he were about to realize his dream of studying abroad.
Those days when she and her mother borrowed money everywhere, and the three of them ate pickled vegetables to survive on, were known to the other person to be incredibly difficult. He could bear to let her and her mother live in fear of being chased by debt collectors every day and night, yet he could also bear to see his daughter, who received her wages and wore a new dress, being arrested and detained during summer vacation.
However, she absolutely refused to let the child across from her, who looked seven-tenths like her, suffer even the slightest bit.
"If you are not willing to do as I say, then pay us 20 million in one lump sum."
I'm old now, I've been to jail, and my health isn't what it used to be. Pushing me too far won't do you any good. If I take your brother to the reporters and say that he's the son of an old man you married while you were in college, guess how long the Jin family's movies that are going to be released will be delayed, and what about the new building in the east of the city?
"Tsk tsk, the boss found a gold digger who's been having an affair. By the time you guys explain yourselves, it'll be too late."
The venom of a villain will not be restrained by receiving favors or benefits. The hideous man opposite her was actually her father. He always seemed to have a way to tear away the shell that she had worked so hard to grow, forcing her to fight back with all the crazy methods she could muster.
That rainy night when I was nineteen was one, and it is another now.
"What if I take him with me to die now? I'll make sure you never get a single penny for the rest of your life, and you just have to watch your youngest child fall and have his brains splattered all over the ground?"
Lin Zhen'er never imagined that one day she would do something even more outrageous than before. The ten-year-old child who was being held down in front of the French windows should have been her own sibling, but now he was struggling and crying in fear, just like her mother who had been beaten and pushed halfway down every time before.
But the situation that day was somewhat different from usual. Because she was in control of the situation, she grabbed the so-called younger brother while he was counting money, desperately preparing to die together with him. Outside the window, the wind howled like the wind from a seventeen-story building.
If she jumps down with the child, neither of them will have a chance of survival.
But if the Jin family has to spend billions on those gambling debts they can't pay off and this illegitimate child she didn't even know about before, then all the efforts of that man who, under duress from all his elders, refused to sign and step down when he was a teenager and who has worked so hard to revitalize the family business all these years will truly be in vain.
He was the one who reached out to pull her out of the mire when she was in dire straits, and he was also the one who was willing to lower his shoulders and step on her, offering her a world full of beauty. This world should not let someone who gave everything in love lose so badly.
When Lin Zhen'er left that day, the child beside her was so frightened that he wet the ground. He stepped over the water stains, past his kneeling father and the woman who couldn't be seen in the light of day.
For the first time, the young lady of the Jin family resembled a victorious general:
"If you can't know when to stop and insist on ruining my good days."
Then I'll jump down with you, this so-called lifeline. I can get a divorce. Do you think the Jin family will still want me if this continues?
If you cause trouble for Jin Yanzhi again, I'll fight you to the death.
After that day, she left the country with her empty wallet and went to stay with her best friend. The man who had been so arrogant for many years suddenly became quiet and obedient because of his doting on that boy.
While losing all happiness, Lin Zhener seems to have finally gained a peace that she hadn't felt in a long time.
“He would go crazy for me, and I don’t want to see him like that.”
The glass of wine was empty again. The woman reached into the box, grabbed a stack of cash, and flung it forcefully into the air. Amidst the swirling banknotes, she looked up and closed her eyes.
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