Old stories
"In the years since he came back, I haven't heard of him dating anyone. Every time I hear news about him from Mingzhe, it's about his career achievements."
As he spoke, Peng Xi sighed, "He Zhonghua has never been the kind of person who would strive for work and career. It's clear that breaking up with that girl was a real setback for him. Different beliefs really do shape different people."
"Huh?" Ji Ruqiong asked in disbelief, her voice filled with shock. "He's not going to wait for that girl his whole life, is he?"
“Actually, this situation is easy to resolve.” Feng Yue glanced outside again, and He Zhonghua was still squatting there, motionless: “Either capitalism and socialism will decide the winner before the love between the two people fades away.”
Chai Feixue immediately followed up with, "Either one of us will back down first."
“I advise him to lower his head first.” Ji Ruqiong pursed her lips and struggled to speak after hearing their words: “Life is so long. If we miss this opportunity, how much regret will we have for the rest of our lives?”
Chai Feixue laughed: "That's not something you should worry about. You should worry about yourself and your Mr. Yi."
"I'm just waiting for Ah-Qiong to get married in style."
Ji Ruqiong blushed instantly, "Oh, sister-in-law!"
Her behavior caused Feng Yue and Peng Xi to burst into laughter.
*
Funerals are not held during the Lunar New Year, so the Zhuang family's obituary was not delivered to Zhang Chenglin until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year—after the New Year had passed.
Regardless of Zhuang Yanbin's current status in the Kuomintang, Zhang Chenglin's relationship with Zhuang Eryi, or Li Lianhuan's past kindness to him, Zhang Chenglin is bound to make this trip to Shanghai.
Because he had many things to take care of, and the day he went to Shanghai was still a few days before Li Lianhuan's burial, he stayed in Shanghai for a while longer.
During this time, he naturally had to visit Sheng Dongsheng, but he didn't expect that Tan Yuanbo would also appear in Shanghai quietly.
A few days after Li Lianhuan's funeral, at No. 106, Xiangdong Lane.
As soon as Zhang Chenglin entered, he saw Sheng Dongsheng and Tan Yuanbo, as well as Yi Boyan standing to the side waiting.
"What are you doing here?" Zhang Chenglin asked Tan Yuanbo, his brows furrowing slightly, somewhat puzzled.
Tan Yuanbo and Sheng Dongsheng exchanged a glance. Sheng Dongsheng laughed twice and explained, "The General Secretary wants to see him and say a few words."
Zhang Chenglin seemed to be thinking, but he just nodded and didn't say anything more.
After discussing important matters with him, Sheng Dongsheng asked, "When are you going back to Shandong?"
"I plan to see Jiang Xiaoxiao again in a few days," Zhang Chenglin thought to himself, and told Sheng Dongsheng about his plan.
Sheng Dongsheng nodded: "It's early February now, so you'll be back around the 7th or 8th."
"Things have been a bit chaotic outside lately, so we need to make some plans in advance."
Sheng Dongsheng didn't explicitly say what it was about, but Zhang Chenglin understood, so he replied, "I know."
When Zhang Chenglin left, Yi Boyan came out to see him off. After seeing him to the door, Yi Boyan suddenly called out to him, "Brother Lin."
"Hmm?" Zhang Chenglin stopped and turned to look at him.
"How has Ah-Qiong been lately?" Yi Boyan asked with a smile.
“That’s good,” Zhang Chenglin nodded. “When I’m not so busy, I can go to Shandong to see her. It’s not good to be separated from her all the time.”
"Okay." Yi Boyan agreed, and then personally opened the car door for him: "Take care, Brother Lin."
Zhang Chenglin stayed in Shanghai for another seven days, but he didn't know what Jiang Xiaoxiao was busy with. He tried to make plans with her for seven days but couldn't get an appointment.
Finally, his patience ran out, and without saying a word, he went straight back to Shandong.
When he arrived home, Fengyue was there too. Seeing him return, Fengyue came over and took the coat draped over his arm, smiling as she said, "Sir, you're back?"
Zhang Chenglin nodded and walked straight into the room.
Knowing that he had come back from a long journey and would definitely need to take a bath first, Fengyue wisely refrained from disturbing him.
Xin Jie stood in the corridor behind the gate, watching them, and felt that his decision was absolutely right.
As early as before the Lunar New Year, around the time Zhang Chenglin caught a cold, he and Aunt Rong reached a consensus that as long as Zhang Chenglin came to Shandong, and unless there was something urgent to deal with, Aunt Rong would send Fengyue to Zhang Chenglin's residence.
During these nearly two months, the two of them did get along very well, and it seemed as if they were living the life of an ordinary married couple.
Xin Jie has been by Zhang Chenglin's side for many years and has seen him in all his different ways. Naturally, he feels sorry for him and is happy to see him like this now.
But as he thought about it, he couldn't help but feel sad... Such a life is never long-lasting, and for Zhang Chenglin, such a lifetime is too extravagant.
After Zhang Chenglin returned, he always felt that Fengyue was a little out of sorts, but she wouldn't say it, and naturally, the second young master Zhang wouldn't condescend to ask her.
then……
The next day at noon, Xin Jie was sent to investigate what had happened.
Xin Jie was both amused and exasperated when he heard about this task. Couldn't you at least ask Feng Yue a question? It would be such a great opportunity to say a few more words!
Not long after, Xin Jie returned. After entering the main room and seeing Zhang Chenglin, he looked around a few more times.
Before he could even confirm, he heard Zhang Chenglin's cold voice: "The person isn't home, tell me."
"Oh." Xin Jie lowered his head and reported the results seriously: "Five days ago, Feng Yue was harassed by a boss from Xiangcheng at Hua Yue Lou. But because you had made arrangements in advance, and Aunt Rong is a sensible person, she protected Feng Yue and replaced her with another girl from the building. However, that girl died that day."
"Dead?" Zhang Chenglin frowned, his expression unreadable.
“Hmm,” Xin Jie pursed his lips, “It was just that I was…”
He didn't say anything more, but Zhang Chenglin naturally understood.
It's nothing more than the usual stuff between men and women, reluctant waitresses, and wealthy people with despicable methods.
There are just too many of these kinds of things, so many that sometimes they don't even seem that surprising anymore.
"And what about Fengyue?" Zhang Chenglin pressed. "Is it because this person died that you're unhappy?"
"I think so." Xin Jie, who hadn't gotten all the information, panicked and almost knelt down on the spot.
"It seems so?" Zhang Chenglin's voice turned cold. Just as he was about to continue speaking, Feng Yue's voice came from outside: "Don't make things difficult for Xin Jie."
Fengyue came in from outside, her steps were slightly heavier than usual, and so was her expression.
She glanced at Xinjie first, then said softly, "You can go out now. I'll talk to the master about the rest."
Xin Jie stood still, only glancing up at Zhang Chenglin. After receiving Zhang Chenglin's approval, he ran off in a flash.
Fengyue stood there, smiling helplessly.
Then she walked over to Zhang Chenglin and asked him with a smile, "May I sit down?"
Zhang Chenglin didn't say anything, he just looked at her.
Fengyue understood what he meant; he was simply saying that she didn't need to go through all that trouble.
Feng Yue sat down beside him before slowly speaking. Her voice was gentle and smooth, and although she was very sad, her voice was still pleasant to hear: "This girl is named Asu. I have only met her twice."
"In the Flower Moon Pavilion, only two people are Aunt Rong's darlings: one is a newcomer with some good looks, and the other is someone who has slowly climbed up the ranks in the pavilion through the polishing and baptism of time, and has been the top courtesan for many years."
“The first type of person often comes along; Aunt Rong has at least three every year. Asu is a newcomer at the end of last year, but she is so beautiful that many bosses are vying to patronize her business, so Aunt Rong naturally treats her very well.”
"As for the second type of people, I only know two. More than ten years ago, when I first entered Huayuelou, the top courtesan was Jiang Qiyue. She held the top position in Huayuelou for ten years and had long been the most popular courtesan in Huayuelou. At that time, Aunt Rong held two 'treasure troves' in her hands—one was me, the newcomer, and the other was Jiang Qiyue. She was happy every day, waiting for the most suitable sugar daddy to appear."
Fengyue spoke in a calm tone, as if she were casually recounting someone else's story.
"A year later, the sugar daddy finally appeared—Wang Ming, the biggest landlord in North China, offered three times the price that Aunt Rong was willing to pay for me for one night. Of course, Aunt Rong would not refuse, but I was still young at that time. I had not received any customers in a year at Huayue Tower and was terrified of this."
"Perhaps it was because I was the youngest person in the building at that time, or perhaps I was really quite liked by Jiang Qiyue at some point. In any case, Jiang Qiyue was furious when she found out about this and almost smashed up the entire Huayue Tower."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chenglin, whose eyes had remained indifferent throughout, finally showed a slight change in expression.
"In the end, Aunt Rong compromised, but she couldn't let her seller down, so she could only send Jiang Qiyue to Wang Ming's residence in Zaozhuang."
"I learned about Jiang Qiyue's situation three days later. I and the entire Huayuelou received news of her death. At that time, I knew that whether in Huayuelou or in this world, one's own affairs are ultimately one's own, and no one else can take one's place."
"After so many years, Jiang Qiyue has long since become a forgotten figure in the Flower Moon Pavilion. This matter has long been buried in the old stories of that year, and no one mentions it anymore..."
As Feng Yue recounted this past event, which might never be known again, her calm voice choked up several times. Each time, Zhang Chenglin thought she was about to burst into tears, but after each sob, her tone became even calmer.
Zhang Chenglin gradually understood the meaning behind her words: "My affairs are ultimately my own, and no one else can take my place."
After telling Zhang Chenglin about these things, Fengyue's mood improved considerably. Keeping old grievances weighing on one's heart can really crush a person without them even realizing it.
Perhaps from the very beginning, Fengyue only wanted to tell these things to someone, and never thought about getting any feedback—moreover, the person listening to her was Zhang Chenglin.
She doesn't ask for much, so she won't be left with disappointment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com