Many years later, when I recalled that thrilling night to Xixi. She curled her lips nonchalantly and said lightly, "It's just pneumonia. Look how scared you are."
After hearing her say this, I was speechless and didn't know how to respond. Perhaps only when she becomes a mother in the future and truly realizes the deep and compassionate care a mother has for her children, will she understand how I felt that night.
Looking back at that time, I was sitting in a speeding ambulance, surrounded by the beeping sounds of emergency equipment and the busy figures of medical staff.
Apart from praying silently over and over again in my heart, all I could feel was deep remorse for myself. If I could focus more on Xixi, if I could be more careful, could this disaster have been avoided? All these thoughts kept lingering in my mind, making me feel extremely miserable.
I even had the absurd feeling that this might be Qingwan's blame and punishment for me in spirit.
I looked at Xixi's pale little face, which felt like a needle piercing my heart. Tears flowed uncontrollably, blurring my vision. My heart seemed to be torn apart and ached.
Along the way, I kept looking at my watch mechanically, and every beat of the second hand seemed to strike my heart hard. Every second seemed so long and every minute was so excruciating. I just hoped to get to the hospital as soon as possible so that Xixi could receive better treatment.
The ambulance sped all the way, and fortunately no accidents occurred, and it arrived at the affiliated hospital smoothly.
As soon as the car stopped, Xixi was rushed to the emergency room by medical staff.
All of us could do was wait outside the emergency room, feeling anxious and tormented. I felt like the air had been drained from me, my legs went limp, and I nearly collapsed. Yang Ruining had rapid eyesight, so he quickly stepped forward to support me.
But at that time, my heart and eyes were filled with the closed door of the emergency room, and I couldn't even muster up an expression of gratitude.
Sister Pang, who was standing by, had already red eyes and tears were silently falling. Since Xixi was one month old, she has been by Xixi's side, taking good care of her. The relationship between us, day and night, is no less than that between me and her as a parent.
I saw it with my own eyes and felt pain in my heart. I signaled to Liu Yun with my eyes to ask her to go and comfort Sister Pang. Liu Yun understood what she meant, and gently took Sister Pang's arm, pulled her aside, and comforted her in a soft voice.
Lin Xun walked up to me and said softly, "Hongjun, you and Ningning go to her office to take a break. I'll stay here and let you know as soon as there's any news."
Yang Ruining also echoed the advice. I really couldn't resist their kindness, so I could only drag my heavy steps with Yang Ruining towards the office that I was very familiar with.
During the long and agonizing wait, Yang Ruining's comfort seemed to be blocked out by an invisible barrier, and I couldn't hear a word he said.
My heart was filled with anxiety, and a strong urge to smoke came up without warning. I almost subconsciously asked, "Do you have any cigarettes?"
Yang Ruining was surprised and responded subconsciously: "I don't smoke." As soon as she said that, she seemed to suddenly remember something and said as if she had just woken up from a dream, "Oh, right! You left half a pack of cigarettes here last time, in my drawer."
After saying that, she quickly walked to the table, took out the half pack of cigarettes and handed it to me. I couldn't wait to pick one up, my lips trembling uncontrollably. I finally lit it and took a big puff. The brief numbness brought by nicotine slightly eased my inner torment.
At this moment, Yang Ruining's eyes were full of tenderness and she gently hugged me from behind. At that moment, a warm current flowed slowly along her hug. My tense nerves just began to relax a little, and with a "creak", the office door was pushed open without warning.
Lin Xun appeared at the door, shouting, "Hongjun, Xixi is fine..." But before she finished her words, her voice stopped abruptly, and her eyes fell straight on the scene of Yang Ruining hugging me from behind.
In an instant, the whole room seemed to have been muted and was dead silent. The three of us just stood there, hit hard by this sudden embarrassment, our minds went blank, and no one knew how to break the suffocating silence.
Lin Xun showed an extraordinary broad-mindedness and tolerance. After that, apart from deliberately reducing communication with me, she did not show any strange emotions and continued to maintain superficial calm. But I knew that there was an unspeakable gap between us.
And Yang Ruining returned to her former cold and frosty self, as if those past interactions had never happened. We became the most familiar strangers again, and when we passed each other, only indifference and alienation were left.
Children's ability to recover is always amazing. The disease comes and goes quickly. After just a few days, Xixi's physical signs basically returned to normal. After the doctor examined us, he suggested that we take the child home to rest. As long as we closely monitor him, there will be no problem.
After returning home, mother and sister Pang felt full of remorse and took even more careful care of Xixi. Every look and every movement were filled with deep love and care.
After I had settled everything in my home, I mustered up the courage to go find Lin Fun and have a long talk with him. I decided not to hide it anymore and confessed to her everything that happened between Yang Ruining and I. Those past events were like sharp blades, stabbing her and myself.
She listened quietly, the expression on her face changing from shock to anger, and finally to endless sadness. After listening to my confession, she finally couldn't help crying and said to me: "Guan Hongjun, I am not a stingy woman. You know in your heart that what I can't stand the most is the women close to me. You don't let any of them go. How can I face them in the future?"
Her words were like a heavy hammer, hitting my heart hard, and I was speechless. The fact is just as she said, Liu Yun, her cousin; Yang Ruining, her sister-in-law, but me... This confusing relationship, like an unsolvable tangled mess, has made me fall into deep guilt and self-blame.
Since then, although Lin Xun and I have not deliberately distanced ourselves from each other, the sweetness and intimacy of our former love are gone forever, replaced by a subtle and indescribable sense of distance.
Many years later, Tang Xiaomei accidentally mentioned this past event, defending her adoptive mother Lin Xun, and mercilessly scolded me: "Guan Hongjun, only my mother is broad-minded and tolerant. If it were me, I would have cut off all contact with you long ago and would not even bother to talk to you."
I smiled bitterly and teased her, "If your mother Lin could travel through time and see that your daughter has followed me, maybe she would really..." Before I could finish my words, Tang Xiaomei was so angry that her face turned red. She reached out to pick up the cushions on the sofa, chased me around the room, and refused to stop until she hit me.
I will never forget the words Lin Xun said to me in despair: "Guan Hongjun, there is no woman in the world who can occupy your heart alone." The helplessness, sadness and disappointment in those words are like a deep scar, engraved in my heart, and can never be erased.
After the Spring Festival in 2020, the epidemic broke out suddenly and everyone started working from home. During that period, Lin Xun and I would chat via video almost every day and share every bit of our lives. Through these exchanges, I became more and more aware that there is an inseparable bond between her and me in this life. This kind of fate transcends the love between men and women, and is more than just the love between siblings. Perhaps it is more appropriate to describe it as "confidant".
She has a noble character and elegant temperament in every move; she is full of wisdom. No matter the difficulties in life or the difficulties in work, she can always give insights from a unique perspective, which makes people suddenly enlightened. Tang Xiaomei once defined the relationship between Lin Mushroom and I like this: “a close friend with a kind heart and elegant mind.”
This evaluation couldn't be more appropriate. Forest mushrooms are like orchids blooming in the years, exuding a faint fragrance that is unforgettable no matter how time passes.
After an in-depth investigation, Cui Yingying gave Lin Xun a very positive answer: the provincial real estate development company that was preparing to cooperate with Fangyuan Real Estate and acquire the 1# plot was indeed Mingjia Real Estate.
Just when Lin Xun and I were racking our brains to think of a way out of the impasse, I suddenly received a notice from the Organization Department of the County Party Committee. After the National Day holiday, I will participate in a three-month training course organized by the Provincial Party School as a young and middle-aged reserve cadre. This means that I have to temporarily leave my current job during the period before the Spring Festival in 2008.
Before leaving, I got together with Lin Xun, Zhang Weitang and Cui Yingying to carefully study the sales strategy for the first phase of "Binhe Lijing". Lin Xi attached great importance to it and specifically asked for my opinion.
I said seriously: "We must make full use of the golden sales law of 'Golden September and Silver October'. During the National Day holiday, potential home buyers have plenty of time and are very interested in buying homes. This is an excellent marketing opportunity. In terms of advertising, efforts must be increased. The focus of publicity should be on the key aspects of residential quality, community environment, supporting facilities and property services. The publicity channels cannot be limited to print media. We must also cooperate deeply with the county TV station, carefully shoot high-quality promotional videos, and play them on TV to attract customers' attention to the greatest extent."
Lin Xun strongly agreed with my point of view and immediately instructed Zhang Weitang to strengthen ties with government agencies, schools, hospitals and other units, and to formulate special price preferential policies for the employees of these units.
I added, "What Mr. Lin mentioned is actually the group buying strategy in residential sales. We can set aside a few buildings for group buying sales. In addition, our high-rise residential buildings are equipped with elevators, but some people have misunderstandings about elevator safety. We must strengthen popular science publicity and cleverly transform elevator safety, which may be misunderstood, into a major selling point of the project."
Finally, I reminded them solemnly: "Recently, many real estate-related financial institutions in the United States have encountered problems, especially the subprime mortgage default rate has continued to rise. Today, the world is closely connected, like a global village. Although the incident happened in the United States, as the world's largest economy, the world will catch a cold if the United States sneezes. Once there is a slight disturbance, the global economy may be affected. My suggestion is that we must prepare for a rainy day and minimize the risks before the big storm comes. This is our first time to engage in real estate development projects, and we must grasp the rhythm and strive to achieve short-term, short-term, small profits and quick turnover to achieve rolling development."
Lin Xun looked doubtful and asked, "Is the situation really that serious?"
I responded sincerely: "No one can say for sure, but it is always better to be prepared. Besides, the Beijing Olympics will be held next year, which is undoubtedly a major positive factor for the real estate industry. We must make full use of it. In my opinion, the intensity of advertising and promotion needs to be further strengthened."
After thinking about it, everyone agreed with my opinion.
Afterwards, I found Tao Xinlei, the deputy director of the Development Zone Management Committee, and explained the work to him in detail to ensure that the work of the Development Zone could be carried out smoothly and in an orderly manner during my absence.
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