Chapter 14 The Correct Answer to Love
Qin Tiantian pulled her head out of the phone screen and moved to He Xiaolan's side along with the stool.
"Old Qian is really not good enough in that area?" The voice was whispered, but Hua Hudie heard it anyway and joined He Xiaolan and Qin Tiantian with a lot of bitterness. It was unknown whether Qian Helin heard it or not; he was sitting by the barbecue grill with Wang Qingwei, angrily eating cake.
"I used to say something like, 'If a man doesn't train his legs, he's just a mouth,' when Liu Genghong was doing his fitness livestream. I didn't believe it before, but now I can tell you, it's absolutely true, especially for older men."
"Are you two really going to get divorced because of that discord?" He Xiaolan subconsciously glanced at where Yueyue was, and only dared to continue asking questions after making sure that the child was safely outside the gossip circle.
"That's true, after all, it's the most talkable shortcoming among his many shortcomings."
Qin Tiantian suddenly smiled devilishly, like a dark-skinned gym student. He Xiaolan patted her gently and said, "Behave yourself. I know you're well-watered now. If you want to talk, talk nicely. Don't act like you just came out of the Silken Web Cave. It's scary."
"Well, it's said that when you're looking for a man, you should look for a young one. They say that the older a man is, the more valuable he is. That's just a bunch of old men flattering themselves. Do you know why they want to reason with everyone they meet when they get older?"
"Why?"
"I'm sure it's to prove I'm still useful. Even if I can't sleep with you, I can still convince you."
Qin Tiantian's words made He Xiaolan even more curious about her boyfriend. They'd been talking about meeting up before, but there had never been a suitable time. They'd originally planned to meet today, but the mysterious man said he had work and couldn't come. He Xiaolan asked what his name was, and in the end, he just said to call him Jerry. Qin Tiantian didn't want to say it, and no one would ask. Maybe artists all have Westernized names. If Wang Chunhua entered the art world, she would have to be called Rose. Never mind, she would still be called Orchid in Shanghai.
Yueyue asked He Xiaolan to go with her to see the wildflowers. Hua Hudie had something to do at the shop and went to answer the phone, leaving Qin Tiantian sitting there alone. She wanted to send a message to Jerry, but on second thought, she deleted the words she had just typed. She liked him too much and had crossed the line. Jerry told her that he had been in several relationships before, but they all ended in failure. "Younger girls don't understand me. They don't understand me when I say something to them, but you do."
Qin Tiantian didn't understand Jerry's work. She'd always been a science student, following the path her parents had planned for her, choosing her major. Film and art seemed so far away from her. To find common ground with Jerry, Qin Tiantian crammed her film knowledge with the same enthusiasm she'd been preparing for college, memorizing everything from the French New Wave to Italian New Realism. But one day, a long shot following the protagonist in a film remained static, and she suddenly felt like she was giving too much away. Why was he so special? She had to solve the mystery and find the answer.
Qin Tiantian had just met Jerry last night. Their dates were always at Qin Tiantian's house. After a week of work, she felt like she needed to catch up, and a relatively young man was the best choice. Jerry was just the right age, past the reckless, self-absorbed twenties. Now, he had a stronger sense of service.
Being with Jerry was a pure joy, pure physical pleasure. Whenever they met, they would treat each other with 100% passion, starting with the kiss. Qin Tiantian was enamored with his kisses. No man had ever kissed out her shyness, drawn out her passion. On the freshly changed satin sheets, they slid into a beautiful forest, exchanging souls.
"Have you ever thought about getting married?" The bedside lamp was dimmed, making it impossible to see anyone else's expression. When Jerry asked her this, she simply responded with a kiss. It's better to just indulge in the momentary pleasure than to dwell on a lifetime's long-term goals.
She liked Jerry because for the first time she felt respect from his body, not just wanting to get it from her body. It was like the first time she was violated and touched by a strange man in the swimming pool. Qin Tiantian was only six years old at that time.
One summer, there was an outdoor swimming pool full of people. The water in the pool was not very clean. The little girl was grabbed by the arm by a man and threatened not to move. She stood on the edge of the deep water, afraid of slipping in, so she could only stand there stupidly. She wanted to ask for help, but her parents were not there. Fear, humiliation, and curiosity made her become a stupid goose in the water, allowing the splashes to invade her.
She always said her memory was bad. She had to think about what she ate yesterday, not to mention things from ten years ago. However, the pain rooted in the childhood abuse was unforgettable. The shame that kept her awake at night was a constant reminder that she didn't deserve love. Instead of falling in love, she'd rather seek revenge. She'd take revenge on every man she met, sleeping with them and then dumping them. That was Qin Tiantian's idea of revenge.
She didn't understand why she had to endure this. Even before she was supposed to be exposed to sex, she was already searching for the right answer. A box of imported chocolates was a token of her trust in her neighbor's brother, but the result of that trust was being stripped naked and thrown onto the bed, subjecting herself to the ugliness of an adolescent man. It hurt, and she'll always remember it. It hurts.
"Does anyone really enjoy this?" She searched through all the books and even found the hidden DVDs her parents had hidden around the house. While she was watching them, her mother suddenly came home from work and caught her. Her mother didn't understand her, thinking it was shameful and premature for her to watch those DVDs. She slapped her in the face and told her to reflect on her actions.
However, she wanted to tell her secret, the secret of her being violated, but she didn't know how to start, so she kept this secret in her heart for thirty years. She changed boyfriends one after another, hoping to find the true happiness of love, but each one was wrong, until Jerry appeared.
Jerry walked her home. Downstairs in the residential complex, like those college couples, when passion was at its peak, Jerry gently asked her, "Can I really kiss her?" He was the only one to ask how she felt. From that moment on, her heart suddenly fluttered. This flutter was because Qin Tiantian knew that Jerry was still starting a business and had little money. The aura of motherhood suddenly surrounded her.
She felt that this man needed her rescue. When Qin Tiantian called He Xiaolan to tell her about this, He Xiaolan said that she was just being controlled by hormones. This was the law of nature, and when the time came, she would naturally find a child to raise.
Qin Tiantian was staring into the distance in a daze, and Hua Hudie pushed her and told her to eat the freshly grilled skewers quickly.
"When I was waiting for you at the gate of your community this morning, a handsome guy walked out of your unit door. That must be the legendary Jerry."
"Wear a black T-shirt, right?"
"You even bought him clothes?" He Xiaolan shook her head in shock. "Who told me that feeling sorry for a man will bring him bad luck for the rest of his life? You're not really going to adopt this child, are you?"
"Yes, a black T-shirt and khaki overalls. You have good taste." Hua Hudie looked so excited as if she had just eaten some melon that she ignored Qian Helin's resentment not far away.
"I did buy it, but he didn't want it. He said he didn't want to spend my money and would buy me a gift when he earned enough money."
"This guy is quite good at it. He's trying to be nice but still willing. You'd better be careful."
"You've seen it all, why don't you take a picture for me? Now I'm the only one who hasn't seen him. Let me check his face to see if he's a reliable person. I've seen countless people and am a super HR."
"He is better looking than the guys she dated before. He looks quite upright and like a reliable person."
Qian Helin bit off the meat from the skewer viciously, "What are you chattering about? You're definitely not saying anything good about me." Wang Qingwei threw the ball to Yueyue, waiting for her to throw it back, "Don't be so self-indulgent. Don't worry. They're chatting so happily, they definitely can't be talking about you, nor can they be talking about me."
Yang Fan's call came at a particularly bad time. On Saturday, He Xiaolan insisted that he send over last week's attendance record. He Xiaolan didn't bring her computer, so she had to call Ge Lin. "Are you home? Please send last week's attendance record to Mr. Yang. He needs it urgently." "No problem. I'll send it to Mr. Yang within ten minutes."
Ge Lin was carrying seven or eight Mixue Ice City milk tea bags in each hand. The moment she walked into the studio, she felt like her fingers were about to break. Zhang Haiming saw Ge Lin coming, put down the script and walkie-talkie in his hands, and walked over quickly.
"Why are you here?" He did not take the thing from Ge Lin's hand, and even had some blame in his words.
"Hey, Director Zhang, who is this?" The surrounding staff saw Ge Lin and immediately started to join in the fun. Ge Lin was a little embarrassed and waited for Zhang Haiming to introduce herself. After a pause of just over ten seconds, Ge Lin realized that she couldn't be Zhang Haiming's girlfriend. "I'm his friend. I happened to be passing by here today, so I came to see you. Thank you for your hard work."
Ge Lin quickly placed her milk tea on the table beside her. The payroll staff on the set rushed over, looking for their favorite flavors. "Do you have WiFi here? My boss asked me to send an email." Zhang Haiming pointed to a note on the wall and prepared to return to his work. Ge Lin tugged at his hand, but quickly let go, then flatteringly pulled out a bottle of HeyTea from her bag and handed it to him.
"I bought this one just for you because you like it."
"Go back quickly after sending the email. I don't know how many days this will take."
"Well, take some rest."
The isolation door of the subway station reflected her figure alone. The next train would not arrive for another five minutes. Ge Lin looked at herself reflected in the glass. She looked so ordinary, with short hair that reached her ears, a T-shirt that had been washed out of shape, and loose jeans that were bulging out from her thick thighs.
She saw it, saw Zhang Haiming give the cup of milk tea prepared for him to the beautiful model. They stood together and talked and laughed, and they were a perfect match, with matching height and appearance.
The duckling saw that her companion had turned into a white swan, but her own appearance had not changed. She liked the frog prince in the next pond, but the prince always chased the white swan. The duckling found the pond witch and wanted to make a deal with her. The witch looked at the duckling and laughed disdainfully.
"What can you offer me in exchange? Everything on you is worthless."
The duckling thought about it, but was too embarrassed to speak because of her hoarse and unpleasant voice. Finally, she wrote down in the witch's notebook what was most precious to her but which she wanted to exchange for - "self-esteem".
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
