Chapter 44: Unending Love
Qin Tiantian glanced at He Xiaolan and guessed roughly what was going on. He Xiaolan was not someone who could hide her thoughts. When she was in school, no matter what surprises she had in the dormitory or in the classroom, or what shocking secrets she knew about a teacher, they would definitely be discovered early.
"Did you meet your former assistant on the road?" Qin Tiantian said calmly. This matter has passed, and it doesn't matter even if Ge Lin rushes up to her and scolds her again.
Back home, I've been plagued by my parents' pressure to get married. I've been eyeing that scholar program in Italy for a long time, but I haven't made up my mind. After all, my university job is stable, and I don't have the courage to quit and change my lifestyle abroad. In retrospect, I have to thank Ge Lin for making a fuss, which helped me make the decision. It's just getting into the wrong bed, but it can be even more disgusting than getting into the wrong job.
"How did you know? This is amazing." He Xiaolan was surprised every time Qin Tiantian guessed her thoughts. She felt that she was a master of sixth sense. If Qin Tiantian really lost her job one day, she could even set up a stall on the street to tell people's fortunes.
"Big sister, I've known you for so many years. Can't I see what you're thinking? When you stick out your thing, I know what you're thinking..."
"Am I so bad at keeping secrets?" He Xiaolan stared at Hua Hudie with a questioning look, asking her to quickly evaluate whether she was a secretive person.
"Don't look at me like that. I can't go against my conscience even if you wink at me and bribe me. You really can't hide anything."
"Can we just chat on the same line? You always do splits," Qin Tiantian grabbed He Xiaolan's arm, half-threateningly trying to get her attention back, "You, tell me quickly, what happened after you met your little assistant?"
"I invited her to Houhai for dinner and asked about her recent situation. Anyway, she broke up with that dog thing after she went back that day, and I guess we haven't been in touch since. It's hard to find a job now, so she works as a real estate agent at Lianjia and earns a basic salary." He Xiaolan took a lot of effort to finish the plate of pasta in front of her, and she stretched out in the chair.
"Do you believe that she has really let it go or do you believe that I am Qin Shi Huang?"
"When I was having dinner with her yesterday, I felt that she was quite normal. She must have let it go. She also said that she is now preparing for the civil service exam and has not missed anything."
The more normal a person is, the more abnormal they become. Qin Tiantian had been a teacher for seven or eight years, and had developed a pair of sharp eyes. However, she was occasionally blind, and Zhang Haiming was evidence of her intermittent blindness. When she heard He Xiaolan mention Ge Lin's name at the drinking party that day, Qin Tiantian had already guessed it.
Before this, Qin Tiantian had always thought Zhang Haiming was a little strange, but back then he was still Jerry. She blamed herself for the long time they had been apart, and the sudden love affair had made her lose her way.
"It's been ten years, how can I let it go so easily?"
Qin Tiantian was right. Ge Lin hadn't buried Zhang Haiming deep in her heart. The night Ge Lin moved out, Zhang Haiming sat there watching her pack. But after a long time, he only managed to pack his things into two small suitcases.
"Ge Lin, I think what you did today was particularly wrong." Zhang Haiming suddenly spoke up. He had not yet realized where he was wrong. The proud male peacock spread his tail everywhere, attracting the attention of those people. It could not be considered a mistake.
His only worry was that Ge Lin would really leave him, not because of love, but because Ge Lin was his blood bag. Every one of his beautiful peacock feathers was woven by Ge Lin herself. He believed that this was the price Ge Lin paid for loving him.
After a long tour of houses, it was already past seven o'clock. To save money, Ge Lin didn't want to eat out, so she went to the store and bought a bag of instant noodles, soaked them in hot water, and ate them. Her roommate was annoyed by the smell of her instant noodles and angrily pushed her lightly, saying, "Don't eat such smelly things in the house anymore." Then he walked around her and opened the window, letting the outside wind in.
No one could bring her to her senses. Even after so much time, she still couldn't bring herself to delete Zhang Haiming's contact information. Occasionally, she would still check his social media posts to see what he was up to. He still lived in the same small house. Ge Lin had paid three months' rent before moving out, essentially buying out her relationship with him.
Mom and Dad called right on time. To avoid disturbing her roommate, Ge Lin sat on the fitness equipment in the community and pretended to be working out. "Linlin, your dad and I think you should go home. You can concentrate on your studies there."
"I'm doing well in Beijing, my work is going smoothly, and I can learn a lot of information here. If I fail the exam, I have a way out."
Dad came close to Mom with a serious expression and said, "If you don't pass the exam, your parents will support you for the rest of your life. It's not that we can't afford it. Think about it again. It's so comfortable to go home. Don't think about that Zhang Haiming anymore."
"Don't mention him, Dad. We broke up a long time ago. It's not because of him that I don't go back." When Ge Lin was a child, she was said to be a bully at home. She didn't dare to get angry with outsiders and could only use a cold tone to hurt the people closest to her.
"I've transferred 3,000 yuan to your card. New Year's Day is almost here, go buy some goodies," her mother quickly changed the subject. She had no way to help her daughter, so she could only give her some money to make her life more comfortable. But the more her parents gave her, the more anxious Ge Lin became. She didn't know what to do to repay them. The swamp was about to flood her chest, and she was almost unable to breathe.
A cold wind swept through Beijing, leaving Ge Lin feeling dazed and He Xiaolan and the others unsteady as they exited the mall. Butterfly reacted the fastest, turning and running back into the mall. She stood inside the gate, desperately waving at them.
"Come in, why are you standing outside in such cold weather?"
The cold air smelled of firewood on her body, and the warm air in the mall made her look like burning weeds. "It's only 7:30, and you're going home already?" Butterfly glanced at the time on her phone and insisted on going to KTV to sing and digest the high-calorie food she had just eaten.
While in the taxi, Hua Hudie recommended to He Xiaolan and Qin Tiantian the weight loss method she had just learned, which was to go to KTV and sing. Singing for four hours consumes much more energy than exercising in the gym.
High-pitched and confident voices emanated from every private room. He Xiaolan hadn't been to a KTV for a long time. Yueyue was old enough to call the songs she listened to uncle or aunt, so she felt a little embarrassed to open her voice and sing.
Hua Hudie knew that He Xiaolan would be slow, so she ordered three bottles of whiskey and a box of beer, "Drink it, you will be able to sing after drinking three bottles."
"Looks like they're going to get drunk here," He Xiaolan opened a bottle of beer for herself, not bothering to find a glass, and drank directly from the bottle. Now, they just need to do what they want most. When they were children, they had to be both quiet and lively; when they were students, they had to be both smart and well-behaved; when they were working, they had to be hardworking and motivated. And if they got married, they would be labeled as good wives, mothers, and strong women.
Women are already superhuman and don’t need to wait until they become mothers.
The stars belong to them tonight. Qin Tiantian recounted how she secretly enrolled in a broadcasting and hosting arts exam before taking the college entrance exam, hoping to become a journalist. Tired of singing, she randomly ordered a few songs and began reminiscing about the past.
"My mom wouldn't let me go, saying I wasn't doing my job properly." Qin Tiantian rarely mentioned her parents. He Xiaolan only remembered meeting her parents when she first enrolled in university. Both of them wore glasses. Her father wore a neatly tailored shirt and trousers, while her mother wore a dress with a bracelet that had a warm sheen.
Qin Tiantian's parents are both middle school teachers. They usually treat Qin Tiantian with the same discipline as the school's rules. She is not allowed to disobey her parents' orders. However, under such high pressure, Qin Tiantian increasingly does not want to listen to them. As she grows up, she finds that many rules of the world are completely different from what her parents teach.
"I passed the interview for the Guangzhou Academy and came to Beijing for the interview secretly, but my parents found out and dragged me back home. Otherwise, if you want to see me now, you have to watch it on CCTV." Qin Tiantian ordered a song for herself, "Rain Butterfly", saying that this was the song she sang during her talent show during the art exam.
Back then, she stood in the square of Beijing Railway Station, clutching the New Year's money she had secretly stashed away for years. The north wind carried the smell of coal smoke wafting from the alleys from nowhere. The old-fashioned streetlights in front of the station were coated in a layer of rice paper by the smog, casting a hazy yellow light. Pedestrians, wrapped in thick cotton jackets, hurried by, their necks hunched. No one noticed the girl clutching a canvas bag and rubbing her hands, red from the cold.
She didn't know where to go in the vast and unfamiliar city of Beijing. She only remembered hearing passing students chatter about a few schools while wandering outside an art exam training class. Based on those scraps of information, she applied to the Beijing Film Academy, the Central Academy of Drama, and the Communication University of China. The sweet aroma of roasted sweet potatoes in the distance tugged at her stomach, but she had very little money left after registering. Not only could she afford to buy some, but she wasn't sure how long she could even live in her semi-basement.
Returning to the basement where I live, the damp smell in the air mixed with the aroma of instant noodles from next door seeped in through the cracks in the wall. The radiator only had a little residual warmth, and it couldn't even warm my fingertips when I put my hand on it. The wall was cracked, and sometimes water leaked through the pipes and dripped into the iron bucket in the corner. The "tick, tick" sound was particularly clear in the silent night.
In that shabby basement, Qin Tiantian dreamed every day of attending her dream university. She'd wake up full of energy, hopping on buses and subways, taking exams at every school along the way. But in the end, just one step away from her dream, her parents cut her off.
"Even if love breaks your heart, don't blame anyone, it's just because the encounter was so beautiful." Qin Tiantian bid farewell to her youth completely tonight. She successfully broke free from all shackles. Urging marriage and stability no longer have anything to do with her.
Ge Lin, who had never learned to say goodbye, walked around the downstairs again and again, and only started to walk back when she figured her roommates had finished showering. As soon as she got into the elevator, her phone rang, but there was no signal in the elevator; it only vibrated a few times before hanging up. Ge Lin looked at the familiar number on her phone, hesitant at the door. It was Zhang Haiming.
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