0038 44 "Because I'm the same as you, it's time for me to grow up."
Ling Xingzhi couldn't understand Picasso's paintings; artists are always associated with romantic affairs. Both require appreciation and understanding, but Ling Xingzhi preferred Chinese landscape paintings. The sense of awe and the use of blank space are best expressed in a Chinese style.
Impressionists always distort objects in an attempt to express another meaning.
After looking at the painting for a long time without understanding what it contained, Ling Xingzhi raised his hand to look at his watch. It was neither early nor late.
He stood up, packed the painting away, held it in his arms, and turned to walk towards the door.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Wei Luochen pushed it open and entered. Seeing Ling Xingzhi carrying the painting and walking out, Wei Luochen opened her mouth, first with surprise, then with some dissatisfaction in her eyes. After a few seconds, she spoke, "Do you have time? I have something I want to talk to you about."
Ling Xingzhi looked at the wine glass and bottle in Wei Luochen's hand, as well as the clothes he hadn't had time to change.
The two remained silent for a moment. Wei Luochen lowered her head, a bitter smile on her lips. Just as she was about to step aside, Ling Xingzhi put down the painting. "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"
As he spoke, he took the wine glass and bottle from her hand, walked to the table in a few steps, put the wine glass down, and poured out the wine.
The orange light enveloped Ling Xingzhi's back. Wei Luochen licked his lips, rubbed his arm a few times as if to comfort himself, turned his head to look at the bed, not knowing what he was looking at, before slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed.
Ling Xingzhi poured the wine and handed it to Wei Luochen, saying, "This wine isn't properly aerated. Next time, just take a properly aerated one from my wine cabinet."
Wei Luochen took the wine glass and watched Ling Xingzhi sit down on the sofa. The atmosphere between them calmed down considerably. After a moment's thought, she got straight to the point, "I don't want to repeat the same mistake as last time..."
Ling Xingzhi swirled his wine glass as he listened to Wei Luochen speak, while unbuttoning his neatly folded shirt with his other hand, leaving the collar casually open.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made such a scene in the hospital. It made you lose face and I lost my dignity too... Yes, I couldn't hold back. You need to know that I love you. I couldn't control myself at that time."
Ling Xingzhi took a sip of wine and said calmly, "It's okay, I don't mind."
"But why her?" Wei Luochen gripped the wine glass tightly, looking down at the bedsheets. "I know you're tired from work, and I can't comfort you or help you relieve stress, so you went to Kong Lingqi... I tolerated what happened between you and her, but things can't always be like this." At this point, she raised her head excitedly. "She will eventually get married, so... what about you? What are you going to do? Go find another woman?"
"Can't you even look at me? Can't I help you?"
It was hard to say these words. Wei Luochen's eyes reddened. For Ling Xingzhi, she had lost herself, her dignity, and everything. All she wanted to know was, why couldn't it be her?
Ling Xingzhi did not answer immediately. His gaze fell on the rim of the wine glass, where red wine clung to the glass. Through the rim, he looked at the distorted painting, and then slowly finished the wine, not leaving a drop.
He turned and placed the wine on the table beside him. The lamplight drew a circle on the floor, the only light in the darkness.
"Your humble servant is very cowardly."
Wei Luochen's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Ling Xingzhi's bitter smile, and his heart ached.
"...No matter who I go to, I can't solve the root of the problem."
"What's the problem?"
Wei Luochen gripped his wine glass tightly in both hands, slowly stood up, his face urgent, "I can help you... Just tell me, we're husband and wife, didn't you say we should share resources? I..."
Ling Xingzhi interrupted Wei Luochen by shaking his head. His face was expressionless as he simply looked at her quietly.
Wei Luochen was a little nervous. She sensed that something was wrong. She quickly took a few steps, knelt down in front of Ling Xingzhi, and placed her hands on his knees. "What's the problem?"
Ling Xingzhi raised his hand and touched Wei Luochen's hair, smiling gently, "We've been married for almost seven years, haven't we?"
"Um."
Wei Luochen was as obedient as a kitten.
Ling Xingzhi looked at her and gently stroked her head.
At this moment, Wei Luochen felt incredibly close to Ling Xingzhi, closer than ever before, even closer than when their skin was touching and his penis was inside her. He seemed to have a thousand words to say, and the atmosphere between them became warm. Wei Luochen rested his head on Ling Xingzhi's knees and slowly closed his eyes.
She waited for him to tell her what was on his mind.
But a soft sigh pulled her out of her pleasant mood. Wei Luochen opened her eyes and looked up. Ling Xingzhi was very calm, a completely different person from the emotional Ling Xingzhi just now.
He pulled Wei Luochen up and made her sit next to him. "I won't go to see her anymore, not ever again."
Wei Luochen was very surprised to hear this. She kept looking at his face, trying to confirm whether he was telling the truth. Only when Ling Xingzhi's warm hand touched her and pulled her into his arms did Wei Luochen smile happily, her eyes sparkling.
Ling Xingzhi didn't go out to deliver the painting. Wei Luochen took a shower in his room, and the two didn't do anything intimate. After turning off the lights, Wei Luochen lay down next to him.
She hugged Ling Xingzhi's arm tightly and fell asleep shortly afterward.
Ling Xingzhi slowly opened his closed eyes, turned his head to look at the lights flashing on the balcony outside the window. He didn't know whose car had its high beams on. After the car noise disappeared, Ling Xingzhi turned his head to look at the ceiling and sighed.
His breathing became heavier; he couldn't sleep. The painting stood beside the sofa at the foot of the bed.
I spent a sleepless night.
As dawn broke, birds flew and insects chirped in the woods, the leaves were covered in a blanket of white frost, and a few fallen leaves swirled and slowly drifted down.
The teahouse, hidden in Fragrant Hills, had just opened its doors when a distinguished guest arrived.
As late autumn arrives, the trees on the distant mountains are a mix of red and green. An orange cat jumps down from a tree, takes a few steps, pauses on the ground, spreads its paws, and stretches its rear end.
"Ha, what a lazy cat."
Ling Xingzhi leaned back in his recliner, laughed at the cat, and then slowly yawned. An elderly man in a cheongsam walked out of the door and smiled, "You've come too early."
"There was no other way, I had made an appointment," she said, her voice tinged with mist as she spoke, "It's cold up in the mountains."
Not long after, the door of the teahouse was pushed open again, and a brightly dressed woman walked in.
Kong Lingqi pursed her lips and walked to the opposite side of Ling Xingzhi. The cat, which was originally licking its fur with its legs crossed, was startled and immediately ran away.
"Cousin, this is too early. Luckily, I worked all night at the studio last night, otherwise I wouldn't have seen your message."
Ling Xingzhi nodded and poured Kong Lingqi a cup of tea. "Have you had breakfast?"
"No, how about we go eat together later?"
Ling Xingzhi watched as Kong Lingqi carefully finished her tea, exhaling a puff of hot air. He smiled and looked up at the magnificent maple tree.
"I brought the painting I took a picture of for you; it's in the trunk."
Kong Lingqi's fatigue vanished by half because of his words. "Really! Thank you, cousin!" she said, bending down to hug Ling Xingzhi, but he pushed her away.
"..."
Kong Lingqi sat back down and looked at Ling Xingzhi with a puzzled expression.
Ling Xingzhi looked at her as well, and the two stared at each other.
Suddenly, Kong Lingqi had a bad feeling. But Ling Xingzhi just smiled and asked, "When are you going back to Paris? Are you busy with the fashion show?"
“They’re setting up the set… I’m working on the design drafts, but I won’t be able to go to Paris for a while,” Kong Lingqi said, looking at him and emphasizing each word. “Yi Chenling has been having an affair with a woman lately, and I don’t know what he’s up to.”
Ling Xingzhi's smile vanished. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, leaving Kong Lingqi puzzled as to his meaning.
“I know that woman. Her name is Zhou Xiye, and she’s the director of the Beijing Liaison Office,” Ling Xingzhi said, putting down his teacup. Then he tapped his fingers on the tea table a few times, looked up at Kong Lingqi, and said, “You need to be careful. Yi Chenling and Zhou Xiye are entangled, and your relationship will become troublesome because of her.”
"You know her?"
Ling Xingzhi nodded, his gaze resolute. "Kong Lingqi, I won't come looking for you anymore."
"Why? Don't you like me anymore?"
Ling Xingzhi sighed deeply, "Some things you have to face alone. I'm your cousin. If you're unsure about the future, you can ask me. But... I can't be with you. There's no future for us."
Kong Lingqi panicked. "What do you mean? You said before that it was worth doing even if it had no future, and now you're telling me it has no future and we need to break up? Ling Xingzhi, you're really shameless!"
Ling Xingzhi laughed, "I've always been a shameless person, is this the first time you've realized that?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Kong Lingqi splashed the last of the tea in her cup onto Ling Xingzhi's face.
"Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone about us...?"
Ling Xingzhi lowered his head and wiped his face with a handkerchief. "If you tell anyone, it will hurt the enemy eight hundred and yourself a thousand. It's not worth it." Then he looked up at her and lectured her like an elder. "I still like you now, I still love you, and I still have feelings for you. But right now, my reason is greater than my love for you, and one day my love for you will disappear... If you're going to take advantage of my feelings for you, you should ask for something useful to you now, instead of threatening me."
Kong Lingqi's anger gradually subsided because of his words. "I want to know, why?"
Ling Xingzhi tossed aside the handkerchief, saying, "Because I'm like you, it's time for me to grow up."
——————
There will be another update in a little while!
I haven't decided whether to continue with the main story or write some side stories about Zhou Xiye and Ling Xingzhi.
Do you have any suggestions?
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