Qiao Wanwan turned her head and saw Wen Lijing standing behind her.
"Lijing, what are you doing here?"
“I called Wutong Bay to offer my New Year's greetings, but I heard you were here, so I came to visit.”
"The scenery here is truly beautiful." Qiao Wanwan looked outside. "It's been a long time since I've seen such a beautiful snow scene."
“It is indeed beautiful.” Wen Lijing walked to her side. “So Wanwan, you have to believe that there are many beautiful landscapes in this world that are worth your attention.”
“You’re right,” Qiao Wanwan readily agreed. “As long as you keep moving forward, you’ll discover many beautiful sights worth pausing to appreciate.”
“So, Wanwan,” Wen Lijin stood beside her, turning to gaze at her, “would you be willing to pause and linger for a new view?”
Qiao Wanwan curved her lips slightly and spoke slowly in a calm and gentle voice, "During my teenage years, I couldn't help but fantasize about love, thinking about what kind of man I would meet in the future, fall in love with him, get married, and have children."
Wen Lijing's expression dimmed slightly. "Jingting fulfills all your fantasies, doesn't he?"
Qiao Wanwan smiled and shook her head, "I've thought about many types, but I've never thought about someone like Jing Ting. He's out of reach for me. I just want to find an ordinary man who loves me and whom I love, and live a simple and peaceful life together. I never thought about something as dramatic and heart-wrenching as this."
Wen Lijing turned her shoulder and looked at her intently. “Wanwan, I know you’ve always been a simple person. Try to let go of Jingting. You might find that the new scenery isn’t bad at all, and might even better satisfy your initial fantasies and expectations about love.”
Qiao Wanwan met his affectionate gaze, tugged at the corners of her lips, and said, "But Li Jing, love is not a trip. It's not that once I've seen the scenery here, I can forget about it and move on to the next attraction."
Wen Lijing's heart suddenly ached. "Then what do you think love is?"
Qiao Wanwan said, "Love is like seeing a seashell on the beach. Even if my baggage is full, I still want to take it home. There may be more beautiful and perfect seashells ahead, but they have nothing to do with me. I will not stop there."
"I understand." Wen Lijing closed his eyes painfully. "For you, once you've made up your mind, it's for life."
“Yes.” Qiao Wanwan gently pushed his hand away. “Li Jing, you are very good, extremely good, but you are not my seashell. Even if my seashell is broken and imperfect, I will never throw it away.”
"Wanwan..." Wen Lijing's heart ached as if it were being torn apart, a thousand words stuck in his throat, his voice almost hoarse, "Do you know how much effort it took for me to have the determination to be honest with you?"
Wen Lijing said with a self-deprecating smile, "I know that Jing Ting's life or death is uncertain. As his friend, I shouldn't confess to you at this time. So even I didn't expect that my feelings for you would become so deep without my knowledge, so deep that I lost my mind and came here to tell you all this."
“Wanwan, I know you can’t let go of Jingting, but I can’t let go of you either.”
Just as Qiao Wanwan was about to speak, Wen Lijing interrupted her, "I know what you want to say, Wanwan. I will never force you, nor will I cause you any trouble. But like you, I cannot easily let go of the seashell I have chosen."
"Li Jing, I don't want you to waste your time on me, and if you keep insisting, we might not even be able to be friends anymore," Qiao Wanwan said firmly. "Sorry, I have something to do, I'll be going now."
After Qiao Wanwan finished speaking, she turned around and left.
I had only taken a couple of steps when, out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure flashing by.
Qiao Wanwan was taken aback, then immediately chased after him!
The temple was crowded, and she searched for that figure in the crowd, but to no avail.
“Jing Ting…” Qiao Wanwan’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly chased after him outside the temple.
There were far fewer people outside, and Qiao Wanwan walked and searched.
The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and Qiao Wanwan slipped and fell to the ground!
Looking at the white expanse around her, she completely broke down, crying and shouting, "Jingting, it's you, isn't it? Come out! Why won't you come out! Zhan Jingting..."
"Wanwan!" Su Jing rushed over with an umbrella. "What's wrong? The ground is cold, get up quickly!"
"Mom, I saw Jingting."
"How is this possible?" Su Jing exclaimed in disbelief. "If Jing Ting were back, he would definitely go home. How could he possibly be here?"
"Mom, I have a gut feeling, I really feel like Jingting was just here!"
"Wanwan, you miss Jingting too much." Su Jing helped her up. "You're tired, let's go home."
"Mom, why don't you believe me?" Qiao Wanwan asked anxiously. "I've been with Jingting for so long, my intuition can't be wrong!"
Su Jing thought for a moment and said, "Wanwan, don't worry. There should be surveillance cameras in the temple. How about we go check the footage to confirm?"
Qiao Wanwan nodded, "Okay."
......
The two quickly found the person in charge and retrieved the surveillance video.
The temple has fairly extensive surveillance coverage, both inside and outside.
Qiao Wanwan checked every frame without missing a single one, but she still couldn't see Zhan Jingting's figure.
"How could that be..." Qiao Wanwan shook her head gently, "How could there not be..."
Su Jing patted her shoulder, "Wanwan, Mom said that if Jingting comes back, he will definitely go straight home. Don't overthink it. Let's go home, okay?"
Qiao Wanwan nodded gently, "Mm."
On the way back to Wutong Bay, Qiao Wanwan was absent-minded the whole time.
Su Jing grasped her hand, trying to divert her attention, "Wanwan, what did Lijing say when he came to see you just now?"
"nothing."
"Did he confess his feelings to you?" Su Jing asked directly.
Qiao Wanwan composed herself and turned to look at her.
Su Jing felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and hurriedly explained, "Don't misunderstand, Mom would never encourage him to confess to you. When he came, he saw me first and asked where you were. I could tell from his flustered appearance that he was just like a lovestruck young man.
“I’ve already made things clear with him. There’s no way I could have anything with him,” Qiao Wanwan said. “If Grandpa asks when we get home, just tell him clearly so he doesn’t have any unrealistic expectations. No matter how much he likes Li Jing, my only husband is Jing Ting. I can’t remarry anyone else.”
Su Jing nodded, "Mom understands, Mom will try to persuade Grandpa."
"Thank you, Mom." Qiao Wanwan suddenly remembered something. "Since we were wrong about checking the surveillance footage, let's not tell the family about it, so they won't worry about me."
"Mom knows, but I won't say anything. But Wanwan, you must tell Mom if something is on your mind. Keeping it bottled up inside will make you sick, you know?"
"I know."
......
Back in Wutong Bay, Qiao Wanwan immediately summoned Jiang Dong, "Any news about Jing Ting?"
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