The small word "want" echoed in the empty mountaintop. Ha Yue's eyes stung a little. She put her phone away and looked down at the city night view lying dormant below the mountain. Xue Jing sat quietly beside her, unsure of how to comfort her. So he handed her a tissue, patted her back gently, and said cautiously and tenderly, "Don't take it too hard."
Tissues are for wiping away tears, and patting is for comforting children, but Ha Yue didn't cry. She crumpled the tissue into a ball in her hand, took his hand, and said to Xue Jing with a light smile, "I didn't take it to heart."
It's not that I'm being stubborn, but overdue compensation always seems a bit lacking.
She knew that Zhao Chunni had recently been trying to learn to speak kindly, encouraged by her caregiver.
If she could, she wished Zhao Chunni could have made this change when she was younger, so that she and her mother could have a closer and healthier mother-daughter relationship.
If she could, she would also hope that when she bought a bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day with her hard-earned allowance during her junior high school entrance exam year, she wouldn't be scolded for "wasting money." How wonderful it would be if Zhao Chunni hadn't ordered her to return the bouquet to the florist that day.
If she hadn't cried that day, and Zhao Chunni had happened to accept her flowers with a smile and read her long, 800-word lyrical letter, perhaps their relationship would have been different?
But this is no one's fault. A person's character is closely related to their upbringing. The water that flowed under the bridge in the past can still stir up regrets, but it can no longer be changed.
Only the future is malleable.
Ha Yue sighed, her voice gentle yet firm. "Lately, I've been thinking a lot about how my mother has had a very hard life. When she was little, her family lived in the countryside, and her grandparents were extremely sexist. She wasn't allowed to go to school, wasn't allowed to eat at the table, and was frequently beaten for not doing farm work well. Running away from the countryside and marrying someone her parents didn't approve of became her only way to rebel against fate. Later, my father couldn't be relied on either, and she had no other choice but to raise me. Life just kept rolling by, and she never had a day to stop, to rest, or to think about what kind of life she really wanted. She seemed to be constantly pushed along by society. Even when she was sick, she couldn't stop. She was always surrounded by feelings of resentment and injustice. She'd been hardened for too long, like a sharp-edged stone."
"If she could grow up like me, have the same opportunity to receive an education as boys, break free from the vicious cycle of relying on marriage to escape her family of origin, spend more time reflecting on her own value, read books and newspapers, wander aimlessly in the library, and engage in more pointless and self-deprecating thinking, wouldn't her life be different?"
Even in a life destined to grow old and die, there are always those who muster the courage to bet on the future, slowing down the pace of their lives and focusing on the difficult but correct long-termism.
Drawing strength from this growth requires a good educational environment, using cultural literacy to break down barriers between different paths and connect the spiritual world. But the problem is, without material support, how can we talk about the spiritual?
Just like what she prioritizes right now: establishing a career first, then starting a family.
She first examines herself, entrusts herself with important responsibilities, and then gives others and herself the opportunity to collaborate on life. She doesn't want to blindly rely on anyone at this stage. Even if that person is Xue Jing, it won't work.
So, although she appreciated his decision to take the first step, she still couldn't accept his proposal immediately.
The distant mountains, layer upon layer, were suddenly edged with a hazy gold. In less than ten minutes, the rising sun illuminated the rolling mountains. Against the backdrop of the magnificent mountain scenery, the dimly lit Suicheng in the distance suddenly appeared so radiant, like a stage just beginning, full of all possibilities.
As the sunrise ended and the sky brightened completely, amidst the golden waves, Xue Jing still couldn't take the ring out of his pocket. He respected Ha Yue's personal growth timeline and understood the ultimate meaning behind her words all too well. The two of them were in sync; without much analysis, he understood the subtext of Ha Yue's rejection of him.
In the process of Ha Yue realizing her self-worth, she didn't need his money or his promise of love, but because of what she just said, a faint undercurrent began to stir in his heart, as if he could also do something for the "better future" she spoke of.
The library, the cultural bureau, and Jinzi and Xiaoyu's child who will be born next year.
Connecting the elements, a beautiful blueprint almost immediately appeared in Xue Jing's mind. A seed that had once accidentally fallen into his heart suddenly found the right humidity and oxygen and sprouted.
As they descended the mountain, both felt heavy-hearted, yet their steps were unusually light. After waving goodbye to Ha Yue at the factory gate, Xue Jing immediately drove to the Cultural Bureau.
After a long four-hour conversation, Director Zhao personally escorted Xue Jing from the office building all the way to the parking lot.
Xue Jing got into the car, started the engine, and prepared to reverse. Director Zhao was reluctant to leave, like a groundhog guarding the front of the car. When he turned the steering wheel, he ran over again to signal Xue Jing to pull down the window, and then reached out his hands into the window and shook hands with him tightly.
Words could not express Director Zhao's joy, and in the end, it all boiled down to a choked voice: "Xiao Xue, on behalf of the children of Suicheng, I thank you."
Xue Jing's delicate skin and slender fingers were squeezed painfully by Director Zhao's hands, which felt like they were being rubbed together. However, he didn't rush to let go of her hands and replied with a smile through the pain, "Oh, Director. You're too kind. I should be thanking the children."
Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. Xue Jing's eloquent words were no longer just flattery tailored to the situation. Lately, he seemed less shrewd and dignified in his dealings with others, but every foolish thing he did and every silly word he uttered came from the bottom of his heart.
In this world of deceit and treachery, true sincerity is hard to come by. This sincerity is not only for Ha Yue, but also for his hopes for the future of Suicheng.
He wanted to thank the biting cold of Suicheng, the endless sandstorms, and especially the sea buckthorn berries that stubbornly grew despite the harsh environment. This place gave him a meaning for his literary creation that was even more intense than his love for it.
On New Year's Day, the news that Xue Jing's new book would soon be published and sold was officially announced to the media through Zhou Shuang's efforts.
Besides the tag that it's Xue Jing's first suspense novel, another major highlight is Xue Jing's promise to donate all future copyright revenue from the book to the Suicheng Cultural Bureau to expand the local public library.
As soon as the news broke, Zhou Shuang's operations team bought it to trend on social media. Xue Jing, who suddenly resurrected in Suicheng, garnered a lot of online discussion. The hot topic was enough to reach a wide audience and quickly attracted positive comments from major official media outlets.
Amid the overwhelming praise, a small number of rational observers expressed skepticism about whether Xue Jing was using the situation to promote a fraudulent donation scheme.
As the buzz continues to rise, netizens have unearthed a video of Xue Jing attending his first book signing event. In the video, Xue Jing, sitting under the spotlight, was a first-year graduate student. He looked much younger than he does now, wearing half-rimmed glasses to deliberately appear mature, dressed in casual men's clothing that exuded a scholarly air. When asked about his motivation for creating, Xue Jing smiled mockingly, touched his wrist under his sleeve, and tilted his head to tell a joke.
He was grateful to his ex-girlfriend for not marrying him when he was down on his luck, because that's how he became the dashing man he is today.
Xue Jing, who has cultivated the tragic male lead persona for so many years, actually printed the words "To My First Love" on the title page of his latest book. Isn't this a blatant slap in the face?
They agreed to stay single until old age, but during his time off work, he secretly went to Suicheng to reunite with his first love.
So how many good girlfriends does he actually have?
Rumors and gossip spread like wildfire, and public opinion fermented. "Bestselling author Xue Jing" suddenly became a hot topic as a "lecherous man" who slandered his ex-girlfriend.
Moreover, some busybodies dug up several marketing articles that Xue Jing's team had heavily promoted in 2019, specifically highlighting the title "Little Hu Shi," and launched a comprehensive attack on Xue Jing's flashy but impractical works and his promiscuous history of "seven girlfriends."
In less than a morning, Xue Jing's reputation was ruined. Those who had been wronged sought justice, and those who had wronged him sought revenge. Even Xue Lianwu's company was exposed by netizens. In addition, the advertisements Xue Jing had done and the writing courses he had sold were ridiculed. People mocked him as a "new-era rich kid" who was indeed hardworking and still had to set up a table in front of ordinary people to make a living. Xue Jing's so-called good deeds were completely drowned out by the backlash.
Zhou Shuang never expected that after taking over Xue Jing's book planning, she would stumble badly in the field of new media, which she was most good at. She was busy buying online trolls, removing trending topics, and trying to reverse public opinion.
The heated online discussions did not affect Xue Jing's holiday in Suicheng at all. When he got up in the morning, he glanced at the publicity materials that Zhou Shuang had sent him in the middle of the night. He didn't even download the plan documents and just replied with "Okay, received".
He had no interest in looking at the 999+ red dots on social media, and had no idea that his inappropriate interview quotes from back then had been screenshotted and forwarded by various relationship bloggers, who fabricated a scumbag love history with great emotion, causing him to be scolded by tens of thousands of netizens in the comment section of his Weibo.
All morning, he was busy taking a shower, choosing clothes, and applying perfume, preparing to go to the airport in Lincheng to pick up Ha Yue's flight.
The auto parts order that Ha Yue and Sun Qiming collaborated on had ended seven days ago. After receiving the final payment, Ha Yue immediately used Sun Qiming's connections to get on a chartered flight organized by the North China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export to grab orders in the United States.
Ha Yue's trip was worthwhile; she gained a lot. Although she didn't get as many orders as the bigwigs in the Chamber of Commerce, her excellent translation and communication skills allowed her to collect business cards from within the Chamber so easily that she couldn't keep up with the flow of contacts. Her network of connections was like a rising tide, and every bigwig was a potential investor in Ha Yue's mind. She was in her element, and even when she was just having a quick meal between client visits, she would find an opportunity to promote her hometown's business plan to everyone she met.
Over six days, the PowerPoint presentation was given at least dozens of times. Many chamber of commerce members expressed interest in discussing the matter in detail later. The outcome may not be perfect in the future, but it is much better than doing nothing and waiting for things to fall into our laps.
Upon disembarking from the plane, Ha Yue immediately shared the good news of securing several orders during her business trip in the work group.
Half a month ago, Ha Yue had already recruited her first business partner who was willing to work with her. She was also a woman, also from Suicheng, and like Ha Yue, Su Jing had also given up her job in Yuecheng and returned to Suicheng to be unemployed because she needed to take care of her elderly and inconvenient parents during the pandemic.
Ha Yue greatly admired Su Jing's rich experience as an e-commerce customer service supervisor for seven years, while Su Jing herself had fifty acres of orchards that were about to be abandoned. In addition, they had similar backgrounds and their entrepreneurial ideas coincided.
She quickly gained a second female partner with experience in live-streaming e-commerce.
The baggage claim carousel was turning smoothly. Ha Yue stood on the outside of the crowd, checking the latest report on logistics cooperation that Su Jing had sent to her email. She glanced at the data halfway through before her suitcase had already been turned out of the cargo area.
Ha Yue temporarily split her phone screen, opened WeChat, and told Xue Jing that she would be going to the underground parking lot to meet him right away.
As she pulled her luggage, her phone lit up again; it was a Weibo post from Xiaoyu.
Under the headline "Bestselling author Xue Jing's scandal collapses," Xiaoyu typed for a while before sending a message: "Sis, is this new-century scumbag that everyone's talking about online really Mr. Xue?"
Ha Yue paused for a moment, but before she could reply, Xiao Yu deleted both messages, muttering to herself as she tried to smooth things over for Xue Jing, "It shouldn't be, right? Maybe they're just two people who look alike..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
