116. Living here makes me feel depressed
Yu Chuanbei lowered his hands and asked her coldly, "If he recommends a suitable house to you, what are you going to do? Buy it and live next door to him?" Ling Ling said confidently, "Not a bad idea." He let out a harsh sneer, "Hmph, you're so obsessed with moving out of my place just to rush to him, right?" She frowned and said, "Don't talk to me like that. I've been looking at houses for months and I know what kind of house I want. I'm only after the house, not the person. I don't want to live with you, so naturally I won't go to him." The sneer was still on his face, "Do you believe what you said?" The anger did not make her lose her mind. Instead, it chilled her to an extremely calm state: "On the way back, I was still struggling with whether to tell you about my encounter with Zhong Mingtong; whether I should also make an excuse for myself as righteously as you did when you concealed it from me, so as to buy a moment of peace. But I couldn't face the dishonesty between two people, so I decided to confess to you just now. Of course, I also concealed some details, such as the fact that I went to his house for hot pot." Yu Chuanbei's face turned pale and he said, "Then, are you going to tell me that you two slept with each other?" Ling Ling never expected that he would say such dirty words to her: "Yu Chuanbei, is this all your imagination about me? You think my project is just a project, no big deal; you think I am happy to have an affair with other men because I am a rag doll thrown on the street; you think I bought a house without my own plan, just to go to another man. So these ideas are just because you think I am not a good person. If I don't depend on you or other men, I am nothing." He said angrily: "Don't confuse various concepts and make a fuss here! This is not the first day we have known each other, you know I don't see you like that." But she could only smile bitterly and said: "It's true that this is not the first day we have known each other, I can't imagine how you see me. Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore-let's break up." Originally, Yu Chuanbei was still angry, but Ling Ling's last words were like a blunt knife, cutting his heart fiercely. He saw her walk to the guest room, pull out her suitcase from the bottom of the closet, and pack her clothes for each room one by one. He realized she wasn't being unreasonable, but was serious. He said a little panickedly, "We're both angry now. Let's calm down. Don't talk about breaking up. We're not at the point of breaking up anyway."
Yu Chuanbei lowered his hands and asked her coldly, "If he recommends a suitable house to you, what are you going to do? Buy it and become his neighbor?"
Ling Ling said confidently, "That's not a bad idea."
He let out a harsh sneer, "Humph, you're so obsessed with moving out of my place just to rush over to him, right?"
She frowned and said, "Don't talk to me like that. I've been looking at houses for months and I know what kind of house I want. I'm only after the house, not the person. I don't want to live with you, so naturally I won't go to him."
He still had a mocking look on his face: "Do you believe what you said?"
Her anger didn't make her lose her mind. Instead, her heart chilled her to an incredible calm. "On the way back, I was still struggling with whether or not to tell you about my encounter with Zhong Mingtong. Should I also be so righteous as to find an excuse for myself, just like you did when you hid it from me, so as to buy myself a moment of peace? But I couldn't face the dishonesty between two people, so I just decided to confess to you. Of course, I also concealed some details, such as the fact that I went to his house for hot pot."
Yu Chuanbei's face turned pale and he said, "And then, are you going to tell me that you two slept together?"
Ling Ling never expected him to say such filthy words to her: "Yu Chuanbei, is this all you imagine about me? You think my project is just a project, no big deal; you think I'm happy to have an affair with other men because I'm just a rag doll thrown on the street; you think I bought a house without any plan of my own, just to go and find another man. So these thoughts are just because you think I'm not a good person. If I don't rely on you and other men, I'm nothing."
He said angrily, "Don't confuse things and talk nonsense here! This is not the first day we've known each other. You know I don't see you that way."
But she could only smile bitterly and said, "It's true that this is not the first day we've known each other. I can't imagine how you see me anymore. Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore - let's break up."
Yu Chuanbei was still angry, but Ling Ling's last words were like a blunt knife, cutting into his heart.
He saw her walk into the guest room, pull out her suitcase from the bottom of the closet, and pack the clothes for each room one by one. He realized that she was not being unreasonable, but was serious about it.
He said a little flusteredly, "We're all angry now, let's calm down. Don't talk about breaking up. We're not at the point of breaking up anyway."
Ling Ling packed her things in an orderly manner and said calmly, "I'm not angry. I'm calm now. Living with you is making me feel more and more depressed. Let's separate. It's better for both of us."
"Depressed?" Yu Chuanbei couldn't believe that being with him would make a woman feel depressed. He said angrily, "You work in a creative industry, and you need freshness and excitement all the time. So you're tired of being with me, right? Then what are you doing now? Are you threatening to run away from home like before?"
Ling Ling seemed to be still packing her belongings, but when she looked back at him again, her eyes were filled with tears. However, her tone remained calm, "Yes, this is the only trick I have. Otherwise, what else can I do? But I won't do it again in the future."
She locked the zipper of her suitcase, walked to the door, changed into her going-out shoes and clothes, picked up her canvas bag, and left without looking back.
Yu Chuanbei did not stop him or run out to chase him. He felt that everything that had just happened was extremely inexplicable. How did they end up breaking up? Why did she say so many unfair words to him!
Ling Ling dragged her suitcase to the motel near her company to check in. She had stayed here for a while after their last argument, but this time she had negotiated a long-term stay with her boss, and she wouldn't allow herself to do so again.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Breaking up only put an end to the dispute between the two of them, but there are still countless disputes waiting for her in the world.
Ling Ling had just arrived at the office that morning, barely settled into her seat when she received a call from the Internal Control Department. Entering the legendary "little black room" for the first time, she was apprehensive. But when the other party explained the reason, which was still about the Aojie project's failure to win the bid, she became increasingly irritated. She had assumed the matter was settled long ago, with Mr. Fang accepting her explanation that same day, but she didn't know why they dragged her in for repeated questioning. Especially since, besides the head of the Internal Control Department, there was also a dignified and elegant middle-aged woman hired from outside, whose questions were thorny. She was overwhelmed and her performance in the first round of the investigation was dismal. Then, a small session every three days, a large session every five days, tormented her for almost a week, leaving her like a walnut, a plaything. It felt like the foul luck had smoothed out her sharp edges, reducing her to a sleek plaything.
She naturally knew who was behind it.
Mei Xiao prematurely sensed the threat posed by Ling Ling's rise and began to use all kinds of dirty tricks to suppress her.
Ling Ling suddenly felt that everything had become particularly boring - the love she had been obsessed with, and the job she had once regarded as her ideal.
In her free time, she would go house-hunting in the suburbs, a practice that inexplicably relieved her stress. She felt like a primitive man in a barbaric era, armed with crude weapons, venturing deep into the unknown wilderness to expand her territory, just to find a flat place to build a home and create a place that belonged to her.
Zhong Mingtong contacted her about the house. He told her about her concerns. She told him that she had broken up with Yu Chuanbei and told him not to worry anymore, as long as the house was good.
Very occasionally, Ling Ling would run into Yu Chuanbei in the company building. Whenever this happened, she would quickly avert her eyes, turning away, pretending they were strangers. It was fine this way; there was no rift between them, a dignified separation. But she silently prayed that she could soon see him again without any turmoil in her heart.
And he, still elegant and dignified, seemed to have only her as the cause of all his frustration and failure. Without her, he was actually more relaxed. He was still the best candidate for marriage in the market, and he could have a good life in the future.
The worst part was, during their seemingly ordinary elevator encounter, he insisted on speaking to her, asking her for no apparent reason if the bamboo jade bracelet she was wearing was new. She'd bought it as a reward for herself after being promoted to Vice President of Creative Group A, a promise of continued success, and now she only wanted a promotion and a raise.
But his question was sour, and she didn't want to leave him any room for negotiation. She wanted to cut the ties cleanly and easily. So she pretended to be casual and replied, "My boyfriend gave it to me."
She had thought he'd call it quits, but he'd taken the risk and cornered her in her office, kissing her passionately. Under his frantic kisses, she went from stubborn to yielding, then compromising, finally finding a tinge of enjoyment. She wondered, desperately, if this was just like their relationship; then she couldn't help but laugh at herself. If Yu Chuanbei knew she was defining their relationship this way again, he'd probably go mad.
When she saw Yu Chuanbei and Zhong Mingtong in her office at the same time, she secretly compared and hesitated. Regardless of whether she and Zhong Mingtong had a future, she was determined to abandon Yu Chuanbei. However, the moment he said "I'm sorry," her heart softened. The intimacy between her and Yu Chuanbei seemed to be rebuilt with just two or three words, no matter how devastated it had been before.
She knew clearly that when she treated Yu Chuanbei, she would feel itchy or her heart would ache; but when it came to Zhong Mingtong, she could only feel sorry for him.
She and Yu Chuanbei seemed to be a complete paradox. She gave him a sense of frustration he had never experienced before, while he made her insecurity even worse.
So, when Zhong Mingtong was at the other side of the table, Ling Ling lost control, losing control over Yu Chuanbei. She drank a lot for no reason, something she originally hated. She said a lot, to Zhong Mingtong, about Yu Chuanbei. She felt particularly shameless, and the more she hated herself, the more she drank, and the more she spoke without restraint. In the end, she had no memory of what she had said or done, and she simply indulged herself in oblivion, without caring about anything.
Author's Note
Liu Qiu
author
06-15
After going through so much, I finally arrived at the opening scene... Thank you all for your company
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