90. Middle-aged people have nowhere to talk
Ren Qingshi walked into the living room and found Rongrong standing blankly in front of the dining table. Upon seeing him suddenly emerge, she hurriedly explained, "Dad, I'm thirsty, so I came out to drink some water." He didn't react for a moment, only a dazed "Oh." Seeing her father's distraught expression, Rongrong couldn't help but ask, "Dad, it's all my fault for insisting on going to Universal Studios. If we hadn't gone, none of this would have happened." The child's words sent a wave of darts through Ren Qingshi's heart. He squatted down, supported Rongrong's shoulders, and spoke softly, "Rongrong, what happened today was an accident. It was just a coincidence you two met. It's not your fault, nor is it Mom's. The blame lies with the person who disobeyed the rules and resorted to violence. But things like this happen all the time in our lives. There are always people with bad behavior who suddenly appear in the crowd and ruin our good moods and even our health. In such cases, we must distance ourselves from them as quickly as possible and protect ourselves in the most effective way possible. We shouldn't let the negative emotions brought on by undeserving people control us. So, in such moments, you shouldn't blame yourself, and you certainly shouldn't punish yourself for the mistakes of others. "You and Mom went to Universal Studios today. It was a wonderful experience. You saw new worlds and enjoyed wonderful games. Occasionally, a little disappointment can happen, like the paper stuck to the cream when you were unwrapping your favorite ice cream. Just take a little extra time to remove it, and don't let it interfere with your enjoyment." Rongrong, clever, understood her father's words and nodded obediently. Ren Qingshi sent the child back to her bedroom, no longer letting her do her homework, but letting her play in the princess dollhouse for a while. Watching his daughter immersed in her princess dream game, Ren Qingshi felt a mixture of emotions. He named his daughter "Ren Congrong," hoping she would remain unperturbed by success or failure, calm and composed. But now it seemed like such a luxurious wish. Rongrong had just entered first grade, and she was already immersed in her parents' endless arguments. He wanted to give his daughter the best in the world, and he spared no expense to achieve it. But ultimately, he lacked the ability, and all he offered was cheap fatherly love. At least in terms of love, he was worthless. *~*~*~*~*~*~~ At night, they lay back to back, their gray blankets like an airtight lime wall. Ren Qingshi's snoring grew louder. Rong Xinhua wondered why he still snore, since he didn't smoke or drink. He hadn't had this problem before they got married, but it had only gotten worse over the years, even the quiet, private moments of the night...
Ren Qingshi walked into the living room and found Rongrong standing blankly in front of the dining table. When she saw him suddenly come out, she hurriedly explained, "Dad, I'm thirsty and came out to drink some water."
He didn't react for a moment, and could only respond with a dazed "Oh."
Seeing her father in such a state of disarray, Rongrong couldn't help but ask, "Dad, it's all my fault for insisting on going to Universal Studios. If we hadn't gone, none of this would have happened." The child's words made Ren Qingshi feel as if a thousand arrows were piercing his heart. He squatted down, supported Rongrong's shoulders, and said softly, "Rongrong, what happened today was an accident. You just happened to encounter it. It's not your fault, nor is it Mom's fault. The one to blame is the person who didn't follow the rules and used violence. But this kind of thing will always happen in our lives. In a crowd, there will always be people with bad behavior who suddenly appear and destroy our good mood or even our healthy bodies. At this time, we must stay away from them as soon as possible and protect ourselves in the most effective way. Don't let the bad emotions brought by unworthy people control ourselves. So at this time, you shouldn't blame yourself, and you shouldn't punish yourself with the mistakes of others.
You and your mom went to Universal Studios today. It was a wonderful experience. You saw new worlds and enjoyed wonderful games. Occasionally, something might spoil the fun, like the paper stuck to your favorite ice cream when you were tearing the wrapper. If you just took a little more time to tear it off, it would be fine. Don't let it affect your enjoyment of the food."
The clever Rongrong understood what her father said and nodded obediently.
Ren Qingshi sent the child back to her bedroom and stopped asking her to do her homework. Instead, he let her play in the princess doll house for a while.
Looking at his daughter immersed in the princess dream game, Ren Qingshi felt mixed emotions.
He named his daughter "Ren Congrong," hoping that she would be able to remain calm and composed in the face of adversity and failure. But now it seems that this wish is too much to ask.
Rongrong had just started first grade, and she was already immersed in the endless quarrels between her parents. He wanted to give his daughter the best in the world, and he would do anything to achieve it. However, he was ultimately incapable of doing so, and all he offered was cheap fatherly love.
At least in terms of love, he is worthless.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they slept at night, the couple lay back to back, and the gray bedding was like an impenetrable lime wall.
Ren Qingshi's snoring gradually intensified. Rong Xinhua was puzzled. He didn't smoke or drink, so why did he snore? He hadn't had this problem before they got married, but it had become increasingly severe over the years, disrupting even the quietest moments of privacy at night.
Perhaps time is truly unforgiving, and they may both be old. Youth is gone, old is gone. There is no in between. Minor physical ailments slowly surface, including his snoring and her wrinkles.
No matter how frustrated she felt during the day, she couldn't vent to him. First, they no longer had the friendship they once had. Second, he was also swamped with lawsuits, his boss was at odds with him, there was no hope of promotion, and he was constantly overwhelmed by official duties. Middle-aged people have no one to vent to, let alone listen to each other. He couldn't afford a house or a car, and now he couldn't even listen to her.
When the atmosphere is good, they will even make a few jokes.
She would complain, "Oh, middle-aged couples are so pathetic. There's so little communication anymore, and neither of them wants to chat. No wonder some people cheat and seek emotional comfort outside."
At times like this, Ren Qingshi would always laugh at the loopholes in her words: "People are looking for mistresses or little wolf dogs, are they just looking for a chat with you?"
Then they both burst into laughter.
Rong Xinhua thought, how could she be middle-aged already? They were only thirty years old, such a youthful age, she should still have infinite possibilities.
She didn't take advantage of her shortcuts, and every step she took afterwards felt like a detour. Even normal efforts felt like unnecessary effort.
She tossed and turned in bed. Whenever she thought about what had happened during the day, she would become angry and burst into tears out of self-pity.
How could that woman treat her like that?! Her behavior at the time was terrible. She didn't win the argument with the shrew. She should have pointed the finger at her daughter, made her daughter realize that it was her own mother who destroyed this paradise. In a situation that was supposed to bring her child dreamlike joy, that vulgar mother destroyed her daughter's joy with her own hands. Whenever she watched a joyous parade again in her life, her mother's roar and abuse would forever linger in her head.
Or you could go and say a few words to that shrewish and cowardly husband, saying that you sympathize with him for having such a wife. They probably have a lot of conflicts with each other in their daily lives.
If all else fails, you should call the police directly. If she can't play, no one else can either. Let's all go to the police station and spend a day there!
The more Rong Xinhua thought about it, the angrier he became. During the two or three hours that he finally managed to fall asleep, he was still immersed in dreams of all kinds of quarrels and entanglements.
The next morning, she dragged her still tired body and walked into the office building with dark circles under her eyes.
As she entered the hallway, she saw a woman sitting at the door to their office. Her thin, sharp face startled her. The same ferocious face that had appeared countless times in her dreams last night was now vividly before her.
Was this woman here to complain? They'd just had a fight at Universal Studios yesterday, and now she was causing trouble at her workplace? Although she was clearly at the disadvantage, Rong Xinhua felt uneasy due to her fragile social status.
The woman waited for the whole morning and when she felt someone coming to work, she put away her phone that was watching TV series and immediately stood up to greet him.
When she saw it was Rong Xinhua, she looked at him carefully for a few seconds, recalling the dispute between them at Universal Studios yesterday. Her flattering smile froze at the corners of her mouth and turned into mud.
Rong Xinhua arrogantly withdrew his gaze and ignored her. Instead, he walked straight to the office door, took out his key and opened it.
Xinhua is always the first one to come to work, because if she comes from Tiantongyuan and waits until rush hour to take the subway, she won't be able to squeeze in even if she turns into a paper man, unless she is torn into pieces and stuffed into the airtight gaps between people.
Half an hour later, people from the company started to come in. The woman at the door followed Xiao Zhao, who had just joined the company this year, in.
The woman put on an ingratiating smile, as if she was about to give Xiao Zhao a gift, but was evaded and refused. Xiao Zhao, not wanting to be shy, shouted, "Didn't I tell you yesterday on the phone? Regarding your subsidiary's mis-payment of us, you need to contact Ms. Rong from our department. She's responsible for refunds, and she has the UKEY. She was on vacation yesterday and is back today. Go talk to her right away; there's no point calling me!"
Xiao Zhao passed this hot potato to Rong Xinhua, but Xinhua just listened with her ears and didn't even bother to glance at her.
The woman swallowed reluctantly, smiled awkwardly, and approached Rong Xinhua, saying, "Sister Rong, I'm Sun Na, the cashier at Shengda, a subsidiary of our group. Our company made a mistake in transferring money to the head office a few days ago. Could you please refund it so that we can settle the account before the end of the month and this matter will be over."
Sun Na slipped a shopping card under her keyboard. Rong Xinhua glanced at it and deliberately raised her voice, saying, "Take this card away immediately, or we'll make things worse." She didn't want to touch the card at all, as it was dirty. She was still thinking to herself that after this despicable woman left, she would definitely disinfect her workstation and keyboard.
Rong Xinhua continued to flip through the reports on his desk, not even looking at Sun Na. "As for the fact that you mistakenly transferred several million to us, I can't make the decision. Let's consult the leader."
No matter how arrogant Sun Na was in her heart, she could only accept her bad luck and swallow her anger at this moment. "Sister Rong, we have to consider the company as a whole. This money must be returned eventually. The head office can't just accept this money without knowing the reason. If we Shengda is fined, it will not look good for the head office, right?"
"Are you teaching me how to do things? You have such a clear mind, why don't you use it to do accounting? I have to really consider the company as a whole, and I shouldn't return it to you quietly. You are really attentive to bring up the bad debts." Rong Xinhua stunned Sun Na directly, and the woman was speechless.
Xinhua saw the department manager Zhou Zhengwen enter his office, and followed him in with reports and notebooks, leaving Sun Na behind without any hesitation.
Author's Note
Liu Qiu
author
05-19
Whenever I write about Rong Xinhua and Ren Qingshi, I feel depressed, but it is the most real reality. So I have never had the courage to write their sequels.
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