Extra Nan Luo: 18. Live a Good Life
"No, Jinnan!" Luo Hao wanted to refute, but it was like a bone stuck in his throat, stinging him, and before he could say anything, tears welled up. Jinnan shook her head repeatedly and said, "If I hadn't been so greedy back then, if I had controlled my impulses, you wouldn't be in this state now. You could have had a bright future." "No, Jinnan, that's not the case!" Luo Hao suddenly felt at a loss for words, and for a moment he became a fool who couldn't defend himself. Jinnan covered her face and wept silently for a moment, her slightly trembling shoulders finally easing. She continued, "Luo Hao, before everything gets out of hand, can you please return home and live a good life? Be with your parents, find a respectable job, and have a normal relationship with the right girl for you? You can easily achieve all of these things. Don't waste away in Paris any longer. This place isn't worth it, and neither am I." Luo Hao leaned back in his chair dejectedly, the Coke can in his hand deformed by his grip. He murmured, "You always tell me to 'live a good life,' but what does 'live a good life' mean..." He turned his head and gazed out the window again, as if only by gazing out into the distance could he stop the tears from flowing. "Come to my house, and meet the conditions you just mentioned." Yu Jinnan picked up her handbag and stood. Seeing this, the waiter approached, ready to escort them out. Luo Hao couldn't sit there any longer, so he followed her out of the restaurant. She gestured for him to get in her car. He hesitated, and she waited quietly on the other side. He finally got in, and Jinnan got in the driver's seat and drove away. After entering her house, Jinnan seemed to put down her bag, changed into slippers, washed her hands, and then poured a glass of water and drank it all as usual. Luo Hao walked slowly from the entrance to the living room. It was a few square meters, but he felt it took a long time. Jinnan walked slowly in front of him and stood so close that he could hear his breathing. His heart couldn't help but jump. Her slender knuckles covered the buttons of her beige shirt, unbuttoning them one by one, revealing her snow-white neck and her creamy chest. "Don't." Luo Hao grabbed her cold hand and said awkwardly: "Jinnan, don't do this. We - shouldn't be like this." Her heart ached when he said this. She raised her tearful eyes and looked at him. He smiled bitterly at her, and this smile was as gentle as the smile he had always given her when he looked at her lovingly before, without the fierceness that was just on edge in the restaurant. He took a step back, and as if the unpleasant memories had been cleared away in an instant, he smiled again and said, "We didn't eat just now. What a shame for such a good restaurant! You must be hungry,...
"No, Jinnan!" Luo Hao wanted to refute anxiously, but it was like a bone stuck in his throat, stinging him. Before he could say anything, tears welled up in his eyes.
Jin Nan shook his head repeatedly and said, "If I hadn't been so greedy back then and if I had controlled my impulses, you wouldn't have been harmed like this now. You could have had a bright future."
"No, Jinnan, it's not like that!" Luo Hao suddenly felt at a loss for words, and for a moment he became a fool who couldn't defend himself. Jinnan covered her face and cried silently for a while, and then her slightly trembling shoulders stopped. She continued: "Luo Hao, before everything develops to a point where it's out of control, can you return to China and live a good life? Be good to your parents, find a decent job, and have a normal relationship with a girl who is right for you. These are all things you can easily get. Don't waste your time in Paris anymore. This place is not worth it, and neither am I."
Luo Hao leaned back in his chair dejectedly, the can of Coke in his hand clenched so tightly that it was deformed. He said in a low voice, "You always tell me to 'live a good life', but what does 'live a good life' mean..."
He turned his head and looked out the window again, as if only by gazing into the distance could he stop the tears from flowing.
"Come to my house and meet the condition you just mentioned." Yu Jinnan picked up her handbag and stood up.
Seeing this, the waiter came over and wanted to take them away.
Luo Hao couldn't sit there any longer, so he followed her out of the restaurant. She gestured for him to get in her car, and while he hesitated, she quietly waited on the other side. He finally got in, and Jin Nan took the driver's seat and drove off.
After entering her house, Jinnan seemed to put down his bag, changed into slippers, washed his hands, and then poured a glass of water and drank it as usual.
Luo Hao walked slowly from the entrance to the living room. It was only a few square meters, but he felt it took a long time to walk.
Jin Nan slowly walked up to him, standing so close he could hear her breathing. His heart couldn't help but leap. Her slender knuckles touched the buttons of her beige shirt, unbuttoning them one by one, revealing her snow-white neck and her creamy chest.
"Don't." Luo Hao grabbed her cold hand and said awkwardly, "Jinnan, don't do this. We—shouldn't do this."
Her heart ached when he said this. She looked up at him with tearful eyes. He gave her a bitter smile. This smile was as gentle as the one he had given her with love before, and there was no longer the fierceness that had just been there in the restaurant.
He took a step back, and as if the unpleasant memories had been cleared in an instant, he smiled his usual cheerful smile and said, "We just didn't eat. What a shame for such a good restaurant! You must be hungry. I am hungry too. I'll cook for you."
He walked over to the refrigerator, only to find a few ingredients inside. He offered a reluctant hand. "At least it won't be like last time in Hong Kong, where I had to make you a sandwich." He gathered the available materials and said with a grin, "I should be able to make you some hot noodles. Meet me in the restaurant. It'll be ready soon."
Yu Jinnan sat down at the dining table, feeling mixed emotions. A tangled mess of threads was tangled in her head, making her feel troubled and helpless.
When Luo Hao came over with two bowls of steaming noodles, he saw Jin Nan sitting alone in a turquoise leather dining chair, lost in thought, like a melancholy angel in an oil painting. He tried to appear more cheerful and enthusiastically invited her to join him for some noodles.
"Actually, before coming to France, I took a French cooking class in Hong Kong. I originally wanted to cook for you after I finished my studies, but unfortunately your family has always been short of ingredients. Later..." He paused, unable to continue. Jin Nan pretended not to realize that he had only said half of the sentence, and also tightly concealed the pain in his heart.
After she finished eating, Luo Hao pushed his phone, which displayed his flight itinerary, in front of her and said, "While I was waiting for the noodles to cook, I bought my plane ticket and will be returning home tomorrow afternoon. I'll quit my job tomorrow morning. Even if it's a daily wage position, there's no waiting period. I'll also give up the lease on the house. I don't have much of a deposit, so there's no need to worry about it. I'll take care of everything, so you don't have to worry about me. As for those dirty things, I won't touch them again. Don't worry, no matter what happens in the future, I will never touch them again. I swear to you, so don't worry about me anymore."
Jin Nan was a little dazed for a moment when she heard him say these words. Looking at his face that was forcing a smile, he seemed to still be as handsome as the innocent boy he once was, but also seemed not to be. He was burdened with a lot of heavy sorrow that might never be washed away.
Seeing that Jinnan heard what he said, even if she didn't respond, he knew it was time for him to leave. He stood up and wanted to put away the dishes first.
Jinnan said first, "Let me do it." She put their bowls together and put their two pairs of chopsticks together.
He looked at her silently. She put the dishes back on the table and looked back at him silently.
"sorry--"
"sorry--"
The two people said it in unison.
This apology instantly collapsed their two tense hearts. Only by hugging each other could they hold each other's shattered souls together. He sucked her lips, her earlobes, her body, and she opened herself completely to him. In that moment, she even hoped that her world, like her body, could fully accept him.
The two sweaty people hugged each other on the bed. He kissed her back, and his voice came out muffled from her hair, as if the low roar during the climax just now was still in her ears.
"Jinnan." He called her name.
"Yeah." She responded, thinking he would say something next, but after waiting for a long time, there was only silence.
"We are not together anymore. If I call your name like this again, no one will respond." He said this suddenly. The sadness that he wanted to ignore came back to haunt them.
"Luo Hao--" She wanted to turn over and talk to him, but he held her waist and wouldn't let her.
"Let's just talk like this. If you keep looking at me, those eyes of yours..." He smiled and sighed, "When you stare at me, there are some things I won't dare to say."
Jinnan remained silent obediently, waiting for him to continue.
"I'm leaving tomorrow. Just like you told me, those pale words 'live a good life,' I'm also telling you: From now on, you can live the life you want freely, but you must find a man who truly treats you well. You're such a good person, it's not difficult. I can't satisfy your ambitions after all, and we're destined not to be together. I give up. I can't continue to insist on my own way and make you sad and worried."
Jin Nan sobbed softly. He touched her face, gently wiped away her tears and said, "Silly, don't cry anymore. I'm really afraid of you crying. Once you cry, I lose all my temper and want to listen to you in everything, even... even if you ask me to leave you."
Jin Nan finally turned over suddenly and snuggled into his arms. The two of them hugged each other face to face, their hearts pressed tightly together, feeling each other's real body temperature and heartbeat. Such a moment, I'm afraid, will never come again.
"If you're tired of crying, go get some sleep. Didn't you say you didn't sleep all night last night? Don't be so stupid again. What can you do to me? I will never regret meeting you in my life, especially on New Year's Eve that year. I was really happy. Every time I see you, I feel so happy that I never think about whether it's worth it or not."
He gently scratched her back, as if soothing a child. Her wet face rubbed against his chest again and again, and she finally fell asleep.
It was a long night, filled with dreams, and she woke up feeling exhausted. Yu Jinnan opened her eyes and looked at the empty bedside. She felt it again and again, but it was cold, knowing he had been gone for a long time.
He did leave cleanly and neatly, without leaving her with any troubles, except for the ones in her heart.
Upon returning to China, Luo Hao didn't, as everyone expected, go to Shanghai and become a sophisticated middle-class person. Instead, he went to Beijing alone, joined Tuowu, and became a smooth-talking media salesperson. He was shrewd, thoughtful, and likable, and any simple-minded girl would fall for him. He then tried to find a new relationship, but he always felt something was missing.
Tired of his sales job, feeling his greasyness had become offensive, Fang Tuowu asked his boss, Fang Tuowu, for a transfer. The boss was kind enough to grant him the position of HR Director.
Then Yu Chuanbei returned home, and he started hanging out with that guy again. He wanted to ask about Jinnan, but he didn't dare. It wasn't until he saw Yu Chuanbei's embarrassing moment after meeting Lingling, watching such a proud man being completely humiliated by that little girl, Lingling, and yet he was so happy with it, that he finally realized what was missing from his new relationship.
So he decisively broke up and became single again. He felt much more comfortable and could finally talk about Yu Jinnan openly again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
