Tang Xiao's joke was quite blunt, but Lin Jie didn't seem angry at all, maintaining his smile. "How can we not be familiar? We've been old friends for so many years. Why don't you leave your phone number, and we can keep in touch another day?"
Tang Xiaoxiao was so angry she almost laughed. How come she never noticed how shameless this person was before?
Just as she was about to speak, she heard a woman's voice: "Lin Jie, what are you doing here!"
Then a young woman walked over from a short distance away, pushing a stroller with a little boy of about one year old sitting inside.
The woman walked straight to Lin Jie, hooked one arm around his, glanced at Tang Xiaoxiao with a hint of curiosity, nudged Lin Jie with her elbow, and asked, "Your friend?"
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Lin Jie's face as he replied with a "yes." Then, the woman generously extended her hand to Tang Xiaoxiao: "Hello, I am Lin Jie's wife, Fang Yun."
Tang Xiaoxiao had no feelings towards this woman, and extended her hand to shake hands with her: "Hello, Tang Xiaoxiao."
Upon hearing Tang Xiaoxiao's name, the woman visibly paused, then gave her a meaningful look. Tang Xiaoxiao had no interest in guessing where the woman had heard her name from, and said, "I have other matters to attend to, excuse me," before turning and leaving.
Seeing Tang Xiaoxiao walk away, the woman looked at her husband and saw that he looked absent-minded, his eyes fixed on her departing figure. She couldn't help but sneer.
"What's wrong? You've lost your soul after seeing your first love?"
"What first love? What nonsense are you spouting!" Lin Jie shouted.
"Ha, your friends told me long ago that you had a crush on her for so many years, and almost drank yourself to death after the breakup, but she didn't even talk to you. No wonder, she's so beautiful and a top student, what are you?"
"That's enough!" Lin Jie angrily shook off the woman's hand that was clinging to his arm. "I don't care who's gossiping in front of you. Even if there's something between her and me, that's my own business, and it's none of your place to interfere!"
Hearing him say that, the woman got angry: "I'm your wife, why can't I say anything? Don't forget you're married. Keep your eyes to yourself, I'm not someone to be trifled with!"
"This is utterly absurd." Lin Jie glanced at the woman with disgust, then turned and strode away, not even glancing at his son in the stroller.
Lin Jie walked angrily to the parking lot, opened the car door, got in, and slammed it shut. He leaned back in his seat, tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and couldn't stop thinking about Tang Xiaoxiao's departing figure.
She is even more beautiful than she was four years ago. She used to be a green bud, but now she is like a blooming flower, standing there gracefully. She is the kind of beauty that can be noticed at a glance in a crowd, making him want to get closer and closer.
Back then, he listened to his parents and believed that it was safest to keep Tang Xiaoxiao by his side. Young people often have impulsive ideas, and once this mindset is formed, it's hard to change. Tang Xiaoxiao's various explanations sounded to him like she didn't want to be with him long-term, but rather yearned for a wider world. In a moment of impulsiveness, he said many unacceptable things, ultimately leading to their breakup. But at that time, he didn't think he was wrong.
Was it wrong for him to want to marry her and live together as soon as possible because he loved her so much? If she loved him too, why couldn't she give up her studies for him? With this thought in mind, he stubbornly refused to contact Tang Xiaoxiao until the day Qiangzi told him that he saw Tang Xiaoxiao playing with other boys at the skating rink. At that moment, the string of reason in his mind snapped.
And then? Nothing more. Tang Xiaoxiao blocked him and soon went to S Province, changed her phone number, and he couldn't find her contact information no matter how hard he tried. He didn't dare to go to Tang Xiaoxiao's house. When he learned the truth about that day from Tang Xiaoxiao's friend, endless regret overwhelmed him.
He was depressed for a long time afterward, drinking heavily every day. When he was drunk, he would talk nonsense and grab someone and shout "Xiaoxiao". Faced with such a disappointing son, Lin Jie's parents resorted to their ultimate weapon after their attempts to discipline him failed.
In their eyes, teenage love was like playing house; the heartbreak after a breakup was only temporary, and one would naturally forget the old one once a new partner appeared. Since Lin Jie was no longer in school, they figured he might as well find someone to marry soon and give them a grandson. So Lin's mother eagerly began looking for young women for her son. In those days, it was quite common for young people in the small town to drop out of school and enter the workforce early. Not long after, Lin Jie, under his parents' arrangement, married a girl two years older than him, Fang Yun.
Fang Yun's family was from another town. They were well-off, and she was cheerful and generous. Although she wasn't particularly beautiful, she was still pretty and charming. After a period of self-imposed exile, Lin Jie gradually returned to normal. He was not entirely unmoved by the beautiful Fang Yun and thus acquiesced to their marriage.
Not long after their marriage, Fang Yun became pregnant and gave birth to their son, Dou Dou, the following year. Lin Jie thought he was content, with a beautiful wife and a young son, and a large fortune. Although he was not well-educated, he earned more than most college students. He was even quite smug at times.
However, he unexpectedly encountered Tang Xiaoxiao today, and when he saw that familiar profile from afar, he seemed to hear his own heart pounding wildly. It was a feeling he had never experienced with Fang Yun before.
Now, what fills his mind is an even stronger sense of regret than when they first broke up.
If only he hadn't been so stubborn and petty back then.
If he had encouraged Xiaoxiao to focus on her exams, he could have made time to visit her even if she went to another city.
If only I hadn't acted so impulsively when I found out Xiaoxiao was with another man, and hadn't made that phone call to humiliate her.
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