Chapter 58
58.
Li Guifang's face was still the same as before—or rather, it should be the same, after all, they had only been apart for a year, but to Cheng Lingjun, it was as if he hadn't seen her for a long time.
She looks rather...ordinary.
Cheng Lingjun wondered why she was so different from his memory. In his memory, she should have been more beautiful, instead of appearing as someone whose bright and beautiful clothes only made her face look dull.
He was just a wealthy-looking man, pale-faced, unsteady on his feet, with slight bluish-black under his eyes, looking somewhat tired and exhausted.
When Cheng Lingjun faced her again, he found himself unusually calm, as if he were seeing a long-lost acquaintance whom he didn't want to see. Their friendship had ended when he left the Li family. He didn't know why she would come over to greet him now. Cheng Lingjun didn't want to talk to her, so he pretended not to see her and turned around to urge the waiter a few times.
"Almost done, sir," the waiter said, also finding it strange. He hadn't seemed anxious before, so why was he suddenly so flustered now that someone had come? However, this woman looked somewhat familiar; she seemed to be…
Cheng Lingjun nodded, walked to the carriage, and waited until everything was loaded before getting on and leaving.
Li Guifang hurried to his side and called out, "Ling Jun? Why aren't you talking to me? Have you forgotten me? I am..."
Cheng Lingjun didn't want to be the center of attention. The helper kept glancing at them, so he interrupted her and said in a low voice, "We have nothing to do with each other anymore, so please don't bother me."
Li Guifang was shocked, "I...we're not..."
Cheng Lingjun waved his hand to let the waiter leave before turning to look at Li Guifang. His eyes were calm and unfamiliar, as if he were looking at a complete stranger, not the person he had borne children with and who had promised to spend his life with him.
Li Guifang was startled by his gaze and reached out her hand. "Cheng Lingjun? You really don't remember me?"
Cheng Lingjun dodged her hand, the shadow of the carriage's cargo obscuring his face. He said, "I remember. Is there something you need?"
His eyes were somewhat dark in the shadows. Li Guifang asked in disbelief, "How did you become so cold? Where is Li Guang?"
“He has nothing to do with you,” Cheng Lingjun frowned. “I remember you were the one who rejected him.”
“This…but…” Li Guifang wanted to say something, but Cheng Lingjun didn’t want to listen to her anymore. He pushed the goods on the cart, made room for someone, and was about to sit down.
"Where are you going?" Li Guifang ignored Cheng Lingjun's cold face and stepped forward to pull the horse's reins. The coachwoman was about to step forward when Cheng Lingjun stopped her. He gestured for her to wait aside so he could talk to this... person who shouldn't be there.
Seeing him get out of the car again, Li Guifang hurriedly asked, "Where are you going? What... what are these things? Are you delivering goods?"
In such a short time, this was all Li Guifang could think of. She even thought that Cheng Lingjun seemed to be doing poorly after leaving her, and that she had to show her face in public and do this kind of hard labor. Thinking of this, the unease and anxiety that had risen in her heart instantly subsided a lot.
She could still manage a smile, as if she were meeting an old friend after a long separation, and said, "Ling Jun, didn't you go back to the Cheng family?"
"No," Cheng Lingjun replied succinctly.
No wonder, Li Guifang thought to herself. It must be because he suddenly saw her, saw the huge gap between them, and thought about the things she had done to wrong him in the past that he became so resistant to her.
It's alright. She's a magnanimous woman, and Cheng Lingjun is her ex-husband. No matter how heartless he is, she won't hold it against him.
Li Guifang's smugness was practically overflowing, and Cheng Lingjun couldn't help but find it laughable.
"Oh dear, then... then why don't you go back to the Li family? You still have me, don't you?"
Cheng Lingjun laughed, his laughter laced with sarcasm. "Back to the Li family? Is there still a place for me there?"
Li Guifang said with trepidation, "Of course there is. As long as you are willing to go back, that place will always be your home!"
"That's so sweet to say," Cheng Lingjun almost laughed out loud. She hadn't even thought of looking for the father and son since he left, yet now she had the nerve to call the place that kicked them out his home.
I'm afraid even Old Madam Li would slap her daughter if she heard her speak like that.
Cheng Lingjun's smile seemed to encourage Li Guifang, who continued, "Xiao Lin is young and naive, he doesn't have a bit of your gentleness and consideration. Oh, he also has a son, which is perfect for keeping Xiao Guang company. They are both boys, so they will definitely get along well."
Li Guifang chuckled twice, seemingly thinking it was a very good decision.
Cheng Lingjun admired her magnanimity and thought that everyone would be as magnanimous as her. Did she really think he would be happy to hear this?
Cheng Lingjun actually knew that Lin family. After he and Li Guifang got married, many businessmen who had business dealings with the Li family often came to visit. Among them, the Lin family left a deep impression on Cheng Lingjun.
Because every time the Lin family came, they would always ask Li Guifang to meet them, saying that they were her childhood friends. The Lin family owned a rice and flour shop and had close ties with Yongfu Grain Shop. The lady of the Lin family was named Lin Yuan, and Xiao Lin was her illegitimate son. He was timid and pretty. Whenever the matriarch of the Li family—that is, Li Guifang's mother—saw him, she would say it was a pity, saying that he and Guifang were childhood sweethearts, but in the end they did not end up together, and so on.
Cheng Lingjun heard these words, but Li Guifang told him not to take them to heart. Her mother just liked to tease them. They had only met Lin Yuan a few times when they were young, and then they hadn't seen him since. When they grew up, Lin Yuan brought him to the Li family, and by then Li Guifang was already going to marry Cheng Lingjun.
At that time, Cheng Lingjun was bewitched by Li Guifang's sweet words and overlooked the look in his good wife's eyes when she looked at Xiao Lin, which was filled with admiration and the same regret as Li's mistress.
Cheng Lingjun had also met that young man, Lin, once. He was very thin, with eyes like pools of water, and spoke in a soft, gentle voice. When others spoke to him, it was as if they were dealing with a fragile glass cup.
However, Cheng Lingjun didn't really want to see him at that time. There was no particular reason; he just felt uncomfortable. So even when Li Guifang asked him to come out and talk to Xiao Lin, he would make excuses not to go. Naturally, he didn't know that when he couldn't keep company with the guests, it was Li Guifang who was with him.
What happened between them afterward, and why Xiao Lin became Li Guifang's kept lover, Cheng Lingjun had no idea. All she knew was that the rice had been cooked and the fruit had been brewed. Now she heard that the young master of the Li family had remarried. As for who it was, Cheng Lingjun knew without even thinking that it must be Xiao Lin.
It was unexpected that the Li family, who most wanted a daughter, would welcome the birth of another boy. One wonders what the expression of the matriarch of the Li family was when she saw the birth of her second son.
Cheng Lingjun had no intention of paying attention to the Li family's affairs anymore, but Li Guifang's appearance in front of him today stirred up those unpleasant memories. He never expected that at the end of those memories, there would be such an unexpected continuation, which made him laugh at the cyclical nature of fate.
But this laughter is like that of a spectator watching a play, immersed in the performance, yet he is no longer a character in the play, and decisively withdraws when the play ends.
He looked at Li Guifang as if she were a character in a play who had nothing to do with him. No matter how hard she tried to play the piano and sing, his heart remained unmoved. The only reason he was willing to spend time with her was that he didn't want to disturb others. Once everything was clear, he and she would have nothing to do with each other anymore.
Li Guifang said a lot, but didn't get a response. She looked at Cheng Lingjun strangely and found that he had a half-smile on his face. She had never seen this on his face before. Cheng Lingjun used to smile gently or with a little helplessness, not this kind of... forced smile.
"You... what's wrong with you?" Even if Li Guifang was slow to notice, she sensed that something was wrong. She looked him over carefully and then at the goods on the truck. Finally, she discovered some clues. These goods should have been bought by Cheng Lingjun himself, not delivered for someone else.
"What are these things you bought?" Li Guifang reached out to touch the outline of these things, but Cheng Lingjun stopped her. Judging from the shape of these large objects, it was not hard to guess that these were probably tables and chairs placed in the house. She had sharp eyes and saw a bronze mirror in the corner. The exposed half of the bronze mirror was lying in a carefully placed pile of straw. It seemed that no matter how bumpy the carriage was, it would not break the bronze mirror.
Buying so many tables, chairs, and mirrors—unless it's a move, or he suddenly has money and wants to replace the old ones, but even if he's moving, he doesn't need to replace everything. As for the money… how could Cheng Lingjun suddenly have money? There's never been any talk of the Cheng family becoming wealthy. Cheng Xiu is just a poor scholar teaching a school; where would he get any money? Besides, Cheng Lingjun just said he didn't go back to the Cheng family…
Does he have a new home? Or...?
Li Guifang then asked, "Where do you live now? And all these things, did you buy them all? Why did you buy so many tables and chairs, and... and bronze mirrors? Isn't that enough? Actually, you could have asked me for them, haha, I have plenty at home..."
Li Guifang's words became increasingly incoherent, and she no longer even knew what she was saying. She desperately needed an answer from Cheng Lingjun, an answer... an answer...
Cheng Lingjun simply said, "These were bought by my wife for our new home."
After saying this, without looking at Li Guifang's expression or waiting for her response, he got into the carriage and called for the carriage attendant. Under the attendant's guidance, the carriage quickly left the place and also left Guping Town.
Before he could see the figure completely, Cheng Lingjun finally turned around. He took a deep look at the figure that had become a blurry mess, as if he saw his former self. The bewilderment and helplessness on that face were all left behind until he could no longer see it.
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