Chapter 31. Moon Garden
Yi Lingjia arrived in Su City last night.
Suzhou is famous for its classical garden architecture. It is the summer holiday season and there are many tourists. The whole city is bustling and lively.
Among them is a small and exquisite garden called Yueyuan.
Yueyuan is slightly out of the way and not very famous, so it avoids most summer tourists.
When Yi Lingjia walked in, he was still greeted by the unique tranquility of the garden.
Walking through the winding corridors of Yue Garden, you can faintly smell the fragrance of gardenias.
In this rare coolness of summer, Yi Lingjia's mind was in a mess, with all kinds of thoughts coming to his mind.
Su City was the place where he and Ke Fan took their first long-distance trip, and of course, many of their firsts also happened here.
He walked silently through the summer shadows of the trees in the woods, the tips of his ears gradually turning red.
The anxiety and excitement intertwined in my heart are like the lingering scent of gardenia.
She chose this place as the meeting place, what exactly did she want to say?
It takes about half an hour to take a taxi from the high-speed rail station to Yueyuan.
Ke Fan sat in the car, listening to the driver's unique Wu dialect, and felt a long-lost and strange peace in his heart.
Today, she decided to tell the whole truth.
As he entered Yue Garden, Ke Fan was immediately enveloped by a familiar sense of security.
Although Yue Garden is small, it has a compact layout, with the pool as its center. It has everything you need and can show the big picture in a small way.
In addition to the green trees, bamboo pavilions, and flowing water scattered in the garden, this inexplicable sense of security is also the reason why Ke Fan prefers Yueyuan.
She walked forward along the winding corridor, passed the "Yuezhi Pavilion" built by the water, and in front of the classical hall deep in the corridor was a lush gardenia tree, almost as tall as the rockery next to it. The shadow of the tree rustled in the summer breeze, sending waves of fragrance.
Beneath the gardenia tree stood a tall figure in a black short-sleeved shirt.
The figure, which had been still and almost blended into the scenery, came to life the moment she was seen.
The black forehead swept across the fair skin, and the dark and round eyes were filled with the clear light of morning dew.
It's like the person in the painting walked out of the book.
The two sat side by side on a stone bench under the gardenia tree.
There are also many kinds of plants in Yue Garden, and the autumn osmanthus and summer lotus are both unique in the eyes of those who know the garden.
Not far away is a corner of the pond where summer lotus is in full bloom. Most of the tourists in the park are taking photos with the lotus outside the railings by the pond.
They sat quietly in this small corner filled with the fragrance of gardenias.
Everyone has their own preferences.
There is a stone tablet in the garden that records that the word "Yue" in Yue Garden comes from the wife of one of the owners, Xie Suyue.
The owner's full name was not recorded, only that he was a general named Li.
General Li and his wife met in troubled times. He eliminated evil and protected the good, while his wife practiced medicine and saved lives. They were a perfect couple.
After the war, they lived in seclusion here. They should have lived a garden life together, listening to the rain by the window, burning incense and reading paintings, but his wife died early.
General Li was deeply saddened and named the garden after his beloved wife. He also recorded Xie Suyue's life as a woman who practiced medicine and promoted medical skills in that era.
His beloved's name will live on forever, just as he wished.
When Yi Lingjia saw the inscription for the first time, his heart trembled slightly.
Not only for this touching love story, but also for the word "beloved wife" in it.
Not a wife, but a beloved wife.
He used the reflection on the glass cover to secretly look at Ke Kefan's focused expression as he read the inscription.
Last night, they gave each other their first time, and the aftertaste of endless pleasure was still lingering on their tongues.
He was excited and certain that they would get married.
At that time, she was also his - his tongue touched his teeth, and he said silently behind her:
Beloved wife.
Deep in the corridor, the overflowing fragrance of gardenias and the faint chirping of cicadas mixed together.
It was the first time in six years that the two of them sat side by side so peacefully. Yi Lingjia almost hoped that the quiet beauty of this moment could last forever.
But he knew in his heart that this brief moment would eventually pass, and no matter good or bad, he had to take another step forward.
He sighed softly and asked, "You said you had something to tell me. What is it?"
Ke Fan was wearing a white cotton skirt today. She stared at the mottled shadows of trees swaying on her skirt.
Since she sat down, she has been thinking about how to start the conversation.
There seems to be so much to say.
Where do I start?
Should we start with Lu Qiaoyuan’s fake identity?
Or should we start from the beginning, from our reunion at sea?
She recalled all the times the two had met since their reunion.
Reunion at sea, Lao Xie's group meeting, discussion of cooperation in the office, and Wan Li's night out of control.
Scenes flashed through her mind like a movie reel, but none of them could be easily captured like the obvious threads on a sweater.
Or even earlier, starting from her and Dr. Xu’s plan?
No, that shouldn't be enough either.
What they really need to talk about between them is something deeper, something dormant like a pimple.
The cicadas' chirping was so faint that it was almost inaudible.
A breeze blew, and the scent of gardenia was so strong that it was intoxicating.
"Have I ever told you about my childhood?" Ke Fan asked in a light and clear voice:
"My mother, Liao Qingmei, was a very talented person before she got married. At that time, her dream was to become a writer. She didn't want to get married, but at that time, she was under a lot of pressure from all sides, as if it was a huge mistake for a woman not to get married. Later, she had no choice but to go on a blind date, and that's when she met my father."
Ke Fan paused, raised a sarcastic smile, and continued, "Before marriage, my father promised her that she could do whatever she wanted after marriage. But after marriage, my mother not only had to take on all the housework, but also had to deal with the mess at my father's house. Later, when I came along, her time had to be split into eight parts because my father was completely unwilling to share any family responsibilities."
"My mother had always been in poor health, suffering from chronic anxiety and fatigue. When I was ten, she became seriously ill. Before that, no matter how hard or tiring her life was, she never complained to me. But in her last days, she repeatedly warned me not to become like her, someone forced to be trapped in a family."
"I've read the manuscript she wrote before she got married. The writing was very spiritual, but she only wrote half of it and never finished it."
"Later my mother passed away..." Ke Fan suddenly choked up.
Yi Lingjia held her hand silently: "If you don't want to talk about it, we can talk about it slowly later."
"I want to say it. I want to tell you." Ke Fan took a deep breath to calm himself down, then met his worried gaze. "I should have told you six years ago."
"Okay, I'm listening."
"After my mom passed away, my dad's life became even more chaotic. To escape the pressure, he turned to alcohol. After he lost his job for causing trouble, our family's financial situation plummeted."
"There was a time when I was in junior high school when my family couldn't even afford the electricity bill, which was several hundred yuan a month. Before my second-year final exam, I had no choice but to take out the candles we used for ancestral worship to light my books. My dad came home drunk and kicked the corner of the table, spilling all the candle wax on my arm."
Ke Fan gently stroked the burn scar on her left arm. She still remembered the stinging and burning feeling.
It was also at that time that she covered her bloody arm and thought vaguely that if the electricity bill could be cheaper when she grew up, there would not be other children like her.
Yi Lingjia's palm also covered her arm.
He felt like his heart was about to break.
That night at the Renaissance Hotel, after losing control, when the two of them hugged each other briefly, he felt the urge to question Ke Fan.
He wanted to ask the person in his arms if she had felt any of his pain in the past six years?
If the answer is yes, he will come back at all costs.
Now, after hearing Ke Fan's story and knowing the hardships she had endured in her childhood, the balance in his heart has completely tilted towards her.
Her pain was reduced to one point, but she felt the same way.
Ke Fan felt the warmth coming from his palm and continued:
"The year I took the high school entrance exam, I relied on a government scholarship. My family couldn't even afford the tuition. From that moment on, I knew I had to rely on myself for everything." She looked up at Yi Lingjia: "Just like I told you in college, my life is in my own hands."
"So when you graduated, you were so eager to have your family support you so you could go abroad, get married, and have children." Ke Fan lowered his gaze again and said in a low voice, "I'm really scared. I don't want to become what my mother least wants me to be. I don't want to be dependent on others. I don't want to live a life of asking for money."
This sentence was full of meaning, yet it ended lightly. Yi Lingjia neither heard nor saw it.
Ke Fan's drooping eyelids concealed all the emotions surging in his eyes.
With the death of Yi Lingjia's father, some things will be buried forever.
The shadows of the trees on her skirt were ruffled and disturbed by the wind, and she continued:
"Actually, I'm still a little scared now. I'm afraid of being coerced by my family and society and eventually becoming what they expect me to be."
Xing Xiao would even comment in front of her: "Ke Gong doesn't have to work so hard. Girls should still focus on their families in the future."
These social prejudices, like mountains and seas, block her from many things.
With career ambitions and old loves.
Six years ago, she retreated due to these obstacles and the uncertainty in her heart about him.
Six years later, he proved himself with his always passionate love.
Not only the 21-year-old Yi Lingjia loves her, the 27-year-old also loves her, and the 37-year-old will continue to love her.
Love can conquer mountains and seas.
In the Moon Garden in July, the shadows of the trees rustled and the fragrance of gardenias filled the air, which gave her more courage.
Ke Fan raised his hand and gently held Yi Lingjia's face.
The dark and bright eyes stared at her, and she raised a gentle smile.
His fingers moved down, brushed across his Adam's apple, and covered the lighthouse necklace through his black short-sleeves, as if he was holding a gem of power.
"I'm still a little scared, but I want to try it with you again."
"Little Feather, let's get back together, okay?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
