Chapter 61. Camel, Lion, and Baby (Final Chapter)
Ruan Tang's mother stayed in Beijing for two days. Feng Xue made a food map and took them mother and daughter to eat and drink, from high-end restaurants to fly-in-the-wall restaurants in the alleys. Even though Ruan Tang's mother was in a bad mood, he still took care of them quietly and carefully. When Ruan Tang's mother went back, Feng Xue also packed a lot of snacks and his own old Beijing fried sauce for her to take back.
Before entering the station, Ruan Tang's mother took her daughter's hand and rubbed it a few times. Seeing that her daughter's eyes and nose were red, she couldn't help but remind her: You have always had a righteous mind since you were a child. You must do what you want to do. Forget it, you have your own way to go. Mom won't stop you. If you need money when you go out, tell mom.
As she spoke, she glanced at Feng Xue who was standing not far away, and sighed: It's better to go out. Maybe when you come back, you will understand what your mother said.
"I have confidence in him." Ruan Tang reached out to tighten her scarf, hesitated for a moment, took a step forward, bent down slightly, hugged her, and said: Mom, I have not been a good student since I was a child. Just wait, I will make you proud in front of the neighbors.
Ruan Tang's mother was stunned for a moment, then reached out and patted her back, which was still slender even through her coat. Her voice trembled slightly as she said: You have always been my pride. You are so beautiful and can support yourself in a big city. Tangtang, what I want is for you not to suffer the hardships I have suffered.
"Yeah," Ruan Tang took a deep breath to hold back her tears, stood up straight, looked at the time, and said: The ticket checking time is almost here, you should go in quickly, take care of yourself, and when I come back and settle down, I will take you to Beijing.
Watching Ruan Tang's mother's back disappear at the security checkpoint, Feng Xue, who was standing a few steps away, walked over, put her arm around her shoulders, and sighed: I thought Auntie could persuade you to give up your plan to go out.
"Don't you support me?"
Feng Xue nodded and said: Supporting you and not wanting you to go are not contradictory. After all, it's too far away, I can't take care of you, and...
"and?"
"And I'm going to miss you."
In fact, when the study abroad agency roughly calculated the cost for her, and when she saw the thick language textbooks Xu Wei had ordered for her, Ruan Tang hadn't hesitated. Seeing his undisguised attachment, Ruan Tang felt a stir in her heart, inexplicably satisfied. She hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Then..."
"But I didn't want to be a stumbling block on your path forward. I happened to see a language class that day and signed you up."
Feng Xue's feigned indifference hinted at a smile eagerly awaiting praise and reward. Ruan Tang sighed inwardly and said sarcastically, "Are you in such a hurry to send me away? I don't have any extra money to pay you back for the registration fee."
Feng Xue looked at her with the resentful eyes of a profiteer. The hand that was around her slid from her shoulder to her waist. He held her tightly in his arms and said firmly: No, you must pay me back what you owe me before you leave.
It was not until that night that Ruan Tang understood what he meant by "owing him".
On the first day of the language class, Ruan Tang saw the teaching assistant Jiang Li following the teacher in, and suddenly remembered what Feng Xue said, "I just happened to see there was a language class." It turned out that Jiang Li just happened to ask him for help with sales, so he spent his own money to help others boost sales.
During lunch break, Ruan Tang bought a cup of hot cocoa and went to the teaching assistant's office. She saw Jiang Li lying on the table, looking listless.
Ruan Tang put the hot cocoa on her table and was about to leave when Jiang Li sat up and said thank you to her.
"I still want to ask, why are you here? Does your uncle know?"
Jiang Li drank hot cocoa, her face regained some of its redness, and she said lightly: I broke up with my family, so you probably don’t know.
"Ah?" Ruan Tang paused, then turned around, pulled a chair in front of her and sat down, and asked: Why?
Jiang Li looked at the pancake in her hand and swallowed. Ruan Tang immediately understood and handed the pancake to her. Seeing her inhale it violently, Ruan Tang sighed helplessly, opened the hot cocoa for her and handed it to her, and continued to ask: Is it because of Jiahao?
Jiang Li's mouth was stuffed full. In between chewing, she looked up at her and asked: You want to exchange my gossip for a pancake and a drink?
"If you don't want to say it, forget it." Ruan Tang spread her hands and stood up to leave.
"But I do have some gossip about Zhang Haoyu. He was also kicked out by his father." Jiang Li swallowed the food in her mouth, cleared her throat and said self-deprecatingly: I shouldn't have formed a love-chasing alliance with him in the first place. I feel like I'm so unlucky because of him.
Ruan Tang subconsciously turned back, sat down again and asked: What's the matter?
"You care about him so much? Aren't you afraid that Old Feng will get jealous if he finds out?"
Ruan Tang spread his hands and said: Then you underestimate his confidence.
She was afraid that Zhang Haoyu had fallen out with his family because of her, which would have added another confusing lawsuit to her. But on second thought, this seemed a bit self-indulgent. Besides, if he was doing this for her, he would have come to her to express his loyalty a long time ago.
Jiang Li finished the last bite of pancake and said slowly: The woman his father was going to marry had a miscarriage due to an accident. His aunt was afraid that his father would be angry and punish her, so she pushed the matter onto him. As a result, he was kicked out of the house by his father.
"So where is he now?"
"He's probably repairing his car at his friend's club."
Ruan Tang sighed and said: If you two don't have...
Before she finished saying the word "eat", she heard a knock on the door. Jiang Li stood up with her round belly and walked to the door to take the huge lunch bag handed to her by the delivery boy. The other party apologized repeatedly, and Jiang Li also said a series of "it's okay, thank you for your hard work". She turned around and breathed a sigh of relief, complaining: I'm an hour late, now I can't eat a bite.
Ruan Tang noticed that the lunch bag she brought in had the logo of a Japanese restaurant printed on it. She had the impression that the average cost per person in this restaurant was eight or nine hundred yuan. It seemed that she had been worrying too much.
"I ate your meal, how about you have this?" Jiang Li put the lunch bag in front of her. "By the way, what were you going to say just now?"
Ruan Tang suddenly realized that a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Her worry about the two rich second-generations was purely wishful thinking. She forced a smile and shook her head, saying: "Ah, it's nothing. I mean, if you two don't have jobs in the future, I can help introduce you to a lot of part-time job agents."
"Maybe in your eyes we are just children, so you think our feelings are just a trivial quarrel, but I always feel that our feelings are purer than those of adults in your definition. It's not illegal to like someone, so you can refuse to accept it, but please don't treat it like a child playing house." Jiang Li suddenly said before Ruan Tang opened the office door. Looking back, she had already started stuffing colorful sushi into her mouth.
It was early summer when Ruan Tang was preparing to leave for Milan. A few days before leaving, she went to the Tarot Museum that Xu Wei had taken her to before. Unexpectedly, she met Zhang Haoyu on the overpass outside Sanlitun.
Zhang Haoyu was still dressed as simply and cheerfully as when we first met. He was holding up his cell phone and making a call, looking extremely serious.
This was the first time Ruan Tang had seen him since Jiang Li said he was kicked out of the house by his father. She walked up to him, patted his shoulder and greeted him.
When he saw Ruan Tang, he was obviously stunned for a moment and said to the person on the other end of the phone: I'll talk to you later.
"Girlfriend?" Ruan Tang joked with a smile.
Zhang Haoyu waved the still lit address book interface in front of her and asked: Producer, are you nervous?
"Why should I be nervous? I'm relieved to see that you're not begging on the overpass."
"You know?" Zhang Haoyu smiled embarrassedly and said: In fact, my father asked me to go home less than a month later. He didn't really want to leave me.
After he finished speaking, Ruan Tang suddenly realized that he didn't know how to continue. He couldn't help but think in his heart that maybe he shouldn't have come to say hello just now.
"I heard..."
"and you……"
Ruan Tang smiled and said generously: You speak first.
"I heard you're going to study abroad in Milan?"
"Well, I'm leaving this weekend. Are you so well-informed?"
"Eri told me."
"What? Does the Love Pursuit Alliance have a new plan? Is she saying that while I'm gone, she'll bring Feng Xue and his ex-wife together so she can get closer to Jia Hao?"
Zhang Haoyu leaned against the railing and said: The alliance was disbanded a long time ago. I don’t like competing with others. Since you don’t like me wanting to be with him, then I will withdraw my love.
When he spoke, he raised his chin, which made him look like a bad boy like Kim Woo Bin in The Heirs. Ruan Tang sighed inwardly and thought that she might regret it when she saw him on the screen in the future.
Ruan Tang said with a smile: You are so good at controlling your emotions, the girl who falls in love with you in the future will be in trouble.
But they both knew that love is not a barter, exchanging my love for your love. If you don’t have love for me, then I will immediately change the business.
Ruan Tang looked at his sharp jawline and thought, it will pass.
Zhang Haoyu also lowered his head and carefully counted her eyelashes, thinking, it will pass.
"What about Brother Xue? You've been away for several years. What will happen to you two?" Zhang Haoyu changed the subject and chatted with her like an old friend.
Ruan Tang thought about it seriously and said: Let it be. I feel like my life has been revolving around men for so many years. It’s time for me to live a different life.
Zhang Haoyu suddenly bent his knees slightly and lowered his center of gravity. He made a shooting motion on the busy overpass and made a "wohu" sound. Ruan Tang looked at him in confusion, then looked around to make sure no one was looking at him. He couldn't help laughing and asked: What are you doing?
"I'm happy. At least this proves that I'm not the only loser."
Before the two of them went to the two ends of the overpass, Zhang Haoyu suddenly turned around and called Ruan Tang, paused and asked: If you don’t go to Milan, will you continue to open that coffee shop?
But Ruan Tang always felt that what he wanted to ask was, if she had not met Feng Xue, would she be with him?
She thought about it and said: I think so, but I must go to Milan. The assumption is just a beautified ideal state.
Zhang Haoyu nodded, raised his hands above his head and waved vigorously, saying: Goodbye, I wish you a safe journey.
She was in a good mood after having her tarot reading done. She strolled around the street for a long time. When she returned home, it was already completely dark, but it was still only Tiantian who came out to greet her. The little pig was also moved back home by Feng Xue. It looked up at her and then continued to eat.
After closing the store after the Chinese New Year, Feng Xue seemed to be even busier.
It was raining outside when he came back. He pushed open the door and walked in, covered in darkness and moisture. He saw Ruan Tang squatting on the ground shoveling Tiantian's poop. She took off her shoes and slippers without even having time to put them on. She walked up to her, leaned over, hugged her from behind, and took the cat litter shovel from her hand.
"You know I'm leaving this weekend, right?" There was a hint of dissatisfaction in her words.
"I know." He nuzzled his face into her neck. "You really don't want us to take you there?"
Ruan Tang crawled out of his arms, stuffed the garbage bag into his hand, and said: I actually don’t like farewell scenes, so forget it.
Seeing him diligently shoveling the shit, Ruan Tang couldn't help but ask, "What have you been busy with lately? What are your plans for the future? I'm leaving soon, so why don't you seem sad to see me go?"
But she felt that was particularly uncool, so she just smiled and joked: "Why are you looking at the cat litter so seriously? Why don't you look at me quickly? Maybe I'll go to Milan, meet some European aristocracy or royal family, and become the hostess of an ancient castle."
Feng Xue really stopped what he was doing, thought for a moment, and said: "Then can you hire me to be your housekeeper when the time comes? The castle is difficult to take care of."
Ruan Tang snorted, turned around and went back to her room to sleep. She didn't know how much time had passed. In a daze, Feng Xue tiptoed in, pushed the door open and lay down beside her. Ruan Tang frowned and moved her body to avoid his outstretched hand, almost rolling under the bed.
Until the weekend when she was about to leave for the airport, she was still in a unilateral cold war with Feng Xue.
Before Feng Xue sent her to the taxi, he smiled and asked, "Can you give me a hug? I don't know when we'll see each other again."
"No need. The horoscope says that today is the best day to cut the Gordian knot. I'm leaving now." After she said that, she got into the taxi, slammed the door shut and urged the driver to drive away.
She was sitting in the back seat of the taxi and couldn't help but look back, but this time Feng Xue was no longer there.
Ruan Tang sighed, remembering Xu Wei's words: never have too positive fantasies about long-distance relationships. Love is inherently anti-human. If you add the premise of being in a long-distance relationship to love, the ending of the story will be even less optimistic.
It was still early after checking in, and Ruan Tang remembered the phrase "cut the Gordian knot" she had made up before getting in the taxi, so she held her breath and walked straight to the security checkpoint.
She was about to lift her suitcase and put it on the conveyor belt when a hand came out from nowhere and grabbed the handle of her suitcase.
"I can do it myself, no need to bother..." Ruan Tang said as she raised her head and saw Feng Xue in a suit and tie appear in front of her.
She had the impression that she had never seen him in formal attire. He looked very high-spirited and was more to her liking than the several flight attendants in suits who had just passed by.
“You, you, you…”
Feng Xue grinned, which made her feel somewhat familiar. He took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to her, saying: Actually, I waited until now to tell you because I wanted to use your new identity to celebrate the beginning of your new life, which is double the joy.
Ruan Tang took the business card and read it over and over again in her mind: Feng Xue, VP of Universal Capital
"So you've been busy with this for some time?" Ruan Tang felt a lump in her throat.
Feng Xue smiled a little embarrassedly and said: After all, I have been away from the industry for a long time, and there are many things to see and understand.
Ruan Tang nodded and said: This is good. You can earn more and Congcong can live a better life.
"Of course I'm doing this for you." Feng Xue added anxiously, then shook his head and said: But don't feel pressured.
Ruan Tang smiled and asked: Did you come here just to tell me this?
"You forgot to bring something." Feng Xue lowered his head, took out the photo from his pocket and handed it to her.
Ruan Tang took the photo and looked down at it. She suddenly realized that her expression at that time was a little dull, like a young girl falling in love for the first time, which was a bit funny. She tried her best to keep a straight face and looked up at him. She said stubbornly: This...or else you should keep it. What if I really become the hostess of the castle and my husband finds out, it will be difficult to explain.
"Then..." Feng Xue's face fell and he reached out to take it hesitantly.
"You can ask me to accept it, but you have to tell me who you were chatting with when you were typing frantically in the store that day when you went to see Yi Huan and the child?" Ruan Tang put down her hand holding the photo and watched his hand hit nothing.
Feng Xue was stunned, thought for a while, and stammered: I said no one... Actually, I was just writing a memo.
"What memo?"
Feng Xue looked up at the flight schedule, put the photo into her phone case, put her suitcase into the security conveyor belt, patted her waist gently, and said: I think it's time to board the plane. Tell me when you get on the plane and I'll tell you.
Watching Ruan Tang's back as she walked through the security checkpoint, Feng Xue breathed a sigh of relief, took out his cell phone and opened the memo. The memo for January 3rd was two full pages long. He flipped through it and read it silently in his mind.
"From the moment you first mentioned the child, I vaguely suspected that you knew something. Combining your words with Yi Huan's reaction, it wasn't difficult to guess what had happened. Although I prepared myself for a long time, the truth was still beyond my expectations. But Yi Huan took good care of him. I want to thank you. If it weren't for you, this knot might have been stuck in my heart and hers for a lifetime.
Yihuan told me that you told her that you felt we were very similar people. Only then did she start to think that maybe two people who were too similar were destined not to be together in the end, just like the opposites attract in nature. That's why she was willing to accept my compensation as the father of her child again.
I think what she said makes a lot of sense, and I couldn't help but sigh that it was the right decision for me to muster up the courage to be with you.
I'm sorry, I can't give you a good life at the moment, but you seem to have said that you hate me saying sorry to you.
Nietzsche said that people are first camels, controlled by others, then lions, controlled by themselves, and finally free infants. This is the theory of life's stages. I once felt like a camel, driven by the desire for money. Later, I wanted to be a lion. I imagined the life of a free infant, unconcerned about tomorrow. But after being with you, I've gradually changed my mind. If I can help you live a free and happy life as a baby through my efforts, then I'm willing to be a camel crossing the desert. Thank you for appearing. I love you.
After about ten minutes, Ruan Tang sent a WeChat message:?
Feng Xue deleted the long paragraphs of text one by one, leaving only the sentence "Thank you for showing up, I love you." He took a screenshot and sent it to her.
"Wait until you come back."
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