Chapter 34 Chapter 34
*
I caught a flying bird
I haven't touched your feathers
——Faye Wong, "New Tenant"
*
In Jiangcheng, the air carries a familiar scent to Wen Ying. Wen Ying has lived here for three years, spending that time alone, lost to routine and freedom.
She was busy, too busy to take in the city's appearance. Likewise, she was lucky: the sudden lockdowns allowed her to finally sit quietly on the balcony, get to know the sky of Jiangcheng, appreciate its sunrises, and blend into its nights.
Thousands of times, she missed Chen Li. But thousands of times, she also persuaded herself not to fall into crazy stubbornness.
The apartment in Jiangcheng had been vacated long ago, and Wen Ying booked a long-term rental suite in the hotel where the academic symposium was held.
She signed the form and went upstairs. As soon as she entered the room, Yao Fangzhou called: "Are you crazy? The academic exchange meeting is only two weeks long, why do you need a monthly room?"
Wen Ying was startled, her hand covering her forehead. "Sorry, I forgot my information was directly linked to the law firm's account. I will reimburse the firm for this expense."
Yao Fangzhou didn't care about the money: "Why do you want to live in Jiangcheng permanently?"
"Well," Wen Ying put down the suitcase and saw a bird perched on the balcony railing outside the window. "I like Jiangcheng. I'm considering whether to stay in Jiangcheng and help the law firm expand its business here."
Yao Fangzhou was clearly unconvinced. "Henghe has only been open for a few months, and we haven't even fully opened up the Min City market yet. Besides, Mr. Wen, when did you become so ambitious? I partnered with you so you can focus on being a professional lawyer, not to expand my business."
"Since we're a 'partner,' we can't just keep our heads down and fight the lawsuit. Zhou Boyu's favorable situation won't last forever. Strike while the iron is hot and maybe you can seize this opportunity to make a name for yourself." Wen Ying looked at the bird through the glass. The bird's feathers were beautifully colored, a species rarely seen in the city. "I've also accumulated quite a few clients in Jiangcheng. I plan to contact them after the academic conference and discuss the feasibility with you later."
Yao Fangzhou wouldn't let her do that. "Don't forget, to be precise, these old clients in Jiangcheng aren't yours, but Zhongsheng's. Yan Lu isn't a generous person. If he knew you were poaching his clients, I don't think he'd let it go. Ultimately, the two of us are ex-pats from Zhongsheng, and prying away at our former employer's resources isn't a legitimate position in any circle. Compared to Zhongsheng, Henghe is just a bush next to a larger tree. Perhaps it's more important to focus on your own little piece of land than to charge into battle."
"A big tree won't remain lush and leafy forever, and a shrub won't remain crawling on the ground forever. Senior brother, I know my limits, at least let me give it a try. Besides..." The bird suddenly began to sing, its voice so melodious that Wen Ying was mesmerized.
"...Besides, Yan Lu transferred me back to Min City from Jiangcheng because he promised me a promotion to partner. But after I returned, not only did he not keep his promise, he also fired Jia Ran without my knowledge, leaving me in disgrace. Yan Lu owes me, so I don't think he would have a strong reaction even if he knew I was contacting clients in Jiangcheng."
Yao Fangzhou had known Wen Ying for quite some time. Not only did they work closely together, but they also had a close personal relationship. He sensed something unusual: "What's wrong with you? Are you having a conflict with Shen Li?"
He made a bold guess: "...because of Zhou Boyu? Shen Li is not very happy?"
After the bird sang enough, it flapped its wings and flew away from the terrace, leaving only a beautiful shadow in the air before disappearing.
Beautiful moments are always fleeting. Perhaps only change itself is enduring.
To enjoy something and then lose it is far more painful and sad than never having it at all. Wen Ying is a pessimist and feels that it would be better if she had never experienced such beauty.
Wen Ying felt lost, overcome by an indescribable sense of loneliness and desolation. She lowered her head, picking at her nails, and unconsciously paced around the room. "No."
"Your voice doesn't sound like nothing," Yao Fangzhou said worriedly, "Tell me, what's going on?"
"Really not," she said a little irritably, "Brother, don't forget what I do."
Yao Fangzhou scoffed, "What do you do? This only proves that you're good at divorce. What? Are you planning to divorce Chen Li?"
Wen Ying didn't want to argue with him, nor did she want to tell others about her worries: "You are also a lawyer, don't be so scared when talking about 'divorce'. What's the big deal about divorce these days? Okay, senior brother, I'm very tired and need to rest. If you want to find someone to chat, you can see if Jia Ran is free."
After hanging up the phone, she walked around the house a few more times. As she was walking, Wen Ying suddenly realized that she was unconsciously walking in circles again and stopped abruptly.
Wen Ying had no idea when she started to develop this habit. Whenever she felt stressed or down, she would walk around the room in circles, never getting tired.
This was a bad habit, she thought. As a lawyer, she couldn't have such habits and actions that could easily reveal her emotional fluctuations. Even biting her nails and pulling her hair would be easier to hide than going in circles like this.
Maybe she needs to make some changes—bad habits, unnecessary movements, and meaningless emotions and feelings.
"Damn it."
Wen Ying fell back on the soft bed and cursed.
She had never had any illusions about the outcome of this marriage - even if she had, she was aware that they were just illusions.
But what about now? She had truly tried to believe Shen Li's words that he loved her. It was precisely because of her devotion and belief that she was now suffering so much pain.
Wen Ying was shocked by her anger and collapse that night. She sadly realized that during this period, the proportion of her love for herself was decreasing, and her expectation of waiting for Shen Li to love her was gradually rising.
Wen Ying felt like she was sinking into a quagmire from which she couldn't escape. The battle between the repetitive lingering attachment and the excruciating detachment left her exhausted, both physically and mentally, and almost losing all senses.
This is not allowed, absolutely not. Wen Ying cannot allow such a thing to happen to herself.
The silence lasted less than five minutes before the phone began to vibrate again. Wen Ying saw it was an unfamiliar number and assumed it was a client. She sat up, took a deep breath, and then, in her most polite voice, pressed the answer button: "Hello, Wen Ying."
There was a slight noise on the other end of the phone, but no one spoke.
Wen Ying was surprised and said again, "Hello, I'm Wen Ying. May I ask who you are?"
A trembling voice timidly sounded: "...Sister, it's me, Congcong."
She had already blocked all contact information and social media apps of the Wen family. Wen Cong had called her several times before, but she hung up as soon as she heard the voice and then blocked him again.
After Wen Yingying answered, hung up, and blocked her several times, Wen Cong stopped trying to contact her by phone. After so long, she unexpectedly came back.
Wen Ying took the phone from her ear without hesitation. Just as she was about to press the end button, she heard Wen Cong crying loudly in the receiver, begging her not to hang up.
In the end, she couldn't bear it, so Wen Ying sighed and put the phone close to her ear again.
She said nothing, just wanting to hear what Wen Cong had to say.
Wen Cong didn't hear the busy tone for a long time. Knowing that Wen Ying was soft-hearted, he quickly said, "Sister, I didn't mean anything else by calling you. I just wanted to apologize to you."
She was a little excited and gave an incoherent explanation: "That night my father said he wanted to look for you. I tried to persuade him, but he had a few drinks and was stubborn. No matter how I tried to persuade him, it was useless. Later I saw him about to leave, and he seemed to be holding something in his hand. I also thought about calling you to tell you, but my father said that if I told him, he would beat me to death too. Sister, I'm sorry, sister, I thought he was just going to quarrel with you. I didn't think he would hit you."
"so what?"
Wen Ying asked these three words out of the blue, which made Wen Cong stunned.
"So," she wiped her tears and quickly replied, "So, sister, I'm not really indifferent to the dying, nor am I really heartless. If I could do it again, I would never let him go out even if my father beat me to death."
Wen Ying said, "If that's all you want to say, you can hang up now. Wen Cong, my time is precious. I don't have time to listen to your hypotheses and expressions of loyalty after the fact."
Wen Cong sobbed, "My father's case will go to court soon. I don't know anyone else, so I can only beg you. Sister, can you issue a letter of apology, or tell the court that my father lost his mind while arguing with you and accidentally hurt you? I checked online and the sentences for negligent injury and intentional injury are different. Sister, I beg you, you and I are the best in the entire Wen family. Sister, please beg me."
"Yes, you and I are the best friends in the entire Wen family. But you were also the only one who got me drunk and tried to take my money when my ancestral home was being demolished. Wen Cong, we are not related by blood, and I no longer want the illusory sisterly love."
"Sister," Wen Cong's voice was filled with grievance. "My father favors boys over girls, and he doesn't like me. You've always known about this. If my father gets a heavy sentence for this, how can I ever hold my head up high? If it's just negligent injury, the sentence will only be one or two years, and we can just say that my father went out on business, which won't arouse suspicion. If people find out, we can explain it as a misunderstanding and a momentary slip-up, so I won't be looked at with tinted glasses. I didn't have much fatherly love in the first place, but now I have to bear the consequences of his mistakes. This is unfair to me. Sister, I know you have a sharp tongue, but a soft heart. Please help me, just this once, and I will never bother you again."
Wen Ying had lost all her patience. She didn't understand why someone could speak of moral kidnapping so confidently.
Wen Ying felt that answering this call was the second mistake she had made today. The first was answering Yao Fangzhou's call.
"Alright," she interrupted Wen Cong's grievance, her tone mixed with obvious annoyance, "You are unfair? What does your unfairness have to do with me? Wen Cong, you don't understand what I am saying. Let me say it again - the sisterhood between us was broken as early as the night you got me drunk. Do you understand?"
Wen Cong's voice suddenly became sharp. The grievance and tears from earlier were gone, leaving only anger and roars. "Wen Ying! You're just an orphan that no one wants. If it weren't for our Wen family, where do you think you would be now? Look at you. You have a decent job and a happy family now, and you're still not satisfied. You even want to take over our ancestral home for yourself? You're so selfish!"
Wen Ying was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Wen Cong, that's right. What's the point of pretending? Now that we've fallen out, it's most important to just talk it out."
Wen Cong couldn't hold it in any longer and poured out all the vicious words he had been holding back in his heart: "You're an ungrateful person. Not only did you take our family's money for nothing, but now you're sending my father to jail. You're such a vicious person! You have no heart! You deserve to be abandoned by your own parents!"
Wen Ying's eardrums were ringing, and he felt very sad. He didn't understand whether there was such a thing as "love" in this world.
What exactly is 'love'?
Who is worthy of love?
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