Chapter 35 Chapter 35
On the third day of arriving in Jiangcheng, Wen Ying developed a stomachache.
It had been almost half a year since he had committed the crime again, but when he came back he was even more aggressive than before.
Wen Ying had always been careful about what she ate, but she hadn't been able to stop herself from getting stomach problems. They say the stomach is an emotional organ, and that it's more likely to hurt when you're feeling down. It seems there's some scientific basis for this.
Fortunately, Zheng Di used illness as an excuse to miss this academic exchange. If she had been present, Wen Ying really didn't know whether she would have fainted from the stomachache.
The pain in her stomach was like a wave, and Wen Ying finally couldn't hold on any longer after enduring it for the entire morning. Halfway through the afternoon academic salon, Wen Ying was already sweating profusely and had to ask for leave to return to her room.
Fortunately, I always have painkillers in my bag. After taking two tablets, the gradually spreading sleepiness dispelled the burning sensation in my stomach.
When Wen Ying woke up, the room was pitch dark and it was almost ten o'clock.
Her stomach was empty, and the painkillers only treated the symptoms but not the root cause. The pain that had been suppressed would appear intermittently, lurking in the night, ready to stir.
Wen Ying originally wanted to order some porridge and medicine on her mobile phone, but when she turned over and saw the bright moon and sparse stars outside the window, she suddenly wanted to go out for a walk.
Her hands and feet felt weak, and she took a moment to calm herself before sitting up straight. Her clothes were damp with sweat, so Wen Ying changed into clean clothes, grabbed her phone, and went out.
While waiting for the elevator, she happened to meet the hotel housekeeper on this floor. Wen Ying asked her to send the clothes in the dirty clothes basket to the laundry room in time.
The hotel manager agreed. Perhaps seeing her gloomy face, he asked her with some concern, "It's getting late now. Are you still going out? Are you feeling unwell?"
Wen Ying said, "I have a stomachache. I'm going out to eat something before buying medicine."
The housekeeper was very considerate: "We can help you buy medicine."
Wen Ying thanked him first, then said it was not necessary: "I just want to go out for a walk."
The elevator door opened, and Wen Ying said goodbye to the hotel housekeeper and got into the elevator.
It was a spring night outside, with a warm breeze and not too cold.
Wen Ying's original apartment was nearby, and she remembered a small porridge shop in the alley next to the hotel. It was a simple shop with no decorations, not very impressive from the outside, and there were few customers.
Once, Wen Ying worked overtime and had no meals. This was the only porridge shop open on the roadside. She stumbled in by chance and ordered a bowl of ginger and lily porridge. She was amazed as soon as she took a sip. The warm and spicy taste blended well with a slight hint of bitterness. One bowl of it warmed her spleen and stomach.
From then on, whenever she passed by the porridge shop after get off work and it was still open, she would definitely patronize it.
She entered the store to place an order. It was not late and the owner was busy counting the bill.
"Is there any more porridge?"
The shop owner was an elderly man in his sixties. He was stunned for a moment when he saw Wen Ying, then smiled and nodded: "There's more. Is it the ginger and lily porridge?"
Wen Ying nodded.
While serving the porridge, the owner asked her enthusiastically, "Where have you been after not seeing you for so long?"
She lowered her head to scan the code to pay and replied casually: "I had some other things to do a while ago."
A full bowl of ginger and yam porridge was brought to Wen Ying, and Wen Ying sat in her old seat at the door.
He wasn't actually hungry, but if he took the stomach medicine, he couldn't eat on an empty stomach. But as he gently stirred the hot porridge with a spoon, the fragrant aroma rising with the white mist really piqued Wen Ying's appetite.
The shop was cramped, and perhaps seeing a familiar customer return, the owner seemed uncharacteristically happy. While packing up, he chatted with Wen Ying, "You used to come here so often, I was a little worried when you first stopped by. Then, after not seeing you for a few months, I figured you must have gotten married. How wonderful."
Wen Ying took a sip of the porridge, a slightly sweet and sour taste filling her mouth. She shook her head, "No, it's just that my workplace changed."
The shop owner was slightly stunned, as if with a hint of regret: "Young people can't just focus on work. When you reach my age, you will understand that work is only a small part of life. Living your own life well is the most important thing."
She sipped it mouthful by mouthful, and had already finished almost one third of the thick porridge.
Wen Ying thought the shop owner was falling into another cliché, urging every young woman he met to quickly enter the siege of marriage. She was a little unhappy, her tone stiff, "You're right, but life is rich and varied. It's not just about work, and it's also not just about love."
The shop owner, who saw Wen Ying off every day, could easily see through her thoughts. After a moment of silence, he spoke again, no longer as cheerfully as before: "I thought you would have a result."
"What?" Wen Ying was a little surprised and turned her head to look at the owner. "Are you talking to me?"
The shop owner added something nonchalantly: "I'm old, and I originally planned to sell this shop after the Chinese New Year last year."
Wen Ying was a little confused, but she seemed to have seen a transfer notice posted at the door of the porridge shop in her memory.
Seeing Wen Ying still confused, the shop owner continued, "A man came to me and paid a year's rent for me. I said no, but he insisted, saying that since you love this bowl of porridge, this year's rent is his reward for asking me to make porridge for you."
"man……"
The shop owner nodded. "He's very tall, probably in his thirties. I don't see him often. If it weren't for the pandemic lockdown, I'd probably see him once or twice a month. Every time I see him, it's late at night. He always shows up after you finish your porridge and leave, asking for a bowl of porridge too. Then he sits in your usual spot until I close the shop and drive away."
Was it Shen Li? Wen Ying was a little hesitant to confirm.
"He drives a black SUV?"
The owner said yes and said Shen Li's license plate number familiarly.
The familiar string of numbers that flowed out of the shop owner's mouth stung her eardrums.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
The shop owner shook his head. "When I first asked him, he admitted that he came to see you, but he asked me not to tell you. I think this is a love game between you two." The shop owner looked at Wen Ying. The old man's eyes were a little cloudy, but still bright. "Maybe people's hearts soften with age. I am very happy to fulfill his intention. But I thought that with his perseverance and sincerity, he would impress you sooner or later. So last month, the shop was up for renewal, and I took the initiative to renew the lease, thinking that if I stayed for another year, maybe I could see what the result would be between you two."
Wen Ying put down the spoon and asked the owner, "How long has he been here?"
The shop owner thought for a moment and said, "You stopped showing up six months ago, and neither did he. Going back even further, it's been almost two years, on and off."
Two years.
But Chen Li didn't mention a word.
Even when Wen Ying complained that he had never visited her in Jiangcheng, Shen Li did not mention this.
Jiangcheng is not too close to Minshi. It takes most of the day to get there by bus, and it takes four hours if you drive there yourself.
Wen Ying couldn't understand why Chen Li would drive four hours to Jiangcheng just to see her from afar, drink a bowl of porridge like her, and then drive four hours back to Minshi alone in the middle of the night.
The answer is actually very simple, so simple that it may only be one word.
This word was growing wildly in Wen Ying's heart, and was about to pierce through her cold and hard heart and break out of the ground.
Wen Ying was so upset that the bowl of sweet and delicious porridge in front of her completely lost its appeal. She almost rushed out in a panic, and she couldn't even remember whether she had said goodbye to the owner.
Wen Ying walked out quickly, but suddenly stopped in a narrow alley. At a corner not far ahead, a figure also suddenly stopped under the dim street light.
Wen Ying felt as if her legs and feet weighed a thousand pounds. She didn't know whether she should pretend to ignore it or nod calmly and ask him why he was here.
Shen Li walked over first, the dim street lights casting golden light from behind him, casting a hazy halo on his body.
He approached against the light, and his handsome and upright facial features gradually became clear in Wen Ying's eyes.
This was not an illusion. Chen Li really looked exhausted and appeared in front of her as if he had fallen from the sky.
"Why are you here?" Wen Ying frowned at him.
Shen Li didn't answer. He took out a box of stomach medicine and a bottle of water from his pocket and handed them to Wen Ying, saying in a cold tone: "Take the medicine."
Shen Li's face was a little serious: "I went to your room first, knocked on the door but no one answered. The hotel housekeeper told me that you went out because you had a stomachache."
Wen Ying opened her mouth and subconsciously wanted to ask Shen Li how he knew she was in this hotel, but the words turned around in her throat and she swallowed them back - it must be Yao Fangzhou, the big mouth.
She didn't take it, but he kept holding out his hand. It was strange to see a man and a woman standing face to face on the quiet street late at night.
Never mind, it would be a waste if I didn't eat it. I couldn't be angry with my body. Wen Ying lowered her head and took it, controlling her expression. "Let's go sit in the park in front for a while."
She walked in front and Shen Li followed behind.
The quiet street was hushed, the only sound being the alternating footsteps of two people. The streetlights overhead slowly passed by, stretching Wen Ying's figure across Shen Li's body and imprinting Shen Li's silhouette onto Wen Ying's.
There was a park at the end of the alley, directly opposite the hotel. It wasn't a big park, but it had lots of pigeons, and Wen Ying had often visited it.
It was late at night, and the pigeons had all gone to sleep. The two of them sat on a stone bench by the street, and from afar they could see the snow-white silhouettes of pigeons in the dovecote.
Wen Ying took the medicine and was silent for a long time before she said, "When I was sad, I often sat here and watched the pigeons. I could sit here for most of the day." She turned to look at Chen Li, "You should know this, right?"
Shen Li was silent for a few breaths: "I know."
"Why did you come to see me without telling me? I've never even noticed you," Wen Ying said in disbelief. "You said before that you thought I took the initiative to transfer to Jiangcheng to avoid you. Do you really think so?"
"You actually thought I was lying to you?" He looked into her eyes, feeling somewhat speechless. "I really do miss you, and I can't help but come to see you. But I'm also really afraid of adding burden or distress to you, so I just watch from afar."
Wen Ying suddenly felt annoyed: "It's quite frustrating."
Chen Li pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and said, "I met Zheng Di the other day." He told her everything about their meeting. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd lose control of your emotions. This matter has already hurt you once, and since it's already been resolved, I thought it would be better to let you forget it gradually, rather than hurt you again."
Wen Ying turned away and said indifferently, "I don't want to leave because of this."
"I know this is just a fuse, but in the final analysis, I hid it from you, and I should apologize to you. But Wen Ying," he frowned deeply, "you shouldn't choose to escape. The cold war will not solve any problems."
She retorted, "I don't want to solve any problems. I just don't want to see you or talk to you. I can only blame Yao Fangzhou for being such a loudmouth."
A faint trace of anger gathered between Chen Li's brows. "What were you going to do if Yao Fangzhou didn't tell me? You left me all alone, baffled and distracted, while you hid away like a coward, pretending nothing had happened. You told me nothing, and you didn't even reply to my calls or WeChat messages."
Wen Ying retorted, "So what if you didn't tell me? You didn't tell me when I asked you. Shen Li, we're even now."
The anger that Shen Li had suppressed for a long time was ignited by her words: "Wen Ying!"
She felt a little guilty, but still mustered up the courage to go forward and asked, "What's the matter?"
"You've always been like this since you were little, awkward, twisted, and evasive. No matter what it is, you clearly like it in your heart, but your mouth is harder than a rock. No matter what happens, your first reaction is always to bury your head, as if as long as you ignore the difficulties in front of you, nothing will really happen." Chen Li's tone was hurried, and this was the excitement that Wen Ying had never seen before. "Wen Ying, no one's life is smooth sailing, and there has never been a relationship without difficulties and adjustments. But why did you do nothing but hide with your suitcase?"
"I like you. I've liked you for a long time. Marrying you may sound reasonable, as it's to help you out, but in reality, you could also say I'm taking advantage of your misfortune." Chen Li stood up, his rapid, excited breathing gradually subsiding, replaced by dejection and fatigue. "Wen Ying, please tell me the truth. Have you always believed in your heart that our marriage will end in divorce?"
Wen Ying subconsciously wanted to argue, but when she opened her mouth, she found that she was too guilty to say anything in rebuttal.
The most combative lawyer in the courtroom was now at a loss for words.
Her silence gave Shen Li the final answer.
Shen Li gave a bitter smile and turned around: "I understand." He strode away, his tall and straight figure gradually disappearing into the darkness outside the street light.
Perhaps it was because the darkness was too heavy, but Wen Ying's vision was blurry. The evening breeze blew, and her cheeks were already cold.
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