Chapter 146
Lin Jin's hoarse wails
The narrow alleys of the old town seem to never be touched by sunlight; the air is always filled with a damp, musty smell, and moss grows on the endless gray walls and uneven stone slabs.
Despite the environment, this place is never lacking in the vitality of life.
Every night, the alleyway transforms into a different scene. Residents returning home from get off work carry discounted groceries, and occasionally children with schoolbags run by, their laughter echoing briefly.
Working at sunrise and resting at sunset is the rhythm of most people's lives. Perhaps this is the true nature of life, an orderly existence amidst the trivialities. It seems that everyone lives the same way.
Choosing to fall from the clouds back to the simple world that belonged to her, Cheng Sangluo felt as if she had just been dreaming. This dream was a cage built by Lin Jin with money, and the joy and pain brought by the decadent lifestyle finally came to an end.
When Cheng Sangluo woke up, she saw that her world was gray and old, which was completely opposite to Lin Jin's black and gold world. They were two extremes that she could no longer be anxious about.
At this moment, she was wearing a cheap cotton coat she bought online, sitting at the entrance of the grocery store chatting with her landlord. They were talking about some family gossip, and the two of them would occasionally burst into laughter, creating an exceptionally relaxed and harmonious atmosphere.
She wasn't completely idle; she was holding a piece of stone in her hand, and the movements of her engraving knife were becoming increasingly skillful. Unlike before, when she had to concentrate fully to barely complete a signature.
In fact, she didn't have a good time after separating from Lin Jin. She either tossed and turned every night or was tormented by all sorts of bizarre nightmares.
One day, on a whim, she bought a lot of wood and stone. Whenever her longing became too intense to bear, she would carve a signature on it, regardless of the place or time, but most of the time it was done in the unbearable late night.
Her seal carving works are sometimes good and sometimes bad. Sometimes they are unexpectedly good, with Lin Jin's name carved neatly and beautifully, but sometimes they are unsatisfactory, as if her state of mind is the cause.
After chatting for a while, the landlord noticed it was getting late, so he patted his leg, stood up, and said, "You watch the shop for me, I'll go cook a couple of dishes, and we can have a meal together."
Cheng Sangluo, who was always shy, said embarrassedly, "Wouldn't that be too much trouble? I'll just go get a bowl of noodles later."
"Hey, it's just adding a set of chopsticks and a bowl. Eating alone or with someone else is still eating, isn't it? Besides, why are you being so polite with me about this simple meal?" The landlord shouted as he walked into the house, leaving no chance for refusal.
Cheng Sangluo grinned, buried his head, and continued to work on his seal carving. However, as the knife tip slipped, it slipped and, with a sizzling sound, blood began to pool on the wound on his fingertip.
She hissed and held her wound in her mouth. Her unease came suddenly, but she couldn't explain where this feeling came from. She could only stare blankly at the winding alley.
The feeling was like a slack string suddenly tightening and then snapping, leaving only a sudden sense of unease.
Cheng Sangluo suddenly remembered a long time ago, when she was even more clumsy than she is now. She sat across from Lin Jin's desk and struggled with the wood for an entire afternoon. It wasn't until she pricked her finger with a carving knife that she realized the crazy woman had already prepared a band-aid for her.
She stared blankly, sucking on her injured fingertip, and the question of what kind of person Lin Jin was came to mind.
Lin Jin had often asked this question before: 'What kind of person am I in your eyes?'
Cheng Sang was slow to realize things; it seemed he had never faced the issue squarely, or rather, he had never seriously considered it.
“She’s crazy.” She sighed softly, but felt that such an assessment was too superficial, and subconsciously shook her head in denial: “No, she’s a crazy person who is deeply in love, a crazy person who refuses to turn back even after hitting a wall.”
Still dissatisfied with such an assessment, she shook her head vigorously, saying in a self-reproachful tone, "No, no, no, she's not crazy. How could you use such words to describe her?"
Yes, why do I keep using the word 'crazy' to describe the person I love most? It's apt, but not quite insightful.
Cheng Sangluo stared blankly at the stone in her hand. Lin Jin's name was beautifully carved, but the wrong mark turned the signature into a failure, and the misaligned mark became a mockery: You clearly love her but don't understand her at all. You and this piece of waste are both failures.
"She gave you so much time...to get to know her properly...but why..." Cheng Sangluo covered her face in anguish, repeatedly asking herself, "Why didn't you try to understand her?"
Suddenly, a tall, slender figure stopped in front of her, handing her a pack of tissues. "Eat if you're hungry, drink if you're thirsty..."
Cheng Sangluo's gaze slid slowly down the tissue towards the newcomer, her eyes brimming with tears, her confused and disheveled appearance making her look pitiful.
Seeing that she didn't take the tissue, Wei Yun took one himself and wiped away her tears, adding, "If you're sad, just cry."
Cheng Sangluo hastily wiped her nose and hurriedly stood up to greet him, "Wei Lian? What brings you here?"
“I came here specifically to find you.” Wei Yun wasn’t wearing a military uniform, so it seemed this trip was indeed a private matter. However, he didn’t explain how he found Cheng Sangluo, and directly invited her, “Let’s go, let’s find a restaurant and talk while we eat.”
Coincidentally, the landlord came out carrying two sets of bowls and chopsticks.
Seeing this, Wei Yun politely greeted him, "Excuse me, we're just old comrades catching up, so we need to find somewhere else to eat."
The old man, without any formality, waved his hand and said cheerfully, "Hey! If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared a couple more good dishes. Go on, go on."
"Could you please wait for me a moment?"
As she spoke, Cheng Sangluo quickly bent down to gather her things.
Curious, Wei Yun helped pick up a stamp that had fallen to the ground. Seeing Lin Jin's name engraved on it, he raised an eyebrow knowingly.
"No rush, take your time packing." She fiddled with the seal, then suddenly asked, "I see you still here calmly carving things, you probably don't know what happened today, do you?"
Cheng Sangluo paused in her tidying up, looked up and asked in confusion, "Is today some very important day?"
Wei Yun kept everyone in suspense, muttering something incomprehensible: "It's really unexpected that she would push you out at such a crucial moment. This woman is always unpredictable, with such strange thought processes."
Cheng Sangluo sensed something was wrong; to be precise, from the moment her fingertip was pierced by the carving knife, an intense sense of unease had already permeated her heart.
With her keen senses, she figured Wei Lian's sudden visit must be for some reason, so she anxiously asked, "Has something happened to Lin Jin?"
"Let's find a place to stay first, then we can talk slowly." Wei Yun didn't answer the question immediately, but turned around and walked straight out of the alley. "Do you have any restaurant recommendations? My treat."
"How could I let you spend money? You're the guest, so of course I'll treat you." Cheng Sangluo said a few polite words, then hurriedly followed behind, curiously asking, "What exactly happened? Please, stop keeping me in suspense!"
Wei Yun remained silent until they found a lively food stall near the alley entrance, at which point he finally spoke up: "How about we eat here? With so many customers, the food must be delicious."
As she spoke, she found a relatively quiet corner to sit down and called out to the waiter, "Hello, there are two of us here. Could you please give me the menu?"
Cheng Sangluo pulled out a tissue to wipe the greasy table, and once again asked in a deep voice, "Something's not right here, so tell me, has something happened to Lin Jin?"
Seeing the worry written all over Cheng Sangluo's face, Wei Yun decided not to keep her in suspense any longer and sighed, "It's not that something happened to her; it should be a good thing for you."
Cheng Sangluo's heart was in her throat. When she heard that Lin Jin was alright, her tense nerves relaxed instantly. She couldn't help but mutter, "You scared me to death. As long as she's alright, that's all that matters."
Wei Yunzheng was wiping his chopsticks with a tissue when he calmly said, "First, I have some good news for you. Lin Sheng and his mother have been arrested. The police haven't released any information yet, so you don't know what happened, but..."
Upon hearing this incredible news, Cheng Sangluo hadn't even had a chance to cheer and celebrate when a sudden "but" choked her back. Her relaxed emotions immediately tightened again. "But...but what..."
Wei Yun casually remarked, "Lin Jin seems to be injured."
Cheng Sangluo jumped to her feet. "How did she get injured? Was it because she participated in today's arrest operation? How serious is her injury? Where is she?"
"Sit down first, can you calm down?" Wei Yun gestured downwards, explaining, "I'm not entirely clear on the specifics, you'll have to ask the criminal investigation team. It's not a matter of life and death, so don't worry too much."
Cheng Sangluo exclaimed in alarm, "She's my wife, how can I not be worried?!"
Wei Yun raised an eyebrow, teasingly saying, "It's just a marriage of convenience, and you've actually fallen for it?"
This question left Cheng Sangluo speechless for a moment.
She was the one who initiated the divorce and breakup, and now she's the one who's restless and uneasy. Her conflicting emotions have put her in a difficult position, which makes her seem particularly ridiculous.
She sat back down in her chair, looking dejected, and muttered to herself, "Yeah... what right do I have to care about her affairs..."
*
Lin Jin didn't know how long she had been unconscious. When she woke up, there was no one in the ward to take care of her. Only the rhythmic beeping of the monitor added to the loneliness of the empty room.
She looked out the window in a daze. The sky was dark and gloomy, giving her a feeling of oppression that squeezed her heart. But she quickly regained her senses. The desolate space amplified all kinds of emotions. The clearest feeling was the sudden loneliness after the great joy.
Fortunately, someone pushed open the door, and the noise dispelled the overwhelming negative emotions.
Gu Shinian deliberately walked in quietly, and when she saw that the person lying on the hospital bed had their eyes open, she hurriedly sat down by the bedside and asked with concern, "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Lin Jin shook her head slightly, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Lin Shenghe..."
Before she could finish speaking, Gu Shinian interrupted her, saying, "They've all been handcuffed and taken away. Let the police handle the rest. You were choked quite badly. The doctor advised you to avoid talking and to rest your voice properly."
"Hmm." Lin Jin nodded indifferently when she heard that Lin Sheng and Ruan Jinxian had been arrested.
Gu Shinian reached out and placed his hand on her forehead, as if checking her temperature or soothing her weary soul. "You've spent so many years planning this, and today you've finally gotten your revenge, but you don't look happy at all."
Yes, why aren't you happy?
Actually, this feeling is easy to describe. She has always carried a grudge, whether it's scheming or petty squabbles, this grudge has been pushing her all the way to this day.
Lin Sheng and Ruan Jinxian were successfully sent to prison by her, and her anger dissipated. Her heart felt empty after her revenge was achieved, and the only person who could fill that void had also been lost in the conflict. So, her last bit of obsession vanished.
Lin Jin slowly sat up with difficulty, bent her knees and hugged herself tightly, her loose hair covering her haggard face.
The most celebratory moment was the very end of a period of desolation.
Looking at her dejected state, Gu Shinian couldn't help but feel a pang of pity. She simply reached out and pulled her into her arms, shushing her gently, "Cry, you've been holding back for too long."
Lin Jin buried her face in her neck, trying her best to hide her vulnerability, but the overwhelming sadness was hard to contain, and the more she tried to suppress it, the more turbulent it became.
At first, she cried quietly, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, causing her thin frame to shake, and eventually she burst into loud sobs.
The self she envisioned was not the superior person the world perceived her to be. She struggled and writhed in the treacherous mire created by her enemies, falling repeatedly and suffering excruciating pain, leaving her heart and soul riddled with wounds.
She harbored a hatred that didn't belong to her age since she was a child. As she grew up and became stronger, she cried like a child who had lost everything, venting the pain that had been suppressed for so many years.
Even if those hateful people are brought to justice, what good will it do?
The mother was forever frozen in the stormy night. The innocent childhood that should have been there would never return. Cheng Sangluo's three most beautiful years would also never come back. The love she longed for was like moonlight, unattainable and intangible. In the end, she had to swallow all the loneliness alone.
The room echoed with Lin Jin's hoarse cries, a constant barrage of pain.
Happy? That's too difficult.
[Author's Note]
1. My pre-order novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for collection.
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