Challenges and Growth
Liu Yixu guided her to sit down: "Your father specifically instructed that you prepare a lumbar cushion to relieve the pressure on your lumbar spine."
Xiaofeng nodded slightly, her sitting posture as precise as a robot with adjusted parameters: "Doctor Liu, did Wenqing buy me breakfast just now?"
Liu Yixu frowned slightly: "He is still waiting for you outside."
Xiao Feng nodded in agreement, her voice lowering: "I feel like my life is a 'game'. I'm the player, and everyone else is an NPC."
"Like the movie 'The Truman Show'?"
"Yeah, that's right, that's the feeling." Xiaofeng seemed to have found a kindred spirit. She moved back in her chair and continued, "When Wenqing pursued me, Brother Zhou Yang withdrew. When Wenqing and I had problems, Brother Zhou Yang came back. Before I could tell Brother Zhou Yang about my pregnancy, he left again, and Wenqing came back again... Do they have some kind of script?"
"This metaphor is interesting," Liu Yixu pushed his glasses up, "but game characters don't question whether they are programmed, but you do."
"Doctor Liu, if... I mean if, I'm really just a piece of code... I really want to know what my ending will be."
Liu Yixu closed the notebook. The sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the floor. “We all have the same ending.”
"All the same? Then what's the point of all these plot branches?"
“It is the inevitability of the ending that gives breakfast bread, late-night hugs, and the care of a loved one their extraordinary weight.”
Xiaofeng nodded and fell into deep thought.
Liu Yixu asked, "Can you feel these?"
"Yes. Is it because their acting is too good?"
“You need to feel this with your heart.”
Xiaofeng sank completely into the seat, hugging the lumbar cushion to her chest and squeezing it until it was deformed.
Liu Yixu gently pushed the teacup in front of her: "Try it and see how the NPC's tea is brewed."
Heat lingered between them, and Xiaofeng suddenly laughed out loud. "Wenqing forgot to turn on the alarm yesterday," she loosened her waist cushion. "The way he frantically prepared breakfast didn't seem like a planned scene."
"Did you notice this detail?" Liu Yixu turned to a new page in his notebook. "NPCs usually don't leave unfixed bugs." The sycamore leaves outside the window rustled, and he waited for Xiaofeng to take his eyes away from the swaying light and shadow.
Liu Yixu's pen made a dot of ink on the paper. "Do you know the idea in quantum mechanics? The act of observation itself changes the outcome." He deliberately let the ballpoint pen roll to the ground. "Just like right now, you subconsciously retracted your foot—is that a conditioned reflex, or free will?"
Xiao Feng stared at her left foot dangling in the air. "Could it be that these suspicions are part of the plot?"
"Then this screenwriter is too cruel." Liu Yixu picked up his pen and drummed his knuckles on his notebook. "They make the character aware that she's being manipulated, but then give her the aroma of wheat bread in the morning and the warmth of a lover's embrace." He suddenly laughed. "But the most wonderful thing about this setting is—you can never be 100% sure of the answer."
Xiao Feng said as if awakened from her sleep, "That's why I'm scared. I'm afraid I'll end up in a dead end again."
"The ending is the same no matter how you do it, but the feeling during the process is real."
The car started, and the trees on both sides of the road slowly receded. Wenqing turned the steering wheel and drove into the alley. The double flashes beat rhythmically, like two synchronized hearts.
"I've seen a psychiatrist." Wen Qing's voice suddenly choked. "After I found out you were pregnant, I went to see Wen Feng... and we got into a physical altercation, which led to his breakdown. He was clearly the one who assaulted you, and I should have hated him to the core, but I feel guilty about him. This conflict is very painful for me. What happened to Wen Feng can't be changed, and I can't let you get hurt again. The days I spent with you during the pregnancy, delivery, and raising the children were the most peaceful times for me. I treat both of them as my own. I just want to keep you in my life."
Xiaofeng reached out to wipe the moisture from his cheekbone, but Wenqing suddenly grabbed her wrist. "But I didn't know Wenfeng left you an email. The truth he uncovered caused you to leave Canberra. In an instant, I was left with nothing. I don't know why I should pursue you, especially after I found out you went to South Africa with Zhou Yang. I completely gave up on myself. I was in a bad state, so I received psychological intervention."
The sobbing was interrupted by the sudden "click" of the seat belt buckle. Xiaofeng suddenly leaned over and put her arm around his shoulders: "Stop talking, Wenqing."
"I love you, Xiaofeng. Your child is my child. Believe me." Wenqing's arms tightened as if to say, "I will protect you in my world."
Arriving at the private room at the seafood restaurant, Wenqing's slender fingers swiped across his phone screen, the melody of "Let It Be Me" flowing out, becoming the perfect background music. He stared at Xiaofeng, who was drinking lemonade with a straw across from him. "Let's buy a gift later... Keep the budget under 50,000?"
"Eh?" Xiaofeng was suddenly choked and hurriedly pulled out a napkin. "I checked the account. After the 1.5 million was spent..." Her voice became smaller and smaller, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
Wenqing suddenly leaned over the platter of shrimp and tapped her mobile banking app with his fingertips: "Check this account first." His voice was filled with the sweet freshness of seafood soy sauce.
Xiaofeng's eyelashes fluttered rapidly in the reflection of the screen, and suddenly her focus froze on the balance display: "One, ten... ten million...?" The spoon of porridge slipped from her fingers. "You call this living expenses?"
"I started saving from the day you agreed," he suddenly lowered his voice, "and then there was Wen Feng's notarized documents, and living expenses for you and the children..."
"Wait, let me check again." She picked up her phone again and confirmed, "How much are you worth?"
"Didn't Lawyer Lin tell you?"
"I interrupted him. I regret it now. I should have signed it then..."
Wen Qing covered Xiao Feng's mouth with one hand and held her in his arms with the other: "Come with me to get a marriage certificate, and everything I have will be yours."
"Wenqing..."
"What's wrong?" Wen Qing was so moved by himself that his voice trembled.
"You should go to work and earn money..."
"What a realistic woman..." Wen Qing smiled, but her eyes were full of tenderness.
On February 25, 2017, the hustle and bustle of a family gathering had just faded. Xiaofeng returned home and gently closed the door to her study. The cold light of her phone screen reflected her reddened eyes. The moment the call connected, and the familiar "Hello" came from the receiver, she could no longer hold back.
"Dad," as soon as I shouted this, my throat seemed to be blocked by something, and I choked and couldn't speak.
Zhou Yong put down his teacup and said soothingly, "What's wrong?"
"Sixteen weeks..." Her nails scratched the wood grain on the edge of the desk unconsciously, not even noticing the splinters digging into her fingertips. "Is it too late now?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds. Zhou Yong's voice suddenly became very soft, as if he was afraid of disturbing something: "There are risks."
"What should I do?" Xiaofeng's suddenly raised voice exploded in the silent study, carrying with it a sense of collapsed despair.
Zhou Yong sighed deeply, his tone filled with helplessness: "Go talk to Wenqing, Xiaofeng. After all, this is a matter between you two."
At this moment, the study door was gently pushed open. "Xiaofeng?" Wen Qing strode over to her. Glancing at the lit phone screen, he immediately understood and took the call. "Uncle Zhou...Okay, I got it. Don't worry!"
He moved a chair and sat in front of Xiaofeng. He gently wiped her wet cheek with his fingertips, the warmth of his palms on his fingertips: "What's wrong? Are you unhappy to go home today?"
Hearing the word "go home", Xiaofeng's heart suddenly tightened, and tears welled up again: "It's just... Mom, Dad, Second Uncle and Fourth Uncle are so nice." The falling tears interrupted her words. She sniffed and finally said the words that had been hidden for a long time, "I want to give up this child..."
Wenqing held her tightly in his arms, caressing her trembling back with his palms, gentle but firm: "Xiaofeng, your parents treat you well, not out of guilt; you don't have to blame yourself for the fight. They love you only because you are you - my beloved wife."
For the next few months, Xiaofeng's life was fixed between school, the counseling office, and home. Wenqing completely took on the role of driver and cook, picking her up and dropping her off on time every day, cooking her favorite dishes in various ways, and making their life trivial yet stable.
…
"When I was 7, my father left my mother and me."
"It sounds like this incident has had a profound impact on you. Losing your father's company, especially at that age, must have been difficult. I understand you might be feeling confused or guilty, but please be assured that his decision to leave must have had very complex reasons, perhaps including a desire to protect you from certain troubles."
…
"When I was 17, my mother died in a car accident without leaving me a single word."
"The pain of losing both parents in quick succession is unimaginable. Especially since your mother passed away so suddenly, without even a chance to say goodbye. It must have left you feeling incredibly helpless and regretful. Life is indeed full of uncertainty. Experiencing this may make us realize more deeply how important it is to cherish what we have now."
…
"Brother Zhou Yang and I had already started, but I chose Wen Qing."
"Well, this seems to be an important choice in your relationship. Sometimes, the decisions we make in relationships are influenced by many factors. Perhaps we can discuss what kind of feelings or thoughts led you to choose Wenqing at the time? This will help us understand the weight and difference between 'habit' and 'love' in your heart."
…
"Brother Zhou Yang left me for the second time without saying anything."
"Zhou Yang's sudden departure without saying goodbye must have left you feeling abandoned again, deeply hurt and confused. The way people leave sometimes reflects how they deal with problems. He chose to leave in silence, which may have been what he thought was the 'best' way to deal with himself or you in the situation at the time. As adults, we all need to be responsible for our own choices and bear the corresponding consequences. This is true for Zhou Yang, and it is also true for you."
…
“I feel like I’m a love-brained person.”
"Rather than calling it 'lovesickness,' I'd rather see a precious quality in you: you're incredibly kind, and you tend to believe others are equally kind. It's this quality that allows you to fully commit and give in relationships, and you sincerely believe that your investment will be rewarded with equally cherished care."
…
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