"I always thought I was the one who knew you best, but now it seems I know nothing," ng Wanning said haltingly. "You’ve had so much history with them, and I didn’t know anything about it."
"I’m not in debt, I haven’t been in a car accident, I haven’t been coerced, I just appeared by your side plainly and foolishly hoped you would give a ho..."
ng Wanning cried even harder, her body trembling more violently, like an injured fawn shivering in the cold wind,
"But now, one woman after another erges, each with a past that has left an indelible mark on you."
"Then what am I? In your heart, am I just an expendable presence, soone to pass the ti with you?"
She lifted her tear-streaked face, staring intently at Chen Cheng, her swollen eyes filled with grievance, indignation, and despair,
"I think about you all day, thinking about how to make you happy, how to comfort you when you’re tired. I’ve learned to cook, just so I can make you a al you love; I’ve practiced Beijing Opera, hoping to one day impress you and make you proud of ."
As she spoke, her voice choked up, barely able to form sentences,
"But all of this I do seems so trivial in front of their dramatic stories. Xia Yubing’s rainy night dicine delivery, the life-saving grace of the Liu sisters, Yu Xinwei’s five hundred million debt, the story Li Ya didn’t finish telling, and other entanglents with people I don’t know about... What do I have to compare with them?"
ng Wanning raised her hand to wipe away her tears, but they still flowed out uncontrollably,
"I thought love was about two people. As long as I devoted myself to you, you would cherish just the sa. But now I realize I’m too naive, too blind to see the complexity, foolishly holding onto what I thought was deep affection."
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions, but the sobs were still incessant,
"Do you know? Every ti I see them appear, it feels like a knife stabbing in my heart. I keep telling myself to be magnanimous, to understand you, but the pain is really too much to bear. I’m tired, really tired..."
Chen Cheng watched her with heartache, his eyes also starting to redden. He reached out to wipe away her tears but ng Wanning dodged away.
"Wan Ning, don’t say such things. You’ve never been expendable in my heart. Every single thing you do for , I see it all, I rember it all."
ng Wanning gave a bitter smile,
"Seen in your eyes? Rembered in your heart? Then why do I feel like I can never enter the depths of your heart? You always have so many secrets from , and I feel like an outsider, watching your stories unfold, while I can only stand by the side... like an insignificant extra..."
At that mont, several girls inside the western chamber quietly watched this scene through the window.
Xia Yubing sighed softly, whispering to Tong Jialu beside her, "Xiao Ning, she’s different from us. It seems she never owed anything to her husband, it’s just pure affection."
Tong Jialu nodded silently, her eyes full of concern, "Yes, I’ve never heard Brother Cheng ntion any past between him and Xiao Ning."
Liu Zhiying and Liu Zhiya exchanged glances, empathizing with ng Wanning’s sorrow, but also acutely aware of their own awkward positions.
Li Ya and i Xiang also looked on from a distance, with Li Ya remarking, "i Xiang, she seems really upset, I kind of feel sorry for her."
i Xiang was also moved by the scene, "Yes, she... I can’t quite explain it..."
Yu Xinwei stood silently to one side, being the last to arrive, the newest companion, her heart was also filled with mixed emotions.
Accepting all of Chen Cheng’s won was the only thing she could do.
But Chen Cheng’s gesture of chasing after ng Wanning made her feel a sourness in her heart.
"If I were jealous, would Brother Cheng..." she couldn’t help but wonder to herself.
Outside the window, Chen Cheng saw ng Wanning still crying bitterly.
"Wan Ning, you are not insignificant," he said slowly. "We also have our stories, our past."
He paused for a mont, "It was you who ran off the bus that night, rushing back to stop my car and placing your hand in mine."
"The headlights were so bright you couldn’t open your eyes, but you still stood there firmly. From that mont on, I knew you were a girl who sticks to her principles."
ng Wanning’s thoughts were pulled back to those days in Qianzhou, the ti belonging to her and Chen Cheng together.
"Rember our brief elopent?" Chen Cheng said slowly. "It was you who defied your master, rushed out, and got into my car."
ng Wanning’s crying gradually stopped, she lifted her head, her eyes misty with tears as she looked at Chen Cheng, the floodgates of her mory opening.
"I... I..."
"So, the ordinariness you speak of, without ripples, to , it’s like a tempest, unforgettable and deep-rooted."
Chen Cheng spoke tenderly, "You are different from them. I’ve said you are the most special one."
"I never lied to you with that statent, and I have never deceived you in anything," he continued. "I cherish every interaction with you, even if it’s just sitting quietly, listening to you talk about everyday trivialities, to , it’s an incredibly precious mont."
ng Wanning bit her lower lip lightly, the tears in her eyes not yet dry, but now with a glimpse of reflective shimr.
She muttered, "But I always feel that their stories with you are so dramatic, and my life by comparison is too ordinary, I’m afraid... I can’t hold on to your heart."
Reviews
All reviews (0)