Beyond the Extra Chapter: Guqin in the Royal Court (Middle)

  Lin Jing stood at the window of the hospital room, gently lifting the curtain, and the afternoon sun rushed in, making him frown. The sunlight also cast on the face of the patient on the bed, who was already sleeping very restlessly, and let out a few unconscious groans. He walked over, sat on the bedside, looking at the person who was tortured by illness like a withered wood, where was his elegant and strong father.

  Not long after Lin Jing received his degree in the United States, he received a call from his mother saying that his father was seriously ill and asked him to return home as soon as possible. After returning to China, Lin Jing spent most of his time in the hospital, where his father's condition was not just serious but had reached the late stage of liver cancer, with cancer cells spreading throughout his body, and his life was actually coming to an end.

  Every time Lin Jing looks at Lin Jiezhou's body deteriorating on the hospital bed, he wonders if this is still the father he once idolized and admired. For a shameful affair with that woman, he ruined a happy family, gave up his career, abandoned his reputation, and finally lost his health irreparably. At this point, what else can be salvaged? Life is more fragile than love.

  Lin Jing's mother was still working, and the work of the trade union was trivial and complicated. She was busy every day and couldn't open her mouth. When her husband's life was in danger, she generously forgave this man who had betrayed her, but it was also impossible for her to stay by his bedside every day. Lin Jing understood her mother, at this time, whether Lin Jiezhou lived or died, it was a kind of torture for her.

  The doctor also said that after being helpless, Lin Jiezhou fell into a coma for longer and longer periods of time. Even when he woke up, his consciousness became more and more confused. Many times, he stared at Lin Jing and asked, "Which department are you from?" Or, "Why hasn't Lin Jing come back yet?" When he could recognize Lin Jing, he repeatedly mentioned a place name: "Wuyuan... Wuyuan..."

  Wuyuan, Lin Jing remembers this place. A few years ago, he promised Xiaofeilong to accompany her there and revisit the place where she witnessed her mother's love. Ironically, at that time, he did not think that the place would have the same significance for his father.

  Finally, Lin Jiezhou placed his withered hand on Lin Jing's, his voice weak but every word clear. "Lin Jing, after I die, take my ashes to Yuanyang and scatter them under the cypress tree at the entrance of Li Village. This is my last request."

  Lin Jing thought of her mother who had rapidly aged over the past few years. Her heart ached, and she slowly pulled back her hand, "Dad, you're out of your mind, you don't know what you're saying."

  Lin Jiezhou didn't say another word. But as he looked into his son's eyes, they gradually dimmed.

  That day, Lin Jing went to get medicine and saw the woman he used to call "Auntie" standing at the end of the hospital corridor. She was standing in a corner with her back to the light, looking towards Lin Jiezhou's ward. Lin Jing had heard that before he returned to China, when his father was first hospitalized, she had come many times. Each time, she said she just wanted to see Lin Jiezhou once, but was scolded away by Lin Jing's mother. The rumors in the compound were also circulating wildly. It was said that if it weren't for her and Lin Jiezhou's scandal, Lin Jiezhou wouldn't have gotten so angry and fallen ill so early. She had dragged down Lin Jiezhou, who had a good reputation for half his life, to become a typical example of moral decay, and she herself had become a fox spirit despised by everyone.

  Lin Jing didn't walk closer to her. She also never had the intention of walking over, just standing quietly like a clay statue in the direction facing the hospital room. Lin Jing couldn't see her eyebrows and eyes clearly, but he felt that there should be tears on her face. He suddenly feared looking directly at that face, the vaguely divine facial features made him think of another person, which almost made him soften his heart in front of this woman who had ruined his family.

  During the few days when his father's condition stabilized, Lin Jing went to G City. The pre-qualification for civil service recruitment in the court and procuratorate system of XX Province had officially begun. He liked this grand reason, although previously he had just received an invitation letter from a well-known law firm in Shanghai under the recommendation of his domestic graduate tutor.

  Standing under a large telephone booth, Lin Jing felt that the air here seemed to be filled with a faintly sweet taste, she didn't know why, everything related to her had such an atmosphere, even memories were like this.

  When Lin Jing first arrived abroad, he also had a period of absurd time. Many times, in his dreams, he repeatedly picked up and put down that fairy tale book, but when he woke up, he didn't know where he was or who was beside him. From the day he crossed the ocean, he knew that he would only be farther and farther away from Little Fei Long. This distance was unimaginable to him before, but reason kept telling him that there was no better choice than leaving.

  Lin Jing is not an easy person to get lost, perhaps his nature is ultimately not suitable for such indulgence, and soon he became tired of that kind of life and turned his mind back to his studies. He thinks that no matter what the situation is, people should always try their best to live the best they can, the cracks between his parents he cannot fill, the things that have happened he cannot change, all he can do is look forward.

  In those days abroad, he was appreciated by his mentor and was quite popular among local Chinese students. Of course, his emotional world was not lacking either. He had several formal girlfriends one after another, all of whom were intelligent and beautiful women. Sometimes he felt that he just liked mature, understanding, clever and independent women, who were easy-going and comfortable together, and also easy to part with.

  The one who spent the most time with him was a female classmate named Linsi Wu, which was also his last romance before returning to China. Linsi is a third-generation overseas Chinese, from a wealthy family, beautiful and open-minded, she grew up in the United States, but speaks Mandarin fluently, and writes elegant cursive calligraphy, sometimes even Lin Jing felt that there was no more compatible partner than her.

  Linsi had once persuaded Lin Jing to take root in Los Angeles, two equally intelligent and capable men and women together, how could they not make a name for themselves? However, Lin Jing never gave up his plan to return home and develop. Before leaving, he and Linsi had dinner together, bidding each other farewell, and when he sent her back, she gave him a long hug, then smiled and wished him a smooth journey. He drove away, pretending not to know that she was crying at the door of her house.

  It was a long time after returning to China that Lin Jing received an email from Lindsay. She said she had been waiting for one sentence from him, if at the time he said "Lindsay, come back with me", she would have followed him without hesitation. Unfortunately, he didn't make such a request. In fact, Lin Jing also wondered, what if at that time she cried and begged him to stay in front of him, would he have changed his mind?

  Unfortunately, she was not Little Fei Long. Only Little Fei Long would cry out loud without any restraint when Lin Jing left home. From young to old, as long as she grabbed his sleeve without caring, he couldn't bear to leave her behind. So, even when he got accepted into the Politics and Law University of G City, on the eve of reporting to school, he didn't dare let her see him off, fearing that he would see her crying uncontrollably and become disheartened himself.

  Yes, in this world there can only be one Jade-Faced Little Flying Dragon. In the beginning, he liked Lin Xi, wasn't it because of her cleverness and independence? So he and Lin Xi were destined to part ways.

  Lin Jing asked several classmates who were in the same dormitory with Zheng Wei in high school, and finally got her current dormitory phone number. It's been almost four years, he thought that there was nothing that couldn't be overcome, no one that couldn't be forgotten, but when he dialed the phone, he found himself smiling unconsciously on the reflective glass partition of the phone booth. Every inch of memory image is about her in the past seventeen years. He suddenly felt that even if he didn't get his mother's understanding for this, it wasn't such a terrible thing.

  The phone was answered. Her roommate was a passionate girl, she not only told Lin Jing that Zheng Wei had just gone out with her boyfriend, but also curiously asked, who are you?

  Who are you? Who am I? Lin Jing politely bid farewell to her roommate. He didn't know who he was to Zheng Wei now, whether he was the neighbor brother who grew up together or an old acquaintance who hadn't seen each other for a long time. Every explanation was more distant than he had imagined.

  He watched Zheng Wei walking towards him, she was a bit taller than four years ago, her hair was also longer, and her doll-like face still looked immature. She lowered her head, struggling to stuff two fully-filled mineral water bottles into her backpack as she walked. When she looked ahead, her face was suddenly shrouded in a layer of happy light, but the source of that light wasn't him, it was a slender young man standing not far away.

  She ran all the way towards her light source without noticing Lin Jing standing by the roadside phone booth.

  Lin Jing had never seen Zheng Wei like this before. Of course, she was always a happy person since childhood, but when she was with him, that happiness was taken for granted. Now, just because of that boy's faint smile, she was overjoyed as if she had obtained a treasure, and her happiness overflowed to the point where even an onlooker like him could see it clearly.

  He knew what pain was, and the pain had made him a union leader for half his life. He had been the one to mediate in all sorts of disputes big and small among the workers in his unit, always being the voice of reason. But when he heard that his own husband was going to leave him for another woman, he cried like a fool, abandoning the dignity and pride he had always held onto. He begged, scolded, and petitioned, doing everything he could, but in the end, their twenty-year relationship still came to an end. Although they eventually won back a broken family, his husband's life was already at its end.

  Lin Jing was her own son, and he loved his mother, but he couldn't truly understand her despair. This made him realize that no one could ever truly feel another person's pain, no matter how hard they tried. You might be hurt to the core, feeling like you're dying, but it's still just your own problem. Others might sympathize or pity you, but they'll never really know how deep your wounds are.

  So, there was no point in reopening old wounds and showing them off to others, nor was there any point in losing control because of it. Who hasn't lost something? Who hasn't been hurt? He hated pointless entanglements the most.

  It was he who had let go of Xiaofeiyu's hand first and gone to America. Now she had given her hand to someone else - this was just a normal thing, and there was no one to blame. Lin Jing knew that at this time, he couldn't give Xiaofeiyu greater happiness, nor did he have the confidence to win everything back. So the least he could do was not disturb her, and leave quietly.

  In the following days, Lin Jing calmly completed all his tasks and sat on the return flight, watching the clouds wiping past the window, the past events slipping away like a fleeting light. A couple beside him were busy comforting their wailing son, even memories couldn't calm down. Lin Jing collected his thoughts, smiled at the tearful boy, "Little friend, why are you crying?"

  The boy sniffled and said, "I lost my favorite book."

  Lin Jing said, "It was originally like that, but you're not the worst off either. Look at me, I lost my favorite book too, but I didn't cry."

  "Why don't you cry?"

  "Crying won't bring it back."

  The boy still didn't understand what he was saying and continued to sob, "You don't get it, that's no ordinary book."

  Lin Jing smiled and looked out of the window. He certainly understood. He had also lost his favorite book, and he had lost the little dragon that originally belonged to him.