Chapter 30: How Much Love Can Endure Such Letting Go

  Ruan Ruan's funeral was very simple, her parents rushed over from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and after discussing with Wu Jiang, they decided to bury her locally. Zhao Shi Yong did not appear at the funeral, but instead, several sisters from back then, He Luyan, Zhuo Mei, including Li Wei Juan who was far away in Beijing, all rushed back without hesitation, everyone met and sighed. Only Zhu Xiao Bei was still in Xinjiang, she cried bitterly on the phone, finally saying: "People have left, sending her off anywhere is the same, Ruan Ruan was such an understanding person, she would see through it."

  Zheng Wei choked back a sob and asked her, "Xiao Bei, now that you've graduated with your Ph.D., are you planning to stay in Xinjiang until you get a martyr's degree before coming back?"

  Xiao Bei knew a little about the man she secretly loved, who had lost his wife six months ago. His Uyghur wife had died of stomach cancer, leaving him with a young daughter. During his most difficult time, Xiao Bei was always by his side. The man couldn't help but know her intentions over the years, but he thought that since the child was still young and couldn't be without a mother, he accepted a blind date arranged by others, yet refused to accept the woman who had been waiting for him all along. He said Xiao Bei was too good, a beautiful young Ph.D., and it wasn't necessary for her to marry a ordinary widower like him. He feared that one day she would discover that he wasn't as wonderful as the person in her heart.

  Xiao Bei said: "Maybe I'll never leave here for the rest of my life. No matter what brought me here in the first place, after seeing the Gobi Desert under the moonlight, the endless desolation and barrenness suddenly made me realize that some things we couldn't let go of were actually so insignificant. What he said might be right - I didn't love him, but my imagination of love. Now, I've fallen in love with this place."

  Li Wei Juan got divorced. She won a long divorce lawsuit and obtained a substantial amount of property, which she often said was the key to grasping a man's heart. However, now that she has the money, she lost her marriage, but she claims she doesn't care. Zhuo Mei is preparing to immigrate to Norway with her husband and family, a country in Northern Europe where the pace of life is slow and the days are short, which may be more suitable for her easy-going nature. He Lü Yu's children have all started kindergarten, and she has gained weight. She is no longer the slender and elegant girl she used to be, but the tranquility that radiates from her entire being reveals her satisfaction with life. Perhaps in the end, she is the happiest one of all.

  Zheng Wei took a three-day leave and returned to the company, only to find out that one day in the mountains was equivalent to a thousand years in the world. Lin Jing didn't deceive her, previously Zhou Qu had just been under investigation and there was no big deal. The financial files and various documents that were taken away for review also didn't have any major issues, it's just that Feng De Sheng couldn't escape his fate, but this was already an expected outcome.

  Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, news came from the procuratorate that they had obtained part of the original financial documents of Er Fen, which were significantly different from the accounts originally retrieved. The current evidence suggests that Er Fen is suspected of setting up an employee stock ownership company and transferring state assets through affiliated transactions. It is also highly likely to be accused of fabricating accounts by not deducting depreciation and maintenance funds, and making false expense claims. As the legal representative and directly responsible person of the company, Zhou Qu's situation suddenly became very passive.

  If the procuratorate has the original financial records in hand, it is puzzling how they got hold of the original documents that have already been processed and destroyed. Not many people can directly obtain this part of the material, and Vice Manager Zhang once publicly pointed out at a meeting that there must be an insider within the second division. Vice Manager Zhang has always had a good relationship with Zhou Qu, and he himself said that at his age, the possibility of promotion is not great, nor does it have much significance, so he is not rejoicing over the downfall of the top leader, but instead repeatedly ran to the headquarters, hoping for coordination between the upper and lower levels to find a solution to the local case.

  It is unknown who handed those materials over to the prosecutor's office, but the number of suspicious glances cast at Zheng Wei is increasing. Deputy Manager Zhang has made it clear that confidential documents must not pass through her hands again. From now on, all large and small meetings will have a new note-taker, a recent university graduate.

  Zheng Wei was not surprised that others would think this way, but she had a clear conscience. Although she hadn't been able to help Zhou Quan because of her relationship with Lin Jing, she absolutely hadn't revealed any company matters to Lin Jing. She didn't explain, knowing that explanations at this time would only make things worse, and could only tell herself: the innocent are self-clearing, the guilty are self-muddying.

  Zhou Qu was not around, and Deputy Zhang again handed over many things that were no longer handled by her. This manager's secretary had actually become a mere formality. However, one day, when she unintentionally passed by the door of Deputy Zhang's office, she heard an ambiguous sentence: I hate people who are hypocritical. She couldn't express the discomfort and grievance in her heart.

  That day when she got off work, she was standing alone in the elevator, and just as the doors were about to close, Chen Xiao Zheng hastily squeezed in. As the elevator descended, he looked elsewhere and said a sentence, "No one has any evidence to blame you, don't take it to heart." Zheng Wei knew that at that time, he was also in Deputy Zhang's office.

  She smiled and said nothing.

  "How have you been lately... I heard about Ruan Wan's situation, it's really unfortunate. But since she's already gone, you should also let go a bit."

  "I'm fine, thank you."

  He suddenly turned his head, with a pained expression between his eyebrows. "Thanks? Is that all we can say to each other?"

  Zheng Wei took a step back, her expression unchanged, and reminded him, "Deputy Manager Chen, the company's elevators are under surveillance."

  Chen Xiao Zheng was about to touch her hand when it suddenly fell down.

  Every time, every time he was closest to her, he always helplessly let go of his hand.

  Look, she knows him well. Zheng Weiming knew it would be like this, but his heart still ached, how much love can withstand being let go time and time again, even when he once stood closest to her.

  Nothing made Chen Xiao Zheng feel the meaning of "punishment" more than seeing a calm and peaceful smile on Zheng Wei's face, as he felt ashamed in front of the woman he loved.

  The elevator arrived, and Zheng Wei stepped out first, taking a deep breath of the air far away from him, but hearing his words of advice behind him, "You're now on vacation for a while, it's good for everyone." Zheng Wei really did use up her seven days of annual leave at once, and she and Mouse moved to Lin Jing's house. Lin Jing went to work during the day, and most of the time she was sleeping. When she was bored, she would go online and play games. Sometimes she would also move around his study with pen, ink, paper, and inkstone.

  Lin Jing's cursive script was powerful and elegant, with a strong artistic spirit, thanks to her numerous awards in various calligraphy competitions. From elementary school to university, she had always received preferential treatment for her excellent handwriting, and even after starting work, her beautiful handwriting was still the subject of admiration. Zheng Wei had followed Lin Jing to practice calligraphy since childhood, but apart from making a mess on the desk and getting ink all over herself, she had gained nothing, and Lin Jing would often look at her crooked and slanted characters with a sigh, lamenting that talent was something one was born with.

  Over the weekend, Lin Jing took Zheng Wei to Beihai by car. Actually, Zheng Wei couldn't swim, but Lin Jing knew that she had encountered too many unhappy things recently, especially Ruan Ruan's death which had a great impact on her. She was afraid that Zheng Wei would suffocate herself if she kept everything bottled up inside, so she took her to the seaside to breathe in some fresh air. When the view opened up, many things became easier to understand.

  When she left, Zheng Wei was reluctant, but she didn't want to ruin Lin Jing's mood. However, when she stood on the silver beach, looking at the winter sea, the endless white sandy beach, and the dense red forest meeting the sky at the end of her line of sight... The depression in her heart seemed to dissipate with the salty sea breeze, passing through her body, and becoming imperceptible.

  Lin Jing laughed at her, when she came to the place, Lao Da was very reluctant. When playing, Zheng Wei focused on piling up a lump of something that didn't look like anything on the wet sandy ground, with fine sand grains stuck to his cheek, but he didn't notice it at all. Lin Jing, who was squatting beside her, habitually stretched out her hand to wipe her face, but left more sand grains on it, and only then remembered that she had dirty hands because of helping her pat the "four not like".

  Zheng Wei was extremely dissatisfied and retaliated even more fiercely. She took advantage of Lin Jing's momentary distraction to grab a handful of sand and stuff it into his collar. The cold, damp sand trickled down the opening of his shirt and onto his skin, causing an itching sensation with a strange tactile feeling. Lin Jing was taken aback and hastily pulled at the front of his clothes in an attempt to shake off the tiny foreign objects. Watching him, normally so neat and tidy, now looking disheveled, Zheng Wei couldn't help but burst out laughing. After laughing for a while, she finally noticed that Lin Jing had been tightly pursing his lips, with a faint frown on his brow, and realized that she might have gone too far. She stuck close to him, pitifully asking, "Are you angry? Why don't you also sprinkle sand on me to vent your anger?"

  She was just talking, but Lin Jing unexpectedly turned around and grabbed her after she got close to him, laughing and holding her down. "This is what you said, don't cry later." He had sand in his hand and had just opened the collar of her sweater when Zheng Wei closed her eyes and shouted loudly, "Ahh save me...Lin Jing, how dare you!"

  "It seems that you only allow the government to set fires, but not the common people to light lamps." Lin Jing pressed down her two struggling hands with one hand and said slowly, "Don't you know how uncomfortable it is to have sand stuck on your skin? You should also experience this feeling." His hand left Zheng Wei's collar, but quickly reached into her shirt from the bottom hem. Zheng Wei immediately curled up her body, laughing and crying at the same time. His hand was a bit cold, with coarse sand grains slowly and gently wandering over her bare skin, making her feel an unusual sensation that she had never experienced before. It felt a bit uncomfortable, but she didn't want him to stop immediately. Her laughter and pleas for mercy gradually turned into inaudible murmurs, her face red as coral, covered with sand grains.

  Lin Jing lowered her head and kissed him, the two of them rolling on the sandy ground. Zheng Wei's back was against a soft, undulating sand dune, and in her bewildered passion, she inadvertently opened her eyes to see the long-forgotten vast sky.

  Lin Jing seemed to have no intention of letting her go, Zheng Wei struggled to push him away with her hand on his chest and said indifferently, "Lin Jing, I have sand in my mouth." Lin Jing paused for a moment, also laughing as he leaned against her, "I think I do too."

  The two laughed together, and finally Zheng Wei seriously covered his stomach, "I didn't realize how hungry I was until I ate the sand." He stood up, casually patted his clothes, and pulled her up with one hand, "Let's go back, take a bath, and then have dinner."

  They stayed in a hotel right on Silver Beach. Lin Jing held her hand, walking barefoot on the sandy ground into the lobby and rushing to their room to take a shower.

  After taking a bath and changing their clothes, the two of them came to the hotel restaurant's lobby. This hotel was famous for its seafood, so Zheng Wei ordered some white-boiled spotted prawns, a small stone bass, and an unusually large conch, all of which were the freshest local seafood available. Sitting in a window-side booth, they could see the beach at sunset through the glass, adding to the flavor of their dinner.

  It's probably because she had just taken a hot bath, Zheng Wei's face and neck were flushed with a transparent pink glow, her big eyes shone brightly, even her eyelashes fluttered dynamically. Lin Jing changed into casual clothes, looking much younger, the usual sharpness and calmness on her body were replaced by fresh vitality, these two people sitting together was not unattractive to others.

  Lin Jing lowered her head to help Zheng Wei peel the shrimp shells, and found that she curiously looked around the hall for a while, then propped up her chin with both hands, staring at him steadily, several peeled shrimps in the bowl remained motionless.

  "Lost your appetite? Weren't you just yelling that you were so hungry you didn't have any strength left?" Lin Jing stopped what she was doing and asked with a smile, "Why are you staring at me like that? Am I more appetizing than the seafood?"

  Zheng Wei said, "I don't know why, but I suddenly remembered the Spring Festival when I was 17 years old. You took me to the City God Temple to visit the temple fair. That day, I was also very happy."

  Lin Jing wiped her hands with a napkin, and after that trip to the City God Temple, what awaited them was a long farewell. He placed one hand on Zheng Wei's back and said, "If you're willing, we can be happy like this forever." Zheng Wei blinked her eyes and smiled coquettishly, "You feed me, I'll be even happier."

  Lin Jing naturally obeyed, "Still like a little kid, and not afraid that others will see you and laugh at you."

  Zheng Wei said, "Who are they? We're not adulterers, why bother looking at us?"

  She looked at Lin Jing's line of sight finally fell on a corner of the hall, only stayed for a few seconds, and immediately retracted her gaze, feeding a shrimp into her mouth, continuing to chat and laugh as usual.

  Dinner was quite good, but Lin Jing ate a bit hastily. He put down his chopsticks and waited for Zheng Wei to finish the last piece of food with satisfaction. "Are you done eating? Next, I'll take you to see the night view by the sea. It's cool at night, so let's go back to the room first and get you a jacket."

  As soon as Lin Jing opened the door of the room, her phone rang. She took a glance and hung up directly, then went to find clothes for her in the luggage.

  "Who's there?" Zheng Wei casually asked.

  "I'm most annoyed by those who call me on weekends to plead for a case, and won't even let me have a break."

  Zheng Wei nodded, and his phone rang again. "Let's just answer it, it's annoying to keep calling back and forth," Zheng Wei said to Lin Jing.

  Lin Jing picked up the phone, and his face suddenly turned cold. Zheng Wei noticed that when he frowned, the lines between his eyebrows, eyes, and nose became particularly sharp. He responded to the phone with a couple of "uh-huhs", his tone extremely chilly, occasionally saying simple and meaningless words like "alright", "don't bother", or "whatever".

  It seemed that for a moment, there was no way to end this conversation immediately. He softened his facial expression and pointed to the sofa in the room with his finger, indicating that she should sit down and wait for him for a while, and he walked out of the balcony.

  Zheng Wei didn't feel like waiting there, so he followed Lin Jing out to the balcony, patted her shoulder, and mouthed, "I'll go down and take a walk." Then he took out his phone and made a calling gesture. Lin Jing hesitated for a moment before covering the phone and whispering, "Be careful, don't go too far."

  Zheng Wei nodded and waved at him, then walked towards the door. Before she reached the entrance, Lin Jing called out to her, "Weiwei, don't forget your coat."