Chapter Seventeen

  That night, Lin Jing didn't leave. At midnight, the two people who hadn't eaten dinner felt hungry, and Lin Jing rummaged through a few packets of instant noodles under her bed, made some simple preparations, and the two of them managed to fill their stomachs. Fortunately, his luggage for the business trip was still in the car, so he changed into a new set of clothes in the morning and drove directly from her place to the procuratorate for work.

  Zheng Wei didn't know why she couldn't refuse Lin Jing, maybe she had been lonely for too long and needed a harbor like this; she was like a ship that had lost its direction, mistakenly entering Lin Jing's bay, only to realize that the feeling of not having to worry about where she would drift to in the next second was actually so good. She may not have thought about anchoring for life, but the stability he gave her at this moment was irreplaceable.

  Of course, none of this matters because by the time she got her answers, Lin Jing had already successfully infiltrated Zheng Wei's life. At first, they would meet up every now and then to have dinner together, and he would send her home, naturally sharing a night that belonged to each other. Gradually, she grew accustomed to his company on weekend nights, and later, he spent most weeknights in her single apartment.

  For Zheng Wei, it wasn't too difficult to get used to Lin Jing's existence. After all, the 17 years of emotions were still there, even if they had faded a lot, but the tacit understanding remained. Lin Jing appeared gentle on the surface, but was actually very opinionated, which perfectly complemented Zheng Wei's seemingly clever but actually simple nature. He tolerated her with the greatest flexibility, not asking for her to change. When she didn't want to talk about the future, he wouldn't mention it either. If he couldn't stand her messy living habits, he would take the initiative to tidy up. Sometimes when Zheng Wei saw him patiently putting away her scattered high heels again and again, she would ask with embarrassment: "This habit of yours is just like my mom's, but why don't you nag me like my mom does?"

  Lin Jing retorted: "If I remind you, will you still not do it next time?"

  She honestly replied: "It can't be changed for a while, probably still the same as before."

  "That's it," said Lin Jing, "If I mutter to myself while picking up, then I have to do two things at the same time. It's better to save some effort and do one thing less."

  Lin Jing has a particularly calm and composed temperament, which makes him appear relaxed and at ease most of the time. Zheng Wei tends to get anxious when faced with unexpected situations, but Lin Jing's stability always manages to soothe her anxiety just in time. Any trouble that comes his way seems to be easily resolved, as if it never existed.

  In the past four years, Zheng Wei has learned to rely solely on herself for everything. Although her days may be a bit rough around the edges, they're still manageable. But when Lin Jing returned to her life, that feeling of having someone to depend on came back. He would get up in the middle of the night with sleepy eyes to give her water when she was thirsty, carefully lay out her keys, phone, and wallet in her bag before she went to work, patiently accompany her shopping at malls and supermarkets, offer timely praise and constructive suggestions, and even return to the store to exchange a new top that had lost a rhinestone. He remembered her exact menstrual cycle better than she did, and treated all her capricious and unreasonable demands as if they were perfectly normal.

  It's too easy to rely on someone like Lin Jing, and getting used to it can be addictive. Lin Jing has a way of quietly and unobtrusively becoming an integral part of Zheng Wei's life, to the point where whenever something happens, her first thought is always: What's there to fear? There's still Lin Jing. Yes, as long as Lin Jing is around, anything can be left to him. In reality, Zheng Wei isn't a particularly strong and independent woman; she craves the comfort he provides, so she tacitly allows herself to stand behind him, letting him shield her from the wind and rain.

  What else can she ask for? Such a man, perhaps many people cannot get such good fortune. Zheng Wei knows that one should be contented, but in the middle of the night when she dreams, she quietly looks at his profile with the moonlight coming from outside the window, and there is always a moment when her heart is startled - who is he?

  He is her brother Lin Jing. The person she wanted to marry since childhood finally slept by her side, shouldn't this be happiness? But does other people's happiness also come with melancholy? Ruan Ruan asked well, what is the definition of happiness, for Zheng Wei, happiness may just be closing her eyes and forgetting that colorful time when Lin Jing was absent.

  For the two of them, Zheng Wei's single dormitory was a bit too simple. Lin Jing had suggested that she move into his place before, but Zheng Wei had flatly refused, so he had to gradually transfer his daily necessities, clothes, and laptop over to her place. After several years as a graduate student, Lin Jing, who originally didn't even lift a finger at home, learned how to cook simple meals. On days when neither of them was busy, they would take turns cooking dinner together - he cooked, she occasionally washed the dishes, and sometimes it felt like this was just what life was all about. The only thing that Lin Jing found hard to get used to was Zheng Wei's single bed. She slept comfortably on it alone, but with two people, no matter how close they snuggled up, it was still cramped. Lin Jing was tall and big, and lying in her single bed made him feel like he couldn't stretch out his limbs at all. Plus, she slept very soundly and would often push him to the edge of the bed, making him feel like he might fall off if he wasn't careful. Over time, this affected the quality of his sleep, and sometimes when he woke up in the morning, his waist and back ached. So, more than once, he suggested buying a new bed, but Zheng Wei didn't agree. She subconsciously resisted this decision - perhaps it was not the bed itself that she resisted, but the symbolic meaning that came with a double bed.

  When Lin Jing stayed overnight at Zheng Wei's place, she rarely parked her car downstairs. However, the compound was a small society where everything about you was exposed, no matter how low-key you were. It quickly became known that Zheng Wei had an intimate live-in boyfriend. Of course, most people didn't know Lin Jing's occupation, but they all envied her for finding a young and promising partner. Both Lin Jing and Zheng Wei were used to living in compounds since childhood, so they weren't surprised by the gossip. Now was no longer the era when everything, including birth, aging, illness, and death, had to be handled by their work units. As long as they weren't married, their time after work belonged to themselves, so they weren't affected much. They just avoided being too intimate in public, and Zheng Wei laughed off all the probing questions.

  It was Zhou Qu who felt quite surprised by the development of Zheng Wei and Lin Jing's relationship. He asked her, "Zheng Wei, one morning I happened to see Prosecutor Lin Jing's car leaving the compound, I don't know if I saw it wrong?" His tone carried a rare sense of confusion and hesitation.

  "I think it shouldn't be a mistake." Zheng Wei's response confirmed his speculation.

  "I always thought..."