Chapter Six

  "It's also worthless."

  The bedside lamp went out, and she could hear the sound of Jing Yang lying down. She had slept during the day and now felt wide awake, unable to fall asleep as she tossed and turned.

  The person beside him suddenly said: "Can't sleep?"

  She responded with a sound, and after a few seconds she said anxiously: "These days I've been thinking, after the New Year I plan to quit."

  "As long as you like it, don't need to ask for my opinion."

  He didn't ask, but she explained: "Lu Lu is about to compete soon, and I want to accompany him at that time."

  "It's not necessary to resign, you can come to my company as a legal consultant."

  "I'm a divorce lawyer, you don't need me there."

  Jingxiang chuckled lightly: "Not that I'm relying on you, just lending your name. Sounds good when said out loud, and the days are still peaceful, this little trick I still have."

  Su Lan didn't respond, so Jing Yang assumed she had agreed.

  After a while, he leaned over and stuck it on, Su Lan trembled and grabbed the quilt: "Don't do that, I'm not comfortable."

  He didn't care, and continued to kiss her for a while before turning her over.

  Su Lan stepped back, displeased: "Can't you show some respect for me?"

  He grasped her occipital bone and said: "How can I respect you?"

  "I said I'm not comfortable!"

  "Are you uncomfortable now, or have you always been uncomfortable?"

  "Dad is here, can't you argue later?"

  "You don't know what's good for you!" He retorted, turning away with a flick of his body.

  Without his support, Su Lan felt a chill run down her body and wrapped herself tighter in the quilt, shrinking away to the side.

  The room was quiet and still, with a great distance between the two people.

  She opened her eyes and thought, this day is probably going to be a tough one.

  In two days' time, it will be New Year's Day.

  Years have passed, and it's still mainly for kids, but adults just use it as an excuse to hook up with each other.

  Jing's father returned, and the guests at Jing's house were numerous. Jing Yang accompanied him on the side, while Su Lan and others greeted them from the side. The day passed by in a lively and cheerful atmosphere. Originally, Su Lan had bought tickets to visit her mother on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but unexpectedly, the other side was snowed in and she could only give up.

  Jingxiang said from the side: "When are you going to tell mom and let her come down? She can't stay in that place for long."

  Su Lan bit her lip and said, "If you wanted to say it, you should have said it earlier."

  "Is it because of your father?"

  She nodded.

  Outside the window, snowflakes fell in large pieces. In the courtyard, Jia Hang was setting off firecrackers with a few children, and the house was lit up bright red. One of them sat on the sofa, another leaned against the window, and they couldn't see each other's faces.

  The quiet house made the outside sounds seem even louder. Jing Yang opened his mouth to say something, but it was drowned out by the firecrackers.

  Sudden sound suddenly disappeared.

  Quiet indoors.

  Jingxiang stood up and said: "You think about going when the weather gets better." Without waiting for Su Lan's answer, he walked out in big strides.

  She stood in front of the window, a cold wind blowing through the gap, Su Lan shrank her body, and her phone rang, she answered it.

  The voice from across the way carried a hint of excitement: "Happy New Year."

  The warm voice reached her ears, Su Lan was stunned, and the wall clock struck twelve.

  "Uh-huh."

  "...Well, goodbye."

  She didn't answer, and hung up the phone.

  After the first day of the new year, activities are nothing but visiting relatives. The Jing family's habit is to gather at the Jing family's place on the second day of the new year, and after gathering, it's convenient, year after year.

  Seven big aunts and eight big aunts gather together, how lively it is!

  Third Aunt was over there talking about Jia Hang's wedding again. Second Aunt looked more spirited than before, but not as noisy as she used to be. It seemed that the matter with Hou Qin had dampened her enthusiasm. She didn't mention anything about her son, only holding her little granddaughter and feeding her tangerines. As for Hou Qin, he just came over and took a look around, asking "Is Second Brother here?"

  Su Lan said: "Let's go."

  Hou Qin didn't say anything else and his butt hadn't even warmed up the seat before he left.

  Only Jia Hang was left, holding his head and annoyed: "Mom, if you urge me again, I'll jump off the building."

  Zhao's little girl sat on the sofa, pointing at the actor on TV and said: "Jing's third sister, look at this little girl! I can introduce her to Jia Hang."

  The little girl's name is Zhao Bao'er, Zhao Zhen's own younger sister, the youngest daughter of Zhao's parents, spoiled to an extreme degree, just over twenty years old, previously a writer, now mixed into a screenwriter.

  Jing Mindao said: "Forget it, our family wants to find a decent one." The second child's family was indeed messed up by that Yang Yue.

  Zhao Bao'er leaned over and smiled: "Sister, I know this person, he's really good, I swear on my integrity."

  "Hey, little auntie, isn't this woman the second lead? At least introduce me to the first lead, she's much prettier than her."

  Zhao Bao'er scolded: "You men only know how to look at faces, originally the female lead was the female second, but now the current female lead has a backstage, and she forcibly changed the female second into the female first, making me change the script, it's so troublesome, don't even mention her, mentioning her makes me angry."

  "Whoa, looks like this is a big deal! Quickly give me the scoop!"

  Zhao Bao'er spread her hands: "Lu Hanwen, black material online, go to Baidu yourself."

  Jia Hang snorted disdainfully.

  Zhao Bao'er said to Jing Yang again: "Second nephew, don't you recognize her? I remember she was a spokesperson for your company before."

  Jingxiang had just returned from outside, holding a cup of water, with smoke curling up, and said in a low voice: "Gua Zi Lian Shui She Yao, it's all one face, how can I tell who is who?"

  Yu Guang glanced at Su Lan, who was sitting next to him peeling an orange, one piece at a time, then removing the white pith, clean and tidy, the bright yellow pulp placed neatly on a white plate, with a pick inserted, then cutting dragon fruit in a rhythmic motion.

  Zhao Bao'er took a slice of orange, smacking her lips and said: "Jing Yang, your wife is so virtuous, has big breasts and long legs, can cook well, lend me to warm the bed for a few days."

  "Look who's talking. And you, Jiahang, don't bother with those riffraff on TV, it's hard to know what's in someone's heart just by looking at their face."

  Su Lan's hand paused for a moment, rarely looking up to say something for herself, but because of the last time, she felt that this sentence was not pleasant when it came out of his mouth, and looked at the people on TV again. Heh! Su Lan coldly laughed in her heart.

  This isn't one of his lovers, no wonder it's troublesome. If my younger brother and his lover are together, wouldn't that make everyone laugh their teeth off?

  Suddenly, I thought, let's just get a divorce and be done with it. We've been living apart for months, and our relationship has been almost non-existent. But this past half year, he's suddenly become so enthusiastic, probably because those women have gotten bored with him and he's remembered his wife. He comes home to pick a fight, and if that doesn't work, he just jumps into bed, making her worry every time about getting some kind of disease.

  Although she didn't have much feelings, she also wanted to find a cleaner one, at least to guarantee her own health. At this moment, Su Lan actually hoped that Jing Yang saw it that night, such a proud person, only allowing the governor to set fire, not allowing ordinary people to light lamps. When the time comes for divorce, after the divorce, she will be relieved, and she has been suffocated for so many years.

  She should be a modern woman, getting divorced when things don't work out is normal, but she has a weak personality and an added burden of a child. At first, she was overwhelmed by marriage, later on, they just existed together, independent of each other, not bothering anyone, with a good facade, and the child was well taken care of. Now it's not working... this balance seems to be breaking.

  There's still Jian Xiu... Jian Xiu... The more Su Lan thought about it, the more she got a headache. What she said with her mouth, what she thought in her heart, and what she did with her hands were all different. Jian Xiu couldn't love her anymore, but he was like the original spark that had ignited her passion and emotions. He left and she extinguished herself, but when he came back, he reignited her fervor and feelings. Unlike now, where she was forcing herself to go through the motions of a numb job and a marriage that was just going through the motions. From time to time, she still had to worry about this man, her husband who was like a stranger to her, standing in front of him made her feel timid. Even drinking couldn't give her courage.

  She attributed this to nature, rabbits are afraid of tigers, she is afraid of admiration, but who fears whom does not mean that one can suppress the other. Ants can also overturn elephants.

  But if this tiger lets go of himself, it should be soon. I heard his new girlfriend has been with him for over a year and hasn't gotten tired of him yet, so something good is probably coming... If they get divorced, they will definitely get married first and have kids, then she can leave with her son.

  Su Lan's thoughts are like a runaway wild horse, running that is called smooth and refreshing.

  She thought and thought, and then she laughed at herself.

  Jia Hang picked up the remote control to change the channel, Zhao Bao'er was about to say a few words to Jing Yang, but when she saw him changing the channel, she rushed over with her arm around his neck and shouted: "What are you changing the channel for?"

  "What's so good about idol dramas?" Jiahang refused to give in.

  The two of them twisted together into one lump.

  Jing Min shook his head: "Why are you still acting like a child?"

  Jing Rui hastily made a gesture with his eyes and said: "You're searching for someone, isn't there one right here?"

  Jing Min was taken aback, she hadn't thought of the Zhao family in that way, and now that she looked at them, the two really did have a bit of chemistry. But before she could think of her next move, Zhao Bao'er suddenly raised his head and said: "Third sister of the Jing family, don't scheme against me, messing up the generations."

  Jia Hang said: "Who cares about you, old man!"

  She looked up at him with admiration and asked, "What are you smiling about?"

  Su Lan's hand with the fruit knife trembled, and she forced a smile, shaking her head: "Nothing."

  He reached out and grabbed her wrist: "What's going on?"

  Su Lan helplessly said: "Just thinking of happy things."

  Su Lan thought he would ask fiercely, but didn't expect Jing Yang to suddenly let go and say with a smile: "You should think more about happy things, laugh more, you look good when you laugh, I like it too."

  This man was sometimes gloomy and sometimes sunny. Su Lan had no time to guess his thoughts, so she handed out the fruit platter for everyone to eat.

  He gazed at her with a cigarette in his mouth, his eyes narrowed and a smile on his face.

  "Jingxiang, you're staring too intensely, your wife can't even take her eyes off you for a second."

  Jingxiang smiled and said: "It's not just that, it looks good when you look at it, and looking more will make it even better."

  The adults next to them couldn't help but laugh and praise the couple, saying they looked good together, their child was well-behaved and smart. This family of three was indeed the most pleasant to be around.

  Su Lan nodded in agreement, but didn't say a word. She felt that something was off about the atmosphere today, and somehow everyone was praising themselves. Although she usually wasn't bothered by it, when he actually said something nice, she still felt happy inside. People generally like to be flattered, no matter who it is, and those sweet words are like a warm broth that can make even the most upright person feel dizzy for a moment. And this man rarely gave praise, so when Su Lan heard his compliment for the first time, she felt her heart fluttering with excitement.

  But in my heart, the main idea remains unchanged.

  He stayed for a few more days and then Jing Yang went back to his busy life again.

  Su Lan stayed at the Jing's house, waiting for the snow to stop before going back to see her mother. In the meantime, she received a call from Xuan Ya, but avoided answering it due to consideration for Er Gu's face.

  She said, bringing her husband back here for Chinese New Year, the child was born on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year and is a boy, with a single character name "Chen".

  Su Lan said: "Bless you."

  Xuān Yǎ on the other side smiled happily: "Thank you."

  "Auntie." The little girl behind her called out, her voice clear and crisp.

  Su Lan was startled, and her phone almost fell out of her hand. She turned her head to see Miao Miao standing at the door, staring at her with sparkling eyes. She was currently on the phone with Xuan Ya, and it was a critical moment, so she was afraid that something might have happened, and she nodded hastily at the little girl without speaking.

  Xuan Ya probably heard the sound and asked: "Who is it?"