Chapter 10: You may not be the best, but you are the one I can’t let go of 1
The day after Qiu Zhuoping and Chen Yiying confirmed their relationship, they went to the nursing home to visit Uncle Qiu. Yiying thought that Qiu Zhuoping needed to explain to Uncle Qiu that he had abandoned his bride at the wedding and that they had confirmed their relationship. Yiying knew that Uncle Qiu did not hate her, but her behavior at the wedding was indeed a bit excessive, and she hoped to get Uncle Qiu's forgiveness.
Qiu Zhuoping was also worried on the way to the sanatorium. Although Yiying could see the clues from his expression, she couldn't ask the reason directly. She just thought that Qiu Zhuoping was probably afraid of irritating Uncle Qiu, after all, Uncle Qiu's heart was not very good.
"dad."
When they arrived at the nursing home, Father Qiu was practicing Tai Chi in the corridor. His movements were smooth and gentle, and he looked in good shape.
"You're here? I didn't go to yesterday's wedding, but I know everything about you." Father Qiu stopped practicing Tai Chi, walked to the sofa next to the coffee table and sat down. Seeing Qiu Zhuoping and Yiying who was carrying a fruit basket were standing, he smiled and asked them to sit down as well.
"Uncle Qiu, about what happened yesterday, I..." Yiying didn't know how to start, for fear that Uncle Qiu would blame her for ruining his son's life.
They were stunned by Mr. Qiu's reaction. He suddenly burst into laughter, as if this was exactly what he wanted.
"Young people, it's normal to be a little impulsive. Without impulse, how can there be a spark of love? You did the right thing. I envy you."
"You're such a pervert." Qiu Zhuoping blurted out these words out of the blue.
This was the first time Yiying heard him joking with his father. Usually their conversations were very serious and formal, with almost no flavor of family, but today, they had the flavor of father and son.
"Uncle Qiu, do you want to eat some fruit? I'll peel some for you."
"Oh, no, can you please go out and buy me some green tea drinks? I suddenly want to drink a drink."
"Okay, I'll go right away." Yiying put the fruit basket on the table, turned around and walked out to find the convenience store.
Qiu Zhuoping watched her leaving and fixed his gaze on his father.
"Dad, do you have something to tell me?"
Father Qiu nodded and said, "Son, I know what you are thinking now. But I don't care about that anymore. In the past two years, I have seen through many things. In fact, nothing is more important than being with the people who are important to you."
"Dad, I'm afraid that I won't be able to give you a good life in the future. Yiying will find out about this sooner or later, and I'm afraid she will leave me after she finds out."
"Zhuo Ping, if she really loves you, why would she care whether you are rich or poor?" Father Qiu stood up and looked at the cypress tree outside the window. The fresh fragrance drifted in the air. "When I was with your mother, we also started from scratch. Didn't we get here too? Yiying is not a vain girl. She has simple ideas and does things very efficiently. I like girls like her very much."
"But……"
"My child, your happiness is what I care about most, so don't have any other worries. Everything will work out when the time comes." Father Qiu patted Qiu Zhuoping's shoulder meaningfully.
Yiying, who was walking back with green tea in her hand, saw a familiar figure. The owner of that figure had thick curly hair. She was standing against the wall of the corridor. The sunlight coming through the skylight enveloped her, and the blue embroidered flowers on her white skirt made her look more delicate.
"Liu Jiaran?"
"Don't worry, I'm not here to quarrel with you or steal your man." Liu Jiaran kept a ladylike smile, lifted her curly hair to the right, and tidied it up a little. "Haven't you always wanted to know why Qiu Zhuoping left without saying goodbye two years ago? I'll tell you the whole story now."
Yiying stood in the corridor and listened to Liu Jiaran's words. Every word Liu Jiaran said touched her heart. What happened two years ago seemed to have happened just yesterday, and Yiying seemed to have exhausted all her courage in front of Liu Jiaran. Compared with Liu Jiaran, she was just a burden who could not help at all...
"In the years since your mother passed away, I have devoted myself to work and ignored your feelings. In fact, like you, I couldn't find a place to vent the grief of losing a loved one, so I could only devote myself to work. I originally thought that I could forget the sadness by being busy, but now looking back, I think I was just avoiding reality." Father Qiu continued, "It was from that time that we gradually became distant and had nothing to talk about. I know you moved out because you couldn't feel the fatherly love from me, but in fact, I have always been paying attention to you. I know and understand everything about you, but we both used the wrong way to show our concern.
"If I hadn't been unconscious in the hospital bed two years ago, I wouldn't have allowed you to sign that contract. But it has already happened, and we can't make the same mistake over and over again. Zhuo Ping, life is a very short process. Dad still hopes that you can pursue what you really want, because many things in this world can never be found again once they are lost. But no matter what your final decision is, Dad will support you."
"Thank you, Dad."
"Why hasn't Yiying come back for so long? Go out and look for her." Father Qiu and Qiu Zhuoping had been talking for more than half an hour, but Yiying still hadn't come back. Father Qiu had a bad feeling in his heart, so he urged Qiu Zhuoping to go out and look for her.
Qiu Zhuoping walked out of the corridor but could no longer get through to Yiying's phone. The other end of the line kept saying "The number you dialed is not available." Qiu Zhuoping frowned and wanted to open WeChat to contact her.
"Where are you?" Qiu Zhuoping typed in three words and pressed "Send", but a message "The other party rejected the message" appeared in the chat window.
What happened? It was fine just now.
Qiu Zhuoping then called Lin Huimei, who was applying a facial mask when she answered the call. Before she could speak, Qiu Zhuoping asked nervously, "Where is Yiying?"
"She just left, packed her luggage, and said she was going on a trip to relax. Hey? Didn't she go with you?" Huimei sat up on the sofa in surprise. She felt that Yiying was not right just now, and hurried back to pack her luggage. When she asked her where she was going, she just said something perfunctory and left. Huimei thought Yiying was going to travel with Qiu Zhuoping to enhance their relationship, but it turned out that Qiu Zhuoping didn't know where she was going.
"Did you have a quarrel?"
"I don't know what happened. Do you know where she's going?" Qiu Zhuoping was a little anxious. With Chen Yiying's personality, she wouldn't leave without saying anything. Something must have happened. They were fine yesterday and said they would be together in the future. How come in the blink of an eye, he became someone on her blacklist? What happened?
Liu Jiaran! Liu Jiaran must have said something to her!
"I don't know, she didn't say where she was going..." Before Huimei could finish her words, the other party had hung up the phone.
Qiu Zhuoping originally wanted to go to the company to confront Liu Jiaran, but when he arrived, Liu Jiaran's office was empty. He tried to call Liu Jiaran, but the number was also unavailable.
Liu Jiaran and Chen Yiying blocked him at the same time. What is going on?
"Where is Liu Jiaran?" Qiu Zhuoping grabbed the employee who happened to be walking by him, feeling extremely anxious. With Liu Jiaran's personality, he didn't know what she would do to Chen Yiying. Or did she tell Chen Yiying everything and force her to leave?
"I don't know. Secretary Liu hasn't come yet, and the office has been cleared out. We don't know what's going on."
"Has the chairman ever come to the company?" Qiu Zhuoping continued to ask.
"Chairman? Oh, he was here ten minutes ago and left not long ago." The employee thought for a moment and recalled that Zhong Jialiang came to the company ten minutes ago, took a copy of the customer information and left.
After listening to the employee's explanation, Qiu Zhuoping walked quickly to the window. Zhong Jialiang's car had already left, but it happened to stop at the traffic light at the intersection ahead.
Qiu Zhuoping turned around and took the elevator out of the company. He glanced at the intersection ahead. The green light was on and the car passed the zebra crossing smoothly. He looked around and chose a path leading to another street. He ran at full speed, crossed the fence on the side of the road, and ran through several red lights without fear of death. When he walked along the alley to the main road, a car braked in front of him, and the distance between the car and him was only a few centimeters.
Zhong Jialiang's body was affected by inertia and hit the steering wheel. Then he looked up in surprise at Qiu Zhuoping who was risking his life.
Qiu Zhuoping put his hands on the hood of the car, panting, and stared at Zhong Jialiang in the car through the windshield.
As Zhong Jialiang stepped out of the car, the rear of his car was hit by a small car behind it which did not have time to brake.
"My car!" Zhong Jialiang exclaimed as he looked at the dented rear end of the car. The owner of the car behind hurried out to check what was going on.
"Where is Chen Yiying?" Qiu Zhuoping grabbed Zhong Jialiang by the collar and raised his fist high, ready to strike him down.
"How would I know where your girlfriend went?"
"Use your cell phone to call Liu Jiaran. This matter must be related to Liu Jiaran!" Qiu Zhuoping said as he reached into Zhong Jialiang's trouser pocket.
Zhong Jialiang pushed him away impatiently: "I don't know where Chen Yiying is going, but you can go to the airport to look for her." Zhong Jialiang straightened his collar and gave Qiu Zhuoping a simple hint.
Although he and Chen Yiying could not become real boyfriend and girlfriend, he was still a man, so he had some magnanimity. He had promised Liu Jiaran not to reveal Chen Yiying's whereabouts, but a small hint should not be considered a disclosure, right?
Qiu Zhuoping turned around and hailed a taxi: "To the airport, quick!"
Zhong Jialiang looked at the dented rear of his car, then looked at the bewildered car owner beside him. The man had a troubled expression on his face, as if he was worried about paying for the damages. Zhong Jialiang sighed and took the responsibility on himself: "It was my fault for braking suddenly, it has nothing to do with you. If you are busy, please leave , I will wait for the insurance company to come."
"I'm really sorry, there was a problem with the brakes, and I didn't stop in time. How about you leave me your phone number and I'll give you some money for the repairs?"
"That's not necessary. I don't mind that little money. But you can do me a favor and move the car to the side of the road."
"Okay, okay." The car owner nodded hurriedly, and the two moved the car under a tree on the side of the road, waiting for the insurance company to come and deal with it.
Inside the airport.
The air conditioning was chilling, and Yiying took out a thin grey windbreaker from her bag and put it on. She held her passport and plane ticket, which Liu Jiaran had prepared for her. She looked at the flight departure time on the display screen and sat quietly on a chair in the terminal waiting for the flight. Liu Jiaran's words kept echoing in her ears like a nightmare.
"Two years ago, the real estate company invested by the Qiu family had a financial loophole and was facing bankruptcy. Uncle Qiu had a heart attack and was hospitalized because he couldn't stand the stimulation. But things are far from as simple as you think, otherwise why would Qiu Zhuoping drop out of school and disappear so completely?" Liu Jiaran snorted and continued, "The first person to come to me was Zhong Jialiang. He secretly acquired 50% of the company's shares. After Uncle Qiu fell ill, he became the company's largest shareholder and served as chairman. And the financial loopholes of the Qiu family have always been filled by me asking my father, so the Qiu family owes me a favor that will never be repaid!"
"If it weren't for Zhong Jialiang and I, the real estate company that the Qiu family had a stake in would have collapsed long ago in the past two years. It was us who kept the Qiu family's living standards unchanged, and it was us who completely helped them turn the situation around. What Zhong Jialiang and I ask of you is very simple: that he leave you and never contact you again." Liu Jiaran took out a contract signed two years ago from her bag and threw it in Chen Yiying's face, asking her to read the contents carefully.
The content of the agreement is that all financial expenses of the Qiu family will be borne by Liu Jiaran and Zhong Jialiang, and in exchange, Qiu Zhuoping must leave Chen Yiying and stop contacting her. If the contract is breached, the Qiu family will no longer be a shareholder of the company and will have to hand over the 40% of shares they hold. In addition, Qiu Zhuoping will be included in the employment blacklist of all companies and no company will be allowed to hire him.
Chen Yiying trembled all over, and the contract in her hand fell to the ground. At this moment, she finally understood why Qiu Zhuoping always said some strange things to her, and why Qiu Zhuoping did not choose her two years ago. Qiu Zhuoping said that he wanted to live a rational life, because he knew that he could not be left with nothing, and could not abandon his father and only care about his own feelings. Qiu Zhuoping said that her appearance broke all his plans.
It was she who destroyed him with her own hands, and ruined his prospects and future with her own hands. He would lose everything because of her, and would live a humble life in a lower class place because of her.
"If I marry Qiu Zhuoping, the Qiu family will have no worries about food and clothing, and nothing will change. But you destroyed him and the future of the Qiu family with your own hands."
"No, that's not the case." Yiying kept backing away.
In her memory, Qiu Zhuoping was a man with a strong sense of self-esteem. He gave up his dignity and everything he had for her. But she would only complain when he needed someone to accompany him the most. She could not help him at all. She was just a burden to him, dragging him down with her feelings.
"Who is Qiu Zhuoping? He has been raised in a mansion since he was a child, and is used to a life without lack of money. He likes you now and cares about you, but what about the future? Have you thought about it? Sooner or later, his self-esteem will make him regret choosing you. Don't you use your brain to think about it? How can a person who is used to having no worries about food and clothing endure a life with nothing?" Liu Jiaran sneered and was no longer as delicate as before, and no longer called Qiu Zhuoping "Brother Zhuoping, Brother Zhuoping". Qiu Zhuoping has completely disappeared from her world since yesterday. But she will never resign herself to it. She will never give up something she can't get, even if she throws it away.
"Think about Uncle Qiu, an old man who needs nursing, what will happen if he has no money? With your salary, can you support him and his son? Chen Yiying, you can't have your cake and eat it too. I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it and even treated it like a piece of trash." Liu Jiaran fiddled with her curly hair and bent down to pick up the contract on the ground.
She tore the contract in half in front of Chen Yiying, who looked at her in astonishment. She then took out a plane ticket and an exit certificate from her messenger bag and said, "The contract can be cancelled. After all, rules are set by people, and our Liu family doesn't care about that little money. But it depends on whether you are willing to accept this plane ticket."
"Air tickets?"
"This is your employment certificate. From today on, you will be assigned to work at a company overseas. You are not allowed to contact Qiu Zhuoping anymore."
"Qiu Zhuoping doesn't love you. Even if I leave, he won't accept you. If you do this..."
"I don't love Qiu Zhuoping either, but I just want you to leave, it's that simple." Liu Jiaran raised the corners of her lips and looked at Chen Yiying, who couldn't raise her head, with an arrogant look on her face. Even if she wanted to end this ridiculous relationship, she had to put on the most arrogant attitude.
"If I leave, will you stop targeting the Qiu family?"
"yes!"
"Okay, I'm leaving." Chen Yiying took the plane ticket and exit certificate from Liu Jiaran. Perhaps she was not qualified to stay with Qiu Zhuoping, but if her departure could give Qiu Zhuoping and Uncle Qiu a better life, then she was willing to leave.
Yiying sat on the cold aluminum bench at the airport and recalled what Qiu Zhuoping had once said.
There are many things in life that we are unable to accomplish. We will always encounter things that are difficult to decide, and then discover how insignificant and humble we are.
At that time, Qiu Zhuoping smiled bitterly, and the sadness and coldness in his eyes were difficult to interpret.
Each of us is just the tiniest speck of dust in the universe, a speck of dust that can be blown away by a gust of wind.
Perhaps he is right. There are most things in life that are difficult for us to decide, and we tend to choose the one with less loss.
In the past, Yiying didn’t understand why people would make choices against their will. Now, looking at the plane ticket to the United States in her hand, she finally understood.
The announcement that the flight was ready to take off sounded. Yiying looked at the time on the ticket, stood up, packed her luggage and prepared to go to the boarding gate.
"Sir, what are you doing? Sir, this is not the place for you to come in, please..." A chaotic voice suddenly came from the radio, and the microphone was snatched and fell to the ground, making a harsh sound.
The female announcer in the broadcasting room seemed to be forcibly pushed out of the broadcasting room, and the sound of the door closing resounded throughout the airport through the broadcast. All the passengers who were boarding and waiting for the flight pricked up their ears and listened carefully to see what was going on.
"Hello." A man's voice was heard on the radio.
Yiying was stunned. The owner of the voice was the person she was most familiar with—he was chasing after her! But she couldn't be soft-hearted. She had to stay away from his world.
"Chen Yiying, if you dare to leave, I will find you back even if I have to travel all over the world!" Qiu Zhuoping's voice was a little hoarse, with suppressed sobs.
Yiying stopped walking, as if her world suddenly became quiet, so quiet that she could hear the sound of a pin drop. The excitement in the voice coming from the radio became more and more uncontrollable, and Yiying seemed to be able to imagine the person standing in front of the microphone with red eyes, as if she would burst into tears if she said another word.
"I have never really known how to express my feelings, so I have always used the wrong way to love and protect you. I thought that was the best way I could give you, but we were just hurting each other. Two years ago, I made the wrong choice and missed you. Two years later, I don't want to make the same mistake again. So, I beg you not to abandon me because of this."
The sobbing sounds gradually became clearer. The people in the airport, who had been silent for a few minutes, suddenly started talking. Almost everyone in the airport was looking for the person mentioned in the broadcast.
"Chen Yiying, I am willing to lose everything and start over with you, so please don't give up on me, okay?"
The sound of the door being kicked open was heard over the radio. The security guards rushed into the broadcasting room, restrained Qiu Zhuoping, and escorted him out. Before leaving, Qiu Zhuoping still shouted into the microphone in the broadcasting room: "Chen Yiying, I won't let you get on the plane. I won't let you. Do you hear me?"
"The plane will take off soon, and the cabin crew will now begin the safety check. Please take your seats, fasten your seat belts, and fold up your seat backs and small tables..." The broadcast announcing the plane's about to take off sounded.
Qiu Zhuoping, who was trapped in the house, watched the plane taking off through the glass window.
He squatted on the ground, all his strength crumbled at that moment. He sobbed, and finally burst into tears. The sad sobs echoed throughout the security room, and the security guards walked out awkwardly, leaving him alone to bear the sadness.
This was probably the second time in Qiu Zhuoping's life that he shed tears because of sadness. He was a calm person, and he probably only shed tears a few times in his life. The first time was in front of his biological mother's grave, and the second time was because of the love that was about to die...
When Qiu Zhuoping walked out of the airport security room, the sky outside had turned crimson. His eyes were red and swollen, and he exuded a decadent aura.
He waited in the security room for an entire afternoon, but Chen Yiying never showed up. Her phone number became an empty number that could never be dialed. She was gone, just like he had disappeared like steam. Perhaps this was their fate. When he figured it out, she was gone.
People in the airport walked past him, but he felt that the world was only black and white. The two tones intertwined, making it difficult for him to distinguish the faces of everyone. Until a crisp voice sounded, his world regained color.
"Will you really run around the world to find me?" Chen Yiying was pulling a suitcase, holding a luggage bag in her hand, and a gray windbreaker hanging on her arm. She stood in the crowd, and every expression on her face could make Qiu Zhuoping's heart blossom.
Qiu Zhuoping raised his head and looked at the slightly fluttering purple skirt in shock. Chen Yiying, who was wearing the skirt, had tears in her eyes, but she showed the most beautiful smile and quietly looked at his miserable appearance.
At that moment, all Qiu Zhuoping's expression and happiness returned. He smiled, walked through the bustling crowd, and hugged Yiying tightly.
The purple skirt fluttered in the wind, and the long hair with a faint floral scent also flew up in the spinning. Yiying's feet left the ground, and Qiu Zhuoping held her and spun her around for a few rounds. He was like a child seeing someone he loved, and he showed his joy without concealing it.
"It's great that you didn't leave." Qiu Zhuoping put Yiying on the ground, holding her arms with both hands, his heart pounding.
"I forgot to bring my ID card and can't leave." Chen Yiying wiped her tears and told a false lie.
"Liar." Qiu Zhuoping wiped away her falling tears with his thumb, then held her face and kissed her hard, as if he wanted to make up for all the kisses he had missed over the years at this moment.
