Chapter 368 Alone
Some love stories were too perfect, which was why G.o.d could bear to break them apart.
If the incident from more than 20 years ago had not happened, perhaps many people would continue to admire Qin Sheng’s parents’ love.
When they had first met, they had been barely 16. There had been a big snowfall, and the acc.u.mulated snow in the backyard had reached their ankles. A few boys had been there building a snowman. A girl wrapped in a wool jacket had been standing not far away, watching them silently. Her cheeks had been red, and she had been humming a song that no one had heard before.
Qin Changan had been led into the courtyard by his father. He had been instantly attracted to the girl. Afterward, when recalling that day, he had said that he had finally understood what it meant by ‘a glance of a thousand years’ and ‘continuing the relationship of previous life’.
His father had gone back in, but Qin Changan had just stood there, motionless. He had kept on staring at the girl because she had been too pretty, especially her eyes. They had been as clear as still water and full of liveliness.
The girl finally realized, and she lowered her head out of embarra.s.sment.
Qin Changan slowly walked towards her and asked directly, “My name is Qin Changan, what’s your name?”
“Zhu Qinghuan,” said the girl with a slight smile, as if she was not wary of this stranger before her.
The 16-year-old Qin Changan muttered subconsciously, “The best flavor in the world is simplicity?”
“Do you like Su Shi too?” The girl exclaimed in surprise. Her name was taken from Su Shi’s “The Sand of Wanxi” in the first line ‘The light drizzle and wind felt a little chilly’. But in that age of illiteracy, not everyone knew this.
Qin Changan shook his head and said, “I read some, but I prefer Li Bai. Kill a man within 10 steps, unstoppable beyond thousands of miles.”
“Oh.” The girl did not argue with him about Su Shi and Li Bai’s literary talent. She just lowered her head and pouted her lips as she played with her red scarf.
At that moment, Qin Changan felt that the feeling this girl gave him was a little strange. He felt both excited and nervous, but he did not know why. He blurted out almost subconsciously, “Zhu Qinghuan, I will marry you a few years later.”
Hearing this, the girl was shocked. She then lifted her head, and with a confused look on her face, she stared at this boy whom she had just met a few minutes ago. He was not fat, not thin, and not as handsome. He was just taller, which made him look more mature. The girl did not know why he would say such things. However, being liked was always a happy thing, so she pursed her lips and laughed.
At that moment, Qin Changan felt that the winter was not as cold as he imagined. It felt as if spring had come at that instant. Flowers were blooming, and the sun was shining brightly.
In the next few years, Qin Changan had never seen the girl again. He had also led a difficult life and had to move from places to places. Sometimes he would be in Sijiu city and sometimes he would be in other cities. After all, it had been a turbulent era, many well-known figures could not control their own fate, let alone these young children.
No one was spared before the times.
He had only returned to Sijiu city for real at the age of 24 and stopped wandering around.
He met the girl again at a random gathering. He recognized this girl whom he had not been able to forget right away. He walked up to her and said to her in the same direct manner, “Zhu Qinghuan, do you still remember me?”
Although there was an eight years gap between 16 years old and 24 years old, his visuals had not changed too much. Hence, Zhu Qinghuan still remembered Qin Changan. After all, there were not that many boys who would tell her so directly that they wanted to marry her. There were also not that many boys who could accurately pinpoint the origin of her name.
Wearing a red one-piece, Zhu Qinghuan smiled faintly and said, “Qin Changan.” She had several friends surrounding her, and many of them were judging the plain-looking Qin Changan.
Once again, Qin Changan took her by surprise. “I came back to marry you.”
Just one sentence, and he set off the bomb. The whole crowd turned into chaos. At this point in time, Zhu Qinghuan was very popular. She was the dream lover of many men. There were many guys chasing after her, and that included a fair share of wealthy men.
Zhu Qinghuan did not know whether to laugh or cry. Eight years had pa.s.sed and this man was still the same. He had not changed at all.
“Then you have to make me yours first.” Zhu Qinghuan did not reject him. She too, had a great impression of Qin Changan.
Qin Changan nodded and answered confidently, “Okay.”
She smiled and teased him. “There are many guys chasing me, are you confident?”
Qin Changan did not answer. He turned around and left. He dared not say he was confident, but he would put in his all. Eventually, even if he did not manage to make her his, at least, he would not feel sorry or regret.
That year, Qin Changan had put in his all to do all that a man could do for a woman. Needless to say, Zhu Qinghuan had agreed. However, Qin Changan had sacrificed a lot for this. He had offended a bunch of love rivals, which had laid the foundation for many of his pitfalls in the future.
From knowing, to understanding, to dating, the couple had gotten married and had a son and daughter. They had had a very blissful married life. Qin Changan had been working hard in his career while Zhu Qinghuan had been taking care of the family. They had been supporting each other to the best of their abilities, and their relationship had been as strong as glue. Everyone had been full of admiration.
However, that way, everything had stopped.
His wife’s pa.s.sing had been a devastating blow to Qin Changan. At that time, he had not had the energy to care about his father taking away Qin Sheng as he had completely given up on himself. He could not walk out of the great grief. During then, he had even thought of dying. They had once promised each other to grow old together. When he had been left alone, he had not known how to continue living alone.
However, whenever he had been thinking of his daughter and son, he would eventually steer away from that thought, for fear that his wife would blame him.
No one knew how he had walked out of it. No one knew how he had vented all this pain bit by bit. When the public looked at him again, he had changed completely. He had picked up his responsibilities and charged forward.
All these years, be it his wife’s death anniversary or birthday or be it their wedding anniversary, and so on, as long as it was an important occasion, he would always visit her. He would definitely bring along a flower bouquet as he knew that she loved flowers.
He would chat with her alone and talk about his worries or interesting things about their daughter. Sometimes he would chug down half a bottle of white wine on his own, as if that was the best way to get everything out of his system.
This year, Qin Sheng had come back. Qin Changan felt that as compared to him, his wife would hope to meet their son even more. He knew that their son was back, and his wife definitely wanted to meet him. However, in the beginning, Qin Sheng had not been in a good state, so he had not pressurized him. But the day after tomorrow was his wife’s birthday, so he brought it up only now.
When Qin Changan spoke those words, Qin Ran was very upset. She knew that their father would visit their mother almost every month. She thought that after so many years, that relationship had already faded. She only understood today that their father’s affection for their mother was already so deep that not a single bit could be erased.
“Father, I’m sorry,” said Qin Ran emotionally.
Qin Changan found it funny. “Which daughter would apologize to her father? No matter what you do, I won’t blame you. As long as you guys are happy.”
Qin Sheng did not feel good about it either. After a slight moment of hesitation, he lifted his gla.s.s and said, “I shall drink this with you.”
Qin Changan was already very satisfied with that line. He lifted his gla.s.s and chugged it down. This was the most comforting drink he had drank all these years, and he almost thought that he was drunk.
One family, one table full of dishes, one bottle of wine.
Although the atmosphere was not as harmonious, Qin Changan was still very happy. At this moment, all of his sacrifices for the past few years were all unimportant.
For him, he had already achieved his life dream and goal long ago. He was standing at the tip of the pyramid in his level. Now, he only wished for his children to be happy, to have many grandchildren, and to enjoy his last years. That was enough.
After dinner, Qin Changan went to the study. Qin Ran and Qin Sheng sat in the side hall to watch television. The table was full of fruits and snacks. Qin Ran said absent-mindedly, “He had it tough these years.”
“He did not look for another one?” asked Qin Sheng with squinted eyes.
Qin Ran shook her head and said, “No. I know that he had women outside, but they never entered this house. I can understand why he needs to have women outside. After all, it’s too hard to deal with all these alone. But his heart could only contain Mother. No one else can enter it.”
Hearing this, Qin Sheng wanted to vent, and he said casually, “Sis, let’s go to the bar.”
Qin Ran looked at him with a weird gaze, as if she could understand why he would say that. She answered in a lowered voice, “Okay, let me make a call first.”
Not long after, Qin Ran was done with the call. She said to Qin Sheng, “Let’s go, I’m bringing you somewhere.”
No matter where they were going, Qin Sheng was fine with it as long as they were going to drink. He had not had a good round of drinks in a long time.
Qin Ran led Qin Sheng out of the house. Before leaving, she naturally notified Uncle Gongsun. She told him that she was bringing Qin Sheng out to have fun, and they were not going to return home that night. Gongsun did not stop them, obviously.
For Qin Ran, since Qin Sheng was already back, she would naturally bring her younger brother into her social circle slowly. It would definitely be beneficial for him. If anything happened to him in the future, there would be someone who could take care of him.
However, Qin Ran had not told them who she was bringing there today.
This was a small bar near the World Trade Center. It never opened its doors to outsiders. It was basically patronized by friends and their friends. The owner did not rely on this to earn money, it was just a place for the social circle to hang out.
This bar was hidden in the private room of a western restaurant. There was a decorative bookcase in the private room. After pushing it, it would lead you into a dark lane. Pa.s.sing through the lane, you would arrive at the bar. It would become bright instantly, opening up a brand new sky.
Qin Ran went there often, so she led Qin Sheng skillfully into the private room. There were personal butlers waiting to serve, and a face recognition system. The system could identify if one were a regular guest or not.
Presently, Qin Ran’s friends were already waiting inside, waiting to see this new friend that she was bringing. Besides, it was a male, how could they not be excited?
When Qin Ran led Qin Sheng into the bar, they attracted the attention of numerous regular patronizes. Most of the people knew Qin Ran but were not familiar. However, everyone knew that she always came alone and never brought a friend. At most, she would be with her best friends. Why was she with a man today?
Was she going to announce that she was no longer single? If that were the case, numerous men in Sijiu city would be heartbroken.