Chi Wei's parents live in the west.
When he was young, the company allocated him a house of more than 150 square meters. It was renovated twice and he lived there for more than 20 years. The old couple saved a lot and bought properties in Haidian, Xicheng and Chaoyang over the years. A flat in Chaoyang was bought a long time ago for Chi Wei to use as a wedding house; there is also an old and dilapidated small house in Haidian, which is fortunately facing Zhongguancun No. 3 Primary School. In addition to Beijing, the old couple also bought apartments in Beidaihe and Anaya for vacation.
Qu Fanyi and Chi Wei would go to her parents-in-law's house almost every weekend to eat with the old people, chat, and drink half a bottle of white wine.
And every time, the old couple would be busy for an afternoon, and when the young couple arrived, they would serve a full table of food.
During the meal, Chi's mother kept picking up dishes for Qu Fanyi. In Chi Wei's words, "Mom, why do I feel that Xiaoyi is your biological daughter?"
Chi's mother said, "Really? Maybe your role is to let Xiaoyi marry into our family."
Everyone at the table laughed.
Qu Fanyi carefully studied Chi Wei's family before getting married. In addition to the family background, she also looked at her mother-in-law's attitude towards her. In her opinion, choosing a mother-in-law who loves her and whom she also loves is much more important than choosing a husband who loves her.
Sheng Yiqing was once curious about her way of investigation: "How do you know that you love your mother-in-law?"
Qu Fanyi blinked: "Probably... looking at their faces and thinking whether you are willing to spend the only ten days of vacation each year with them, whether you are willing to let them take care of and educate your children... and..."
Sheng Yiqing asked: "Hmm?"
"And, whether you are willing to hold their diapers in bed for them thirty or even forty years later."
But the fact is that on the night when Qu Fanyi and Chi Wei got engaged, when Chi Wei deposited 400,000 yuan for a diamond ring into Qu Fanyi's account and told her that it was a little gift from her mother-in-law. Qu Fanyi looked at the string of numbers in the bank card and silently swore in her heart: "Mother-in-law, in the future, I am willing to hold your diapers."
The four of them chatted about family matters while eating, and heard Chi's mother mention that the neighbor's daughter-in-law was pregnant with twins. Qu Fanyi and Chi Wei looked at each other, and Chi Wei smiled: "Why are you in such a hurry? Xiaoyi and I haven't had our wedding yet."
Chi's mother was stunned and said: "It's time to prepare. We've already found someone. There are several suitable dates in May." After saying this, she ordered Chi Wei's father, "Call Lao Wu later and ask him to book the venue for us first, and find a reliable wedding company for us. Then add Wei and Xiaoyi to a group." At this point, she looked at Chi Wei: "Pay more attention to the wedding."
Chi Wei, holding the food in his mouth, hummed: "You let Xiaoyi come. The wedding must be held according to Xiaoyi's standards. She will only have this once in her life."
Chi's mother was silent. She glanced at Chi Wei unhappily - only you, you don't know how many times you have been a groom.
Speaking of this, she thought of Lin Shan again.
Lin Shan's tutor when she was studying was her best friend. The two had a rift because of Chi Wei and Lin Shan's divorce. Fortunately, they have now put aside their past grudges and are united in the face of the outside world. Just last week, her best friend told her: Lin Shan returned to China.
Chi's mother still couldn't figure out Chi Wei's feelings for Lin Shan. When she heard Chi's father and Chi Wei talking about the wedding guests, she suddenly said: "By the way, will your ex-wife who went to the United States come? Are you two still in touch?"
As soon as the voice fell, the house suddenly became quiet.
Chi Wei subconsciously glanced at Qu Fanyi.
Qu Fanyi had only seen Lin Shan's back that day. She waited until lunch time that day before returning home slowly.
After hugging Zeng Yuqiu tightly for a few seconds, he pushed her away, still with that carefree smile, and asked her: "What's wrong? Can't think straight?"
Qu Fanyi's cheeks flushed, and she hurriedly explained: "I was confused, I just couldn't stand steadily just now."
"So you fell into my arms?"
Qu Fanyi didn't say anything.
Zeng Yuqiu just looked at her seriously, and said after a while: "Don't be impulsive." After a pause, he said: "I'm not a gentleman. If you treat me like this, I'm afraid I'll make a mistake."
The scene of Chi Wei and Lin Shan hugging each other replayed in her mind, and she became irritated: "There are so many shameless people in this world, we are the only ones who are short of..."
Zeng Yuqiu pressed her lips with his thumb: "I won't be a secret lover. If you want a divorce one day, come to me."
She was annoyed: "Then you..."
She was talking about the kiss.
Zeng Yuqiu was rarely serious: "I did it on purpose. Divorce. He doesn't deserve you."
The two stood at the corner of the back door of the community. Occasionally, a resident passed by and cast a glance at them. Qu Fanyi hurriedly stepped back and kept a distance. Seeing that she was silent for a long time, Zeng Yuqiu smiled as if she understood: "Come on, I know, marriage is marriage, love is love, right?"
She said: "I was confused today, you go."
"...Okay." Zeng Yuqiu nodded and stepped back, half-jokingly, stretched out his hand to his ear and made a gesture, "Then wait until you are confused again one day. Call me."
She stood downstairs alone for a long time.
When she realized it, she found that it was past noon. When she stood in the corridor of the community, she also called Chi Wei intimately, saying that she had just gone to the mall and was planning to come back now.
When she opened the door, the pair of women's shoes at the entrance were gone. Chi Wei was sitting on the sofa watching TV alone, obviously absent-minded, and there were two glasses of water on the coffee table in front of him.
The flaw was too obvious, so she had to pretend not to see it.
She looked around the house inconspicuously: there were traces of slight tumbling on the table in the guest room, the diamond ring in the bathroom was no longer in its original place, no one had entered the bedroom, and the old black box in Chi Wei's study disappeared completely.
Women are always good at acting, they know what's going on in their hearts, but they pretend to be calm on their faces. Disguise is the easiest thing for Qu Fanyi, her performance is normal, and Chi Wei is secretly glad that he has concealed this matter.
.
After returning from Chi Wei's parents' house, neither of them spoke. The car was driving on the Fourth Ring Road. The host of the car radio chatted about the road conditions and weather, and finally said: "Today's program ends here. Now please listen to a classic piano piece "Streets Blown by the Wind". Good night everyone."
As the music of Canon flowed in the car, Qu Fanyi's face froze.
Chi Wei noticed her abnormality, but felt guilty. He cleared his throat and turned down the music: "Xiao Yi, I want to tell you something."
"Hmm?" The music became faint and soon disappeared in the noisy background outside the window.
Chi Wei's voice was very light: "Lin Shan, that is, my ex-wife, has returned to China."
Qu Fanyi paused for a moment and said, "Is she okay?"
Chi Wei was relieved to see that she was not angry, and replied: "Not very well. It seems that she has suffered some injuries in the United States. I guess she will stay in China in the future. I, um, met her once, and I feel that she is quite shocked."
Qu Fanyi didn't say anything, as if she didn't care at all.
Chi Wei was more relieved and said: "She should also come to the class reunion this Saturday. If you don't want to see her..."
Qu Fanyi interrupted: "It's okay, it's good to meet. We are all family."
The class reunion is scheduled for December 10.
According to Chi Wei's preparations, this reunion will last a whole day. After entering the school at 10 a.m., the students visited the campus and gathered in the conference hall of the School of Medicine.
This gathering was jointly organized by Chi Wei and the teacher in charge of the alumni association. Early in the morning, Chi Wei brought Qu Fanyi back to school and helped with several volunteers to put the souvenirs, school shirts, itinerary and meal tickets in a gift bag, waiting to be distributed to the students when signing in.
Qu Fanyi had edited the video to be played for Chi Wei a long time ago. After counting the gift bags and going through the process, she took out a form and reminded Chi Wei to confirm that the students and teachers responsible for speaking could arrive in advance. She also contacted the property management of the teaching building and asked them to tell her every light and media button and switch in detail. Finally, she took out the laptop from the bag, connected it, and debugged the video and microphone several times.
She worked quickly and methodically. Seeing this, the alumni association teacher asked Chi Wei, "Is this the helper you invited from outside?"
Chi Wei was stunned and smiled, "This is my wife."
Several student volunteers who were helping were also shocked and looked up, "Is the senior's wife so young? I thought she was the senior sister in charge of alumni preparations in the college."
Chi Wei was a little proud, "She does everything well."
Not long after, old classmates arrived, and Qu Fanyi also changed her clothes. She was originally wearing a set of jeans and a high-necked cashmere sweater for work. When she needed to entertain guests, she changed herself into a high-waisted tweed plaid hip skirt, tightly pinching her waist, tied a scarf with old flowers around her neck, matched with a diamond ring on her hand, let her hair down, and stood beside Chi Wei gently, accompanying him to welcome the classmates.
Several volunteers saw it, whispered gossip, and sighed that the senior really picked up a treasure.
Lin Shan was still wearing white, a beige round-neck sweater and a light grey pleated long skirt. When she entered the teaching building, she was holding a white down jacket in her hand. She came in with many people, talking and laughing. When Lin Shan was with outsiders, her smile was no longer domineering, and her laughter was like a silver bell, light and sweet. She was surrounded by several old classmates, and she stopped when she saw Qu Fanyi and Chi Wei at the door. Then, a male classmate who was not familiar with her looked at Chi Wei and then at Lin Shan, and shouted: "I said, you two didn't come together!" This male classmate went to another place after graduation. This time he came to the party specially. When he was in school, he knew that Chi Wei had been in love with Lin Shan for a long time. Three years ago, when he saw the wedding photo of Chi Wei and Lin Shan in his circle of friends, he liked it and wished the lovers to get married. According to his understanding, this couple probably even had children who would play soy sauce. But he didn't expect that after a word was spoken, the scene suddenly became quiet. Chi Wei's smile froze on his face. He glanced at Lin Shan who was staring at him, then turned his gaze back and calmly put his arm around Qu Fanyi's waist. He said to several classmates, "Let me introduce you to my wife, Qu Fanyi." He then looked at Qu Fanyi and said, "These are my classmates, Dou Tong, Li Guoxin, Wang Yimeng and..." He paused, "and the one I mentioned to you before, Lin Shan."
Even if they were very calm, they could still find something wrong. Several classmates hurriedly called out to Qu Fanyi, "Hello, sister-in-law! Hello, sister-in-law!" Qu Fanyi nodded and smiled one by one, and handed them the gift bag on the table beside them.
When it was Lin Shan's turn, Lin Shan looked at her carefully and smiled, "So beautiful."
Qu Fanyi also smiled, "You are also very beautiful, and very thin."
Lin Shan took the gift bag and blinked, "I am praising your beautiful scarf."
When Lin Shan walked into the conference room, she found her seat and sat down. She saw that the big screen was playing the blessing video of classmates in a loop. The video was obviously carefully edited, with moving music and a few simple special effects, which attracted everyone's attention. Lin Shan watched for a while, and recalled the past, and felt her eyes burning. She lowered her head to open the gift bag, and found that in addition to the souvenirs, there was also a pack of tissues. The tissues were obviously customized, and the packaging was printed with their class logo, a long and happy memory.
Everyone around was praising the preparations for this gathering. Seeing a volunteer standing next to her, Lin Shan whispered, "You guys are so attentive. Did you make this video, too?"
Unexpectedly, the volunteer laughed, "These videos and tissues were prepared by Senior Chi Wei and his wife. They came early this morning. We all praised Senior Chi Wei's wife for being both capable and pretty. Senior Chi Wei really found a treasure!"
The smile on Lin Shan's face faded, but she still nodded politely to the volunteer.
According to the plan, after everyone entered, the school leaders, teachers and student representatives gave speeches. Chi Wei stood on the stage as a student representative, wearing a dark blue suit that made him look straight. When he was in school, Chi Wei was dull and taciturn, and Lin Shan always looked down on him. Unexpectedly, after a few years, compared with the old classmates on the stage, he became the most brilliant one.
She pursed her lips and looked at Chi Wei on the stage, and she felt proud for no reason.
The vague idea became clearer as she returned to China. Lin Shan was wrong. She almost lost everything because of her mistakes. Fortunately, it is not too late for her to know now. She has always been a girl favored by fate, and she believes that fate will always favor her.
All those things that she once abandoned will belong to her forever as long as she looks back.
After the speech, there was lunch. Everyone thought it would be an ordinary box lunch, but the staff directly set up a buffet restaurant in the next conference hall, holding stainless steel food boxes and neatly stacking them. When you look at the staff's dress, it turns out to be the famous Cantonese restaurant Liyuan. Someone joked: "Such a lunch is not cheap, right?" Chi Wei smiled and pointed at Qu Fanyi: "Xiaoyi knows their boss and gave us a discount for relatives and friends. The average person is less than 100."
Everyone appreciated it even more.
Qu Fanyi and Mrs. Jiang already had a group of wives, which was dedicated to sharing various life resources and information. This time, it happened that the wife of the general manager of Liyuan was in the group. Seeing Qu Fanyi's request for help, she generously helped.
Everyone at the table was toasting and chatting, but Chi Wei was absent-minded. Qu Fanyi noticed his gaze and realized that he had not seen Lin Shan. Chi Wei seemed to want to get up and look for her, but because Qu Fanyi was there, he could only stay in his seat.
She guessed something, so she simply got up and said to Chi Wei: "I'm going to the bathroom."
The bathroom in the college building is on the second floor. Qu Fanyi pushed open the door and was stunned. The person standing by the sink was Lin Shan.
They met on a narrow road. Lin Shan was also surprised. They looked at each other and nodded slightly.
The two women stood in front of the sink, and the mirror reflected their figures, one black and one white. After the initial nod, they didn't look at each other, each of them washed their hands, wiped their hands, applied hand cream, and touched up their makeup.
When Qu Fanyi turned to leave, someone behind her suddenly called out softly:
"Mrs. Chi, I want to ask you for a favor."
Qu Fanyi paused, turned around, and looked at Lin Shan: "Go ahead."
"This story is a bit long, I need to tell it slowly." Lin Shan smiled, walked to the bathroom door, raised her hand, and locked the door to ensure that outsiders could not come in. Then she said slowly, "It's like this, I have a sister, she had a lover when she was young, but for various reasons, she missed that lover. After three years, she finally went through all the difficulties and returned to her lover. Her lover still loved her, but she was already married." At this point, she looked at Qu Fanyi: "Is this a sad love story?"
Qu Fanyi thought it was a bit ridiculous, and replied with a faint smile, "There are always regrets in the world, there is nothing we can do. After all, they are married..."
"Do you know why they got married?" Lin Shan interrupted and continued: "Because his lover's wife is a very practical, but very stupid woman. She is practical because she is simply the most virtuous woman in the world. She is not just a free manager.
She is also a free nanny, life assistant, and tutor for future children... She can do everything, like a most handy tool. But she is also very stupid. "Lin Shan looked at Qu Fanyi and smiled: "Why do you think she is stupid?"
Qu Fanyi looked up at her and felt her heartbeat speed up, and her hands shook unconsciously. She didn't know that it was adrenaline, which would be unconsciously secreted when she entered the battle preparation state. She remained calm, just pulled the corners of her mouth and looked into her eyes: "How could such a powerful woman be stupid?"
"She is stupid because she firmly believes that being a practical tool can bring happiness. I am the same as her. Our ideal in life is to be a wife, but in my eyes, a wife is to find a man who loves me, obeys me, and spoils me for a lifetime. I don't have to worry about anything. I just need to concentrate on being myself. Love and marriage, he will hand them all to me. I used to be like this, and I will continue to be like this in the future. "
Qu Fanyi said nothing.
Lin Shan smiled, "We've been talking for so long, but we haven't talked about the main business yet. I want to ask you to help me persuade that lady. I hope you can tell her for me that a truly happy marriage should be to find someone who loves you, make him omnipotent, and make yourself useless, rather than working hard to turn yourself into a practical tool. A woman without love is destined to be pitiful, and a marriage without love is destined not to last. Although these words are unpleasant, you may have to help say them, after all-"
Lin Shan smiled and whispered, "You are the same kind of people."
The four eyes met, and no one backed down.
"What about you?" Qu Fanyi smiled and looked at Lin Shan, and simply said, "Did you choose to reconcile because you love him, or just because he is useful to you? I'm afraid that some people, who keep saying that love is supreme, only love themselves in their hearts. I persuade other women not to be tools, but what about myself? I wish I was surrounded by tools. "
Lin Shan was stunned. She had used her ultimate move. She didn't expect Qu Fanyi to not be defeated. Instead, she directly hit her soft spot. She snorted and her cheeks were hot.
After a long while, she spoke: "In short, I don't like female competition, so I told you in advance. I have been to your house before, oh no, it was my and Wei's old home. He didn't tell you, right? I think you should understand how important I am in his heart. In short, I will tell him today that I want to be with him, I want to marry him and be the real Mrs. Chi. "
Qu Fanyi suddenly raised her eyes and looked at her.
Lin Shan announced calmly: "You have no chance of winning this battle. The sooner you admit defeat and divorce, the less hurt you will be. "
Qu Fanyi pushed open the door of the bathroom and walked away quickly. There was no one in the corridor. It was probably because lunch was over and everyone returned to the conference room. Lin Shan's provocation and ridicule echoed in her mind. Her eyes were red. She turned to the elevator angrily, but found that Chi Wei was already waiting there.
Looking anxious. Seeing her, he seemed to be relieved and walked up quickly: "They said that you and Lin Shan were in the bathroom all the time. You, you didn't say anything to her, right? She is very fragile..."
Qu Fanyi slowly raised her eyes and looked straight at him.
When their eyes met, Chi Wei was startled to see her red eyes. Then he realized that he was too anxious: "You, um... If she said anything, it should not be intentional. She is very kind... You, don't mind..."
Qu Fanyi sneered briefly.
Chi Wei stayed where he was. He had never seen Qu Fanyi with such a sarcastic expression. In his memory, she was always gentle, capable and sensible.
However, soon, Qu Fanyi returned to normal. She gently touched the corner of her eyes with her fingertips and smiled at Chi Wei: "Lin Shan just chatted with me for a few words. She said she had something to say to you and was waiting for you. "
Chi Wei was stunned: "What can she say?"
Qu Fanyi smiled, her voice still gentle, "You will know when you go there. My eyes are a little uncomfortable. I may have to go to the hospital. "
After saying this, she no longer paid attention to Chi Wei, raised her hand and pressed the elevator button.
When the elevator door slowly closed, she stared at Chi Wei's back. It turned out that the moment she turned around, he ran towards Lin Shan without looking back.
Her legs were weak, she leaned heavily on the handrail of the elevator and closed her eyes. Tears flowed down.
Yes, Lin Shan was right, this was a losing game. Chi Wei's love for her was obvious to all. As long as Lin Shan stood there and shed a tear, she would have won completely.
She originally thought that to become a couple, it was enough to be suitable, even if there was no love, they could still stay together for a lifetime. But now, she found that she was wrong - "staying together for a lifetime" was such a difficult condition, it was destined to belong only to two willing people.
At the beginning, Chi Wei was abandoned by Lin Shan and was disheartened, so he could choose himself and choose a loveless marriage. And once Lin Shan appeared, once Lin Shan wanted to get back together, then being with her Chao The more time they spend together, the more unbearable it will be.
And isn't she the same? Since she found someone she loves, she also began to resist hugging and even holding hands with Chi Wei. The two of them have become a couple who are like strangers under the same roof.
However, marriage is not cooperation, but symbiosis, the most intimate interaction between soul and body.
Qu Fanyi knew she was wrong.
She thought that Chi Wei must know it too.
If she still wants to fulfill her ideal and have a happy family, then the most suitable person for all this should be...
With tears still in the corners of her eyes, Qu Fanyi's heart skipped a beat when she thought of that name. The soft touch at that moment was like the cherry blossom rain in spring, a little wet.
Qu Fanyi sniffed and dialed a number: "Hello——"
When the call was connected, she firmly and softly read out his name for the first time:
"Zeng Yuqiu, where are you?"