Life was a journey, along which people would suffer many hardships and go through many ups and downs. Both every difficulty and every bumpy ride would leave marks on people’s minds, such that they would probably still bear in mind many years later. As a result, many people were in pursuit of having a clear conscience. However, in reality, many things went by the contrary. However hard people had tried, they just couldn’t put what had happened to them behind. In the end, they had no choice but to aspire for letting go of the memory—still to no avail. It would probably be not until the day when they closed their eyes that everything would finally fade away.
The farce taking place today was a perfect example. The boy named Luo Su had no mercy at all. Although what he had said sounded petty and low, every word of his hit right at the point, tearing Zhang Mi’s heart out. If he had cursed at Zhang Mi with a few words or given her a good beating, Zhang Mi might not have felt so miserable now. However, neither did he curse at her nor beat her. Instead, he had intended to let her bear guilty and self-condemnation in her mind all over her life. Only by doing so could Zhang Mi always keep him in her mind and feel that she owed him forever.
Although Qin Sheng was uncomfortable about what Luo Su had done, he agreed with him completely. After all, a man, who had been cheated and cuckolded by his girlfriend, would do anything crazy, whatever it was. It was considerate of Luo Su not to do anything extreme further. Moreover, Zhang Mi reaped what she had sown, which was nobody else’s fault at all.
However, Qin Sheng didn’t know what Han Xu, who, at least, remained calm and had not stood up for Zhang Mi yet, was thinking. Upon deliberation, Qin Sheng could understand why Han Xu acted like this. Of course, he certainly was in a bad mood now. After all, surprisingly, Zhang Mi had another boyfriend. Even if he hung out with Zhang Mi just for fun, he had been kept in the dark. People who didn’t know the ins and outs would think that Han Xu had done so on purpose, which would be connected to how others would think of his character. Moreover, Han Xu couldn’t give Luo Su a good beating either. Otherwise, people might think that he had taken advantage of his power, and he might make another enemy without any valid reasons, let alone how bad the impart at that time would be.
After Luo Su left, Zhang Mi remained there. The look on her face was ghastly. She was no longer as skillfully cunning as she used to be at lunch a moment ago, looking like an abandoned, despicable, and pathetic person.
Han Xu glared at Zhang Mi and said, “Zhang Mi, tell me, are what he said all true?”
Zhang Mi held Han Xu’s arms and begged piteously, “Han Xu, don’t think less of me.” Since what had happened to Luo Su and her could not be undone, of course, she could not afford to lose Han Xu. Otherwise, what she had done would be all in vain.
Han Zu directly shook off Zhang Mi’s arms and said, “Stop explaining. I am not a f*cking idiot. Though a womanizer, I don’t like to be fooled by others. Nor was I willing to steal somebody else’s girlfriend. Let’s call it quits here. Never should we meet each other in the future.”
As Zhang Mi heard what Han Xu had said, she burst into tears instantly. It did not occur to her that the situation would end up like this—it was totally out of her expectation. Even so, whom else could she blame?
Initially, she had been getting along with Luo Su well, a student of great abilities from the Department of International Politics. Although he did not come from a distinguished family, he was quite capable, seizing all the scholarship at Tsinghua University from the undergraduate phase to the postgraduate phase. It was because of Luo Su’s potential that he had taken Zhang Mi’s fancy. However, after Zhang Mi had met Han Xu while hanging out with her friends, she had been connected to Han Xu. When Han Xu had asked her whether she had a boyfriend, she had given him a negative answer in the end after hesitating for a while. That was because she had known about Han Xu’s background. Compared with Luo Su, a diamond in the rough, Han Xu, an available blue-chip, was much more favorable to her.
Zhang Mi was not stupid at all. At first, she had remained Han Xu’s common friend. Although Han Xu had always been taking the initiative to tease her, she knew clearly that, based on the Han Family’s background, they would not accept a daughter-in-law like her. Moreover, Han Xu, who had seen various girls, would not take her seriously. It was not until Han Xu had attended the classes for advanced studies at Tsinghua University that the relationship between them had made progress. That was because, based on her or Luo Su’s capability, she, who would graduate soon, could not find any satisfactory job at all. However, Han Xu could help her with his connections. Consequently, she had consented to be Han Xu’s girlfriend. She had not given it a damn at all, whether Han Xu liked her sincerely or just intended to have fun with her. If Han Xu just planned to hang out with her for fun, it would suffice for her to enjoy the rewards from him. Putting her job opportunities aside, what mattered more to her was that Han Xu could help her meet more high-class connections, which would certainly be beneficial for her future development. Consequently, instead of breaking up with Luo Su, she had kept everything from him, taking him, who was her real boyfriend, as a back-up. However, if she could confirm that Han Xu did like her, she would break up with Luo Su, knowing that based on his character, he certainly would not pester her. Luo Su had told her previously that he would not stand in her way if she had a better option.
As a result, a farce took place today.
Since Han Xu, who was originally straightforward, had learned the truth, of course, he would not like to have any connections with Zhang Mi at all—something the latter knew better than anybody else. Consequently, she intended to keep begging for his forgiveness.
Han Xu broke free from Zhang Mi once again, pulled Qin Sheng and Wei Li, and intended to leave without hesitation. Zhang Mi, who had completely lost her sense of propriety, was weeping with tears while sitting on the ground directly.
Qin Sheng didn’t plan to leave at all. Instead, he squatted down and said to Zhang Mi, “Zhang Mi, although you are a smart woman, you were ruined by your wisdom at the end. It’s nobody else’s fault at all. The moment when you made up your mind, you should have anticipated what the worst-case scenario would be. Are you miserable? The way I see it, not at all. Are you suffering? Of course, yes. However, you should think about what Luo Su said to you. He must have felt more suffering than you at that time. Zhang Mi, whatever you owed others is, never should it be the emotional debt, which can’t be paid off with all of your lifetimes.”
The world was filled with many temptations. Not every amazing woman would choose a man, who was a diamond in the rough, accompany him to go on the life journey step by step, and stand on the high mountain with him, enjoying the mild and warm weather in the end. As a result, Qin Sheng thought of Lin Su, who had chosen him and accompanied him to be who he was today, and sighed emotionally that how commendable she was to do that for him. His ancestors must have done great things to bless him with Lin Su.
What Qin Sheng had said was not to kick Zhang Mi when she was down but to let her remember that never should she be calculating when it came to matters like love. Only kind people would be rewarded with something good. Otherwise, however calculating people were at first, they needed to pay a price that they could not afford in the end.
Since it was almost time for the classes, Qin Sheng, Wei Li, and Han Xu did not pay attention to Zhang Mi anymore. As they walked into the teaching building of the School of Economics and Management and went upstairs, Qin Sheng asked, “Wei Li, if it were you, what would you do?”
Wei Li was at a loss for a while and replied, “It is not the kind of woman like her but the casually-dressed boy that we should feel sorry for. He, who has done nothing wrong, should not be punished like this. If I were involved, I would certainly drink with him and talk it out.”
Qin Sheng was quite satisfied with Wei Li’s answer. However, Han Xu said at that moment, “As long as I have a clear conscience, I don’t care about whether others will misjudge me or not. We will meet various people along our life journey. No way that we should make everybody understand who we are. We don’t need to do that, which is an exhausting thing.”
Qin Sheng didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. “That is where the difference between Wei Li’s and Han Xu’s character lies,” he thought.
Over the two classes in the afternoon, Han Xu looked somewhat absent-minded. It was unknown whether he did so because he was hurt by Zhang Mi, who he liked sincerely, or he felt uncomfortable in secret about being cheated like that. Even so, knowing that Han Xu was much better than anyone else when it came to self-healing, Qin Sheng did not offer him any condolence at all.
The two consecutive classes were quite fulfilling ones, where the tycoon, who had retired from his leading post many years ago, imparted much real stuff related to the economic and systematic transformation to them, from which Qin Sheng benefited a lot. His classmates also raised their hands enthusiastically and brought their questions up, inquiring about more profound questions.
When it was time for the group discussion, the old man in his 70s walked slowly to where Qin Sheng’s group was. He patted Qin Sheng gently on his shoulder, and smiled amiably as he asked, “Are you Qin Sheng?”
Feeling somewhat surprised, Qin Sheng nodded and smiled in a hurry. The old man, who didn’t say anything at all, replied, “If you feel confused about anything, feel free to turn to me directly.”
Qin Sheng, who didn’t know the hidden meaning of the old man’s words, had no choice but to keep nodding smilingly. After that, the old man went away.
After the classes were over, Han Xu was in a much better mood. After all, he had planned to organize a party tonight. If he were in a bad mood then, of course, nobody would be enthusiastic at all.
Han Xu forced a smile and asked, “Lao Qin, are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Han Xu, who was unwilling to keep everything in his mind, certainly wanted to drink tonight so that he could vent off his dissatisfaction and resentment. The way he saw it, that was how he should live his life.
Since Chang Baji and Hao Lei had driven there to wait for Qin Sheng, he replied smilingly, “I have to go home first. Catch up with you later.”
Since Qin Sheng said so, Han Xu didn’t question him anymore.
On the way back to the siheyuan, Qin Sheng asked casually, “How did you feel there? Did you ever sense the aura of the youth and the power of the wisdom?”
Hao Lei sighed emotionally as he said, “Lao Qin, I feel regretful that I didn’t work hard at school that very year. Why didn’t you help me? I think I had potential at that time. If I had worked hard then, I couldn’t have gone so far as to feel so regretful now.”
Qin Sheng didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. “F*ck off. All you knew at that time was playing for fun. We did advise you many times. The times when you skipped and absented yourself from classes were much more than that when you attended classes.”
Feeling somewhat disappointed, Hao Lei replied helplessly, “Forget it. I don’t have any hope in my life. I’m just hoping that my son will be enrolled in Peking University or Tsinghua University someday.” The current society was no longer what it used to be. Previously, as long as one was bold and adventurous, they could carve out a niche. What the current society needed were talents and wisdom. If he had not been following Qin Sheng all the time, he might end up being just an ordinary policeman in the police station in Xi’an. Relying on the connections of his family, he probably would be a negligible leader. Even so, he would be unaccomplished all over his life.
Qin Sheng cursed at him smilingly and said, “Without even a girlfriend, you dare to dream of giving birth to a son. You have a lunatic dream.”
Qin Sheng’s words had no hidden meanings at all. However, hardly had he finished his words when he felt regretful. After all, the issue between Hao Lei and Han Bing, which brought him a headache, had not been solved yet.
By the time they arrived at the siheyuan, the dinner had been ready. Nan Gong was also home today. Qin Sheng was curious about what this woman had been doing on the usual days. However, he didn’t know how he should take the initiative to get information from her.
It was not until Qin Sheng asked Auntie Xue that he knew that as usual, the old guy would not be home for dinner today, saying that he would come back home pretty late. After that, Qin Sheng felt more intense in secret.
Only four persons were sitting at the dinner table. Other than answering Qin Sheng’s questions at times, Nan Gong lowered her head and focused on her dinner most of the time. She directly left after finishing the dinner, making Qin Sheng feel that the atmosphere was more and more unharmonious. He wondered why he was the only idler who had nothing to do while others were all in a rush.
The more Qin Sheng pondered on it, the more aggrieved he felt. In the end, he directly gave up on thinking about these issues. After the dinner, he would directly take Chang Baji and Hao Lei to Han Xu’s party, where he could drink and solve his numerous sorrows.