Chapter 24 Unbearable Memories

  At dusk, the sweltering heat dissipates, and in the city's grayish sky, a flock of gray pigeons occasionally fly by, darting freely between buildings.

  Cheng Zhiyi was still the last one to leave work, in order to avoid the noisy crowds, avoid hypocritical pleasantries. Perhaps, deep down inside, what she truly wanted to avoid were Lin Zhixiao and Su Ruo's affectionate couple interactions.

  Lin Zehao would send Su Ruo to and from work every day, so Cheng Zhiyi had also met him several times at the entrance of their unit. If they could really resent each other, hate without end, and never see each other again after this, that would be fine. But what was hateful was that every time she ran into Lin Zehao, if there was no one else around, he would still look at Cheng Zhiyi with the same deep affection as before, taking the opportunity to ask about her well-being, his words sincere and heartfelt.

  But did he really still have feelings for her, was he really sincere? To be honest, Cheng Zhiyi herself didn't know! What she did remember was the night Lin Zhixiao broke up with her, and what he said that "earth-shattering" words -

  In the late autumn of 2010, in a small park near Cheng Zhiyi's home, he and she sat side by side on a stone bench under a crape myrtle tree. The streetlights were dim, the autumn wind blew through the horseshoe-shaped leaves of the crape myrtle tree, making a rustling sound, and the leaves fell like time passing by on horseback.

  Lin Zehao hung his head in silence, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his hands clasped together on his knees, and his thumbs circling around each other. Cheng Zhiyi quietly gazed at his handsome profile, her heart slowly sinking into the cold depths - every time he was about to make some "major" decision, he would always have this restless and hesitant look.

  At that time, Lin Zihao was hot and cold to her, and when they met, he was also in a state of mindlessness. Cheng Ziyuan had already vaguely sensed his abnormality. The night before, Lin Zihao sent her a text message saying that there was something he wanted to talk to her about face-to-face. And that night when they met, Lin Zihao's eyes flashed like a shooting star, and the silence was longer than the dark night. Cheng Ziyuan finally despaired and believed - it turned out that all those rumors she had never dared to believe were true! They were really true!

  After all, she and Su Ruo are in the same unit, how could she not hear some rumors? How could she not see Su Ruo's overflowing happiness? How could she not notice the sympathetic eyes of her colleagues towards her? She just deceived herself as that person who covers her ears and steals the bell, waiting for Lin Zhihao to personally come and prove to her that the rumors are just rumors!

  Time passed minute by minute, and after a long while, Lin Zehao finally made up his mind to speak directly: "Let's break up! I've already promised to marry Su Ruo..."

  When he said this, he finally looked up at Cheng Zhiyi, but his eyes had an unspeakable pain and a heroic sadness, as if he was a general about to rush onto the battlefield, who had already made up his mind to sacrifice himself for the country, never to return, never to be exchanged.

  As expected, Lin Zesheng is indeed the legendary "Deputy Mayor's Son-in-law" who can fly to great heights and transform into a phoenix. He is the fiancé in Su Ruo's words, the one who is "handsome enough to shock heaven and earth". He is also that "hero" who is willing to sacrifice his life for power and fame, and bravely "dedicate himself" for wealth and status!

  Everything seems to be within expectation, yet beyond expectation... He is not the kind of person who seeks wealth and glory... Is he really a petty person who is infatuated with power and despises poverty while loving wealth?... No... Really is...

  Looking into Lin Zehao's resolute eyes, Cheng Zhiyi's heart felt as if it was being cut by a thousand knives, the pain spreading out bit by bit. Her throat was blocked by suffering and despair, unable to utter a word, so she could only laugh coldly, laugh coldly, then - raised her hand and slapped Lin Zehao fiercely.

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... This life, I owe you, I don't ask for your forgiveness, just ask you to understand..." Lin Zihao suddenly knelt down in front of her with a "thud", covering his face and weeping, overcome with grief.

  Do you understand? What do you understand? Do you understand his lust for wealth and power? Do you understand his heartlessness and abandonment of her? Or do you understand his loss of all conscience and cruelty?! Then, who will understand the pain she feels at this moment, like Mount Tai crushing her? Who will understand her anger and sorrow after being betrayed by love?

  How absurd it all is!

  Cheng Zhi's slender body trembled slightly, and in order to hold back her extreme anger and sadness, she bit her lip tightly, with a faint trace of blood seeping from beneath her snow-white teeth. Tears, these unworthy tears, finally moistened her eyelashes, falling one by one from the corners of her eyes...

  "You can hate me... go ahead and hate me! I'm sorry... I'm just so pragmatic, so mediocre. As a man, my career and future are what matter most. If I marry Su Ruo, I'll definitely be able to rise to greatness in the future..." Lin Zhihao's hoarse voice was intermittent, choking as he spoke, "I also hesitated, wavered, and suffered, but after weighing the benefits, I finally decided to accept Su Ruo..."

  Cheng Zhiyi sat motionless in the chair, her whole body stiff like a statue, coldly staring at Lin Zhixiao kneeling before her. He sobbed and pleaded: "Perhaps, many years later, my love for you will gradually fade away... Since I can't love you for a lifetime, then I'll owe you for a lifetime... Compared to love, power and status are more real existences... No matter what, you're the only girl I've ever loved in this life, the most beautiful existence in my youth... Even if I marry Su Ruo, the one I love most in my heart is still you... This whole life..."

  "No! How could Lin Zhaoke say such dirty words and make such a sinful deal?! Is the man kneeling on the ground, crying, really the elegant man who used to protect her like a treasure and love her with all his heart?! If he says that she is the one he loves the most, why does he want to leave?! And why does he have to pretend to be so heartbroken in front of her?!"

  No! His dearest is wealth and power, not the penniless Cheng Zhiyi!

  Perhaps this is the greatest difference between men and women. For women, love is life itself; for its sake they can abandon wealth and glory, family and friendship, and follow it through all the trials and hardships of the world. For men, however, love is merely a condiment to their dull and flavorless lives; for the sake of wealth and glory (or even something far less worthy), they can abandon love and betray their own hearts.

  Jing Yiyi finally couldn't bear it and burst into loud sobs, hysterically crying out to Lin Zihao: "I don't need your love! I won't let you love me!... You're a scumbag, you're not even worthy of loving me! Waaahhh... waaahhh..."

  At first, Mingming had been pursuing her for three years and vowed to protect her for a lifetime. Why did he become the one who abandoned everything and surrendered now? What about "When the mountain is gone, the heaven and earth are united, I dare to be with you forever"? What about "I wish to have someone who understands me, and we will not part until our hair turns white"? All those oaths were no match for the harsh reality of life!

  Wealth and honor, power and status... are really good things!

  It's all right! Only such a great temptation is enough to test love, now she finally sees clearly what kind of man Lin Zhihao is, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise.