Zhong Xiaoqin Said She Didn't Regret It

Outside the hospital.

"Xiaoqin, what am I supposed to do with you?" Zhong Xiaoqin's mother sighed.

Her father could only shake his head beside her.

"Come on, Mom, Dad, don't worry about me. I'm doing fine now."

"You're getting married for the second time. What are you going to do from now on? How can we not worry about you? One day, you'll regret this." Zhong Xiaoqin's mother was exasperated with her.

"Don't worry. I absolutely won't regret it. I've had enough of that kind of life."

Seeing that her mother was about to say more, Zhong Xiaoqin quickly said, "All right, Mom, Dad, stop worrying about me. I'm an adult now. Don't you think I know what I want?"

She comforted her parents for a while longer, then called a car to take them home.

Watching the car disappear into the distance, Zhong Xiaoqin sighed.

She knew her parents were worried about her future, but she felt she was doing well now. She believed she'd made the right choice, and she didn't regret it.

Back at the rental apartment, Zhong Xiaoqin chatted with Zhong Xiaoyang for a while and told him about what had happened that day.

Zhong Xiaoyang made a few halfhearted remarks in reply, then ended the conversation. He wasn't in the mood for romance these days. Staying in touch like they had been was already pretty good.

Zhong Xiaoqin didn't know the details, but she knew something had gone wrong with Zhong Xiaoyang's family. Their family had suffered an unexpected upheaval, and she understood. Instead, she even tried to comfort him.

Another month passed in the blink of an eye.

A lot happened during that time.

Wang Yan, Gu Jia, and Xu Ziyan spent another wonderful, happy stretch of time together in Henglu Village.

Construction was underway all over Henglu Village, and its appearance changed dramatically.

Gu Jia had money of her own. Besides what Wang Yan had given her, she'd also received several million yuan from the sale of her old apartment in Junyue Mansion. So she hadn't expected the tea business to make her rich.

After setting aside enough money to keep the business running, she still had quite a bit left. She used most of it to develop Henglu Village.

Some of the village's elderly residents lived in hardship, so she helped repair their homes and left the village a sum of money specifically to care for them.

The villagers were actually very kindhearted and already looked after the elderly as best they could. But everyone was struggling financially, so there was only so much they could do. Gu Jia's donation essentially solved the problem.

The road up the mountain became slippery in the rain and was too dangerous, so it was leveled and reinforced.

The village's stone path was left alone, apart from some basic repairs to make it easier for elderly people with mobility problems to get around. After all, the years etched into that path were part of what generations of people who had grown up there dreamed of in the middle of the night, and what tugged at the hearts of those who had left home.

Wang Yan thought that their memories would surely include "the moss-covered, uneven stone path that ran up the slope beside the willow tree in front of their home."

The children's school was made of wood, and after years of wear, it had inevitably started to rot, so it too was repaired. They also bought lots of books for the children to read outside class and replaced their desks and chairs.

They fixed up a few other odds and ends, too. All in all, Henglu Village had changed a great deal.

The villagers wore happy smiles and looked forward to the next tea harvest.

That was because Gu Jia had said that after each sale, she would use the remaining profits to develop Henglu Village.

The excited old village chief didn't know what to say. He just kept thanking Gu Jia. Then the whole village put on a huge feast to celebrate their improving lives. After spending so much time together, the villagers no longer felt like strangers around Wang Yan. They knew he was a straightforward man, so they made a determined effort to get him drunk.

If he didn't drink, it meant they hadn't treated him well. If he didn't drink, it meant he looked down on them. If he didn't drink, it meant he wasn't giving them face.

Wang Yan couldn't bring himself to refuse. That would have spoiled the fun. He drank one round after another, but he wasn't a wine vat. If he drank too much, he'd be vomiting his guts out. In the end, he couldn't take it anymore. He was genuinely scared. Fortunately, they'd accomplished what they'd come for, and they'd stayed long enough. He hurriedly took Xu Ziyan, who hadn't had enough fun and was pouting because he didn't want to leave, and Gu Jia, who was laughing so hard she could barely stand, back to Shanghai.

Ever since Wang Manni's troubles, Jiang Chen had spent time with her almost every day.

Wang Manni knew how Jiang Chen felt about her, but she said nothing.

Jiang Chen knew that Wang Manni knew how he felt about her, but he said nothing either.

After she returned to work, Wang Manni would drop by Jiang Chen's coffee shop every now and then to sit and chat.

Whether she'd moved on was hard to say, but Wang Manni had begun smiling again. Still, she talked to Jiang Chen mostly about the bitterness of spending eight years adrift only to end up with nothing, while with Zhong Xiaoqin she mostly talked about how tired she was of her current life.

It was as if, after going through this, she'd seen through everything, accepted her fate, and decided to lower her head.

Jiang Chen saw it all and ached for her. But no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't bring himself to speak.

After all that anxious waiting, Zhong Xiaoyang's family finally got the verdict.

His father was definitely going to prison. In the end, their family kept their house, along with the one Zhong Xiaoyang owned in Shanghai. They also had a few tens of thousands in cash. That was all.

By then, the worst of the initial shock had long since passed. They'd anticipated the outcome, too, so Zhong Xiaoyang was holding up pretty well. What else could he do? Life had to go on, after all.

His mother had been through it step by step as well. Maybe it was simply a woman's nature, but she couldn't accept that their prosperous family and business had collapsed overnight. At first, she'd been frightened and anxious, but she was doing much better now.

After getting his mother settled, Zhong Xiaoyang returned to Shanghai.

He wasn't a rich second-generation kid anymore. He had to start worrying about making a living.

Of course, he still had something he needed to do.

After dropping off his belongings at home, Zhong Xiaoyang went to see Zhong Xiaoqin.

He knew her address. She'd told him.

When Zhong Xiaoqin got off work and came home, she saw Zhong Xiaoyang sitting outside her door. She was overcome with surprise.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

Zhong Xiaoyang gave her a strained smile. "I wanted to surprise you."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and held her tightly.

Zhong Xiaoqin could feel the emotions spilling out of him, so she didn't pull away.

After a long while, she couldn't stand the looks they were getting from passersby anymore. She patted Zhong Xiaoyang. "All right, people are staring. Let's go inside and talk."

Zhong Xiaoyang slowly let go without saying a word.

But when Zhong Xiaoqin saw how red his eyes were, her heart ached for him for some reason.

Once they were inside, Zhong Xiaoqin said, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Should I go buy some groceries so we can have dinner together?"

Zhong Xiaoyang shook his head and took her by the hand, leading her to the sofa.

"I missed you."

"Do you know? This whole time, you were the one who kept comforting me..."

As he spoke, Zhong Xiaoyang hugged Zhong Xiaoqin again. Maybe it was the thought that even a rich second-generation kid like him now had to worry about making ends meet. His feelings burst forth, and he broke into loud sobs.

Zhong Xiaoqin quietly patted his back, softly offering words of comfort.

"All right, all right. It's okay. I'm here with you, aren't I?"

After a long while, Zhong Xiaoyang felt he'd calmed down enough and let go of Zhong Xiaoqin. He wiped away his tears.

Zhong Xiaoqin handed him some tissues and asked with concern, "What happened?"

With his eyes red, Zhong Xiaoyang couldn't very well tell her the truth. What would be the point?

He embellished what had happened over the past few days and told Zhong Xiaoqin about it.

After listening, Zhong Xiaoqin asked worriedly, "What? Is your mother all right?"

"She's fine. Don't worry. I've taken care of everything."

Seeing Zhong Xiaoqin about to say more, Zhong Xiaoyang quickly changed the subject. He was afraid he'd get tangled up in his own story if he kept making things up. "All right, all right. Let's not talk about that."

As he spoke, he cupped her face in both hands and looked straight into her eyes. "Do you love me?"

Zhong Xiaoqin hadn't even processed what he'd said. The shift in conversation had been a little too sudden.

Seeing Zhong Xiaoyang pretending to be strong, Zhong Xiaoqin felt a little flustered. She didn't know whether it was love, so she simply stayed silent.

The mood shifted. Zhong Xiaoyang slowly leaned toward her.

Zhong Xiaoqin nervously closed her eyes.

Feeling the warmth of his lips against hers, Zhong Xiaoqin instinctively kissed him back...

The mood was already perfect. If not now, then when? Zhong Xiaoyang tentatively wrapped his arms around Zhong Xiaoqin's neck and slowly moved them lower.

There was no one around this time to talk about Chen Yu's quiet devotion, and Zhong Xiaoqin wasn't uncomfortable around Zhong Xiaoyang anymore. In her heart, he was the beautiful future she had once imagined.

Zhong Xiaoqin's body was stiff, but she didn't push him away. She truly felt for this once sunny boy, who now forced a strained smile.

No phone rang out of the blue, and no unwelcome guest showed up. Everything went smoothly, so smoothly it all seemed... inevitable.

Afterward, Zhong Xiaoqin hid her face under the covers, overcome by a young woman's shyness.

Thinking of what had happened, she felt both embarrassed and flustered.

She was embarrassed because she'd quietly compared the two of them in her mind. Zhong Xiaoyang was young and vigorous, definitely much more passionate than Chen Yu.

She was flustered because she hadn't expected to give herself to him so easily. Would he think less of her? Would he think she was an easy woman?

Suddenly, the covers were pulled back, and Zhong Xiaoqin let out a startled scream.

Seeing Zhong Xiaoyang staring right at her, she hurriedly grabbed the covers to hide herself. "No looking! Close your eyes."

Zhong Xiaoyang took a moment to catch his breath. Feeling triumphant, he flipped her over and leaned over her, kissing her hard.

Zhong Xiaoqin settled down and stopped resisting, instinctively responding to him.

Zhong Xiaoyang let it all out, releasing all the frustration and heartache he'd bottled up lately.

Zhong Xiaoqin enjoyed it, wanting to forget Chen Yu completely and love this sunny boy with all her heart.

Afterward, Zhong Xiaoqin wasn't shy anymore. Those two rounds had worn her out a little, and she lay in Zhong Xiaoyang's arms, cheeks flushed, still caught up in the afterglow.

"Will you treat me well?"

"Always and forever."

"Mm."

They cuddled for a while longer. Zhong Xiaoqin got hungry and didn't feel like cooking, so she grabbed her phone and ordered takeout.

They ate a little, went at it once more, then fell asleep.

Wang Yan and his family spent another ordinary day resting after returning to Shanghai.

The next day, one went to school, one went to work, and each went about their business.

The company had accumulated quite a backlog of work during this time, so Wang Yan would need to spend a while handling it before he could relax again.

Gu Jia had it much easier. After rising to a higher tier in the wives' circle, she arranged to meet up with Zhong Xiaoqin and Wang Manni.

It had been almost a month since they'd last met, and all of them had changed quite a bit.

"Manni, how have you been?" Gu Jia knew what had happened, so she asked Wang Manni first.

"I'm all right. But after going through this, I've figured some things out."

Seeing both of them look her way, she gave a self-deprecating smile. "I wasted eight years for nothing. Maybe this place was never meant to be home for me."

Zhong Xiaoqin asked, "So you're thinking about going back to your hometown?"

"I've been debating it for a while. I haven't made up my mind yet. I'll see."

The other two said nothing. It was her own decision, and as local women, they didn't have much to say.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Jia said, "Oh, right, Manni, there's something I wanted to tell you."

"Go ahead." Wang Manni nodded.

"This morning, I was having tea with some of the women from the wives' circle, and I heard them talking about something. I don't know if it's true."

"They said a man surnamed Liang was kicked out of his family. He was working in Shanghai when an old friend ran into him. Not long afterward, the Liang family collapsed, and now almost all of them have gone abroad."

"They're from Hong Kong Island. I don't know if they meant Liang Zhengxian's family. They didn't say exactly who it was. It only came up in passing."

It hit Wang Manni like a bolt from the blue. She froze as memories of Liang Zhengxian's odd behavior after returning from Hong Kong Island flashed through her mind. "That's it. It all fits."

She remembered the night before he disappeared, how Liang Zhengxian had seemed to want to say something but held back.

"It had to be Liang Zhengxian. It had to be him."

Wang Manni looked upset, shocked and afraid.

She remembered the conversation she'd had with Liang Zhengxian after he'd just returned from Hong Kong Island, after they'd slept together.

She remembered asking him about marriage.

"So close. I was this close."

Seeing Wang Manni's expression change again and again, even Zhong Xiaoqin could figure it out. She asked with concern, "Manni, are you okay?"

Wang Manni snapped out of it and answered blankly, "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I just remembered something."

Though everyone knew what she was thinking, she didn't want to talk about Liang Zhengxian anymore. What was there to say? That hearing the news had halved how much she missed him? That her resentment had vanished, and she was even grateful he'd spared her?

Changing the subject, she said, "Enough about me. What about you, Xiaoqin?"

"You seem different today. You look especially radiant."

"Did something good happen? Come on, tell us."

Gu Jia chimed in, "That's right, Xiaoqin. You really do seem different today."

At that, Zhong Xiaoqin grew embarrassed.

A little bashfully, she said, "Zhong Xiaoyang and I are together now."

"Weren't you already together?"

Wang Manni realized what she meant and let out a knowing "Oh."

Then she continued, "Come on, tell us what happened. Last time, you said he was back in his hometown. How long has it even been?"

Gu Jia felt it was a little inappropriate, but in the end, she said nothing. She could only join Wang Manni in saying, "Oh." She'd done the same thing herself, so what right did she have to criticize? Besides, Zhong Xiaoqin looked so blissful that if she said too much, she might lose a friend.

With happiness written all over her face, Zhong Xiaoqin began telling them her sweet, romantic love story, recounting what had happened that day.

After listening, Wang Manni happily said to Zhong Xiaoqin, "I wish you happiness, Xiaoqin."

Gu Jia could only echo her from the side. "I wish you happiness." Everyone had their own path, and she had no right to interfere.

After that, the conversation turned lighthearted, and they started talking about Gu Jia's time in Henglu Village.

Gu Jia knew that getting to where she was now had been thanks, more than anything, to the resources Wang Yan had provided.

But she had worked hard and contributed a great deal along the way. She was genuinely happy with what she'd accomplished, especially when she saw Henglu Village getting better and better.

Gu Jia told them about Henglu Village and some of the tea factories.

Naturally, she was met with lavish praise, along with envy and jealousy.

That night, Zhong Xiaoqin lay in Zhong Xiaoyang's arms, happy and content.

Wang Manni lay alone in bed. Gu Jia's words kept echoing in her ears, and she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

She understood perfectly well. Liang Zhengxian had run because he'd already known what she wanted and what kind of woman she was.

In other words, Liang Zhengxian had never taken her seriously, from start to finish.

She really ought to thank Liang Zhengxian. If he'd agreed at the time, Wang Manni knew she would have asked for a divorce.

And if Liang Zhengxian had been a little more vile and refused to divorce her, what would she have done?

And after the divorce, as a twice-married woman, what would she have done then?

How could she face her aging parents back home? How could she face the neighbors' judgmental stares?

Before she knew it, she'd thought about many, many things.

She thought about everything she'd gone through in Shanghai over the years, and all the people she'd met. She truly didn't want to keep going. She couldn't hold on anymore. She was tired.

Her parents had already called many times to urge her to come home.

"Perhaps it was time to go back?"

For some reason, Wang Manni suddenly felt a stinging in her nose and burst into tears.

Because this place held her lost youth, her unfulfilled wishes, and her unwillingness to settle for an ordinary life.

But now she was older, she had been led on, and her wishes had been shattered. She had gotten nothing—not even a little.

Wang Manni asked herself inwardly, "Do you regret it?"

With mucus and tears streaming down her face, she gritted her teeth. "I don't regret it."

Crying, thinking, grieving, and reminiscing, she fell asleep without realizing when.

The next day, Wang Manni submitted her resignation at work.

The process went smoothly, and nothing unpleasant happened.

Her coworkers also asked with concern why she was suddenly leaving.

Wang Manni merely smiled and said, "I miss home."

No one knew what her coworkers were thinking. They all wore thoughtful expressions, their feelings difficult to read.

Afterward, she arranged to meet Zhong Xiaoqin and Gu Jia again that evening. They would have a proper drink, an uninhibited one, and bid farewell.

Wang Manni did not even know what she was saying goodbye to. Was it Shanghai, this city? Or perhaps her past self?

She strolled along the streets that bustled with traffic by day and blazed with neon by night, and before she knew it, she had arrived at Jiang Chen's coffee shop.

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