The sky, which had been overcast since I woke up this morning, suddenly started to drizzle. The raindrops weren't big; they just pattered on my body, feeling like they were falling into my heart.
Finally, Ni Pingsen spoke up: "I...I'm back."
He thought he wouldn't be too sad when he saw the photo on the tombstone, since his memories of her seemed to have faded. But when he actually stood there, the sadness that welled up from his heart seemed to be there all along.
For so many years, it had been quietly buried in his heart, until this moment when he saw her black and white photo.
Even his eyes welled up with tears.
Mingzhu, I'm back.
After a short while, Ni Jingxi said in a low voice, "Dad, I'm going downstairs first."
She wanted Ni Pingsen to spend some time alone with his mother; perhaps he would have a lot to say to her.
After Ni Jingxi left, Ni Pingsen watched her departing figure, then turned to look at the photo in front of him, wanting to smile at her easily, but he couldn't.
He suddenly lowered his head, seemingly unable to look at the photo on the tombstone any longer.
"I'm sorry, Mingzhu." His voice choked with emotion, and after a long struggle, he finally spoke again: "How could I forget you?"
He forgot Gu Mingzhu's existence, forgot how much he had once loved her. But besides saying sorry, he didn't know what else he could say.
After a long while, he smiled and comforted her, "I won't go anywhere else from now on. I'll watch over our star for you, and watch her get married and have children..."
At this point, Ni Pingsen gave a wry smile: "I forgot again that she was already married."
"Look at this, time really flies. Our Xingxing is already someone else's wife. I regret that I couldn't see her get her marriage certificate, but it's okay, they didn't have a wedding. I still have the chance to hold her hand and hand her over to the person she loves."
Ni Pingsen paused, his voice tinged with grievance, and said, "You have no idea how heartbroken I was when Xingxing told me that she married him because she loved him. Even though I had lost my memory, I still felt like my little darling had been taken away."
"Your father-in-law must have felt the same way when he agreed to let you marry me."
In the drizzle, he murmured incessantly, as if he were truly chatting with Gu Mingzhu. He wanted to tell her about Jingxi, about himself, but in the end, he looked at Gu Mingzhu, his eyes gradually welling up with tears.
"I didn't keep my promise to you, will you forgive me?"
Over the years, he failed to uphold her dying wish to protect their daughter, and even lived with someone else for so long.
Mingzhu, will you forgive me?
But Ni Pingsen will never know the answer. At this moment, Gu Mingzhu in the tombstone photo still smiles gently and shyly.
On the way back, Ni Jingxi drove, while Ni Pingsen, sitting beside her, remained lost in thought and did not speak.
They didn't leave until their car pulled into the garage, and the two got out and went home.
Ni Pingsen glanced around and asked, "Is this the house you lived in after you got married?"
Ni Jingxi nodded.
"I'm so sorry, Dad has nothing now, not even a dowry for you." Ni Pingsen was filled with guilt. Logically, he should have prepared things for Ni Jingxi's wedding.
As a result, when he returned, he not only received no money, but also had to live with them.
Ni Pingsen said, "I want to move back to our old house as soon as possible."
He knew they had an old house in Shanghai, not very big, which was left by Gu Mingzhu's father. Actually, his salary had never been low, but Gu Mingzhu was almost always in the hospital at that time, and their combined salaries were almost all gone.
Even in the years following Gu Mingzhu's death, he continued to earn money to pay off his previous debts.
Naturally, they don't have the financial means to buy a bigger house.
When things were a little better at home, his mother-in-law fell seriously ill. If it weren't for this incident, Ni Pingsen wouldn't have known he was willing to work abroad for a year.
After all, the salary is almost twice that in China, which is too tempting.
He thought everything would be fine, and indeed, he was quite safe there.
Until the final unexpected event occurred.
Ni Jingxi became anxious upon hearing this: "You can live with us, this place is so big."
Ni Pingsen now lives on the second floor, while Huo Shenyan and Ni Jingxi live on the third floor, so there's nothing to disturb them.
“What kind of father-in-law stays at his son-in-law’s house? That’s outrageous,” Ni Pingsen said with a smile.
Ni Jingxi knew his concerns, but she was still a little reluctant to accept it. She said, "You've been gone for so long, you should stay with us for a few more days."
Seeing the softening expression on Ni Pingsen's face, Ni Jingxi felt a little regretful.
She quickly replied, "At least a month."
A few days is too short.
While Ni Pingsen was still hesitating, Ni Jingxi reached out and grabbed his arm, pleading, "Please, please."
When Ni Jingxi shook Ni Pingsen's arm so naturally, she startled herself.
Is she being coquettish?
Ni Pingsen had obviously noticed it too, and chuckled softly, saying with a hint of indulgence, "Alright, I'll do as you say."
Ni Jingxi's vacation was coming to an end, so before returning to work, she invited Hua Zheng and Tang Mi out for dinner. After all, they hadn't seen each other for so long.
She made a special reservation at a high-end restaurant on the Bund, intending to treat them to a delicious meal.
When Hua Zheng saw her downstairs, she immediately rushed over, wanting nothing more than to stick to her. Tang Mi, on the other hand, who had met her once before, was less excited.
However, as soon as Hua Zheng heard that they had met before, she immediately became angry and said, "You actually abandoned me."
"So, to make it up to you, I specially invited you to this restaurant today." Ni Jingxi stopped her mouth in advance.
To everyone's surprise, Hua Zheng said with a hint of grievance, "But Sister Mi still came today."
Upon hearing this, Tang Mi flicked her forehead and snorted, "Do you still want to work at my studio?"
"Do you want me? If you say yes, I'll quit my job right now, today." Hua Zheng immediately grabbed her hand and pleaded.
Tang Mi raised her chin towards Ni Jingxi and said arrogantly, "Why don't you ask this lady? After all, she's the biggest investor in my studio."
Hua Zheng's eyes widened.
The three chatted and laughed as they entered the restaurant. It was a Western restaurant, famous for its steaks and with a very elegant ambiance; the only downside was that the interior lighting was far too dim.
However, such a dimly lit environment makes it easier for ambiguous relationships to arise.
Therefore, this type of restaurant is especially suitable for couples, or people who are about to become a couple.
As for Ni Jingxi and the others, they came purely for the food.
Midway through, Ni Jingxi went to the restroom. Since the restroom was outside the restaurant, she happened to pass by the elevator on her way back and heard a smug voice laughing, "Isn't this a blind date arranged by her family? They say she's young, only twenty-two. If she's obedient and sensible, I'll take her to a hotel tonight."
When the man was speaking vulgar and obscene language, he didn't care about his voice at all and didn't try to lower it.
Ni Jingxi gave him a look of disgust.
As it turned out, the man's gaze met Ni Jingxi's, and he even raised an eyebrow at her, looking quite flirtatious.
Ni Jingxi took a deep breath, barely managing to restrain her impulse.
Not long after she returned to her seat, she discovered that the man had also come in and was sitting not far from her. Meanwhile, a girl was already sitting in a seat with her back to Ni Jingxi.
It looks like the younger blind date that the man mentioned on the phone.
"If I see a scumbag, should I pretend I didn't see him or kindly warn him?" Ni Jingxi suddenly picked up her wine glass and asked the two people on either side of her.
Tang Mi and Hua Zheng were both taken aback by her question.
Tang Mi glanced around: "Where's that scumbag?"
Ni Jingxi took a small sip of her drink, her eyes fixed on that direction. Tang Mi followed suit and looked over, but because the girl had her back to their table, no one could see her face.
You can spot the man at a glance.
“This face definitely has the face of a scumbag.” Tang Mi nodded, then looked at Ni Jingxi and said, “Lord Ni, what’s wrong?”
Tang Mi understood Ni Jingxi and knew she wouldn't say that without a reason.
But at this moment, the girl who had been facing away from Ni Jingxi suddenly turned her head slightly. Even though it was just a slight turn, Ni Jingxi still saw her face.
She almost spat out the red wine she had in her mouth.
This is fucking...
It was Shen Qiqi.
So the young, obedient, and easily fooled daughter this man mentioned was actually Shen Qiqi. Ni Jingxi had originally wanted to get involved in this matter, but now that she saw it was Shen Qiqi, she certainly couldn't let it go.
When she stood up to walk over, she suddenly sat down again.
Tang Mi said in a low voice, "You don't want to care anymore?"
Ni Jingxi smiled and said, "I'll find someone to manage this."
She then searched through her phone, found Han Zhao's number, and dialed it directly.
But no one answered the phone the first time.
Ni Jingxi was not discouraged and played a second time.
When Han Zhao returned to the dormitory, he was wearing a black training uniform with trousers and combat boots. It was evening training time, and even though he was now an officer, his training intensity was no less than that of his subordinates.
Having served in the military for so long, these habits have become ingrained in my bones.
He heard his phone vibrate as soon as he entered the room. When he walked to the table and saw the three characters 'Ni Jingxi' moving on the screen, he was stunned for a moment.
After he answered the call, the person on the other end said directly, "This is Ni Jingxi."
Han Zhao said politely, "Sister-in-law."
"There's something here that you want to take care of," Ni Jingxi asked directly.
Just as Han Zhao frowned and was about to ask what was wrong, Ni Jingxi chuckled and said, "I saw Qiqi on a blind date."
Han Zhao's brows furrowed sharply, and his muscles tensed noticeably as he wore close-fitting clothes. He was about to ask where Shen Qiqi was, but then he remembered the harsh words he had spoken a few days ago, and suddenly didn't know how to start the conversation.
When Ni Jingxi saw that he was not speaking, she guessed that there must be a problem between him and Shen Qixi.
Otherwise, the young girl might have been driven to the point of going on blind dates.
So she said calmly, "When I was at the door just now, I overheard her blind date on the phone saying that if she was obedient and easy to fool, he would take her to a hotel tonight."
"If you don't want to get involved in this..."
"Where are you?" Han Zhao interrupted her abruptly, almost going crazy, wishing he could fly there immediately.
Ni Jingxi gave an address, and Han Zhao said, "Sister-in-law, please keep an eye on her before I arrive."