Around that time, I discovered that Ah Zheng and I were having problems; he suspected that Hong Leping was pursuing me.
"That's not true," I told him.
"Then why did he promote you?" he asked me in return.
I was furious. Ah Zheng's words meant he didn't acknowledge my talent. He thought my success was due to my good looks.
"You've always looked down on me," I snapped at him.
"No," he defended himself.
"You were the one who made the decision," I said.
"I know," he said, "but I can't stop you from falling in love with someone else."
"No," I said, hugging him. "I only love you."
"Me too." He hugged me tightly.
After that, he no longer suspected me and Hong Leping.
A year later, I encountered another opportunity for development. Hong Leping was ready to make his mark and decided to leave the newspaper industry to start a public relations consulting firm, which was a business with great potential. He asked me to be his partner.
I discussed it with A-Zheng, but he objected.
"Why would you switch careers when you were perfectly content being a Hong Kong news editor?" he asked me.
By then, I was tired of being a journalist who reported on human tragedies every day.
"What kind of future can you have as a journalist?" I asked him in return. "Starting a public relations firm is a business that can make a lot of money."
"When did you become so mercenary?" he sneered.
"When will you ever be more realistic?" I asked him in return.
"I don't like money as much as you do," he said.
"So you've been doing the same job for ten years?" I blurted out.
"Yes, I'm a man who can't make money. You should go find someone who can."
That's not what I meant.
"Do whatever you like." He stopped discussing it with me.
www.xiAoshuotxT.cOM
Chapter Three
*Novel\t=xt*Heaven%
I agreed to Hong Leping's offer to start a public relations company with him, and I thought that A-Zheng would gradually accept my choice.
Our company's business is doing better than we expected; we were already making money after the fourth month. I'm seeing Ah Zheng less and less often now.
That day, he had to go to Beijing immediately because a reporter from the newspaper had been detained while reporting from Beijing. Every time A-Zheng went out, I was the one who packed his luggage for him, but that night, I didn't even have time to pack his luggage.
"I'm going out," he said, picking up his travel bag and heading out the door.
It was the dead of winter, and it must have been snowing in Beijing. I remembered the pair of snow boots I had bought for him in England, so I quickly found them in the shoe cabinet and took them to him. I chased after him onto the street, but he had already gotten into a taxi.
The night Ah Zheng returned from Beijing, his feet were covered in chilblains, and I felt very guilty.
"Why didn't you take those snow boots with you?" I complained to him.
He ignored me, sprawled on the bed, and closed his eyes.
I poured a basin of hot water from the bathroom to wash his feet; it was the first time I had ever washed a man's feet.
"What are you doing?" he asked me, sitting up.
"I'll wash your feet for you." I bent down and used a towel to wash his feet, saying, "Wash your feet clean, then apply the ointment."
As I washed his feet, tears streamed down my face. I remembered buying him those snow boots in England, and how his feet were covered in chilblains when he took them off in the hotel. So many years have passed, why have we come to this? I can't bear it.
Ah Zheng grabbed my hands and said, "Silly girl, don't cry."
"Will we grow old together?" I asked him.
He nodded.
But he didn't keep his promise. His career stagnated, while mine was booming. My salary at the PR firm, plus bonuses, came to nearly 100,000 a month, double what he earned.
People who used to think I wasn't good enough for Ah-Zheng are now starting to look at me with new respect.
I thought about moving to a larger unit, but A-Zheng objected.
"Why should I move? I like it here," he said.
"Don't you think the place is too small?" I argued with him.
"I have no money," he said.
"I can use mine," I said.
I never expected that my words would hit him so hard.
"Then you can move it yourself," he said.