novel(I Made a Promise to Him) The Last Words of Zhao Yuan's Dead Father Engraved on Their Minds
| ← Ch.133 | Ch.135 → |
Zheng Zihuan's funeral was very simple. Not long afterward, Zheng Kai took his father's ashes home and buried his father's cinerary casket in a cemetery in the county where Zheng Zihuan had spent 12 years with his wife and child.
Zheng Kai had insisted on not letting people pay tribute to his father, so the four guys, Zhao Yuan, Lin Wenxi, Gu Xi, and Wang Xiang, had to ask around for the address for a long time. Today, they came to the cemetery together.
"Twelve years of unrequited love was burned to ashes, inch by inch. Now that the candle has turned into ash, your tears can now dry. In this way, you can leave this world with a smile." Having said this, Lin Wenxi asked Zhao Yuan, "Did Uncle Zheng really leave with a smile?" Zhao Yuan nodded. He had smiled as if a big load had been taken off his chest, and it looked like he preferred dying. Many times Zhao Yuan thought about his smile, and all kinds of feelings would well up in his heart.
"You don't blame Brother Kai's mother, do you?" Lin Wenxi asked.
"I don't blame her. She is also a pitiful woman." Zhao Yuan said.
"If she hadn't loved him so deeply, she would not have blamed him so much. Zheng Kai's mother should have known that Uncle Zheng was gay, but she chose to linger on in the steadily worsening condition of their marriage. Was she unlucky or was she too crazy about Uncle Zheng? Or did she hate him too much? Otherwise, why didn't she fulfill Uncle Zheng's wish even when he was already dead? She wouldn't even let his ashes be buried in his hometown. Instead, she buried him here, " Lin Wenxi asked.
"Uncle Zheng would definitely not keep that fact from her deliberately. Maybe everything was not of his own free will, " Zhao Yuan said.
"Had he known that he was gay earlier, would he have had much fewer regrets?"
"You can tell from Gu Xi's situation whether Uncle Zheng would have felt regret or not. I only know that if he had realized it earlier, he might not have hurt another woman's feelings. However, if that were the case, there would be no Zheng Kai in this world. If Aunt Ciyun had not met Uncle Zheng twenty-one years ago, she would not have given birth to A'kai. Would she be willing to choose that? All things are interrelated and connected, forming a cause and effect chain. It is hard for us to tell whether something is a blessing or a curse. A toast to Uncle Zheng! May his soul rest in peace." Suddenly it seemed that Wang Xiang had seen through the vanity of the world and said something that greatly shocked Lin Wenxi.
"I only wish Brother Kai all the best." With this, Gu Xi poured a glass of wine onto the ground.
"If there is a next life, may you be a woman and fall in love with a decent man. He is not married, and you are not married. He will play the flute for you while you will hold the torch for him." Lin Wenxi prayed silently. He threw a glance at Wang Xiang and thought, "This Wang Xiang, will he cherish Zhang An'an in the future?" At the thought of the promiscuous sexual relations of those men in this world and the emotional specificity Zheng Zihuan had proved with his life, Lin Wenxi's tears gradually flowed down. He reached down and gently cupped a handful of dirt in his hands with his handkerchief.
"Wenxi, what's the matter?" Zhao Yuan asked with concern.
"It's nothing." Lin Wenxi held back his tears. It was not until that moonlit night, leaning against the window alone, that he shed the tears he had choked back that day.
"On his way back, the moon hanging in the sky shone on his graceful figure." Whether it was when he was awake or asleep, this was the only sentence Lin Wenxi could remember that night.
Zhao Yuan's father lay quietly at the foot of a mountain in his hometown. There, the rising sun shone on the river before the mountain, making the river sparkle, while the glow of the sunset reflected on the water. The scene made people feel drunk, like the feeling of first love.
Lin Wenxi heard of the funeral and hurriedly arrived in the countryside. He saw a man and a woman standing before the lonely grave.
"He met my mother here." Zhao Yuan whispered. At this moment, the red lantern that used to be placed over the doorways was burning. The tongues of flame looked like they were sobbing and smiling. The special meaning of this lantern surpassed every unbreakable bond between lovers and every everlasting oath in this world.
Silently, Lin Wenxi scattered the pure dirt in his hands onto the ground with great care.
"Do you mind?" Lin Wenxi asked.
"I don't mind." Zhao Yuan answered.
"I'm asking Uncle Zhao whether he minds or not. If he doesn't mind, he can let the wind blow a little stronger and let the wind blow away all the dust on his way in the future, leaving only a flat and broad road."
Just as Lin Wenxi finished saying that, no one knew whether Zhao Mingjiang had heard his words or the weather just couldn't bear the sadness, the wind suddenly blew up. The reeds along the river danced gently together with the wind as if they were drifting slowly to the endless blue sky.
Abruptly, Zhao Yuan said, "Wenxi, I promised before my father's grave, and this is also a promise to your mother."
Lin Wenxi's lips curled up slightly."Why are you explaining this to me? You should certainly fulfill the last wish Uncle Zheng told you before he died."
Silently, Chen Wanxin put down another chrysanthemum. Inadvertently, her tears fell down, and she remembered the things that happened before New Year when she was home.
As soon as Chen Wanxin heard that Zhao Mingjiang had died, she asked for more detailed information. She was shocked when she learned that the suspect was Zhang Dong.
Others might not know Zhang Dong's real background, but how could Chen Wanxin not know? Before joining the Mo family, one should, first of all, make a guarantee. The guarantee should be evidence of something that the Mo family could use in lawsuits or arguments. For example, the evidence of a robbery, cutting off the arm of an enemy, and so on. What was worse, the Mo family would even ask the person to kill someone for them to make the guarantee. Chen Wanxin's father, Chen Tianjiao, and her mother, Deng Yifei, had never mentioned their relationship with the Mo family to Chen Wanxin. Of course, they didn't tell her any facts about the Mo family, either. However, Mo Qian, who was a distant relative of theirs according to her parents, had told her everything clearly when she was only in high school.
Chen Wanxin immediately went home in order to learn the truth.
She heard her Second Uncle and her father talking. They were discussing how they should guard against Lin Ziwei's next counterattack now that Zhao Mingjiang was dead.
She realized that she had been very insensitive ever since she was a child. If she had listened carefully to what her father was discussing with others, she could have perhaps prevented a lot of things from happening.
However, it was useless to say anything at this point. Chen Wanxin had felt so regretful and annoyed that she rushed into Chen Tianjiao's room and had a big fight with him. After that, Chen Tianjiao locked her up in the room for several days.
Whenever she remembered Zhao Yuan's father, whom she had been spent so many days taking care of, she could not help but feel regret.
During those days, through countless nights Chen Wanxin seemed to be dreaming all the time though her eyes were open. Sometimes, she dreamed of Zhao Yuan's slumped appearance. Then suddenly, she would see Zhao Yuan with his head buried in Lin Wenxi's arms, weeping constantly. But it was the embrace that she wanted the most. Every time she thought about this scene, she could not help crying.
Chen Tianjiao did not allow her to contact the people who had even a little bit connection with the matter. Therefore, Chen Wanxin could not see Mo Qian or Luo Yang. Neither could she go find Zhang Dong and ask him about what caused this matter.
"Mom, it is a capital offense, so did you know it in advance? Or, you — did you participate in it too?" Chen Wanxin looked desperately at her mother, Deng Yifei, who was constantly comforting her.
"All the things your father did, he did for our family. What's more, Zhao Mingjiang had committed the crime of murder. Even if he were alive now, he would be sentenced to death in the future. He was in the hospital only on medical parole." Deng Yifei painstakingly soothed her. Of course, it was impossible for Deng Yifei to tell her daughter things like why Zhao Mingjing would kill the rapist and why someone in prison would seriously injure him.
With Deng Yifei's constant persuasion, Chen Wanxin gradually quieted down at home. It was not until the school opened again after New Year that her parents agreed to allow her to go to school. They warned her, "Don't ask any more questions about things that happened at home!"
However, people could never have predicted what would happen next. Zheng Zihuan killed himself after Zhao Yuan's father died. Before Zheng Zihuan's suicide, he announced the last words of Zhao Yuan's father and confirmed Chen Wanxin's relationship with Zhao Yuan.
"From now on, I will protect A Yuan's safety with my life until I die! Uncle Zhao, thank you for believing in me! I'm sorry!" Chen Wanxin said all those words in her heart. Then she stood up and looked directly at Lin Wenxi who had been fighting with her for more than a year and who she could not defeat. At this moment, she didn't feel down at all.
Lin Wenxi knew that Zhao Mingjiang and Zheng Zihuan had still tried to protect him even in the last moments of their lives, but it was not what he wanted.
"They wanted Zhao Yuan to take Chen Wanxin as his wife and take his enemy as his father!! Humph... Wait till I find the evidence!"
| ← Ch. 133 | Ch. 135 → |