Chapter 5: The Good Things in Life Are Not Lasting

  Xīu Tuò stayed at her parents' home for a much longer time than she had expected, and by the time she arrived at the dinner location where she was supposed to meet Wú Jiāng, she was already running a bit late. Following the table number that Wú Jiāng had told her over the phone, she found the right location, which was indeed booked by Mr. Wú, but there was no one sitting there.

  He said he had already arrived and was waiting for her to come over. Situ Xuan sat down alone and waited for a while, feeling bored, so she picked up the phone and called Wu Jiang. As soon as the call connected, the classic Nokia ringtone came from not far away, faintly audible, but stopped after just a few rings.

  Xiu Yue looked at the phone in her hand, which had also been hung up, and suddenly felt suspicious. She was never one to believe in coincidences, and Wu Jiang had known her for many years, with their relationship always being open and honest, rarely having anything worth avoiding. So she immediately stood up to investigate.

  The sound came from a corner about ten or so steps away, separated by a screen. Just as Situ Xuan was walking past, he ran into Wu Jiang, who had hastily emerged from behind the screen. The moment she saw him, Wu Jiang's face changed slightly.

  "What's wrong with you?" Situ Jin asked in a puzzled tone.

  "Nothing, just ran into an acquaintance and said hello." Wu Jiang walked up to Si Tu Jue's side, patted her arm, and half-pushed her back as they walked, laughing: "Didn't you say it was still congested on the city side? How did we get here so quickly?"

  Looking at his appearance, it seemed that he was unwilling to let her stay here for long and was eager to take her away. This was not Wu Jiang's usual style. Xīu Yuè's heart sounded a loud alarm, but after all, they were both adults, and she knew that good friends should also leave some room for each other. Just as she was about to turn around, it was still too late, the person behind the screen had already appeared in her peripheral vision.

  To be honest, she didn't recognize the person immediately. At first glance, she only felt that it wasn't like the future Mrs. Wu in the photo, but a woman of similar age to herself, slender figure, elegant dress, however, the woman's gaze and Wu Jiang's attitude quickly gave her an answer.

  Tan Shaocheng

  It's hard to say whether it's absurd or fortunate that someone who was once so familiar, even if they had turned to ashes, would also slowly fade away in memory.

  "It's really you, Situ. I was guessing who Wu Jiang was avoiding so desperately." Tan Shaochen's face showed surprise as he walked over with a smile.

  Situ Xuan lightly pried Wu Jiang's hand off and gave him a look that was both reproachful and incomprehensible.

  "What's this supposed to be?"

  Wu Jiang had apparently anticipated such a situation, so the hand he had placed on Si Tu's arm earlier was grasping tightly, as if afraid that if he loosened his grip even slightly, things would fall into a difficult-to-recover state.

  His mind, of course, understood. Since it was already like this, he simply said to Situ, "I didn't expect to run into you here either. Don't you know that I've been avoiding you because I accidentally ruined my appetite? I couldn't let you follow in my footsteps."

  His voice was very soft, just loud enough for all three of them to hear clearly.

  Xī Tù Jìn's face finally eased a bit, and he didn't look at the woman, but rather smiled wryly at Wú Jiāng and said: "Don't you know that when flies come, they should be shooed away? The more you avoid them, the worse your appetite will get."

  Tan Shaochen quietly listened to their sarcastic remarks, not getting annoyed at all. He lowered his head and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, still smiling, "Why bother, Sutu? We're all acquaintances, as far as I know, you haven't been back for many years, why not even say hello? It's just an opportunity for everyone to get together, no need to be so formal."

  Situ Xuan said: "A word too many when minds don't meet, I won't be staying long this time back, what I fear most is wasting time."

  "I originally just wanted to give a wedding gift to the groom for tomorrow, I really didn't expect to run into you, isn't this our fate? How are you doing now? Will you be as lucky as Dr. Wu...” Tan Shaochen said halfway and smiled, "However, with your conditions, you won't have trouble finding a good one abroad either, it's just that you might not be willing to settle down so quickly."

  Since the other party is so enthusiastic, Situ Xuan is not afraid to accompany him to the end. She smiled cleverly and looked at Tan Shaochen carefully, following his words: "The makeup looks very beautiful, I almost couldn't recognize you at first glance. No wonder they say that after three days, one should take a new look. From what you said, it seems like you've found someone good and are preparing to settle down? Congratulations, congratulations! I don't know which young master or entrepreneur has such great taste."

  Tan Shaocheng answered irrelevantly, smiling and saying: "You should have heard that I'm now in office, we're colleagues again. We'll inevitably meet at the seminar the day after tomorrow, let's exchange ideas then."

  Situ Xin is a well-known large pharmaceutical company in the industry, with a major shareholder being a Southeast Asian Chinese businessman, who is said to be very active in the domestic market nowadays.

  "She bluntly expressed her surprise, 'I've long heard of your great name, but to be honest, I only just heard you mention it, and found out that you're now in a high position there. I don't know why you think I should have known about it.'"

  Tan Shaocheng couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed upon hearing this. Her gaze swept over Wu Jiang, who had a calm expression on his face. She also retracted her smile and said slowly, "Situ, I know you still have some resentment towards me in your heart, but fate likes to put us together. If it's not enemies who gather together, then I'm powerless. We might as well be frank with each other - from the day we met, I've always been envious of you. You're better than me in every way: family background, academic achievements, looks, and even emotions. Everyone revolves around you, everyone likes you. For someone like me, you're like a flag waving in front of me, leading the way. I've been chasing after you all along, and as long as you don't fall, I won't be able to stop moving forward. Maybe you feel wronged for having fallen once, but have you ever thought that even if that's the case, the life you easily possess today is something I've spent over a decade striving for, just to stand on the same starting line as you?"

  Situ Xuan only felt incredulous, "I never thought of competing with you."

  "But that doesn't mean I haven't thought about it." Tan Shaochen raised an eyebrow in response. This was a very familiar expression, one that had never been seen on the previously quiet and introverted Tan Shaochen before. Suddenly, Situ Xuan understood where the unshakeable sense of familiarity on Tan Shaochen came from - her tone of voice, the look in her eyes, her hairstyle, her fashion style, even the perfume she wore was the same scent that Situ Xuan had loved the most back then. What kind of determination would it take for a girl to tirelessly chase after the flag in her heart until she finally believed that she had stepped on it? At least from Tan Shaochen's perspective now, she could finally stand on an equal or even higher level and have a conversation with the "flag" of her past. This was Tan Shaochen's pride. No wonder when they met again unexpectedly, not only did she not avoid him at all, but her eyes were also shining brightly. Wasn't this the day she had been waiting for?

  Situ Xuan shook his head, "You didn't understand what I meant. What I said was that I never thought of comparing with you because comparing with someone like you would make me feel extremely humiliated."

  She spoke clearly and calmly from start to finish, as if everything was under her control. Tan Shaochen finally changed color under this sentence, unable to support himself. It was such a Xie Yue who had been pressing and arrogant, making her grit her teeth with hatred and insomnia, but also making her jealous beyond self-control.

  Tan Shaocheng resented Situ Xuan, and also resented the self that had hoped to become Situ Xuan. She had worked so hard to achieve what she had today, and in other people's eyes, she was confident, bold, intelligent, and beautiful. But all of this carefully constructed facade crumbled instantly under Situ Xuan's disdainful gaze, like an ugly duckling reverting to its true form.

  Tan Shaocheng suppressed his anger, adjusting his rapid breathing. "You're still so arrogant, Situ Xuan. I know you've always looked down on me because I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth like you, but..."

  "It's wrong again." Situ Xin interrupted her, his tone becoming unstable, "Your birth has never changed, but I'm getting more and more disgusted with you. It doesn't seem to be because of the family you were born into either."

  Wu Jiang, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "Shao Cheng, I advise you not to always bring up your birth. There are countless people poorer than you when they were born, but that doesn't mean everyone has the same means as you do. Bringing up past matters is meaningless now. In fact, you've already won back then, what more do you want? Don't wait until it's too late to realize that the person who looks down on your birth the most is actually yourself."

  "Do you really think I won?" Tan Shaocheng smiled bitterly. "Since the words have been said to this point, there's no need to continue." She looked at Situ Xuan, "You can dislike me if you want, but I'll say one thing with a clear conscience: you know what Qi Yun thinks of you, just blame it all on me, and let him off easy, okay?"

  "Situ Xuan said coldly, 'This has nothing to do with you now. I dislike you, but in this matter alone, the one I hate is not you, because you are someone else. And I won't forgive him, because he is Yao Qiyun.'"

  Tan Shaocheng brushed past them and before leaving, whispered to Wu Jiang, "Congratulations on your wedding, I hope you like my gift."

  Wu Jiang and Situ Ke returned to the dinner table, it was already very late, but neither of them had any appetite for food, so they just ordered some simple dishes. Wu Jiang sat across from Situ Ke, and under the light he finally saw the unusual expression on her face.

  "What's wrong with your face? How did you end up like this after going back home... Was it your dad who hit you again?"

  Before Situ Xuan arrived, she had found a place and spent some time covering up the red swelling on her face with makeup, but to no avail. She was still recognized at a glance, and could only smile wryly, which pulled at the painful spot, making a hissing sound in her mouth.

  "I said your dad's temper is still so explosive? You're the same, rarely going back, can't you just be more reserved? Just listen quietly and don't make a sound, why suffer in silence?"

  "They sold me like a piece of trash without saying a word."

  "Hmm... you won't tell me that the waste recycling station your parents are looking at is Yao Qiyun's, right?" Wu Jiang laughed.

  Situ Xuan said with a sad face: "This joke is not funny."

  "Are you really determined not to forgive?" Wu Jiang asked seriously.

  "What if you were me, would you?"

  Wu Jiang fell silent, his fingers unconsciously fiddling with a cowhide envelope.

  "Never mind me, is that the new wedding gift you were sent?" Siu Yuk shifted the topic, no need to guess what it would be, definitely not something good.

  Wu Jiang hesitated for a moment, then pushed the envelope in front of her. Si Tu Jue opened it and pulled out several sheets of paper from inside. After carefully examining them, she found that they included lab test results, outpatient records, and even pharmacy records, all pointing to the same name.

  "Ruan Wan...... uh...... this isn't you......" Situ Xue said halfway and stopped, stuffed those papers into the envelope with force, and sighed, "I'm convinced by that person, really thoughtful."

  Wu Jiang lowered his head and took a sip of water, apparently also very much in agreement. "Yes, it's indeed a great gift."

  Situ Xuan thought for a moment, then decided to say: "It doesn't seem like she's faking it, and the possibility of her having the same name is also not high. I think the time when that person had the abortion isn't too far from now either. Didn't she mention anything about the past to you?"

  Wu Jiang shook his head and smiled, "It's very fair, I didn't bring up past matters with her either."

  "Situ Xuan said with a bad temper: 'You say you get married like this for what?'"

  "I don't want to see the two old men worried anymore, besides people will get married eventually and when they reach a certain age they'll want a home, also she's very good, at least that's what I think."

  "But can you get married like this and have a home? There are many good women in the world, can you take them all? Being anxious is not the way to do it, can't you wait and find someone who loves each other?"

  This time, however, Wu Jiang's counter-question shut her down, "If you were me, do you think that person would still appear?"

  "Anyway, I think it's not good for you to treat others like this. Although what she did...it's also understandable, but if I were in her shoes, I might not have spoken out either."

  "She hadn't long lost a child when she decided to marry me, perhaps the father of that child had hurt her heart, which is probably the most fundamental reason for her being with me."

  "This thing is definitely harmful to a woman in many ways, but who doesn't have some past. Women are at a disadvantage because they have an extra uterus, so the same absurd affair may lead to many more troublesome aftermaths than men."

  Wu Jiang said: "It seems I still don't understand women, and even less so her."

  Situ Xuan held up the kraft paper envelope and shook it, "Tomorrow is the wedding day, saying these things is meaningless. Just give me one sentence, are you going to marry or not?"

  Wu Jiang thought of the person who might become his wife tomorrow and said, "She's a very interesting woman. Everything seems to be taken seriously by her, yet nothing is taken seriously. She's busy preparing for the wedding, taking care of every detail, but she doesn't care where I go or that I don't have time to help with anything. By the way, she might come over later and bring some things that need to be prepared for tomorrow. You can meet her then."

  "By custom, newlyweds shouldn't see each other the night before. But I understand what you're getting at," said Situ Xin. She casually tore open the envelope and ripped every page inside to shreds without hesitation. "Since we're going to spend our lives together and don't plan on bringing it up, let's just pretend it doesn't exist."

  Wu Jiang's fiancée appeared in the restaurant when they had finished half of their meal, Wu Jiang went to the door and brought her in, smiling as he introduced them.

  Even with Si Tu Jue's discerning eyes, the future Mrs. Wu was a beautiful woman with both appearance and temperament, rare in being gentle yet not wooden, a few words revealed her to be intelligent and reserved, neither arrogant nor servile, very likable. Si Tu Jue couldn't help but think that Wu Jiang's standards for "making do" weren't low either.

  Wu Jiang wasn't the kind of person to show his emotions on his face. He had promised not to mention it, and indeed, he didn't reveal even a hint of the brief hesitation he had shown when facing Sutu Xue earlier. In front of his fiancée, he was still a gentleman, considerate and attentive. His fiancée's name was awkward to pronounce, and those two words "Ruan Wan" were particularly difficult for Sutu Xue to say.

  Ruan Wan smiled and said, "Just call me Ruan Ruan."

  "Alright then, don't keep calling me Miss Situ either. Friends call me Situ."

  "I went to watch a movie with Wu Jiang, and after the show, he only had one comment that left a deep impression on me. He said the heroine in the movie looked like his friend Sutu, but didn't have her charm. I met her today and found out that he was indeed very objective." Ruan Ruan said with a smile.

  Situ heard this and burst out laughing. She pointed at Wu Jiang and said, "I suppose you've been badmouthing me behind my back, and Madame Wu is covering up for you."

  Wu Jiang also smiled, "You don't have to be too pleased with yourself, Ruan Ruan didn't have the heart to tell you, we were watching a horror movie."

  The three of them ate and chatted, getting along very well. The unpleasantness from before seemed to have been thrown far away - perhaps this "far away" was hidden in a corner deep within one's heart.

  After a while, Wu Jiang's mobile phone rang, and he answered it with an apologetic face.

  "One of my patients' conditions suddenly took a turn for the worse, I have to rush back and take a look."

  "Situ Xuan furrowed his brow, 'Hey, hey, you're the one who's going to be the groom tomorrow, can't you leave the heroic deeds for later in life?'"

  Fortunately, Ruan Ruan was very open-minded and gently pushed him away, "Go ahead, remember to come back tomorrow morning."

  "Or you two ladies can stay here for a while longer, but I've already bought it, so I'll leave the car to you..."

  "Alright, I'll take responsibility for sending your bride back safely."

  After Wu Jiang left, there were only two people of the same sex who had met for the first time.

  "Hey, I think you'd make a great wife, but don't spoil your husband too much. Men can get spoiled by women. Sometimes having little arguments and being a bit stubborn might actually make him care about you more."

  "If a woman can't find someone to pamper her, then it's not bad for someone to pamper herself and take care of herself, right?" Ruan Ruan fiddled with her drink, "Situ, I really envy you. The way Wu Jiang looks at you is something I've never seen before..." She said, laughing at herself again, "Look at me talking, actually, it's only the eighth time I've met him, and he proposed to me after our sixth meeting. Even if it's not love, I think this is fate, at least."

  At first, Situ was afraid that she would misunderstand, and he wanted to explain the pure friendship between him and Wu Jiang over the years. However, from the face of this woman who was about to step into the wedding hall, he couldn't see any jealousy or dissatisfaction, only sincerity and a shallow melancholy. Even that melancholy wasn't resentful, but rather a kind of confusion after knowing the truth.

  "Love is like a UFO, many people discuss it, but few have actually seen it," said Situ Xin.

  Ruan Ruan smiled, "What about you, do you believe it?"

  "I'm not a Martian either." Situ Xuan self-deprecatingly said, unintentionally touching her cheek which had swollen somewhat but still hurt. The pain made her suddenly feel a little sentimental in front of such an ordinary question from a woman, "I'm someone who has failed miserably in love. When I was younger, I thought love was everything, so I loved recklessly, thinking that as long as I was brave and fearless, I would definitely get what I wanted. In the end, I found myself losing to the very things I looked down on."

  She only then remembered that she still had a gift with her, and hastily took it out to hand over to Ruan Ruan, "A little something I've been carrying around for quite some time now, following me everywhere. Here, take it, wishing you both happiness."

  Ruan Ruan took it, thanked him repeatedly and opened it to take a look. However, she found that although Sito had said it lightly, the brocade box was filled with a dark green jade bangle. Even though she wasn't an expert in identifying jade, she still had some knowledge. With the quality of the bangle's water head and color, how could it be a cheap "trinket"?

  "It's too expensive, really, I appreciate it, but this is something you always carry with you, I couldn't possibly accept it." Ruan Ruan closed the brocade box and was about to decline.

  "I haven't brought these things with me for a long time, what's the point of keeping them. Wu Jiang is my best friend, as long as you guys are doing well, I'll be happy. This time, I won't stay in the country for too long either, who knows when we'll meet again next time, just consider it a keepsake for now."

  Ruan Ruan only then noticed that Sutu's body was indeed devoid of any jewelry, and couldn't help but ask: "This is a good thing, I guess you're also someone who understands jade, why didn't you keep it on yourself?"

  People say that jade is the most faithful thing, but that's nonsense. The more precious and expensive the jade, the easier it breaks. Gold is also very soft, 'love is stronger than gold' are all lies. Diamonds can't withstand high temperatures, and glass is too brittle. The better things are, the harder they are to keep by your side. She said, then changed her tone: "Of course, that's just my complaint, you're different. Just like protecting your happiness, protect it well, I believe it will be very good in your hands. Unlike me, with a '玦' character in my name, even the best jade will end up incomplete."

  She recalled the thing she once cherished the most, just like the pure love she once believed in, the goodness and beauty of human nature, eternal existence, and the unshakeable trust between lovers... all of which had long been shattered into fragments that could no longer be recognized.