The last sentence struck a chord with her—she truly didn’t have the energy to keep fighting anymore. The days of burning passion and grand displays, like oil poured over a roaring fire or fresh flowers adorning brocade, had come to an end. She no longer had the strength, nor the time, for any more turbulence. She had to get married in this lifetime; not marrying would only break her parents’ hearts.
What did it matter if there was no love? They had a friendship spanning twenty years, which was likely stronger and more enduring than most romances in the world. As Master Tai said, “The people we fall in love with are one kind, and the people we marry are another.” Zhang Ailing once said, “There isn’t a single relationship in this world that isn’t riddled with scars.” And as Li Bihua noted, “Some feelings are like fingernails—when you cut them off, it doesn’t hurt, and they’ll grow back anyway. But others are like teeth—when pulled out, they leave a wound that aches endlessly and can never heal.”
She had just lost a tooth, leaving behind a wound that would never heal. The thing that had once filled that space was gone forever. Every bite, every sip of water, brought unbearable pain. So she decided to disregard it altogether and tried to forget that there had ever been a tooth there in the first place.
The plan was meticulously crafted, down to a schedule detailing whose parents’ house they would visit for meals on weekends after their marriage. But some things always defied planning. For instance, on the night they picked up their marriage certificate, he finally had a legitimate reason to linger in her room, dawdling and refusing to leave.
“Close your eyes.”
“Why should I close them?”
“You’re really out of the loop. Didn’t you hear the head of the Women’s Federation changed? Sister Xu got promoted to deputy director of the CPPCC.”
“Stop it! If you don’t stop, I’m kicking you! I mean it! I’ll really kick you! You hooligan!”
“Okay, okay, it’s all my fault, all right? I’ll admit it. I shouldn’t have had dinner with Fang Wenya again. But it was for work—she’s making a feature on the ‘Eight Virtues and Eight Shames’ campaign. Besides, there were people from the TV station there too.”
“Everyone in the TV station is scum!”
“Hey, hey, don’t attack the media!”
“I’ll attack government officials too!”
“What? You actually kicked me? You’re ruthless! For your information, Miss Fang is with Comrade Li. What nonsense are you imagining? It’s the middle of the night—just wash up and go to bed.”
“Lies! Last time, you said she was Zhao’s girlfriend. Now you’re saying she’s Vice Mayor Kang’s. Explain yourself! What exactly is your relationship with her? If you don’t clarify today, I won’t let this go!” She leapt off the couch in hysterics, resembling a little teapot ready to boil over.
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