After being single again, Ding Nan would often think of that saying: in front of a widow's door there is much gossip. Of course, to be precise, although this folk slang had the prejudice of meddlesome people, it was still a brilliant summary. In fact, this sentence could be understood as multiple meanings, but the most obvious meaning was probably that compared to women with families, widows were more likely to be taken advantage of by men, so they were also the most likely to be discussed.
Nowadays, the times had changed. Modern people were no longer used to inappropriate relationships between men and women, so there were fewer gossips. It was not enough to believe that there were many disputes in front of widows, but it was still true that married women whose husbands were dead, divorced, or not by their side were easily tested by men with bad intentions. The reason for this was probably because these men judged others by their own hearts. They thought that there were no men around these women. They had ready-made sexual experience and instinctive physiological desires, so the possibility of getting involved was much higher. In addition, their hearts were mature enough, so men did not have to worry about being entangled and responsible. Therefore, they only listened to the evil thoughts in their hearts and forgot the principles, ethics, morality, propriety and shame.
This matter between men and women was originally Zhou Yu hitting Huang Gai-one was willing to hit, the other was willing to suffer, no one else needed to say anything. However, Ding Nan could not understand. Even if he did, he felt aggrieved. Why were men so presumptuous and women so weak?
She could no longer remember when Chen Bo's feelings for her started to change. She had been a graduate student for three years. She believed that Chen Bo only treated her as a confidant and a good friend of the opposite sex. After graduation, the two of them were still in contact, but they did not see each other often. Li Shi was in her life, and Chen Bo had brought his wife and children to Beijing for a period of time. Later, they could not bear all kinds of conflicts and let them return to their hometown. At that time, when Chen Bo called her, it was normal for them to chat for more than an hour. Later on, because she was too busy, she could not stand it anymore. Often, when he talked for about half an hour, she would find an excuse to interrupt him, saying that she had something to do and that she would talk to him next time. The content of the conversation remained the same. He rambled on about the new and old conflicts between him and his wife. The way they chatted was mostly Chen Bo talking and scolding while she listened. Occasionally, she would analyze, comment, and persuade him. At that stage, the two of them were more or less like soulmates, but after he repeated those family matters many times, she sometimes felt that he was simply a real-life version of Xianglin Sao. His appearance was very hateful and made people really impatient.
After she and Li Shi parted ways, Chen Bo would call her every time to ask her to look for him. She was too lazy to go, so he would come to look for her from time to time. Slowly, she felt that his feelings for her had changed. He would put his hand on her shoulder or waist, intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes, he would also send out some ambiguous and probing invitations. For a moment, she did not understand how close but normal friends of the opposite sex should know their limits. She did not want to ruin their friendship for many years, so she only avoided him and pretended not to say anything.
Later on, on a weekend in the summer evening, after not seeing her for two months, he came to look for her. After she settled Hang Hang down, she went to the station to pick him up. He got out of the car and spread his arms a few steps away, making a hugging gesture. Stunned, she stood there and joked,"This kind of hug is originally a form of etiquette in the West. Unfortunately, it's not popular in our country.”
Chen Bo pulled his hand back awkwardly. His smile was a little stiff, but he quickly concealed it."This is just a gesture to welcome an old friend. You're thinking too much.”
Ding Nan waited for him to approach, then turned around and said with a smile,"I didn't think too much about it. I'm just not used to it.”Then, she pointed at the opposite side and said," Let's go to Nancheng Xiang and have some food. I'll treat you." It's rare for you to come so far to see me."
He smiled and said politely,"I'll treat, I'll treat. How can you treat?"”
When they crossed the road, his arm naturally wrapped around her waist as if to protect her. She felt that something was wrong and felt uncomfortable all over. However, she did not want to fall out with him and embarrass him. She could only avoid him and put on a fierce face without saying anything.
During the meal, he scolded his wife as usual. He looked very angry, and from time to time, he would roughly say,"Damn it." She couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted him rudely,""I've been listening to you talk about how bad your relationship is and how bad she is for five years. Since it's so bad and you're in so much pain, then let's get a divorce. If they couldn't get a divorce, then they shouldn't complain. This is the state you chose.”
It was probably the first time she had interrupted him so rudely and refuted him mercilessly. He was stunned for a long time before he finally smiled and said,"Isn't it because of the child? The child keeps threatening me with running away from home and jumping off a building.”
She looked straight at him and said,"Since you can't get a divorce, treat her better and improve your relationship." It's been five years, and you've been saying this all the time. I'm tired of hearing it, but aren't you tired as the person involved?”
He lowered his head to eat and asked,""If that woman had the backbone like you and took the initiative to divorce me, I might have thought that she was a little cute and felt guilty and regretful. If I beat her to death, scold her to death, and insult her to death with vulgarities, she won't leave.”
She thought for a moment and analyzed,"She's unwilling. She hates you!" She doesn't want you to have a good life, she doesn't want you to be free.”
He raised his head and said,"You know what? I especially like the way you listen to me quietly, especially the way you listen attentively.”
She smiled and said," Yes, I do like to listen. Not only do I like to listen to you, but I also like to listen to anyone. Because I feel that in the process of listening to other people's stories, I can learn a lot of life experiences that I can use as a reference. This can help me avoid many detours.”
He looked at her meaningfully and then smiled."I like to listen to whatever you say. Even if you criticize me harshly, I find it very interesting. This kind of interaction between me and that woman is unimaginable. I'm annoyed by whatever she says about me.”
Ding Nan noticed that he always addressed his wife as " that woman " as if he was trying to distance himself from her in front of outsiders. It was also as if he was trying to express his disgust for her. He thought that his wife was really pitiful. She couldn't help but say," Sometimes, when you feel annoyed by someone, the more you look at them, the more annoyed you get. This is still a problem with your mentality. Try to change your mentality." Don't think that just because I can talk to you, I'm more suitable for you than your wife. Even if we live together, it won't be good. Because I think you're mostly the reason why your relationship is so bad. If you don't reflect on yourself, you won't be able to live well with anyone.”
He looked at her helplessly and smiled. Then, he lowered his head and ate without saying anything.
It was very noisy in the restaurant. The two of them quickly finished their meal and walked out. Seeing that it was still early, she said,"Let me take you around."
He said yes and put his arm around her shoulder. She dodged, but he held her hand again. She broke free and said calmly but forcefully,"Don't be like this. We can only be friends!”
He turned to look at her. It was unknown if he was pretending to be confused or if he was really confused, but he said with a slightly exaggerated expression,"We're friends. I didn't say anything else.”
She raised her voice and said angrily,"Friends don't do that! Our Celestial Empire doesn't seem to be that open!”
He pondered for a moment and said directly,"I want to find some feelings of being in love. Don't you want to?”
She smiled, but she said very clearly,"But you don't have the right!"”After a pause, she added in a more serious tone," You're married!”
"But that family has long been broken up," he muttered, a little dejected.”
She hit the nail on the head and said,"But legally, you are still not free. What I want is different from what you want. I only want a pure blue face confidant, but what you want is a lover.”
He didn't say anything, and the two of them parted on bad terms. After that, he got angry and stopped calling her or asking her out for a few months.
When they met again, it was about half a year later. It was also the weekend. He invited her to his house to play, and the two of them cooked together. He said that he had not seen her for a long time and wanted to have a good chat. So she went.
When the two of them came out of the supermarket to buy groceries, she noticed a deep mottled mark on his leather shoes. It was even more obvious when he walked, so she asked curiously,"Eh? What's wrong with the shoes?"
He carried two big bags of things and said casually,"I was stepped on when I was dancing."
At this age, she was still dancing under such pressure. She did not expect this. She could not help but ask in surprise,"Dance?" Then, she smiled knowingly and teased," Are you trying to hook a lover there? Haha."
He sized her up and said teasingly,"I haven't even hooked up with the women around me yet. It's even harder to hook up with the women outside.”
Ignoring his signal, she said meaningfully,"You really want to find a lover.”
This time, he didn't seem to want to beat around the bush. He admitted tentatively,"Yes, I want to find a lover. I want you to be my lover.”
Without thinking, she said straightforwardly,"Don't say that I don't have feelings for you. Even if I do, I won't be your lover if you don't divorce me. Lovers have no dignity!"
He looked hurt and disappointed. His voice lowered."You don't like me?"
She thought about it and did not want to hurt him anymore. She said gently,"I like you as a friend, just like liking anything I like. It's not the kind of affection between lovers.”
He walked silently and said after a while,""At this age, there's no need to talk about feelings, likes, and compatibility.”
She thought about his words and felt that they were not unreasonable. She might have been too idealistic, so she nodded and said," That's true." She smiled and teased him." But if you don't get a divorce, this kind of life will be far away from you."”
He stopped and said seriously,"I don't want a divorce. I just want to find a lover. That woman wasn't here anyway.”
She looked at him seriously for a moment and knew that he was speaking from the bottom of his heart. She said coldly," That's absolutely impossible!”Then, he mocked," Unless you find someone who shares the same bad taste as you. You're such a selfish man.”
He looked displeased and did not say anything else.
After dinner, she wanted to go back. He asked her to stay, but she insisted on leaving. The two of them parted on bad terms and did not contact each other for a long time.
A few months later, she had something to talk to him about. She called him and chatted for a while. She probably complained that it was too late to learn Chinese painting and that she could not do it now. She mentioned that he had said before that he wanted to teach her painting. When he heard this, he said over the phone,"I want to further develop our relationship, but you're not willing.”
Thinking about how he always had a motive for everything he did, and how he still had such a crooked mind after so long, she could only give up and ignore him.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]