After the divorce, Ding Nan had a deep longing and guilt for her son and parents in the south. She worked hard in Beijing alone while preparing for her postgraduate studies.
Ever since she came to Beijing to look for Lu Bo that year, she had been working as an editor at a magazine agency. She lived in a three-bedroom apartment in Tongzhou, Beijing, with two other magazine editor friends.
Rong Xiaozhen, a married man from Shanxi, was wandering around Beijing alone. He vowed to use two years to make a big change in his life so that he could bring his wife to Beijing. He was a typical good man and good husband. In the years they lived together, she had never seen him bring any woman home for the night except his wife. He was the same age as her. He had literary talent, was flexible and intelligent, had a neutral personality, was easy-going, easy to get along with, and was especially loyal. He was like a brother and sister to both men and women, and they all called him Rong 'er.
Ya Jing was a beautiful Hebei girl. She was virtuous and homely. She was slightly chubby, but her facial features were beautiful and her skin was fair. They all laughed and said that if it was in the Tang Dynasty, she would definitely be a noble consort. Ya Jing's biggest hobby was cooking. She felt that it was a kind of enjoyment, just like Ding Nan's love for words. On weekends, she would usually cook a large table of dishes. When she saw everyone eating happily, her face was full of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. At that time, she already had a fixed boyfriend, Fang Yuan, and would bring Fang Yuan back from time to time.
Ding Nan looked like she was in her twenties at that time. She was delicate and looked youthful. Other than her girlfriend and family, most people did not know about her situation. They all thought that she was an unmarried young woman who had just graduated from school. She was too lazy to explain anything. Why did she have to publicize her private affairs to unrelated outsiders? There was no need. Besides, everyone was extremely busy these days. Students in Beijing could use being busy as an excuse to not see each other for a few years. Who had the time to care about people and things that had nothing to do with them?
Teacher Chen, the old editor who lived in Tongzhou with her, loved her very much. She cared about her work and life very much, and from time to time, she would introduce her to a partner. It seemed that all the middle-aged and elderly women in China were matchmakers, especially those who had passed their middle age and had yet to enter their old age. This might be related to women's natural love for romance. No matter how old a woman was, she could not get rid of her romantic nature. When she could not be a bride, she would rather be a matchmaker. She could always bring some joy and break the triviality and dullness of daily life. Teacher Chen, who was about to join the elderly women's team, was also very enthusiastic. She invited Ding Nan to her house for dinner twice and said that she wanted to introduce her to an officer of the People's Liberation Army surnamed Sun who was very good in all aspects.
After lunch that day, Teacher Chen brought up this matter again. She said that she would let Ding Nan go to her house for dinner this weekend so that she could meet the unmarried man with the surname Sun.
"Teacher Chen, nowadays, there are so many older young women who want to snatch people away. How can there be any good men left?”She shook her head with a smile and kept typing on her keyboard. She didn't want to spend time and energy looking for a boyfriend now. She wanted to focus on her postgraduate entrance examination. Besides, with her current situation of being divorced and having a child, she felt a little inferior and worried. She didn't dare to tell others about her true situation.
" You still don't believe me, kid. My wife is from the same unit and often comes to our house to play. The young man is handsome and is a teacher in a university or military school. He has such good conditions. It's just that he's like you, unable to reach a high position or a low position. After so many years, I haven't seen him settle down.”Teacher Chen did not seem to be enjoying himself. As she spoke, she walked over and stood beside Ding Nan. She leaned against the bookcase beside her, looking as if she was ready to have a long talk.
"You know, I'm going to take the postgraduate examination. I'm so busy with work now that I'm almost dying of anxiety. I don't even have time to read books.”
"But that doesn't mean it will affect our marriage. He still had to find a suitable one. I think the two of you are quite compatible. You're not young anymore. You're both university graduates. You're both cultured people. What a good thing. Let me tell you, Little Ding, this is a rare opportunity.”
"Aiya, Teacher Chen, with you around, why would I be afraid of not being able to find a partner? "Let's talk about it a year later. After I get into graduate school, introduce me to all the young men you know. I'll go on blind dates one by one until I like them. What do you think?”As she spoke, she coquettishly pushed Teacher Chen toward her seat.
The two of them were used to being intimate, so Teacher Chen didn't mind. She smiled and shook her head, sat down, and went about her own business.
On Saturday afternoon, Ding Nan was doing English reading in her room when she heard a commotion in the living room outside. From the sound, it seemed like a stranger had arrived. She quickly put down the book, opened the door, and walked out, wanting to see what was going on.
In the living room, Ya Jing and Fang Yuan also came out. They saw Rong Xiaozhen holding a suitcase in her left hand and holding a woman's hand in her right hand. She was smiling happily as she chatted with the woman. The woman was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She was slightly shorter than Rong Xiaozhen. Her skin was slightly dark, and there were obvious brown freckles on both sides of her nose. However, her facial features were exquisite and beautiful. She was wearing denim overalls and a short-sleeved shirt. She looked to be six or seven months pregnant. She was smiling faintly. She must be his wife.
"Hehe, Ding Nan, Ya Jing, Xiao Fang, let me introduce you to my wife, Tian Rong. Coincidence? We both have the word Rong. My surname is Rong, and her name is Rong.”Rong Xiaozhen said to the other three as she put down the box in the living room.
"This is fate! Hello, Tian Rong." Ding Nan nodded and smiled at the woman.
"Hello, sister-in-law. Hello, sister-in-law." The young couple spoke one after the other.
Tian Rong only nodded and smiled.
"It's rare to have such a complete set. It's also the weekend. Let's eat together. I'll cook. I love cooking. Hehe, Fang, let's go to the supermarket. Help me carry my things."”Seeing that it was already four or five o'clock in the afternoon, Ya Jing suggested and pushed Fang Yuan to go out immediately.
"I'll go with you." Ding Nan said that she wanted to go into the house to change her shoes. She wanted to buy something and share some of their burdens. It was embarrassing to eat their food usually.
"No need, no need. I'll go with Fang. We can even whisper on the way.”Ya Jing turned around and said.
"Really, Ding Nan, you don't have to go. The two of us can go.”Fang Yuan added.
Upon hearing their words, Ding Nan hesitated for a moment and could only not go.
An hour later, Ya Jing had cut four plates of cooked meat and stir-fried three hot dishes. She opened the drinks she had bought and the five of them sat around the big round table in the living room.
During the meal, Ding Nan realized that Rong Xiaozhen's left hand had been holding Tian Rong's hand tightly while her right hand kept picking up food for her. Tian Rong had been eating with his left hand and was very skilled. Obviously, she was left-handed. People said that left-handed people were smart.
Looking at Ya Jing and Fang Yuan, although they weren't holding hands, they were still helping each other with food.
For a moment, she was a little disappointed. Just as she was feeling frustrated, the phone in her pocket rang. She put down her chopsticks and took out her phone. When she saw that it was Teacher Chen's landline, she quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and ran back to her room to answer the call.
"Little Ding, Little Sun just happened to come over today. He's discussing something with Teacher Zhang. Come over too. It's so close. We'll be there in ten minutes. We'll wait for you to eat.”Teacher Chen's gentle voice came from the phone.
"Teacher Chen, thank you. I won't go over. I'm eating. My friends are here too.”she said tactfully. It was a slim chance for such a well-off unmarried man to be paired with a single mother like her. She did not want to waste her time and energy.
"Then why don't you come over after you're done eating? You two can have a chat. It's a coincidence that Little Sun is here today. I've already told him about you.”Teacher Chen added.
"I'm not going, Teacher Chen. I might have to go out with my friends after eating. Thank you. We'll talk about it next time.”Ding Nan found it hard to refuse his kindness. She did not know what to say, but she really did not want to go. She wanted to revise her English after eating. It was said that the most important thing in the postgraduate entrance examination was English. To a large extent, English directly determined whether one could pass the test. Since her university graduation exam, she had lost her English for five years. She could not even recognize the 26 letters. She had basically picked it up from scratch.
"Alright, we'll talk about it in the future." Fortunately, Ms. Chen did not insist. She said in her usual gentle tone and hung up the phone.
Ding Nan put down the phone and felt a little guilty. She felt that she had rejected Teacher Chen's good intentions, but there was nothing she could do about it.
It was already after the middle of the month, and it was the busiest time of the month for the magazine layout and the third proofreading. When she was about to get off work that day, she saw that there was still more than half of the second proofreading manuscript. She sighed and had no choice but to stay behind to work overtime.
When she finished checking all the manuscripts and walked out of the unit, it was drizzling. It was already late August. A breeze blew and she could not help but shiver. She crossed her arms and hugged her arm that was still wearing a short-sleeved shirt.
Autumn, which she hated the most, had arrived. She didn't know why, but perhaps it was because she was lonely, but in recent years, she hated autumn in Beijing more and more. On the nights of August and September, every time the breeze blew and the leaves fell, she would feel sad and desolate. At that time, she especially wanted to have someone by her side and a home with lights on to go back to.
She sighed again and took out the umbrella that she had brought with her from her bag. She slowly opened it and walked towards the station.
Paradiso Umbrella, Heaven, what a beautiful and peaceful name. However, even if it was Heaven, it did not give her peace that night, nor did it shield her from the disaster that fell from the sky.
It was already past ten o'clock at night when he got out of the car. There was still a long distance to his residence. At this moment, the urban area was also quiet. The night in the suburbs of Tongzhou was even more desolate. The street lights were dimly lit. There were no pedestrians on the road. There were still specks of lights in the residential buildings in the distance.
She was a little afraid. The rain was still falling. She held the umbrella and mustered her courage to walk forward.
At the corner of the cement path close to the residential building, she saw a person standing there from afar. He was motionless and facing the direction of the road. Her heart tightened. She paused for two minutes and looked at that person. The man heard footsteps and turned to look at her. With the help of the dim light, she determined that the other party was a tall man.
The cement path was very narrow, only about one meter wide. If she wanted to go home, she had to pass by that person, and she couldn't be sure if he was a bad person. She pondered for a moment. They were almost at the residential building. The lights in the nearest houses were still on. There must be people there. Although there was a wall outside the residential building, if something really happened here, the people in the building should be able to go around the wall and come out to save them. Even if they couldn't, they could still hear the sound from upstairs and make a sound to scare the criminals. Besides, maybe the other party wasn't a bad person.
She pressed down on her thumping heart and braced herself to walk forward.
One step, two steps, three steps…She finally reached the man's back. The man did not turn around, nor did he look back. She held her breath and continued to walk forward. Finally, she walked past the man.
After walking another ten steps, the nervousness in her heart continued. Just as she was about to let go and run, she heard heavy footsteps behind her. She instinctively turned around and saw the figure running towards her.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]