The other side of the wall: Yu Yin’s moans, each breathless gasp was so clear. Each time she called his name: “Chen…” I scratched the writing on the wall with my nails, scratching until blood flowed. The next day, I called Ling Ling.
Under my questioning, Ling Ling finally told me: “Qin Xue is right, he has a girlfriend… they have been living together for a long time.”
“Oh.” Beyond that, I couldn’t say anything. Ling Ling advised me, but I didn’t hear her clearly.
Hanging up, I walked out in a daze. In winter, I wore a thin knitted sweater, sitting under an old elm tree, not feeling cold. People passing by looked at me with crazy gazes.
I felt I had gone mad; how could I still have fantasies about Ye Zhengchen? Having been deceived so many times, I still fantasized that his feelings for me were real. Until I froze my heart, a warm coat was draped over me, and Yin Zhongtian sat down beside me.
“Father said you left early, and the hospital staff said you didn’t go to work… I guessed you’d be here.”
I wanted to speak, but my lips were numb.
“You’ve always run here when you’re in a bad mood…” His large palm held my hand, rubbing it. “Because of that man, right?”
I shook my head, my voice trembling from the cold. “He’s not worth it.”
“It’s not too late to understand now.”
“Love is a lie; even deep love is a lie…”
“Eternal vows and deep love are just momentary impulses… Passion comes quickly and goes quickly.”
I sighed: “So quickly…”
Yin Zhongtian said: “There’s one thing that is real – family love.”
I nodded; parents are the only ones who won’t deceive us.
“Love is not maintained by romance and passion…” Yin Zhongtian patted my shoulder: “Like our parents, they take care of each other as family; this feeling can be stable and lasting.”
His embrace was stable, unlike that person’s, which was suffocating.
Time passed slowly. After seeing many couples face life and death, I gradually understood Yin Zhongtian’s words.
A true family is maintained by familial love. Love can last only a year; after that, passion fades, but love transforms into familial love, growing deeper.
