Wei Manwen had completed all the procedures and left the payment counter. Finally, she and Luo Ben had space to stand together, but they did not appear like a couple. At this moment, Wei Manwen was wearing faded jeans and a shapeless cotton jacket, while Luo Ben’s black jacket alone was worth more than ten thousand yuan.
Luo Ben took off his jacket and removed the platinum ring on his finger. He placed these in my hands before quietly saying to Wei Manwen, “Come with me!”
Wei Manwen seemed devoid of any emotion. Indifferently, she shook her head and replied, “My parents are already on their way to the hospital. I will return to Beijing with them. That is my home.”
“Beijing is my home too!”
“Luo Ben, we have hurt each other too deeply in this lifetime. Ultimately, we have wronged each other the most… I already made myself clear last time—I don’t want to relive the past, nor do I want to imagine a future with you… Let me live out the rest of my life in peace, okay? The man I need isn’t you, and the woman you need might not be me either.”
Luo Ben’s lips trembled, unable to speak. I quickly spoke for him, saying, “Teacher Wei, don’t insist on self-sacrifice at this moment. CC is already married… You and Luo Ben should be the ones to end up together!”
“My decision has nothing to do with anyone else… Live well! Luo Ben, don’t look for me anymore. We’ve never belonged to the same world—never before, and never in the future.” After calmly saying this, Wei Manwen turned and walked toward the hospital exit. Luo Ben caught up with her steps, saying nothing, just walking alongside her.
Stepping out of the hospital gate, sunlight still gently covered every corner of the city. Finally, Wei Manwen stopped walking. She was waiting for her parents. Only then did Luo Ben earnestly look at her and say, “I know Zhou Hang just passed away, so it’s unrealistic to ask you to fall in love again immediately. So I’m willing to give you time…”
Wei Manwen looked at Luo Ben: “Fall in love again?… Does it really matter?… It sounds so artificial! What I need is to live—to survive.”
“I can give you that life.”
“Luo Ben… I don’t know how to explain it to you, but I truly have no desire left to live with you anymore! I beg you, let me go… I’m really exhausted!”
Luo Ben stood frozen, and I was equally stunned. Perhaps it was indeed the case that after too long a separation, two lovers had each experienced life differently, understood life differently, and many things could no longer be unified. For Wei Manwen, Luo Ben had never changed, but she had transformed from a naive girl years ago into a village woman who had endured life’s hardships and tasted the bitterness of the world. Perhaps, aside from the faintest remnants of love, she and Luo Ben now had nothing in common. After rational analysis, forcing them to live together would be overly strained. The notion of “lovers destined to be together” had become nothing more than a tragically unrealistic fantasy for them.
Indeed! How could an artist live with a woman from the countryside? How could their values, worldviews, and life perspectives ever align? If they truly went to great lengths to re-adapt, it would be better to see through the illusion of love and each find a suitable partner to live with. This must be why Wei Manwen repeatedly said she was tired.
In silence, a middle-aged couple in their fifties approached us. Luo Ben’s face turned pale. I already guessed: these were none other than Wei Manwen’s parents. Otherwise, no one could have such a profound impact on Luo Ben. Moreover, they truly exuded the refined demeanor of an intellectual family. Unfortunately, despite their scholarly pursuits, they had harbored feudal notions of social status and made an extremely foolish decision that destroyed Luo Ben and Wei Manwen’s love, which originally could have borne fruit.
Wei Manwen’s parents arrived before us. Instinctively, Wei Manwen moved closer to her parents, distancing herself from Luo Ben.
Holding Wei Manwen’s face in his hands, her father couldn’t help but weep: “Manwen… these years have been so hard for you. It was our selfishness—we thought we were acting in your best interest, hoping for your happiness, but we forced you onto a path full of thorns… We should repent before you!”
Wei Manwen had no more tears. She shook her head gently, without hatred, and softly said, “Dad, you don’t need to feel guilty. It was me who was too narrow-minded and rebellious back then.”
Her mother also took Wei Manwen’s somewhat rough hands and wept quietly. It seemed even the sunlight couldn’t dissolve the sorrow etched by time. Until Wei Manwen wiped their tears and softly said, “Dad, Mom, take your daughter back to Beijing. I don’t want to go anywhere else anymore. I just want to stay by your side… Please accept me! Forgive me!”
Her parents tightly embraced Wei Manwen, while Luo Ben suddenly burst into tears. It seemed his soul cried out in anguish: “Why… why did you push us so hard back then? Why couldn’t you give me a little patience, even a tiny opportunity… You looked down on me because I was just a musician, with no money or social status… But now I have money and status, yet I’ve lost everything… Can you tell me, what exactly did I do wrong? Give me an answer, give me an answer!!”
Her parents lowered their heads. Luo Ben had completely lost control of his emotions. He took back his jacket from my hands, pulled out several checks, and waved them in the air, sobbing: “Do you see this? This is a check worth 150,000 yuan—it’s my payment for a single commercial performance. This one here, worth 100,000 yuan, is my salary as a music producer. If I wanted, I could do dozens of such performances a year… I want to ask you: is this enough to support a family, to support your daughter?… Why couldn’t you give me even a little opportunity, even a little time?… Tell me, why?… Do you realize how many lives your foolish decision ruined? Have you seen it?”
Wei Manwen looked at Luo Ben, responding with a chilling calmness: “Luo Ben, don’t blame my parents. We made too many mistakes back then. If I hadn’t insisted on coming to Suzhou to find you, and had instead stayed quietly in Beijing waiting for you, maybe a few years later, when you stabilized your life, you could have come back for me, and that would have been a beautiful story… If you hadn’t acted impulsively and arrogantly, staging that drama with another woman in front of me, I wouldn’t have left, nor would I have returned to Beijing and developed depression… We were just too wrong, so I hope you can let love go with a magnanimous heart—it’s the best way forward… I wish you happiness, even more happiness than me!… Goodbye!”
After saying this, Wei Manwen turned and walked with her parents toward the taxi stand. Luo Ben silently watched until the taxi disappeared from our sight. Finally, he collapsed onto the ground, crumpling the checks in his hands, repeating over and over: “Why… why… why?”
…
Three days later, after the funeral, Zhou Hang’s ashes were scattered into the sea. Quietly, Wei Manwen returned to Beijing with her parents. She gave Luo Ben no further opportunity. I heard later that she quickly married a divorced university professor and found a teaching job herself, continuing the scholarly legacy of her family… and that was the final ending of her story in my narrative… Unfortunately, I never had the fortune to meet her again. I don’t know whether her new life remains troubled or has become truly happy!… But one thing is certain: Luo Ben will always occupy the most secret corner of her heart, gradually fading into insignificance.
How heartbreaking! Even Zhou Hang never truly understood Wei Manwen’s innermost thoughts. Therefore, with his last strength, he entrusted Wei Manwen to Luo Ben, but ultimately, it was all in vain. This woman no longer wished to be burdened by life, and she finally made a bold choice for the life she wanted!
Compared to Wei Manwen’s subsequent silence, CC’s happiness was very real before us. On the morning of Chinese New Year’s Day, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing over seven jin. Thus, I experienced the most unique Chinese New Year’s Day of my life. That morning, amidst the continuous sounds of firecrackers, I stayed by her bedside with her husband Yaodi.
Her physical condition was truly remarkable. Even after giving birth, she chatted with us for a long time. She and Yaodi had some disagreement over the baby’s name. Finally, following the principle of resolving matters amicably, I said to them, “In my opinion, naming a child should follow a few principles: first, it should be easy to pronounce; second, it should carry some commemorative meaning; third, it should be easy for others to remember. Of course, the third point is the most important because it helps him become someone as outstanding as me!… Haha!”
Yaodi, not knowing my style, sincerely said to me, “Brother Zhaoyang, then please do us the favor of naming our big, healthy baby boy.”
I thought for a moment and said, “This chubby boy was born on Chinese New Year’s Day. Just call him Yao Chuyi. It’s casual, commemorative, and easy to remember. If you really think about it carefully, you’ll find this name has a slight artistic and fresh touch… It’s genuinely great!”
Yaodi and CC exchanged glances and actually nodded in agreement. Perhaps this was related to their relatively casual and free personalities. Thus, I believed this chubby boy named Yao Chuyi would surely live a carefree life in the future because his name was chosen so irresponsibly, and correspondingly, he should possess a personality unburdened by responsibilities and pressures!
In the afternoon, Luo Ben specially came from Beijing. This was the first time he met CC since her return. Presumably, he genuinely wished CC happiness… because, in this foggy forest of life, everyone had already clarified their direction.
Just as we were chatting enthusiastically, a woman wearing a mask and a baseball cap also came to CC’s resting room. When she removed her mask, Luo Ben asked in surprise, “Yang Youqi, why are you here?”
Not only was Luo Ben surprised, but we were even more astonished because this woman named Yang Youqi was a rising star in the music industry. She had only debuted a little over a year ago but had already won several major music awards. Her father was a renowned music producer in the music industry, and her mother was a music professor at a prestigious music academy. She was truly a top-tier female singer!
Smiling at us, Yang Youqi said, “Hello, friends of Luo Ben… Let me introduce myself. I’m Yang Youqi. Luo Ben is my music producer. We already knew each other before he went to America! I deeply admire his musical talent!”
“Oh…!” Everyone exchanged knowing glances.
The current situation no longer required us to guess… because no woman would come all the way on Chinese New Year’s afternoon to visit a man without reason, especially bravely facing his group of friends.
I couldn’t help but marvel at the power of time. It seemed to have wasted us, yet it also gave us many chances for rebirth… On this day, we welcomed a new life and witnessed the budding of a compatible love…
At this moment, Leyao… no, it was Xiaoyao. She and Cao Jinfu also arrived here to offer their blessings to CC and Yaodi… Then, Xiaoyao (please forgive me for not getting used to calling her Xiaoyao), later, Leyao and Yang Youqi also met by chance. One was a top actress in the film industry, the other a rising star in the music industry. By such fate, they met in this small resting room… Thus, after exchanging greetings, the two began chatting enthusiastically.
I still wasn’t used to being in crowded environments, especially when everyone else was in pairs. So, I silently left the resting room, lit a cigarette at the window at the end of the corridor—a cigarette that burned with loneliness… I thought of Mi Cai, of many people who were no longer by my side but were living well…
I had some realizations. Life isn’t that complicated. We suffer because of choices, but we also重生 because of choices… And the true masters of life are those brave enough to make choices, like Wei Manwen, like CC, like Jian Wei, like Leyao…
As for me? I’m not a failure in life either. I still persistently choose to wait for Mi Cai… She should come back, she really should come back!
I long for her to see how gentle and frequent the sunshine has been this winter after she left, brightly warming this world that needs warmth!…
And time? Time has changed a lot, but for us, it has changed nothing… We haven’t held each other’s hands and teased each other again, nor have we seen each other’s bright smiles. I only know that she has been thriving in her skilled business field, while I walk through the seasons of the arts, basking in sunshine!
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