Jian Wei’s car drove ahead, while I carried Fang Yuan tailing behind. Along the way, Fang Yuan remained silent, appearing very detached, yet he smoked cigarette after cigarette.
The two cars successively passed through several streets. Jian Wei gradually slowed down, seemingly approaching the destination. Instinctively, I looked ahead and suddenly realized that the elegant Ming Hotel, where Fang Yuan and Yan Yan had their wedding, stood right before us. I immediately understood Jian Wei’s intention in coming here.
Sure enough, Fang Yuan beside me closed his eyes, his expression filled with guilt from infidelity.
…
Inside the hotel’s tea restaurant, Fang Yuan and I sat on one side, while Jian Wei sat alone on the other. She stared at Fang Yuan with an interrogating gaze but remained silent. I could even sense the immense pressure forcing Fang Yuan to the point that his index and middle fingers, holding a cigarette, trembled slightly.
Jian Wei finally spoke: “Fang Yuan, do you still remember what you were like four years ago?”
Fang Yuan looked up at Jian Wei, his expression somewhat dazed, his emotions clearly on the verge of collapse.
“You don’t remember, right? Let me tell you then… Four years ago, you had just graduated from university. You had no money, no car, no house, and not even a stable job.”
Fang Yuan nodded, not denying the destitute self he was four years ago as described by Jian Wei.
Jian Wei continued to press: “Do you really dare to forget how Yan Yan treated you back then?”
Fang Yuan tilted his head back, exhaled heavily, and painfully said: “She was the one constantly working her hardest to support me.”
Jian Wei scoffed: “Fang Yuan, let me remind you further. In university, Yan Yan was the captain of the school’s model team, the acknowledged beauty of the department, never lacking admirers. After graduation, during the most difficult times in your lives, do you know how many quality men she rejected for you?”
Fang Yuan looked at Jian Wei in astonishment.
“Didn’t she ever tell you these things?”
Fang Yuan shook his head.
Jian Wei shook her head too, her face filled with grief. After a long pause, she said: “That foolish woman must have kept it to herself so as not to burden you. In her eyes, you were a promising investment, the man she could rely on for her entire life… Yes, you have indeed achieved some success in your career now, but what have you done since then? You had an extramarital affair, seducing another woman. Fang Yuan, do you still have a conscience?”
Fang Yuan lowered his head, and tears from a man’s eyes dropped from his eyes…
Jian Wei still refused to let go. I shook my head at her, signaling her not to continue, because for a man, shedding tears was the harshest punishment he could give himself.
…
After a long silence, I finally patted Fang Yuan’s shoulder and said: “Start thinking about how to handle the aftermath.”
Fang Yuan, immersed in pain, finally snapped back to reality and, like a startled bird, grabbed Jian Wei’s hand, pleading incoherently: “Weiwei, please don’t tell Yan Yan about my infidelity. She won’t be able to bear it!… Please, okay? Please?”
Jian Wei shook off Fang Yuan’s hand, her tone resolute: “Yan Yan shouldn’t be kept in the dark about this matter because it’s the greatest betrayal to her.”
Fang Yuan’s face was full of helplessness as he looked at me again…
I felt torn inside because no matter whether we told Yan Yan or not, it would be a significant blow to her. After much deliberation, I finally asked Fang Yuan: “Tell me honestly, how do you feel about Mi Lan?”
Fang Yuan was silent for a long time: “I was just temporarily… temporarily bewitched, lusting after her youth and beauty.”
I nodded: “Would you divorce Yan Yan for her?”
“No, I’ve never thought about divorcing her.”
I turned to Jian Wei: “If Yan Yan knew about this, do you think she would divorce Fang Yuan or choose to continue living with him?”
Jian Wei replied sternly: “After giving so much for this scum, how could she bear to divorce him? Most likely, she would grit her teeth and endure.”
I looked at Jian Wei earnestly and said: “If Yan Yan had the determination to divorce him after knowing this, I would certainly not hide it for him. But if she couldn’t bear to, what would telling her achieve other than casting an indelible shadow over their future marital life?”
Jian Wei instinctively bit her lip, her expression complex, clearly caught in a struggle because of my words. After a full minute, she said to Fang Yuan: “Fine, I won’t tell Yan Yan, provided you quit your job at Zhuomei and completely sever all contact with that seductress.”
Fang Yuan looked at Jian Wei in shock, probably never imagining she would make such a demand…
Jian Wei urged: “What do you say?”
Fang Yuan suddenly painfully hugged his head, his voice soft yet heavy with oppression: “I just received my promotion notice today. I’m officially going to be the executive vice president of Zhuomei in Suzhou next month. Please don’t push me like this. Getting to this point has been really hard… If I have to quit my job at Zhuomei, there will be no place for me in the retail industry in Suzhou anymore.”
Fang Yuan’s words were sincere because he had originally jumped ship from Baoli Department Store to Zhuomei with Chen Jingming. If forced to leave now, he would have no foothold left in Suzhou’s retail industry.
I tried to reason again: “Whether or not he leaves Zhuomei isn’t the key to solving this issue. If he’s subjectively immersed in this immoral relationship and can’t extricate himself, even exiling him overseas won’t help!”
Jian Wei stood her ground: “I understand what you’re saying, but right now I just want to see his attitude.”
“Don’t do this, really don’t. You don’t understand how hard it has been for us at the bottom of society to get to where we are today. For Fang Yuan, this isn’t just a job; it’s four years of relentless effort and sacrifice.”
Fang Yuan looked at Jian Wei blankly, suddenly gritting his teeth and said: “You want to see my attitude, right?”
“Yes, I want to see your unwavering loyalty.”
Fang Yuan grabbed the table knife, closed his eyes, then spread his fingers and stabbed downward fiercely…
I broke out in a cold sweat because when a person closes their eyes, they have no sense of direction. Even with their eyes open, they might not accurately hit between the fingers. At this moment, Fang Yuan had been pushed to the brink of insanity by Jian Wei’s dominance, but I was already too late to stop him…
The table knife stabbed straight down, piercing the wooden table, blood flowing from between Fang Yuan’s fingers, trickling across the table toward Jian Wei…
“Are you out of your mind?” I said, pulling the knife out from between Fang Yuan’s fingers, then holding his wrist to examine the injury, feeling a heavy sense of relief. Fortunately, it was only the skin between his ring finger and index finger that had been pierced. Even so, I could faintly see the bone beneath the wound.
…
Outside the hospital building courtyard, I, Jian Wei, and Fang Yuan stood face to face. Fang Yuan, using his uninjured right hand to hold a cigarette, took a deep drag before asking Jian Wei: “Do you still doubt my sincerity now?”
Jian Wei’s demeanor finally softened somewhat. She sighed lightly and said: “I believe you care about Yan Yan. Let’s assume you were just temporarily bewitched by that woman…” She paused slightly before continuing: “Well, I hope you never forget this wound on your hand!”
Fang Yuan nodded, saying no more. He raised his hand to hail a taxi, which soon disappeared from my and Jian Wei’s sight.
The night deepened, and everything grew quiet. Jian Wei and I stood side by side, neither of us leaving immediately nor speaking.
In the endless silence, I felt strongly that today’s incident involving Fang Yuan also reflected my relationship with Jian Wei, but exactly how it did, I couldn’t quite put into words…
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