Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 096

Chapter 96 ☆, The Time It Takes To Make a Bowl of Plain Noodles.

Love was often accompanied by pity, but pity and compassion complement each other, making it hard to believe that this was pure love.

In the years of tug-of-war with Zheng Zaochuan, Xin Xin, like pulling out a buried thread, gradually unraveled the mystery and finally saw the real him.

Beneath his nonchalant and carefree exterior lay a wary heart, always ready to start over.

This kind of vigilance was not a vigilance that was ready to give up everything at any time, but a vigilance that was ready to be given up at any time.

He never believed that stable love could exist in this unstable world.

Xin Xin warned him, “If you’re ever planning to leave without saying goodbye, you can leave now. Don’t wait until one day, when we encounter any problems or conflicts, for you to disappear from the world.”

Zheng Zaochuan could almost be described as obedient: “I will not.”

Although he was still smiling, his eyes were slightly red, and his tone was both pleading and threatening. “Xin Xin, you have had countless opportunities to give up on me, but you haven’t. You know, saying this gives me the illusion that you will never leave me.”

Xin Xin tilted her head, thought for a while, and then hugged him comfortingly. “Zheng Zaochuan, I’m an ordinary person. The kind of ordinary person who could be hit by any random stone falling on him in a city. I have never had any surprises in my life, except for you.”

She believed in stable love.

In Xin Xin’s eyes, in her twenties, a stable partner should have a high level of education, a stable job, a good family, and an ordinary life.

In Xin Xin’s view on choosing a partner, there was no such thing as an accident.

But during her relationship with Zheng Zaochuan, she inexplicably found the courage to pay the price for love.

Even if this person might become the only unstable factor in her life, she was still willing to take the risk.

Zheng Zaochuan was different; he used all his life experiences to fight against his turbulent and unpredictable life. His life was full of unexpected events, and he treated every ordinary day as a challenge.

He didn’t know when it started, but Xin Xin went from being a business partner to a friend and became the only person he could rely on.

This dependence already terrified him, even before any substantial commitment was made.

In his repeated attempts and retreats, he imagined the pain of losing Xin Xin. It was as if there was a scale in his heart, one end marked by the thought of losing her and the other by the thought of worrying about losing her every day for the rest of his life.

In the end, he still couldn’t accept losing her and could only choose to continue embracing her with trepidation.

Xin Xin understood all of this, but she refused to accept it. In love, she could forgo security and stability, but she had to have fairness.

“No matter whether a person’s poor or rich, or what circumstances they face, the risks are the same for everyone when it comes to love. The risk you bear is that one day I will stop loving you. The risk I bear is that one day you will stop loving me. Zheng Zaochuan, I cannot cure you; you can only get through this on your own. Otherwise, we can only separate.”

Zheng Zaochuan’s long-standing inner conflict would not be easily resolved, but with Xin Xin was support, he had gained boundless courage.

He was tenderly abandoned as he knelt and begged his mother not to leave.

Just when he thought he had a new family, a loving mother and sister, this sister treated him like a broken toy. Whenever she was unhappy, she would tell her father, “I don’t like him anymore; kick him out.”

He did try, clumsily preparing small gifts and honing his culinary skills to cook for his family. But it was all in vain. Everyone loved him when they needed him but abandoned him when they did not.

Money was the only stable factor.

But Xin Xin didn’t even want his money.

Zheng Zaochuan was at a loss, but there was nothing he could do. He bought jewelry for Xin Xin and secretly placed it in her jewelry box.

Xin Xin initially didn’t want to refuse his kindness, but as the jewelry box accumulated more and more extravagant pieces that she would never be able to wear in her entire life, she had to stop him.

“Stop buying me jewelry.”

Zheng Zaochuan was cooking when he seemed to pause for a moment but quickly regained his composure and casually asked, “You don’t like it?”

Xin Xin pondered for a moment, unsure how to be a good girlfriend without spoiling the mood. “I like these things, but I don’t have any occasions to use them.”

Zheng Zaochuan breathed a sigh of relief and assured her, “I will definitely take you to any banquets in the future.”

Xin Xin refused, saying, “My work’s already saturated; all I want to do when I get home is lie down.”

She helped serve the food and took the opportunity to kiss Zheng Zaochuan’s lips. “It’s okay. Although I don’t need it, I can give everything to our daughter in the future. Then we can say that Dad bought it for her, and she will be happy.”

Zheng Zaochuan’s hand holding the soup trembled slightly, and large tears fell into the soup without hesitation.

Xin Xin never expected him to react so strongly. She quickly took the soup and placed it on the table, exclaiming in shock, “Why are you crying?”

Wasn’t this just a perfectly normal joke between couples?

Zheng Zaochuan hugged her, as if he were melding her into his own body.

“Let’s get married, okay?”

This time, Xin Xin didn’t hesitate and responded very readily, “Okay.”

Xin Xin only told her parents and Mary about her marriage.

Zheng Zaochuan found it difficult to persuade his mother to attend their wedding. After visiting Xin Xin, Zheng Zaochuan’s mother realized that she couldn’t keep Zheng Zaochuan in their home forever, and she very rationally threatened him.

“The fund’s not enough, so you need to make proper arrangements for me and Xibei. Once you meet our needs, we will not bother you anymore. You can tell others that your family members have all passed away. Otherwise, as you know, if you get married, I cannot guarantee I will not go to Miss Xin’s parents and tell them some things about your childhood.”

Zheng Zaochuan told Xin Xin the truth about this. Xin Xin had become immune to Zheng Zaochuan’s unreasonable family relationships and personally negotiated with Zheng Xinran.

This not only demonstrated that the foundation would take responsibility for supporting her but also indicated that the money in the foundation was more than enough for her and Xibei to live on.

Xin Xin took the opposite approach. Under Zheng Xinran’s coercion, she played the reverse threat card: “Auntie, Zheng Zaochuan and I are not public figures. At most, you can make us a little uncomfortable, but Xibei’s a celebrity. We can ruin her forever.”

Zheng Xinran backed down.

Human emotions were strange. Zheng Xinran, such a selfish and self-serving mother, poured so much heart and soul into a daughter who wasn’t her own.

After a moment of silence, Zheng Zaochuan said out of the blue, “She only has one child, Xibei.”

Xin Xin understood this kind of pain, but she didn’t believe that such a person could give others healthy love.

“Xibei’s not her child but a version of herself that she imagines. In essence, she doesn’t love her but loves the illusion she has.”

If Zheng Xinran hadn’t married Zheng Zaochuan’s father, she might not have been so successful. But because of this relationship, she could conveniently attribute her lack of success to marriage and her child.

After meeting Xibei’s father, her career was ruined, and she was forced to become a parasitic vine.

But Xibei gave her the possibility of continuing her dream.

This little girl who depended on her had the same superficial personality, the same frivolity, and the same self-centeredness. She saw the continuation of her own life in another life that had nothing to did with hers.

Xin Xin said to Zheng Zaochuan with certainty, “This isn’t parental love. If parents demand that their children completely obey their lives, it’s not love; it’s destruction.”

At the same time, Xin Xin felt no guilt whatsoever and did not lie to her parents.

Upon learning that she was going to marry Zheng Zaochuan and that his parents had passed away, Xin Xin’s parents became worried. They would ask about the details from time to time, trying to calm their anxiety.

Zheng Zaochuan overheard Xin Xin talking to his parents on the phone and portrayed him as an inspirational young man who overcame hardship by working part-time after his parents’ unexpected death. Whether Xin Xin felt guilty or not, he was incredibly guilty.

“Isn’t it wrong of you to lie to them like this?”

Xin Xin lifted her eyelids to look at him. “My parents are so old; they just want to live a peaceful life for a couple of days. They cannot accept these things. If they found out, they would probably cry, make a scene, and even threaten to hang themselves to force me to break up with you.”

Zheng Zaochuan remained silent. “I’m sorry.”

Xin Xin was puzzled. “What’s there to apologize for?”

There was nothing inherently wrong in the world; it was only the mediocre who created their own troubles. As long as one masters the art of getting by and muddling through, there was nothing that cannot be solved.

Since marrying Han Canghai, Mary and Han had been inseparable. Mary read her history books while Han went surfing. Their appreciation and tolerance for each other had only increased.

Upon learning that Xin Xin was planning to get married, Mary strongly supported her, saying, “Go ahead and get married. Once you’re married, you will realize that everything you’ve been thinking was just wishful thinking. Whether a marriage is good or bad is all in the hands of fate, and everyone will reach their destiny precisely.”

The free-spirited Mary met the rigid and pedantic Han Canghai, and both of them enriched each other’s lives. Mary developed excellent calligraphy skills, and Han Canghai even learned to swim and developed a habit of exercising.

Xin Xin was a little envious. “That’s great. All we can do is work and eat.”

Mary smiled. “The essence of life is nothing more than work and eating. What more could you want?”

The summer air was humid and stuffy. After ending her call with Mary, Xin Xin looked up and saw a faint light coming from the window. Zheng Zaochuan had already gone home; he was probably watching an old movie in his dimly lit room again.

“I’m back.”

Zheng Zaochuan, who was sitting on the sofa, rubbed his eyes and stood up. “I came back too late today and didn’t cook, so we can only eat takeout.”

As Xin Xin changed her shoes, she asked, “Okay, what do you want to eat? What are you looking at?”

Zheng Zaochuan offered her suggestions while scrolling through his phone: “Claypot rice? Spicy hot pot?”

Xin Xin thought for a while, then said, “Never mind, it will be a while anyway; I’ll just make some noodles.”

Zheng Zaochuan readily agreed.

It felt like they were still in Xin Xin’s small rented apartment, the two of them each with a bowl of plain noodles, huddled in the dimly lit living room watching TV. At that moment, Xin Xin thought that if this was her destiny, it didn’t seem so bad.