Chapter 19: The Taboo of the Lonely Goose (Part 1)

  Shi Wei narrowed his small eyes, imitating Jing Er's mannerisms. He clasped his hands together and bowed three times towards the still-burning paper money, then said: "Grandfather Su, we've burned some paper money for you to use in the afterlife. You can spend it however you like, and if it's not enough, just let us know in a dream and I'll immediately wire more over to you, heh heh." He turned his head and chuckled at Jing Er, saying: "Jing Er, do we need to recite any incantations or something? Teach me how!" Jing Er smiled faintly at him, her smile tinged with a hint of bitterness.

  After everyone finished bowing and returned to the dinner table, Shi Wei noticed that Jing Er and Qiu Ya looked very downcast. Feeling responsible for adjusting the atmosphere, he cleared his throat a few times and said: "Alright, now that we've completed the tribute to Grandfather Su, I have some latest news to share with you all. On September 30th, Lao Liu will be attending the completion ceremony of the Employee Entertainment Center building, and our public relations department has been tasked with selecting a group of beauties from within the company to serve as ceremonial ladies. This matter has been entrusted to me by Vice President Xue Bingying. Haha, after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, there will also be a banquet in the company cafeteria for the distinguished guests who come to offer congratulations." He glanced at Du Ci with a hint of pride and said: "Wife, do you understand what I mean?"

  Jing'er gently wrapped her arms around Qiu Ya. Since moving out of the villa, Qiu Ya had been suffering from insomnia, and Jing'er took on a caring role to comfort her and alleviate her inner pain. Every day, she would sleep with Qiu Ya, who had grown accustomed to Jing'er's warmth. Although Jing'er was younger, she seemed like an older sister to Qiu Ya, and the two of them always had endless topics to discuss in bed.

  Qiu Ya comfortably leaned against Jing Er's arm, twirling Jing Er's hair with her fingers, and said in a low voice: "Jing Er, you say Shi Wei wants both of us to be etiquette girls, standing beside his dining table, is this okay?"

  Jing'er saw through the dim red bedside lamp, clearly seeing the shy and tender expression on Qiu Ya's face, knowing how eagerly she was looking forward to that moment. Qiu Ya said she wanted to ask for her opinion, but in fact, she just hoped Jing'er would give her courage. After a brief thought, Jing'er gently touched Qiu Ya's arm and softly said: "Qiu Ya, I know you're suffering and eager to be with him now, but think about it, he's been completely absorbed in his crazy work state for the past year, not communicating with anyone, nobody knows what's on his mind."

  "Qiu Ya chimed in: 'I know what he's thinking, isn't he just eager to quickly establish his business empire?'"

  Jing'er pulled Autumn Leaf into her arms, smiled slightly and said: "Listen to me, he has long sleeves and is good at dancing, his eyes are sharp, he absorbs international capital, grasps promising projects, cooperates without extremely professional industry knowledge, but is skilled in avoiding business pitfalls. He generously raised employee salaries several times in a row, improved employee benefits, his actions earned him the respect of his opponents, won the admiration and fear of every employee in the group. Why can he achieve all this in just over a year?"

  "Of course, he's my Long Bao!" Xiaoyue said with a sweet smile. Jing'er felt extremely bitter in her heart, and her nose suddenly turned sour. She forced a smile and said: "Hehe, yes, now everyone thinks he has mysterious abilities, but they don't know that it's not about being mysterious, it's just that he sees through human nature and knows what people need and what they're worried about. He uses different strategies to achieve his goals based on the person he's facing. Basically, he's good at controlling everything and knowing how to grasp the right 'degree'. In other words, ordinary people can't hide their true intentions and secrets from him."

  "Qiu Ya was puzzled: "What does this mean?" Jing Er heard the words and suddenly felt a chill in her heart. She had spent months analyzing Long Biao's every move to Qiu Ya, but it seemed that Qiu Ya still didn't understand Long Biao's feelings at all. She couldn't even enter his inner world. How could she be so clueless about Long Biao? Why was she still infatuated with him? She sighed and explained: "Qiu Ya sister, my point is, we can't hide anything from him. Shi Wei's arrangements won't work, our every move now can't be hidden. If we really appear at his banquet table as the elegant lady, he'll definitely guess that it's Shi Wei's arrangement, guess your purpose."

  Qiu Ya rubbed her face against Jing Er's arm, looking a bit shy but also determined: "I just want to let him know my intention, I just want to tell him that I've been waiting for him for a whole year. This past year, I'd rather endure the torture alone than bother him, letting him focus on his work. Now it's time for him to think about me too."

  Jing'er felt her eyes getting moist, so she quickly fixed her gaze on the towel and took a deep breath before saying: "Autumn sister, I know that the most painful thing in this world is longing. I knew your pain back then, and now I also know his pain. We've been together for so long, how could I not know? But I feel like even though it's been a year, he still hasn't adjusted his mindset. If he had, he would have come looking for you already. Right now, I still think it's not the right time, we need to wait a bit longer..."

  Qiu Ya's shoulders moved slightly, and she seemed a bit unhappy. She said to Jing Er: "Jing Er, I know you also like Long Bao, but you don't need to block me like this. Long Bao is mine, and you promised me that you wouldn't compete with me for him. You only treat him as a good friend, so I consider you my best sister! Long Bao wants to marry me, and you used to say that his mental state wasn't good and he couldn't get in touch with emotions, or else it would make his illness worse. I listened to you, but now it's almost been a year, and he hasn't had an episode at all. Are you still blocking me because you're jealous of me?"

  "Autumn Ya, it's not what you think. I really feel that he hasn't adjusted yet. Think about it, Shi Wei has more opportunities to meet him and interact with his bodyguards, but none of them have ever heard him speak to Shi Wei in a friendly tone, let alone mention us. Doesn't this prove that his mindset is still the same? The psychiatrist we consulted in Beijing warned us that since we can't reveal his condition or give him a medical checkup, we must avoid stimulating him and wait for him to come to us on his own initiative. I'm telling you this not to stop you or out of jealousy, but for your own good and his. What if you lose control and make excessive gestures towards him, triggering his illness and causing it to spread? Can you imagine the terrible consequences?"

  Qiu Ya's expression relaxed, but she still said reluctantly: "Now the upper class of Hong Kong and Taiwan all know him. Shi Wei told me that several big shots want to marry their daughters to him, and he has also met so many star beauties. If I don't go after him now, what if someone else snatches him away?"

  Jing'er couldn't bear it anymore, and two tears rolled out of her eyes. She quickly pulled her arm out from under Autumn's neck, pretending to get up for a drink. She picked up the cup and took a light sip, and as she put it down, she swiftly wiped away her tears with her hand. Then, she turned around and adjusted the pillow, feeling that the tears had stopped. She turned off the bedside lamp, lay flat on the bed, and whispered softly: "Autumn sister, don't think wildly anymore. Long Bao isn't that kind of person. He's not someone who is infatuated with women and loses himself in pleasure. Didn't Shi Wei say that although he has met many starlets, his private life is absolutely clean and spotless? Moreover, if he had any scandals, wouldn't those Hong Kong gossip newspapers and paparazzi make a big deal out of it? Don't worry, be at ease."

  Qiu Ya felt a tinge of sadness in Jing Er's tone and realized that her previous words had been too harsh, hurting this good friend who had always been there to comfort and help her through the difficulties of missing someone. She quickly turned around and hugged Jing Er, stroking her back, and apologized: "Good Jing Er, I'm sorry, I was wrong earlier, I shouldn't have said that about you." After saying that, she kissed Jing Er's face and said, "Come on, let me give you a kiss to make up for it, okay?"

  Jing'er's tears fell down, and she quickly buried her face in the pillow, letting it absorb her tears. She said loudly: "Nothing, nothing."

  The lights were turned off, and the room was pitch black. Autumn Leaf couldn't possibly notice Jing Er's movements as she spoke to herself: "Sigh, this person has made me think so much, every day and night I'm dreaming of being with him. Sometimes I dream of wearing a wedding dress and marrying him in a ceremony hall, sometimes I dream of eating with him, sometimes I dream of him ignoring me, and sometimes I dream of him being beaten by others. I miss him too much, if you weren't with me, I wouldn't be able to live on. Really, Jing Er, I really feel like he's my everything, my soul. Love is really strange, in the face of love, life can be ignored..."

  Qiu Ya feared the heat, every night had to turn on the air conditioner. In the dark room, the sound of the air conditioner was transmitted, like a piercing electric wave that traversed the long night and the universe, and awakened all the helpless emotions deep in the soul. The dust floating in the air of this room must also be shaken and flying without trajectory. Under the trajectory were two breaths sorrowing for love.

  We are always commenting on love in the face of love, but we have not deeply and clearly realized that love is just our individual thoughts, and for the person we think about, we can only guess forever, at most adding hypothetical illusions. Some loves are too poisonous, hurting people's lungs, but can we choose to understand love? Can the chosen love still be love? We are clearly innocent, yet in the clear innocence, we make diagnoses for ourselves without knowing the consequences.

  The only thing left for this love tomorrow is a helpless wait, waiting for the future to bring about the appearance depicted in one's heart, and this arrival cannot be found anywhere.

  Jing'er tightly hugged Qiuya, hugging this girl who loved the same person as herself, hugging this girl who would commit suicide if she didn't have love. She was so bitter, knowing that Longbiao loved her, but she didn't dare to tell Qiuya - this person who should be her rival. Qiuya's personality was too strong-willed, and if she wasn't careful, she would lose her rationality. Once she found out about the situation, she would definitely force Jing'er to choose between death and loyalty. In order not to let the loved one who feared the curse get hurt again, and add this avoidable guilt, Jing'er could only pretend to ensure that this girl still had the hope of surviving with love.

  She knew that Long Bao was now in a dilemma, and the root of this emotion was because of that difficult choice. One was that he had promised Qiu Ya that he would marry her, and two was that he loved himself but was afraid that being with him would bring death to Qiu Ya. Of course, what made it even more difficult was his worry about the curse hurting those involved. However, this was something that had to be faced, a choice had to be made, whether it was marrying Qiu Ya or himself or not marrying anyone at all, which would hurt everyone, and this kind of hurt was something he couldn't bear. Because this lover cared more than anyone about emotions, promises, and the lives and happiness of others. But escape, escape, how far could one escape? Emotions were non-physical things that closely followed the spirit and soul, exceeding the limits of the physical body. Long Bao had already conquered life in the ordinary sense, but when facing emotions and the promises of emotions, did he only have to escape like this?

  Longwang, Longwang, do curses really exist? Even if they do, what's the point? You value other people's lives over your own emotions, but others also value their emotions over their own lives! Why don't you open up your heart and let us face it together with you?

  Facing this, even if the curse is lifted, what about Akiya who will die if she doesn't marry him? Can she opt out herself? And Ryōhane, would he agree to that? That night, that desolate and melancholic night...

  Actually, sometimes in the dark room, there will still be some bright lights, just like now Shi Wei opened the living room light, and the light will seep into the room through the door gap. This faint light will distort everything in the room, and the sound of Shi Wei's slippers kicking when he goes to the bathroom will also produce countless echoes in the room. He and Du Ci are really happy, just waiting for the Spring Festival to get married. They don't have to struggle with emotional hardships like him and Qiu Ya, this empty, dark house is a warm haven for them, not a devouring monster.

  The air conditioner always brings icy loneliness, like the edge of a cliff, shocking and falling abandonment, but forever is the soul that has nothing to do with abandonment.

  Is this possible? Jing'er was moved by Qiu Ya's generosity, but she couldn't help but ask herself such questions, and even imagined a scene where she would ask Long Bao. What does love really mean, she suddenly realized that she knew nothing about it at this moment.

  Long Bao and Jiao Siwei, Xue Bingying, Qian Yuhui, and Miss Hersley came out after attending the 50th anniversary dinner of a group. Xue Bingying suggested that everyone go to Lan Kwai Fong for fun and discuss the details of the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the employee recreation center building on September 30th.

  "Tomorrow I still have to meet with the CEO of Tengshi Group, and I need to go over those materials again with Manager Liu and the others. They're waiting for me, so I won't be going. You guys go ahead and play."

  Xue Bingying's face suddenly fell, and Hesi Li glanced at her watch before saying to Long Bao: "Chairman Long, I've come all the way from England and you haven't even welcomed me yet. Let's all go sit down together. With so many beautiful women accompanying you, you should have some gentlemanly demeanor!"

  Jiao Siyu looked at Long Bao's embarrassed expression and burst out laughing, saying: "Chairman Long, I've observed that for the past year, you never joke around with us, always talking about work, as if you want every single one of us to be like you, working 24 hours a day. If it weren't absolutely necessary, I think you wouldn't even attend these banquets. Whenever we mention having fun, your expression is forced, as if you're afraid of wasting your time. We're young people, we need to balance work and rest! How can you be like this? You should at least treat us, your subordinates who have worked hard for you for a year, to a meal!"

  Xue Bingying and He Silian smiled and said "right, right", Qian Yuhui showed a smile but didn't join in the laughter, possibly because she was worried about her two kids at home. Instead, she took out her phone to call home, then apologetically said: "I'm really sorry, my kid is not feeling well, I need to go back and take a look, you guys go ahead, we'll catch up tomorrow."

  After Qian Yu Hui left, Xue Bing Ying thought that Qian Yu Hui already had two children, and Long Bao had been ignoring her repeated emotional hints for a year. Although he didn't hook up with Qiu Ya, the opportunity for her to get close to him was extremely slim. Her father was still sometimes clear-headed and sometimes confused. She also thought about how she was forced to pretend to be friendly with Jiao Si Wei in order to create a harmonious environment for Long Bao, which made her feel unwell. Unable to hold back some resentment, she said: "Chairman Long, whether you go or not is up to you, I've already booked the room, you can just go and take care of your business, I'll come and entertain Miss He Si Li!"

  Hersley gave Long Bao a timely push, and after some thought, he felt that if he didn't agree, it would be too unreasonable. Although he really had no interest in going to those places, he might as well just go through the motions and take a look at this famous Lan Kwai Fong.

  Xue Bingying drove all the waitresses away, leaving the four group bodyguards guarding the door. In the room, there were only Long Bao and the three girls, and she began to drink French red wine while singing crazy songs.

  Long Bao looked around the room and Jiao Siwei raised his cup to ask, "Chairman Long, how's the environment here? The sound is not bad, right?"

  Long raised his glass and smiled, also clinking glasses with her and Hester, taking a sip before responding: "Yeah, the decor is really luxurious. I'm tone deaf when it comes to music, so I don't understand this sound system stuff, haha."

  Xialing laughed and said: "Chairman Long, what does this music illiterate mean? Don't speak Chinese too complicatedly, I don't understand."

  "Miss Hersley, your Chinese is much better than my English, haha. A music illiterate means having no musical cells, no musical talent, not understanding music, can't sing, and don't know how to appreciate music, haha."

  Xier shrugged and said, "Oh, that's what you mean? Well, in that case, I'm also illiterate when it comes to Chinese calligraphy. Chairman Long, how about this: your calligraphy is so good, I'll teach you how to sing and understand music, and you can teach me calligraphy. That way, neither of us will be illiterate!"

  Long Bao smiled and waved his hand, while Xue Bingying was actually perking up her ears to listen to their conversation, afraid that Long Bao wouldn't notice her. Before the song was even finished, she threw down the microphone and stepped forward, saying: "Chairman Long, what song are you singing? I'll give you a suggestion! Your voice is so magnetic, just like Jacky Cheung's, how about I suggest 'Love in the Web'?"

  Long Bao's eyes narrowed, what is wrong with Xue Bingying? If she doesn't hint at him for a day, he will feel uncomfortable in his heart! But on the surface, he still smiled and said: "Vice Chairman Xue, I really can't sing. I just know you guys sound good, but I don't know how you sang it out! Hehe."

  Hersley and Xue Bingying sang together "Kasablanca", Jiao Siwei whispered to Long Bao, who was somewhat absent-minded: "Chairman Long, the group has basically been formalized now, your influence in the group is also supreme, shouldn't you also fulfill our agreement?"

  Long Wan was momentarily stunned and replied blankly: "What agreement? Which company's agreement has not been fulfilled?"

  Jiao Siyu gave him a white eye, scolding: "You won't forget what you said, will you? You want to renege on your promise?" Long Bao concentrated his mind and thought for a moment before waking up, heh-heh laughing: "Oh, the thing you mentioned, I haven't forgotten, really, thank you for your efforts towards me and the group. Without your help, the development of the group wouldn't have been so smooth, at least it would have been delayed by two years. Your friends and classmates played a big role, heh-heh."

  Jiao Siwei stared at his eyes and nodded: "You still have a little conscience, knowing that I am fully cooperating with you to do things, now it's your turn to repay me?"

  He pulled out a cigarette, took a few heavy drags, then picked up his cup and took a sip of wine. As he put the cup down, he knocked against the fruit platter, spilling some wine. He pulled out a napkin to wipe his hand before saying with a chuckle: "Haha, but look at me like this, you want me to enjoy myself, I don't even know what that means. By nature, I'm not fond of eating, drinking, having fun, or fooling around. Even now, being in Lan Kwai Fong, I don't have any feeling about it. My mind is still on the company's affairs. Is this useful? In the end, you'll just be wasting your money and won't get any effect from me. Haha, why not try a different method?"

  Jiao Siwei couldn't figure out what Long Bao was thinking, but she firmly believed that Gu De Li and Lan Yan's analysis of Long Bao was correct. She had been following their plan step by step to gain Long Bao's trust. Although Long Bao currently had no chance of enjoying anything, he could still eat the same bad boxed lunches as ordinary employees. At least Long Bao had shown signs of caring about his appearance and matching it with his identity. When he returned to his hometown in a Rolls-Royce, he had a bit of a show-off attitude.

  Now all that was missing was the spark. Jiao Siwei asked him in a soft voice, "Chairman Long, are you going back on your word? Are you going to force me to leave the group after using me?"

  Long Bao said with a seemingly smiling yet not smiling expression: "I won't be such a petty person, will I?"

  Jiao Siwei said, "The group's affairs are almost done, the framework is all set up and only needs to be implemented step by step. The highway in your hometown is also under construction, and your alma mater has been renovated. The reservoir you want to build will also start construction at the end of the year. If it's inconvenient for you to use Mr. Lao's funds, I can sponsor you, and you won't have to worry about things at home anymore. If you still try to push me away, then you're just a petty person."

  Long Wan's fingers tapped the ash, and he couldn't help but laugh: "Alright, alright, you're quite formidable, every sentence of yours leaves me speechless. I won't be a petty person then. However, Vice Chairman Jiao, you said you came to support me, but I really can't accept it. My own money is almost enough for these things. Hehe."

  "Ah, now this is more like it! Don't worry, I absolutely won't take up your precious work time. However, you can't just refuse without reason either. We'll both keep our promises and do things accordingly. Whoever breaks the promise will be a turtle or a little dog."

  Jiao Siwei's expression and posture were like those of a lover quarreling with herself, and Long Bao felt a sudden pang in his chest, as if he had experienced a long-forgotten sensation. Ah, yes, repaying the kindness to his hometown and to Qian Lao only required time and effort, but he had personally caused her father's death, and that debt was still unpaid. Moreover, there was also the kindness of Xue Zong that had not been reciprocated yet, and now was the time to do so. Besides, her way of resolving hatred was completely bloodless, it was just a test of his willpower, what's the big deal? He didn't care, naturally he wouldn't have those "five sounds, five colors, five flavors" **, whatever.

  Long Bao nodded at Jiao Siwei, then turned his head to watch the TV screen. On the screen was a lone water bird flying in the sky, its wings flapping one by one, as if it could truly feel its determination and pride, and as if it could clearly hear its chirping calls echoing through the frosty morning air.