Chapter 111 Reality, The End of the Place

  The mother of Jingyun, Ma Cuifang, sat in front of her husband's tombstone in the public cemetery for a whole night, sometimes crying and sometimes talking to herself.

  Zhang Shidong draped his clothes over Ling Yun's body and held her, sitting on the distant stairs until dawn.

  Until the sun drove away the thin fog of dawn and began to melt the accumulated ice and snow, Ma Cuifang dragged her tired and cold body out, with a decadent chill all over her body. It's strange that she can be fine after such a night at her age. Seeing Zhang Shidong and Ling Jingyun, she was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head, with a hint of guilt, and walked past the two of them.

  A woman of extreme character, her whole life only recognized one thing, and her life was only lived for one thing, just for one person. As for her daughter, she only felt guilty, this guilt made her choose to ignore.

  Jingyun held back her tears, stood up with a scowl, and walked out in a daze. Her mother's choice, she had known for years, always hoping that one day this would still be a home, not just a cold temporary residence. Years have passed, but her dream has not come true. After Father left, Mother also left, leaving behind only an empty shell.

  She fulfilled love, but forever lost everything, and there was nothing worth cherishing in her life anymore.

  "Auntie, get on the bus, it's cold this morning."

  Sitting in the warm car, Ma Cuifang never looked up. What she felt guilty about was not owing anything, but being unable to turn back. All these years, she had witnessed her daughter's hardships, but was powerless to help her. The meaning of life had been lost, leaving only bitter endurance.

  Jingyun hesitated again and again, several times wanting to speak out but being interrupted by Zhang Shidong. This time the hurt was too great, she couldn't bear it anymore, years of pent-up frustration and anger were about to burst out. She could no longer hold back, she had completely collapsed.

  It's been years, she persisted and endured, but in the end, nothing has changed.

  She sat up straight, her eyes fixed on the front, tears streaming down from her eye sockets, her expression indifferent. Nothing is more sorrowful than a dead heart. Even if it's a biological mother and daughter, it's impossible to maintain emotions just because of blood ties. Years of dedication yielded nothing, shouldering family responsibilities at a young age, what was the result? Still indifference, still...

  In the small hut of only a few square meters, Jingyun shrank into the quilt, his body trembling. The mood of perseverance was ups and downs throughout the night. After entering the house from the warm car to the cold environment, he persisted in making a fire in the stove, and then collapsed.

  Ma Cuifang still didn't say a word, and after returning home, she went straight to her room. She had long been fearless in the face of illness, and the cold house was nothing to her. She burrowed into her bed and continued her own contemplative life.

  Zhang Shidong hugged Lingyun, feeling that the other person's trembling was not just due to the cold, but more because of the great sorrow in her heart. He gently patted her back, at this moment any words were pale. Having such a family could only be said that Lingyun's fate was too tragic. Bitterness and poverty are nothing to fear, as long as the mother and daughter can rely on each other and move forward together, at least their hearts will be warm. But Ma Cuifang's heart remained with her husband, the glory of maternal love had not overcome the longing for romance.

  Tears moistened Zhang Shidong's pants and socks, as the gradually warming room allowed physiology to triumph over psychology, causing Yunyun to fall asleep in a daze. In her dream, her body curled up, motionless, on the single bed that was too big for her petite frame, occupying only half of it. Her hands hugged her knees tightly, sleeping more soundly as she shrunk tighter. The strong-willed girl refused to rely on others' help yet had no sense of security whatsoever; at least until today, her life had been a tragic one.

  Gently covering her with the quilt, Zhang Shidong felt the temperature in the room and let out a sigh. He gently pushed open the door and walked out. In the kitchen, Ma Cuifang was putting pieces of coal into the stove. Seeing Zhang Shidong, her apathetic eyes showed a hint of spirit: "Come in and sit down."

  Not avoiding Zhang Shidong's presence, Ma Cuifang took advantage of the fire burning water to enter the house, poured a cup of water for him, and shrank into the thick quilt, leaning against the over one-meter-high heating wall, his teeth chattering up and down: "Can you take care of her?"

  "He thought for a moment and nodded: 'She is my friend.'"

  Ma Cuifang sighed and shrank her body, no longer speaking.

  Is a mother who can only let go of her emotions when her daughter is away on a business trip really that heartless?

  After a long while, Ma Cuifang's face flushed with an unusual redness as she opened her mouth: "When Old Master left, he told me to take good care of Xiaoyun and watch her get married. I persisted, but I couldn't do it."

  Zhang Shidong took out a cigarette and, seeing that Ma Cuifang didn't mind, lit one: "How did Uncle leave?"

  One sentence made Ma Cuifang's tears roll down, and after Zhang Shidong finished a cigarette, she slowly opened her mouth: "I know she hates me and blames me, I do too. The old master had an accident because of continuous overtime to take time off with her to play by the sea. At that time, I was about to collapse, and I didn't even dare to look at her, afraid that I would do something. I am a good wife, but I am a woman who is destined to be scolded by everyone and not qualified to bear the word "mother".

  Wow!

  Life is unfair to Jingyun, and life is also unfair to Cuifang. If the pillar of this family did not collapse, it would be a harmonious and beautiful family. The man who supported the lives of two women left prematurely.

  Zhang Shidong looked at Ma Cuifang with a sorrowful expression, this was an incurable woman, and there was no spiritual medicine in the world that could save her. Living was the greatest torture for her.

  Ma Cuifang also looked at Zhang Shidong, her eyes full of pleading, the simpler a person is, the more accurate they are in reading others. She believed that Zhang Shidong was a man who kept his promises, and she hoped he could give her a promise, allowing her to put down her own promise.

  "I'll find her a good place to settle down, I can't promise marriage, nor can I promise love. Auntie, you know better than me that those things require mutual feelings from both parties. The only thing I can promise is my presence, no matter what happens, I will always be by her side, protecting her, even just as a brother."

  Every word, Zhang Shidong spoke with great force, biting heavily, striving to make every word clear and distinct for Ma Cuifang to hear.

  "Auntie is tired, Auntie wants to sleep. Oh, right, can you help Auntie get this? My head doesn't feel comfortable." Ma Cuifang was like a balloon filled with air, and when someone opened a small hole, the air that came out made her whole body relax, her face became even more rosy, and her spirit lifted instantly, without any sign of illness. From under the pillow, she pulled out an old-fashioned iron sugar cake box from under the bedding and handed it to Zhang Shidong. She snuggled into bed, closed her eyes...

  Zhang Shidong walked forward, looking at the face with closed eyes, calm, peaceful, relieved, and let go.

  He was tucked into a corner and even reached out to tidy up Ma Cuifang's loose hair that had fallen over her forehead.

  He lit a cigarette and Zhang Shidong pushed open the door and walked out. In the stove pit, a woman was still squatting, filling in small pieces of coal.

  Zhang Shidong stepped forward, tightly embracing Lingyun, pressing her head into his chest, and letting her face stick closely to his. He smelled the fragrance of shampoo in her hair and murmured, "From now on, I'll take care of you."

  "I really can't hold on anymore, I'm really unable to hold on. Can I lean on your shoulder? In Zhang Shidong's arms, Lingyun wiped away her tears, wiped away her snot, and wiped away the deepest weakness in her heart. The persistence of several years was destroyed by a crushing blow, now she just wants to take a good rest, give up all her persistence, live a little more easily, live that kind of life that many people have been advising her for a long time."

  ………

  Ma Cuifang left to pursue her love, lying there, her heart automatically stopped beating, very peaceful, with a stiff smile on her face.

  The funeral was simple, and over the years, Lingyun had slowly spent the compensation money on his family and mother. Relatives and friends didn't make much of a fuss, except for a few close relatives who came to pay their respects, and only the neighbors from around the area showed up. Ah Guang arranged the funeral in an orderly manner, simple yet not shabby. Facing some people's whispers and pointing fingers, Lingyun seemed oblivious, wearing a black female western-style suit, her medium-length hair tied back, and sunglasses that made it impossible to see her expression. She stood beside Zhang Shidong like a wooden puppet, looking at the two names on the tombstone as she placed a bouquet of flowers on it.

  Ah Guang and his underlings' showy display, as well as Zhang Shidong's Q7, had some poor neighbors and foul-mouthed relatives secretly gossiping. In the past, Yunhuan was afraid of such gossip, but now she suddenly found herself fearless, with nothing left to be afraid of.

  After leaving the cemetery, Zhang Shidong drove with Lingyun to a famous hair salon in the city. He untied her long hair and pointed at a hairstyle model on the wall, saying: "From today on, your long hair will not flutter for anyone!"

  P.S: Thanks for andy chen's reward!

  PS2: I'm going to die, I actually forgot to update in the afternoon, this habit is too terrible. Work hard on writing, strive for an extra update tonight!