Hear this life

From Qiao Xingchu's perspective, he could only see Wen Tingli's profile for a moment, which had the most heart-warmingly beautiful lines he had ever seen.

He couldn't help but say: "Tingli."

Considering that Wen Desheng was downstairs, she did not close the door and walked straight behind Wen Tingli.

"I'm sorry...my mother shouldn't have humiliated you like that last night. I apologize to you on her behalf."

Wen Tingli sobbed in grievance. She was already good at pretending to cry, and now she was really sad. She was also worried about her and Qiao Xingchu's future, so her crying was filled with even more sorrow.

Qiao Xingchu turned to Wen Tingli's side and looked down at her. Seeing the crystal tears falling down like broken strings, he felt pain and guilt in his heart. He took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her tears.

Wen Tingli turned her head away.

Qiao Xingchu had no choice but to hold the wet handkerchief in her hand.

"I have a few words to say to you." That was all he said, followed by a long silence.

Wen Tingli felt like she had been waiting for a whole year, but still hadn't received any further news from Qiao Xingchu.

She couldn't help but look at Qiao Xingchu through her tears, and she realized that he looked very strange. He seemed to be struggling fiercely inside, with bitterness, regret... and even a little embarrassed.

She had never seen such a complicated expression on Qiao Xingchu's face. That kind of fatigue was as if he had just experienced a life-and-death war.

Finally, Qiao Xingchu seemed to have sorted out her thoughts and formally met Wen Tingli's gaze: "I was also surprised when I learned about this last night. Don't cry... My mother's mind is full of old ideas. She was afraid that I would hide it for you, so she didn't alarm me at first, but used her connections in Nanjing to inquire about your mother's past overnight. After she figured it out one by one, she told my grandfather first. I was caught off guard by her. The biggest problem right now is not her, but my grandfather."

He slumped his shoulders wearily. “My grandfather is very stubborn. No matter how I explained, he believed that you and uncle deliberately deceived me from the beginning.”

Wen Tingli was shocked: "I didn't!"

"Of course I know you didn't. I've been dating you for so long, don't I know your personality?" Qiao Xingchu raised her hand and touched Wen Tingli's head, forcing a smile, "But... it's a fact that my aunt used to be a prostitute."

Wen Tingli's eyes condensed into tears: "Do you look down on her too? This is not her fault. We can only blame this unreasonable society—"

Qiao Xingchu was silent for a moment, and then said in a reserved manner: "Aunt is Aunt, and you are you. I understand Aunt's difficulties back then, but I only love you."

Wen Tingli was shocked. Qiao Xingchu had received higher education, so he should be more tolerant than others in this matter, but he seemed unable to accept it at all...

No - everyone has his or her own stance, and she is willing to understand and respect his ideas. However, since he views her mother in this way, there is probably no way for the two of them to go on.

Seeing that she was angry and unwilling to speak, Qiao Xingchu couldn't help but feel pity for her: "Tingli, you know how much I love you..."

She didn't answer, so he sighed tiredly, retreated to the chair next to him, lowered his eyes to the ground and said, "My grandfather made his attitude clear last night. He said that he would never agree to me being with you, not only because of my aunt's matter, but also because he has already arranged a marriage for me."

Wen Tingli was shocked, and Qiao Xingchu smiled self-deprecatingly: "Since my father took over the family business, several factories have run into problems. Once the main funding is cut off, at least half of the family's cotton mills will have to close. In order to get some help for my father, my grandfather invited Shanghai celebrities in the name of a birthday banquet. Fortunately, he still has some face, and even invited people from the Lu family last night. On the other hand, I believe you have met Bai Liyun last night."

He lowered his head in embarrassment.

The Bai family and the Qiao family are old friends. Because he and Bai Liyun were born on the same day of the same month of the same year, the elders of the two families had half-jokingly arranged a marriage for him and Bai Liyun. However, due to the recent open-minded social trends, he and Bai Liyun did not take it seriously.

At the beginning of this year, the Bai family's foreign cigarette factory encountered great difficulties in operation due to the massive dumping of foreign businessmen (note). During this period, the Bai family asked the Qiao family for help. My grandfather took the initiative to mention the marriage between the two families. The Bai family knew many cotton yarn raw material merchants in Jiangsu and could help the Qiao family obtain high-quality and low-cost raw materials. The Qiao family owned a piece of land with a good location in the city, which was very suitable for the Bai family to build a factory and store.

If the two families can help each other, they will have no trouble getting through the difficult times.

His grandfather's suggestion made the Bai family agree. Last night, his grandfather celebrated his birthday, and the elders of the two families wanted to formally inform him and Bai Liyun, but he unexpectedly brought back Wen Tingli without saying hello.

He confronted his grandfather and father right there in the study, and his grandfather got so angry that he had chest pain, so he had no choice but to give in.

I wanted to wait and see, but my grandfather heard about Wen Tingli's mother and opposed it even more fiercely. He called a lawyer to come to the house overnight to draft an agreement: if Qiao Xingchu didn't marry Bai Liyun immediately, he would not only deprive Qiao Xingchu of her inheritance rights, but also make all the people in the eldest house not inherit a penny from him, and make them move out of the Qiao family immediately and not get involved in the factory's affairs in the future. Because of my father's failed investment, the elders of the second and third houses had long been secretly dissatisfied with their eldest house, and they often stirred up trouble in front of my grandfather. This time, it just broke out at the same time.

His mother was shocked and frightened, and pulled him aside: "Did you see that? For the sake of Wen Tingli, you have to force your father to death, right? And your sister, if you implicate her, she won't get a share of the family property. Don't you feel ashamed as a brother?!"

Wen Tingli was already half disappointed when she heard this. Qiao Xingchu lowered his head and finished speaking, sitting there in a trance. If he was only deprived of his inheritance rights, he would leave the Qiao family without hesitation, but how could he bear to implicate his parents and sister? Thinking of this, he wiped his face resolutely, stood up suddenly, and walked in front of Wen Tingli.

"So, you are here to say goodbye to me today?" Wen Tingli asked with a pale face.

Qiao Xingchu looked at Wen Tingli with unusual attachment, as if thousands of arrows were piercing his heart. He quickly made up his mind, took out a document from his arms, half-knelt in front of her and said, "Tingli, can you please give me a year? I don't love Bai Liyun. This marriage is just an exchange of interests. When the crisis between the two families is over, I will divorce her. I have opened two red wine factories in Hong Kong in the name of my friends. A year will be enough for me to start my own business. At that time, I will go through the divorce procedures with Bai Liyun and take you to Hong Kong. We will hold the wedding in Hong Kong."

Wen Tingli looked at the document in Qiao Xingchu's hand. It was a company registration certificate. The factory was located in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and the legal representative of the company was Qiao Xingchu. Her mind was in a mess. She looked at Qiao Xingchu in disbelief: "You mean to marry Bai Liyun first and let me... wait for you?"

Qiao Xingchu lowered his head and said in a hoarse voice, "There is no better way right now."

"Does Bai Liyun know about your plan?" Wen Tingli asked blankly, "Does she know that you plan to divorce her in a year?"

Qiao Xingchu said nothing.

It seems that she doesn't know. Wen Tingli still stared at Qiao Xingchu, but her eyes changed in an instant, as if she was looking at a stranger.

Qiao Xingchu was hurt by that look: "Tingli, don't look at me like that. She may not love me. The Bai family is in crisis. Only by marrying into the Qiao family can the two families put aside their concerns and cooperate. Bai Liyun herself is also very clear about this."

"Then why don't you tell her your plan directly?" Wen Tingli recalled the way Bai Liyun looked at Qiao Xingchu last night, and nodded as if she suddenly realized something. "You also know that she has a crush on you, right? This marriage may be just a transaction for you, but it clearly has other meanings for her. Have you ever thought that doing this is not fair to her at all, and besides..."

She said sadly and sarcastically, "Who am I? You're already married, but you want me to have a romantic relationship with you. Do you want me to be your mistress?"

"You are insulting yourself by saying this!"

"Who is mistreating me?" Wen Tingli continued, "You have become Bai Liyun's husband, and I have become the one who cannot be seen in public. From now on, I can only watch you from the corner. Every date between you and me is unethical. If someone accidentally sees us, do you know what kind of infamy I will bear?"

Qiao Xingchu interrupted her: "But do I have any other way?"

Wen Tingli paused in surprise.

"I promise you, I won't meet you in private for this year. I will let you down for one year, just one year! After one year, you and I will be legally married. You are not interfering in our marriage, and I have not betrayed my wife."

When he said this, Wen Tingli kept shaking her head with tears in her eyes. Even if he broke up with her directly, she would not be as sad and disappointed as she is now.

"This is betrayal! No matter what your purpose is in marrying Bai Liyun, she should be the only one in your heart from now on. You only think that you can get away after a year. Have you ever thought about the harm that filing for divorce will cause to Bai Liyun? What if she gets pregnant during this period, do you plan to give up your child? Or, if you can't bear to leave your family after all, will you come back and tell me not to wait for you anymore? Qiao Xingchu, you are so selfish. You only think about yourself from beginning to end!"

Qiao Xingchu's expression became increasingly uglier: "Tingli."

Wen Tingli pulled her arm out of his hand without hesitation.

"Go away! I will never hurt another innocent woman for my own selfish reasons. Our fate is over!"

She turned her back decisively.

Qiao Xingchu looked at Wen Tingli steadily.

(End of this chapter)