Ice is not averse to deception

However, what Zheng Jie didn't know was that in Sun Bing's eyes, he was nothing more than an old and immoral swindler.

So it's quite normal that Sun Bing's strange expression came when the scammers came knocking.

"You?" Sun Bing looked surprised. "What are you doing here? Are people in your line of work starting to come to people's homes now?"

Hearing Sun Bing's incoherent words, Zheng Jie wasn't surprised and continued, "I used to come here often, so I just stopped by to take a look."

Sun Bing mistook Zheng Jie for a swindler, while in Zheng Jie's eyes, Sun Bing was just a mentally ill patient whose mind was sometimes normal and sometimes deranged.

Therefore, upon hearing Sun Bing's incoherent words, Zheng Jie simply thought that these were symptoms of Sun Bing's illness.

Sun Bing couldn't help but ask, "Do you know Zhang Defa?"

Zheng Jie laughed: "I don't think anyone in Yanji doesn't know Zhang Defa, right? We're practically friends despite the age difference. Zhang Defa used to help me a lot, and I'm quite grateful to him."

Sun Bing wasn't surprised by this. After all, Zhang Defa could forgive even Xiaoman, who had slandered him, so it was only natural that he would help a thief reform.

"I'm helping you so you can walk the right path. I think you should change careers."

Sun Bing's random remark made Zheng Jie even more convinced that this kid was a lunatic. What conflict could there be between being a lawyer and walking the straight path?

Worried that Sun Bing might not believe him and cause a misunderstanding, Zheng Jie directly showed Sun Bing a photo of himself and Zhang Defa. Although the photo was old, it had to be said that young Zheng Jie did indeed have a shifty-eyed look, which made Sun Bing even more convinced that Zhang Defa had befriended this kind of person in order to help this bad old man reform.

In order not to provoke Sun Bing, Zheng Jie deliberately asked some questions he already knew, such as what Sun Bing was doing, why he was so interested in a half-finished ice sculpture, and what problems he was currently facing.

Sun Bing patiently replied that even if he was a professional swindler, he was still his godfather's friend.

However, they were clearly not close friends, and they didn't even know Zhang Defa's last wishes.

After chatting for a while, Sun Bing focused all his attention on his work. Zheng Jie's appearance also gave Sun Bing some impetus. People with timid personalities are more likely to care about their pride. He couldn't keep putting up with this stalemate and be looked down upon by a swindler. That would be terrible.

But when Sun Bing picked up the carving knife, he still seemed at a loss for where to begin.

Not wanting to disturb Sun Bing, Zheng Jie sat alone on a recliner in his studio and began recounting past events. Firstly, Zheng Jie already knew Sun Bing's identity, and knowing these past events would surely soothe her emotions. Secondly, he could vaguely guess some of the problems Sun Bing was currently facing, and he wanted to stir things up and add fuel to the fire.

"I remember Zhang Defa had two godson sons, and he mentioned them quite a bit before he passed away..."

Zheng Jie recounted the story in detail, and although Sun Bing did not interrupt, his attention was clearly drawn to the stories.

In fact, Zhang Defa had always cared about Sun Bing and Wu Dayong. After leaving Harbin, he secretly helped them a lot. Only now did Sun Bing finally realize that the mysterious birthday gift Nini received every year was actually from Zhang Defa. Even when Wu Dayong left Harbin for the south, Zhang Defa also asked people to help him a great deal.

None of that matters. What matters most is that Zheng Jie brought up the matter of successors.

"As a successor of the craft, no one expected Zhang Defa to choose his godson as the next successor of the craft. It was a bit of an emotional decision."

Hearing this, Sun Bing's eyes sharpened considerably, and she casually asked, "Why do you say that?"

  

Zheng Jie smiled and continued, "You don't know, Zhang Defa actually had many apprentices, each one outstanding. Whether in terms of skill, ability, or character, there were actually more suitable candidates. But this stubborn old man ultimately gave the inheritance of ice and snow sculpting skills to his godson. He's just showing favoritism!"

Hearing Zheng Jie say this, Sun Bing felt a faint sense of pride. Favoritism is still love, at least he knew that in Zhang Defa's heart, he, as Zhang's godson, still held some weight. Before, Sun Bing only felt that Zhang Defa made him the next inheritor of the craft because of the guilt he felt for leading him down this path of no return.

Looking back now, it was indeed my own petty thinking.

After a pause, seeing that Sun Bing still looked clueless and hesitant to ask, Zheng Jie simply took the initiative and asked, "Do you know why Zhang Defa chose his godson?"

Sun Bing didn't respond. He thought that if this person wanted to say something, he would definitely say it. He was just deliberately trying to pique Zheng Jie's interest. But in Zheng Jie's opinion, this was a reaction of mental illness.

"I asked Zhang Defa, and he said that for a qualified ice sculptor, skill and ability are secondary. If a person can truly find his original aspiration, he will definitely go through all kinds of hardships and have a pure and simple pursuit of the art of ice sculpting. In this respect, no one is more suitable than his godson."

After Zheng Jie finished speaking, he carefully observed Sun Bing's reaction, and Sun Bing took the initiative to speak for the first time.

"Did he really say that?"

With a dazed look in his eyes, incredulous and even somewhat disbelieving, Sun Bing certainly fit the state of a mental patient at this moment, but his heart had been touched.

"Some people do ice sculpting to make a living, some do it to earn money, and of course, some do it purely out of love," Zheng Jie continued, mimicking Zhang Defa's tone. "Zhang Defa said he didn't care if his apprentices saw ice sculpting as a way to make money. Only when you can eat your fill can you have higher aspirations. So no matter how his apprentices viewed the art of ice sculpting, Zhang Defa would teach them everything he knew. But when it comes to love, he knew that only one person could shoulder that responsibility."

Clearly, this person is Sun Bing.

Over the years, Sun Bing has experienced too many hardships and tribulations, which came from her family, her daughter, and the outside world, but without exception, they have tormented Sun Bing's heart at all times.

But one thing Sun Bing is certain of is that he has never given up his pure love for ice sculpture.

Although faced with a difficult life, Sun Bing had to choose to hide his passions and find a way to "get rich," his love for ice sculpture never wavered.

Just then, Zheng Jie noticed the carving knife in Sun Bing's hand and walked up to him, saying, "Is this carving knife Zhang Defa's? It was his most beloved carving knife when he was alive. So many apprentices wanted it, but he wouldn't give it to them. How did it end up in your hands?"

Faced with the questioning, Sun Bing seemed somewhat embarrassed and pointed to the cabinet next to her: "I took it from there."

Seeing that Sun Bing was about to put the carving knife back in its original place, Zheng Jie took the knife directly and said with a smile, "Zhang Defa had already decided who to give this knife to. He said that person would definitely be like him and carry on and develop the art of ice carving."

As he spoke, Zheng Jie disassembled the knife handle, revealing a line of small characters on the inside: "Presented to Sun Bing".

Seeing this, Sun Bing was dumbfounded. He had never known that in his godfather Zhang Defa's heart, he was so outstanding.

A strange emotion fermented within him, as if it instantly transported Sun Bing back to more than a decade ago, back to the state where he could spend an entire day in the freezing cold simply out of passion.

After handing the carving knife back to Sun Bing, Zheng Jie felt he had achieved his goal and turned to leave.

"etc."

Sun Bing suddenly stopped Zheng Jie and asked, "Is this really my godfather's idea?"

Zheng Jie smiled but didn't say anything; he simply gestured with his eyes towards the hilt of the knife.

When Sun Bing looked closely, he saw a line of small characters engraved on the hilt of the knife: "Presented to Sun Bing".

Sun Bing was momentarily dazed. He knew how important a carving knife was to a sculptor. He also understood the weighty purpose behind his godfather's gift of the carving knife to him.

This is not just an expectation, but also a continuation and inheritance.

After a long pause, Sun Bing spoke again, asking, "There's something I want to ask you. What happened to Xiaoman afterward?"

Upon hearing the name Xiaoman and seeing the open diary in the narration, Zheng Jie knew that Sun Bing had finished reading Zhang Defa's diary.

"Actually, her name isn't Xiaoman. Her name is Chen Li. Apart from me and Zhang Defa, no one knows her real name. By the way, she works at the Ice and Snow World now and is a pretty good ice sculptor."

After saying that, Zheng Jie turned and left the studio.

Sun Bing felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had been struck by lightning.

He had thought that Zhang Defa hadn't told the truth back then to protect Chen Li, but he never imagined that even in his own diary, Zhang Defa was still unwilling to reveal any information about Chen Li.

Just like Sun Bing's own life, even though Zhang Defa only existed for a very short period of time, he unsurprisingly left a profound mark on the world.