I had a relationship with a female hiker while hiking in the deep mountains.
It was the first day we met.
It was also the first day of the nightmare.
01
After more than six hours of mountain hiking, we were exhausted, but the team leader insisted on climbing to the top of the mountain to set up camp.
When night fell, we realized how wise this decision was.
The Dabie Mountain area at the junction of Hubei and Anhui has the last primeval forest in East China.
The mountains stretch for miles, and the starry sky is boundless. Looking up at the bright night sky from the top of the mountain is extremely romantic. All the fatigue of the day was worth it at that moment.
The local guide brought homemade wine and a small guitar and sang us a song he wrote himself. The song title was very rock – n – roll, called “There Are No Good People in This World”. We sat in a circle, drinking and singing, as if all our troubles didn’t exist in this world.
Not until late at night did we each return to our tents to rest.
And then, she came.
She quietly opened my tent, and a faint, charming fragrance immediately filled the small space.
She must have just sprayed perfume. After a long day of trekking, there couldn’t be any fragrance left on her body.
“Are you asleep?” she asked as she sat down beside me.
My originally hazy drowsiness completely disappeared, and I sat up and looked at her.
There were five men and three women in our group, and she was the most special one.
With a slender face and delicate features, wearing a pink baseball cap, she looked both youthful and mysterious.
A pair of straight long legs were wrapped in tight jeans, and the faintly visible white skin and ankles were unforgettable.
More importantly, she sang very well, and she was as proficient in English songs as in Chinese ones.
But I knew that today we were just a group of strangers who happened to come together for a trip temporarily and there wouldn’t be any follow – up stories.
So I just appreciated her. Traveling with a beauty made the scenery even more charming.
I never thought that at this moment, she would actually take the initiative to sit beside me, and her profile was enchanting under the dim night – light.
“Do you want to have a go?” she asked.
“Have… have a go at what?” My heart was pounding. Subconsciously, I knew what she wanted to do, but I didn’t dare to think in that direction.
She took off her hat, shook her hair, and the air suddenly became gentle.
“If you hesitate any longer, you’ll miss the chance.” She moved closer to me.
Her eyes were very big, just like the stars that could be seen when looking up.
“Isn’t it inappropriate… The tents are so close.” I didn’t refuse. I couldn’t deny that I was itching with excitement at this moment. I wasn’t an enlightened monk and couldn’t remain calm.
“Accompany me to look at the stars again.” She blew a puff of hot air into my ear. “There’s a hillside right behind your tent.”
After saying that, she gave me a sweet smile and got out of the tent.
I wanted to calm down, but I couldn’t.
In the wild mountains, we met by chance and just wanted a moment of passion.
We didn’t even know each other’s names.
I opened the sleeping bag and quietly slipped out.
02
The camp was quiet. The moonlit night and the stars shone brightly, making the surroundings cold and white.
I walked towards the back of the tent by the moonlight. After a few steps, there was indeed a gentle slope. She was half – lying on the ground, with a night – light beside her, looking at the distant night sky.
The scene was beautiful.
I looked back. This hillside just blocked the camp, and the distance was far enough.
I didn’t know why I was doing this, as if I was very experienced.
I walked towards her. When I got closer, I found that just a few meters ahead of the gentle slope was a cliff, and I could vaguely hear the gurgling sound of water below.
“It’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen such a beautiful starry sky.” As soon as I sat down, she nestled into my arms and murmured.
I no longer had any scruples. I gently put my arm around her shoulders, and my hand naturally dropped onto her chest.
We were like a couple who had been in love for a long time. We said simple words with our mouths, but our bodies were wantonly intertwined. The evening wind in the mountains seemed to carry a strong smell of hormones, stirring up the desires in our hearts.
The moment our lips touched, I decided. Forget about love and marriage. Life is short. Why not indulge just this once?
With the starry sky as the quilt and the earth as the bed, we, like dry wood meeting fire, had a relationship.
She was very unrestrained.
During the intense moment, she was dancing with excitement, and I completely let go of the tension of being discovered and unbridledly released my wildness.
Afterwards, we lay side by side, feeling the breeze of the mountains passing through the gaps in our bodies.
“Maybe I’ll only come here once in my life. I have no regrets.” she said softly.
I smiled bitterly. “Don’t be sentimental yet. I have some bad news to tell you.”
She showed a look of horror and looked around.
“Don’t scare me.”
I pointed to the cliff and said, “You were too excited just now and dropped your phone down.”
“Ah?” She got up and rushed towards the cliff. I quickly grabbed her and pulled her back into my arms.
“It’s too dangerous. I’ll accompany you to look for it when it gets light, but the hope is slim. And even if we find it, it’s probably broken.”
She gave me a disappointed look and shrugged, expressing helplessness.
“I’m in trouble without my phone.”
“Without a phone, you still have me, don’t you?”
She put on her clothes and stood up, gave me a look, and her attitude suddenly turned cold.
“It was just for fun. You don’t need to take any responsibility.”
03
In the morning, the team leader woke everyone up and told us that today’s journey was not long, and we could walk slowly and enjoy the scenery.
She raised her hand timidly and said that she dropped her phone off the cliff while answering the call of nature last night and wanted to go down the mountain to look for it.
This kind of situation of changing the itinerary temporarily was always hated by the team leader at any time. As expected, the team leader frowned as soon as she finished speaking.
Fortunately, the local guide said that it wasn’t difficult to go down the mountain, but there was a small stream at the bottom of the cliff. Even if the phone wasn’t broken, it was likely to be washed away, and the hope of finding it was slim. But he was willing to lead the way, and the others could continue to move forward with the team leader. We could meet at the next village.
As soon as I heard this, I immediately volunteered to go with the local guide, so that two men and one woman could take care of each other easily.
The team leader agreed. So the eight of us split into two teams. The local guide took her and me down the cliff from the back, and the team leader took the others along the original route.
She gave me a look. The expression was neither like gratitude nor resentment. In short, it was very complicated.
However, her face and figure were really amazing. In this desolate place, she was as fresh and refined as a fairy.
As we went down the mountain, we listened to the local guide telling local stories, and an hour or so passed unconsciously. As the sound of the stream became clearer, we finally reached the bottom of the cliff.
Unexpectedly, the phone, which we thought had little chance of being found, was actually lying in front of us.
The body was bent, the screen was shattered, and it was soaked in water, stuck in the crevice of the cobblestones.
Fortunately, the stream water was extremely clear and transparent, and the phone looked very out of place sinking in it.
I picked up the phone and handed it to her. She pressed it repeatedly, but the phone didn’t respond.
“Keep it as a souvenir. It wasn’t a waste of a trip.” The local guide said regretfully. “We can also walk to the next village along the stream. In fact, this was originally a hiking route, but it’s not safe during the summer rainy season. You might as well experience the hidden route.”
She put the phone in her backpack, looked at me, and said, “Don’t lose me.”
To be honest, at that moment, I really thought there was another meaning in her words.
But I didn’t dare to think about it or look her in the eye.
I had a wife. We had been married for five years.
04
In the following days, our group crossed one mountain forest after another, climbed over one nameless mountain after another, sang songs and played games, but we never camped in the wild again.
In recent years, the economy in the mountainous area has developed well. There are villages one after another, and the conditions are good. There is really no need to stay in the wild just to sleep in a tent.
I don’t know why, but I was always particularly sensitive to the accommodation location. Whenever I heard which village we were staying in tonight, I would feel an inexplicable sense of loss.
Except for knowing her name was Shen Xitong when we were staying at the accommodation, I had no new interactions with her.
Four days later, we arrived at the terminal of this trip, a county in the old revolutionary base area.
The final ceremony organized by the team leader was a lunch at a farmhouse. After this meal, it meant that the hiking was officially over, and then everyone could decide whether to leave or stay on their own.
Everyone was very excited, talking about their feelings during the six – day hike, but I was absent – minded.
She didn’t come.
I ate a few bites hastily and then left. I walked around the restaurant a few times and finally found her on the railing on the rooftop.
She was wearing headphones, her mouth opening and closing, and her legs were hanging in the air, swinging back and forth.
After hesitating for a long time, I walked over.
When she saw me, she took off her headphones and smiled, saying, “Thank you. I’ve eaten and spent your money these days.”
I said calmly, “It’s okay. It’s what I should do.”
“What I should do?” She showed an incredulous expression. “That’s what you should do for your wife. What am I to you?”
She actually knew I had a wife. I suddenly felt a bit ashamed.
“When you took out your wallet to pay, I saw a photo of a woman in it. She’s very beautiful.” She said. “And there’s a mark of a ring on your ring finger.”
I smiled awkwardly.
“What’s wrong? Feeling guilty?” She stared at me. “Is it towards her or towards me?”
“Don’t ask anymore.” I sat on the railing like her and no longer concealed it. “I can only see her once every four months, and each time it’s no more than 48 hours. It’s been like this for five years. I might as well not have gotten married.”
“I see…” She leaned closer. “So… do you want to have a go again?”
My heart, which was already hanging, immediately rose to my throat again.
“Dream on, ha…” She covered her mouth and laughed, like a teenager. “Can you do me another favor?”
“What?”
“Buy me a phone. Otherwise, I can’t even go home.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Sure. There’s a mall in the county. I’ll buy you whatever you want.”
“To be honest, you’re not bad.” She squinted her eyes and looked me up and down. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not about you buying the phone. Your guitar – playing is good, your singing is good, and… other things are good too.”
05
With a complicated mood, I left the county and went home.
The house was still empty.
I never thought that I would have a day of betraying my marriage.
My wife Chen Yiqing and I were college classmates. Just like the model of campus love stories, we were enviable from any angle.
She was an all – around top student, and I was an artistic prodigal.
She was the president of the student union, and I was the captain of the band.
She could write articles and often publish them; I could write songs and often perform.
There was no suspense at all when we got together.
We got married two years after graduation. Her career developed rapidly. After marriage, she was transferred to an overseas branch. Then she had three consecutive promotions at work and became a senior executive before she was 30. She only came back three or four times a year, and each time was no more than three days.
As for me, after several job setbacks, I simply became a house – husband, occasionally performing to save the situation, occasionally writing songs and selling manuscripts, and occasionally being a guitar tutor.
Chen Yiqing and I were visibly growing farther and farther apart.
This hiking trip was also an idea that I came up with because I was really bored.
I told Chen Yiqing that I wanted to go hiking to relax, and she immediately transferred me 10,000 yuan.
This feeling was hard to say whether it was happiness or pity.
Thinking about it, I fell asleep on the sofa. I dreamed of that night on the mountain top. Shen Xitong and I were out of breath. Suddenly, searchlights lit up around, and Chen Yiqing appeared in front of me, looking at me like a pet dog.
I was sorry for her and for our ten – year relationship.
I muddled through more than half a month. As usual, I talked to Chen Yiqing no more than three or five sentences a day. She was either in a meeting or socializing. We were like each other’s alarm clocks, just saying good morning and good night every day.
I continued my life as a house – husband. Another half a month passed in a flash, and I received a text message from an unknown number:
“I’m in City A. Treat me to a meal.”
I felt an inexplicable excitement in my heart. I had never seen that number, but I was sure it was her.
Almost without hesitation, I replied:
“Where?”
She replied instantly: “Huaxiangli Bar, 6 p.m.”
The moment I received the text message, it was as if an electric current passed through my whole body, making me feel numb and tingly.
06
On the way, I imagined thousands of ways to greet her.
I couldn’t let her see that I missed her very much, nor could I make her feel that I was perfunctory. Could I give her a little more charm and good impression? With a nervous heart, I pushed open the box door. When the door was half – open, I saw her.
She had cut her hair short, with a slight curl draped over her shoulders. She was wearing huge pink earrings that hung down to her collarbone and shoulder straps.
She was wearing a strapless top and a super – short leather skirt. Her calves were tightly wrapped in boots. She was simply a sexy queen.
I walked in and was about to speak when my mood suddenly dropped to the bottom.
There was a man sticking close to her. He was very young, with a handsome face and a strong build.
Shen Xitong leaned her head close to his mouth. He was saying something, and Shen Xitong laughed heartily.
At that moment, I didn’t know if I should stay where I was.
“You’re here?” Shen Xitong saw me, like an old classmate she hadn’t seen for a long time.
“Let me introduce. This is Qi Shan, whom I met during the hike. And this is Allen, a… good friend.”
Allen stood up and reached out his hand to me, saying in broken Chinese, “Hello, I’m Allen.”
“A foreign friend?” I asked.
“Sorry, my Chinese is not good. I work for OAP and came to China for training.”
I was stunned. OAP was Chen Yiqing’s company.
I smiled and said, “I know OAP. It’s a famous overseas group company. I heard that the senior executives are very young.”
Allen said excitedly, “Yes. Our youngest vice – president is less than 30 years old and is also a beauty.”
He must be talking about Chen Yiqing. I immediately pretended to be interested and asked, “So legendary? Have you seen her? What kind of beautiful senior executive is she?”
Allen gave a thumbs – up and said seriously, “She’s really beautiful, but beauty is not the most important thing. President Chen is the most perfect professional woman I’ve ever seen. She’s professional, dedicated, humble, and sincere to everyone. It can be said that no man who has seen President Chen doesn’t submit to her.”
I clicked my tongue in admiration, but inside I felt a mix of emotions.
I knew Chen Yiqing was perfect, but hearing a man say she was perfect when I had secretly betrayed her made me feel very bad.
“A few more friends haven’t come yet. You can sit first.” Shen Xitong pointed to the corner and then went back to stick close to Allen. The two of them were holding hands, their thighs were touching, and their mouths almost touched when they talked.
I felt ridiculous.
I was obsessed with a person I had a one – night passion with, while the other person didn’t take it seriously at all.
Since that was the case, why did she call me here to be a decoration?
I sat there in a daze, in a trance. Before I knew it, Shen Xitong actually sat down beside me.
“Do you miss me?” She blew a breath in my ear again.
I glanced at Allen. He was playing with his phone on his own, as if he didn’t care at all.
Could the people called here by Shen Xitong today all be her… playthings who had had a passion with her?
“Speak. Do you miss me?” She stared at me with a malicious smile.
I decided to take the plunge.
“I’m sure you’re not short of people who miss you, right?”
“Jealous?”
“Yes, I’m jealous. Since you have a new love, why did you call me here?”
“You want to know?” Shen Xitong picked up a bottle of beer from the table. “Drink this, and I’ll take you to a good place.”
I took the beer and drank it in one gulp.
“So impressive.” Shen Xitong suddenly kissed me on the face, then pulled me out and went up to the second floor.
The second floor was a KTV. It wasn’t the time for singing at this hour, and the place was pitch – black with little singing.
Shen Xitong pulled me, walked through the corridor, and pushed open a box door at the very end.
After closing the door, Shen Xitong threw herself into my arms and almost trembled as she shouted, “Kiss me.”
07
I seemed to be under a spell and kissed her without hesitation.
She put her arms around me and then lay down on the sofa.
Just like on the mountaintop for the first time, our desires ignited, and we entangled and tore at each other tacitly, not caring that the box door might be opened by someone at any time.
In the throes of passion, I grabbed her hair and asked her, “Why did you bring a man to see me? Why did you get so close to him?”
Shen Xitong answered without resistance, “Because I hate you. I hate that you have a wife. I hate that you left me for so many days. I hate that you left me in the county. You’re a bastard, a despicable man!”
The more Shen Xitong scolded me, the crazier I became. I forgot that I was a human; I only felt like a wild beast.
I don’t know how long it passed. Exhausted, we hugged each other on the sofa.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
I didn’t want to hide from her. I said, “I’m thinking that maybe this is life.”
She didn’t say anything more. She leaned her head on my shoulder and hugged my arm even tighter.
Ten years ago, on campus, Chen Yiqing had also expressed her love to me like this.
Time had changed. I didn’t know, but I knew that at this moment, I wanted Shen Xitong, wanted that passionate collision, and wanted to indulge the desire that had been suppressed for a long time.
“Let’s go. Don’t you have friends coming?” I said.
“No, I said that to make you angry.”
“What about the man downstairs? You should at least say hello to him.”
Shen Xitong burst out laughing and said proudly, “You didn’t even realize she was a girl, did you?”
I was speechless.
“I’m leaving in a few days,” she said.
I knew what she meant.
“Don’t think too much. I don’t want to ask anything of you. Just like before, you don’t need to take any responsibility.”
Although she said so, I knew I had to make some decisions.
In the early morning, I went home and lay on the bed that Chen Yiqing and I shared.
After ten years of love, I could no longer safeguard this marriage. I was the one who had destroyed it with my own hands.
I took out my phone.
“Let’s get divorced. I don’t want anything.”
Unexpectedly, Chen Yiqing called immediately.
I looked at the time. It was already 2 a.m. Usually, she went to bed at 11 p.m. Maybe I had woken her up.
Facing Chen Yiqing’s questioning, I had nothing to say. She didn’t say much either. After a moment of silence, she said she would be back in the country in five days at the earliest.
She was always so calm. No matter what happened, she always had that aloof and indifferent look.
I had had enough.
08
Half – asleep and half – awake, I opened my eyes in the afternoon of the next day.
I turned on my phone. Chen Yiqing didn’t send me any messages after the call.
No concern, no inquiry, no blame, no abuse.
Instead, Shen Xitong had said a lot. Messages of different lengths throughout the night. The last one was: “I want to see you.”
I sent her my home address. In less than half an hour, Shen Xitong arrived.
We kissed at the door like an old married couple. I changed her slippers, she put her arms around my neck, I made her coffee, she made me dinner, I carried her into the bedroom, and she closed her eyes consciously.
Under the wedding photo of Chen Yiqing and me, on the marriage bed of Chen Yiqing and me, Shen Xitong and I embraced naked. We shouted unrestrainedly, regarding each other as the only one in the world.
The bedroom door opened, and Chen Yiqing stood at the door, expressionless.
The moment I saw her, I didn’t feel fear, only relief, as if I had unloaded a heavy burden.
I hugged Shen Xitong tightly in my arms provocatively, lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and blew the smoke towards Chen Yiqing.
She never allowed me to smoke in the bedroom, especially on the bed.
Chen Yiqing stood there for a while, then left the house.
Shen Xitong was frightened. She grabbed the quilt tightly and said, “I like you. I don’t care that you have a family, but I’m a little scared.”
I kissed her on the forehead, then got out of bed to pack my things.
I moved into Shen Xitong’s apartment.
I was no longer bound by marriage and family. I slept with Shen Xitong day and night. I never realized that I was actually a horny beast. Shen Xitong joked that she got weak – kneed when she saw me.
I vented desperately, just waiting for the final moment to come.
A week later, Chen Yiqing sent me a message, saying she wanted to talk to me.
I proudly told Shen Xitong and asked her if she wanted to go with me.
Shen Xitong said I was crazy. If I wanted to go, I should go alone. She wasn’t going to touch that nail.
But then she put her arms around my neck again and said in a coquettish voice that no matter how my talk with Chen Yiqing went, she would support me and understand me, and told me not to be under pressure.
She would always love me.
At that moment, I really wanted to ask God why I had met her so late.
09
I met Chen Yiqing at a coffee shop downstairs from my home.
Compared with a week ago, she has lost a lot of weight and has very dark circles under her eyes. I can’t bear to see this.
Based on my understanding of Chen Yiqing, she came to solve the problem, not to talk about feelings. So she wouldn’t greet me, let alone quarrel with me.
Sure enough, she asked me straightforwardly if I was determined to get divorced.
I said yes. I was willing to leave the marriage with nothing. Anyway, everything in this house was earned by her and had nothing to do with me.
She immediately took out a divorce agreement and asked me to sign it.
In the agreement, the house, car, and savings all belonged to her, and all her income also belonged to her.
This was reasonable.
I picked up the pen and was about to sign my name at the end. Just as I wrote one character, a hand pressed down on me.
That hand was very familiar. I looked up, and Shen Xitong was smiling at me.
I was just about to ask her how she came, when Shen Xitong sat down beside me and said to Chen Yiqing, “He can’t leave the marriage with nothing. This matter is not his sole responsibility. On the contrary, you are the main responsible person.”
I wanted to stop her, but Shen Xitong ignored me and continued, “You only care about your career. You two are together less and apart more. You made your marriage abnormal. He’s a good man for enduring it for five years. Don’t you think it should be you who leaves the marriage with nothing?”
Chen Yiqing stared at Shen Xitong, saying nothing.
“Forgot to introduce myself.” Shen Xitong stretched out a hand. “I’m Cui Tangkun’s fiancée, Shen Xitong.”
I wanted to use my eyes to tell Chen Yiqing that Shen Xitong wasn’t called here by me, and I was really willing to leave the marriage with nothing, but my hand seemed to be frozen and couldn’t move.
Time stood still.
After a long time, Chen Yiqing sighed and said, “Divide the property equally. I’ll ask the lawyer to send you the agreement. Wish you two happiness.”
She just left, leaving me with a back view, a back view of someone I had loved for ten years but who seemed so strange.
Shen Xitong turned her head and looked at me triumphantly like a winner, saying, “You’re free now.”
In a daze, I came to my senses. Chen Yiqing had earned a lot in the past five years. With the appreciation of the house, the family assets were almost eight or nine million.
I unexpectedly got four million out of thin air.
Before I could think much, Shen Xitong’s lips blocked my mouth. Her unique fragrance enveloped me. This was a more important gift than four million.
“Who is Cui Tangkun?” I pushed her away and asked.
“Don’t ask, okay? We love each other and we’re together. Isn’t that enough?” Shen Xitong pounced on me again and forcefully kissed me.
I pushed her away more forcefully and asked, “Chen Yiqing is a person who won’t give up until she achieves her goal. Who exactly is Cui Tangkun?”
“Do you love me?” Shen Xitong asked. “No matter how you answer, I can tell you all the truth.”
“I love you,” I said.
Shen Xitong sat in Chen Yiqing’s position, looked out of the window, and I had a very bad feeling.
“Your wife has been having an affair for a long time,” Shen Xitong said calmly. “With Cui Tangkun, my fiancé.”
10
Shen Xitong took out a stack of candid photos from her bag. In the pictures, Chen Yiqing was with another man, at the beach, in the hotel, and at the airport.
“Cui Tangkun is also a senior executive of OAP. They’ve always presented themselves as single, but they’ve actually been having an affair for at least three years.”
Shen Xitong’s expression was very calm when she talked about all this.
Chen Yiqing was the perfect goddess in OAP, and Cui Tangkun was the cold – faced male god in OAP. They both abandoned their love promises.
Thinking that I met Chen Yiqing less than five times a year, each time no more than two days, I always thought she was a workaholic. I never expected that what attracted her was not only work but also another man.
“I’ve been in love with Cui Tangkun for eight years, got engaged, and set the wedding date. I was still foolishly waiting for him to marry me. Unexpectedly, he had already fallen in love with someone else.”
I suddenly looked up at her.
“Yes, I met you on purpose during the hike and came to you on the mountaintop. I deliberately seduced you just to take revenge on that bitch Chen Yiqing.”
A woman was willing to become a mistress herself and sell her body to a stranger just to take revenge on the third – party.
“You should think I’m dirty, right? My body is dirty, and my soul is dirty too. So, I’m not worthy to be with you.”
I didn’t say anything.
“But, whether you believe it or not, I want to tell you that when I came to City A to find you, it wasn’t to take revenge on Chen Yiqing anymore. It was because I found that I had fallen in love with you.” Shen Xitong shed tears. “For eight years, I always thought that a good man should be like Cui Tangkun, polite, calm, and rational. After separating from you in the county, I realized that what I wanted was just a real relationship and a real person. Compared with him, you’re real, talented, funny, and considerate. Only then did I know that the person I wanted to love was someone like you.”
Shen Xitong stood up.
“I’m sorry. If you choose to continue loving me, I’m willing to love you with my whole life. If not, I won’t show up again. Goodbye.”
Shen Xitong left, also leaving me with a back view, a back view of someone I had loved for a few days.
11
When I realized that I had missed Shen Xitong, I panicked.
My mind was full of her, during the day, at night, when awake, and in my dreams.
I couldn’t help but contact her, but the phone number was already an empty number.
I had lost her, a woman I shouldn’t have had in the first place.
I was in a short – rented house, drinking and getting drunk all day long. I vomited all over the room, and the neighbors thought it was the smell of a corpse and called the police.
The landlord drove me out, and I huddled in the corner with my guitar.
I wrote a song every day. Inspiration had never been so explosive.
Some people thought I was a beggar and asked if I had a QR code for alms.
Some people thought I was a down – and – out artist and took videos of me and posted them online.
I don’t know how many days later, more and more people came to see me. They all held their phones towards me, and some people introduced me as the creator of a certain hit song.
After a while, every day many people would sing in chorus around me, crying while singing, and queuing up to take photos with me.
The world is really absurd.
Finally, one day, a voice asked me, “Which song is your favorite?”
I answered without thinking, “《River》”
“Why?”
I looked up, through my matted hair, at her pink baseball cap and said, “Because of you.”
Shen Xitong cried. She squatted down, took my guitar, and played this song. Passers – by captured this scene, and the bullet comments said they had never seen me smile like this before.
I left the corner, said goodbye to the audience, and started a real passionate love with Shen Xitong.
And the surprises she gave me were just beginning.
She was a top student, studying at a famous overseas university with excellent grades.
Her parents had emigrated to the United States and lived in a garden villa. When we met via video, the old couple was having a barbecue with their dog in the yard.
After we got back together, she especially emphasized her marriage requirements.
No wedding, just get the marriage certificate.
No wedding banquet, just travel.
No betrothal gifts, no diamonds, and not even need to meet her parents.
What else could I say?
We got married.
12
I often said that Shen Xitong was a lucky charm for me. Since we were together, I not only got a job but also my income increased sharply.
Writing songs, singing, live – streaming, and product – promoting.
A year later, I bought a luxury house worth tens of millions in City A.
I didn’t tell Shen Xitong about buying the house. I secretly added her name to it.
I wanted to give her a surprise.
Who knew that she didn’t react at all when she found out. She just said “Oh” indifferently.
I was a bit annoyed. I called her several times via video, but she hung up. My scalp suddenly went numb.
I called and video – called her frantically for a full half – hour. Finally, she answered.
“Are you crazy? You keep calling after I hung up. I’m having a B – ultrasound.” Shen Xitong showed a test sheet to the camera. “You’re going to be a father. Save some money.”
I was stunned. Looking at Shen Xitong sitting in the hospital, pouting in the camera, I felt extremely excited.
The next year, the baby was born, twin daughters.
Another year later, the house was handed over. It was a 300 – square – meter big house, something I had never dared to dream of before.
When I took her to see the house, she took a quick look around and said she wanted to go back. I asked her why she didn’t look happy at all. She said that houses and savings were external things, and the safety of the family of four was the most precious.
I was moved to tears and hugged her tightly for a long time.
Shen Xitong had to take care of the children, so the task of decorating the new house fell on me.
I wanted to give Shen Xitong and our daughters the best furniture, the best appliances, and the best of everything.
Half a year later, we could finally move.
Although I had feelings for the place where we had lived for three years, it was rented after all. There were many things I couldn’t bear to throw away but had no place to put, so I put them all in boxes of different sizes.
I moved them one by one to the new house, unpacked them, and sorted them out. Carelessly, a phone fell out of an old box.
The body was bent, the screen was shattered. It was an old – style phone from several years ago, in a sealed bag.
It was the phone that Shen Xitong dropped off the cliff from the mountaintop.
She actually didn’t throw it away and had kept it until now.
I was a bit touched.
Out of nowhere, I took the phone to a nearby repair shop.
Maybe I could fix it. It was a witness to our acquaintance and love.
I went to several repair shops. As soon as the masters saw the phone in such a bad state, they all shook their heads desperately. Finally, only a young master was willing to give it a try, but he couldn’t guarantee that it could be fixed.
I said that as long as it could turn on, it didn’t need to be restored to its original state, and it didn’t even need to look like a phone.
The master examined it back and forth and said that he could try putting the battery outside since the body was too severely distorted for the battery to fit inside. After tinkering for an hour, the phone actually lit up.
What came into view was a text message: “Record evidence of having sex with him, and 300,000 will be transferred to your overseas account immediately.”
I paid a thousand yuan and returned to the new house in a daze. Although the phone was an old model, its interior was clean, with only a few text messages and one video.
“The air ticket, money, phone, and his information are all prepared for you. After returning to China, find a way to run into him and make him cheat. Once it’s done, you’ll get 300,000, and you’ll get the remaining 300,000 after everything is settled.”
“Record the whole process of you having sex. Show your faces, especially his.”
“How’s it going?”
“The idea of a travel encounter is good. I’ll cooperate with you to guide him to travel, preferably hiking and camping, where there are more chances to be alone.”
“The information of the hiking group is sent to you. Join as soon as possible.”
“Go camping at night. Seize the opportunity.”
The text messages ended here. I clicked on the video.
In the dark night, with a bright night – light, she was sitting on the slope. I came and sat down beside her. She leaned into my arms, and I put my arm around her shoulders. What happened next was vivid in my mind.
When the passion reached its peak, her twisted body knocked over the phone, then the camera shook for a while. After a few crashing sounds, it was completely dark.
Looking at the phone number that sent the text messages, I sat dumbly on the floor. No wonder she was so determined to go down the mountain to look for a phone with little hope of being found.
Bits and pieces of the past slowly pieced together in my mind. Was the business of OAP really that busy? So busy that senior executives couldn’t go home several times? Since Chen Yiqing had a new lover, with her strong position, why didn’t she mention divorce for three years? And Shen Xitong, since our marriage, had rarely contacted her parents on the pretext of time difference.
One trivial question after another flashed before my eyes. I held my head, and howls echoed in the empty new house.
I took out my phone and searched for “OAP Chen Yiqing”. The top news that popped up was her wedding news. Half a year after our divorce, she married a man named Zhou Mu, who was 15 years older than her and was the chairman of a consortium. Two years later, she divorced Zhou Mu for unknown reasons. Gossip said that Zhou Mu was too old to satisfy Chen Yiqing. Some also said that Chen Yiqing had met someone in a higher position, otherwise she wouldn’t have suddenly left OAP with a mysterious destination.
The five years with Chen Yiqing and the three years with Shen Xitong seemed like a dream.
13
Chen Yiqing hired Shen Xitong. The reason why OAP could expand its overseas business and appoint Chen Yiqing as a senior executive was mainly because of Zhou Mu. To enjoy Zhou Mu’s favor exclusively, Chen Yiqing tried her best, and OAP was forced to give her the privilege: she could return to China at her own will, and the company had no requirements.
After five years, she finally received Zhou Mu’s proposal. But I was still there. I was still her legal husband. Chen Yiqing couldn’t get divorced because of her affair. Zhou Mu couldn’t marry a woman with such a stain. The best way was for me to take the initiative to propose divorce or be forced to do so, making her the victim, a woman abandoned or betrayed by her husband.
But I was too numb. Even with her cold treatment, I never thought of divorce. So, she picked a poor and vain international student from a local diploma mill, took the initiative, “ran into” me, had a relationship with me, and left evidence.
Earning 600,000 yuan by selling her body once, for a girl who is adrift in a foreign land and struggling to even afford meals, there’s no room for hesitation.But unexpectedly, Shen Xitong accidentally dropped the phone with the recorded evidence off the cliff, lost contact with Chen Yiqing, and couldn’t transfer the evidence out, so she was forced to continue hiking.
She wasn’t really Cui Tangkun’s fiancée. Cui Tangkun was Zhou Mu’s bodyguard, and every time they met, it was Cui Tangkun who arranged the pick – up. She didn’t seduce me to take revenge on Chen Yiqing either.
Probably Chen Yiqing never thought that a good – for – nothing like me would one day earn money and be able to find out so many clues by spending money. So, she and Shen Xitong didn’t use new phone numbers to communicate.
But I still didn’t understand. I didn’t understand why Shen Xitong stopped me when I was about to sign the agreement to leave the marriage with nothing. That was her financial backer. Why did she suddenly betray Chen Yiqing? Could it really be because Shen Xitong had fallen in love with me?
But I soon understood. The waitress in the coffee shop brought me a small plate of cookies and said softly, “Sir, you seem unhappy. I give you some sweet cookies. I hope you have a good mood.” I picked up a cookie, and there was a note underneath with a phone number on it. The waitress turned back and gave me a charming smile.
At that moment, I suddenly understood that Shen Xitong had changed her mind. She didn’t want that 600,000 yuan; she wanted more. A person who could pay 600,000 yuan must lose more than that in a divorce.
After leaving the county, Shen Xitong hid near OAP, followed Chen Yiqing, and took pictures of Chen Yiqing and Cui Tangkun. She thought that the person Chen Yiqing was having an affair with was Cui Tangkun, so it wasn’t surprising that Cui Tangkun had a fiancée.
She returned to China, contacted me to go to the bar, tested my attitude towards her, and after confirming that I was deeply infatuated with her, she decided to switch sides and force Chen Yiqing to split the property equally. She got both me and my money.
Shen Xitong’s overseas study experience was real, but her degree was fake. Even the parents who lived in a villa in the United States were rented temporarily. The couple was indeed Chinese, but the man was a driver, and the woman was a cleaner. The villa and the dog belonged to the owner. So, she couldn’t contact them often. Every performance needed to wait for the right time, and she had to pay.
The phone vibrated, bringing me back to reality from my thoughts. Shen Xitong sent me a video. She was sitting on the sofa, holding our two daughters, making faces at the camera. The video effect made their eyes sparkle with hearts. She said, “Honey, I miss you. The babies miss you too. Protect the three of us girls.”
14
I left home on the pretext of a platform – organized event. Traveling through mountains and rivers, I quietly came to the county where we had hiked before. After waiting for a week, I finally found the local guide in that farmhouse.
He was still carrying that small guitar, following groups rented from all over the country, shuttling back and forth between the mountains and forests. He recognized me at a glance and cheerfully called out, “I’ve followed so many groups, but you play the guitar and sing the best. I even saw you on the Internet. You’re a big star now.”
I hugged him and stated my purpose. I wanted to learn a song from him. It was the song he sang on the camping day, the one he wrote himself. “There Are No Good People in This World.”
(The End)
