"Do you know when she left?"
"It seems to be about a week ago. If you count the ti, she should have already arrived at her destination by now."
"Did she leave any words for you?" Zhang Zhentian asked again.
"She looked very sad when she left, her eyes were red—it was obvious she had been crying," the landlord sighed as he spoke to Zhang Zhentian.
Upon hearing the landlord’s words, Zhang Zhentian realized that he must have deeply hurt Xia Jing’s feelings, which was why she had left without saying goodbye. Zhang Zhentian said to the landlord, "Thank you."
The landlord turned and began to walk away but stopped after a few steps. Looking back at Zhang Zhentian, he said, "Now that I think of it, Xia Jing seed to have gone to your office that day."
"When?"
"Probably the sa day she left."
As Zhang Zhentian recalled, he realized he had been at ho all day on the day Xia Jing left and hadn’t gone out. Could it be that Xia Jing went to the office to tell him she was leaving the country? If that was the case, then Xia Jing hadn’t left without saying goodbye—he had missed the one opportunity to stop her.
The more Zhang Zhentian thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. He hated himself—he hated that he’d argued with Xia Jing. He hated himself for saying all those hurtful things to her. Deep down, he wondered, "If I hadn’t quarreled with Xia Jing, would she have stayed? If I hadn’t said things that hurt her so deeply, would she still be here instead of leaving in despair?"
Feeling dejected, Zhang Zhentian left Xia Jing’s place and drove toward the lake. Along the way, he set the car speed high, racing down the roads. Upon reaching the lake, he parked his car, stepped out, and walked to the edge of the water. Staring at the azure sky, he began to recall every mont he and Xia Jing had shared by the lake. As his thoughts deepened, a bright tear slid down his cheek. Zhang Zhentian cried, and his chest ached from the pain.
After half an hour, Zhang Zhentian shouted toward the vast lake, "Xia Jing, I know I was wrong. Please co back! I shouldn’t have hurt you—don’t leave alone, co back..." Zhang Zhentian shouted again and again, convinced that if he called out loud enough, Xia Jing would appear before him like she had before.
But no matter how long he called, he saw no sign of Xia Jing. This ti, Zhang Zhentian knew she had truly left him for good.
Returning ho, Zhang Zhentian locked himself in his room. Even though Aunt Xu called him downstairs for als, he wouldn’t eat. Instead, he sat motionless by the window in his bedroom, drinking bottle after bottle of white wine. When he could no longer stand, he dragged a chair to the window and continued drinking—sip after sip, bottle after bottle—until he passed out.
Even as he slept, Zhang Zhentian kept murmuring Xia Jing’s na. Old Master Zhang ca in and, seeing his son in such a state, couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow in his heart. He walked over with a blanket and gently covered Zhang Zhentian. Suddenly, Zhang Zhentian grabbed Old Master Zhang’s hand and, through his drunken slurs, kept muttering, "I’m sorry, Xia Jing... I didn’t an to say those things to upset you... I know I was wrong. Please don’t leave , okay..." As he spoke, tears stread down his face.
Watching his son in such a state, Old Master Zhang felt conflicted. He wanted to tell Zhang Zhentian where Xia Jing was, but he had promised her he would keep it a secret. In the end, he decided he would wait until Zhang Zhentian asked.
Zhang Zhentian continued drowning in alcohol and despair at ho. By the ti he woke up, three days had passed.
In the morning, Zhang Zhentian groggily opened his eyes, feeling dizzy. As he stood unsteadily, he realized he’d been lying on the chair with a blanket over him. Thinking Xia Jing had co to his house to cover him with the blanket, he picked it up from the floor and tossed it onto the chair, then hurriedly ran downstairs while calling her na.
As he reached the first floor, Old Master Zhang was having breakfast. Hearing Zhang Zhentian’s loud footsteps, Old Master Zhang thought there had been an earthquake.
Zhang Zhentian darted around the ground floor, scanning for Xia Jing’s presence. Seeing no trace of her, he slowly turned his gaze to his father, who was staring at him in confusion over breakfast. Zhang Zhentian walked over step by step and said to Old Master Zhang, "Dad, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at like that?"
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