Chapter 22 Green Moss

The meeting between the two families was more harmonious than imagined, at least more than Wang Zhao had imagined. Perhaps it was because Wang Xuechun was relatively mild-mannered. They knew that in this matter, it was their Wang Zhao who had acted improperly, so they appeared somewhat “humble” in front of Li’s wife-father.

Since it had already been decided that the two would marry, this meeting was more about discussing the wedding arrangements. Logically, given the Li family’s circumstances, they should at least get engaged first, wait a year or two, and then let the children marry.

However, at this time, there was no time for such slow preparation and delay.

This meal was very long. There is always some alcohol on Chinese dining tables, whether white or red, Western or Eastern. In any case, Wang Zhao had both red wine and white wine served, letting others choose freely.

However, she didn’t drink because she had to drive later to send Wang Xuechun and the others back.

Li Zhenguan couldn’t drink either, as he was just three months pregnant, and alcohol would be bad for the fetus.

But Wang Cang drank about half a glass of red wine. He was almost of age, and the red wine was low in alcohol content. Wang Cang only drank about half a glass, which was just two or three sips.

However, this child’s face turned red easily from alcohol. Almost immediately, half of his face turned completely red. With his fair skin, it was particularly noticeable. By the time his uncle-in-law noticed, a rosy hue had spread around his eyes.

Wang Zhao couldn’t help but look several times. It was her first time seeing someone so intolerant to alcohol. Worried that the child might get drunk and cause trouble, she had her own glass of red wine removed and asked the waiter to bring a bowl of ginger tea, placing it in front of Wang Cang to help sober him up.

As she was doing this, Li Zhenguan watched from the side. His hand holding the chopsticks couldn’t help but pause, his gaze falling on Wang Zhao’s smiling face.

In Li Zhenguan’s memory, this woman had never looked at him with such gentleness, nor had she ever smiled like this.

He hated seeing this unique expression that didn’t belong to him appear on someone else, even if that person was Wang Zhao’s cousin.

The hand gripping the chopsticks gradually tightened, and the smile on his face slowly disappeared. Just like that, all the joy seemed to vanish instantly. The bubbles in the air were punctured by an invisible thorn, bursting with a pop, scattering everywhere. An invisible dampness spread in all directions.

Li Zhenguan chewed a piece of fish expressionlessly, as if tasting something. Suddenly, a feeling of nausea rose from his stomach.

His unique plum rain season seemed to have arrived again.

Damp and gloomy.

A cluster of green moss grew on his heart.

At this moment, Wang Cang suddenly turned his head, wanting to say something to Wang Zhao, but unexpectedly met a pair of pitch-black eyes. Those bottomless black eyes were just looking at him, the emotions in their depths unclear.

Wang Cang’s movement suddenly froze. He swallowed all his words, his mind blank, unable to remember what he wanted to say.

Wang Zhao waited for a while, but found that Wang Cang seemed to be in a daze, frozen in place. She couldn’t help but laugh: “What did you want to say? Why are you spacing out?”

Wang Cang shook his head stupidly, pressing his temple with his hand. He couldn’t help but look towards Li Zhenguan again.

However, he found that the young man who had just given him that expression had said something to his cousin, smiling sweetly, his face already changed to a different look. When he smiled, his eyes curved, and dimples seemed to faintly appear on both sides of his mouth, looking like a very gentle young man.

It must have been an illusion, Wang Cang thought uncertainly.

He took a sip of ginger tea, suppressing the shock in his heart. In a moment, he began to feel drowsy. Perhaps it was the effects of the alcohol. It seemed he really wasn’t suited to drinking.

Meanwhile, when Wang Zhao turned her head to look at him, Li Zhenguan had already returned to normal. Anyone looking at him from the side would only see a fair, clean face. He quietly ate from his bowl, and occasionally when his gaze fell on the table, Wang Zhao would use the serving chopsticks to pick up some dishes for him, appearing particularly considerate and attentive.

But it was this considerate attentiveness that always seemed exceptionally distant.

Human desire is infinite.

As a child, one might say to their mother, “Mom, if I score 80 points, will you reward me with a Switch?” Later, when the child really scores 80 points, they fall in love with the more expensive Lego toys. So they say to their mother again, “Mom, if I score 90 points, will you buy me a Titanic Lego set…”

A child’s desires are still unconcealable; they can freely express their demands and desires. But adults won’t. Adults will only suppress their cravings and desires.

However, Li Zhenguan felt increasingly unsatisfied. The child seemed to have bound Wang Zhao, but why didn’t he feel any closer to her? The two seemed to be standing on opposite sides of a cliff. The rope connecting the two sides was tangled in the middle. He couldn’t step down, couldn’t find a way across, but was still stepping onto the messy bundle of ropes. Looking down, he realized there was already a bottomless abyss below.

But looking back, he was already some distance from the original cliff edge. In front, a carrot was dangling, seemingly within reach. He thought he was almost there, so he gritted his teeth and stepped forward one step at a time.

He couldn’t bear to give up that bright red carrot.

At this moment, Wang Zhao was that carrot.

He couldn’t bear to give up, so he had to grit his teeth and eat it. Even with the abyss beneath his feet, that carrot had to be his.

So, he no longer looked at the young man sitting beside Wang Zhao.

He hated everything that took away the woman’s gaze, but such things only increased, never decreased. Wang Cang was just one of them, just someone who would leave in a few days. Li Zhenguan smiled slightly.

It was still bearable, wasn’t it?

It would be better after marriage.

He thought that the independent villa his father had given him earlier seemed quite nice and suitable as a new home.

Wang Zhao was also thinking about what would happen after they got married. According to her idea, she obviously didn’t want to live in the house on Li’s side. On one hand, it was about self-esteem, and on the other hand, it wasn’t necessary.

The Wang family had a house on Golden Avenue, although it was still being renovated. It would be ready to move in after half a year. During this period, she thought living in the current community was quite good.

However, Wang Zhao guessed that for Li Zhenguan, or for all newly married husbands, they didn’t like living with their mothers-in-law and fathers-in-law, especially with their partner’s parents. The clash of ideas between two generations and other irreconcilable conflicts made Wang Zhao consider living separately before Li Zhenguan gave birth.

Li Zhenguan would still live with the Li family, while she would still live with the Wang family. After the birth, the two of them would move into the house on Golden Avenue together.

Or if Li Zhenguan wasn’t used to living with the Wang family, they could also rent a house for half a year, although this would be somewhat inconvenient.

Living separately after getting the marriage certificate was actually Wang Zhao’s true intention.

If she liked Li Zhenguan enough, she obviously wouldn’t have come up with such an idea. Lovers who are in love always want to be together all the time. But in fact, Wang Zhao had more responsibility than emotion for this marriage. That is, rationality overrode sensibility, and living separately was actually the result she was trying hard to achieve.

So at this moment, this couple who were about to become partners, despite their emotional distance, sat at the dinner table, each with their own plans.

After making her decision, Wang Zhao smiled and turned to Li Zhenguan beside her, asking gently, “Do you want some water?” The water in his cup was almost gone.

The young man slowly shook his head, his fair face showing submissiveness: “No need, I just had a cup of water. I’m not thirsty at all.”

“That’s good.”

The dishes on the table were almost finished. By now, about forty to fifty minutes had passed. This meal was eaten quite quickly. Wang Xuechun and Li Zhenguan’s mother had drunk quite a bit of alcohol and were still talking. A glass of red wine was placed in front of Zhang Ke, who had drunk most of it and was now quietly eating, occasionally exchanging a few words with Yang Fan and Yang Jin who were accompanying him.

The scene was harmonious. It seemed that both sets of parents had made their decision. After returning this time, they could go choose a date. Next, they would need to decide on the bride price and dowry. There were countless things to be busy with.