Chapter 68

Chapter 68

The two of them stayed in the room for over three hours. Mother Jiang waited in the living room, while Father Jiang remained in the study the entire time. Finally, Ling Sheng opened the door and came out alone.

Jiang Jian, who had been waiting upstairs for half an hour, felt a moment of nervousness upon seeing him.

Ling Sheng’s expression was calm, with only a slight smile. “I’m leaving,” he said.

After saying that, he nodded towards Jiang Jian and turned to head downstairs. Mother Jiang, upon seeing Ling Sheng, anxiously stood up from the sofa. Ling Sheng walked over, thought for a moment, and said, “Auntie, I may have been disrespectful to you before, and I apologize for that here. I know you’re doing this for Jiang Chen. I will abide by our agreement. See you in three years, Auntie.”

Ling Sheng’s attitude was neither arrogant nor humble, and his tone was steady, as if he was certain that Jiang Chen wouldn’t change in three years. Mother Jiang was momentarily moved, but she quickly suppressed it.

Just as Ling Sheng turned to leave, Mother Jiang said, “I will arrange a job for you.”

Ling Sheng didn’t turn back, simply saying, “No need. From today onwards, Jiang Chen and I have broken up, so everything before is now gone with the wind. I don’t need it, nor am I in a position to accept your kindness. I’m going to America. Rest assured, I won’t contact him before he graduates.”

The Jiang family driver picked him up and also drove him back, still to the place He Xiaoyun had rented for him. When he arrived, He Xiaoyun was waiting for him inside. The room was filled with smoke, indicating that he had smoked quite a bit.

As soon as He Xiaoyun saw him return, he immediately stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray and stood up. “The Jiang family was looking for you?”

Ling Sheng, hearing that his voice was hoarse, gave an “Mm” and poured him a glass of water.

He Xiaoyun only took a small sip before eagerly asking, “Why didn’t you tell me they were looking for you? Did they make things difficult for you?”

Ling Sheng just smiled and said, “I went to break up. What would I need you for?”

He Xiaoyun was stunned by this. After a long while, he frowned, tilted his head in confusion, closed his eyes to think for half a minute, and then looked at him, “Wait, if you were going to break up, why didn’t you do it sooner? Why did you have to drag it out to this point? Do you know how much turmoil your matter has caused in the group? I’m fighting battles every day, is it easy for me?”

Ling Sheng had been pretending in front of Jiang Chen and the entire Jiang family, and he was tired of it. He didn’t want to reveal his emotions at this moment, but he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He leaned back on the sofa, his eyes filled with worry, reluctance, pain, hesitation… a mix of emotions. After a long while, he said slowly and hoarsely, “There’s no need for that anymore. Thank you for everything during this time, Xiaoyun.”

Now it was He Xiaoyun’s turn to pour him water. He sat down beside him, looked at his struggling facade, and sighed, “I thought you were really going to fight to the end. What did they use to force you to agree? Did Jiang Chen just let you leave like that?”

Ling Sheng didn’t drink the water. He closed his eyes, propping his forehead with one hand, as if trying to adjust his emotions. He still had something to tell He Xiaoyun. He had originally wanted to wait until he felt better before saying it, but he didn’t expect to see him as soon as he walked in.

After enduring for a long time, he felt his previously unwavering control rapidly collapsing. Just before he couldn’t hold back any longer, he stood up from the sofa and locked himself in the bathroom. He turned on the faucet, and amidst the sound of rushing water, he didn’t even have time to take out his contact lenses before tears began to flow rapidly.

He knew that if he showed even a hint of hesitation or reluctance, Jiang Chen wouldn’t be convinced, but things couldn’t be dragged on any longer. The more the public opinion fermented, the harder it would be for Jiang Chen to return to a normal life, and the easier it would be for his determination to waver.

During this time, he had endured being forced to leave his residence, his phone being harassed by various calls, negotiating with Mother Jiang, facing Jiang Chen, and even calling his mother. But after everything was over, the slightest relaxation of his nerves caused his emotions to collapse instantly.

In the mirror was a disheveled and pained face, eyes red and tears streaming down. The last time he had cried like this was when he decided to break up with Xiang Yang. He was only nineteen years old then, and now he was almost twenty-nine.

He Xiaoyun was still outside, so Ling Sheng didn’t dare to cry out loud. He lowered his head, supported himself on the sides of the sink with both hands, and his shoulders were tightly tense because his palms were exerting too much force. He couldn’t stop, until tears and mucus flowed uncontrollably, and he coughed repeatedly.

From the moment this happened until now, he was releasing his emotions so freely for the first time, like a flood that had been blocked for too long, unable to find an outlet. Once someone opened a small opening, it rushed out with a roar, unstoppable.

Ling Sheng had only wanted to calm down before going out to find He Xiaoyun, but he didn’t stop crying until half an hour later. He even cried to the point of being slightly hypoxic, and he didn’t know where his contact lenses had gone.

He rinsed his face with cold water and applied a cold towel to his eyes before opening the door and going out.

He Xiaoyun had smoked several more cigarettes. When he looked up and saw Ling Sheng coming out with red and swollen eyes, his mood was complicated, a little jealous and a little sad. He exhaled a puff of smoke and said, “Did you shed tears when I left back then?”

Ling Sheng only glanced at him, his voice hoarse, and said, “No.”

He Xiaoyun had already guessed the answer, but he still felt uncomfortable. But he couldn’t really blame Ling Sheng for this, he could only say, “Forget it, it’s over anyway.”

Ling Sheng felt his throat was dry. The warm water on the table had cooled, so he picked up the cup and added some hot water to it to moisten his throat before saying, “It’s only temporarily over.”

Then he told He Xiaoyun everything.

He Xiaoyun had a pained expression on his face, looking at him with an idiot’s gaze. “Three years? Maybe even four years, no meeting, no contact, what are you going to talk about? Brainwaves or telepathy? What’s the difference between this and breaking up directly?”

He Xiaoyun was a hedonist, and Ling Sheng didn’t expect him to understand these things. What he wanted to tell him was something else: “I probably don’t need to write a resignation letter for Eternity, right? This can be considered personal misconduct, and the company can directly fire me.”

He Xiaoyun looked at his calm appearance and felt even more annoyed. “So, all these days I’ve been protecting you, and you didn’t even take it to heart?”

This was the first time he had put so much effort into protecting someone. Although he admitted that he had also weighed the pros and cons, at least he was on his side, and he rarely protected someone like this.

Ling Sheng, having released his emotions, had completely accepted the facts, and his mood was much lighter. “Of course I did. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to leave so easily.”

He Xiaoyun knew that Ling Sheng wouldn’t turn back on something he had decided, just like when he said it was over, it was over. So he didn’t plan to persuade him anymore. After all, after this incident, it was impossible for him to stay at Eternity in the short term, so he said, “You should rest for a while. The Jiang family has been holding on to you tightly. Now that they’ve let go, the storm will pass after a while. I’ll arrange something for you then.”

But Ling Sheng refused him. “No need. I’ve already found a job.”

A week ago, after Mother Jiang left, Zhou Jiayan called him and asked if he wanted to go to his place. When Ling Sheng heard him mention the name of the Jiahe Group, he remembered that this Zhou Jiayan was the youngest son of the current president of Jiahe. He was very surprised that he would contact him, but Zhou Jiayan only said that he was helping him out of Fang Xing’s sake, just to please his wife.

Although he didn’t know what was going on between Zhou Jiayan and Fang Xing, he knew that Fang Xing and Jiang Chen were good friends. It must have been Jiang Chen who found a way to notify Fang Xing, and that’s why Zhou Jiayan took action. He didn’t agree at the time because he didn’t know how things would develop. He didn’t want to involve more people, nor did he think that Zhou Jiayan would offend the Jiang family for his sake. After Mother Jiang’s call, he called Zhou Jiayan. Zhou Jiayan had just returned from the United States and said that since he wanted to avoid the limelight, he could consider going abroad, where there were friends who could take care of him.

Ling Sheng felt that he could give him an answer now.

After hearing his words, He Xiaoyun was silent for a long time, then suddenly laughed a few times. When he looked at him again, his eyes were filled with both appreciation and a feeling that he was a bit ridiculous.

Indeed, if he really wanted to protect Ling Sheng, as long as the Jiang family relented, it wasn’t that he didn’t have a way, but he didn’t use his full strength. In addition to weighing the gains and losses, he also wanted to see if Ling Sheng would ask him for help or turn back.

He didn’t know if Ling Sheng had seen through him, or if he had never considered that there might still be a path from him.

He was just making his own choices, and he wasn’t even an option in his choices.

“Xiaoyun, I know you’ve done a lot for me, but I don’t want to trouble you anymore.” Ling Sheng was very sincere. “I’ll find a way to repay Zhou Jiayan’s kindness, but what you’ve given me, I can’t repay.”

Very sincere, very direct, and also very cruel.

He Xiaoyun finally gave up completely at this moment.

He stood up, opened the door without a word, and left.

Ling Sheng called Zhou Jiayan, explained the situation, and Zhou Jiayan also gave him a lot of face, saying that he could decide when to leave and that he would arrange everything else. But Ling Sheng wasn’t going abroad to play. He seriously asked Zhou Jiayan about the situation of the overseas company and the position. During these three years, Jiang Chen would grow up, and he wouldn’t stay where he was.

A week later, after everything was settled, Lu Sheng told him that the Wang family and his son had been sued, Shao Rong had somehow offended Gu Junye and was now unable to take care of himself, and had no time or energy to manage them, and Chen Jing was dealt with by He Xiaoyun. Ling Sheng went to Coco’s house again. Coco knew that he was going abroad and cried her eyes out. Xiao Xiaowu didn’t understand why, and cried along with her.

Ling Sheng simply told his mother that he planned to go abroad to work, which might take three years. He might come back during the Chinese New Year, or he might not, because the two of them were usually independent and rarely spent time together. Ling Sheng’s mother didn’t say anything, and even joked that she wouldn’t have to worry about not having anyone when she went to the United States in the future.

Ling Sheng just smiled and agreed.

Zhou Jiayan said that he had asked someone to find a house for him and arranged everything in the company, and he could go directly. Ling Sheng thanked him and said that he would pay the rent himself. Zhou Jiayan didn’t intend to let him pay, but Ling Sheng insisted. This trip would take three years, not three days. Zhou Jiayan was already doing him a great favor by helping him at this time, and he had no reason to take his things for nothing, nor did he want to owe people too much.

After everything was arranged, Zhou Jiayan arranged for a car to take him to the airport. Ling Sheng sat in the waiting area with his boarding pass, watching the people lining up to board the plane in front of him. Some were excited, some were anxious, and some were silent and used to it. He lowered his eyes to look at the boarding pass in his hand, but he didn’t get up until all the passengers had slowly left and there was no one at the entrance. The announcement that boarding was about to end was made before he slowly stood up.

This country where he had lived for nearly thirty years, he had to step into a foreign country and start all over again for a relationship. His career was unknown, his life was unknown, and his relationship was unknown. No matter how much psychological preparation he made, he couldn’t help but feel fear of the unknown, as well as a strong and unshakeable attachment and reluctance.

But he didn’t hesitate at all, and finally stood up at the last moment.

At the same time, Jiang Chen was finally allowed to leave the house.

“Ling Sheng should be on the plane already.” Jiang Jian looked at her younger brother sitting in the passenger seat and couldn’t help but tell him.

Jiang Chen was expressionless, wearing a beanie and a jacket over his face, covering most of his face. He lowered his eyes and said a single, indifferent and calm syllable, “Mm.”