Chapter 27: The ending

“I don’t want to talk about the process of our separation. Every time I remember it, it’s like a dull knife cutting my heart.” Xuan Yu took out another cigarette. I stopped him, but he waved his hand and said, “Let me smoke. Anyway, my life is almost over, so why not make it a little more painful?”

I withdrew my hand and asked with a frown: “How did you get lung cancer? Was it because you decided to set up a trap?”

“That’s not it. Although I’m not sure if it’s because I left my hometown and became restless, so I was cursed, the only reason I can think of is Lv Ting. After she left, I had to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day to barely calm down and live my life. You know, I don’t have much money, and I smoke cheap cigarettes.” Xuan Lin said to me with a smile, very relaxed.

The young man’s smile was undoubtedly good-looking, but I couldn’t guess how bitter it was behind it.

“Do you regret it? It’s come to this. In fact, you could have a good future, and it’s not impossible to have another relationship.” I persuaded him.

Xuan Lin shook his head slightly and said, “I don’t regret it. I’m even satisfied. I’ve been able to fulfill my last wish in my lifetime.”

I frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Do you know that the hardest thing for a person is to turn back, especially after he has adapted to a new path, he can’t go back.” Xuan Lin once again answered the question with a non-answer.

He paused for a moment and continued, “That’s what happened to Lv Ting. She followed An Yu for a while, but then An Yu got tired of her and gave her some money to get rid of her. At that time, she found me, and I thought she was regretting it and had come to her senses. I was really prepared to take her back. But in fact, she was just pregnant and needed me to accompany her to get an abortion.”

“Then, did you prepare that plan at that time?” I asked.

“No, I was just heartbroken, so I told her that after the operation, you should go back to school and take your classes. If you want, I will still keep my promise to you in the future. But she told me that she had already been expelled from school because she had missed so many classes. An Yu said that he could help her, but now An Yu has only given her some money and stopped talking about it. She said that she had no choice but to go back, that she had to make a lot of money to make up for the mistake of being expelled from college, and that if she went back with a lot of money and said that she had dropped out of school to start a business, her parents would be happy. Xuan Lin said with some bitterness.

“Then what?”

“Then I heard her say that after the abortion, she would follow another man, who was introduced by An Yu. I had no way to stop her. I only knew that she could not go back, and she was ruined. I can’t describe the pain! But at that time I had not yet made a decision…” As he said, Xuan Lin took a puff of smoke, and his expression also looked very painful. It took a long time before he said.

“There were two reasons that really made me decide. At that time, Lv Ting’s abortion was scheduled for a week later. Because the business of that small clinic was so good, she was scheduled for a week later. During that week, I saw An Yu appear in our school again. This time, the girl who got out of his car was another girl. This is the first point. The second point is that, very coincidentally, the place where I worked required an experience, and then I suddenly received a notice from the experience unit requesting a review. During that week, I received a diagnosis of lung cancer. You know, he ruined a girl’s life, and the person a boy loved the most, and their shared dream. But he…” Xuan Lin was silent.

In fact, even if I don’t say anything, I know that An Yu really gave Xuanlin enough reason to act.

This story is very vulgar and melodramatic, but it is really fucking realistic. It’s not them who are pathetic, it’s society. Money has taken precedence over everything, even the most beautiful human emotion鈥攍ove.

The tea had already cooled down, and I didn’t know what to say for a while.

I have been silent too many times in Xuanlin’s story.

“Chen Chengyi, it’s time for the ending. Before I tell you, I’d like to say sorry because your hard work may be wasted,” Xuan Lin said to me.

“What do you mean?” The unease in my heart rose again.

“In the situation I have set up, there is also a hidden mechanism, which is a curse. There is no way to break it. After the last spirit entered An Yu’s body, the curse has already been on him. I can’t predict how bad it will make him fall, but I know it will definitely have an effect. That’s the end. I have finally taken revenge on him for me and for Lv Ting.” Xuan Lin said calmly to me.

I suddenly realized why Xuanlin was so calm when I finally destroyed the last spirit.

It took me a long time to say, “This is also An Yu’s retribution. I didn’t work hard to save him, I just wanted to break the game. This is what I should do.” I didn’t lie. As for whether Xuanlin could understand, it was up to him.

He smiled and said, “I know you are a good person. How can a good person help a bad person enjoy all the blessings, happiness and peace?

“The world may not be defined by good and evil, but everyone has their own path. Good people and bad people may have to interact with each other, and there may be reasons for each other to help each other. The only difference is that no matter how much they interact, their hearts are different.” I said these words, but I myself was not too able to understand the meaning of my words.

“Promise me one thing, okay?” Xuanlin suddenly said.

“You say it.”

“If I’m dying, I’ll let you know. After I die, go see Lv Ting and see how she’s doing. Then I want you to go talk to her again, but don’t tell her I’m dead.” Xuanlin said this very calmly.

I felt an indescribable sadness in my heart. I took a sip of cold tea and said, “I will try my best to do that, but I also have a request. I will go to Shicun once. I need some information about your family. I don’t want to hide it from you. Kunlun is something I have been exploring, and it is related to someone very important to me.”

Surprisingly, Xuan Lin did not show any curiosity. He said calmly, “Okay, I’m dead anyway, and our family line is also dead. I’m worried that my parents will be left alone in their old age. We have some old things. I will persuade my parents to take them out, but can you help pay for my parents, even if they are sent to a nursing home? Or, the best way is to let them have a certain amount of money to live out their old age, and they can ask the people in the village to take care of them until they die. Life in Shicun doesn’t cost much money.”

“No problem.” If the problem can be solved with money, there is indeed no problem.

I really wanted to say that I would not exchange my money for their son, but I didn’t say it in the end. There was no need to hurt this poor child.

As for An Yu, I have no intention of enlightening him. There is no curse that cannot be broken. Just as there is yin, there is yang. If he can restrain himself in the future, do more good deeds, and accumulate more positive energy, the effect of the curse will be much lower.

But life is his, and his heart is his. How can I save the whole world? It’s always useless to pretend, isn’t it?

Xuanlin died in Shicun a month later.

It was also a month later that I met Lv Ting as promised. At that time, she was happily holding the hand of a 50-year-old man, which made me think that it might be true love. I didn’t think it was necessary to persuade her, but I still met her once as promised.

But as An Yu said, some people can’t go back. The destruction that Xuanlin thought of might be her happiness.

I didn’t tell her what Xuanlin had done for her, but I couldn’t help telling her the news of Xuanlin’s death, because I thought she wouldn’t be as sad as Xuanlin thought.

But in fact, she shed a tear, just one tear, and then laughed as she answered the phone call from the old man.

I don’t want to comment on that tear.

An Yu’s business began to decline two years later, and it was beyond repair. He gave up the company, took the remaining wealth with him, and became entangled with two women. In the end, he was killed by the husband of one of the women. It became a sensational case at the time.

I have no intention of giving a real ending to prove the existence of a curse, but I believe that human behavior can determine one’s fate. This is an inescapable cause and effect. If you escape in this life, regardless of your next life, what about your children and grandchildren?

After all, people still need to have some bottom line.

In the end, Xuanlin’s parents lived a peaceful life in Shicun.