Chapter 291: A rainbow path
Li Wanâer had still yet to completely get over her earlier agony and pain.
She explained the reason behind her lateness to Xu Tingsheng. Having gotten on a taxi early in the morning, seeing that it was still early, she had decided on the spur of a moment to pay a visit to her parents at the public cemetery and bid them farewell one more timeâŚ
She had a feeling that having left this time, it might be a very long time before she next returned.
Then, this torrential rainstorm had suddenly descended.
The taxi had been caught in a traffic jam amidst the downpour, therefore being greatly delayed.
The torrential rainstorm battered on, seeming like it would not be diminishing anytime soon as loud booms of thunder could even be heard from time to time.
âLooks like Iâm really going to be a bit late,â Li Wanâer said worriedly.
Meanwhile, on the way from Shenghai to Hedong Airport.
Zhu Ping was personally driving as he furiously rushed to the airport along with a few others, his expression frantic beyond compare.
The roads were all slippery from the rain, the cars in front generally driving very slowly. Zhu Ping impatiently honked again and again. A backseat passenger of the car in front of him rolled down the car window, looking over and giving him the middle finger.
Someone else on the car returned the middle finger and swore. Yet, Zhu Ping was not even in the mood for this now.
âThe woman whoâs on my mind every waking moment is flying offâŚâ
Zhu Ping had been keeping watch on Li Wanâer the most closely of them all. He was also the first person to have discovered that she was leaving.
Sadly for him, though, he had discovered it too late in the end. Wu Tong and Zhang Xingke had handled this matter very discreetly. After realising that something was off, Zhu Ping had quickly rushed over. However, it was already virtually impossible for him to make it there before takeoff.
He felt unwilling to resign himself to his loss just like that as he wanted to try to remedy it.
âDonât worry, Bro Zhu. With a storm like this, the flight will definitely be delayed. We can make it in time.â
Having forgotten about this in his earlier panic, hearing about this now, Zhu Ping was suddenly overwhelmed by excitement. He carefully watched the pattering raindrops as they fell upon his car window, nodding as the corners of his mouth rose and his eyes lit up, hope being rekindled withinâŚ
Then, within his fixated field of vision, the raindropsâŚhad suddenly subsidedâŚ
Next, sunlight descended, shining down on the raindrops that were still condensed on the car window as they emitted a clear, sparkling glowâŚ
While this was clearly the weather of November, it was actually as unprincipled as in June and July, raining in the blink of an eye with the skies then becoming clear again without so much as a by your leaveâŚ
Young Master Zhu slowly said exasperatedly with a flabbergasted expression on his face before slowly slapping down on the steering wheel.
The aeroplaneâs head rose as it took off. This was the first time since his rebirth that Xu Tingsheng was taking a plane. It was going to be a long flight.
While a beauty at the level of Li Wanâer was at his side, this did not diminish Xu Tingshengâs interest in observing the air stewardesses.
Some occupations themselves enhanced women, especially when men viewed them in some special way. Their uniform, their bearing-some women whom you might not even turn back to look at out on the street might capture your gaze just like that.
Moreover, the quality of air stewardesses of international airlines was generally pretty good.
Their countrymen still placed quite some emphasis on the figures and appearances of air stewardesses, unlike some countries that dared to display even some gigantic women who would cause the plane to shake just by walkingâŚ
Noticing Xu Tingshengâs gaze, Li Wanâer looked along with him for a while, feeling exasperated whilst also amused. Other men were looking at her, but the one she likedâŚthat air stewardess wasnât as beautiful as herâŚ
The two were silent for a time before Li Wanâer who had the window seat tugged at Xu Tingshengâs arm.
Xu Tingsheng looked over at her.
Li Wanâer lightly tapped the window, pointing at the rainbow outside.
The rainbow was round, emanating a warm glow and aura.
A round rainbow. Xu Tingsheng had travelled by plane quite a number of times in his previous life, but this was the first time he was seeing a rainbow from a plane. So seeing a rainbow from a plane would reveal its complete form, its original form.
âHave you ever seen a rainbow on a plane before?â Xu Tingsheng asked Li Wanâer, thinking that with how she had spent so much time overseas, having travelled by plane so many times, there should be a greater probability of her having seen one before.
Li Wanâer shook her head, smiling, âItâs my first time too.â
âYour life must be like this rainbow from now on,â Xu Tingsheng told her.
Li Wanâer felt rather uncomprehending as she did not really know how she should interpret this statement. It seemed like it could be taken in a number of ways, such as fullness, exuberanceâŚ
Happy to view things in an optimistic light, Li Wanâer looked up at Xu Tingsheng.
Xu Tingsheng also realised that his words had been a little wrong as he hesitated for a moment before elaborating, âEven if the colour is a little dull, having achieved fullness and completion, it would not be all that bad. If your mindset is good, there can be joy even in suffering. A peaceful, quiet life is actually great too.â
He was describing Li Wanâerâs future life and trying to provide her with some encouragement.
Li Wanâerâs mind strayed off trajectory again, virtually straying to another universe altogether.
âFullness in dullness, a good mindset, joy even in sufferingâŚis he hintingâŚfor me to be mentally prepared to be a good âloverâ? While life may be dull, it is also completeâŚâ
Li Wanâer glared at Xu Tingsheng with âaggrieved indignationâ, feeling wronged and vexed too.
This guy who was actually only twenty years old was actuallyâŚright, he was just twenty, and so successful too. Would he really marry someone like her who was so much older than him, also having been married before? Was that possible?
Perhaps this was the only way she could stay by his sideâŚ
Li Wanâer felt pained, conflicted. She was not willing to accept such a status. This frail woman actually possessed great self-respect as well as self-love. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for her to soldier on despite such dire circumstances. If only she had given up on persisting, any problem could have been solved. She could have had anything.
ButâŚshe still could not stop thinking about him, could not bear to part with him.
His shamelessness, how rascally, caring and powerful he was, including how he had once made a move on her which had ultimately ended in failureâŚthey all caused Li Wanâer to be unable to bear to part with him. Actually, she had already given up on resisting him that time, wasnât it?
Seeing that Li Wanâer had suddenly turned quiet, Xu Tingsheng thought that she was thinking about her life in her future, or perhaps even about the pastâŚhe remained silent.
The air stewardess began serving the food. Xu Tingsheng was the first to select from the menu. Then, Li Wanâer chose the same option as him.
After Xu Tingsheng had finished eating all of a certain dish, Li Wanâer would silently pick up the same dish from her food using her chopsticks and put it on his plate. Despite him telling her âno needâ or âthank youâ, she said nothing at all.
The current state of affairs between the two was that of calmness and quietness now. There had been episodes of shamelessness, joy and sorrow between them before, but actually never once such calmness and quietness.
After the meal, Li Wanâer took the initiative to strike up a conversation. Perhaps she was trying to probe deeper into things.
âIn going to Italy, youâŚhave some other matters to handle?â
Li Wanâer meant: Is there anything else besides sending me over?
Xu Tingsheng thought about it for a moment, deciding that there was no need to tell Li Wanâer about his business-related affairs as he said, âYou can take it like Iâm going on a tour.â
Li Wanâer felt that his words should probably be an excuse and a poor attempt in hiding things at that. What he likely meant was: Actually, I only came along to accompany you. Iâm worried about you, so I wanted to go over there with you to help you to settle down.
Xu Tingsheng had mentioned going on a tour. If someone had really designated Italy as their tourist destination, Milan would actually not be the best choice for this.
Milan was more suited for shopping. There were too many places in Italy that were more worth seeing for tourists. For example, Firenze, or Florence. Xu Tingsheng preferred the former name more. Also, there were other great locations like Rome and Venice, or even Matera and Lucca.
Having lived in Italy for six years, Li Wanâer tried to understand where Xu Tingshengâs interests in Italy lay so as to help him better plan his itinerary.
âWhat are your greatest impressions of Italy?â
âProbably football and .â
âI once lived in a street similar to the one in the movie . Itâs a bit old but very beautiful. If itâs football, I think that there are two especially famous football teams in Milan City. Iâve passed by the stadiums before, but Iâve never ever been inside. Do you want to go there?â
âLetâs decide after weâve arrived,â Xu Tingsheng said.