No Turning Back, No Regret
No Turning Back, No Regret
Since he planted various trees and herbs on Nanshan Hill, he was more interested in the plants on Xiangshan Hill. He also found the natural scenes more interesting than the old buildings.
There were accommodations and restaurants on Xiangshan Hill. The area was a good spot for leisure and tourism. They had lunch in a nearby restaurant and took a break. Afterward, they continued walking around the area.
As a previous royal garden, Xiangshan Park was very big. It would take at least a few days to visit all the areas inside it.
In the afternoon, they went to Zhisong Garden and Biyun Temple.
Those old buildings were more or less damaged. Although some of them were fixed, they couldn't return to their original look.
"Shall we make a wish inside?" Su Xiaoxue suggested.
"OK," Wang Yao said.
Many people believed that their dreams would come true if they made a wish in a temple. Wang Yao was not that convinced.
The temple looked dignified inside. Su Xiaoxue knelt to make a wish. Wang Yao stood by her side.
They suddenly heard someone call out, "Xiaoxue?"
They looked toward the voice and saw a young man with a shiny smile on his face. It was Guo Zhenghe.
"Hello, Zhenghe, what a coincidence," Su Xiaoxue said.
"Hello, Xiaoxue. Hello, Dr. Wang," Guo Zhenghe said.
"Hello," Wang Yao said with a smile.
"It looks like you don't want to take my advice," Guo Zhenghe said as he stared at Wang Yao.
"I won't consider it. I won't give up," Wang Yao said.
Wang Yao may have thought it was a coincidence to bump into Guo Zhenghe a minute ago, be he no longer thought that was the case. He didn't like Guo Zhenghe at all.
Why should he stay away from anything or anybody Guo Zhenghe was interested in? Guo Zhenghe was neither some god from heaven nor the emperor on the earth. He had no reason to be so arbitrary.
"Fine. I hope you won't regret your decision one day," Guo Zhenghe said.
Su Xiaoxue seemed to have sensed something out of their conversation.
"Zhenghe, what do you mean?" She had no smile on her face.
"Let's go." Wang Yao held Su Xiaoxue's hand and walked off.
Su Xiaoxue trembled. It was as if she had an electric shock when Wang Yao touched her hand. She compliantly followed him out of the temple, leaving Guo Zhenghe alone in the temple. Guo Zhenghe looked extremely unhappy. His face was like the weather in June. It suddenly changed from shiny to cloudy.
"What a stubborn person!" Guo Zhenghe resentfully murmured as he clenched his teeth.
It was like a slap on his face when Wang Yao took Su Xiaoxue's hand. He believed Wang Yao tried to provoke him. No one had ever dared to do that in front of him.
Su Xiaoxue was the meat in his bowl. She was the woman he had pre-ordered. No one except for him could touch her.
Guo Zhenghe decided to leave his gratitude to Wang Yao for saving his life behind. From this moment, Wang Yao was his enemy.
"Dr. Wang?" Su Xiaoxue softly asked as her face turned red. Her voice was as low as a mosquito. This was the first time that a man had held her hand.
"Oh, sorry." Wang Yao let go of Su Xiaoxue's hand.
The two of them stood under a pine tree that seemed to be over 100 years old.
"What did he ask you to give up?" Su Xiaoxue asked. She remembered every single word of Wang Yao and Guo Zhenghe's conversation.
"You, of course," Wang Yao said.
"What?" Su Xiaoxue asked in shock. She looked serious. "How ridiculous!"
"Exactly," Wang Yao said.
"Can you tell me what he said to you?" Su Xiaoxue asked.
Wang Yao agreed and told her all about Guo Zhenghe's visit to the village as they walked. He told Su Xiaoxue that Guo Zhenghe wanted him to leave her.
"You can never judge a person by how he looks. He is such a horrible person," Su Xiaoxue angrily said.
She didn't like him. He went to threaten Wang Yao, who had saved his life once.
"Don't be upset. Let's forget about him," Wang Yao said. "Shall we go somewhere else?"
"You must be careful. I know he will find a way to hurt you," Su Xiaoxue said.
"I know. I will be careful," Wang Yao said.
Guo Zhenghe left Xiangshan Hill right after Wang Yao and Su Xiaoxue had gone. He had no reason to linger. He didn't go home. Instead, he went to a different house in Beijing. He sat by himself in the living room smoking. He was staring through the window. Who knew what was on his mind?
Another day had gone by. Good times always went fast.
"Auntie Lian, we bumped into Guo Zhenghe when we were in Biyun Temple," Su Xiaoxue said after they had dropped Wang Yao at the hotel.
"Oh, what a coincidence," Chu Lian said.
"I don't think it was a coincidence. I think he came for a reason," Su Xiaoxue said. She was a smart girl.
"Do you think he followed you?" Chu Lian asked.
"Yes, he tried to threaten Dr. Wang," Su Xiaoxue said.
"What do you mean?" Chu Lian asked. She was not impressed by Guo Zhenghe in the first place since she heard a lot of negative comments about what he did in the local government and Beijing.
"He went to the village to ask Dr. Wang not to date me," Su Xiaoxue said.
"Really?" Chu Lian was not too surprised.
"He threatened Dr. Wang again today. He said Dr. Wang would regret it one day. He's such an arbitrary person!" Su Xiaoxue became very serious, even cold.
Chu Lian was surprised that Miss Su was so angry since she was always a pleasant girl.
"What do you plan to do?" Chu Lian asked.
"I need to make sure Dr. Wang's life will not be disturbed at all," Su Xiaoxue said.
"That is going to be tricky," Chu Lian said.
She knew Guo Zhenghe's father held a high position in the local government department of Qi province. He would probably become the head of the province in the future. It would be easy for him to cause trouble for someone residing in it.
"I will discuss this with my mother," Su Xiaoxue said.
That night, Su Xiaoxue had a long conversation with her mother.
"I know what you mean. I'll try my best to protect Dr. Wang and his family," Song Ruiping said.
"Thank you, Mom," Su Xiaoxue said.
"Don't say that! You are my daughter," Song Ruiping said.
At the same time, Su Xiaoxue realized how powerless she was. She had to rely on her mother to protect the one she loved. After all, she was just a young woman. She had nothing but a pretty face, warm heart, and strong family background.
Meanwhile, Wang Yao was also thinking about the encounter with Guo Zhenghe in the hotel. He remembered what Guo Zhenghe said to him. He had been very angry at that time.
Guo Zhenghe thought he was superior to Wang Yao and even threatened him. He also knew Guo Zhenghe's father held a high position in Qi province. People did not fight with the officials, and the poor did not compete with the rich.
Wang Yao had no advantage if he wanted to fight Guo Zhenghe. Even Sun Zhengrong couldn't do anything to Guo Zhenghe and his family. Only Su Xiaoxue's family possessed the same power as Guo Zhenghe's family. However, he couldn't be sure that his family wouldn't be affected.
"It looks like I can no longer live like a recluse. I have to have enough power to protect people I care about," Wang Yao murmured, even though he hated scheming and fighting.
He had been trying to avoid becoming involved in any conflict with anyone. However, he couldn't escape from Guo Zhenghe's challenge. Sometimes, the more he tried to escape, the sooner trouble would find him.
He kept thinking about how to deal with Guo Zhenghe.
Bring it on!
However, his current opponent was different from previous ones. His opponent had an obvious advantage.
The next morning, he phoned Su Xiaoxue and visited the Su family's cottage without asking Chu Lian to pick him up. He went to see Chen Ying and Chen Zhou.
"Hello, Dr. Wang, what brings you here?" Chen Ying asked.
"I came to Beijing two days ago," Wang Yao said.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Chen Ying asked. "I'll clean a room for you."
"There is no need. I'm here for private business this time," Wang Yao said. "I don't want to disturb you and your brother. I just came here to visit you and Zhou. How are you doing, Zhou?"
"I'm good. I haven't had an episode for a long time. I suppose I'm fine now," Chen Zhou said.
Wang Yao hadn't seen him for a long time. Chen Zhou had grown stronger.
After chatting with Chen Ying and Chen Zhou for a short while, Chu Lian came with Su Xiaoxue.
"I have to go," Wang Yao said.
"See you later, Dr. Wang," Chen Ying said.
She and her brother walked Wang Yao to the door and watched the car drive off.
"Sis, what do you think Dr. Wang came to Beijing for this time?" Chen Zhou asked.
"I don't know," Chen Ying said.
Two hours later, Wu Tongxing came to the cottage.
"Hello, Director Wu," Chen Ying said.
"Hello, how many times have I told you to just call me Uncle Wu? Is Dr. Wang in Beijing?" Wu Tongxing asked.
"Yes. He left with Miss Su," Chen Ying said.
"Xiaoxue?" Wu Tongxing asked. "I see, thank you."
"No worries," Chen Ying said.
After Wu Tongxing left, another car came to the cottage. An old man got out of the car. It was Dr. Chen.
"Hello, Dr. Chen," Chen Ying said.
"Is Dr. Wang here?" Dr. Chen asked.
"He just left," Chen Ying said.
"When did he leave?" Dr. Chen asked.
"About an hour ago," Chen Ying said.
"Where has he gone to?" Dr. Chen asked.
"I'm not sure," Chen Ying said.
"Why didn't you tell me when he got here?" Dr. Chen complained.