Chapter 146
Through the layers of leaves, that person stood sideways to him. In the cold wind, that person's hair was blown into a mess, flying wildly in all directions, and he didn't even bother to tidy it up. The short jacket he wore had a high waistline, exposing his waist area, which let in the cold air, making him look chilled to the bone. His two legs were extremely thin, stiffly standing there, and when the wind blew, they seemed like they would topple over at any moment.
Li Jin looked for a long time before recognizing him, and it turned out to be Shu Mu.
What is he doing here?
Li Jin had been receiving news from this side, knowing that he had disappeared, and even the high-level executives of HM company couldn't find him. He knew that Shu Mu was not a snail-like person, who usually solved problems before speaking, but this time, he suddenly disappeared out of thin air.
His disappearance directly caused the brokerage team to lose its backbone, and the new broker couldn't handle the complicated relationships, which eventually led to today's situation.
Li Jing looked at him and gradually understood why he was here.
The sky gradually darkened, and the cemetery was only lit by a few small lanterns, barely enough to light the way. Under the bleak and gloomy light, Shu Mu's figure looked more haggard than ever, this haggardness not only showed on his gaunt face, but seemed to have seeped into his bones. Li Jin knew he must have been having a tough time lately, but she hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Even back then, when Shu Mu was just a poor and unknown small-time celebrity with only a good face to his name, he had never experienced such a disheartened moment.
He stood there like a withered tree, paused for a moment, then slowly bent down, stretched out his hand, and gently stroked Ke Yuan's tombstone as if caressing a lover's cheek. Although the sky was already dark and only the outline could be seen, Li Jin knew that the fingers of his hand touching the tombstone must have had a slight curvature, with the palm hot and the fingertips slightly cool.
Just like before, when they were in love, he caressed himself like that.
Such comfort made Li Jin unable to bear looking at it anymore.
He subconsciously took a step back, his mind still in a daze, but his body had already taken on an escaping posture. However, he didn't expect that behind him, the withered branches and leaves made a rustling sound as he stepped on them. The cold evening wind, the eerie lamplight, combined with this sound, was like a ghostly disturbance.
"Ke Yuan, is that you?" Before Lei Jin could react, Shu Mu heard from a distance and asked in a hoarse voice.
This voice mixed with thoughts and surprise, obviously a joyful question, but listening to it makes one's heart feel like being cut by a knife.
Li Jin pursed her lips and walked out of the dimly lit room, no longer willing to hide.
As soon as he saw clearly that it was him, Shu Mu's surprised expression instantly faded away. Moreover, with a gaze that was a hundred times more sarcastic than ordinary people, he glared at Li Jin and sneered: "What are you doing here?"
"Do you wish you were Ke Yuan?" Li Jin stood before him, "If Ke Yuan were still here, you might not be in such a sorry state today."
Shu Mu's shoulders slightly shrunk, then he lowered his head and quietly gazed at Ke Yuan's tombstone. Li Yihe was tactful with his words, only saying they were close friends, but didn't mention the ten years of unrequited love for himself. Shu Mu repeatedly stared at the two characters "close friend", after a while, he coldly laughed.
"Right, in the past decade, I have never been so desperate." Shu Mu said, "If Ke Yuan had this courage back then, perhaps he wouldn't have died such a miserable death."
With a sarcastic tone and an icy expression, there was no hint of remorse.
Li Jin hated it so much that his teeth ached, but looking at his dispirited appearance, there was a mouthful of words in her heart that wanted to be pierced by someone, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of pain.
He had long known that Shu Mu was not someone who would bow his head to anyone. Even if you trampled his head into the mud, it wouldn't get him to utter a single soft word. So from the start, Li Jin hadn't expected Shu Mu to be filled with remorse and cry tears of repentance; just pulling him down from the mountaintop was enough to exact revenge on him.
But it wasn't until now that he realized that apart from the thrill of revenge, he didn't feel comfortable at all.
Shu Mu's suffering cannot be exchanged for the expected happiness.
"Kuo Yuan has long advised you that no matter how much you develop your side business, being a star will always be your main career. Only when you're popular will people give you face, once you're not popular, nobody will bother with you." Li Jin let out a sigh and said calmly.
"What's with you?" Shu Mu sneered, "Have I fallen so low that even you can lecture me?"
"No, I'm not interested in lecturing you. I just want to tell you that such simple truths, both Ke Yuan and I understand," said Li Jin with a smile, gazing at the inscription on the tombstone, slowly and word by word piercing his heart: "The difference between him and me is simply that he deeply loved you, while I don't love you."
"Right," Shu Mu smiled, "you're absolutely right."
They didn't say another word, the two of them stood facing each other, but neither of them paid attention to the other. The sky had completely darkened, and in the vast cemetery, only a few dim lights were left to illuminate it. Li Jin raised her eyelids, and in a daze, Shu Mu's eyes were filled with sorrow and pain as he stared at the words "Ke Yuan", his nostalgia reaching its peak.
But...
What's the use of this again?
If one only remembers the other's kindness when feeling disappointed, then what is the difference between this kind of emotion and taking advantage of someone?
Li Jin couldn't stand it anymore and was about to leave when Shu Mu's phone rang.
Shu Mu blinked as if waking up from a dream, then took out her phone, frowned at the screen, looked at Li Jin again, and slightly turned sideways to answer the call.
He Jia's voice came out exceptionally clear.
The surroundings were quiet and soundless, but He Yuxuan's voice was full of anger, like a thunderclap. Li Jin stood not far away, holding the phone with the sound coming out clearly, listening to every word.
He Dashi scolded on the phone, saying that tonight's family dinner, Shuangshuang had arrived early, but he didn't see anyone. He was told to roll over within half an hour and scolded again. Recently, he hadn't accompanied Shuangshuang, and Shuangshuang felt lost and depressed every day. If he dared to do so again, be careful not to eat and walk away.
He Dashi had heard about He Dashao's attitude towards Shu Mu, although they weren't close, the superficial harmony and respect were always maintained. So it turned out that behind closed doors, He Dashao was like this to Shu Mu, ordering him around?
Li Jin looked at Shu Mu's expression, the man was calm and composed from head to toe, not making a sound until the end of the phone call, when he simply replied with a "hmm" before hanging up, showing great poise and composure.
He then understood that He Dashao's sudden change in attitude was also due to the recent Shu Mu scandal.
Shu Mu took the phone and put it in his pocket, then turned around and patted Ke Yuan's tombstone again, as if bidding farewell to a brother. Then he walked past Li Jin and headed down the mountain.
"Shu Mu," suddenly, Li Jin called out to him, "now that Ke Yuan is dead, are you happy now?"
Shu Mu's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
It wasn't until a while later that he turned around, looking at Li Jin with an extremely mocking gaze.
In the night wind, he stood tall and straight, although he was in a relatively lower position, but it seemed as if he was the one who was standing high above.
He smiled coldly, his face twisted in a cruel grin: "In this world, there aren't many people who live happily anyway - as long as I live better than others, that's enough."
