Chapter 781 520: I've Envied Him More Than Once

Time flies. Five years passed in the blink of an eye…

One evening at dusk, the setting sun bathed the entire city in its winter afterglow, painting it in shades of gold.

Mingzhu City.

Inside a quiet coffee shop.

At a wooden table sat a strikingly beautiful woman. Dressed in a brown overcoat and a scarf, she had her laptop open, her fingers working diligently across the keyboard.

She was tall and slender, with an air of gentle sophistication.

Her beautiful eyes were fixed intently on her work, unblinking.

Beside her sat a little girl, around three or four years old. She had her hair in two pigtails, with chubby baby cheeks and large, glistening grape-like eyes. She was playing with a small green turtle in a little cup.

Her small, delicate fingers stroked the little turtle's shell, and she would occasionally place it in the palm of her hand.

Her eyes were filled with curiosity and a sense of discovery.

Unlike most children her age, the little girl was exceptionally quiet and didn't disturb her mother's work. With mother and daughter each focused on their own task, the atmosphere was surprisingly serene.

RING RING RING—

Suddenly,

The door of the coffee shop opened, and another woman walked in. She had shoulder-length hair, fair skin, and round-framed glasses perched on her nose. She was wearing black leather high-heeled boots and a brown overcoat.

A waiter promptly came over to greet her.

"What can I get for you, miss?"

"A hot latte with half sugar, please. Thank you."

"To go, or for here?"

"To go, please. And could you be quick about it? I'm in a hurry," the woman said quietly.

The waiter quickly complied and placed the woman's order.

It was a bitterly cold winter day. The wind howled outside, and even the sunlight couldn't dispel the biting chill.

Another year was drawing to its quiet, desolate close.

Pedestrians on the street hurried by with their necks shrunk into the collars of their thick down jackets and coats, unwilling to linger in the cold.

The coffee shop, by contrast, was much warmer.

The woman found an empty seat and sat down. She pulled out her phone, glancing at it a few times. It was clear she was in a rush, as she kept looking around anxiously.

However,

Soon, her gaze fell upon another table in the coffee shop—the one where the mother and daughter were seated.

To be honest,

with the mother's striking beauty, it would have been difficult not to notice her.

It was as if time had left no trace on her. There were no wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, her skin was still fair and radiant. Her nimble fingers, adorned with a diamond ring, danced across the keyboard, her expression one of utter concentration.

Every so often, she would lift her coffee for a delicate sip.

Her upward-tilting phoenix eyes could leave a lasting impression with just a single, fleeting glance.

Her long, slightly curled hair, tipped with chestnut, cascaded over her shoulders and mingled with her soft scarf. Her entire ensemble exuded an incomparable air of nobility.

It was the kind of aura that kept most people at a distance.

But,

a look of astonishment appeared in the eyes of the woman who had just entered. She blinked as if in disbelief, and a complex expression quickly clouded her features.

She simply stared, lost in a daze.

As if sensing the stare, the little girl turned her head and glanced curiously at the woman who was gazing at her and her mother. She gave a small pout, seemingly displeased, before turning back to her little turtle.

In life, some encounters catch you completely off guard.

On this unremarkable afternoon, the woman remained stunned for a long while before finally lowering her gaze.

After a moment,

as if having made a decision, she stood up and walked toward the mother and daughter.

"P-Professor Jiangg." Though she tried her best to control it, her voice was still laced with nervousness.

At first, Jiangg Ning paid it no mind. Only after a few seconds did she look up.

'It's been so long since anyone called me that.'

Jiangg Ning belatedly lifted her head.

The woman standing beside her looked vaguely familiar. Jiangg Ning paused, but for the life of her, she couldn't recall who it was.

"Hello… And you are?" she could only ask politely.

"Professor Jiangg, you really don't remember me…" The woman smiled faintly, brushing a stray hair from her forehead. "You taught me at Lanjing University."

"No wonder you look so familiar," Jiangg Ning said, understanding dawning on her.

Even after five years,

the woman still had to admit, the person before her was just as beautiful as ever.

Back then, she had been the most popular professor in the lecture halls. Standing on the podium, a twenty-six-year-old Jiangg Ning had been brimming with life and passion, practically glowing. Her every gesture had captivated countless students.

Until one day, she abruptly submitted her resignation and left the Landa University campus for good.

The campus rumor mill claimed that a student from the physics department had captured Professor Jiangg's heart, convincing her to resign so she could focus on her relationship with the boy.

It sounded so incredible that even though the topic was a perennial favorite on the school forums, most students just laughed it off, refusing to believe it.

But the woman knew it wasn't just a rumor.

She had been involved as well, just on a deeper level.

"So, Professor Jiangg still can't remember my name?" The woman's expression was complicated. After a long moment, she chuckled as if in resignation. "Then again, there's no reason you would. I was never very memorable, after all."

"I'm sorry…"

Sensing her disappointment, Jiangg Ning could only offer an apologetic look.

'She looks familiar, but I really can't place her.'

As the years go by, the memories that remain are only the most profound ones from a certain time, or the trivial little things hidden in daily life. Most memories fade, becoming mottled and losing their color over time.

"It's nothing. I'm Li Bing. I was in the same class as Chen Yuan. We even had a meal together once," the woman finally explained.

In an instant,

the memories associated with that name came flooding back.

Jiangg Ning immediately recalled the timid college student with glasses, who looked so fragile but was as pure and innocent as a small white flower.

"You've changed so much, Li Bing," Jiangg Ning exclaimed. "You're all grown up. I almost didn't recognize you."

"I guess so…" Li Bing smiled, a little embarrassed, her gaze shifting to the little girl. "Is this… your and Chen Yuan's daughter?"

"I suppose you could say that," Jiangg Ning said with a mysterious expression, nodding.

"You suppose?"

"Actually, she's Chen Yuan and Jiangg Yao's daughter. She's the younger sister in the family; her older sister didn't come with me."

"So Chen Yuan has two daughters already?"

"Yep," Jiangg Ning nodded, her face beaming with happiness as she spoke of her husband. "Yaoyao and I came to Mingzhu City on business, and we brought Shuangshuang and Xiaohan with us. I went shopping yesterday and bought a little turtle for Shuangshuang. When we got back, Xiaohan was upset…"

As she spoke, Jiangg Ning reached out and stroked the little girl's head.

"So I had to bring her out to get one for herself."

"Oh, I see," Li Bing said with a nod.

"Her full name is Chen Zhihan, and her older sister is Chen Zhishuang. Chen Yuan named both of them."

"Professor Jiangg."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry," Li Bing said suddenly. "I wanted to go to your wedding, but… I didn't go in the end."

Jiangg Ning was taken aback.

But she recovered quickly.

"It's alright. I'm sure you had your own things to attend to."

In truth, so many guests had come to the wedding, from all corners of the country.

How would Jiangg Ning have even noticed that one of Chen Yuan's classmates was missing?

If she hadn't run into Li Bing today and been told this, Jiangg Ning would likely never have known, or even cared.

She barely had any impression of the young woman to begin with.

"Miss, your hot latte is ready," the waiter suddenly said, walking over with the coffee.

"Thank you."

Li Bing took the cup, then turned to glance at Jiangg Ning.

"Well, I…"

"Are you in a hurry? You should get going then. I'll be leaving soon myself."

"Right. Okay then."

Li Bing pressed her lips together, as if holding something back. But she quickly composed herself and turned to walk toward the door.

As she pushed open the glass door, the cold wind from outside rushed in, sweeping across her face.

The hair on Li Bing's forehead was instantly tossed about by the wind.

She lowered her head.

Then, as if making a final decision, she stopped in her tracks.

She turned around.

She walked back to Jiangg Ning's side.

"Professor Jiangg, there's something I want to tell you, even if now isn't the right time or place."

"If you have something to say, Li Bing, please feel free."

"Alright then."

She took a deep breath.

"It's so unexpected, running into you here. Seeing that you're still the same as you were back then… I don't know what to say, other than to marvel at how happy Chen Yuan is. And you, too."

"Thank you."

"No, that's not what I meant to say… Professor Jiangg, you probably don't know this, but the reason I didn't attend your wedding was because I didn't even own a single decent outfit, and I certainly couldn't afford to buy one. I would have been so ashamed to go… And maybe the shame was secondary. Perhaps the real reason was that I just couldn't face it. My own feelings of inferiority made it impossible for me to hold my head high."

Li Bing looked at Jiangg Ning and continued, "Chen Yuan's college roommate, a guy named Quan Yafeng, used to pursue me. He liked me, and he confessed his feelings many times. He's a good person, but I never said yes. Do you know why? The truth is… the person I liked was Chen Yuan."

After she spoke those words, the smile vanished from Jiangg Ning's face. She watched Li Bing, her expression turning thoughtful.

As if a dam had broken, Li Bing continued, talking almost to herself, "I could never admit it. I didn't have the right. He was just too dazzling. So many people liked him, including my best friend in college. He was like you—the two of you were perfect for each other. It was only natural that you would end up together. People like me… we can only watch from a distance, like insignificant background characters."

She lowered her head. "Even though I've tried so hard to better myself… I came from a rural village with nothing to my name. I started a street stall in my junior year, saved up my money, and started a business. Now, two years after graduating, I've finally managed to open a small company…"

"It's… it's probably ridiculous to say this, and maybe it's just my own wishful thinking, but I felt that only by becoming better would I have the courage to chase after the light… or at least find the courage to say these words. Otherwise, on what grounds could I?"

Her voice trailed off, growing quieter.

But Jiangg Ning heard it all clearly.

Her last words were, "Was it love? I'm not sure. I can't tell the difference. Maybe you could just call it a longing for something beautiful… I'm so envious of people like Chen Yuan. He doesn't have to be flashy or try hard. He doesn't even have to chase after anyone. He just has to stand there, just has to be himself, and people will love him… Would he even remember a background character like me from his youth? A girl who barely exchanged a few words with him, yet so easily made him the idealized love of her life… To be loved just for being yourself—what an enviable dream. Even someone as exceptional as Professor Jiangg was willing to love him."

"His life is so full of happiness. I've been envious more times than I can count."

(End of Book)