mutual benefit [gl]

This auction will last for three days, but for Chen Yuanzhen, it can be declared over.

The follow-up procedures for the ink painting that Ji Cixi took down have been handed over to the driver who was traveling with her, and the two of them went back to the hotel first.

But before the car had been driving for a long time on the way back, Chen Yuanzhen asked the driver to turn around and go to a restaurant.

"Where are you going?" Ji Cixi asked.

Chen Yuanzhen smiled and said, "Go to dinner, I have reserved a restaurant."

"There's no need to be so troublesome." Ji Cixi replied, as if she felt that her refusal was too straightforward and impolite, her tone softened a little.

"I mean just eat whatever you want in the hotel."

"Well, that's not acceptable." Chen Yuanzhen stretched out a finger and waved it in front of Ji Cixi's eyes.

Chen Yuanzhen's sly eyes met Ji Cixi's puzzled eyes, and her red lips were slightly pursed, showing a secretive look.

"I have something to say, and I must talk to you alone. And, I have to find a place with a good atmosphere."

After she finished speaking, she turned her eyes to look at the road ahead, and said no more.

Although Ji Cixi wanted to ask again, but he was too lazy to grind his teeth with her, so he just looked out of the car window helplessly.

It's dusk now, and the setting sun is like a hot iron, smudged the world.

The blood-colored sunsets in foreign countries seem to be different from the ones I have seen before, like a sky that has been splashed with a basin of blood, or like a fire that is spreading, and I don't know where it will be extinguished.

Perhaps this raging fire has also burned into the hearts of some people who are alive and well, or stagnant.

Ji Cixi suddenly closed her eyes.

She pressed the window button, and then a slightly humid wind poured into the car, brushing the hair around her ears.

The heating inside the car and the cold wind outside the car window entangled and penetrated into the human skin, Ji Cixi finally found a sense of reality.

Just last night, she woke up in a dream.

Sitting up reluctantly, I found that I was indeed in a hotel room, and was a little dazed for a while.

Sometimes, she feels that all this is a dream.

It doesn't matter if my sister brings Ji Xu to find her, or it doesn't matter if my sister dies, or Chen Yuanzhen appears.

Especially Chen Yuanzhen, this woman brought her too much sense of unreality.

But the thing that made Ji Cixi feel unreal the most was that she actually started to feel at ease, even delighted, by Chen Yuanzhen's truthfulness.

Maybe at the beginning, she could say that she hated Chen Yuanzhen, but now she couldn't say that no matter what.

She doesn't hate Chen Yuanzhen, very much.

Perhaps this time, Chen Yuanzhen was wrong.

The golden butterfly fluttering in the rain really flew out, and flew into Ji Cixi's heart, which was like a deep pool, lightly setting off a trace of ripples.

"What are you thinking?"

Chen Yuanzhen's voice suddenly rang in his ears, and Ji Cixi opened his eyes for a moment, only to realize that the car had stopped.

She raised her eyes and looked out of the car window. The car was parked in front of a restaurant far away from the busy city.

There are dim lights in the restaurant, and a notice board has been erected at the door indicating that it is reserved.

"Aren't you going to get out of the car?" Chen Yuanzhen asked again.

Ji Cixi lowered her eyes, she took a deep breath, sorted out her chaotic thoughts, unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car.

The restaurant under Chen Yuanzhen's contract is not too big, but it is elegantly decorated, and it is indeed a place with a great atmosphere.

As soon as the two stepped into the restaurant, a waiter in formal attire greeted them. He was obviously no stranger to Chen Yuanzhen. Ji Cixi heard the two talking for a while, and the waiter led them to the inner hall of the restaurant.

After the two sat down, the waiter first served two cups of coffee. He didn't ask them what they wanted to order, obviously Chen Yuanzhen had already made arrangements.

After the waiter left, Chen Yuanzhen looked around with a smile. She picked up the porcelain cup with flowers in front of her, took a sip of coffee, raised her eyes and smiled at Ji Cixi:

"How about it, isn't the atmosphere good?"

Ji Cixi didn't speak, but just nodded.

"It's suitable for a date." She smiled again.

"If you want to practice your strike-up skills, change someone else, I won't do that." Ji Cixi said with a blank expression.

Chen Yuanzhen frowned a little aggrievedly and said, "In your eyes, does the word 'dating' only have that meaning?"

Ji Cixi simply stopped talking to her.

The two were silent for a moment, Ji Cixi listened to the soft music looming in his ears, and then looked around.

The atmosphere right now...is indeed a bit subtle.

She looked up at Chen Yuanzhen uncomfortably, but she still didn't intend to speak.

Ji Cixi looked at herself, but today she and Chen Yuanzhen were both wearing formal clothes.

Looking at it this way...it really looks like she's out on a date.

Ji Cixi, who was really awkward, had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak first.

"you……"

As soon as she made a sound, Chen Yuanzhen, who was still wandering in the sky just now, suddenly turned his eyes and stared at her face.

Seeing her like this, Ji Cixi was startled at first, then continued stiffly:

"Aren't you, do you have something to tell me?"

Chen Yuanzhen just looked at her playfully, but didn't speak.

"It's only the two of us now, so if you have something to say, speak quickly."

"Hmm..." Chen Yuanzhen raised his wrist, pinned the hair hanging down his cheeks behind his ears, and then supported his chin with his hands.

"Do you think the atmosphere is good now?" she asked.

"I think it's better if you have something to say."

Chen Yuanzhen looked at Ji Cixi again, after a while, she gave a low laugh and nodded helplessly.

"Since this is the case..." She reached out to the pocket of her cashmere coat, took out a dark blue box and put it on the table.

She reached out and gently pushed the box towards Ji Cixi.

"You are..."

Chen Yuanzhen leaned on the seat, she pursed her lips and smiled, "Open it and have a look?"

Ji Cixi cast puzzled eyes on Chen Yuanzhen, but Chen Yuanzhen just smiled and nodded without speaking.

She looked at the box in front of her, and after a while, she finally stretched out her hand and opened it slowly.

A ring standing on black velvet gradually appeared in front of Ji Cixi's eyes.

The ring still gleamed palely in the dim light of the restaurant.

Seeing Ji Cixi's expression, Chen Yuanzhen was first surprised, then puzzled, and finally she looked at herself.

Her eyes were like thick fog, mixed with turbulent emotions.

There are surprises and dissatisfaction.

Ji Cixi was about to speak, but Chen Yuanzhen restrained the smile on his face first.

"It's not a gift."

Ji Cixi remained silent.

"Just return it to its original owner."

Ji Cixi finally looked at her again.

"When Chen Yuanyang went home to confess, I happened to be there. I only knew at that time that he had a girlfriend outside of home, but I didn't expect him to bow his head to the old man so soon."

"The ring is..."

Chen Yuanzhen paused, she turned her gaze away from Ji Cixi, her voice was a little heavy.

"He knelt in front of the old man, took off the ring and threw it on the ground in front of everyone. I think..."

She raised her eyes and looked at Ji Cixi.

"I think it should be related to his girlfriend. At that time, I considered that this ring might come in handy in the future, so I picked it up after everyone had left."

Only then did Ji Cixi cast her eyes on the ring again, she stretched out her hand, as if she wanted to pick up the ring, but before she touched it, she retracted again.

"It should be the pair of rings he bought. I think it's dirty." She looked at Chen Yuanzhen, "My sister probably thinks it's dirty too."

Unexpectedly, Chen Yuanzhen shook his head.

"I think... that ring should be given to him by your sister."

"how do you know?"

"Also, pick it up and see for yourself."

Ji Cixi reached out to pick up the ring after hearing the words.

She lifted the ring up to the light in the dining room, and she saw a line of small words engraved on the inner circle of the ring.

The wear and tear of that line of characters is not serious. Obviously, it has not been worn for a long time, and no one has worn it again.

The small print was easy to read, and it was written in English:

"To the love of my life."

Ji Cixi just glanced at it, she quickly put the ring back into the box, and then bit her lip to close it like closing Pandora's box.

"Perhaps, luckily among misfortunes, your sister didn't engrave his name after that sentence."

Chen Yuanzhen said softly.

"She's such a fool."

When Chen Yuanzhen heard Ji Cixi say, her face was still the same as usual, and even the tone and voice of saying this sentence were the same as usual.

Chen Yuanzhen didn't know what to say, so he could only look at her.

"Take it away." Ji Cixi turned her face away, no longer looking at the box.

"This thing is not mine, and it has nothing to do with me returning it to its original owner."

Looking at Ji Cixi's stern face, although Chen Yuanzhen was a little hesitant, he still said:

"Although from my standpoint...it's a bit out of bounds to say such a thing. But, this is Ji Xu's mother, and Ji Xu's only thought is left to him, isn't it?"

Ji Cixi remained silent.

"I know, before your sister passed away, she left Ji Xu two sweaters. But the sweater will be small, and Ji Xu is growing up day by day. One day, he will not be able to wear those two sweaters and put them in the closet here, and probably won't look at it for a long time."

Ji Cixi still didn't speak, but calmly looked at the mottled patterns on the table.

"The words engraved on the ring can not only be said to that person. It can also be said to Ji Xu. In fact, after learning that Chen Yuanyang is a scumbag, the reason why your sister still chose to give birth to Ji Xu. Perhaps, it is Because, the life she conceived in her body has become the most irreplaceable love in her life."

Ji Cixi still didn't speak, but there seemed to be some touch in his eyes.

"You are a smart person. So after learning that Ji Xu is Chen Yuanyang's child, you decisively chose to cremate your sister quickly without holding a funeral. But because of this, Ji Xu did not see his mother for the last time. I I understand that you are doing it for the sake of Ji Xu, but this is too cruel for a six or seven-year-old child, isn't it?"

Chen Yuanzhen lowered her voice, she said earnestly and softly:

"You, take the sentence on this ring as a mother's last confession to her child, and accept it, okay?"

Ji Cixi finally raised her eyes, she and Chen Yuanzhen looked at each other, Chen Yuanzhen could clearly see a kind of grief in Ji Cixi's eyes.

That kind of grief is like an ink dot that has soaked through the paper. It may look like a dot, but it has soaked into her blood.

After a while, Ji Cixi finally looked at the box again, hesitated for a long time, and Chen Yuanzhen saw Ji Cixi reached out and picked it up.

She picked it up very hard, as if trying to melt it into her palm.

The author has something to say: Director Chen today is very emotional.

In fact, in the process of writing, I also asked myself why Ji Ciwen gave birth to Ji Xu in the first place.At first, I thought it was just because I needed this plot setting, just for the plot.But if it's just like this, to be honest, I will be a little disappointed in myself.In many cases, the reason why characters do things without logic is because the author only considers the plot and asks the characters to do certain actions for the sake of the plot.I am very disappointed that I also create the characters in my pen like this.

But when I write here today, I suddenly seem to understand my sister's original decision, which is a kind of selfish love.

Although it is love, it cannot erase the selfishness in this love. Similarly, although it is selfish, it is still a kind of love.