Chapter 111: The Greatest Pain Is Longing

Walking to the spot where he'd once sneaked a glance, Chen Jianghe stared fixedly at the building across the way, silent for a long time.

Though he understood clearly, when the moment came he still couldn't face it, instinctively wanting to flee. If possible, he didn't want to disturb Luo Yuzhu's peaceful life—but he was certain she hadn't forgotten him. It was better for both of them to face it openly.

He raised his hand to check the time—it had just passed two.

Chen Jianghe let out a long sigh, gathered his resolve, and walked toward the building across the way.

"Hello, may I help you?"

The receptionist Miss looked at Chen Jianghe with a polite smile.

"I'm here to see Luo Yuzhu."

"To see General Manager Luo? Do you have an appointment?" the Miss asked mechanically, idly wondering how many this one was…

Long Teng, as Longcheng's leading company and one of Jiangxi's top enterprises, operated in every field, and countless people came daily seeking an audience.

Chen Jianghe had seen this many times before—it wasn't unusual. He hurriedly said, "Look, I'm an old friend of your General Manager. Could you please call and ask? Say Chen Jianghe is here to see her."

The Miss studied Chen Jianghe skeptically, then said, "I'll call General Manager Luo's secretary. Whether she sees you or not, I can't say."

Chen Jianghe nodded eagerly, clasping his hands together: "Oh, thank you so much, really."

The Miss picked up the phone, waited a moment, then the call connected: "Secretary Zhao, it's reception. There's a man downstairs named Chen Jianghe who says he's an old friend of General Manager Luo. He seems genuine—I don't think he's lying."

"Mm, yes, Chen Jianghe."

"Alright."

Hanging up, she told Chen Jianghe, who'd been straining to listen: "Wait a moment. Secretary Zhao is going to check with her."

"Yes, yes, yes, thank you so much." Chen Jianghe nodded repeatedly, turned, and sat down on the lobby sofa, glancing around aimlessly.

On the top floor, Secretary Zhao put down the phone, picked up a document needing signature, and walked over to knock on a door.

"Enter."

Secretary Zhao opened the door and stepped in: "General Manager Luo, this is the personnel department's document for your review. You were busy before, so I took it."

"Alright, put it there. I'll look at it later."

Setting the document on the desk, Secretary Zhao added, "By the way, General Manager Luo, just now the receptionist called—someone named Chen Jianghe wants to see you. He claims to be an old friend. Do you know him?"

Luo Yuzhu, bent over her work, froze—as if struck by a spell. She looked up blankly: "What's his name?"

"Chen Jianghe."

"Chen Jianghe…" Luo Yuzhu murmured the name once more—the name she had longed for day and night, etched into her bones. She thought she'd forgotten it long ago, but hearing it again still shattered her composure.

Regaining herself, Luo Yuzhu stood and asked: "Where is he?"

Seeing her reddened eyes, Secretary Zhao suppressed her curiosity: "He's downstairs. Shall I bring him up?"

"No." Luo Yuzhu waved her off and walked toward the door.

At the threshold, gripping the door handle, Luo Yuzhu stopped and turned to stare at the stunned Secretary Zhao: "You bring him up."

"Oh… alright." Secretary Zhao nodded quickly and hurried out to fetch him. She'd been Luo Yuzhu's secretary for two years—never before had she seen this powerful woman so undone. Even with her feet, she knew something was going on.

Seeing Secretary Zhao leave, Luo Yuzhu rushed to the mirror, wiped her tears, and smoothed her hair.

After finishing, she walked to the window, gazing out absentmindedly, memories flooding back—the small moments of their past.

To say she had no regrets was false—but fate had its way, life was unpredictable. Now, the child was nearly eight. What choice did she have but to face it?

Chen Jianghe, weighed down by emotion, followed Secretary Zhao to the office door.

Secretary Zhao knocked three times: "Go in. General Manager Luo is waiting for you."

"Thank you." Chen Jianghe nodded, took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and opened the door.

As soon as he stepped in, he saw the figure standing by the window, turning to look at him.

The two stared at each other, silent.

Secretary Zhao watched Chen Jianghe stand frozen inside, and quietly, respectfully, closed the door behind him.

Looking at the man who had been gone eight years, Luo Yuzhu couldn't hold back her tears. Though she'd prepared herself mentally, now that he stood before her, she couldn't stop.

Though the atmosphere was perfect, Chen Jianghe had imagined this moment countless times, wept countless times. So his composure held—he only blinked back tears.

Chen Jianghe smiled and stepped toward Luo Yuzhu, feigning familiarity with stiff, awkward motions as he wiped her tears: "Reunions should be joyful. Why cry over such a good thing? You've smudged your makeup."

She slapped his hand away, walked to her desk, grabbed tissues, and wiped her tears: "Sit."

After drying her tears and fixing her smudged makeup, she walked to the corner, fetched a bottle of water, and handed it to Chen Jianghe.

"All these years, how have you been? Still running the sock factory?" She sat down across from him.

Chen Jianghe wasn't surprised. He thought a moment, then said: "I saw your purchase order. That year, I went to see you—at the small house by the railway."

Remembering that time, Luo Yuzhu wept again—back then, the child had just been born. She stared fixedly at Chen Jianghe, words swirling on her lips, yet none came out.

Chen Jianghe had many things to say too—but he'd already spoken them all to bricks. Seeing Luo Yuzhu weeping uncontrollably, he forced a light tone: "Look at you, we've barely spoken and you're crying again. Wipe your face."

After waiting a while, as Luo Yuzhu calmed, Chen Jianghe, heart aching, took his bag, opened its layers of wrapping, and placed the brick-shaped object on the desk.

"I came today just to give this to you." He unwrapped the outer layer, revealing the brick inside.

Luo Yuzhu instantly saw the small figure carved on it. Her fragile composure shattered—she burst into loud sobs.

Watching Luo Yuzhu weep uncontrollably, Chen Jianghe swallowed his pain: "I'm getting married too. Take care of yourself… I'm leaving." He finished speaking, grabbed his bag, and turned to go. More words wouldn't change anything—they could never resume. Staying longer would only invite gossip and add to Luo Yuzhu's burdens. Better to cut the knot cleanly and leave.

Chen Jianghe reached the door, before opening it.

"Chen Jianghe…"

Hearing the cry behind him, he stopped and turned.

Luo Yuzhu, tear-streaked, looked at him for a long moment, then whispered through sobs: "You… take care too…"

Chen Jianghe nodded with a smile, said nothing, waved goodbye, and turned to open the door.

Ignoring Secretary Zhao outside, he stepped into the hallway, looked up, and finally let the tears fall.

Watching Luo Yuzhu weep, he longed to step forward, to hold her in his warm arms, his narrow chest—but he couldn't. Nor could she.

He'd imagined every possible scene, every memory they might relive. Yet in the end, their eight-year reunion ended with just a few words.

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But he felt no regret, for what Luo Yuzhu wanted to say was in her eyes, in her sobs. What he wanted to say, the brick would tell Luo Yuzhu.

In all human history, nothing hurts more than longing. Now it's over—no one needs to yearn anymore, no one needs to suffer.

Chen Jianghe, tears streaming, turned and walked away without hesitation. Qiancheng—he never wanted to set foot there again in this life.

Behind him, in the Long Teng Building, Luo Yuzhu stood by the window, tears falling, watching that retreating figure. Even after he vanished from sight, she kept staring in that direction, silent.

………

"I understand. Keep watching." With that, Wang Yan hung up the phone.

It was his man assigned to follow Chen Jianghe who called, telling him Chen Jianghe had gone to see Luo Yuzhu today. He knew about the sock factory incident a few days ago, and also about Chen Jianghe's earlier secret visits. This time, Chen Jianghe's purpose was obvious—he came to settle things, to say goodbye.

This time it's basically settled. Yang Xue has finally gotten what she wanted—good. Marrying Chen Jianghe, Yang Xue will surely be happy. As for whether she'll stay happy afterward, time will tell.

He weighed the brick phone in his hand, then set it aside. To be fair, this brick phone did carry real prestige—the aura it gave off was unmistakable.

As for new mobile phones, Long Teng is also developing them, but the situation remains the same—weak technical foundation.

In terms of technology, he could help very little. His strength was only computer software; everything else he was far behind. He had only some directional ideas—things from the real world, and research done by his subordinates in other worlds. When it came to concrete technology, he was completely useless. After all, over the past hundred years, he had mostly studied liberal arts.

He was sick of it now—feeling held back in everything he did was unbearable. Though his talent wasn't in engineering, he would definitely learn from now on. He didn't have much else, but he had time—decades upon decades of it. Diligence could make up for lack of talent, and that applied to him. If he couldn't develop, couldn't he copy? Couldn't he memorize? In a hundred or two hundred years, once he mastered it, he could still lend a hand in the real world.

He used to think it was best to hide in plain sight, to keep quiet and mind his own business. But after clashing with the foreign devils a few times, he was fired up—he had to join the fight. Five thousand years of storms and trials—today wasn't easy to come by.

He shook his head, stopped thinking further, and returned to his task.

Carving—his newly cultivated hobby.

One day, while wandering aimlessly, he spotted it in an old shop. Suddenly interested, he spent two days learning it, then tinkered with it on his own—enjoying every moment.

As for why he was wandering around, it was because Zhao Ruyun, after getting the money, had rushed headlong into researching how to build a hotel tower, coming to see him only every few days to train and soothe him—just to keep her golden patron steady.