novelraw Chapter 0200 The Promise of White Hair
Chapter 0200 The Promise of White Hair
Time is like a silent snowfall.
In the blink of an eye, it covered my head.
Decades later.
The attic on the second floor of Jinxiuyuan Apartment.
The furnishings here haven't changed much compared to decades ago.
It just bears some marks left by the passage of time.
The last rays of the setting sun slanted across the carpet through the huge glass skylight.
The fine dust particles in the air were tinged with a warm golden-red hue.
Two comfortable rocking chairs are placed side by side under the skylight.
Two elderly people with gray hair sat in the rocking chair.
Jiang Ci is getting old.
That once-powerful business tycoon who commanded respect and awe from countless people.
Nowadays, my back is no longer as straight as it used to be.
His face was covered with wrinkles, and his once sharp and hard jawline had been softened by time.
Only those eyes.
Even after experiencing many hardships, his gaze towards those around him remains profound and focused.
Wen Ning is getting old too.
But she was an extremely elegant old lady.
Her silver-white hair was meticulously pulled back.
She was wearing a soft beige cashmere cardigan, with a thin blanket covering her legs.
Time may have taken away her stunning beauty in her youth, but it has endowed her with a calm and composed temperament.
The two rocking chairs were very close together.
Jiang Ci stretched out his hand, which was covered with age spots and blue veins.
Just like every day before, she took Wen Ning's hand very naturally.
Their fingers are intertwined.
The five-carat pink diamond on Wen Ning's ring finger, though not as dazzling as it once was.
Yet it remained firmly there.
On Jiang Ci's hand, there was also a plain ring that was worn so badly that the letters on the inner circle were no longer visible.
"The weather is so nice today."
As Wen Ning looked at the sunset outside the window, her voice became slow and hoarse.
"Um."
Jiang Ci gently squeezed her palm.
"Tomorrow will also be a sunny day."
On the small coffee table between the two of them.
Several items were placed there.
Compared to the priceless antiques and paintings in the living room downstairs, these things looked dilapidated.
A cookie box with a thick layer of rust on the edges.
Inside was an old white smartphone that had long since stopped working.
That was Wen Ning's "Diary of Atonement," a record of three years of blood, tears, and system tasks.
A black, long-handled umbrella.
The umbrella surface has faded and turned gray, and the ribs are rusted.
That was the token that Wen Ning handed to Jiang Ci on that stormy night, signifying that the two were now "even."
There is also a painting.
It wasn't framed in a fancy frame; it was simply placed on an old easel.
That was "Rainy Night".
In the painting, a man wearing a black windbreaker carries a girl on his back, walking under the dim streetlights.
Jiang Ci slowly released Wen Ning's hand.
He leaned forward with some difficulty and picked up the painting.
He didn't look at the front of the painting.
Instead, it was turned over.
On the back of the canvas, between the rough textures.
Those three words, written in black marker, had once caused him unbearable pain, even causing him to vomit blood and fall into a coma.
The color has faded and blurred somewhat.
【sorry】
Jiang Ci gently stroked the three characters with his rough fingertips.
Once, those three words were the sharpest knife hanging over his heart.
Later, those three words became the most painful mark on his life.
"I've been watching it my whole life."
Wen Ning turned her head and watched him stroke the painting, and couldn't help but smile.
His smile carried a hint of childish reproach.
"Old Jiang, haven't you had enough yet?"
Jiang Ci smiled too.
A deep vibration emanated from his chest.
He put the painting back on the easel.
He turned his head and looked at his wife, who had been his life partner.
"I can't get enough of it."
His voice was slow, carrying the mellow quality that comes with the passage of time.
"These words are proof that you loved me with your life back then."
"I can't get enough of looking at it."
His gaze swept over the old umbrella, then over the metal box.
He remembered those nights when she cried alone while being pressured by the system.
I remembered the days she ate cold bread in the snow in Paris.
He remembered how she had selflessly transformed herself into a villain for his sake.
Even over the past few decades.
She stood by him through the peak of Limitless and the turmoil of the business world.
She bore him children and took care of the household for him.
"Ningning."
Jiang Ci took her hand again.
Two aged hands were clasped together in the afterglow of the setting sun.
"This lifetime."
He looked into her eyes, and a warm, moist light welled up in them.
"I've made you suffer so much."
"It's been hard for you following me."
This was an apology he owed her for a lifetime, and also a token of his gratitude.
Wen Ning listened to these words.
The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes relaxed deeply with his smile.
She shook her head.
He placed his other hand on the back of Jiang Ci's hand and patted it gently.
"It's not hard work."
Her voice was soft, yet carried a clear sense of satisfaction.
"Aci".
She looked at him, her eyes as bright as they had been on the sports field of University A back then.
"I used to think of myself as cannon fodder, a supporting character who could be eliminated at any time."
"I feel like I'm here to pay off a debt."
"but."
Wen Ning leaned back in the rocking chair, watching the magnificent sunset outside the window.
"I have you, I have Niannian, and I have this family."
"I painted the pictures I wanted to paint, and saw the world I wanted to see."
"You spoil me so much that you've hardly ever let me cook a single meal."
She turned her head, her eyes filled with tears, but her smile was radiant.
"Jiang Ci."
"I've made a fortune in this life."
"I've made a fortune!"
She didn't become a tragic supporting female character.
Instead, she became the happiest woman in the world.
Jiang Ci looked at her.
A tear silently slid down from the corner of her eye and disappeared into her graying temples.
He took her hand and brought it to his lips.
A devout and lingering kiss landed on that pink diamond.
The last rays of the setting sun are about to disappear below the horizon.
The light in the attic became dim and warm.
"Ningning."
Jiang Ci's lips remained pressed against the back of her hand, without leaving.
His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a kind of obsession that transcended life and death.
"If there is a next life."
He looked at her with a stubborn gaze, just like the boy who clung to her tightly in the rainy night years ago.
"In our next life, let's not have so many misunderstandings."
"No more systems, no more of those damn tasks."
"Next life."
He solemnly and deliberately made the promise, emphasizing each word.
"Let me go after you first."
"No matter where you are, no matter what you look like."
"It's my turn to find you, it's my turn to walk towards you."
"OK?"
In this life, you mustered up the courage to stumble and fall into my arms.
In my next life, let me experience all the bitterness and waiting.
I'll give you all the favor from the very beginning.
Wen Ning listened to his childlike yet affectionate promise.
Tears finally slid down her cheeks.
She withdrew her hand and gently stroked his gray hair.
Just like decades ago, she comforted him when he was curled up in her arms because of a stomachache.
"it is good."
Wen Ning nodded.
His voice was filled with endless longing and expectation.
I promise you.
"In my next life, I'll stay put."
"I'm waiting for you."
The last rays of the setting sun have completely faded.
The stars began to twinkle in the night sky.
In the attic, two elderly people with white hair quietly nestled together.
Their fingers were intertwined.
The years are quiet.
This love transcends time and space, and even life and death.
Until the end of time.