"The Story of Rose" Author: Yi Shu
In the previous section, we talked about the short but brilliant love between Rose and Pu Jiaming like fireworks. After Pu Jiaming's death, Rose married Sir Luo Qing, but she didn't expect to meet her young lover Zhuang Guodong many years later. So, in this section, let's talk about Rose's handling of these two relationships.
Some people are destined to pass by
Luo Qing is the second husband of Rose in the legal sense, and before Rose, Luo Qing also had a wife. A native of Guangdong, she was admitted to the University of Hong Kong, but had no choice but to drop out because of the outbreak of war. She gave birth to two daughters and a son, and later got cancer and unfortunately passed away, and her youngest son Luo Zhenzhong was only 12 years old when he died.
Luo Qing is a person who values love and righteousness, although the business is getting bigger and bigger, but he has been celibate until he met Rose. As soon as the news of his remarriage spread, the two daughters couldn't sit still. They were worried that their stepmother would covet the Luo family's property, so they found their younger brother Luo Zhenzhong, who was studying in the United Kingdom, and asked him to return to Hong Kong no matter what to find out.
Luo Zhenzhong, who has a wealthy family, is a typical academic bully. He neither spends his days drinking, nor does he cause trouble, and he never has to worry about his old father. It doesn't matter to his father who remarries, as long as the old man is happy, but his sister keeps talking to him: "When all the family property falls into the hands of others, you will call the heavens and the earth unspiritual!" ”
Even so, Luo Zhenzhong still didn't want to go home. Because every time they met, the old father looked at him with hatred and asked him to stay by his side and learn to take care of the family business. But Luo Zhenzhong is not willing to be tied down by business, he prefers to talk about the past and the present with the curator in the Oxford Library, or drive a second-hand car and travel around Europe to see art exhibitions.
Luo Zhenzhong hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to bring the director of the Oxford Library back with him. The curator's surname is Zhuang, he divorced his wife many years ago, and he never forgot a lover before marriage, and put a photo of the other party at the head of the bed, which has been more than ten years, and is a very affectionate character. He is one of Luo Zhenzhong's few friends, and the two cherish each other.
But Luo Zhen Center also has his own little abacus, he thinks that Director Zhuang is so good, it must be no problem to be a professional manager, and introducing such an outstanding talent to his father can be regarded as sharing his father's worries and filial piety. He also said to Director Zhuang: "Didn't you say that the girl in the photo is someone you met in Hong Kong?" You can go back to her this time! ”
On the way to Hong Kong, Director Zhuang talked about the relationship. He said that he really started a relationship after he got engaged. At that time, he met a girl who was very affectionate and sexual, and so beautiful that it made people's hearts palpitate. He was thrilled, but in order to be morally perfect, he rejected the girl in a very ruthless way and married his fiancée.
Speaking of which, some friends may have heard that this Curator Zhuang is Rose's young lover - Zhuang Guodong. Zhuang Guodong's marriage lasted for ten years, and when the divorce occurred, his wife complained: "You didn't love me, we wasted a whole ten years." After his wife left, he kept the picture of the rose with him and never forgot it.
As soon as he arrived in Hong Kong, Zhuang Guodong went to the newspaper to publish a missing person notice. The notice was very short: "Farewell to the study, are you okay?" Please contact me now. "There is a mailbox number attached to it. Luo Zhenzhong laughed after seeing it: "Study? What study? You're really old-fashioned, beware of many women who write to you, they all love to read Mandarin Duck and Butterfly pie novels! ”
According to the arrangement of the Luo family, Luo Zhenzhong should go home to attend the reception banquet that night. But Luo Qing called and said that his stepmother had something to do temporarily, and she suddenly went out, and the dinner was changed to the next day. Luo Zhenzhong and Zhuang Guodong chatted over dinner, but the newspaper suddenly called, saying that a Miss Huang had sent a letter to Zhuang Guodong.
As soon as he heard that it was Miss Huang, Zhuang Guodong excitedly pulled Luo Zhenzhong and rushed to the newspaper office all the way. Seeing the elevator stop on the tenth floor, he couldn't wait, and actually ran all the way up, so tired that his lungs almost exploded. He couldn't wait to unfold the letter, read and read it, and finally pressed it to his chest, looking up to the sky and sighing, as if there was infinite bitterness.
The letter reads: "Zhuang, are you back? I think it's you, otherwise who else can know that the happiest moment in my life was to be in my eldest brother's study with you, secretly turning on the record player, and dancing barefoot until dawn. But I'm married, and I'm not young anymore. The past is in the past, and I hope you can find happiness too. Best wishes. ”
Luo Zhenzhong said regretfully: "If we had taken the elevator up just now, maybe we would have met her, but you prefer to run the stairs, maybe this is fate." But at least you know she's doing well, and if you still love her, be happy for her. Don't think about it anymore, enjoy the moment, Hong Kong is very big, it can accommodate you and her. ”
If you love her, let her make her own choices
The next day, Luo Zhenzhong wanted to take Zhuang Guodong home to attend the reception banquet, but the maid said that Mrs. Luo had been standing in the flower garden for half the night before, and she had a fever in the early morning, and the reception banquet was temporarily canceled. So the two went directly to Luo Qing's office, and after a detailed discussion, Zhuang Guodong agreed to join the Luo Group as the manager of the London branch.
Upon his return to London, Chong began to methodically advance the group's business in London. Some time later, he suddenly received a call from Luo Zhenzhong, saying that Sir Luo Qing was taking his wife on a road trip in Europe and was about to arrive in United Kingdom. Everyone will pick up the wind and dust for them in a manor in the suburbs, and Luo Zhenzhong invited Zhuang Guodong to participate together.
At the banquet, Zhuang Guodong saw roses when he shook hands with Luo Qing. In an instant, his face changed, and he took three steps backwards in a row. Luo Zhenzhong didn't understand what was going on, and half-jokingly helped him out of the siege and said: "Lao Zhuang, if you want to raise your salary, just say it, why grab my father's hand and spit it out?" But Zhuang Guodong shirked his physical discomfort and left in a hurry.
The next day, Luo Zhenzhong went to visit his friends, only to see that Zhuang Guodong's complexion was still not good, but his eyes were burning and bright like a beast. After that, Luo Zhenzhong drove to Paris, but he suddenly received a call from his sister a few days later, asking him to return quickly. Sir Lo Ching said that he had to return to Hong Kong in an emergency, but his stepmother was reluctant to return and entrusted her son to take care of him.
Through his sister's description, Luo Zhenzhong learned about his old father's unspeakable secrets. It turned out that his friend Zhuang Guodong actually began to pursue his stepmother and dated his stepmother every day, but his stepmother did not refuse. Luo Zhenzhong was dumbfounded when he heard this, is Zhuang Guodong crazy? He went to theorize, but Zhuang Guodong said with a bright face that Mrs. Luo was the girl in the photo.
He said to Luo Zhenzhong: "You said that I was snatched from love, but I was wrong, I was the one who was robbed!" Rose knew me when she was 17 years old, long before she knew your father! I've lost her once, and this time I'm not going to let go no matter what! Moreover, everything is providential, it was God who made me know you, and finally met the rose by mistake! ”
Listening to Zhuang Guodong's crooked reasoning, Luo Zhenzhong was angry, and with a left hook punch, Zhuang Guodong flew out and crashed into a small filing cabinet. The cabinet collapsed, and the building toppled over, and piles of papers came out of the cabinet and scattered on the floor. Zhuang Guodong also fell to the ground, but he didn't fight back, just wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled bitterly.
Luo Zhenzhong went to the rose theory again: "You are my father's wife, you have to be loyal to him!" You're not going to tell me that you just married him to get a home, are you? Tell me, do you love Luo Qing? Rose nodded and shook her head, saying, "I love him, but I need to think about it now...... Epicenter, please give me some more time......"
Luo Zhenzhong was so angry that he didn't choose to speak: "What else do you want to think, do you know how hurtful you are when you say this?" Zhuang Guodong told me your story, you met him when you were 17 years old, you were so naïve at that time, you regarded love as a dream, but now that you have grown up, you have to wake up from that dream! ”
Rose wept and said, "I and Zhuang Guodong...... I want to take a good look at him now, I have loved him for so many years, I want to figure out whether this love is an illusion or not, and then make a choice......"
Luo Zhenzhong was very angry when he heard it, because in his opinion, selective love is not true love, which shows that Rose's love for her father is questionable.
Despite Luo Zhenzhong's repeated persuasion, Rose still did not budge, until one day Luo Zhenzhong hurried over with a telegram, which was sent by the family doctor, saying that Luo Qing was critically ill. Rose hurried back to her home in Hong Kong, but was stopped at the door of her bedroom. The family lawyer said that Sir Law did not want to see anyone, and that it was better for everyone to go to the study and discuss the division of the estate.
Rose was angered by these impersonal words, she raised her eyebrows and scolded angrily: "Don't tell me anything about the inheritance, Luo Qing is my husband, I want to see him now, I will be responsible for anything!" She put her hand on the door, but she didn't dare to push it open, hiding her face and muttering, "I'm afraid I'll never have the chance to say 'I'm sorry' to him again!" ”
Before she could finish speaking, a hearty laugh came from behind her. Rose turned back in amazement, only to see Luo Qing, who was full of red light, walking slowly, it turned out that everything was a bureau designed by him, and it was a test of people's sincerity when they faced loss. Obviously, between the love of the past and the love of the present, Rose chose the current Luo Qing.
For Rose, the love with Zhuang Guodong is like a lingering love novel, the farther away and more ambiguous, the more beautiful and heart-pounding. But Luo Qing's love is real and down-to-earth, they love each other deeply, and will grow old together until the end of their lives.
After Rose made her choice, Zhuang Guodong disappeared. A few years later, he sent a letter to Luo Zhenzhong, saying that he was wandering on an island in Southeast Asia. He lamented that although he lost the rose twice, he was still a blessed person, although the sea of love was turbulent and unpredictable, but who would want to be in the backwater of love, never waves?
In this way, Rose ushered in the finale of the love story. When she was young, she was hurt by love, and then she was deeply besieged by marriage, experienced a fireworks-like love, and finally found the emotional habitat of growing old together. Her love is heart-wrenching and impressive, and the stories of other women in the book are equally exciting, so let's take a look at the story of Rose's daughter Fang Taichu in the next section.