Madam Jing’s attitude towards me changed immediately. She tugged my hands. “Nanxing, then you can’t move away! With you around, the two of them won’t dare to do anything!”
I smiled and nodded. I accompanied her to dinner. I realized that Madam Jing was extremely graceful and elegant. Old Master Jing had protected her well. She was actually very smart but she was naive and out of touch with real society. Basically, she lived in the world built for her by her husband and son. In this world, there was only a family of three.
Most importantly, she had no interest in going out at all. She was not interested in the outside world. She was like a canary in a cage.
Even if the cage door opened, she would not fly away. Because it would mean death. Rather than face the storm of the outside world, she would stay to enjoy the safety of confinement.
In a way, Madam Jing was living a unique yet risky life. For example, Ye Qian would not dare to swap lives with Madam Jing. This was because Ye Qian trusted no one but herself. Questions like, what if my owner doesn’t love me anymore; what if my cage gets broken; what if I was so content that I lost my ability to survive would crowd Ye Qian’s mind.
However, Madam Jing didn’t have that worry. She believed in love and she believed in her charm. And her belief was founded because Old Master Jing had loved her dearly over the years.
The two women were extremes of each other.
I sat down to chat with Madam Jing. Surprisingly, we got along pretty well… so well that I was ashamed to have lied to her. So I tried my best to accompany her. Madam Jing had love and luxury but she was undoubtedly lonely. Even her son didn’t have the time or patience to accompany her. Before she left, she was reluctant to part with me.
“Nanxing, can you come to accompany me sometimes?” She asked sadly.
“Of course, I will come to look for you after school. Madam Jing, you can come to my house too. We can go to the malls or the park together.” I was as patient as I would be to a child.
She smiled so brightly. “We don’t need to go out. You should just come to my house and we can chat more often.”
The guilt pressed on me so hard. “Madam, I-I…”
I couldn’t bring myself to admit it. Perhaps I should wait until she had gotten to know me better first.
She blinked her eyes innocently at me. “Actually you what?”
I gritted my teeth. “Actually I have lied to you!”
I looked at her crystal clear eyes and I couldn’t lie to her anymore.
She smiled and bent down to hold my hand. She asked, “Then, can you come to lie to me every day?”
I… A flocks of crow flew past me. I was silent.
Madam Jing shook my hands. “Nanxing, you are a very interesting person. I quite like you. I believe your lies so you can come to lie to me every day. I like to listen to your lies.”
“But you should be mad that I’ve lied to you!” I said numbly. My brain had stopped working.
“Why should I be mad? I was happy when you lied to me. You have done your best to come up with the lies. Since you only did what you believe is best for me, then there’s no reason for me to be mad at you.” She patted my hands. “So you have to come to lie to me more often.”
I looked at her and finally smiled. “Okay, I will come for dinner tomorrow night and I will tell you a love story and there will be no more lies. Perhaps some embellishments here and there, is that okay?”
She nodded with a smile.
Only then did I realize I was the naive one. The real geniuses are apparent fools.
