Chapter 222 Power
Liking means fear, and loving means losing power.

Marin had forgotten which magazine he had read this sentence from, nor which philosopher said it, but it seemed damn right. He was afraid of Zhang Xiaonan. He had always been. Now, even more!

That whole afternoon, whenever he thought of what Zhang Yunqi said, his blood would freeze, as if he had been bitten by a poisonous snake. His head was in a dizzy state, and his whole body was shaking like he had the malaria!

However, what really made him despair was that when he slowly calmed down, he had to painfully admit that no matter what sinister purpose Zhang Yunqi had, no matter whether what Zhang Yunqi said was deliberately targeting him, Zhang Yunqi was right in saying one thing: If you try your best to catch up with a woman who doesn't like you, it's better not to catch up with her at all. Because, in her eyes, you and your love are destined to be humble and compromising!

Marin's heart was chilled to the point of freezing.

It was already the end of their shift. Several buddies from the traffic police team knew that Ma Lin had not been doing well in love recently. Seeing him walking with his head tilted and looking dazed, they all understood what he meant. They changed into plain clothes and took him to the dance hall in the new department store on Yunhai Road to find girls, dance and drink.

He was very drunk and returned home late at night.

How does it feel to be unable to get the love you want?
Is it that you keep thinking about it but there is no response?

Is it like holding the key and inserting it into a thick wall?

Is it that you know clearly that she is lying on the lap of another man, being fucked to the point of wanting to vomit, but you still get drunk for her, come home late at night, lie on the bed, thinking about her until your thighs are wet, and your heart is filled with disappointment?

The next day, the sun did not rise as usual.

Marin went to work as usual.

An adult man always knows that it is like eating sand or having anal fissures when defecating. He is used to it. No matter who he likes or loves, the ultimate essence is just to live together after the prosperity and passion have faded.

Marin's life was still the same as usual. He went to get off work and came home on time every day, and went on duty on the streets. On weekends, he either played basketball with his buddies or stayed at home watching "A Native of Yenching in New York". Apart from the depression in his heart, his life was uneventful.

However, as time went on, Ma's mother, who had only thought about having a big fat grandson, had some complaints. She couldn't bear to see her son staying at home and doing nothing, so she kept nagging him: "How can you fall in love like this? You stay at home all day and don't go out on dates on weekends. Why don't you go and accompany Xiaonan? I tell you, when you are just in love, you have to take good care of the girl and not ignore her..."

Faced with his mother's nagging, Marin would find all kinds of excuses at first. Sometimes after get off work, he would deliberately stay in the police force until late at night before going home. He would have dinner at a small restaurant outside, pretending to be out on a date. However, these actions were ultimately perfunctory and superficial. They could hide the truth for a while, but not forever.

After a while, his sensitive mother started to nag him again: "Why don't you bring Xiaonan home to do it? How is your relationship with Xiaonan going? You always say yes and yes, but you never see her!"

Ma Lin is an adult man after all, with his own cognition and ideas. He is really tired of his own mother nagging him about emotional issues every now and then, which puts so much pressure on him. He was nagged so many times that he couldn't help it once and said impatiently: "Why bring it! Zhang Xiaonan already has a man she loves! Don't mention her anymore!"

These words were like a bolt from the blue to Ma's mother!

She opened her mouth in surprise. "What's going on? Zhang Xiaonan has a lover? Who said that? Did you see her with another man? Then why did her aunt introduce you to him? Isn't this bullying?!"

Ma Lin felt even more depressed after hearing this, but he didn't want to get angry at his caring mother, so he could only say in an almost pleading tone: "Mom, it's hard to explain the twists and turns here. This matter can't be blamed on anyone else. It's all my problem. I know how to deal with it, so don't worry about it."

How could Ma's mother not worry?
As a mother, she was so worried about finding a wife for Ma Lin! In the past, when other people introduced girls to her, Ma Lin disliked this one and looked down on that one. Now that he finally met a girl he liked, who knew that it was such a mess!
However, Ma Lin's words had such a huge impact on her that after a long while, her dizzy mind finally became clearer. But she still couldn't figure it out. If Zhang Xiaonan already had a lover, why did she still flirt with her son? !

Isn't this a bitch's business?

The more Ma's mother thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. However, seeing her son's uncomfortable expression, she did not dare to continue questioning him. She had to keep the anger in her heart and endured cooking, frying and doing housework. After her son left, she sat in the empty house, unable to figure out what was going on. Finally, she ran to the home of Zhang Xiaonan's uncle, Zhang Guoxiang, to ask for an explanation.

At that time, Zhang Guoxiang and his wife were both at home. Faced with the furious Ma's mother, they didn't know what to do, because it was now difficult to clarify who was right and who was wrong in this matter. When the introduction was made, Zhang Guoxiang's mother-in-law did not know that her niece Zhang Xiaonan already had someone in her heart. Later, when she found out, she tried to persuade Zhang Xiaonan, but it was too late. Ma Lin had already fallen in love with Zhang Xiaonan, and he was unwilling to give up even though he knew this.

In their opinion, since Ma Lin had made up his mind to do this, it would be great if Zhang Xiaonan could change her mind. But what puzzled Zhang Guoxiang's wife was that since Ma Lin accepted the fact that Zhang Xiaonan had someone in his heart, why did he allow his mother to come to his house to ask for an explanation for this matter?
Most likely something unexpected happened in the meantime.

Zhang Guoxiang's wife kept thinking about these embarrassing things, but it was not easy to ask Ma's mother directly. She racked her brains to find some polite words to talk about, and finally said that she would inform Xiaonan's father about this matter and wait for his reply, which calmed Ma's mother down. In fact, they have a good relationship and often play Jiangchuan cards together. Otherwise, she would not introduce her niece Xiaonan to her son Ma Lin. But she didn't expect that she would be in trouble in the end.

After Ma's mother left, Zhang Guoxiang's wife immediately got up and went to the bedroom. She called the Yunxi Village Committee and asked someone to notify her eldest brother Zhang Guorui to answer the phone. After all, a niece is just a niece. She can persuade her, but she can't say or scold her. How to deal with this difficult matter is ultimately up to Zhang Guorui, the father, to decide.

After Zhang Guorui received the call and learned what happened, his first decision was to rush to Jiangchuan City immediately.

He was already full of resentment towards his daughter. After the last time he went to the city to talk to Zhang Yunfeng, the guy had obviously given up. He told his daughter to stop associating with Zhang Yunfeng and get along well with Ma Lin. They should get married as soon as possible. One is a traffic policeman and the other is a teacher. The couple are both public servants. They can live a stable life together. What a wonderful life! Who would have thought!

Oh, what a sin! When Zhang Guorui arrived in Jiangchuan City, it was already noon.

The weather was gloomy and cold, with strong north winds. In such weather, his pharyngitis would come out and cause trouble.

This is an old problem, caused by decades of uncontrolled smoking. A poor farmer like him who came from the old society, doing hard work all day long, really needs cigarettes to numb the spiritual emptiness and physical fatigue. But now he is old and his health is not as good as before. When the weather is cold, all kinds of ailments will come to torture him, especially his throat. He coughs from morning to night and cannot touch cigarettes at all, otherwise it is like pouring lead water into his throat and his whole lungs will burst. Sometimes he wishes he could cut his throat with a knife and take out the pile of dirt!

However, Zhang Guorui, who was in a gloomy mood at the moment, could no longer care about these things. After leaving the station, he lit a pipe, carried a bag of fresh pig-killing vegetables, and rushed to his second brother Zhang Guoxiang's house while smoking and coughing.

The road is not far, about ten minutes’ drive.

After arriving, Zhang Guoxiang's wife didn't rush to tell him about the incident. She was busy making hot tea and cutting fruit for him, saying, "Brother, I'll go call Xiaonan over to have dinner together."

Zhang Guorui coughed for a long time while smoking his pipe, and then he said, "Call Zhang Yunfeng as well. I want to have a face-to-face discussion with the two of them and sort things out!"

Zhang Guoxiang glanced at his elder brother Zhang Guorui, whose face was red from coughing, and took away his pipe and his own Furongwang pipe on the table. "Let me smoke this pipe. I'll go call Zhang Yunfeng. Don't be so angry. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. You are so old now. It is most important to take care of your health."

After saying this, Zhang Guoxiang got up and walked into the bedroom.

He called Zhang Yunfeng's home last time and wrote down the phone number in the phone book. After finding the number, he called and when the call was connected, he said, "I'm Zhang Guoxiang, who are you?"

"Hello Uncle Zhang, this is Zhang Yunqi. Is there anything I can help you with?" It was Zhang Yunqi who answered the phone. He was at home today, the weekend. Normally, Aunt Zhang and Zhang Yunfeng were both at the fishmeal shop. During the day, the phone calls at home were either answered by him and Chunlan, or no one answered.

Zhang Guoxiang was very direct: "Is Zhang Yunfeng here?"

Zhang Yunqi replied: "No."

Zhang Guoxiang asked again: "Could you please tell him to come to my place?"

Zhang Yunqi said: "I can't notify him. He is very busy and probably won't be able to go today."

"What are you busy with?"

"Busy with career."

"Xiao Nan's father is here and wants to see your brother. Can the fish meal shop be closed for the afternoon?"

"My brother is not in the fish meal shop. He seems to be in the Liansheng Company in Yanquan Building. Uncle Zhang, if you have any urgent matters, you can go there to find him."

After hearing this, Zhang Guoxiang on the other end of the phone was silent for quite a long time before he said, "Okay, thank you."

Zhang Yunqi said, "You're welcome."

Zhang Guoxiang hung up the phone.

Zhang Yunqi did not put down the phone. He pressed a few numbers and made a call.

The call was from Ma Shi.

Ma Shi asked on the phone: "Boss, what's the matter?"

Zhang Yunqi said, "I'm at home, drive over here and take me to Liansheng."

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Ps. Sorry, I was sick and rushed to work in the past few days. I should have had a day off yesterday, Saturday, but I sat in front of the computer from 9 am to 9 pm making PPT. I was exhausted and questioned my life. But there was nothing I could do about it. This is how my job is. I have to be anxious and rushed when I get to work. But I finally finished it yesterday. I will try my best to update in the next few days.

(End of this chapter)