Chapter 57 Unsuited

‘I had heard of you, you know. Long

ago, even before old Qin asked you to join his company. Another friend

mentioned you while we were drinking tea together, your name sounded like

“please be more serious”, I was very impressed with your name. He said you were

very capable and very special. When Lao Qin told me when he was going to invite

you to his company, when he mentioned your name, I realised you were the same

person.’

As Zhengqing listened to Guohao, he

could not suppress his anxiety. For Guohao not to be direct, but to start

talking about the past; it was not a good sign.

Zhengqing did not stop him as he

spoke, but used the time to try and calm himself. He more he listened, the more

he could understand what Yin Guohao wanted, and therefore, come up with

countermeasures.

‘Lao Qin tackled the bull’s horns

to lure you to his side, and your performance was beyond expectations. He

praised you a lot. After sometime, he told me you had become a deputy general

manager at in the head quarters.’

Guohao took a sip of his tea and

looked at Zhengqing, who appeared to be calmly listening attentively.

‘You’re the best man to Lao Qin,

and he even wanted to make you his successor if you had gotten along with Yu

Fei,’ he said. There was short pause, ‘Unlike us, Lao Qin was lucky, he’d found

the person who he wanted to pa.s.s on his legacy to. He was luckier than me.’

Zhengqing thought of the families

of Qin and Yin, Qin still had his wife but Yin lost his wife. Wen Yi was

luckier than Guohao in this aspect.

‘After my wife died, I wanted to

let go of everything. Life did not bring, death did not take, so what was the

point? Maybe my business got bigger and succeeded, but without my love beside

me what was the point? So I sold my businesses, and now I am very happy.’

Although, Zhengqing knew not to

speak but he could not help trying to change Guohao’s point of view, ‘But if

you hadn’t worked hard at that time, would there have been a business to sell?

If you had nothing, and no financial resourses, would you be relaxed and happy

now?’

Guohao was stunned at Zhengqing’s

words.

Zhengqing sighed at him own

impulsiveness, but since the words were out there he might as well say his

piece, ‘Uncle, it is a sad thing that Aunt left this world early. My parents

also left early, so I can understand. However, you can’t just look at things

from one side only. Many people are carefree, no need to work, but they get

serious illness. Many people work hard, run about for their three meals, but

they live till the age of a hundred. Please do not blame yourself for Yin

Ting’s mother’s illness anymore.’

Guohao did not expect Zhengqing to

say dare say these things. He looked and Zhengqing, and suddenly barked out in

laughter, ‘Xiaoting would has said the same thing to me. She showed me, someone

who did not have a hard life but still died of cancer, but someone who smoked

and drank all their life lived till a ripe old age of ninety-eight. She told me

not to feel guilty about her mother’s death. Though, you have given examples,

they examples you give are the extremes.’

Zhengqing was taken aback at that

moment,

‘Indeed, there are people who are

sick and some of them have no wealth but live long lives, but aren’t these

people few and far between? The vast majority of people, who live unhealthy

lives, suffer for it. Getting into traffic accidents because they chose to

cross the road at the wrong time, because of greed; they cheat and get cheated.

These are not the extremes; these are the majority of the populations.’

Zhengqing could not refute. (Zuben:

Can I take your place, man? I can refute)

‘But you are right, if my wife and

I, in our youth, did not create a good foundation; I would have had no business

to sell. No financial resources to live easily.’ Guohao said quietly, he sighed

and continued, ‘But I would rather not even have the businesses, I would have

preferred the both of us being ordinary 9-5 workers, would rather have no money

to cook, would rather…just so she could still be with me.’

Zhengqing remained quiet.

Guohao sipped his tea, and visibly

collected himself, ‘Xiaoting looks like her mother, even laughs like her. When

her mother died, she took it very hard. She took on the responsibility of looking

after her father and taking care of her brother. She was a sensible child who

did not complain, and thought hard about doing well for others. She was

thoughtful and considerate. When her mother pa.s.sed, she suddenly grew up…’ He

said with a sad smile, ‘I have nothing to worry about except for my daughter.’

‘Although, that isn’t fair to Ah

s.h.i.+, but he is a boy and his nerves are stronger than Xiaoting. Although,

Xiaoting seems strong and carefree, she is a sensitive child.’

‘I promise to take care of

Xiaoting,’ he said, thinking that was what the discussion was about.

Guohao shook his head the younger man did not understand what he was getting at.

‘There are some things that

although we wish for it to go well, in reality we do not have the ability to

make it so.’

Zhengqing frowned in puzzlement, was he implying

that he and Yin Ting’s love would not last long?

But Guohao continued, ‘When

Xiaoting was little, her dream was to be a traveller. I asked why a traveller?

She said she wanted to go to many places that people did not have the

opportunity to go to, and record it to tell them. At that time, her mother and

I smiled. We said, to go to all these places need a lot of money, ah. Mother

and Father have to make a lot of money for you do to this. She smiled and said

when she grew up, she will also make money.’ (Zuben: Ah… childish dreams. I

wanted to be an opera singer and a ballerina and so on and so on)

Zhengqing did not interrupt him.

Xiaoting had not become a traveller; was this because her mother died?

‘But her mother left us. Xiaoting

did not become a traveller. Though, she is not without money, she would not go,

she wants to accompany this strange old man. She often travels with her

friends, but her trips are very short, maybe two-three times a year. Instead,

she comes with me to the printing factory where no other young girls are. The

youngest woman is thirty nine. But Xiaoting gets along with everyone.’

‘She is an angel,’ Zhengqing could

not help but say.

‘Yes,’ Guohao nodded and was silent

for a while.

‘Last year, or should I say the

year before last, I told her to do what she liked. Live the life she wanted,

but she said, she wanted just to live happily. I asked if she didn’t want to be

a traveller anymore. She said not to worry about it, she did not have to go far

to see the beauty of the world. As she grew up she realised that her childhood

dreams were too narrow, one does not need to travel far to see beauty, there

was was beauty close to one’s home. To have is beautiful. She still has a

father and a brother to cherish. She said she was still a traveller, and she is

sharing the beauty she has found with you. She did not lose her dream; she

works hard everyday for it. She believes she is still a traveller.’

Zhengqing thought of Yin Ting’s

blog; the foodie reviews, the weird chicken soup they shared. The pictures

roadside flowers, snails, clouds, even coffee…she saw beauty in everything and

wanted to share it with everyone. Zhengqing loved her for it and was proud of

her.

But Guohao continued, ‘When A-s.h.i.+

lost money in his business ventures, I knew about it, but he did not come to me because

of his pride. He didn’t let me help or give him advice. So I did not bother

with him. But Xiaoting took him in hand, and he finally gave up his pipe dreams

and opened the bar. It was what he’d always wanted to do but he thought I would

not be happy and thought he should do business. Truthfully, I do not care what

they do, as long as they are happy. That Xiaoting secretly invested in A-s.h.i.+’s

business I knew. Now, A-s.h.i.+’s business is doing well. Although the schedule is

not healthy, he is having a good time.’

Zhengqing’s heart grew heavy. He

thought he was beginning to understand what Guohao was getting to; he probably

wants to say that his son can do what he wants but his daughter can not. He

owes her her dream. But his daughter now has a boyfriend that was not the

travelling type, who could not accompany her, therefore, Guohao hoped he could

accommodate Yin Ting and do the things she liked to do. (Zuben: heh)

This must be the case, he thought.

He was going to put more effort into less overtime. Maybe go on holidays with

Yin Ting. Now that he had her, and he hoped to get married, he should adjust

his life.

However, Guohao did not give him a

chance, ‘Do not say you will change yourself, Zhengqing, such a thing is

useless.’

‘You and Yin Ting are clearly

different types of people. You lead different lives. I have been observing you

these past few days; you don’t like to travel, you don’t like going out, you

don’t pay attention to the food you eat, you have no interest in entertainment,

don’t like music. You only love work.’ (Zuben: A shame really.)

Zhengqing stiffened. What did he

mean? But as he tried to speak, Guohao waved him silent, ‘There is nothing

wrong in that. I don’t blame you. Everyone is different. That is normal.’

If it is normal, what was the

problem? Zhengqing thought.

‘But I believe that everyone should

be with someone similar to them. Someone who views life the same way as them,

and that way they could be happy together for a long time.’

‘Xiaoting and I are very happy

together.’ Zhengqing said. He deliberately said “he and Yin Ting”, rather than

“he was happy with Yin Ting” so that, he hoped, Guohao would understand that

the feeling of happiness was not only his, but Xiaoting’s as well. (Zuben: Rein

in your temper, Qingqing)

Guohao shook his head, ‘For now,

maybe. But in the long run, I don’t think you would.’ He said as he sipped his

tea.

‘You have a demanding job with a

lot of responsibility, but you find pleasure in that work. It makes you happy.

Xiaoting, like me, does not want to be chained to work. Although, she smiles a

lot on the outside, in her heart, there is fear. So she is trying to coax you

and teach you like a child. Didn’t you take leave of absence to be with her?

But isn’t this normal negotiations between two people who are newly in love?’

‘Certainly…’ Zhengqing replied, he

wanted to say more but Guohao cut him off and continued.

‘But that is not normal,’ Yin

Guohao said, ‘I told you earlier that I was observing you. But it wasn’t from

this holiday. You work overtime, regularly. Xiaoting came back home to eat a

few evenings, I asked her about you, she said though you had a date, you

cancelled your appointment with her. Your knowledge of tea is hard-edged; without

nuance. It is obvious you read it from a book. You learnt fis.h.i.+ng. Your hiking

gear was all new. I know Xiaoting advised you about these things, and I am very

touched that you made the effort, but have you ever thought about what you

want? What you would like to do? Xiaoting can be overbearing when an idea takes

hold. But you are also a strong and a.s.sertive person. Overtime, her nature will

bother you. Now both of you are in love, but on your dates, you don’t go out.

You’ve never been to a movie together. Now she is not bothered by it, but over

time, do you think she would remain happy?’

Zhengqing’s lips thinned into a

grim line.

‘You did not do anything wrong, yet

you have to blame each other’s position’s in life. Even if you tolerate and do

not complain, your heart will acc.u.mulate grievances. You will think that you

are doing something good for your relations.h.i.+p. You are leader to hundreds of

people, so you must put in a lot of effort to gain the trust of the staff, meet

Old Qin’s expectations. But Xiaoting wants to live life, have someone who comes

home on time, will happily go with her on holiday, have the occasional

romantic entertainment. This is not wrong. This is what most families have.’

Guohao looked directly at Zhengqing

and said, ‘You are not suitable, Qiu Zhengqing.’

That single sentence dealt the

heaviest blow so far. Zhengqing’s heart pained him hearing that. (Zuben: Never

count your chickens before they hatch, m’dear) It was said with such fatherly

majesty.

‘You do not suit. You are a good

person. Xiaoting is also a good person. But you are not in each others

category. If you remain together for a lond time, you are bound to hurt one

another. I don’t want your goodness and hard work to be destroyed because of

love. You belong in the business world. Xiaoting needs to be free. I have been

an albatross on her neck, dragging her so she cannot walk freely, but this is

temporary, I will soon join my wife. But I do not want to leave my daughter in

the hands of a man who would tie her wings. I do not want my daughter to live

your life.’ (Zuben: Melodramatic much)

Anger boiled under the surface

threatening to spill. Zhengqing made a great effort to restrain himself. His

emotions were in turmoil, unease in his bones. But he knew that reacting this

way would not do, he must remain calm. He must attempt a negotiation. He counted to

ten, taking deep breaths with each count and then he said, ‘Xiaoting and I love

each other. In this world, there is nothing one cannot achieve without hard

work. Love is the same. But perhaps in the eyes of her father, no man deserves

his daughter.’

‘I am not talking about whether you

deserve her or not. It is a question of whether you are suitable for each

other. You are not for her and she is not for you. Right now, you get along,

you guys think that to love means to make self righteous sacrifice, but over

time, the love will melt away leaving grievances, you guys will end up blaming

each other and grow mutually resentful of each other. But by then, you will no

longer be young and love will not be the only thing that is lost. You will not

be able to turn back time. So it is better for me to be the bad guy, and stop

you here before you go any further.’

 Zhengqing took a deep breath and counted to

twenty, before he said, ‘What kind of man do you believe is suitable for

Xiaoting? One who doesn’t work, and can accompany her to play, make chicken

dumpling soup? A man who can sing, loves to travel, has time and money to

squander like Yin Ting?’

‘No’ Guohao said in an even tone,

‘as before your thinking is too extreme. The responsibility you bear is heavy.

I would prefer a man who doesn’t have such pressure on him, does not need the

challenge of climbing up the career ladder. Someone who has the same interests

as Xiaoting; photography, food, travel…there are many professional men who have

a good work-life balance. I don’t want my daughter to be with a workaholic. Do

you understand?’

Zhengqing did not reply. He was

busy trying to calm his head.

But Guohao was not finished,

(Zuben: While I agree with a lot of his points, he is too long winded, aish)

‘You and Xiaoting are two extremes.

One with an extreme love of work; the pursuit of achievements is tied to your

self worth. The other extremely free and playful, and gets happiness from

sharing happiness with others. Of course, that is not good either, but this has

become a habit of our family and I am selfish, I hope that she remains this

carefree and spends lots of time with me. I don’t think you ever took a holiday

while you were in university. You hadn’t even gotten your degree before you

started working, had you? But Xiaoting, I tell you, had never worked a day

seriously in her life. Can you not see the big difference between you?’

Zhengqing finished his meditation

and asked, ‘What is the purpose of this discussion then?’

‘I asked you not to tell Xiaoting

about this meeting it was not to be kind. I will be speaking about it with her

when I get home. I asked you not to tell her because, I don’t want her to

interfere so we can talk calmly and rationally. Yin Ting is very emotional, but

you are a very logical person. So I thought if I put an a.n.a.lysis before you,

you would put aside your feelings and view things logically, and have a good

think about what I have said. Perhaps you are already aware of how unsuited you

two are, but your emotions are getting in the way of your better judgement

therefore you are reluctant to break up. But I will be the bad guy and I have

given you a few good reasons. The outcome I want is for you to break up with Xiaoting.’

‘And if not?’

‘I will have to insist.’ Guohao

replied calmly but coldly.

Zhengqing leaned back and lifted

his gaze to meet Guohao’s directly, ‘Then I am sorry, I would have to insist,’

then he added steel and frost to his tone, ‘that I am not breaking up with

Xiaoting.’ (Zuben: Go Qingqing!)

Guohao gave a smile that did not

reach his eyes, ‘You should think about your answer more, although I do not

care about what you say, but to be kind to you, I want you to be at ease and

not create uneccessary stress for yourself.’

Zhengqing gave a smile that

mirrored Guohao’s, ‘I finally understand why people have said Uncle is a strong

business man, a brother who people still come to for advice. Thank you Uncle,

but I do not feel pressured. You are against us being together, I have nothing

to bargain with, what pressure do I have? If you had said you were happy to

hand your daughter over to me, then I would have felt pressured because I would

have tried to live up to your expectations, but now there is little need. You

have left no room for us.  Therefore, I

will calmly and respectfully tell you, I will not give up Xiaoting. I will not

break up with her.’

Guohao narrowed his eyes at

Zhengqing, but did not show his anger, ‘So do you think the problems I have

highlighted do not exist.’

‘They do.’ Zhengqing admitted,

‘When you spoke, you almost convinced me that Xiaoting and I would not work.

You are right, Xiaoting and I are completely different, but I have always known

this and so had Xiaoting, but we are in love. There will be problems, but

we would focus on solving this hypothetical trauma. Why should we hurt

ourselves because a situation that is only a possibility? If we all shrink away

and run at the sight of danger or hurt, then what hope do we have in life?’

‘But if you know you will come to

harm when you jump into fire, why jump?’ Guohao asked.

He was silent for a moment, then

asked, ‘Why are you so sure we would jump?’

‘You’re going to keep dating her,

aren’t you? The longer you get along, the longer you love, the more complex

this relations.h.i.+p gets, the more stress you will put on your psyche. And before

you know it, you’re standing between the knives and the fire. One way you will

bleed the other way you burn. You haven’t reached that point, isn’t it the best

time to withdraw? You will meet a more suitable woman for you, and Xiaoting

will meet a man the suits her. Why don’t you give yourselves a chance?’

(Zuben: While as you know I have

always felt their approach to their relations.h.i.+p was naïve, Daddykins is also

talking in the same extremes as he accused the couple of doing)

Zhengqing did not attempt to reply.

‘Zhengqing, you’re a successful

man. You need a woman who would be willing to wait for you at home, a woman who

would look after your family while to run your business. You are not able to

give up your achievements for a woman, and you have a more successful future

ahead of you. Xiaoting should not have to give up her life for a man. As her

father, I can only think of her.’

Zhengqing chose to reply, ‘I know you are good to her, and

she loves you very much. That is why I am still here. Though you say what you

think is the truth, but your truth has preconceptions. You preconception is

that Yin Ting and I have our own status quo and our relations.h.i.+p will destroy

it, and we will suffer and break each others hearts.’ (Zuben: All very

melodramatic)

‘But you feel this premise is irrevocable,

and our relations.h.i.+p will end in the demise you a.s.sume.’

‘Wouldn’t it?’ Guohao asked.

‘Who can say? Many channels do not

mean a large volume of sales. Few channels do not represent inevitable loss. It

may be more costly to sell than destroy. Products and pathways are really

important determinants in the success of a business, but marketing is also key.

You and I have been talking for almost…’he paused to look at his watch, ‘an

hour and half. I have confirmed that I like Xiaoting and decided to date her to

the best of my ability. I know we aren’t compatible on paper. I also thought

about it when I realised I liked her. I asked myself “Is this right?”, my

instinct said “Yes, it’s her.” ‘

‘For me to have taken a step

towards her there was a process. It wasn’t something I decided on a spur of the

moment, it wasn’t an impulse. If I had changed my mind or was shaken by a one

and half hour conversation, would I not be betraying my trust in my instincts?’

Guohao leaned back in his chair and

did not reply.

Zhengqing continued ‘Therefore, I

cannot give up on Xiaoting because of your a.s.sumptions. It is not fair to me,

or to Xiaoting. When I decided to pursue her, I did with marriage as the goal.

I want to marry, I don’t want to play love games. Xiaoting was not the type of

woman I initially set out to marry. Before I met Xiaoting, I had no concept of

love, only cold cut evaluations.’

‘Xiaoting is my first love. I am

really lucky to have met someone like her. I am lucky that the woman I want to

marry is someone I love, and she loves me too. We are trying our hardest to

adapt to each other. But in your opinion, that effort will lead to grief.

But I think that, after getting through this hard process, we can find the best

way to live and take care of each other’s needs.’

‘That is easy to say.’ Guohao said.

‘Yes, but so is breaking up based

on just a few words. It’s all easy to say, one would break up now and there

will be a period of heartbreak. It’s easy to say that I will find someone more

suitable for me and the next man that Xiaoting meets would be more suitable.

It’s also easy to say.’

‘So, what is your point?’ Guohao

said with his eyebrows raised.

‘But I will not bid her goodbye

because of your advice. You say as time goes by the emotions will become

complicated with responsibilities, stress and so on. On the other hand, if

there is no sense of responsibility, no pressure, can feelings last a long

tine? A relations.h.i.+p is responsibility based on love. An employee who does not

have a sense of belonging to the company but just wants to get paid will not

last long.’

‘Also, if you break up easily,’ he

continued, ‘letting these feelings go and jumping to the next paragraph, the next

one would not necessarily be better. It would be impossible for a long time

because, you have pinned your hopes on an unknown future and not cherished what

you had at the time.’

‘If I can treat the feelings of the person I am with with nonchalance and disrespect, I would treat the next person the same. So I do not believe the solution which

you put forward is necessarily good. Naturally, you do not care about me,

but is this how you want Xiaoting to be treated?’

But Guohao counter-attacked (Zuben

¬.¬), ‘You say my solution is not good, then what is your solution?  Do not tell me you have love, I do not want to

repeat my truth. You know what I have said is justified.’

Zhengqing regarded his comment

silently for a minute or so, then said, ‘The problems you mention do exist,

Xiaoting and I have a lot of adjusting to each other to do…’ he did not know

where to go from there. How was a life without grievance possible? But in the

end, whether they work out or not depends on their love for each other.

Zhengqing shook his head, the older man had made up his mind, there was no way

to convinve him otherwise. He will become an obstacle between himself and Yin

Ting. But Yin Ting loved her father, without her father’s support and

blessings, how would she be happy?

‘I cannot think of anyway to

convinve you right now. But it doesn’t matter to you, does it?’

‘No it does not. I have lived a

long time and I have watched people in this world,’

Zhengqing said nothing. Yin Guohao

believed things would happen as he predicted.

‘I will not break up with

Xiaoting,’ he said finally, ‘it would be irresponsible and will be against my wishes.

But I thank you for reminding me of the problems that could arise between Yin

Ting and I may be bigger than what we feel. I will think it over, and deal with it

harmoniously. I hope that one day we can get your approval and blessings.’

Guohao shook his head, ‘You are

talking like a business man, how can I be confident?’

‘Whatever I do or say today, will

not fill Uncle with confidence.’ Zhengqing replied blandly

Tension filled the s.p.a.ce as the two

men stared at each other. Guohao’s expression was sharp and imposing, but

Zhengqing did not back down. (Zuben: Staring contest! Very shounen manga)

After what felt like a long while,

Guohao nodded and asked, ‘So I can’t persuade you?’

‘No.’

‘Then I will have to persuade

Xiaoting.’

‘That is to be expected. I should thank Uncle for his

respect.’ Zhengqing said with a smile.

Guohao returned his smile, ‘I may

be a stubborn old man, but I am not unreasonable. I said I appreciate you, and

that is the truth.’

Zhengqing smiled.

‘But I think you are unsuitable for

Xiaoting. I will resolutely object to you being together.’

Zhengqing wanted to laugh, but held

back and said, ‘I hope I will be able to prove Uncle wrong.’

‘Will you sacrifice yourself or

her?’

Zhengqing did not reply; it was not

a matter of sacrifice. He would not be the man Guohao expected him to be. And

he would not sacrifice Xiaoting, he didn’t want her to become another person.

But if no one sacrifices, how did one accommodate? (Zuben: Compromise?)

The psychological effect of

Guohao’s a.n.a.lysis was really a headache.

‘Are you going to speak to Yin Ting

tonight?’

‘Yes, I will speak to her when I

get home.’

‘Then I should tell you, I will

call her and explain what has happened and my stance on the matter.’ He said

calmly.

‘I can’t stop you.’

‘If Yin Ting gets emotional, do not

be hard on her.’

‘I am her father; I know how to

treat my own daughter.’

‘Because you are her father, I

don’t think you can remain as cool as you are in a showdown with a

stranger.’

Guohao did not say anything, but

called for the cheque.

The two walked to the exit. They

waited as Guohao’s driver when to bring his car around. They stood in silence

deep in thought. When Guohao’s car came up, the older man turned to Zhengqing, ‘You

do not understand, this is a checkmate with no solution. I do not think it

would be easy for you to accept such a thing over a conversation that lasted

an hour and a half. But when you think more about it, you will understand.’

‘I understand,’ he replied lightly,

‘I just don’t agree with your conclusion. I do not believe this a stalemate.’

Guohao moved forward and opened his

car door, before he entered, ‘And if Xiaoting agrees with me and wants to break

up?’

Zhengqing’s expression grew

serious, ‘I will tell her that I do not agree.’

Guohao gave him a final look, then

got in his car and drove away.

Zhengqing walked to his car, he got

in, took a deep breath and called Yin Ting.

Zuben: What a tedious pair of

chapters. Apologies for the typos. I have read through it, but I'm sure there are hidden ones lurking about.

Also, despite my eye rolling, I do enjoy doing this but if someone out there thinks they want to take over the translation, so that the story can be enjoyed without my 'stage whispers', please feel free to let me know.

Index ❋ Chapters 59 and 60