Gao Jun didn't know why Liang Yaqi was calling at this time.
He didn't want to know either.
So he simply hung up.
Then, after a short while, the ringtone of the phone sounded again.
Gao Jun knew it was her calling again.
He hung up the phone once more.
Jiang Yilan noticed Gao Jun's expression and tentatively asked, "Yingying's Dad, is there something urgent?"
"Nothing," Gao Jun shook his head.
"If you do have something urgent, you can go ahead and take care of it. I can take Yingying home later," Jiang Yilan suggested.
Hearing this, Gao Jun thought of the last time Liang Yaqi got drunk at the cinema and wondered what trouble she was causing this time. He said, "In that case, Miss Jiang, I'll send you my home address, and Yingying has the keys to our house. I'll step out for a bit and be back soon."
"Okay," Jiang Yilan nodded. "Yingying's Dad, don't worry."
Gao Yingying also reminded him, "Dad, be careful!"
"Okay."
Before leaving, Gao Jun paid for the meal.
He stepped out of the restaurant and dialed Liang Yaqi's number.
"What a nuisance."
Actually, Gao Jun could completely ignore her.
But the thought of her current mental state being not too good and the possibility that she might do something rash made him feel concerned.
"I'll help you one last time, but if I answer your call again, I'm just an idiot..." he was thinking, when the call was answered on the other end.
Almost immediately, Liang Yaqi's voice came through.
"Haha, you still called back~" Liang Yaqi laughed happily on the phone.
Gao Jun: ...
"Are you sick?" he said directly: "What's the matter, speak."
"I'm here alone on the beach, listen to the sound of the waves."
Gao Jun could indeed hear the sound of the waves coming from Liang Yaqi's end.
He immediately asked, "What are you doing at the beach? It's late at night; do you have a death wish?"
"Mm-hmm..." Liang Yaqi, holding her phone, looked out at the sand in front of her.
There wasn't a single star in the sky, and the moon had hidden itself behind the clouds, not daring to face the pitch-black night.
She wasn't sure if this scene before her was a metaphor for her life.
"Crazy woman," Gao Jun first cursed, then asked, "Where are you?"
"On the beach at the Seaside Park."
After getting the address from her, Gao Jun hung up the phone.
Liang Yaqi, on the other end, seeing him hang up, muttered while looking at the phone screen, "Why did he hang up?"
Saying that, she continued to pick up the bottle of alcohol next to her and started drinking.
Perhaps it was her attractive figure, combined with the absence of anyone nearby, that some of the men who came here to enjoy the breeze started getting ideas.
"Little sister, drinking alone here, feeling lonely, huh?" A man in his thirties approached Liang Yaqi, grinning.
Liang Yaqi looked up and, seeing his greasy, lecherous face, didn't engage in conversation with him.
But this middle-aged man clearly didn't want to miss the opportunity.
After all, there weren't many people around, and if the woman in front of him passed out from drinking, he could just drag her into the bushes behind them.
"Hey, little sister, don't be shy, tell your big brother what's bothering you~" Saying that, the greasy man sat down next to her and started to lean towards Liang Yaqi.
Liang Yaqi remained collected the entire time. She looked at her phone and muttered, "Should be arriving soon."
The greasy man was somewhat confused. "What's arriving soon?"
As they spoke, Gao Jun's voice came from behind. "If you don't leave now, the police will be arriving soon."
At these words, the greasy man was scared out of his wits.
He turned around and saw a young man staring at him sternly, and he quickly retreated with an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry, my apologies..."
After speaking, he turned his head and ran away.
Gao Jun watched the man's figure disappear, faint and wavering in the weak moonlight, looking especially frail and helpless.
He sat down next to Liang Yaqi.
Her hair fluttered gently in the wind, her face expressionless, with only those hollow eyes twinkling weakly in the darkness, like a soulless doll.
She sat silently on the beach, staring into the dark expanse of the sea as though searching for something, yet not knowing what she was searching for.
Her hands rested powerlessly on the sand, with fine grains slipping through her fingers.
It must be said, looking at Liang Yaqi's current state, sitting alone on this dark beach, her forlorn appearance was heart-wrenching.
But what did that have to do with him?
Gao Jun could only urge her once more. "This is the last time I'm advising you, the last time I'm helping you. Let go of the past and start over. Don't you even have the courage to get a divorce?"
At this moment, Liang Yaqi turned her head to look at Gao Jun.
Gao Jun saw her face was flushed red, even the redness spreading to the back of her ears and neck.
He glanced down at the surrounding beer bottles and muttered helplessly, "If you can't drink, don't try to keep up with others, it can lead to trouble."
Liang Yaqi still didn't speak, just looked at him and then chuckled sheepishly.
"I scolded you, why don't you talk back?"
This time, Liang Yaqi shook her head and finally spoke. "I feel like you're showing concern for me, and I want to hear it."
Gao Jun was speechless. This woman was definitely not well.
"This is the last time I'm taking you home. If there's anything in the future, find your husband, I'm not your husband, I don't have that obligation." Having said this, Gao Jun tried to help Liang Yaqi up.
Liang Yaqi's cheeks were rosy, as if coated with a layer of faint rouge, her mouth's curvature slightly stiff, as if forcing a smile. "I told him I went back to my parents' house, we haven't seen each other for over a week..."
"So where are you staying now?" Gao Jun frowned.
He couldn't possibly take this woman in!
"I'm staying in a hotel... I brought my ID~" Liang Yaqi said as she took out her ID from her purse and flaunted it in front of Gao Jun, "I'm clever, right?"
"Heh heh."
Gao Jun responded with two perfunctory words.
Fortunately, this time Liang Yaqi was relatively sober, not forcing Gao Jun to carry her all the way from the beach to the park entrance.
On the way to the parking lot, Liang Yaqi suddenly asked, "Gao Jun, do you have any regrets?"
"My regret is that I shouldn't have been soft-hearted just now and called you," Gao Jun said speechlessly.
"I think the greatest regret in life is when those we love are separated by mountains and seas, mountains and seas that cannot be leveled. Later, I learned that seas can be crossed with boats, mountains can be traversed with paths, all can be leveled; what's difficult to level is the human heart..." Liang Yaqi didn't respond to Gao Jun's words but continued speaking on her own.
Gao Jun explained, "Actually, you're now caught in a vicious circle, unable to escape. The reason we are human is that the character for 'human' has two strokes, one slant represents the first half of life, which is persistence, and the other stroke represents the latter half of life, which is letting go."
"What we need to do is to have scenic mountains and waters in our hearts without pretense, to be close without chasing after distant rights and wrongs, to stop and gaze and go with the wind, to walk and see and proceed calmly, not dwelling on the past, not fearing the future."
"What you need to do now is to be decisive and let go, decisively get a divorce, let go of the past, understand?!"
After saying these words, Gao Jun looked at Liang Yaqi and found she was staring blankly.
He didn't know if she had really taken it in.
[If she didn't take it in, never mind, it's hard to persuade a damned ghost with good words.]
Indeed, Liang Yaqi's way of thinking was anything but ordinary. She lifted her head, looked at Gao Jun's face, and suddenly said, "Gao Jun... it's been a long time since I've experienced what a hug feels like, can you... hug me?"
"You're sick."