Ding Jinshi’s story also made He Zhilan understand that Ding Jinshi wasn’t always . The Ding Jinshi, who could prepare her cake and present herself as a surprise for Lan Li on her birthday, must have been an innocent and romantic girl. An innocent girl surrounded by the happiness of love.
It was love, and it was Lan Li that had suffocated her innocence and romance, that had transformed Ding Jinshi into the person she is now.
Love, it had become a weapon for Lan Li to torture Ding Jinshi. He Zhilan sighed a few times, even though she was just a bystander, just a listener to the story.
"He Zhilan, when you grow up, don’t rush into this so-called love. Love is not beautiful at all. On the contrary, love is a monstrous ghost that ruins everything. It can make you unrecognizable and nearly despair of the world."
"That’s doesn’t hold true for everyone. Not everyone is like you and Lan Li, and not every love story involves someone like Gu En forcing a choice." He Zhilan shook her head, "You’ve just experienced a relationship with Lan Li. Why should that fill your whole world with despair? It’s your heart that succumbs to despair, not the world."
Perhaps it was because He Zhilan’s answer was so certain, Ding Jinshi looked up at her with the gaze of someone who’s been through it, "You’re still young, how could you possibly understand?"
"Why wouldn’t I understand? Does it have anything to do with age?" He Zhilan found it mildly amusing, "You’re just saying that because Lan Li turned your world into darkness. But just because your world is dark, doesn’t mean everyone else’s is. If you don’t step out of your own world and into others’, of course all you see is darkness."
"You’re just like me back in the day. When someone told me to stay away from love, I foolishly insisted that love was as sweet as candy, and nothing else. Only after being shattered to pieces in love did I realize that love is a deadly poison."
He Zhilan shrugged, "I don’t see it that way."
"You’ve never even had a relationship before, how could you possibly understand? Take Liao Qinghong at your school for example. Isn’t she still insisting on being with Ding Long, no matter what happens? Look at the outcome."
"I don’t know what others think of Liao Qinghong, but in my opinion, her love itself wasn’t pure." He Zhilan spoke directly, "I’m already married, so please don’t always rebut my words just because I’m young."
Maybe it was because He Zhilan’s words were just too absurd that Ding Jinshi laughed derisively as she flicked an ash off her cigarette.
"I’m serious. He Teng is not only my elder brother but also my husband. We’re legally married, having obtained our marriage certificate and held the wedding banquet." He Zhilan said, "Therefore, when it comes to love, I have more right to speak than you do because I’ve come further. See, isn’t the end of love sweet?"
Seeing the surprise in Ding Jinshi’s eyes, He Zhilan continued, "Marriage is a new beginning in love. I’ve come this far, and I can assure you with confidence that love is sweet."
Perhaps, out of sympathy for Ding Jinshi’s nearly hopeless view of the world, or because they similar as women, He Zhilan told Ding Jinshi about her marriage to He Teng. And she did it with the most sincere smile, telling Ding Jinshi that love is not the poison Ding Jinshi depicted it as. Ding Jinshi simply hasn’t found her own sweet candy yet.
Speaking as someone who has been through it, isn’t He Zhilan also in the same boat? In her previous life, didn’t she too think she had found her candy, only to learn too late that it was just a bowl of arsenic-laced sweet syrup that kills after a moment of sweetness?