If you truly want to be with someone forever, then don’t rush to show her how good you are to her. If you do everything to such an extreme extent, she’ll feel, in the future, that you’re never quite good enough.
Moreover, simply being good to someone may not necessarily win you true love. In love, there should be no looking up to anyone. If one person is too humble, that love is most likely doomed to fail. What he wanted was equal love, to nurture each other through life. Therefore, he needed to stick to the rules, proceeding step by step, to achieve everlasting union.
After dinner, Li Qingshen drove Ling Momo home, his driving steady, as graceful and composed as the man himself.
Just like on the way there, the car remained silent. Ling Momo couldn’t sleep and didn’t know what topic to bring up. The silence made the atmosphere awkward, so Ling Momo thought for a moment and then said, "Um, let’s play a song."
As she spoke, she reached out and pressed the music switch in Li Qingshen’s car.
Soft music began to play immediately, and Ling Momo felt the tune was familiar. Just as she was about to ask what song it was, she recognized it as her new song.
She had just finished recording it not long ago and hadn’t even listened to it herself. How did Li Qingshen already have it in his car?
She looked at Li Qingshen with slight surprise, and noticing her skepticism, he explained softly, "I had them send it to me, to test the sound quality."
Ling Momo nodded, not saying a word.
Quietness returned to the car.
Only Ling Momo’s singing voice resonated within.
She knew the lyrics by heart. At that moment, nearing eleven o’clock, with neon lights flickering all over the roads outside the window, Ling Momo gazed at the scenery outside, listening to this song, and suddenly felt a sense of sadness.
This was "Secret Love"....
She remembered writing this song while inspired by Enson. At that time, she silently loved Enson, fretting anxiously. Then, following Li Qingshen’s hint, she suddenly caught the feeling, wrote down these lyrics, and even Enson helped her improve them...
The recent busyness had slowly prevented her from feeling as upset, but recalling it now plummeted her mood to a new low.
The song had reached a climax—loving you is like a religion, devout till it wounds all over....
The melody was already melancholic and entwined, coupled with this lyric, Ling Momo felt a sudden sharp pain deep inside, squeezing her hand tight. She leaned her head against the window, looking at the night scene, when suddenly her eyes moistened.
She kept forcing herself not to think about Enson, but now, in the silence of the night, as she thought of him, she realized just how much she missed him—the messages they exchanged on WeChat, the little details, his attentiveness, his gentleness, his empathy, his simple yet philosophical words...
But she wondered—how was he now? Without someone to text on WeChat, did he notice her absence? Did he feel a loss? Any regrets?
And did he know that there was a girl named Ling Momo who missed him dearly?
The more Ling Momo thought, the more she felt her heart might shatter.
Li Qingshen continued to drive quietly, watching the silent girl through the rearview mirror, his gaze becoming somewhat unfocused.