My Youth Began With Him

Ning Zhiyuan was obviously shocked to run into Huo Mian…

“How have you been?” Huo Mian calmly greeted him.

“N-not… bad.” Ning Zhiyuan felt distant from Huo Mian. He lacked confidence and for some reason, felt guilty.

“Did you find a job?” Huo Mian knew that Ning Zhiyuan was with He Man for a while and lost a lot of money gambling. His life had been hard… forcing him to work at a patient-tricking clinic and live an awful life.

“I did… I work at a pharmacy now.” Ning Zhiyuan seemed exhausted.

A lot of the bigger pharmacies hired doctors as clinicians to better sell their products; it turns out Ning Zhiyuan had been reduced to working at a place like that…

Truth be told, Huo Mian felt a bit bad…

“A few days ago, Xiaoxue called me,” Huo Mian said quietly.

Upon hearing Wu Xiaoxue’s name, Ning Zhiyuan’s body shook.

“She and the baby are doing great, Xinyue is a great girl.”

“Oh… really?” Ning Zhiyuan felt awkward; after all, he didn’t treat Wu Xiaoxue very well back then.

…

Therefore, he was filled with regret upon the mentioning of their child…

“Xiaoxue asked me to ask you something…” Huo Mian paused.

“Ask me what?” Ning Zhiyuan looked up, but he was too scared to look into Huo Mian’s eyes.

“She wants me to ask you if you want to move to Chicago,” Huo Mian replied faintly.

Ning Zhiyuan’s eyes widened; he didn’t understand what Huo Mian was saying, so she explained herself, “She wants you to go to the States and be with them.”

“Can… I?” Ning Zhiyuan’s voice was hoarse, he didn’t seem to believe what he was hearing.

“I think she wants to give you one last chance for your daughter…” Huo Mian looked into Ning Zhiyuan’s eyes and said, word for word.

He, on the other hand, shook his head and smiled bitterly. “I don’t think I can… I’m not a good husband, nor am I a good father. I’ve done them wrong, and no matter where I go, I’m still useless…”

“Do you know what I hate about you?” Huo Mian asked him icily, and Ning Zhiyuan looked down without responding.

“I don’t hate you because you’re poor and are from an ordinary family, but I hate how easily you give up on yourself and how much you deny yourself of a good life… You automatically assume you’re not good enough, even though you haven’t even tried. Haha, in the end, you’ll realize that you really can’t do anything anymore… Zhiyuan, men are different from women. Women want a peaceful life, but men have to fight for a better future… You’re still young, you have a long life waiting for you… If you give up on yourself, what are you going to do about Uncle and Auntie Ning, who worked so hard to raise you? They’re old… their lives are hard, and you’re their only son… I really hope you can stop being so selfish and think about the people who are worth loving and worth fighting for…”

Then, Huo Mian took out a post-it note from her bag and wrote down a number before handing it to Ning Zhiyuan.

“This is Xiaoxue’s Chicago number. Call her if you make a decision. Your future… is in your own hands.”

Huo Mian said what she needed do and sincerely hoped that Ning Zhiyuan would come to his senses, sooner rather than later.

He really shouldn’t live such a pessimistic life…

Zhu Lingling once said that Ning Zhiyuan was dealt amazing cards, but he played them all wrong.

She was right – the Wu family was prestigious and Wu Xiaoxue was so in love with him. They even had a cute daughter together.

Moreover, he was an ophthalmologist… how could he let himself fall so hard?

Afterward, Huo Mian went straight into the supermarket and bought a bunch of food. By the time she carried her groceries out, Ning Zhiyuan was long gone…

She didn’t know and didn’t want to know what he was going to do.

She believed that a grownup whose brain was fully functioning should be able to choose how to live his life.

While she drove to her mother’s, Huo Mian put on her Bluetooth and called Qin Chu, “Honey… I think I was a little Mary Sue today…”

“What happened?” Qin Chu asked gently.