“Are you saying that Nan Lin is not the real Nan Lin, her original name is Lili Huang?” I felt myself straining to catch my breath.
He didn’t speak in silent acquiescence.
I suddenly remembered the words that Nan Lin said to Duo. She asked Duo to keep thinking that it was me who set the fire, so that Duo would think that it was me subconsciously after a long time, Nan Lin told Duo that it was called a psychological hint and people would believe what they said if they kept thinking like that.
Nan Lin also gave examples for Duo. She said to Duo, “It’s like I constantly remind myself that I am Nan…”
At that time, when she said ‘Lin’, she stopped suddenly and didn’t go on, and now it seemed that what she wanted to say was, “It’s like I constantly remind myself that I’m Nan Lin.”
She needed to be reminded that she was Nan Lin all the time, so over time she became Nan Lin as well. Even she believed herself that she was the real Nan Lin.
“I was surprised that she wasn’t the real Nan Lin, what about the real Nan Lin? By the way, what’s your name?”I asked.
After making sure that he wasn’t too wary of me, I thought I could ask for his name.
“My name is Bo Ma. Lily Huang is my girlfriend. We’ve been together for many years. She was still in high school when I went to college. Then I graduated and she was in college. Her family was poor, and when she went to college, I worked outside to earn money for her. I was in the computer equipment business with a friend. After making some money, I bought an apartment and got ready to marry her. But suddenly she said she needed a lot of money and told me to sell the house and give her the money.” He said.
He continued, “At that time she said it was the family that was in desperate need of money and I believed her completely and sold the house. I later learned that she had spent money on plastic surgery. Then business was difficult. My partner ran away with the money and I went bankrupt. She asked me to come to Hai City with her, and she said she was going to become another person. She told me that as long as she married a rich man, we would have a lot of money in the future.”
I couldn’t help but ask, “She’s not Nan Lin, so how does she know about Nan Lin ? And how did she think of plastic surgery to look like Lin Nan?”
Bo Ma thought about it, “I’m not very clear about this, and she didn’t tell me details. I only know that there is a rich man named Leon Hua in Hai City who is obsessed with a girl named Nan Lin. As long as she pretends to be Nan Lin. Leon Hua will marry her, and then she will have money to live a better life she wants.”
“So you’re helping your girlfriend get money by deceiving others? Help your girlfriend to throw herself at other people?”I asked.
The corners of Marble’s mouth twitched, that sad look on his face again. “My business failed and She spend all the money , what can I do?” He said sadly.
“So you treat this as an investment. You want Nan Lin to succeed and then give you a large sum of money so that you can start your business again?”
Bo Ma was silent, “For a while I did think so. I did think of this as an investment. But now I think I’m too stupid. I find that I end up with nothing and a debt. My intention is to make her happy. But the truth is….”
Bo Ma sighed and didn’t go on.
“Nan Lin has a man like you who loves her, she should be content.”
“She’s not Nan Lin, she’s Lili Huang.” He corrected me.
I nodded, “That’s right, she’s just a person pretending to be Nan. By the way, there’s one thing I don’t quite understand. Since she’s poor and you don’t have much money, where did she get the car? That car seem very expensive, maybe it costs a few hundred thousand?”
“She said it was from a friend. I don’t know. Maybe it’s from Leon Hua?” Bo Ma said.
Hearing that, I confirmed that I was a little jealous. A car was nothing to Leon and could be seen as a reward for Nan Lin, but I was still jealous.
Perhaps the psychological hints of people are really important. I played the role of Leon’s wife for quite a while, and without realizing it, I also really thought that I was his wife and became Leon’s beloved wife myself, which was why I was jealous.
“Thank you for telling me that. What I want to remind you is that you should not blame Leon Hua for this, nor go to extremes. You tell the truth to him, then take Lily Huang leave Hai City and return to the place where you come from. Let’s just pretend none of this happened.” I said sincerely.
Bo Ma shook his head, “I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t. She doesn’t admit to being in love with Leon Hua, but I know that she love him and she really thinks of herself as Nan Lin. As long as Leon Hua is in Hai City, she won’t leave here.”
“We’ll go to Leon together and you tell him the truth. Leon had been kind to her because that the real Nan Lin had been kind to him. Leon is very emotional, which is why he tolerated her various bad behaviors. If Leon knew she wasn’t Nan Lin, he would stop being kind to her so that you could take her away.”
He didn’t speak, seemed to be thinking. Then he sighed, “If I did that, she’d hate me for the rest of her life. She won’t be with me anymore.”
“With all due respect, I can’t see any dignity in your love for her. Love is not a will without principles and a bottom line. If love is sustained by a single-mindedness, then one day you go against her wishes, she will also turn against you. You have to know that human nature is selfish and anyone wants others to accommodate and satisfy themselves. It also turns out that your previous accommodations were exchanged for her coldness for you, even as she went out of her way to sacrifice you to fulfill her own pursuit of lust.”
“If you didn’t tell the truth to Leon, even if she succeeds in marrying into the Hua family. She won’t be with you anymore either, and as I said before, she will find a way to force you out of the city and you will lose even more. Think about it and reply to me. Let’s keep in touch with each other and work this out together.”
I gave him my phone number and also left his number and then we walked out of the ramen restaurant together.
The view of the city at night was just beautiful, and I felt a bit relieved of the stifling breath I was holding inside.
“Miss Yao, may I ask you a question?” Bo Ma asked me.
“Please go ahead.”
“I heard that you didn’t marry Leon Hua for long, and also he didn’t treat you very well either. Are you doing this to protect your Mrs. Hua’s position, or is it because you love Leon Hua?”
I was silent for a moment. It was a question that I hadn’t seriously thought about either.
I can also say with noble reasons that I was doing it for the truth and justice. But it was clear in my heart that I was selfish. Or rather, the underlying motivation that drove me to take the risk of seeing Bo Ma was because of my hidden selfishness. I didn’t want Nan Lin to be with Leon whether she was real Nan Lin or not.
As for whether I loved Leon or not, I didn’t know myself. But even when I was most disappointed in him, if he was just a little nicer to me, I would feel an inexplicable pleasure. I knew it was spineless, but there are some emotions that can’t be suppressed just by trying to.
“Both have. In any case, I’m still Mrs. Hua.” I replied.
“Okay, I’ll think about it and contact you later.” Bo Ma said.