Midnight, the phone rings
Xiao Qing on the other end speaks in the calmest tone: I made an appointment with a lawyer at 10 a.m. today
After a suffocating silence, Xiao Wei tries to remain calm and asks: And then what?
Then I’m going to get a haircut, cutting it into a style you won’t recognize, so I can forget you
Xiao Qing is already sobbing uncontrollably
……
In the beginning of the relationship,
- Back then we had nothing, but because of you, I felt like I had the whole world
- At the time, to be with you, I almost betrayed the whole world, but I was willing to do it!
- When I saw you, pregnant, picking through the discounted vegetable section at the market, I silently vowed: I will take care of you for the rest of your life, and give you a happy life
- When we were studying abroad, we were both very poor, and in the supermarket I only bought what you liked to eat
……
As the relationship deepened, our conversations slowly changed:
- Can’t you be more understanding of my parents? They spent all their savings to send me overseas for study, and now they’re only here for three months of tourism. Even if you don’t like them, can’t you just put up with them?
- The down payment for the house was from my parents, but now I have to put up with their attitude in my own home. They’re just too much
- I treat you as my closest person, I’d rather委屈 ourselves than委屈 my parents
- You should know how seriously I was ill that night. When I needed you the most, you were only busy drinking and chatting with your family. Do you even have me in your heart anymore?
- I work so hard, isn’t it all for the kids and a better future for us? Isn’t that love?
- I once showed off you to everyone around me, I was proud of you, but now I can’t even mention your name
- If for one person I have to change so much, I’m no longer myself. Is there even any meaning in maintaining this relationship?
- I’ve sacrificed everything for you, given so much, but you’ve never been moved
……
Now,
- Please give me a reason to stay
- I’ve overcome another obstacle in my career and reached a new peak, but I find my cold home has no one to share it with
Xiao Wei sobs on the phone: I wish you find someone better than me
After a long while, but I’ll never be this good to anyone again
……
Xiao Qing still hasn’t deleted Xiao Wei from her phone
……
From getting to know each other, falling in love, to finally becoming strangers, we’ve gone through everything together, but couldn’t hold hands until old age, and in the end we broke up, became strangers. What exactly did we miss?
Missed the ‘understanding’ – knowing oneself, knowing the other. We always express love in the way we are used to, assuming the other person also receives love in the same way, but we don’t realize that this deeply troubles the other person and hurts ourselves.
If Xiao Wei and Xiao Qing could use practical psychology methods to communicate effectively, the ending of the story would be completely different.