Emma's words hung in the air, a testament to the complexity of her emotions and the reality she was grappling with. The vastness of Shanghai seemed to mirror the expanse of her internal struggle, a city so large that even living in the same metropolis did not guarantee their paths would cross. It was a paradox, a hypothetical scenario that played out in her mind, a question she couldn't help but ponder: if given a choice, would she wish for her father's return or her encounter with the man before her?
Jason's face had paled, his expression a canvas of despair. He looked down at Emma, his voice barely above a whisper as he pleaded, "Xingxing, please."
Tears clung to Emma's lashes, but a smile trembled on her lips. She reached up to gently caress his cheek, "In college, I heard all about what it's like to like someone, but I never felt it until I met you. Only then did I understand how wonderful it is to love someone."
"From the moment I first saw you, my heart fluttered. That's why I was so desperate to get a ride with you."
"You offered to let me leave first, and I truly considered wanting to die with you."
So many words she had been too shy to say were now tumbling out, as if she were cutting open her own chest to show him her heart, to make him understand her feelings. She loved him, not a bit less.
In this life, she would never meet someone she loved so much again. He was the only one, the most beloved.
"Xingxing," he called her name again, his voice laden with all his desperation.
This time, Emma did not shy away. She looked up into his eyes and said earnestly, "Since I found out about this, I've made a thousand excuses for you, telling myself that my father's disappearance really has nothing to do with you. But I still can't convince myself because I can't help but think of the impossible possibility, thinking that if you had been just a little more careful with him, personally escorted him back... So if this continues, I will become someone else."
She would become a person she did not recognize, one consumed by regrets and complaints.
"Emma would become someone who is no longer carefree, not cool at all. She would always be caught in her own spiral of thoughts. Would that Emma still be lovable?" She tilted her head, looking at him questioningly.
Jason looked at her in silence, his eyes welling up with grief like a tide.
He said, "It's okay, I can wait."
If not in a year, then two, and if not in two, then five. He could wait until the day she completely forgave him.
Emma: "But we both know that waiting won't solve the problem..."
Moreover, she herself didn't know what the outcome of this long wait would be.
"Shen Yan, let me go free."
The cemetery was so vast and desolate, her voice striking his heart like a morning bell and an evening drum, until the rustling of the tree branches nearby broke the silence. Looking up, a bird was flapping its wings in mid-air, circling twice before soaring straight up into the sky, disappearing from sight.
*
Emma moved back to her own home, and on the wall, there was one more photo. Her grandmother's portrait was placed alongside those of her grandfather and mother; their family of three was finally reunited.
A week later, she contacted the senior who had returned to the school to give a lecture, a war correspondent.
She made a trip to Beijing.
When Qiao Muheng saw her, he noticed that her condition seemed quite good; although there was still a heaviness about her, she did not appear dispirited. He murmured, "Please accept my condolences, Jingxi."
He had recently been in the country and had heard quite a bit about Emma. Her upcoming wedding, although not publicly announced, was known to almost everyone. However, with her grandmother's passing and the wedding's inevitable cancellation, it was a situation that evoked many sighs.
Qiao Muheng didn't expect her to contact him at this time.
"Do you want to go to Israel?" Qiao Muheng was taken aback when he heard Emma's request.
There had recently been personnel changes at the newspaper office. The correspondent stationed in Israel had been transferred, and a new journalist was needed to be recruited for the post. He didn't expect Emma to be interested.
Qiao Muheng looked at Emma and asked softly, "Can you tell me why you've suddenly made this decision? Jingxi, I know you're doing very well in social news, and I've read your reports. They're deep and professional. You're very suitable for social news, but in the field of war correspondents, you're completely new and will have to start from scratch."
Emma was silent for a long time. Finally, she looked up and smiled, "Senior, I still remember the words you said when you came back to school for the lecture. You said, 'Students, the world is so big, why don't you go out and see more? After seeing it, you will find out how narrow-minded and limited your perspective is.'"
Such a sentence had caused the entire auditorium of students to laugh at the time. Everyone screamed and stamped their feet for Qiao Muheng's words. But after graduation, how many people actually went out? They had once looked up to and envied the path Qiao Muheng had taken, but few chose to follow that path. It was too difficult and required too many sacrifices.
"I want to go out and see just how big the world can be," Emma said, knowing that she had once again cornered herself. She was constantly entangled in her father's disappearance and Jason's concealment, and these emotions were like silk threads that trapped her tighter and tighter until she was completely caught.
So she wanted to break through the barriers before she trapped herself and go to a broader place to see.
Moreover, she always regretted not searching for her father properly and not experiencing the places he had lived. So she wanted to go and see.
Qiao Muheng looked at her and said, "This decision is not easy. Does your family agree? After all, going to Israel is not a matter of three or six months. If you go, you will have to stay there for at least a year."
Finally, Qiao Muheng gave her three days to think about it. If she still wanted to, he was willing to recommend her.
Three days later, Emma returned to Shanghai and called Qiao Muheng again. She still chose to go to Israel. Even though she had never been involved in war reporting and had never experienced the cruelty of war, she was willing to start learning from scratch. She never lacked the courage to start over.
Emma still received the divorce agreement delivered personally by Tang Mi. She gave up all of Jason's shares in Hengya and all she received in the agreement were cash and various jewelry collections worth billions.
This was all he could give her.
Before she signed, Tang Mian couldn't help but say, "Madam, do you have to do this?"
He could clearly see that Emma still loved President Jason so much, but why did it have to come to this?
Emma was about to sign. The pen tip stopped.
"I used to think those who loved but couldn't be together were ridiculous. If two people really loved each other, what couldn't they overcome?" She looked at Tang Mian with a bitter smile.
Now she knew that there really were things they couldn't overcome.
She was afraid she would become indecisive, afraid that she would blame Jason in the future, which would be unfair to him.
"Signed," Emma was about to give it to him when suddenly a tear dropped on the paper. She hurriedly tried to wipe it, but the more she wiped, the more tears fell.
She cried and anxiously asked, "Does this count as dirtying it?"
In the end, Tang Mian took it and comforted her in a low voice, "It doesn't count, it doesn't count, it's okay."
Emma covered her face with her hand, and after a while, she wiped her tears clean, looked up at Tang Mian, and said a little embarrassedly, "You see, I didn't used to cry so much."
This fucking situation, Tang Mian felt tortured.
He wished he could tear up this damn divorce agreement right now.
The night before Emma left the country, Xiao Yichen arrived at the hotel where Jason was staying. Recently, he hadn't been home and had been living in a suite in a five-star hotel near the company.
On the top floor, the closest place to the sky.
When you look up, you can see the stars.
Xiao Yichen entered and saw him sitting by the windowsill, leisurely gazing upward.
Seeing him in decent spirits, Xiao Yichen turned his head to the untouched food on the table beside him and said softly, "You're not eating or drinking, just working hard; are you really preparing to ascend to immortality?"
"Who said I didn't drink?" Jason lifted the water glass beside him, which surprisingly had goji berries in it.
These were bought by Emma, who was persuaded by Hua Zheng to buy them, saying that drinking them as tea is good for health.
But she didn't like the taste, and in the end, she made him drink them.
Xiao Yichen sat cross-legged on the carpet beside him: "Why don't you tell your buddy what's going on?"
He didn't know the details of the situation; he just knew that Jason had been acting off lately.
However, Jason wasn't one to share much; he always kept everything bottled up inside. So, in the end, Xiao Yichen opened a bottle of wine and said, "How about I accompany you to drink our worries away?"
In the end, it was Xiao Yichen who got drunk, while Jason remained sober throughout.
He looked at Xiao Yichen, who was hugging himself and wailing, and slightly tugged at the corners of his mouth.
The next morning, he changed into a suit and left the house; his car was waiting downstairs. He had a meeting to attend in Suzhou today. After the car got on the elevated road, Tang Mian, who was sitting in the passenger seat, seemed to want to say something but held back.
It wasn't until they were almost on their way to Suzhou that the man in the back seat suddenly spoke: "Go to the airport."
Tang Mian's face immediately showed extreme joy, and he quickly said: "Lao Xu, go to the airport, hurry!"
When Jason stood in the airport's VIP lounge, looking out the window,
At that moment, an airplane flashed across the sky, leaving a faint trail of white mist against the deep blue sky and white clouds.
Jason suddenly closed his eyes tightly.
When he opened them again, both the airplane and the mist had completely disappeared.
His star was about to journey to a distant land.
That day, she asked herself how she would live without Jason.
But she never asked him.
How was Jason supposed to live without Emma?
But it didn't matter.
Because he would wait for his star to return, shining brightly once again.
The early morning in Jerusalem had a holy tranquility.
The sky was vast and clear, and at this moment, it was particularly bright and azure. The roads outside the city were straight and long, stretching to the end of sight.
Lao Bai was holding a camera, feeling a bit anxious.
Last night, around three in the morning, an Israeli military force entered the Gaza Strip for a military operation, which led to fierce resistance from the Palestinian armed groups, killing two Israeli soldiers and severely injuring an Israeli officer.
As the Israeli military planes covered the safe retreat of their ground forces, they dropped bombs on the ground.
Although the casualties on the Palestinian side are still unclear, the conflict between the two sides has escalated.
Lao Bai received the news early in the morning and immediately notified his colleagues. They are journalists from Xinhua News Agency stationed in Israel, and such a significant event required their presence last night.
While he was thinking, a black off-road vehicle drove over from the distance.
The vehicle looked quite worn out; it was said to be a second-hand car, probably even older. But having such a small, worn-out car was incredibly convenient for interviews.
Lao Bai was finally waiting for someone and happily waved his hand on tiptoes.
But when the off-road vehicle approached, instead of slowing down, it came straight over. Although Lao Bai knew in his heart that the other party would definitely not hit him, he was still scared and jumped back.
With an extremely harsh and prolonged braking sound,
The car suddenly stopped in front of him.
Looking back, two long black tire marks were clearly pressed on the light gray road.
The car window was open.
Lao Bai looked up and saw the girl sitting in the driver's seat.
She was wearing a khaki plaid shirt, her long black hair casually tied behind her head, and upon closer inspection, a black pen was clipped in her hair, revealing a slender and beautiful neck, which was unreasonably bright white.
When she turned her head slightly, the large sunglasses almost covered half of her small face.
She flicked her head and signaled, "Get in the car."
Lao Bai quickly ran to the driver's seat, eagerly opened the door, and got in the car. He turned his head and said to the person in the driver's seat, "Xiao Song can only come back tomorrow; today it's just the two of us."
Emma turned her head and looked at him, her lips slightly raised, "Scared?"
Lao Bai, though not old at just over thirty, lacked the vigor of youth due to his cautious nature. However, Emma understood; Lao Bai was married, and although he didn't have children yet, he planned to start a family soon. Unlike her, he had responsibilities and concerns that demanded prudence.
Seeing him fasten his seatbelt, Emma smiled and pressed the accelerator, launching the car forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
"Jingxi, we don't need to rush that much," Lao Bai couldn't help but say, gripping the overhead handle as he trembled.
Before Emma's arrival, all the journalists stationed in Israel were men. When they heard a woman was coming, everyone felt a bit uneasy, but Lao Bai was pleased. He thought a woman would be more cautious and less likely to recklessly charge into dangerous situations.
However, when Emma arrived, she wasn't just any woman—she was strikingly beautiful, causing quite a stir among their colleagues and even other journalists stationed in Israel. News spread that Xinhua News Agency had a new, exceptionally attractive young female journalist.
Living far from their homeland and loved ones, the journalists would gather for activities like making dumplings or having meals together to alleviate the monotony of their lives in a foreign country. Emma's arrival made these gatherings more frequent, but what surprised everyone was that some of her colleagues recognized her.
A colleague quietly asked Lao Bai where their leader had found such a significant figure. Lao Bai, who had been stationed in Israel for over a year and was not up-to-date with domestic news, was puzzled. It wasn't until a colleague showed him the statement from Hengya Group that he realized Emma was married to such a well-known figure.
Hengya Group was famous throughout the Middle East, known for their employees' dedication to maintaining communication stations in various regions. Even in a foreign land like Israel, Hengya Group's advertisements could be seen on the streets.
The fact that the wife of a global business tycoon had become a war correspondent was astonishing. Not only did she endure the same hardships as them, but she also faced the frontlines, where gunfire and danger were ever-present.
Initially, the team was hesitant to send Emma to the frontlines, fearing the consequences if something happened. They assigned her to report on refugee camps or United Nations peacekeeping activities during holidays. However, Emma was not satisfied with these assignments and insisted on being on the frontlines.
Since the establishment of Israel, conflicts have been a constant along its borders, with five Middle East wars and ongoing battles that have sown the seeds of hatred among generations in the Middle East.
Peace is a rare commodity, and war is a common occurrence. Israel's ongoing confrontations with Palestine and the dispute over the Golan Heights with Syria have drawn numerous journalists to this war-torn country.
Unable to dissuade Emma, the team let her cover a conflict on the Jordan River's banks. To their surprise, she ventured deep into the battlefield and captured firsthand footage of the confrontation between the Israeli military and Palestinian civilians.
From then on, Emma was always at the forefront whenever there was a conflict, showing a level of dedication that put the men to shame. She was fearless, hardworking, and once endured eight hours without food or water to capture a protest by Palestinians at the Israeli border, writing and sending the news back to China immediately after.
Lao Bai now felt apprehensive about working with her. He had expected a woman to be more cautious, but Emma was braver than all the men.
Hearing Lao Bai's plea, Emma didn't turn her head; her eyes, hidden behind dark sunglasses, remained fixed on the road ahead.
"I'm in a hurry," she said.
The conflict had been ongoing for several hours. If both sides ceased fire, it might temporarily ease, but if neither backed down, the conflict would escalate. Regardless, they needed to get to the Gaza area as quickly as possible.
"Ah, you know, the common people have only had a few days of peace," Lao Bai sighed, but there was nothing they could do. The Middle East issue was too complex, so complex that it felt like this place would never know peace unless the Earth exploded.
Emma smiled, it wasn't the first time she had seen Lao Bai in such a melancholic mood.
Although Emma had been to Israel before, the impression Israel gave her was romantic and affectionate. She stood in the luxurious hotel in Haifa where Jason used to live and saw a deep blue and beautiful sea. She walked on the stone roads of Jerusalem, and when she turned around, she saw the brilliant bougainvillea blooming at the corner of the alley.
Even though she had encountered bombing attacks, she met the person she loved and decided to spend her life with him amidst the war. She thought this was Israel.
It wasn't until she returned to Israel this time that she realized everything she had seen before was just on the surface. The confrontation on the Jordan Riverbank, the frequent gunfire in the Gaza Strip, and the dispute over the Golan Heights.
Every time there was a conflict, there was bound to be bloodshed.
In their lenses, it was just one person who died after a conflict, but that person was someone's son, husband, or even father elsewhere.
Emma smiled indifferently, "It's precisely because of these wars that we need to convey all of this to people around the world."
She used to think she was the most miserable person in the world. She was only twenty-five years old and had already experienced the early death of her mother, the disappearance of her father, and no one to accompany her. Even the person she loved the most was given up by her. Her love and family fell apart overnight.
So she came to Israel without any scruples, whether to continue looking for her father or to be a qualified journalist, she was here.
But when she came here, she went to the Jordan Zaatari refugee camp and saw how people were struggling on the line of survival, the great trauma brought by the war, which made their lives displaced, their homes no longer, looking up was yellow sand and dust, and the rampant scorching sun above their heads.
Compared to the suffering seen in textbooks and on television, this was truly hell on earth.
Emma's confusion and pain seemed so light in the face of such great suffering. At least she hadn't experienced such hunger and torture.
"So when we come here, we learn to cherish our lives even more," Emma thought Lao Bai was worried about dangerous things and comforted him casually.
But as soon as she finished speaking, Lao Bai turned his head sharply and looked at her, "Cherish... cherish our lives?"
He was so frightened that his tongue was tied when he spoke. Did this girl say that she learned to cherish her life here?
Lao Bai thought about how many times she didn't need to go forward but still took the camera and rushed up first. He thought Emma must be joking with herself.
This is black humor, right.
At this moment, Emma's speed slowed down slightly, and she turned her head to look at Lao Bai, "What, am I wrong?"
Right, right, it's too right.
Lao Bai nodded.
But the next second, he held his camera and wanted to cry without tears, saying, "Can we cherish our lives with practical actions?"
He knew that the news was indeed the first to grab, and the photos of the frontline war were especially precious.
But they could really consider cherishing their lives.
Emma nodded, raised her chin again to indicate, "So I brought the bulletproof vests and helmets, remember to take them when we get off later."
Lao Bai turned his head sharply and saw two bulletproof vests and helmets on the back seat.
He opened his mouth and was completely speechless.
Emma always drove fast and steadily. When their car arrived at a kibbutz in Israel, less than a kilometer from Gaza, which was a very small rural area. At this time, many military vehicles and journalists had already gathered here.
Emma saw several journalists from news agencies she was familiar with. They were all stationed in Jerusalem and would meet when reporting.
As soon as she stepped out of the car, a tall and handsome man waved at her: "Hi, Emma."
This was Kevin, a reporter from Reuters in the UK, who, despite working for Reuters, is an American. They had met at an open event for the Golan Heights peacekeeping forces hosted by the United Nations, and he had always harbored a fondness for Emma.
"Too dangerous here," Kevin said with a smile.
He was over six feet tall with golden hair that shone brightly in the sunlight, possessing that unique, cheerful, and sunny disposition.
Emma nodded and asked in English, "What's the situation now?"
Kevin shrugged helplessly, "The Israeli side is preparing to reinforce Gaza. The Prime Minister just held a security cabinet meeting to decide on necessary military measures to protect Israel. Really hope God is with us."
Emma looked into the distance. The Gaza Strip has been blockaded by Israel for nearly a decade. Now, with the United States announcing the relocation of its embassy to Jerusalem, it's further supporting Israel's occupation of Jerusalem.
The Gaza Strip has seen several protests in a row, but these protests have all been mercilessly suppressed.
It truly reflects the saying, "The weak are beaten."
When Israeli military personnel arrived, the journalists immediately approached, hoping to follow the military's armored vehicles into the Israeli-occupied area.
Soon, the military gave their approval, allowing the journalists to follow.
Emma and the others stepped forward, but the leading man in military uniform surveyed her and sneered, "Women shouldn't be here."
Among the many journalists present, Emma was the only female reporter.
The discrimination against women in Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, doesn't need much description; there is inherent bias.
Emma looked at him coldly and said emphatically, "Your mother is also a woman."
A burst of laughter erupted among the international journalists present, most of whom were from Western countries where feminism is prevalent, and they wouldn't dare discriminate against any woman.
Moreover, women who dare to appear here are worthy of respect and praise.
She should not be humiliated like this.
When Emma fought back on the spot, some people around even whistled and cheered for her.
As for the Israeli officer, his face darkened, and his eyes were coldly fixed on Emma, but she was not afraid at all, staring back at him.
In the end, she and Lao Bai boarded the military's armored vehicle together. When they arrived at the base, the sound of Palestinian demonstrations could be heard from afar, along with the singing of the Palestinians, who were loudly singing their national anthem.
After getting off the vehicle, all journalists were warned not to stand on the bunkers, as it was less than a hundred meters from the protective fence. On the open ground beyond the hundred meters, the Palestinians living in Gaza occasionally ran forward, trying to tear down the fence that had been blocking them for more than a decade.
But no matter when, they could never take a step out.
Lao Bai squatted beside Emma; he was a photojournalist with his camera always aimed at the people across. Emma, on the other hand, was recording everything that was happening in front of her.
She even took out a voice recorder.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and with a command to take cover, all the journalists around dove to the ground.
The Palestinians who had been gathered not far away were now scattering, as Israeli soldiers fired rubber bullets to disperse those trying to cross the protective fence.
Tear gas was then thrown into the air, and the scattered tear gas not only made the children holding flags scream but also drifted this way with the wind.
Although Emma was wearing sunglasses, tears still streamed down her face.
Lao Bai clutched his camera tightly, crying out, "My eyes, my eyes."
Emma took a bottle of mineral water from her backpack and handed it to him, "Clean it up."
Lao Bai rinsed his eyes a bit, and when he turned his head to hand the water back to Emma, she shook her head, "I don't need it."
Water resources here are quite scarce, and Emma, having been here for a year, has long developed the habit of not wasting water easily.