Chapter 56. He kissed her fiercely.

Illness not only slows down people's movements, but also stagnates their thinking ability.

Before Tang Ci could react to Sheng Yu's words, he coaxed her into grabbing the hem of her nightgown piled up beside her legs.

Realizing his next move, Tang Ci suddenly woke up, her legs struggling unconsciously, kicking him haphazardly at his shoulders.

Sheng Yu hissed and reached out to press down on her calf, which was the one that had attacked her, and then leaned his body down on her.

...

Tang Ci stared unfocused at the dim ceiling, only blinking slowly when she heard a rustling sound.

She shifted her gaze and saw Sheng Yu sitting at the foot of the bed, pulling out tissues to wipe his face.

Her skin suddenly felt hot, and her eyes started to burn. Taking advantage of Sheng Yu's distraction, Tang Ci hurriedly straightened her messy nightgown and got out of bed to go to the bathroom.

She had only taken two steps in her slippers when her sore legs trembled, and she collapsed onto the floor.

Suddenly feeling weightless, Tang Ci let out a hoarse "Ah!" as a strong arm wrapped around her waist.

Sheng Yu scooped her up and placed her steadily on the ground.

"What's wrong?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

Tang Ci, her ears red, pushed his arm away: "I tripped..."

Sheng Yu said "Oh," raised an eyebrow, and reminded him seriously, "Be careful."

Tang Ci stammered "okay," then quickly went into the bathroom and closed the door.

After washing her clothes and skin, Tang Ci washed her face again before coming out of the bathroom.

Sheng Yu was already sitting on the edge of the bed, replying to messages while drinking water from a glass. Her lips looked especially red in the reflection of the glass.

Tang Ci looked away, lifted the corner of the blanket, and lay down on the other side of the bed.

Sheng Yu then placed the phone and cup on the bedside table, and as he hugged her from behind, he turned off the bedside lamp.

In the blink of an eye, Tang Ci caught a glimpse of a mark on his wrist, and suddenly her eyes widened as she reached out and grabbed his arm.

Sheng Yu's voice rang out from above: "Still can't sleep?"

"No." Tang Ci's face flushed. She turned his wrist over and, in the dim light, saw that it was a scar. The scar was white and was an old wound.

Tang Ci's breath hitched, and she asked in a tight voice, "How did you get that injury on your wrist?"

Sheng Yuwei raised himself up and glanced at his wrist, his voice flat: "I accidentally scratched it while drinking earlier." As he spoke, he vigorously pinched her cheek: "Are you worried about me?"

Tang Ci listened to his flippant tone, rubbed her cheek that he had pinched so hard, and said nothing.

/

Tang Ci was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door. She groggily glanced out the window; it was still dark.

When the door opened again, Xiao Jing's voice came through the door: "Sister Xiao Ci, are you awake? We're going to Yunshan to watch the sunrise—"

Tang Ci suddenly remembered her promise to Xiao Jing when they had coffee yesterday afternoon. She quickly got out of bed, and the arm around Xiao Jing's waist tightened. In the darkness, Sheng Yu's deep, displeased voice rang out: "Who?"

Silence fell instantly inside and outside the door.

A few seconds later, Xiao Jing spoke again from outside the door, this time with a hesitant tone.

"Sister Xiaoci, why is there a man talking in your room?"

Tang Ci tightly covered Sheng Yu's mouth with her throat, and said in a low voice to Xiao Jing outside the door, "What's that sound... I didn't hear anything."

Xiao Jing said "Oh," and then added, "I must have misheard." She then asked, "Are you still running a fever?"

Tang Ci freed one hand to touch her forehead: "It's nothing. You go to the restaurant and wait for me. I'll come find you after I've washed up."

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Tang Ci fumbled to turn on the light, and when she looked down, her eyes met Sheng Yu's mournful gaze.

She abruptly released her hand from his face: "I'm sorry, I was afraid Xiao Jing would hear."

Sheng Yu sat up: "I didn't see you being embarrassed when you were covering it up."

"..."

When Tang Ci got out of bed, she realized that Sheng Yu had hugged her all night through the blanket, but she hadn't noticed because she was too sleepy.

Although the central air conditioning wasn't cold, it had been running all night. Tang Ci frowned and asked him, "Why don't you cover yourself with a blanket when you sleep?"

"It's hot." Sheng Yu said succinctly as she walked to the sink to wash her face.

Tang Ci noticed the nasal tone in his voice and inwardly criticized him for being willful and reckless.

Because she left a little late, she only ate a sandwich at the restaurant. After changing her clothes in her room, Sheng Yu only ordered a cup of coffee at the restaurant.

Tang Ci saw this and mentally added another charge against him for not taking care of his health.

There were quite a few people watching the sunrise, filling three sightseeing buses to capacity. As the buses drove halfway up the mountain, the sky began to lighten, and a rosy glow gradually appeared in the distance.

Xiao Jing leaned close to her ear and chattered about the funny things that happened last night. Tang Ci listened with a smile that never stopped. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the phone in the car behind her that was pointed at her, so she turned her head to take a look.

Sheng Yu's lens swept past her, aimed at the distant sky, and pressed the shutter.

Tang Ci looked at the sun, which was only a sliver of light rising, and couldn't understand why he wanted to photograph such an ordinary scene.

As the sightseeing bus reached the mountaintop, the sun broke through the clouds, its golden rays painting the mountains, illuminating the earth, and generously showering them upon them.

Colleagues took out their phones to take pictures and then admired and commented on each other's work.

The male colleague standing next to Sheng Yu saw Sheng Yu's screen and exclaimed in amazement. Others who heard this also gathered around, and Tang Ci took advantage of the chaos to walk to the side and stand on tiptoe to take a look.

Sheng Yu's photos are excellent in both composition and lighting, and are truly worthy of praise.

After the morning glow faded, the group decided to return to the mountain villa. In order not to waste the beautiful natural scenery, they simply walked down the mountain.

Xiao Jing's hobby is mountain climbing. She dragged Tang Ci to the front in one go. Tang Ci couldn't keep up, so they stopped to rest at the pavilion halfway up the mountain.

Soon after, several Yunqi employees came to the pavilion to rest, including Sheng Yu. He showed no signs of fatigue, but still sat down to drink water. His gaze swept over Tang Ci, who was massaging his calves, and he asked casually, "Weak legs?"

Tang Ci's ears immediately turned red, but fortunately her hair covered them. She calmly brushed her hair aside and said, "It's alright."

They finished lunch at the resort, marking the end of their team-building activity.

When Tang Ci boarded the high-speed train back to Nanling, she took out her phone and scrolled through her WeChat Moments for a while. After liking all her colleagues' posts, she unexpectedly came across Sheng Yu's Moments.

The accompanying picture wasn't the one that everyone was praising, but rather a view of the scene before sunrise taken from a sightseeing bus.

The photo looks like it's been cropped; the pixels aren't clear.

The visuals aren't exactly beautiful either.

The accompanying text was simply two words—

It's beautiful.

/

After exiting the high-speed rail station, Tang Ci went to the parking lot to find Sheng Yu.

After getting on the bus, several messages popped up in her WeChat group. She opened them and saw that her small group chat with Jiang Chan and Song Ke was active.

The event at No. 1 Middle School is tomorrow. Jiang Chan and Song Ke arrived in Nanling tonight and invited her out for dinner in the group chat.

With nothing else to do that evening, Tang Ci agreed.

Jiang Chan sent another voice message. Tang Ci hesitated whether to open it, but her fingertip accidentally brushed against something.

Jiang Chan's loud voice immediately filled the carriage: "Let's go eat Fuding stir-fry, it's been so long since we've had it."

Fuding Stir-fry is located near No. 1 Middle School. It's affordable and tastes great, and it was a restaurant they often went to for gatherings during their high school years.

Hearing the voice, Sheng Yu glanced at her sideways and asked, "You have plans for tonight?"

Tang Ci nodded: "Jiang Chan is back..." She swallowed hard, concealing Song Ke's presence.

Sheng Yu didn't notice anything unusual about her: "What time will it end?"

Tang Ci understood his meaning and scratched at the seat cushion with her fingertips: "You don't need to pick me up, Jiang Chan has a car, she can take me."

Fearing he might disagree, Tang Ci hurriedly added, "Besides, we haven't seen each other in a long time, and we want to talk for a while."

Sheng Yu glanced at her expectant expression and smirked, "Don't come home too late."

When Tang Ci arrived at Fuding Stir-fry, Jiang Chan had already arrived. Song Ke sent a message in the group saying that he had to go back to his grandmother's house first and that they should eat first.

Jiang Chan still has a special fondness for milk tea after all these years, and Tang Ci dragged her to buy some as soon as she arrived.

It was the time when school let out, and students from nearby schools came out to eat. Long queues formed at the milk tea shops. After Jiang Chan placed her order, she pulled Tang Ci to sit down on a camping chair outside the shop to wait and chat.

Most of the people queuing to buy milk tea were students from No. 1 Middle School. Looking at the youthful faces of her younger schoolmates, Jiang Chan couldn't help but reminisce about the past.

Jiang Chan would occasionally hear gossip from someone in the class, and she would tell them all the gossip she had heard.

Tang Ci only kept in touch with her and Song Ke during her university years, so there wasn't much information to share.

A tall boy walked by not far away, his sharp and deep eyes flashing by.

Jiang Chan paused for a moment, then pointed it out to Tang Ci: "That boy looks a bit like Sheng Yu."

Tang Ci's heart skipped a beat, and when she looked up, the boy was already far away.

At this point, Jiang Chan tentatively asked, "Have you not been in contact with him all these years?" Before Tang Ci could answer, she muttered, "Probably not. How could a man like Sheng Yu keep hitting a brick wall?"

The fingertips resting on her lap suddenly tightened, and Tang Ci asked hesitantly, "What do you mean?"

Do you remember the winter break when you first started college, when your high school organized a reunion in our group chat?

Tang Ci nodded.

“We were halfway through our meal when Sheng Yu suddenly showed up—” Jiang Chan recalled, “because he hadn’t joined the group chat, and he didn’t often meet up with classmates, so everyone guessed he was there to see you.”

“But I’m not here,” Tang Ci murmured.

She joined the group chat, but she got a part-time job near winter break and couldn't go back to Nanling, so she missed the class reunion.

Jiang Chan nodded: "But he didn't ask anything. He looked quite dejected. He was only wearing a thin sweatshirt in the middle of winter. His face was very pale, and there was a bandage wrapped around his wrist. I don't know if he was injured."

Tang Ci's tightly clenched fingertips began to go numb, and the hideous scar on Sheng Yu's wrist flashed before her eyes.

He said he accidentally cut himself while drinking.

So that winter, he drank all his alcohol and flew back to China alone from Australia.

“He just kept drinking after he sat down. He only reacted when he heard people talking about your name and asked why you didn’t come,” Jiang Chan said thoughtfully. “A guy who also got into a university in the capital said that you and Song Ke stayed in the capital for the New Year and didn’t come back.”

"I don't remember what happened after that, but he probably sat for a while longer before leaving, and he paid the bill before he left."

Looking at Tang Ci's pale face, Jiang Chan hesitated and asked, "I'm sorry, Ci, should I have told you back then?"

They had such a bad falling out back then that even Zhou Yiyang deleted her contact information. Anyone with eyes could see the discord between them, so naturally no one told her about this.

Tang Ci shook her head: "It's not your fault."

When Song Ke arrived, Tang Ci and Jiang Chan had just returned to the stir-fry restaurant. The three of them sat down in a booth by the window and chatted for a while before the atmosphere became lively.

When they got really into the conversation, Jiang Chan ordered another dozen beers, but she drank them all by herself.

Tang Ci had regained her composure and chatted with the two of them in a gentle voice, though her face remained somewhat pale.

They ate for three hours without realizing it, and when they came out of the restaurant, there were very few pedestrians on the street.

Jiang Chan had been drinking and called a designated driver. After they got in the car and left, Song Ke turned to Tang Ci and asked, "Shall I give you a ride?"

Tang Ci stood under the streetlight, her expression blank, as if she hadn't heard him at all, and casually nodded: "Thank you."

Thinking that she was tired because of her health, Song Ke didn't ask any more questions. After getting the address, he drove quietly.

As the road turned, Song Ke glanced at the passenger side rearview mirror and saw a faint light flash before his eyes.

He paused for a few seconds before realizing that Tang Ci was crying.

She is someone who is used to suppressing her emotions.

Even when she cried, she did so quietly, afraid of disturbing others.

Song Ke placed the tissue beside her, politely not disturbing her.

Half an hour later, the car drove into Zizhuyuan and stopped in front of the building. Tang Ci turned around again to thank him, her voice was muffled and her eyes were red, but thankfully she didn't cry.

Song Ke asked her to confirm, "Are you alright?"

Tang Ci shook her head, clutching the used tissue in her hand, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have troubled you."

“No trouble at all,” Song Ke smiled, paused for a few seconds, and then asked, “Is the problem that has been troubling you still unresolved?”

Tang Ci was stunned, and after a moment she shook her head slightly.

“Why don’t you try a different approach?” Song Ke looked at her and said, “I remember when you were explaining problems to me in high school, you said that those so-called difficult problems have more than one solution.”

Song Ke said gently, "I think the same applies to the problems in life."

Tang Ci's breathing stopped.

Song Ke chuckled: "This time, it's my turn to be the top student."

Hearing his relaxed tone, Tang Ci finally smiled a little: "Thank you, class monitor, I will think about it carefully."

After chatting for a few more minutes, they said goodnight to each other. Song Ke watched Tang Ci's back as she entered the lobby, sighed wistfully, and was about to drive away when he noticed the keys lying on the side of the passenger seat.

He picked it up, got out of the car, and walked towards the lobby.

/

The lights near the elevator in the lobby were broken, and the further you went in, the dimmer it became.

Tang Ci only saw Sheng Yu standing outside the elevator when she was almost at it.

The moment their eyes met, her heart skipped a beat, and her voice trembled as she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I be here?" Sheng Yu put his hands in his pockets, his dark pupils looking down at her.

Tang Ci took a step toward him, her voice hesitant: "I didn't say that."

Sheng Yu stared intently at her face, then suddenly reached out and rubbed her noticeably red eyelids: "Was dinner good?"

Tang Ci couldn't understand the meaning behind his words and nodded nervously.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind me, exceptionally clear in the quiet lobby.

Tang Ci subconsciously turned her head, but her chin was gripped firmly by a strong palm, and she couldn't move at all.

She opened her lips, but no sound came out.

Sheng Yu cupped her face and kissed her fiercely.