Chapter 51 Tears.

ha?

She cried?!

This gloomy weirdo who looks at everyone as if they owe him something, was... made to cry by her?

The stark contrast between her initial and later persona made Ling Wei feel a bit surreal, and she subconsciously let go of his hand.

I'm a little lost.

She stood frozen in place, staring at him in that awkward position where she had pinned him against the wall, her head slightly lowered, silent, only tears silently streaming down her face.

That look was even more unsettling than his usual cold expression.

Oh, this.

Ling Wei is now starting to believe that he might not really have any malicious intent. If he were truly harboring evil intentions, wouldn't he be watching her anger with a mocking sneer?

How could this be? He looks like he's been bullied terribly.

She silently moved to the table in the lounge, took out a few tissues, and quietly handed them to him.

The other person turned their head away and avoided it.

Ling Wei took a deep breath, patiently turned to his side, and handed him the tissue again.

He turned his head to the other side.

She spun around, and he twisted.

When will this ever end?!

Ling Wei's limited patience finally ran out. Before she could even ask him why, he had already given her a piece of clothing.

She simply reached out and gently held his cheek with one hand on each side, preventing him from dodging any further.

Now she could see it much more clearly.

Unlike his uncle, Qu Chen has long, narrow phoenix eyes with sharp, slightly upturned corners. When he is not smiling or unhappy, he always exudes an air of superiority, as if giving anyone a second glance is a favor.

However, at this moment, the corners of his eyes, which always turned up and made him look intimidating, drooped helplessly. His red eye sockets barely supported his narrow eye shape, but could no longer support any imposing presence.

Her eyes and the tip of her nose were red, and her thick eyelashes were wet with tears, sticking together in small clumps.

Tears streamed from her misty eyes, sliding down the edges of her fingers.

He pressed his lips together, seemingly trying to hold back a sound, but he couldn't control his tears. His delicate face, which naturally carried a sense of world-weariness, was now filled with unspeakable grievances.

Oh my god.

Is it really necessary? What did I do?

Ling Wei didn't want to admit that her conscience was aching slightly, so she roughly wiped his face with a tissue while gruffly questioning, "Why are you crying? I didn't do anything to you and you're crying? You treated me like that before..."

Upon further reflection, although this guy had given her a rather sour look and his words were barbed, she had returned his words in kind, and it seemed she had even been a little rough with him just now.

Ling Wei's hand, which was wiping away his tears, slowed down. She sighed helplessly, "Did I hurt you just now?"

That shouldn't be the case. He's almost 1.9 meters tall, how could he not withstand this much force?

Although she didn't continue speaking, her eyes clearly showed how weak she was.

Not wanting to be misunderstood like that, Qu Chen grabbed her wrist holding the tissue and said in a nasal voice, "It doesn't hurt."

"Then why are you crying?"

"..." Qu Chen didn't want to say.

His body didn't hurt, but the way she stared at him like he was a pest made his heart feel like it had been crushed by something, and the pain was so intense that he could barely breathe.

He turned his head away in a disheveled manner, his voice hoarse: "I didn't intend to retaliate against you."

He took a deep breath and said what had been interrupted earlier: "In Wanghaiyu, I received a lot of care from Grandma Yu and the others, and I just want to... repay them."

"Your reward is just bringing them here?"

"Because Grandma misses you very much."

Ling Wei was stunned.

Qu Chen straightened up a bit, but still didn't let go of her hand. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and gently pressed her hand, along with the tissue, against his wet cheek.

He lowered his eyes, avoiding her direct gaze.

"I was planning to go back the next day, but I ran into your grandma and the others again. She chatted with me and talked about you... She said she was so proud of you, watching you shine on stage, but she couldn't help worrying about you after we parted. She was afraid you were too tired, afraid you would end up like before, working several jobs while studying to pay for her medical expenses, bearing everything on your own..."

"She said that when she saw you in the audience that night, it was the happiest she'd seen you in a long time. She noticed you seemed a little thinner, so she secretly made your favorite honey-glazed pig's trotters at home, wanting to bring them to you, but she was afraid people would laugh at her idol for eating that, so she didn't dare..."

Ling Wei's vision blurred. She moved her wrist and this time easily pulled it back.

"I was thinking of setting up a mini-program so that your grandma and the others could participate in a lottery..." Qu Chen turned his face away somewhat awkwardly, "as a way of repaying them for taking me to the show that night."

"Who knew that when they saw it, they all said it was a new type of scam and told me not to click on those random links either."

Ling Wei burst out laughing, but tears also rolled down her cheeks.

"Later... I came up with this idea." His gaze fell on the girl in front of him, whose eyes were slightly red, and he emphasized again, with a hint of stubbornness, "I won't retaliate against you."

He paused for a moment, as if he was about to say something he found difficult, but he finally decided to say it: "After leaving Wanghaiyu, I... didn't know what to do next. I couldn't find a reason to refute the things you said to me."

“I’ve never meddled in other people’s business before. Helping others without understanding them seems stupid to me.” He looked away and said in a low voice, “But on Wanghai Island, I helped Grandma Yu once, which was an accident.”

"And then they... took it seriously. They insisted on dragging me to dinner, to see a show, and kept talking."

"But strangely enough, when I'm with them, I seem to...not think about those...random things as easily."

"So I thought, why not give it a try?"

"Let's see if... if I'm not like I used to be, if I try to do something that others would consider 'good,' will... anything be different?"

He couldn't articulate any more specific expectations, only stubbornly repeating, "I just want to give it a try."

Ling Wei remained silent for a long time before finally speaking softly, "Thank you for my grandmother's matter."

She was so focused on pursuing her dreams that she forgot the person at home who loved her most, someone who would also miss her and feel lonely.

Qu Chen shook his head: "I'm doing this to repay Grandma."

“However,” Ling Wei raised her eyes, “I will not apologize to you for what just happened. Your behavior was very misleading.”

Qu Chen looked at her and suddenly leaned slightly forward.

This time it was his turn to reach out and gently wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his fingertips.

"Hmm," he replied, his voice low. "It's my own fault."

The two men, their eyes redder than each other's, stared at each other like two rabbits glaring at each other for a long time.

Then Ling Wei turned her face away somewhat awkwardly and muttered, "Don't tell Grandma..."

Qu Chen's eyelashes fluttered, and he responded softly, "Okay."

Go wash your face.

"good."