Chapter 16: His Humiliation and Begging

That fierce quarrel was like a sudden snowstorm that froze the last bit of warmth in the Repulse Bay Villa.

Huo Linshen's back, as he turned and walked upstairs, was resolute and cold, just like his last question, which chilled her to the bone. Su Lingwan slumped on the sofa, tears streaming like beads from a broken string, unable to stop. Her heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand, the pain so severe that she could hardly breathe.

She didn't regret meeting him, or signing the agreement. She was afraid, afraid that the sincerity she had given him would be seen as possessiveness and a loss of control, rather than equal love. She wanted a clear answer, a fulcrum that would allow her to find a foothold in this increasingly uncontrollable relationship.

But her questioning and accusations seemed to completely push him away.

Su Lingwan didn't know how long she cried until her tears dried up, leaving only a hollow, bitter, and exhausted feeling. She staggered to her feet, not even glancing upstairs. She picked up her handbag and stumbled out of the icy, suffocating villa.

The night was deep, and the rain had begun to fall again without her knowing when. She didn't call the Huo family's driver, and walked alone on the wet street. The cold rain hit her face, mixed with the lingering tears, and she couldn't tell whether it was rain or tears.

She returned to the Su family's villa halfway up the mountain. Her father had already gone to bed. The servants were startled to see her dazed and soaking wet, and hurriedly helped her get some hot water and ginger tea.

Soaking in the warm water, Su Lingwan finally felt her frozen limbs slowly regain feeling, but the hole in her heart still blew cold air. Huo Linshen's eyes, which had turned from anger to coldness, and finally to desolate and dead silence, flashed repeatedly in her mind.

She said he didn't know how to love.

She said he only knew how to possess and control.

These words, like poisoned daggers, not only wounded him but also stabbed her. Had she been too harsh? He, a man so proud to the core, was being so bluntly denied and questioned by her...

However, if she didn't say it, the anxiety and suspicion would wrap around her like vines and suffocate her.

That night, Su Lingwan tossed and turned, hardly closing her eyes.

For the next two days, the world seemed to be plunged into silence.

There was no news from Huo Linshen. No calls, no texts, and Assistant Chen hadn't heard from him at all. It was as if she had been completely erased from his world.

Su Lingwan locked herself in her room, refusing to answer the phone or see anyone. Her father, Su Hongyuan, visited her once and saw her haggard. He assumed she was upset about the incident and rumors at the annual banquet. He sighed, offered a few words of comfort, and then didn't ask any more questions.

She tried to numb herself with painting, but whenever the brush touched the paper, what she sketched was always his stern features, angry, cold, or...that night on the rooftop, when he looked at her, the barely perceptible tenderness deep in his eyes.

She found that she cared about him more than she thought.

This realization made her feel even more painful and confused.

The next night, it rained again, just like her depressed mood. She sat on the carpet by the window, hugged her knees, and watched the raindrops draw winding streaks on the glass.

Suddenly, there was a slight commotion downstairs, like the sound of a car engine and the servants talking in hushed voices.

Su Lingwan didn't care. Perhaps it was her father who had returned.

However, after a while, her phone screen lit up. It wasn't a call, but a text message.

Sender: Huo Linshen.

Su Lingwan's heart leaped, nearly bursting out of her chest. She hesitated, her fingers trembling slightly as she clicked on the text message.

The content is just three short words:

【Look out the window.】

Su Lingwan was stunned and subconsciously looked up at the courtyard outside the window shrouded in rain.

With the help of the dim street lights at the entrance of the villa and the ground lights in the courtyard, she could clearly see a familiar tall figure standing quietly in the rain outside the iron gate.

It’s Huo Linshen!

He stood in the pouring rain without an umbrella, his expensive suit already soaking wet, clinging to his body, outlining his tall, slightly lonely figure. Rainwater streamed down his short, shiny black hair, streaked across his angular face, and dripped onto the ground, creating tiny splashes of water.

He raised his head, his gaze penetrating the heavy rain curtains and landing precisely in the direction of her window. Su Lingwan couldn't see the expression on his face due to the distance and the misty rain, but she could clearly sense the heavy and stubborn emotion contained in his gaze.

He just stood there, like a silent statue, letting the rain wash over him, motionless.

Su Lingwan's heart felt like it was struck hard by something, and it suddenly contracted. Why was he here? How long had he been standing here?

She stood up suddenly, rushed to the window, and looked at the figure in the rain downstairs in disbelief.

As if he saw her appear at the window, Huo Linshen moved. He raised his hand, but instead of signaling her to go down, he picked up his phone again.

Soon, Su Lingwan's phone vibrated again.

The new text message still came from him.

【I know you don’t want to see me.】

Su Lingwan's nose suddenly felt sore.

Then, another text message came in:

【I just... want to be closer to you. 】

“…”

Su Lingwan's tears welled up again without warning, blurring her vision. She covered her mouth tightly to stop herself from crying out loud.

How could this still be the aloof, cold, and reserved Huo CEO? This was clearly a man... lost and helpless in the rain, begging for a moment of closeness in this clumsy way.

She looked at his figure drenched by the rain, and at the way he stubbornly looked up at her window. All her previous grievances, uneasiness, and anger were replaced by a surging, sharp heartache at this moment.

She no longer cared about anything else, turned around, and without even having time to put on her slippers, she rushed out of the room barefoot and ran downstairs.

The servants watched in amazement as she rushed through the living room like a whirlwind and ran towards the door.

Su Lingwan flung open the heavy door of the villa, and the cold rain and dampness instantly hit her face. She ignored them and rushed straight into the rain, running towards the figure standing outside the door.

Hearing the footsteps, Huo Linshen slowly turned around.

Only from a closer distance did Su Lingwan get a clearer look at his current appearance. His face was completely pale, his lips even bluish. His soaked black hair was plastered to his forehead, and raindrops continuously dripped from his chin. His eyes, usually deep and difficult to discern, were now unusually clear, washed by the rain. They were bloodshot, filled with a humble, cautious plea, and a weariness that was visible to the bone.

Seeing her rushing out, a hint of surprise quickly flashed across his eyes, and then was covered by more intense and complex emotions.

"What are you doing out here? Go back quickly, it's cold outside." He spoke, his voice hoarse from the cold and standing for a long time, and with obvious trembling, but his first reaction was to urge her to go back.

Su Lingwan's tears mixed with the rain and flowed down. She stood inside the iron gate, looking at him through the cold railings.

"Huo Linshen...are you crazy? It's raining so hard, what are you doing standing here?!" She cried, her voice a little broken in the sound of the rain.

Huo Lin looked at her deeply, the rain sliding down his thick eyelashes like tears. He took a step forward, approaching the iron gate, and his bony hands, somewhat stiff from the cold, tightly grasped the icy railing.

"Ling Wan..."

He called her name, no longer in full, but with a low, soft tone he had never used before. The two words came out of his mouth as if he had used up all his strength and dignity.

He looked at her, and in those eyes that were always filled with control and alienation, there was now only desolate sincerity and almost desperate begging.

"Don't leave me."

“…”

Time seems to freeze at this moment.

The sound of rain and the clamor of the world could not drown out his light yet heavy plea.

Don't leave me.

Su Lingwan felt as if struck by thunder, her whole body froze and her mind went blank.

What did she see and hear?

That arrogant, cold-as-ice Huo Linshen, the man who always stood in the clouds and looked down upon the world, at this moment, in the cold rainy night, holding the railing, said to her in such a humble manner - Don't leave me.

All the armaments, all the suspicions, all the anxieties, at this moment, collapsed and shattered into dust.

Her heart felt like it was being grabbed by an invisible hand, the pain was so severe that she couldn't breathe. What followed was an overwhelming amount of heartache and bitterness.

She couldn't bear it any longer, so she reached out her hand through the cold railing and grabbed his icy hand that was tightly grasping the railing.

"You...idiot!" she cried, her voice trembling. "Who doesn't want you anymore? Who made you stand here in the rain? Come in!"

She tried to open the iron door, but found it was locked from the inside.

Huo Linshen held her hand tightly with his backhand. Her palm was warm, while his was icy cold. He shook his head, and the rain splashed from the ends of his hair.

"No need to go in." He looked at her, and the desolate eyes seemed to have rekindled a faint fire because of her touch and her words. "It's enough that you can come out."

He paused, his eyes lingering greedily on her face covered in tears and rain. His voice was still hoarse, but with a faint hint of relief:

"I just... wanted to tell you in person."

"I don't know how to love someone, but I can learn."

"If I don't know how to express myself, I can change it."

"But, Su Lingwan," he squeezed her hand tightly, almost crushing her finger bones with such force, his eyes were persistent and scorching, like a dying person grasping for the last salvation, "don't sentence me to death."

"Give me some time... to learn how to love you."

“…”

Su Lingwan's tears burst forth, mixing with the rain. She felt her heart soften as she looked at the man before her, who had stripped away all his pride and armor, revealing his most vulnerable and vulnerable side.

Is there anything more irresistible than the humble begging of a strong man?

Is there any confession more touching than "learning how to love you"?

She nodded vigorously, sobbing: "Okay... okay... you come in first, come in and we'll talk..."

Finally, the servant was alarmed and brought the key to open the iron door.

Su Lingwan almost half dragged and half pulled Huo Linshen, who was soaking wet and as cold as a stone, into the villa.

The living room is brightly lit and warm.

Huo Linshen stood on the carpet at the door, the rain dripping from him, quickly forming a small puddle. He felt a little embarrassed, as if he was aware of his current predicament.

Su Lingwan didn't care about that. She took a thick towel, stood on tiptoe, and wiped his soaked hair and cheeks vigorously. Her movements were filled with heartache, anger, and a sense of cherishment that had been lost and regained.

Huo Linshen let her do what she wanted, his deep eyes always following her closely, filled with the relief of surviving a disaster and a deep-rooted... greed.

He reached out and gently grasped her busy wrist.

Su Lingwan paused and looked at him with tearful eyes.

"Ling Wan," he called her softly, his voice still hoarse, but clear as day, "I'm sorry."

For his careless words that night, for his previous indifference and clumsiness, and for... the uneasiness he made her feel.

Su Lingwan's tears fell again. She shook her head and buried her face in his still damp and cold chest. She said sullenly, "...I was wrong too."

Huo Linshen's body stiffened slightly, then he stretched out his arms and hugged her tightly in his arms.

It was as if he wanted to rub her into his own bones and blood, never to separate them again.

The rain outside the window gradually subsided without me noticing.

In the villa, the two people hugged each other, using their body temperature to dispel the coldness and estrangement between each other.

This humble plea on a rainy night was like a strong medicine. In the most tragic way, it cut open Huo Linshen's true heart beneath the ice, and also softened all of Su Lingwan's anxieties and defenses.

The cracks may still exist.

But at least at this moment, love and heartache outweigh everything.