Unable to face

Yes! Zhou Ziliang... What to do? Zhang Mobai noticed Tang Feng's sudden change in expression and asked worriedly, "Little brother? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Huh? No...no, I was just spacing out." Tang Feng forced a smile, then asked, "Little madman...you tell me, if...I mean, if Ziliang and I got married, and then...I...I left, wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?"

"Young man, this is practically marriage fraud! Why are you suddenly asking this?" Zhang Mobai frowned, somewhat confused. Tang Feng shook his head. "I was just asking casually. Also... Little crazy girl, about what I said the other day about marrying Ziliang... maybe we should just forget about it for now."

"Forget it?" Zhang Mobai stood up immediately upon hearing this. "How can you just forget it? You clearly... Did Zhou Ziliang bully you that day? I was wondering why you didn't tell him you were sick. Did you have a fight with him and were too embarrassed to tell him? I'll tell him for you."

"Oh my god!" Tang Feng grabbed Zhang Mobai as he tried to leave. "Sit back down! Don't make things worse. I'm so confused right now... I just need to calm down. I don't want to talk about Ziliang or the marriage right now." Zhang Mobai didn't know what was wrong with Tang Feng. Just a few days ago he was so happy talking about the marriage, and now he's suddenly like this. Zhang Mobai patted Tang Feng's shoulder and said with some concern, "Little brother... what happened between you and Ziliang?"

"I don't know... Little madman, you... Why don't you go back first? I'm tired and want to rest." Seeing Tang Feng like this, Zhang Mobai sighed, told him to rest well, and then went back. Zhang Mobai couldn't understand why the two of them, who were fine just two days ago, were like this today. Originally, he didn't want to meddle, but seeing Tang Feng like that, Zhang Mobai was indeed worried. He got into the sedan chair and went straight to the Marquis's mansion.

Zhou Ziliang had been quite free these past few days, thinking about how busy Tang Feng had been and how he planned to visit him at the Tang residence in a couple of days. He wondered how Tang Feng was doing at the pawnshop. Just then, a servant came to report that the young master of the Zhang family had arrived. Zhou Ziliang was puzzled; Zhang Mobai rarely visited him, so why was the sun rising in the west today? Just as he was about to go out to greet him, Zhang Mobai stormed in, "Zhou Ziliang! What exactly happened between you and this young master?" Zhang Mobai's question caught Zhou Ziliang off guard.

"We're doing great... What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Your brother is sick, why aren't you going to see him?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziliang frowned, grabbed Zhang Mobai's shoulder, and asked in a deep voice, "What did you say? Sick? When did this happen?!" Zhang Mobai was about to speak when Zhou Ziliang rushed out.

Tang Feng was bored at home when he heard Liu Yiwan banging on the door. Tang Feng called out, "Come in!" Liu Yiwan pushed the door open and rushed in, "Young Master! Guess who's here!" Before Tang Feng could react, he was already in someone's arms. Tang Feng knew without a doubt that it was Zhou Ziliang. Tang Feng gritted his teeth and pushed Zhou Ziliang away, then said to Liu Yiwan, "Liu Yiwan, you go out, and then close the door."

Liu Yiwan didn't know why Tang Feng's expression suddenly turned sour. Had they argued? But she hadn't heard her young master mention it! But then again, how could he just casually tell her about his young master's affairs? Seeing Liu Yiwan leave, Zhou Ziliang finally spoke, "It's my fault. I knew you were shy, yet I still hugged you in front of Liu Yiwan." Zhou Ziliang thought Tang Feng pushed him away to make Liu Yiwan leave because he was embarrassed, but Tang Feng shook his head, "That's not what I meant."

"Mo Bai said you were sick, how come you suddenly fell ill! You were perfectly fine just a few days ago." Seeing Zhou Ziliang's worried expression, Tang Feng calmed himself and said coldly, "I have been sick for a few days, don't worry."

"How can I not worry? Why didn't you tell me you were sick!"

"I...why should I tell you?" Tang Feng turned his head away, trying his best not to look Zhou Ziliang in the eye. Zhou Ziliang was startled by Tang Feng's words, then somewhat confused. Tang Feng had never spoken to him in such a cold tone since they confirmed their relationship, and he didn't react for a moment.

"Xiao Feng, what's wrong?" Zhou Ziliang sensed that Tang Feng was hiding something from him, so he patted his shoulder, looked into his eyes, and asked, "Is something wrong? Look me in the eyes."

Tang Feng pushed Zhou Ziliang away and looked up at him. "Ziliang... let's... not see each other again." Zhou Ziliang thought Tang Feng was joking, but seeing Tang Feng's serious expression, Zhou Ziliang also straightened his face. "Xiao Feng, what's wrong? Can you tell me? If it's really my fault, I apologize."

"It's not your fault, it's my problem. Let me put it this way! This is who I am. I was the one who deceived your feelings, I was the one who was cold and heartless, and I was the one who manipulated you. At Lishan Academy, I was only with you because I couldn't stand the loneliness. Every single day I spent with you, not a single moment was genuine. Now I'm tired, I'm weary. Zhou Ziliang, let's never see each other again!" Tang Feng's face was stern as he pointed to the door. "Now... I'm asking you to leave."

At this moment, Zhou Ziliang felt that Tang Feng was being unreasonable. Anyone with eyes could see that Tang Feng had genuinely loved him before, so why was he now accusing him of deceiving him? However, Zhou Ziliang felt that talking to Tang Feng now might not yield any good answers, so he decided to let Tang Feng calm down for a couple of days. Zhou Ziliang sighed, initially reaching out to hug Tang Feng, but after thinking for a long time, he decided against it. "Well, Xiao Feng, I'm going back. I know you have something difficult to say, don't worry, we'll take it slow, I'll wait for you." Hearing this, Tang Feng felt even more distressed. He pushed and shoved Zhou Ziliang out of the house, slamming the door shut. Tang Feng leaned against the wooden door and slowly slid to the ground, curling up with his knees drawn up to his chest. He knew Zhou Ziliang was still outside, so he bit his sleeve, trying to keep his sobs as quiet as possible.

"Young Master... this is..." Liu Yiwan had been waiting outside the door and hadn't left. Seeing Zhou Ziliang being chased out by Tang Feng, he quickly went to greet him. Zhou Ziliang shook his head. "Xiao Feng seems to have gotten himself into a rut. I'm going back to the military camp. Xiao Feng, if anything happens, report to me immediately." Although Zhou Ziliang thought Tang Feng probably wouldn't do anything foolish, he couldn't be sure. After being with Tang Feng for so long, he never expected Tang Feng to suddenly act like this today.

“Young Master, I heard… Of course, I only heard that the young master went to the pawnshop and didn’t come back that night. He was found unconscious at the pawnshop the next morning and was sent home. Oh dear, you didn’t see him, his face was deathly pale, and his breathing was weak. We… we thought he was going to die.” Zhou Ziliang frowned and thought for a long time before asking, “Was there no one with Xiao Feng at the time?”

"Liu Liu is here, but everyone has asked her. She just suddenly fainted, without any warning signs, and... we've consulted several doctors, but they can't find the cause." Zhou Ziliang's brows furrowed deeper. Tang Feng hadn't told him any of this, and Zhou Ziliang didn't know what Tang Feng was up to, but he didn't dare to provoke him. After giving Liu Yiwan his instructions, he went back.

Liu Yiwan quietly approached the door and knocked. "Young Master... it's me. The young marquis has gone back. Please open the door!" Seeing no one answer, Liu Yiwan, fearing Tang Feng might do something foolish, pounded on the door again. "Young Master, Young Master! Please open the door! Don't do anything rash!" Just as Liu Yiwan was about to break down the door, Tang Feng softly said, "Get out. Don't bother me."

"Well... young master, please open the door." Liu Yiwan got a little anxious after knocking on the door for a long time without Tang Feng coming out, so she got up and went to find Qin Jiujiu.

"What did you say? Xiao Feng and Zhou Ziliang had a fight?" Seeing Qin Jiujiu's anger, Liu Yiwan didn't dare to breathe loudly and muttered in a low voice, "It wasn't a fight between the two of them, it was just the young master arguing with the young marquis. I thought the young marquis was quite rational, he didn't seem angry when he came out, but the young master, I feel like he might have cried... You know I practice martial arts, my hearing... is pretty good."

"I made some white fungus soup in the pot. Take him out of the pot for me. I'm going to check on Xiaofeng." Qin Jiujiu didn't wait for Liu Yiwan's reply and lifted her skirt to walk into Tang Feng's courtyard.

Tang Feng was much calmer now. Although his heart was pounding, he didn't regret that his momentary weakness had hurt Zhou Ziliang. Tang Feng couldn't bear to think about the agony Zhou Ziliang would feel if they got married and one day Zhou Ziliang found him a cold corpse beside him. That's how his grandmother died. When Tang Feng returned home from university for vacation, he opened the door to find not his grandmother welcoming him, but his grandmother lying dead in bed for three or four days. So Tang Feng didn't dare to gamble. It was precisely because Zhou Ziliang loved him that he couldn't do that. At this moment, Qin Jiujiu saw that the door wasn't locked and glared at Liu Yiwan. "It's unlocked!" Then she took the silver ear fungus soup from Liu Yiwan and went into the room. "Xiao Feng?" Qin Jiujiu saw Tang Feng sitting on the floor leaning against the bed, his gaze somewhat vacant, his eyes red. She couldn't help but feel... She was somewhat worried; she had never seen Tang Feng like this before. Qin Jiujiu didn't urge Tang Feng to get up. Instead, she knelt on the ground, picked up the bowl of white fungus soup, scooped a spoonful, and held it to Tang Feng's lips, saying, "I don't know why you argued with Zhou Ziliang, but I know you're upset. Don't think too much about it. Eat well, and get some sleep. I'll take you to find Zhou Ziliang that day, and we'll talk things out. Once it's all out in the open, you'll feel much better." Although Qin Jiujiu had always outwardly opposed Tang Feng and Zhou Ziliang being together, now that this incident had occurred, she felt that Zhou Ziliang should still be by Tang Feng's side. At least after Tang Feng said so many unreasonable things, Zhou Ziliang hadn't gotten angry and had given Tang Feng enough time to calm down. Based on this alone, Zhou Ziliang had somewhat salvaged his image in Qin Jiujiu's mind.

Tang Feng took Qin Jiujiu's hand and drank the spoonful of white fungus soup. "Sister... I need to calm down for a couple of days. I... my mind is really messed up right now, and my head hurts a lot. Can you please not bring this up again and not force me?"