Chapter 125 N-Tide Scorching
The story of these past few years isn't complicated. When Shengxia took the college entrance exam, her parents didn't agree to her going to Beijing, so Li Dong accompanied her to Nanjing University of the Arts. For the first two years of university, they were no different from high school, surrounded by people in the arts.
Those who play the art game are notoriously arrogant, looking down on everyone else and thinking that the other party has no appreciation skills and is nothing special.
The already unconventional and notoriously homosexual population, now living in a completely free and open environment, has become even freer in both body and soul.
Perhaps because they were more free and had more ideas, neither of them could convince the other. They started arguing over trivial matters, only to make up again a couple of days later. In the following years, they smoked, argued, and had sex, which almost wore away all their feelings for each other.
But no one is willing to let go completely.
This state of exhaustion continued until the second year after they started working, when a vice president was parachuted into the auction house where they worked.
Sheng Xia fell in love with that vice president and had an affair.
She asked why, and Shengxia said she was really tired and could no longer find the feeling of being in love with me, but she gave me a different feeling and experience.
"Isn't romance about lovers, and the mundane things about daily life just as important?" Li Dong asked her.
Shengxia said that the love she gave was too suffocating, and that she was also being blamed for giving up jewelry design to choose cultural relic restoration. She simply couldn't bear it, so she couldn't love anymore.
Li Dong rushed over and hugged her from behind, patiently persuading her that she would change in the future. As long as she stopped contacting that vice president, she could pretend that nothing had happened and make up, okay?
Sheng Xia pushed Li Dong away, turned around and shook her head, saying seriously, "You can't do it. Every day from now on, you will think about this, about my infidelity. You will doubt, you will be in unbearable pain, you will be hysterical. You may still love me now, but when the love is completely gone, you will find that you only feel resentment towards me."
She smiled, tears welling in her eyes: "Tangtang, my love for you was genuine, and so is my lack of love for you now. I've been so tired all these years, and you've been so stubbornly unwilling to let go... I'm sorry for using such a cruel method to sever our past."
“Let’s let each other go, let’s stop torturing each other,” Sheng Xia said.
That night, Li Dong smoked all night long, going over and over everything they had experienced over the years. Apart from the sweetness and happiness of the first few years, all she could remember was exhaustion.
But she couldn't blame Sheng Xia, not because she didn't want to.
On the contrary, she hated her, hated her ruthlessness and cruelty, hated how she treated her without any regard for her feelings.
Li Dong was shocked to discover that, just as Sheng Xia had said, none of these emotions stemmed from his love for her.
Her love for Shengxia seems to have been worn away by the years of arguing, breaking up, and making up. She is unwilling to let go not because she still loves him, but because she has given too much and is not getting the return she wants.
—It's just that I'm not willing to accept it.
That night, Shengxia also stayed up, packing all her luggage overnight.
The next morning, as dawn broke, Shengxia asked her what would happen to her son and daughter, and Lidong told her to take them all with her.
In the height of summer, she took away two cats and moved out of the home they had carefully decorated and lived in together for five years.
And so, their seven-year relationship ended in a messy and embarrassing way.
Chu Beiling's initial shock turned into a feeling of being unable to breathe, a sense of oppression and suffocation.
Of the group of them, Shengxia was the most obedient, the gentlest, and had the best temper. She was like a little lamb, never getting angry no matter what happened, and would only hide away and cry secretly when faced with something she couldn't solve.
It's hard to imagine that her relationship with Li Dong ended like this.
Xing Yu glanced at him, then slipped his fingertips through his fingers, interlocking them and holding them firmly in his palm, his fingertips gently massaging the back of his hand to soothe him.
“We were together for seven years, but in the end we couldn’t escape the so-called ‘seven-year itch.’ Back then we really thought we could be together forever,” Li Dong said self-deprecatingly, “but no one can stay with anyone forever.”
At seventeen, they faced numerous obstacles: their parents questioned them, their homeroom teacher was dissatisfied, and their classmates cheered them on. At that time, they walked back to the classroom hand in hand. The road on the osmanthus-lined avenue in the school was scorching hot from the sun.
At that time, Sheng Xia confidently told her.
Nothing can separate them.
At that moment, she looked into Shengxia's bright eyes and held her hand tightly, as if they would never be separated for the rest of their lives.
Chu Beiling's breathing gradually became heavier. Xing Yu handed him a glass of water, and he drank several large gulps. Only with Xing Yu's silent reassurance was he able to suppress the discomfort caused by the fear and anxiety.
Li Dong downed his whiskey in one gulp, then poured himself another: "Do you guys still remember Su Beichen?"
Chu Beiling nodded.
Of course he remembered that for a long time, his affair with Shen Zhi was a dark cloud hanging over him and Xing Yu, and it just wouldn't dissipate.
Li Dong finished one cigarette and lit another: "I ran into him in Manhattan."
After the breakup, Li Dong resigned and completely withdrew from Sheng Xia's life.
Despite the pain, she's no longer at an age where she's impulsive enough to die for love. Her life and future shouldn't be ruined because of this.
Without even time to wallow in despair, Li Dong spent a week sorting out her emotions and everything before heading to Manhattan to rekindle her unfinished dreams.
It was her third year studying jewelry design when a classmate invited her to a friend's birthday party. There, she met Su Beichen, who had been sent abroad years before.
When he first went abroad, he would often sneak back to China to see Shen Zhi, but he didn't keep it up for long. He gave up because of the back-and-forth travel and the many new and exciting things he encountered in the United States.
After that, Su Beichen quickly forgot about Shen Zhi and completely let himself go in the new and completely free environment.
I heard from people in the industry that he's quite famous now, rich and handsome, and the kind of guy in the North American gay community who's all you want to sleep with.
He doesn't mind; as long as he likes someone, he can take them to bed. He just wants to have fun without dating. He's more adventurous than the Pacific Ocean.
Li Dong flicked his cigarette ash and continued, "When you like someone, it's true, but it can also change in an instant. This is especially true for a minority like us. It's really too difficult to hold hands and grow old together. The fact that you two met, didn't forget each other, and were able to get back together is, to be honest, a bit of a surprise to me now."
"Tangtang," Xing Yu reminded her to stop talking.
"I hope you can be happy forever, really..." Li Dong glanced at Chu Beiling and saw that he was covered in sweat: "What's wrong with you?"
Chu Beiling felt a churning in her stomach, covered her mouth, and rushed to the bathroom to vomit violently.
Xing Yu, who was beside him, kept patting his back, saying, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, don't worry, we won't."
He vomited up all the juice and dessert he had just drunk, and Xing Yu handed him a bottle of water: "Rinse your mouth."
Chu Beiling accepted it.
Xing Yu reassured him, "We won't, don't worry."
Chu Beiling's eyes were bloodshot and wet. He swallowed hard, his throat burning with pain. "I...we can't!"
Xing Yu shook his head. "We won't. You're just blinded by your emotions right now." He pulled Chu Beiling into his arms, holding him tightly, and whispered in his ear, "Don't involve yourself in this. We'll be together forever."
Chu Beiling's head was buzzing: "But..."
Xing Yu interrupted his rambling thoughts: "Anyway, I'm reluctant to let go, and I have to be vigilant at all times in case someone gets snatched away by someone else."
"I don't know how either." Chu Beiling pinched his waist in dissatisfaction: "Am I an Oreo, something that others can just soak in whenever they want?"
After a half-second silence, the two burst out laughing simultaneously.
Xing Yu stroked his back back repeatedly: "Then what are you still worried about?"
"I'm sorry." Chu Beiling looked up at him. "I couldn't help but think the worst."
Xing Yu lowered his head and gently kissed his lips: "To ask someone to love only one person for a lifetime is against human nature and unrealistic, but I am willing to go against human nature and love you for a lifetime."
Chu Beiling nuzzled his neck, her voice muffled: "I will do it too."
"Hmm," Xing Yu chuckled, ruffling his fluffy head. "So, we had to talk about this in the bathroom?"
Chu Beiling couldn't help but burst into unrestrained laughter.
Xing Yu took his hand: "Let's go, Tangtang is still outside."
Chu Beiling nodded and got out of his arms.
Xing Yu said, "Chu Beiling, please stop intermittently taking vortioxetine, okay?"
"But……"
Xing Yu took his hand in return: "Don't be afraid. You can't feel my love. It's enough that I love you. More than anything, I hope you are healthy and safe. That way, we can stay together for a long time, right?"
Chu Beiling pondered for a long time before finally nodding.
Xing Yu raised her hand and gently hooked the tip of his nose: "So good~"
Seeing them come out, Li Dong came up to them: "Where do you feel unwell?"
Chu Beiling glanced at Xing Yu, then looked at her again: "It's nothing."
"Don't push yourself." Li Dong didn't press further. "If you're not feeling well, go to the hospital as soon as possible."
Chu Beiling: "No."
"They're stubborn as mules." Xing Yu and Li Dong said at the same time.
Chu Beiling laughed: "Where did you guys get this tacit understanding from?"
Li Dong rolled his eyes: "It's not a tacit understanding, it's the truth." She looked at him worriedly: "Are you really okay?"
Chu Beiling, her face deathly pale, said, "It's nothing."
Li Dong glanced at Xing Yu, saw him shake his head, and didn't say anything more. He just asked the waiter for a glass of hawthorn juice and handed it to him.
"Thanks." Chu Beiling.
"It's too cold. Let it warm up a bit before drinking it." Xing Yu took it from his hand and held it tightly.
After drinking all afternoon, the three decided to go for a walk on the beach to sober up.
Just as they exited the intersection, a car stopped. Sheng Xia got out of the back seat. When she saw them, the driver was only slightly taken aback before smiling and greeting them, "Long time no see."
Then I went around to the trunk of the car to unload my luggage.
Chu Beiling and Xing Yu exchanged a glance, leaving the two ladies alone.
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