Chapter 68 "Even outside, you have to call me 'husband'."...
A Vietnamese restaurant opened in Binzhou District, and one colleague after another said it was delicious. Tang Ci casually mentioned it to Sheng Yu, who then made a reservation in advance, and the two of them agreed to go for dinner that evening.
After get off work in the afternoon, Sheng Yu was still in a meeting, so Tang Ci took a taxi to his company to wait for him.
Because Tang Ci has been frequently brought to the company by Sheng Yu recently, the employees of Yunqi have gradually become familiar with her, and they always chat for a few minutes whenever they meet.
It was from the employees that Tang Ci learned that Yunqi's project team stationed in Nanling would be returning to Melbourne at the end of the month.
Tang Ci ate the cashews that were being fed to her, her expression slightly dazed.
She hadn't heard Sheng Yu mention this news before.
The thought of having a long-distance relationship with him inevitably makes me feel melancholy.
After chatting for a while, the employees finished their work and packed up to leave. Tang Ci went to Sheng Yu's office as if she knew the way well.
Because he wasn't sure when the meeting would end, Sheng Yu left her some snacks on his desk, with a sticky note under the snack box.
It says on the screen that if she's bored, she can play on the computer for a while, and don't forget to drink the milk that's heating up in the microwave in the break room.
Just like instructing a child.
Tang Ci wasn't hungry yet, so she took out some milk from the microwave and sat down at Sheng Yu's desk to browse the web while drinking it.
Out of habit, she would save any photos that inspired her, and only after the webpage showed that the photos had finished downloading did she realize that it was Sheng Yu's computer.
Fearing it would interfere with his work, Tang Ci exited the webpage, opened her photo album, transferred the saved image to her phone, and then deleted it.
Just as she was about to close the album, her gaze suddenly fell upon an album named Wish, with a cover picture of a sky just before dawn.
Tang Cixin's heart rate suddenly became irregular.
Remembering that Sheng Yu had said she could use the computer as she pleased, she moved the cursor and opened the photo album.
The mouse made a soft "click" sound when it was clicked, and Tang Ci paused, looking at the photos in the album.
The two photos following the cover photo show her sitting on a tour bus talking to her colleagues.
This was followed by several photos of Kyoto University's centennial celebration.
She appears in almost every photo.
Tang Ci opened the earliest picture according to the time. In the picture, she was standing in front of the auditorium giving a speech, surrounded by colorful balloons. The picture was frozen at the moment when she slightly raised her head to look at the sky.
That was one of the few moments of spirit in her otherwise bleak life.
Sheng Yu traveled a long way to get here, disappearing into the noisy crowd to capture this moment.
What was he thinking at that moment?
Tang Ci's vision blurred, and tears splattered onto the table before she remembered to grab a tissue to wipe them away.
She tossed the damp tissue into the trash can, but the creases in her heart remained unhealed. She sniffed and pulled out another tissue to wipe the tear-stained tabletop.
Sheng Yu pushed the door open and came in. Seeing her red eyes, he paused in his act of loosening his tie: "Grandma, who bullied you?"
Tang Ci quickly closed the photo album, but Sheng Yu, who had walked up behind her, still saw it.
"You're crying because of this?" He found it somewhat amusing.
Tang Ci spun her chair around to face him and looked up at him: "I'm sorry, I just found out you came to see me."
She had just cried, and her voice was nasal, sticky, and soft.
Sheng Yu's eyes darkened slightly. He picked her up from the chair, placed her on the table, and leaned in to kiss her.
The office was filled with the sounds of kissing. Tang Ci grabbed the hem of his suit jacket and reminded him between kisses, "The door isn't locked."
Sheng Yu's thin lips had barely moved away when he opened his mouth again and bit her lower lip: "No one will come in if you stay here."
Isn't this blatantly telling the employees that something shady will happen in this office after she arrives?
Tang Ci's face flushed even more, and she covered his lips as he pressed against hers: "Let's go eat first, I'm hungry."
Sheng Yuxin readily accepted her suggestion: "I'll eat you when we get home."
/
After finishing her meal, Tang Ci received a phone call from an unfamiliar number.
Thinking it was a salesperson, she answered the phone and was about to apologize when she heard the other end say, "Hello comrade, I am Zhou Ning from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Changning District Public Security Bureau in Nanling City. Are you Tang Ci?"
Tang Ci paused for a moment: "Yes, that's me. May I ask what's the matter?"
"Is Tang Jianwei your father?"
Tang Ci gave a tight "hmm".
Sheng Yu noticed that her expression was off, so he got up from across the table and sat down next to her, putting his phone, which was on a call, on the table and turning it on speakerphone.
"Here's the thing," Officer Zhou explained seriously, "your father, Tang Jianwei, got into a fight with someone yesterday due to an economic dispute and accidentally killed someone. He has now been criminally detained by our criminal investigation team. When would be a convenient time for you to come over and understand the situation?"
This was the first time Tang Jianwei had contacted her since abandoning her in high school, but it was in this way.
Tang Ci's knuckles turned white from gripping her hand so tightly that she glanced at Sheng Yu with a dazed expression.
Sheng Yu reached out and pulled her into his arms, silently saying, "I'm here."
Tang Ci closed her eyes briefly and asked in a dry voice, "Can I go now?"
"Okay." After Officer Zhou finished speaking, he patiently told her the address.
On the way to the police station, Tang Ci stared blankly out the window until Sheng Yu parked the car in front of the police station. Then she whispered, "I don't feel any sadness right now. Isn't that heartless?"
Sheng Yu unbuckled her seatbelt, his dry, warm palms cupping her cheeks and caressing them: "If you had no conscience, you wouldn't have come to see him."
Tang Ci took a deep breath, her icy fingers gripping his sleeve: "Will you come in with me?"
Sheng Yu gave her a comforting kiss on the corner of her eye: "Of course."
After the security guard called to inform them, they were allowed to pass. Sheng Yu held her hand the whole way into the interrogation room.
Officer Zhou had been waiting by the door for a long time. When they came in, he led them to his office and briefly explained Tang Jianwei's case.
Two years ago, Tang Jianwei owed the bank hundreds of thousands of yuan due to a failed engineering project. Later, in an attempt to turn his life around, he followed the advice of his cronies and started a gray market business. When that failed, he incurred a large amount of online loans.
Unable to repay the money, he had no choice but to hide, traveling south from Jiangcheng and eventually returning to Nanling, where he was eventually cornered at a hotel by debt collectors.
The debt collector started by insulting him, and in a moment of desperation, Tang Jianwei impulsively grabbed a fruit knife from beside the door and stabbed the man.
The hotel owner heard the commotion and rushed over, so frightened that he forgot to take his phone and ran to the nearby police station to report the incident.
Perhaps tired of living like a rat in the street for the past few years, Tang Jianwei did not choose to run away this time. When the police arrived, he obediently went into the police car and confessed his crimes.
After Officer Zhou finished speaking, he took a sip of tea: "Tang Jianwei has asked to meet with you."
Tang Ciping's brow furrowed slightly, as if he didn't understand why Tang Jianwei would make this request.
Officer Zhou, a veteran police officer, had long since developed a keen eye for detail. After speaking with the father and daughter separately, he noticed their cold relationship and guessed that it was mostly due to Tang Jianwei's incompetence as a father.
But as the man was about to die, the police officers, out of humanitarian considerations, offered a few words of advice: "After all, you were family. No matter what happened in the past, seeing him one last time is a way to put an end to things."
Tang Ci's lips turned white as she pursed them, and she glanced at Sheng Yu with a panicked expression.
Sheng Yu's dark pupils met her gaze: "No need to force yourself."
Looking at his calm expression, Tang Ci regained her courage in an instant. With Sheng Yu waiting for her here, she felt as if she would no longer be afraid of anything.
She said to Zhou Ning, "I'll go."
/
Tang Jianwei, his hands cuffed together, was hunched over at the table. He raised his head when he heard the door open.
Seeing Tang Ci enter, a fleeting glimmer of light appeared on his ashen face: "Xiao Ci, you've come."
After Tang Ci sat down, she asked, "Did you need something from me?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Jianwei burst into tears. He wiped away his tears with his rough hands and said with deep regret, "I just want to apologize to you. I was a bastard for everything I did before. I failed in my responsibilities as a father."
He sobbed as he reached out his hand, as if trying to take Tang Ci's hand.
Even through the glass, Tang Ci still reflexively shrank back.
Tang Jianwei reluctantly withdrew his action, wiped his face, shook his head and said, "Only after hiding from debts for several years did I realize how wrong I was. I drove such a good daughter out of the house. I have no choice but to bring this situation upon myself."
Tang Ci felt a mix of emotions. Looking at the father she had lived with for more than ten years, she had no words to say to him for a moment.
After Tang Jianwei calmed down a bit, he looked directly into her eyes and said, "Xiao Ci, I called you here today because I wanted to see you one last time, to hear you call me 'Dad' one more time, so that I can rest in peace when I go to the afterlife..."
At this moment, Tang Ci realized that Tang Jianwei had only called her over to put his mind at ease.
Her bewildered heart returned to its place, leaving only sorrow in her heart. Tang Ci swallowed hard, her throat dry, and calmly told him, "I had no relatives left when I moved out of my family home in high school."
After Tang Ci finished speaking, she ignored Tang Jianwei's crying and opened the door to leave the interrogation room.
/
When Tang Ci came out of the police station, she was quieter than usual, but there was nothing unusual about her.
Back in the car, she suddenly said, "I don't want to go home yet."
It was already quite late, and a cold wind was howling through the night. Only a few hurried pedestrians passed by.
Sheng Yu glanced at the clear night sky outside the window: "Want to see the stars?"
Tang Ci paused, then tilted her head to look out the window: "Can't you see?"
Sheng Yu asked again, "Do you want to?"
Tang Ci nodded.
Sheng Yu tapped the screen to play some light music, then vigorously rubbed her head: "You should sleep for a while, you'll see it when you wake up."
Tang Ci mumbled "okay," closed her eyes to the soft music, and actually fell asleep.
The air conditioner vents gently blew out warm air, and Tang Ci smelled a faint scent of soap. For a moment, she thought she was lying in a bathtub with slightly warm water. She felt comfortable but also a little hot. She opened her eyes groggily and realized that she was still in the car, covered with Sheng Yu's suit jacket.
She turned her head to look at the driver's seat, and Sheng Yu, who was replying to a message on his phone, looked up at her: "Awake?"
Tang Ci nodded and pulled her coat down a bit: "Has the car been parked for a long time? Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Just arrived."
Tang Ci took out her phone and glanced at it, only to find that it was already 1 a.m. She looked around the window blankly, only vaguely seeing traces of the mountains.
Where am I?
Sheng Yu pointed to a place with lights on in the distance: "The campsite on Chongshan Mountain."
Tang Ci looked stunned: "We've come so far."
“Yes.” Sheng Yu smiled and tapped on the sunroof: “Look up.”
Tang Ci lowered the chair, opened her eyes wide, and looked out the skylight. Under the dark blue night sky, the stars shone brightly, and the Milky Way was clearly visible.
Having not seen such a view in a long time, Tang Ci gazed at it silently for a long while, the feeling of tightness in her chest still quite noticeable.
She groped and grasped Sheng Yu's fingertips, asking in a hushed voice, "Can you kiss me?"
Sheng Yu unbuckled her seatbelt, lifted her onto his lap, and ran his fingertips under the hem of her clothes, slowly rubbing against her smooth skin.
"Do you really want to seduce me here?"
Tang Ci's breathing quickened, but she didn't flinch from his movements. Her gentle eyes stared at him intently as she asked, "Do you want it?"
Sheng Yu's eyes darkened, and he hooked his arm around her neck and kissed her.
Tang Ci's slender back pressed against the steering wheel as she passively accepted his fierce kisses. She gasped for breath as her trembling fingertips reached to untie his tie.
The tie was fastened too tightly, and Tang Ci's fingertips turned red from trying to loosen it, but she only managed to loosen it a little.
She angrily let go of his hand, her nose stung, and tears streamed down her face.
Sheng Yu released her lips, but still kept a distance where they could hear each other's breaths. His calloused fingertips slowly stroked the back of her neck: "If you want to cry, just cry. No one will hear you here."
As the fog rolled in, Tang Ci could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
Large tears slid down her cheeks, only to be patiently wiped away by Sheng Yu.
After crying silently for a while, Tang Ci stammered as she grabbed Sheng Yu's arm and said, "Sheng Yu, I have no family left."
"Who said that?" Sheng Yu pulled her coat tighter. "Check your pockets."
Tang Ci made a puzzled "Hmm?" sound, but still obediently rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a velvet box.
She had a premonition when she felt the shape of the box, but when she opened the box and saw the diamond ring inside, she was stunned for a while: "Why is this happening so suddenly?"
"I was planning to bring it up after dinner, but I got interrupted." Sheng Yu smirked. "Let's give it a try."
Tang Ci looked at the huge diamond on the platinum ring setting, carefully put the ring on the middle finger of her left hand, and widened her eyes slightly: "Perfect."
"I took your measurements while you were asleep."
Tang Ci twirled her fingers, the diamond sparkling softly. With a mixture of curiosity and nervousness, she asked, "Does this mean we're engaged?"
Sheng Yu lifted her hips and pulled her closer to him, a mischievous glint in his eyes: "Baby, I haven't even proposed yet."
Tang Ci blushed and said "Oh," then said seriously, "Then you go ahead and say it."
Sheng Yu kissed the tip of her nose and asked sincerely and patiently, "Tang Ci, do you want to give me a home?"
Tang Ci hadn't expected Sheng Yu to ask this question. He didn't talk about marriage, but rather about having a home.
Language truly possesses immense and magical power. By the time he uttered that question, Tang Ci had already constructed a vision of family in his mind.
There is no violence or abandonment in this home. The lights are always bright and clear, and the enamel pot on the stove is bubbling with steam, keeping out all the cold.
That truly is a brand new and limitless future.
Tang Ci once missed out on this future, but seven years later she was fortunate enough to regain it.
She gripped Sheng Yu's palm tightly and said somewhat urgently, "Yes, I want to."
Sheng Yu smiled, his eyes brighter than the stars, and brushed his fingertips against her warm, wet lips: "Then you'll have to get used to it as soon as possible. You'll have to call me 'husband' when we're out."
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