Chapter 67 She Wants More
As I left the hospital, the city lights were already on.
Instead of going back to the dormitory to cook, Huo Nanchen said to Lin Xili, "Let's eat out."
Lin Xili nodded.
The two found a quiet, private restaurant near the hospital.
After we sat down and ordered, a moment of silence fell over us.
Lin Xili lowered her eyes to look at the tea leaves floating in the cup, her fingertips gently stroking the cup.
Huo Nanchen sat opposite her, his cool ambergris scent mingling with the faint sandalwood aroma in the restaurant, wafting around her.
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then suddenly explained, "The girl sitting with you today is named Ning Yu."
Lin Xili tightened her grip on the water glass, looked up at him, and waited for his next words.
"She used to be my fiancée."
Although she had suspected it was his fiancée or girlfriend, hearing it confirmed by him still made her heart skip a beat.
It turns out that Huo Nanchen had previously had contact with another girl.
He also stood beside another girl.
Did he ever show tenderness to another girl?
This realization made her feel as if a whole bottle of aged vinegar had been poured into her heart, leaving her feeling sour and bloated.
Huo Nanchen continued, "Our marriage was arranged by our parents, but we later broke off the engagement."
Upon hearing the words "arranged by parents," Lin Xili inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she was a little surprised. In her mind, those who needed to rely on marriage to bind their interests were wealthy and powerful families. She never thought that ordinary people also had times when they could not make their own decisions about marriage.
Huo Nanchen did not mention Ning Yu's suicide, nor did he mention the days and nights he was forced to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment, nor did he mention his past of breaking with the Huo family and giving up his identity because of it.
In his view, these are all buried old stories, irrelevant to his current life, and there is no need to bring them up again, lest they cause unnecessary trouble.
At this moment, Lin Xili couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her most: "So...did you like her before?"
As soon as she said it, she regretted it.
This is going too far.
This completely shattered their tacit understanding of "not interfering with each other's past."
When did she become so domineering and greedy?
Huo Nanchen looked up at her, paused for a moment as if seriously considering the question, and clearly stated: "The kind of liking between a man and a woman, no."
Lin Xili breathed a sigh of relief, but another question suddenly popped up: "Have you ever had a girl you truly liked before?"
She's here again.
Lin Xili almost wanted to bite her tongue. What right did she have to ask such a question?
She herself had once had Xu Yanchi in her heart, so how could she domineeringly demand that his past be completely blank?
Huo Nanchen was taken aback by her question, but then answered frankly, "No."
"Really?" Lin Xili blurted out, her voice filled with excitement.
Huo Nanchen looked at her suddenly brightened expression, and although he didn't understand why she cared so much, he said, "Hmm."
Just then, the waiter appeared with the dishes, breaking the delicate atmosphere.
The two began their meal quietly, and Lin Xili's appetite improved because of his answer earlier.
After finishing their meal, the two walked slowly along the sidewalk back to the hospital parking lot to retrieve their car.
The night breeze carries the coolness unique to early summer, gently caressing my cheeks and hair, soft and pleasant.
Lin Xili lagged slightly behind, her gaze involuntarily falling on Huo Nanchen, who was walking beside her.
The streetlights cast soft shadows on his well-defined profile, outlining his straight nose and slightly pursed lips.
This is the man.
During the darkest, most rejected, and most confused time of her life.
He accepted her in his own unique way, as a husband would fulfill his responsibilities and obligations.
It not only cured her hyperthyroidism, but also gave her a safe haven to live in.
Fragments of memory drifted by in the gentle breeze.
He would warm her feet late at night and stand in front of her without hesitation when she was wronged.
I will remember every important milestone in her career, I will remember her birthday, and I will stand firmly by her side when she is bullied by her family...
These incidents, one by one, even if, as he said, stemmed from the husband's responsibility.
But it also genuinely and day after day warmed her long-frozen heart.
She suddenly remembered that on the high-speed train back to Hong Kong after the Spring Festival, Wen Qing had asked her, "Do you love Huo Nanchen?"
At that time, she felt completely lost, and the word "love" seemed strange and distant to her.
She could only give a vague answer: "I don't know."
But now, he has experienced the inexplicable sense of crisis brought about by Ning Yu's appearance.
She experienced a possessiveness that was so intense it surprised even herself.
I felt a great sense of relief after hearing him personally deny having romantic feelings for his ex-fiancée.
After learning that he had never liked a girl before, she felt an uncontrollable surge of joy in her heart...
She was concerned about Ning Yu's appearance and whether he would treat other girls the same way he treated her.
I care whether there are traces of other people in his past relationships.
This bittersweet, anxious, and possessive impulse is the most direct evidence of being moved—jealousy.
It was precisely because this feeling of attraction was so different from the love at first sight she had felt for Xu Yanchi when she was young that she felt confused and lost for a time.
In this companionship of sunrise and sunset, and the gentle flow of water, in his silent and steadfast protection.
The seed called "love" has already quietly taken root and sprouted, and now it is lush and green, impossible to ignore.
She began to feel dissatisfied with the status quo of simply "living together".
She began to feel dissatisfied with the good things he did for her, the responsibilities and obligations that belonged to a husband.
She became greedy and selfish, wanting more.
She wanted that special treatment from him, which belonged exclusively to her, Lin Xili.
I want that care, a warmth that transcends responsibility.
She wanted him as a person, and she wanted his heart, which she had never truly touched.
Her love for Huo Nanchen was not love at first sight, but rather a love that grew over time.
This kind of love brings an unprecedented peace.
Her gaze involuntarily fell on his hands hanging at his sides.
Those hands, with their distinct knuckles, long and strong, and the unique warmth and dryness of a doctor's touch, had given her warmth countless times.
A strong desire urged Lin Xili forward, and her right hand twitched, then gently hooked the little finger of Huo Nanchen's left hand hanging by his side.
The moment their fingertips touched, Lin Xili snapped back to reality. Embarrassment and shyness overwhelmed her, and her fingertips instinctively tried to pull away.
However, just as she was trying to pull away...
Huo Nanchen's hand reacted even faster, enveloping her fingers that were trying to escape without warning.
At the same time, he gently pulled her closer to him with a slight force in his arm, saying, "Watch out for the car."
An electric scooter sped past them.
Lin Xili was protected by him, her hand firmly held by him.
The familiar scent of ambergris became clearer as she drew closer, gently enveloping her.
He didn't look at her, his gaze still fixed ahead, his profile appearing calm and focused under the streetlights.
It was as if that brief moment of holding hands was really just to pull her away from the car.
But Lin Xili knew that wasn't the case.
He held on tightly, showing no intention of letting go.
The night was gentle, and the streetlights cast long shadows of their tightly clasped hands.
Lin Xili turned her head slightly, looking at the two people's tightly clasped hands.
She found out.
She fell in love with him.
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