Chapter 73 I’m Not Willing to Be Just Your Most Respected Elder
In the dark night, the rain was getting heavier.
Xie Peizhou was hailing a taxi on the side of the road holding a black umbrella. The cold rain splashed on his skin, and several rainy nights related to Wen Ci emerged in his mind.
The first one was when Wen Ci was ten years old. Wen Ci's family suffered a mudslide disaster on the winding mountain road of the resort. He received orders from his father to rush to rescue them, but he only saved Wen Ci who was tightly protected by her parents. Wen Ci's crying on that rainy night was deafening, and it still makes him feel distressed.
The second one was when Wen Ci had just arrived at Yu Shui Bay. She was curled up at the head of the bed, trembling, and wanted to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills. She was discovered by him. He stayed by her bedside for the whole night and pulled her back from the brink of death.
Later, every night when the rain was heavier, he would go home early and stay by her side to comfort her.
It was he who took the initiative to tell him, Aci, even if your parents are gone, you still have me.
He pulled her back from the abyss of stormy nights time and time again, giving her warmth and support, but on that stormy night five years ago, he pushed her into another abyss of pain with his own hands.
"——Wen Ci, you are crazy!"
"——Do you know that this is nonsense? I am your best friend's uncle and also your elder!"
"——You don't understand what family affection and love are. I'm ten years older than you, how could I fall in love with you?"
…
The heavy rain and lightning seemed to be accusing Wen Ci of his indifference and ruthlessness back then. The cold wind blew the raindrops on his face, as if slapping him in the face.
"Boom—"
Another loud thunder sounded, and the dark window was torn open by lightning, and for a moment it seemed as bright as day.
Wen Ci curled up in a corner of the sofa. Even the thin blanket covering her body could not hide her trembling shoulders. Countless scenes that she didn't want to think about flashed through her mind.
There was almost no color left in her face.
It seems like it has been a long time since I faced a rainy night alone. In the past few years abroad, I was either accompanied by colleagues at work or by my daughter and Yi Yi at home.
Wen Ci took a deep breath and comforted herself over and over again: "It's okay, it's all in the past. Everything will be better in the future. I must work hard and make more money so that I can live a happier and more stable life with my daughter..."
"Niannian, for Niannian's sake, you must be well. Wenci, you must be well. You still have a daughter, a daughter..."
"Bang—"
Amid the sound of heavy rain, the security door of the executive suite was pushed open.
Wen Ci's body stiffened, and she instinctively turned her head to look back, and saw Xie Peizhou walking in from the entrance, soaking wet, with water still dripping from his hair.
"Uncle, are you okay?"
Wen Ci's face was filled with shock, and she subconsciously stood up from the sofa. By the time she reacted, she had already taken a bath towel from the bathroom and handed it to Xie Peizhou.
"Don't you have an umbrella? It's raining so hard, why don't you take shelter before coming back? ... Even though it's summer, it's best to take a hot shower after getting caught in the rain, otherwise you'll feel..."
Before she could finish her words, she was suddenly pulled into Xie Peizhou's arms.
A damp chill enveloped her entire body, and at the same time, at close range, she also sensed the heavy sadness in Xie Peizhou's body and in his breath.
Wen Ci opened her mouth and asked with concern: "Uncle, what's wrong with you..."
In her impression, Xie Peizhou had never been so embarrassed. He was always so dignified and calm, and looked so superior, as if he could remain calm even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him. No matter what difficulties he encountered, he could calmly find a solution.
Just like back then.
She woke up from his bed and imagined seeing all kinds of extreme emotions on his face: surprise, anger, shock, or disgust...
But none of them are true.
She opened her eyes and saw Xie Peizhou sitting beside the bed, calm and steady, even his clothes were dressed meticulously.
It seemed exactly the same as every other morning.
He even helped her prepare the clothes she was going to wear. After she was dressed, he took her downstairs for breakfast and asked Aunt Zhou to make her favorite seaweed and shrimp wontons.
After dinner, I grabbed the car keys and took her out, took her to the hospital, had a physical examination, put her on birth control pills, and then sent her to a psychological clinic, worried that this incident would leave a trauma in her heart.
Every step is taken calmly and carefully.
After arranging everything for her, he even decided to surrender himself to the police.
It was not until she collapsed and hugged him, saying that everything was voluntary, she took the initiative, and deliberately entered his room while he was drunk, that surprise and anger appeared on his face. He slapped her and scolded her in a cold tone.
"Wen Ci, you're crazy!"
…
Wen Ci's body gradually became cold, but Xie Peizhou hugged her tighter, and after the coldness subsided, he passed the remaining heat of his body temperature to her.
A low, hoarse voice sounded above his head, "Aci, I'm sorry..."
Wen Ci's breathing was stagnant, and she didn't know where his sorry came from.
When had he ever wronged her?
Xie Peizhou's increasingly guilty voice reached her eardrums, "Aci, I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so cold-blooded and ruthless in forcing you to go abroad, causing you so much pain and suffering from depression for years. I'm sorry, Aci, it's all my fault. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry..."
The man was immersed in deep guilt.
She was obviously a confident and sunny girl who dared to love and hate. It was him who, when her love was the strongest, repeatedly denied her feelings, attacked her self-confidence, and erased her sense of security.
He stubbornly forced her to go abroad, threatened her not to return to China or contact her within three years, and he thought it was for her own good.
It was all her fault. She met the wrong man and had an illegitimate child, and she also suffered from postpartum depression.
Xie Peizhou's heart was festering, as if tens of millions of ants were gnawing at it, punishing him for his cold-bloodedness.
"Uncle, have you gone to see Dr. Judy?"
Wen Ci gradually understood from Xie Peizhou's guilty words that he must have learned about her depression from Dr. Judy.
He actually blamed himself so much that he took all the blame for her suffering?
Wen Ci's heart seemed to be squeezed by something. She patted Xie Peizhou's back to comfort him, "Uncle, don't blame yourself. Everything is over."
Both sides felt bad about what happened back then, and it was hard to tell who was right or wrong.
If we talk about mistakes, Xie Peizhou's only mistake was that he was too good to her but did not love her, and her mistake was that she fell in love with an "elder" who she should not love but only respect and be grateful to.
Wen Ci took a deep breath, her breath filled with the cool cedar scent of his body. She didn't dare to be greedy, and restrained herself to withdraw from Xie Peizhou's cold and damp embrace, and whispered: "Uncle, you should go take a shower first. Even though it's summer, it's easy to catch a cold if you get caught in the rain."
"I have never blamed you. I did some things wrong back then, but now everything is over and the dust has settled. Everything is moving in a good direction. In my heart, you will always be my most beloved and grateful uncle. Without you, there would be no Wen Ci today."
"I'm fine now. I have a daughter. Everything is fine."
Xie Peizhou looked at the gentle smile on her little face and the sincerity in her eyes, and suddenly felt even more guilty, hating himself for being pedantic and cold-blooded back then.
Now, in her eyes, his identity is only "respected elder".
He pursed his lips, his dark eyes struggling with complex emotions, and said in a low voice: "Aci, I am unwilling to be just your most beloved elder..."
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