Chapter 53 Tonight is an exception.
Zong Chi was obsessed with holding her like this.
As light as a clump of clouds outside the flight window, his greatest pleasure is to smash the cloud into pieces every time he lands, leaving only a small ghost, which tightly strangles his neck, afraid that he will fall down, afraid that the board will fall apart, and also hoping to take revenge on him.
After all, she had sex with him.
When he first met her, she had long hair. Due to the strict school uniform system, He Dongli wore a very neat low ponytail and wore the blue and white school uniform for both boys and girls. Zong Chi sometimes met her face to face, and when she ignored him, he would slander her in his heart, saying, "Ugly, what's so great about that? Look, apart from the braid, what's the difference between you and those boys?"
Until that time, she and the class monitor went to make the school blackboard newspaper together. The one they designed and copied was Neruda's "I Like Your Silence". He Dongli was standing on the desk, and the class monitor on the ground said something to her. When she turned around, she almost stepped on empty air. The class monitor helped her up. At that time, both of them had chalk dust on their hands. The class monitor reminded her that he accidentally got chalk dust on her hair.
He Dongli's hands were both dirty, and she shook her head indifferently. The hair in her ponytail brushed against her school uniform. Zong Chi was talking to a few boys not far away. They had just come down from the playground. He invited everyone to drink water, but it turned out that they had worked hard to buy an unopened bottle of sports drink. Zong Chi held it in his hand, walked to the trash can not far from the school art bulletin board, and threw it in with a thud.
When He Dongli looked over after hearing the sound, Zong Chi did not even look away. The next morning, He Dongli was called over by the squad leader again because a corner of the area they were responsible for was scraped off and had to be repaired.
She probably still doesn't know that it was Zong Chi who did it.
He was so out of touch at that time, and he seemed to have the final say over everything, including her hair.
Now that he had found her again, Zong Chi still had the heart of a young man. He touched the damp hair beside her ear, then reached out to push all of her thick long hair onto her shoulders, rubbing it against his chest.
He Dongli frowned at his bad taste, and saw the ends of her hair stuck to his sweaty abdominal muscles, and then moving down to the junction. She subconsciously closed her eyes and put her hair behind her back in a normal way.
Zong Chi suddenly became furious upon seeing this. He held her waist and pulled her down in a domineering manner. When he stood up again, He Dongli couldn't help but make a sound. She raised her head and struggled instinctively, and bit her neck and chin fiercely.
She scolded him to go slower and gentler, but Zong Chi kept a straight face and said coldly, "How can you go slower when you're already like this?"
"Shut up!" Only then did He Dongli realize how stupid it was for her to worry about him having a fever. He was in a good mood. Once he started sweating, he felt like a fish in water. His hands were restless, grabbing her from her back all the way to her ankles.
She could sense without him saying it himself that he was satisfied, that kind of possessive and lingering satisfaction.
His peach blossom eyes were sparkling, without any skill, and full of joy.
He Dongli subconsciously tried to poke his eyes with her hand, and the two of them were in a mess. She relaxed again and again, and finally had no choice but to beg him to hurry up. Zong Chi put his hand in her mouth and pulled her tongue out. He wanted her to call him.
He Dongli stated that she had already shouted.
Someone hummed and said it wasn't Xiaochi, "I want to hear something else."
He Dongli was already drenched in sweat. She pouted at him. If direct arguments didn't work, she'd attack him from the opposite direction. She said she should think carefully about what Lin Jiaoyu said and shouldn't trust him so much. Anything is allowed unless prohibited by law. And this was a man she'd been separated from for five years. He Dongli's face was filled with speculation. She said quietly, so calmly, so hesitantly, "Jiaoyu is right. Maybe a lot of your gossip just hasn't made it into the newspapers."
Someone heard this and almost gritted his teeth as he struck her hard. His hands, weakly grasping her neck, broke her words and descriptions. "Don't tell him to teach Yu!"
As for his public grain that she suspected, he fiddled with her face, and finally got the debt from the person who was responsible. "Your photos and your rabbit can clear my name."
He Dongli was speechless and surprised for a moment, and then he turned into a cloud silently.
Beneath the clouds, the wind is blowing like lightning, the waves are unpredictable, and the beasts are hunting and pouncing on their prey, breathing with satisfaction, and pain and pleasure are in turmoil.
…
He Dongli didn't calculate how long Zong Chi lay on her. She originally wanted to take a shower, but ended up falling asleep quietly.
But not deep. I could still hear Zong Chi talking on the phone. It must be Chen Xiangyang. He was having a housewarming party at headquarters today, and Zong Chi didn't go. They chatted for a few minutes, then, perhaps afraid of disturbing the person in bed, he closed the door and left.
When he came in again, He Dongli felt a pair of hands pushing her face, which was buried in the down pillow, away from her. He smelled of fresh shampoo after washing his face. He said something in her ear. He Dongli shook her head and said she didn't want to eat.
"Today is the Winter Solstice. Chen Xiangyang knew you were here, so he sent this specially." It was the hospital meal that Chen's mother prepared for Zong Chi. It was porridge with assorted side dishes, as well as winter-brewed rice dumplings and a can of canned cherries.
Zong Chi opened the can with two snaps, scooped out a piece with a spoon, and wanted to feed it to the sleeping person. "Hurry up and eat a bite, don't let the winter solstice pass."
He Dongli didn't even open his eyes and claimed that this was a hospital meal given to him.
The person sitting beside the bed laughed and said, "I'm fine now. Why should I eat a hospital meal? Seriously."
He insisted on feeding He Dongli some cherries. The spoon was brought to her lips, and she had no choice but to open her mouth and eat it. She held it whole in her mouth, and the people around her waited for praise, "Is it delicious?"
She nodded.
He reached out and poked her cheek, "There's still some left. You haven't eaten it yet. What a joke!"
"Zongchi, you're really annoying. Can you please let me get some sleep?"
"Eat it and then go to sleep! You'll choke on this thing!"
So, He Dongli followed his lead and chewed quickly. He held his hand near her mouth and waited, watching her chew several times and finally swallow it without spitting out the core.
The person waiting called out to her, "He Dongli, spit it out."
She dismissed him, "Swallow it."
He put the can in his hand on the bedside table, shouted at her to fart, and reached out to check her mouth. He hugged her and sat her up, using his body as a backrest for her. Finally, he sucked out the cherry pit and spit it onto the plate beside him.
He Dongli was completely awakened by his tossing and turning. She simply gave up and wanted to take a shower. He hugged her tightly. She didn't look back, just let him do it. Then he asked, "What do you mean by not letting the winter solstice pass?"
"This is the first holiday we've spent together again."
"Have you been well these years?" After a long silence, He Dongli asked a question that he shouldn't have asked.
She had thought Zong Chi would scold her or ask her directly, "What do you think?" But that didn't happen. He rested his chin on her shoulder and said, "Very good! Eating, drinking, defecating, everything is better than yours. You live so comfortably, how could I be any worse?"
"Oh, that's good." As soon as she finished speaking, he moved her head and bit her lips hard.
He Dongli was in pain but still didn't change her attitude. "What should I say? I hope you have a bad life, I hope your family goes bankrupt, I hope you become destitute?"
"I miss you, and you miss me." Zong Chi's voice was muffled. He claimed that he didn't have much of a compassionate heart. "You can only think of me. You are not allowed to live a good life without me in this life!"
He Dongli reached out to feel the temperature of his forehead, and he simply held her hand, rolled his face in her palm, sniffed and kissed it, and then moved to her face.
He hugged her like this, and he was the only one who did this in all these years. He Dongli thought that it was just his nature, like hugging a child or his property, but he didn't know that she needed it, she actually needed a reckless hug.
This involves not only desire, but also longing and energy.
*
She got up and asked Zong Chi to go out and prepare something, saying that she wanted to eat. She took a quick shower and when she came out, she found a very obvious burnt spot on the carpet, which was where Zong Chi had thrown it in a hurry.
She picked it up and wrapped the cigarette butt with paper. Just then he came in from outside. He Dongli, with wet hair, reported his dangerous behavior.
Zong Chi, dressed in pajamas, came over, helped her up, threw the cigarette butt into the trash can, and said with a tone of regret, "Well, from today on, let's both quit smoking and supervise each other."
He Dongli seemed noncommittal.
Zong Chi went outside to get a hair dryer to blow dry her hair. There had been many such courteous acts in the past. At that time, He Dongli always disliked that he did not do it well and was not very willing to cooperate with him. One summer vacation, she did not want to use hot air and wanted to sit outside to let it dry naturally, but he insisted on blowing her hair. In the middle of the blow drying, the power went out, and she blamed him for causing the circuit breaker to trip. As a result, that day was the summer when electricity was overloaded and the entire mansion had to lose power for emergency repairs.
Zong Chi was very unhappy about this and said that she never believed in him. She had a deep-rooted feeling that he was not good at doing some very ordinary things.
He Dongli remembered this argument for a long time. Whether it was a hair dryer in the summer or an inexplicable power outage, she could always recall Zong Chi's complaints that night as he sat in the dark.
Over the years, Yu Xiaohan had never formally criticized her daughter. She always praised her daughter, saying she was the best at everything she did.
That day, before Zong Chi came, Yu Xiaohan criticized He Dongli for always talking about breaking up, saying that "the wolf is coming" is a lesson that everyone learns since childhood.
Now, she just stood there, waiting for his hair dryer, waiting for his ordinary kindness and care.
Zong Chi brought the hair dryer over and plugged it into an outlet. The cord was so long, and the person standing there didn't move or speak. Zong Chi wanted to stretch the cord straight. He used the hair dryer to pretend to talk to her, and it beeped twice. "Doctor He, I got it, please answer."
He Dongli felt for a moment that the power outage from that night had come back online. This damn guy, his tricks were never the same. So, she walked over coldly and repeated his channel, "Roger."
The room was too heated. The diligent man blew her hair while combing it with his hands, moving it through the strands one by one, shaking them out as he blew. Of course, the hair would also blow on her scalp. He Dongli moved aside, which really reminded her of when she was a child and her mother braided her hair. She thought it was too tight, and Yu Xiaohan would always say, "What's so tight about it? If you don't comb it tighter, you won't look energetic. How can someone who can't even take care of their hair have any good looks?"
Zong Chi looked at her and gave way for a moment, then pulled her back. This was the second time he did this, and she scolded him, "It's too hot!"
The person who was doing the hair dryer said, "Oh," and lowered the gear, holding it further away, and asked her again, "How about this?"
He Dongli said nothing. Zong Chi tilted his head and looked at her, and amid the buzzing sound, they looked at each other in silence.
After a while, he tilted his hand and blew on a red mark on her neck, which made her reach out to scratch it. Then the thief cried out, "Ouch, why are you scratching it so red? Stop scratching it."
He Dongli went to the bathroom mirror outside and took a look. His face changed drastically and he shouted to Zong Chi: "I told you not to do it around your neck. How am I going to go to work tomorrow?"
Someone unplugged the plug and came over to her side, plugging it in to continue serving her. He Dongli stomped on him with a displeased look. The instigator didn't care. "What can I do? If anyone asks, just tell them I did it. How cool is that? Anyone who can go to the outpatient clinic or perform surgery knows this. If anyone dares to ask, call me and I'll explain it to you."
He Dongli was furious. She didn't doubt his words at all, and she knew that some people took pleasure in this. She didn't want him to blow-dry her hair anymore. She sent him off to eat porridge, and she would take care of the rest herself.
Zong Chi didn't move, but stood by and watched her operate it until she turned off the hair dryer and the sound of the machine stopped suddenly. He then took it for her, placed it on the sink, and dragged her over to eat with him.
He had everything set on the table and pulled out a disinfectant tissue to wipe her hands. He Dongli took it and wiped her hands without even noticing him start to pick up his chopsticks. She asked him, "Your nanny said you haven't eaten much these past few days. Are you really going to cultivate immortality?"
"Not really. I drank a bowl of ginseng chicken soup she made before I came to see you. It was so energizing."
He Dongli looked at the dozen or so dishes on the table, all accompanying the porridge, and thought to himself that Chen Xiangyang was truly adept at flattery. Little did he know, however, that this man had seen all sorts of flattery before him. This evening, perhaps it was simply because he was in a good mood, and the man's inexplicable and subtle desire to show off had once again persuaded Chen Xiangyang to play to his liking.
He Dongli tasted the porridge. It had the texture of glutinous rice mixed with japonica rice, cooked thickly, a perfect match for the old-fashioned way of caring for the sick. But the Chen family still didn't understand Zong Chi. Only the aunt, who was used to it, understood the nutritional needs of a high-energy person like Zong Chi. He Dongli finished most of the porridge in just a few bites. Seeing her enjoy it, Zong Chi followed suit and took two bites.
She was wearing the hotel's nightgown. This time she was eating here was completely different from the last time. At least Zong Chi saw it and felt at ease.
As long as he could get her vote, he didn't care about anything else.
At that time, he received a call from Yu Xiaohan, who told him that there were a room full of people at home today, but she couldn't keep Xixi. She wanted Zong Chi to listen carefully, this call was not about her bowing to him or being soft, but because she knew that her daughter couldn't let go of the man in her heart. Her innocence and family background were all bullshit. Zong Chi, remember, the reason why you are good is that my daughter favors you, otherwise you are nothing!
"What's going on at home today, at your mother's place?"
He Dongli lowered his head and stirred the porridge in the bowl with a spoon. "Nothing happened. Xu Maosen is having a dinner at home."
"There are too many people, you don't know them, and you don't want to deal with them?"
He Dongli didn't even raise his head, which was considered as his agreement.
Zong Chi put a few stir-fried bean sprouts into her bowl and heard her suddenly say in a peevish tone, "I'm not as nice as you think. I had a fight with Xu Xilin before I came here."
Zong Chi was surprised and asked, "Why?"
"No reason, she just couldn't stand me, and I couldn't stand her either. She thought I was scheming everything I did, so I couldn't just back down. It would be like what my mother promised Xu Maosen: I'd be laughed at if I advanced, and I'd be laughed at if I retreated."
After hearing this, Zong Chi remained silent for a long time.
He Dongli looked up at him, his gaze waiting for her to do so. In less than a second, he stood up, walked over to her, and took her hand. "Let's go to your mother's place. Hasn't that been her property for a long time? Why are those Xu children, whose teeth are almost loose, still clinging to their father and refusing to let go of the nipple? If they can't wean themselves, I'll help them."
He Dongli heard his words clearly, and was angry and amused, asking him to stop going crazy, "What time is it now? People have already left."
"It's fucking time to break up. I'm keeping Xu Xize's account. I want him to pay you back for all the things he did to you back then. He already paid you back a long time ago. The Xu family has a shitty business these days. He better understand why he's been a runner-up in several bidding rounds these past few years."
He Dongli belatedly realized why Xu Xize's attitude towards her had changed so much recently, why he was still thinking of helping her find a job, why he had pulled his sister away today, and why, last time there, he had mentioned to her in a roundabout way that Zong Chi had returned. She was speechless for a moment.
Zong Chi said with disdain, "He'd better hide his little thoughts. Otherwise, when his father dies of old age, he might not even have money to buy a paper money for his filial son's first knife."
He Dongli looked at the person's red lips and white teeth and wondered how he could say such unpopular words.
"What are you thinking?"
"What do you want to know? Have you finished eating? If you're done, go change your clothes and go to your mother's place!"
He Dongli was thinking about the lawsuit. How could he not forget about it? "Why are you going? It's so late!"
"I haven't formally apologized to your mother yet. She spoke like a machine gun on the phone today and then hung up. I'm going to go and apologize in person. I can't sleep unless she accepts the bag I bought her. If she accepts my apology, I'll formally propose to her. I want to marry her daughter."
He Dongli’s eyes went dark.
Some people said that time passed so quickly that they had already started to change their clothes, and they couldn't wait to pick out the most formal suit.
He Dongli followed him to the cloakroom and called out to him, "If you go there now, my mother will definitely scold you to death."
Some people, despite their lows, are full of life. He says nothing could be more intense than his mother-in-law's anger that day. He endured it that day, so what else could he not endure? "Chen Xiangyang is right. My mother-in-law still has something to say to me, which proves that she is not completely disappointed."
"I was so anxious on the phone today that I didn't even have time to finish a sentence before she hung up."
"I'll go now and finish the work today. Call your mother and ask if she's asleep. If not, I'd like to go over and pay my respects to her. How come those two from the Xu family can come to our house whenever they want? We won't be turned away."
"The Xu family is the Xu family, we are us, you are not allowed to go!" He Dongli suddenly gave an order.
Zong Chi paused for a moment before speaking seriously, "Although that place was given to your mother, you can't get away from the family name, right? That place will never be your home. Without the surname He, you can never just go back whenever you want. I know that."
Being easily exposed by him, He Dongli didn't mind at all this time. She admitted, "That place belongs to my mother, but not to me."
Zong Chi sighed silently, "Don't worry about the house you live in now. I will definitely find a way to transfer it to your name. Even if I have to rent it for a lifetime, I want it to be yours forever."
He Dongli glanced at him and asked, "Is this the reason you contacted my landlord?"
"Not entirely. Initially, I didn't want Zou Yan to be a good person, and I also wanted to know why you liked that place. It turned out it had nothing to do with the house, but I still want you to have the final say on where we live. I want you to breathe, I want you to have a quiet place, just like the flowers in the pond. What you remember, or what you haven't forgotten, isn't the flowers, but the idea of letting your love be wherever it is, and the joy of it, right?"
The breath He Dongli exhaled at this moment was slightly trembling and slightly sour, like the shiver and chill when going out in winter, but the cool air inhaled into the lungs was refreshing and invigorating.
She told Zong Chi why she hadn't decided to use the money his mother had given her when she rented the apartment at the last minute. "Even though it was a dream, I still felt I would do it. If you never come back, if you really marry another woman, I will return the money to you personally. At least let you know that such a thing exists. At least tell you in person, yes, Zong Chi, no matter what I chose back then, I would not abandon my patients and my work. Yes, you are unfortunate to be ranked behind my patients. Consider this money as my congratulations on your wedding!"
Zong Chi, the madman, was not unhappy at all when he heard that he was put behind the patients. Instead, he asked her, "Really, you really will come to find me, then if I can't get married, you will commit a great sin!"
"What does it have to do with me? It's better to see your irresponsibility before marriage than to cheat on me after marriage."
"Who am I cheating on you with?"
He Dongli scolded him, "Shameless!" Then, she went to change her clothes and go back. Zong Chi followed her and closed the bedroom door after her.
When she turned around, the person who closed the door asked her to stay as if it was natural, "It's too late, don't leave, I'll get up early to see you off tomorrow morning."
Without waiting for her to answer, he frowned and said that he had three urgent things to do. One was to go and apologize to his mother-in-law, one was to hand over the project he was working on and discuss a new project, and the other was...
After saying that, he became forgetful and couldn't remember anything.
He just picked up the clothes that He Dongli had taken off and threw them out the door, then locked the door when he came back in.
When he came over, he asked her in a calm and composed tone, "Have you rested well?"
"Is there surgery tomorrow morning?"
"If I say yes, can you just stop?" He Dongli exposed him coldly.
The hypocritical person smiled mischievously. This was also the most effective way for them to synchronize their shared calendars in the past. He tried not to bother her since she had to go on stage early the next morning.
But tonight was an exception. Zong Chi quietly approached her, lowered himself, and cupped her face in his hands. "We all stay up all night during Chinese New Year, so can we celebrate it in advance today?"
"So what are you going to do on New Year's Eve? Everyone else is celebrating, what are you doing?"
He said two vulgar words in her ear, and before He Dongli could scold him, he had already carried her to the bed.
…
He Dongli watched him tear open the sawtooth again, his heart and mouth contempt for him. He knew what the third urgent matter he was talking about was. Zong Chi listened to her jokes, didn't argue, and walked in with the most openness. He watched her frown suddenly, listened to her breathing, and threw himself into her.
For a moment, he felt that she was like a dove and a cat, and she looked listless and could easily drag him down.
Zong Chi uttered a loud and heavy voice, no longer speaking softly. In this instinctive entanglement, He Dongli couldn't help but vent his anger and curse him, "beast, vulgar..."
Someone responded to her frequently, without any evasion or shame, almost biting her and pestering her, "Yes, he's like this because he hasn't seen you in a long time..."
*
The next morning, someone fulfilled his promise and called her out as soon as the sun rose, "It's time to go to work, Doctor He."
He Dongli didn't know whose phone it was. When she picked it up and looked at it, she saw it was an hour and a half earlier than usual. The sky was falling. This wasn't work at all; it was worse than visiting the graves during the Qingming Festival.
As a result, after Zong Chi finished toasting and heating milk, he ran back to the room for the third time. Seeing the person still covered in the quilt, he pulled her out and scared her, "Hey, I called you. If you are late again, don't blame me."
He Dongli threw off the covers and got out of bed in a fit of rage. How could she not blame him? Who could stay calm after getting up an hour and a half early? Just as she quickly changed back into her own clothes, she made up her mind that if she foolishly agreed to stay out again, she would be a dog!
As she walked to the bathroom mirror to brush her teeth, she found that someone had already squeezed toothpaste for her. Before she could be surprised, he quickly urged her, "Hurry up, hurry up, move!"
The two of them divided the work and worked together. In less than ten minutes, He Dongli finished washing up. Zong Chi packed breakfast for her to eat on the way.
That morning, after a 70-minute commute, she was finally dropped off just before they left for work. At the hospital entrance, traffic was so heavy that she couldn't stop for long. She hurriedly pushed the door open and got out. Just as she was about to turn around and say goodbye, the driver remembered the third thing they'd discussed last night. He held the steering wheel and discussed with her, "I want to cancel my hotel stay and move in with you, Li. We've been together for so many years, but we've never truly lived together. The longest we've been together hasn't even been a full month."
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