Chapter 43: I've come to see you
Perhaps because she hadn't thought about this for so long, she was momentarily stunned by the news.
When Liu Chengxu returned, he saw her sitting on the sofa, silent and looking downcast. He immediately went over and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Su Zhiluo tried to move her lips, and she reached out to pull Liu Chengxu closer, resting her chin on her shoulder, "Give me a hug."
"What's wrong?" Liu Chengxu quickly hugged her, very worried. "Did something happen at the factory? If you're busy, you can go over today."
Su Zhiluo took a long time to recover, and the pain in her heart and tears welled up together. She choked out, "This place is going to be demolished soon."
At first, Liu Chengxu didn't understand and didn't know what she was talking about about demolishing it. When she realized what was going on, she felt a pang of sadness and subconsciously thought that her sister-in-law was sad because of her older sister.
Su Zhiluo said, "Soon, the home we live in together will be gone."
These words brought Liu Chengxu back to her senses. She cursed herself for thinking such thoughts. The last time she saw Su Zhiluo upset was when she had been poisoned by alkali in her respiratory system. Su Zhiluo's eyes were all red, and she asked in confusion, "What should we do, Chengxu?"
Liu Chengxu understood that at this moment she had become her sister-in-law's pillar of support. She cupped Su Zhiluo's face in her hands and said, "It's okay, Su Zhiluo, you still have me. As long as I'm here, you still have a home, don't you?"
Saying those words seemed to have helped her resolve her inner conflict. Su Zhiluo had indeed loved her sister very much, but she also loved this family very much. She had bought this place just to wait for her to come back.
Su Zhiluo's lips trembled as she pursed them. Liu Chengxu wiped the corners of her eyes with his sleeve. "It's alright, Su Zhiluo, you still have Liu Chengxu."
She carefully guided Su Zhiluo, saying, "Come on, look at me."
Su Zhiluo had originally planned to endure it. She looked at Liu Chengxu, who said softly, "I know you're afraid of losing a home, afraid of having no safe haven in the future. Look, Liu Chengxu has grown up, he has money, we won't have to live a hard life anymore, and—"
Liu Chengxu held her fingers and raised them up, saying, "Liu Chengxu will always love you."
Su Zhi's tears flowed uncontrollably again. She nodded vigorously. She had originally thought that she could grit her teeth and bear it, and then comfort Liu Chengxu and the matter would be over. She never expected that she would cry like this.
Liu Chengxu carefully wiped away her tears, comforting her with every word. Su Zhiluo leaned on her shoulder, clung to Liu Chengxu, and held onto her clothes, saying, "I'm not sad anymore, Chengxu. It's so good to have you..."
"Yes, I'm here."
The ground was cold, and Liu Chengxu had been kneeling on it the whole time. Su Zhiluo felt sorry for her and warmed her legs. "Are you cold? I'll go get the heater."
"It's okay, as long as you're not sad." Liu Chengxu cupped her face, kissed her on the lips, and asked, "I'll go get some hot water, you can wash your face."
Liu Chengxu went to the bathroom to get ready and called her in. Su Zhiluo looked in the mirror, her eyes red. After washing up, she came out and saw Liu Chengxu preparing to cook. Su Zhiluo took a deep breath and said, "Let's go out to eat."
"Um?"
Su Zhiluo said, "Demolition is also a happy event. Everyone likes demolition, so let's celebrate together."
Liu Chengxu turned to look at her and said, "Whether you like it or not, it's good that you like it."
Su Zhilu braced herself against the crumbling wall and said, "You'll know once you go out for a walk."
Liu Chengxu took off his apron.
The two went downstairs together, Su Zhiluo holding her hand tightly. Unlike in TV dramas, there was no large "demolish" sign painted in red paint here. Everything was still quiet, no different from usual.
Su Zhiluo asked, "Do you want to tear it down?"
Liu Chengxu said honestly, "It's alright. As long as I'm with you, it doesn't matter whether we break up or not. I'm not picky."
Su Zhiluo looked back, took a few steps forward, and looked back again. She couldn't say whether it was good to demolish it or not. She said, "They will give us a nice house with heating, and we won't have to run around to sales offices and let you take on a mortgage."
As she spoke, a bittersweet feeling welled up inside her, and she gave a happy yet reluctant smile, "How can this not be considered a gift?"
Su Zhiluo's emotions fluctuated greatly. Thinking of her, she smiled again and reached out to pinch Liu Chengxu's ear, "It's something to be happy about."
"Yes." Liu Chengxu nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. Even though she dared not touch them, she knew very well that all of this was left behind by her sister. If her sister hadn't chosen this place, if her sister's shadow hadn't remained...
But she didn't dare to turn around.
She was afraid that she would also miss her sister, and it would be too irresponsible of her to cry with Su Zhiluo at that time.
As dusk settled, they walked back along the familiar path. This path, which had initially been a constraint they wanted to escape, had now become the most cherished bond in their memories. A genuine, dull ache rose in their hearts.
Su Zhiluo postponed her return to Guangzhou. She had been in a bad mood for several days and felt unwell. She had been suffering from insomnia for the past few nights. This home was one that she had gradually renovated, and Liu Chengxu had been with her the whole time. Despite her reluctance, she still mustered her spirits and went with Liu Chengxu to complete the formalities, carefully studying how to obtain a more ideal resettlement plan.
The resettlement housing has not yet been secured, and staff have only told them to patiently wait for the notification to sign the agreement and relocate. The process is lengthy and cannot be rushed.
They cooperated in handling all the procedures, and during this time, they asked Meng Zhenyue for help, hoping to secure a deal that included payment for the existing house and renovations. However, the process was more complicated than they had imagined—policy coordination, scope verification, residents' meetings, and dealing with holdout residents.
When Su Zhiluo returned to Guangzhou, Liu Chengxu wanted to accompany her, but Su Zhiluo politely declined.
Liu Chengxu was very worried about her; that old house was Su Zhiluo's safe haven. Although they seemed to live together all these years, Su Zhiluo had actually suffered a lot. At the age of twenty, Su Zhiluo shouldered the heavy responsibility of raising them alone, supporting their family by herself.
Liu Chengxu only felt this exhaustion after repeatedly hitting walls at work.
Su Zhiluo never complained to her, nor did she ever cry in front of her because she couldn't hold on any longer.
Liu Chengxu also works overtime on Saturdays and Sundays. She wants to finish her work as soon as possible so that she can take a vacation and go to Hong Kong with Su Zhiluo to relax.
On Saturday, the doorbell rang. She thought it was a package from Su Zhiluo and went to the entrance of the community to pick it up, only to see Su Zhiluo standing outside.
The late spring breeze still carried a slight chill. Su Zhiluo wore a long, beige-gray cardigan over a black long skirt, and carried the light brown leather bag that Liu Chengxu had given her last year. She had specially gotten a trendy Korean-style perm, with the ends of her hair curling loosely over her shoulders, making her look gentle and refined.
When Liu Chengxu saw her, he paused in his tracks.
The sunlight fell perfectly on Su Zhiluo's slightly curled hair. Standing in the light and shadow of early spring, she was so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.
Su Zhiluo asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Why are you so surprised?"
"I……"
Su Zhiluo also felt inexplicably nervous. "Didn't you say that everyone in this city is very meticulous? I just did a little bit of work. I wanted to do it before the New Year, but I got busy and forgot."
At that moment, Liu Chengxu could hardly breathe. Her fingers clenched tightly as she asked, "You, how did you get here?"
Su Zhiluo said, "I wanted to come and see you."
Liu Chengxu was speechless for a moment.
She was always the one chasing after Su Zhiluo; this was the first time Su Zhiluo had taken the initiative to come to her.
She held her breath and whispered to confirm, "Did you come this way on the way?"
Su Zhiluo frowned in confusion: "What do you mean by 'on the way'?"
“It’s just…” Liu Chengxu’s fingertips unconsciously curled up, his words sounding aggressive, “I have work or something here.”
Su Zhiluo gently shook her head, her hair trembling slightly in the spring breeze: "No orders."
I came here specifically to see you, Liu Chengxu.
Su Zhiluo's eyes conveyed this message, and Liu Chengxu understood it.
The words hidden in her bright eyes were hotter than the early spring sunshine.
Liu Chengxu was still asking, "Then what are you doing here?"
Su Zhiluo said softly, "I wanted to come here to look at houses. If you want to develop your career here, we'll settle down here."
"Isn't there a resettlement house in Taipei?"
"Who knows how much longer we'll have to wait?" She looked at the tall buildings nearby. Liu Chengxu's place wasn't very nice. "Why don't we have a home together first?"
Liu Chengxu's eyes welled up with tears, and he responded softly, "Okay."
"Wherever you are, I will be there."
"Okay." The same word, Liu Chengxu's voice trembled almost imperceptibly.
She quickly lost control, "Today isn't a special day, why did you come?"
Su Zhiluo was taken aback by her question and said, "It's not that I have to think of you on a specific day. I just come when I think of you."
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I was planning to finish writing this in one go, and then I wanted to express my feelings here, so I'm stopping here. [crying][crying][crying]
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