Chapter 85
A week before Su Rui's twenty-eighth birthday, a cautious anticipation hung in the air. Long in advance, the two of them painstakingly arranged two full days of free time. Ling Yao had solemnly promised that no matter what, he would put aside all work to spend his birthday with him. They even secretly planned to go to a private hot spring villa in the suburbs, staying there quietly, without going anywhere else.
On his birthday, Su Rui arrived at the villa early in the morning, his mood as cheerful as the birds outside the window. He even cooked a few of Ling Yao's favorite dishes, full of thought. In the afternoon, he specially changed into the expensive new sweater Ling Yao had given him, sat by the window, looked at the snow outside, and waited for that person to open the door and give him a surprise hug.
Time passed by, from bright sunshine to sunset, and then to complete darkness. The food on the table went cold, then hot, then cold again. The phone was eerily silent.
It wasn't until almost ten in the evening that Su Rui's phone finally rang with a distinctive notification. It wasn't Ling Yao's call, but his. It was a long message, starting with an apology and then an explanation: a high-end business event originally scheduled had been postponed due to the unexpected visit of a major investor. The brand and company executives attached great importance to it and insisted that he attend. There was no way to refuse. It ended with a series of "I'm sorry" and "I'll make it up to you when I get back."
Su Rui stared at the cold words on the screen, reading them word by word, several times. Outside the window lay the silent, snowy night. Inside, a table of long-cold dishes and his ridiculous new sweater lay frozen. A wave of disappointment and resentment washed over him like an icy tide. He didn't reply, but silently dumped the food, cleaned up the kitchen, and curled up on the sofa, watching a boring TV show until the early hours of the morning, when he finally drifted off to sleep.
One day later, Ling Yao rushed back, exhausted, with expensive gifts - a limited edition watch and a huge bouquet of blue roses.
He opened the door of the villa with an apologetic smile on his face. Just as he was about to speak, he met Su Rui's unusually calm eyes. There was no anger or grievance in those eyes as he had expected, only a deep, unfathomable exhaustion.
"Rui Rui, I'm sorry, I..." Ling Yao went forward and wanted to hug him, but Su Rui gently dodged to the side.
"I threw away the food." Su Rui's voice was very calm, without even a trace of emotion. "I also took off my sweater."
Ling Yao's hands, holding the flowers and gifts, froze in mid-air, the smile on his face slowly fading: "I know you're angry, and I was wrong this time, but that event was really..."
"It's not important anymore." Su Rui interrupted him, raised her head, and looked straight at Ling Yao with long-suppressed emotions in her eyes. "Ling Yao, how many times has this kind of sudden change happened? The last time was my mother's death anniversary, and you said the crew was rushing to meet deadlines and couldn't ask for leave. The time before that was the opening of my photography exhibition, and you said there was an important press conference that conflicted. And there have been countless times, we agreed to have a video call, but you didn't show up even after I fell asleep..."
His voice began to tremble slightly. "Yes, you always have excuses: work, pressure, or being forced to do something. You always apologize and buy me more expensive gifts to make it up to me. But Ling Yao," he took a deep breath, as if he had exhausted all his strength, "love is not like that."
"Love isn't something you give me when it's convenient. It's not an expensive gift, it's not an apology afterward, and it's certainly not an option that always takes precedence over yourself and your work, something you can adjust at will!" Su Rui's eyes were red, but he fought back the tears. "Love requires time and effort to cultivate! It requires you to care about my feelings, to truly take to heart what you promised me, and to make me feel that even when you're busy... that you place me in an important position, not that I'll always be remembered when you're 'free'!"
These words were like a flood that had been pent up for too long, finally breaking through the dam. Su Rui finished speaking, her chest heaving violently, and she turned away, not wanting Ling Yao to see her losing control.
Ling Yao was completely stunned. The bouquet of roses in his hand slowly drooped. He had seen Su Rui look aggrieved, sad, and submissive, but he had never seen him express his dissatisfaction so clearly, so calmly, and so desperately. Those words, like a blunt knife, cut through the defenses he had built up with "busyness" and "compensation."
He looked at Su Rui's trembling back and realized for the first time how deeply his so-called "helplessness" and "compensation" had hurt Su Rui. He had been using material things and apologies to fill the void left by his absence, but he forgot that the void needed his time and sincerity to fill it.
After a brief, suffocating silence.
Ling Yao slowly put down the flowers and gifts, walked forward, and gently hugged Su Rui from behind. This time, Su Rui did not dodge, but her body was still stiff.
"I'm sorry, Ruirui." Ling Yao's voice was low and hoarse, filled with unprecedented seriousness and regret. It was no longer a perfunctory apology. "I'm really sorry. I was wrong."
He buried his face in the crook of Su Rui's neck, his voice muffled but unusually clear: "You're right. I'm too used to putting you in a waiting position, I ignored your feelings... I thought that as long as I could come back to you in the end, as long as the compensation was good enough, it would be fine... I was too selfish."
He tightened his arms, his tone becoming urgent and sincere: "Give me a chance, okay? I won't do this again. I will change, really. I will put what I promised you first and won't let you wait so long alone."
His apology was no longer superficial; he truly understood Su Rui's words and touched upon the core of the matter. Su Rui felt the warmth and the rare, humble plea coming from behind her, and her tense body slowly relaxed a little, the tears she had been holding back finally falling silently.
The conflict subsided temporarily, and the apology was accepted. But this time, something truly changed. Su Rui spoke out the deepest knot in her heart, and Ling Yao, for the first time, tried to mend the relationship not with force or gifts, but with confession and promises. It was a start, but the cracks had already appeared, and repairing them required sustained action, not just an apology.
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