lifetime
Chapter 31: A Lifetime
After those three days, the relationship between Bai Ke and Chen Yiyu entered a delicate stage.
They would chat sporadically on WeChat, discussing everything from work details to what to have for dinner, as if testing each other, yet also as if maintaining a tacit understanding of some kind of balance. Neither of them brought up those three days of daily companionship, nor did they confirm their current relationship.
At 11 o'clock on Friday night, Bai Ke had just finished taking a shower when the doorbell rang. She looked out the peephole and was surprised to see Chen Yiyu standing outside the door, his tie hanging loosely and his face clearly drunk.
"What are you doing..." Bai Ke had just opened the door when Chen Yiyu staggered and leaned against the door frame.
"Sorry..." He rubbed his temples, his eyes blurry. "I drank too much at a social event and it was too far from home, so I walked here."
Bai Ke smelled the strong smell of alcohol on him and quickly helped him in: "How much did you drink?"
"I don't remember." Chen Yiyu leaned on the sofa with his eyes closed. "The client was very difficult to deal with. He kept trying to get me to drink..." He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Bai Ke seriously. "But I remember your address, and my body walked here on its own."
Bai Ke's heart moved slightly: "Please sit for a while, I'll go get you a glass of honey water."
When she came out of the kitchen with water, she found that Chen Yiyu was no longer on the sofa. The bedroom door was ajar, and she pushed it open to see him lying on her bed with his clothes on, already asleep.
Moonlight shone through the gap in the curtains, falling on his peaceful sleeping face. Lost in the shrewdness and competence of the day, he now resembled a defenseless child. Bai Ke gently tucked him in and prepared to sleep on the sofa in the living room.
Just as she turned around, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Don't go..." Chen Yiyu muttered in a daze. With a little force, Bai Ke lost his balance and fell on the bed.
Before she could get up, Chen Yiyu had already naturally put his arms around her waist and buried his head in the crook of her neck, sighing with satisfaction like a child who had found a safe place.
"Chen Yiyu..." Bai Ke pushed him gently, but found that he hugged her even tighter.
"Bai Ke..." He called her name in his dream, his voice vague but gentle, "This time... I won't let you go again..."
Bai Ke's heart softened completely. She lay quietly beside him, listening to his even breathing and feeling the warmth of his embrace. Something seemed to be quietly changing that night.
The next morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the curtains. Chen Yiyu woke up first and found himself holding Bai Ke in his arms. He froze instantly.
He tried to pull his arm back cautiously, but Bai Ke opened his eyes.
"Awake?" Her voice was lazy, as if she had just woken up.
Chen Yiyu was suddenly at a loss: "I'm sorry, I drank too much last night... Did I cause you any trouble?"
Bai Ke sat up, deliberately putting on a stern face: "Yeah, you took my bed and held me tightly. How do you think I should compensate you?"
Chen Yiyu looked at her pretending to be angry and suddenly smiled. He reached out and gently stroked her cheek, his eyes softly saying, "Then I'll give you my whole life as compensation. Is that enough?"
The air seemed to freeze at that moment. Sunlight streamed between them, and tiny dust particles danced in the beam of light.
Bai Ke leaned over and asked softly, "Are you... serious?"
"I couldn't be more serious." Chen Yiyu hugged Bai Ke, "Bai Ke, in the past two years, there hasn't been a single day that I haven't thought about you. When I was taking care of you for those three days, I couldn't imagine life without you."
His eyes were sincere and fervent. "I know there are still many issues between us that need to be resolved, the Qiu family's affairs, my mother's side...but this time, I don't want to escape anymore."
Tears welled up in Bai Ke's eyes. She had been waiting for these words for so long.
"You know," she whispered, "last night when you fell asleep, you kept holding me. I was thinking, how nice it would be if I could see you every day when I wake up."
Chen Yiyu's eyes flashed with surprise, and he kissed her forehead: "Then it's settled. From today on, I am yours, and you can command me for the rest of my life."
Bai Ke smiled in his arms, but tears kept flowing. This hug, spanning a long time, finally had no more hesitation or retreat.
Outside the window, the morning sun bathed the earth, marking the beginning of a new day. Their story, finally, had begun a new chapter. They could finally hold hands and walk towards the future they had longed for.
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