34 Chapter 34
Injured
As the night deepened, the neon lights outside the window cast mottled shadows through the gauze curtains across the room. Sang Xinqi and Liao Yishen sat on the sofa in the living room, two glasses of wine placed on the coffee table, but each took only a few sips.
"Hmm..." Sang Xinqi suddenly shook her head, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, "I feel so dizzy..." Before she finished her words, she fell limply into Liao Yishen's arms.
Liao Yishen's body stiffened instantly, and his arms subconsciously wrapped around her slender waist. "I'll take you back to rest."
His voice was a little tight, and his Adam's apple rolled unconsciously.
"No~" Sang Xinqi dragged out her tone and coquettishly, struggling to lift herself up from his arms. Her blurry, drunken eyes stared straight at Liao Yishen's angular profile, and suddenly she smiled foolishly, "You're so beautiful..."
Before Liao Yishen could react, a pair of soft little hands had already held his cheeks. The girl's breath with the scent of wine was so close that Liao Yishen should have avoided it, but his body seemed to be under a spell and could not move.
The soft lips pressed against mine.
This sudden kiss made Liao Yishen's brain go blank, and then like a piece of dry wood being ignited, he instinctively deepened the kiss.
When he finally regained his composure and let go, Sang Xinqi's lips were already shining with an alluring moisture.
"Wait, wait..." Liao Yishen grabbed her hand that was unbuttoning his shirt with an unstable breath.
Sang Xinqi tilted her head, her drunken eyes brimming with cunning, "What are you waiting for?" She deliberately dragged out the ending of her words, scratching people's hearts like a kitten's paw.
Liao Yishen was speechless for a moment, but the person in his arms had already curled up into a ball, rubbing his furry head against his chest, "I'm so sleepy..."
The sound became smaller and smaller, and finally turned into the sound of even breathing.
Liao Yishen looked at the person in his arms helplessly for a while, picked him up, and walked towards the opposite door.
Moonlight shone through the gap in the curtains onto the bed. Liao Yishen gently placed the sleeping girl on the soft bed. His fingertips accidentally brushed her flushed cheek, then retracted as if he had been electrocuted. He sighed softly, turned around and walked into the bathroom.
The warm water soaked the towel, and Liao Yishen gently wiped off her makeup. The skin under the makeup remover cotton was naturally rosy, and her long eyelashes cast fine shadows under the light. His fingertips trembled slightly when they touched her cheek, for fear of waking her from this beautiful dream.
"Hmm..." Sang Xinqi turned over unconsciously in her sleep, and her collar opened slightly with the movement.
Liao Yishen hurriedly turned his eyes away, carefully helped her take off her coat, and quickly pulled the quilt over her to wrap her tightly.
Before leaving, he stood at the door and looked back.
The girl was sleeping soundly under the moonlight, with a faint smile on her lips. Liao Yishen closed the door gently. The moment he closed it, he raised his hand to hold down his still pounding heart.
-
When Sang Xinqi woke up, her throat was dry as if it had been burned by fire. The heavy curtains completely blocked out the outside light, and the room was so dim that she couldn't tell whether it was morning or night. She fumbled in the quilt for a long time before finding her cell phone. She squinted her sore eyes to check the time - 5:03 in the morning.
She threw away her phone, closed her eyes to ease the dizziness brought by the hangover, but suddenly she sat up with a start.
"Yesterday..." She rubbed her temples, her memories like shredded paper, only a few fragments piecing together – Liao Yishen's tense jawline, her boldly holding his face, and...she actually tried to rip his clothes off?!
"......" Sang Xinqi covered her burning cheeks with her hands. Her fingertips could feel the heat under her skin. She was so bold after drinking that it was really outrageous.
Her mouth was so dry that she couldn't sleep, so she dragged her heavy body to the kitchen. While boiling water, she leaned against the sink, staring blankly at the white mist bubbling out of the kettle.
After a while, the warm water went down her throat and finally relieved some of the discomfort. She returned to bed, thinking she would toss and turn in bed, but unexpectedly she slept until noon.
"Ten twenty?" Sang Xinqi exclaimed, staring at her phone. She rushed to the bathroom in a panic. Her eyelids were still slightly swollen in the mirror. She quickly splashed cold water on her face twice. "Oh no, I'm late again."
After quickly packing up, I rushed to the studio.
After a busy day, I finally got off work. As I was packing up, my phone on the table vibrated. Jiang Xun's name popped up. Sang Xinqi took a look and answered:
"Sangsang, do you have anything to do after get off work tonight?"
"Nothing!"
"Come to my house for dinner. My mom said she hasn't seen you in a long time."
"Okay, I haven't seen Aunt Jiang for a long time."
After hanging up the phone, Sang Xinqi left the studio. On the way to Jiang Xun's house, she bought some fruits to bring over.
When Sang Xinqi arrived at the Jiang family's house, Aunt Jiang had already prepared a sumptuous meal. The aroma of food wafted through the living room, and under the warm yellow light, Aunt Jiang was bringing the last dish of soup to the table.
"Sangsang," Aunt Jiang's eyes lit up when she looked up and saw her standing at the entrance. "Come in! It's been a long time since we last met. You've really changed."
She walked quickly forward, looking Sang Xinqi up and down, her eyes full of love.
Sang Xinqi placed the fruit gift box on the shoe cabinet, smiled and walked over to hug Aunt Jiang, "Aunt Jiang hasn't changed much, she's still so young and beautiful."
Aunt Jiang touched her cheek, and a few fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes from smiling. "Oh, I'm getting old. Look at my face, the wrinkles can't be hidden anymore."
Even so, his tone was full of intimacy.
"Mom," Jiang Xun poked his head out of the kitchen, "Let's eat first. The food is getting cold."
"Yes, yes, yes," Aunt Jiang nodded repeatedly and pulled Sang Xinqi towards the restaurant. "Sangsang must be hungry."
At this time, Uncle Jiang came out of the kitchen carrying a few bottles of drinks. Seeing Sang Xinqi, he smiled and said, "Sangsang, you're here! Just in time, I just squeezed some orange juice, which was your favorite when you were a kid."
After exchanging pleasantries, they took their seats. Aunt Jiang helped Sang Xinqi with a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs. "How's your mother? I saw her once when I was traveling abroad two years ago, but I haven't had the chance to see her in the past two years."
"She's fine," Sang Xinqi took the ribs, "and she said she'd invite you to dinner when she gets back."
There was a lot of joy at the table, with cheerful laughter ringing out from time to time.
After dinner, Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang cleaned up the dishes and went to the kitchen, while Jiang Xun mysteriously pulled Sang Xinqi into the study.
"Play a game for a while," Jiang Xun took out two game controllers from the desk drawer and winked at her.
Sang Xinqi took the controller and sat down on the carpet with familiarity. "Let's play 'It Takes Two'."
Jiang Xun nodded and debugged the game on TV.
After the game started, the two cooperated tacitly to pass the levels, teasing each other from time to time.
"By the way," Jiang Xun suddenly tilted his head and asked, "How are you and Brother Liao doing lately?"
Sang Xinqi stared at the screen, her fingers deftly manipulating the character. "You're in the same company with him every day, and you still ask me?"
Jiang Xun curled his lips, "You know him, he keeps everything to himself and never tells me."
Sang Xinqi sighed softly, "Aren't you two the best at playing together?"
"No matter how good I am, I can't compare to you," Jiang Xun sighed, and his hands slowed down. "I'm not as good as you in getting into people's hearts."
Sang Xinqi's fingers paused, then returned to normal, and quickly pressed the button on the handle.
"There's something...I've never told you." Jiang Xun put down the handle, his tone suddenly becoming serious.
"What's the matter?" Sang Xinqi also paused the game and turned to look at him.
Jiang Xun hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke, "Eight years ago, on the day you left... he bought a case of wine and came to me, asking me to drink with him."
The controller in Sang Xinqi's hand fell to the carpet with a "clack". "What did he...say?"
"I didn't say anything," Jiang Xun shook his head, his eyes drifting out the window. "I just kept drinking. In the end... I drank so much that I had stomach bleeding and was sent to the hospital."
Sang Xinqi stood up suddenly, her brows furrowed. "How could this happen? Why didn't you tell me then?"
"He wouldn't let me tell you, and there's no point in telling you since you're already gone," Jiang Xun said with a wry smile. "Since then, he rarely drinks, unless it's a social engagement he can't refuse."
Sang Xinqi clenched her fists, her voice trembling, "So what will happen if he drinks now?"
"It's okay to drink a little, but if you drink too much..." Jiang Xun looked at her worriedly, "Your stomach will still hurt."
Sang Xinqi's heart suddenly sank, and her fingertips unconsciously dug into her palm. A few days ago, when discussing cooperation with Mr. Zhang, Liao Yishen had indeed drunk quite a bit. That night, he was even drunk and blocked her at the door...
"A few days ago," Jiang Xun's voice brought her back to reality, "he called me in the middle of the night and said he had unbearable stomach pain and asked me to take him to the hospital."
"A few days ago?" Sang Xinqi's voice suddenly rose, then dropped again. "When did it happen? How come I didn't know anything about it?"
Jiang Xun rubbed his temples helplessly. "You two..." He hesitated. "He refused to knock on your door even though he was in so much pain. He had to pull me out of bed in the middle of the night. When I arrived, I found out it was because of a little quarrel between you two."
Sang Xinqi suddenly felt difficulty breathing, and her heart seemed to be tightly gripped by an invisible hand. That afternoon, in order to thank Xu Jianian for introducing the project to her, she accompanied him to the movies and ate hot pot. When she came back, she was suddenly stopped by him in the community. He said a few harsh words with a cold face, and she left angrily.
She was so angry at the time that she didn't notice anything at all.
"How much did he drink?" Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. "I just know that he reeked of alcohol that day."
"I don't know," Jiang Xun sighed. "The doctor said his gastric mucosa was bleeding again. He needed three bottles of IV drips before he recovered. It was already seven in the morning when he came back from the hospital. He bought you breakfast and then closed the shop."
Sang Xinqi's vision suddenly blurred.
Thinking about it, she felt very sad. They lived next door to each other. He was in so much pain that he would rather disturb Jiang Xun in the middle of the night than... Was he unwilling or afraid to come to her?
The game sound effects in the study were still playing cheerfully, in stark contrast to her current mood. She mechanically picked up the dropped controller, but found that her hands were shaking violently.
She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to ask.
Jiang Xun looked at her pale face and patted her shoulder gently. "I thought you didn't know that he couldn't drink, but he wouldn't tell you. In case he bothers me again next time, I'll tell you."
Sang Xinqi pursed her lips, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Jiang Xun: “…”
"I drank with him yesterday," said Sang Xinqi.
Jiang Xun, "I give in. Are you trying to kill yourself?"
Sang Xinqi no longer had the heart to continue playing games. She gently placed the controller on the carpet and said in a hoarse voice, "I have to go back."
Seeing that her expression was not right, Jiang Xun quickly stood up and said, "I'll take you there."
When the two of them walked out of the study, Aunt Jiang was in the living room clearing the fruit plates. She was a little surprised to see them come out, "Leaving so early?"
"Aunt Jiang, I'll come see you another day," Sang Xinqi forced a smile.
As she walked out of the community, the night wind carried the chill of early winter. Sang Xinqi stopped and the dim light from the street lamp cast mottled shadows on her pale face.
"Next time he has something wrong," she said softly but firmly, "please tell me."
Jiang Xun hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded, "Okay."
Just as they were about to move forward, a dark shadow suddenly rushed out from the green belt. With the dim light of the street lamp, Sang Xinqi saw a cold light piercing Jiang Xun's back.
"Be careful!" She pushed Jiang Xun away almost instinctively, and then felt a sharp pain in her right arm. Warm liquid flowed down her arm, staining her sleeves red.
"Sangsang!" Jiang Xun finally reacted and side-kicked the attacker to the ground. He frantically pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling. "I'll call an ambulance!"
"Call the police first," Sang Xinqi said through gritted teeth, the wound was burning with pain.
The woman lying on the ground suddenly laughed crazily, "You scumbag! Why don't you just die!"
Sang Xinqi covered her arm and looked at Jiang Xun, "What's your relationship?"
Jiang Xun looked bewildered, "I don't even know her!"
Just after calling the police, a young man came running in breathlessly. After seeing the scene, he punched and kicked the woman on the ground, "You crazy!"
"Stop!" Sang Xinqi shouted, enduring the pain.
The man raised his head, his face filled with fear. "She, she has mental problems. I'll pay you back, any amount is fine!"
The woman curled up on the ground, muttering, "Don't hit me... I'm going to kill you..."
The sound of sirens came closer and closer, and the man's expression suddenly became ferocious. Jiang Xun immediately protected Sang Xinqi and took a few steps back.
The police quickly took control of the scene. While understanding the situation, medical staff first gave Sang Xinqi a simple bandage. After the ambulance arrived, she was sent to the hospital.
In the emergency room, the doctor carefully examined the wound and said, "Fortunately, I was wearing thick clothes, so the wound wasn't very deep."
While treating the wound, the doctor said, "Don't touch water during this period, and avoid spicy food."
Although the wound was not deep, she still broke out in cold sweats due to the pain during the treatment.
After the bandage was done, her right arm was hung across her chest. The white bandage was particularly eye-catching. Jiang Xun looked at Sang Xinqi with emotion, "Sangsang, thank you. If not, I might have just laid down."
Sang Xinqi waved her hands, "If it weren't for the fact that you're my childhood friend, I really wouldn't want to block it. It hurts so much."
Jiang Xun said with a playful smile, "Let me serve you these few days to repay you for saving my life."
Sang Xinqi looked at him and said, "This isn't what should happen."
Jiang Xun was about to speak when the door of the ward was suddenly pushed open. A tall figure stood at the door, his coat still feeling the coolness of the night breeze.
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