Chapter 46
With Shen Bining's consent, Chen Nian went home and told Qi Wang about Shen Bining's situation.
After listening, Qi Wang stroked his chin and muttered thoughtfully, "So that's the reason. She's quite sensitive. Ordinary people like us wouldn't dwell on such a life-or-death matter, yet she, a doctor, can't let it go."
Chen Nian glanced at Qi Wang and protested, "I've already made things clear about Ningning. The key issue isn't her; it's clearly your good brother. What does he mean? Is he against marriage? Does he want to become a monk?"
"My dear Nian, don't you know that monks can marry? Have you seen the news lately? There's a famous monk who not only got married and had children, but also had countless mistresses and illegitimate children. Most men aren't as carefree as him." Qi Wang hugged Chen Nian, kissed her hard twice, and said with a smile.
"Judging from your tone, you seem quite envious?" Chen Nian rolled her eyes at Qi Wang and deliberately provoked him, "If Young Master Qi has such thoughts, he can also do it. With your looks and wealth, you can support yourself to have many mistresses outside."
Upon hearing this, Qi Wang thought to himself, "This is bad, it's coming for me." He quickly raised three fingers of his right hand and swore to the heavens, "I have no interest whatsoever. I don't even care about any of the fancy flags outside. I just want the red flag at home to stay in place."
Chen Nian couldn't help but laugh out loud. She reached out and pinched Qi Wang's cheek, teasingly saying, "You grew up in America, yet you know a whole bunch of Chinese jokes. Okay, enough joking around, let's get down to business. What about Ningning and Tang Hui? We agreed to play matchmaker. Do you know anything about Tang Hui? Does Brother Song know?"
Just as Qi Wang was about to show off in front of his wife, Chen Nian suddenly widened her eyes, covered her mouth with both hands, and made an incredulous guess: "Could he be gay? I heard that this kind of thing is more common in Europe and America, and they don't think there's any problem with it. It seems like same-sex marriage is legal. If that's the case, he's still a good man for not finding a woman to trick him into marriage."
Qi Wang was almost amused by his wife's wild imagination. After kissing her a few more times, he said smugly, "I know about Tang Hui's inner conflict. You can just ask me."
Upon hearing this, Chen Nian's eyes widened, and after a long while, she said irritably, "I knew you shouldn't have said so earlier, making me guess all the time. I was so worried about the two of them, and you actually kept it a secret."
Qi Wang protested with a wronged expression, "I think the same way you do. I thought it was Bi Ning's problem that prevented the two of them from being together. And to be honest, Tang Hui's situation is also quite unsolvable."
Then, at Chen Nian's urging, Qi Wang recounted in detail what Tang Hui had told him and Song Ziyi that day.
“Wife, you’re studying medicine, so you should be familiar with genetics, right? Tang Hui’s inner conflict can be completely explained by genetics,” Qi Wang said.
Chen Nian looked at Qi Wang with confusion, then suddenly seemed to understand something and asked cautiously, "Although there is not enough scientific evidence yet, our medical community generally believes that if both parents are cancer patients, then their children have a higher chance of getting cancer than others. So Tang Hui is afraid that he is more likely to get cancer in the future. It's no wonder he thinks that way, since both his parents are cancer patients."
Chen Nian thought she had guessed correctly, but Qi Wang shook his head and said with a strange expression, "It's not that simple. You should know how Tang Hui's mother died, right?"
“It was his father who killed him,” Chen Nian murmured.
Qi Wang sighed and said with a sigh, "Tang Hui thinks his father killed his wife and had violent tendencies. He is afraid that he will become like his father in the future."
*
After learning about their two friends' inner conflicts, Chen Nian and Qi Wang spent the whole night discussing it and decided to step in to help them resolve their issues.
The best way is to talk things out face-to-face.
So the next day, the young couple separately met with the awkward soon-to-be couple, and the meetings were conducted in a cross-cutting manner—Chen Nian spoke with Tang Hui as Shen Bining's best friend; Qi Wang spoke with Shen Bining as Tang Hui's brother.
Things went more smoothly than expected. When Tang Hui and Shen Bining learned about each other's inner conflicts, they both felt that the other was making a mountain out of a molehill.
So, taking advantage of the momentum, Chen Nian and Qi Wang organized a gathering, inviting Tang Hui and Shen Bining to their home for hot pot, which also provided a quiet place for the two to open up and talk things out.
This was the first time the two had met after their contract ended. The moment their eyes met, they realized that the longing they felt for each other was far greater than they had imagined, and they truly understood their own feelings.
So this is how much I like him/her.
Qi Wang pointed to the living room and said with a smile, "My wife and I are going to the kitchen to prepare the food. We'll leave the living room to you. Make sure you have something to say before we come out, or you won't get another chance like this."
After saying that, he pulled Chen Nian into the kitchen and closed the sliding door, leaving space for Tang Hui and Shen Bining to have a heart-to-heart talk.
*
Meeting again in a different identity and situation, Shen Bining couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. She didn't even dare to look Tang Hui in the eye. She sat down awkwardly on the sofa, her mind a mess, desperately trying to think of something to talk about to ease the awkwardness.
"Should we ask about Zhou Nianhua?" Shen Bining swallowed the words back, feeling that this topic might be too much of a sore spot for Tang Hui. But without using this topic as a starting point, she didn't know how to bring it up...
Just as she was struggling with this decision, she suddenly felt the sofa next to her sink down—had Tang Hui sat down next to her, or was he sitting right next to her?
Shen Bining's heart seemed to leap into her throat, as if for a moment her arms and legs felt numb and she could hardly breathe.
A heat emanated from a young man beside her, and Shen Bining felt as if her heart was melting from the heat. Her blood began to boil, and her mind became so muddled that she couldn't even speak.
Immediately afterwards, a hand reached out and tentatively grasped her hand, which had become cold from nervousness. Seeing that she did not refuse, it boldly and firmly held her hand.
"Bi Ning, Qi Wang should have told you about my situation. Is there anything you want to say?" Tang Hui's voice came softly, carrying a cautious probing and nervousness.
Knowing that the other person was just as nervous, Shen Bining suddenly felt much better. She looked up at Tang Hui with a hint of sympathy, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that murder is hereditary."
Tang Hui smiled wryly after hearing this, but did not reply.
Shen Bining felt a pang of heartache and took Tang Hui's hand in return, comforting him, "I always felt there was a hidden reason behind your father's actions back then. He wasn't necessarily a truly evil person, and you can tell from the attitude of the prison guards towards him. Think about it, those prison guards have seen countless vicious criminals. Whether a person is good or bad at heart, it's impossible to hide it from them, and you can't pretend in front of them. But when your father was seriously ill, they were willing to help him arrange hospice services, just to fulfill his last wish and let him pass away peacefully. This is enough to show that your father might have had his reasons for killing your mother back then. When I went to see him, he implied the same thing, but he insisted on saying it only in front of you, which led to all these things that happened later."
Tang Hui didn't know if Shen Bining's words were meant to comfort him or were serious, but undeniably, he felt much better after hearing them, and the huge weight in his heart was finally lifted.
So what she meant was that my dad wasn't a bad person, and she didn't mind that I had a father like that.
Tang Hui encouraged himself inwardly. He took a deep breath, locked his gaze firmly on Shen Bining, and mustered his courage to ask seriously, word by word, "Since you don't mind my knot in my heart, and you've untied your own knot, then Miss Shen Bining, would you be willing to date me?"
*
"Tang Hui was able to get married thanks to my wife and me. My wife and I worked hard to make his good relationship with Bining happen. The two of them confessed their feelings to each other in my living room and got together."
Many years later, when the eight of them gathered together, Qi Wang would still bring up this sentence repeatedly, especially in front of Song Ziyi and when he was drunk.
Several times, Qi Wang was clearly drunk, muttering the same phrase repeatedly while proudly patting Tang Hui's shoulder, his eyes full of satisfaction and gratification.
People could even read another unspoken thought in his eyes—that the reason you didn't end up alone is thanks to your father's help.
At these times, Shen Bining's face would turn red, while Tang Hui would give Qi Wang a cold look, plotting how to get this talkative guy drunk to death later.
After that hotpot dinner, Tang Hui and Shen Bining officially established a romantic relationship. The two were no longer just a contractual couple, and were finally able to get rid of their past grievances and start a serious and committed relationship.
They cherish their hard-won happiness and consider themselves not sentimental people. Perhaps it's because their partner is the one they can be with that they can open their hearts and be together without any preconceived notions. If it were someone else, the outcome might be different.
Tang Hui and Shen Bining knew that they were essentially the same kind of people—it was difficult for them to fall in love with someone—so they cherished each other all the more. They both knew that if they missed each other, they would probably be alone for the rest of their lives.
Shen Bining had to admit that her previous guess that "it would be very prestigious to bring Tang Hui out if he really was her boyfriend" was very accurate, even more so.
Tang Hui is truly a perfect boyfriend. In stark contrast to his aloof and indifferent exterior, he treats his beloved with a completely different attitude: caring, considerate, generous, sincere, and always ready to help...
Although this was Shen Bining's first relationship, Tang Hui completely fulfilled all her fantasies about boyfriends, and their relationship was the kind of love she had always dreamed of.
She no longer needed to envy any woman immersed in sweet love, because she was now one of them.
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