29 Going home
I'm waiting for you at home.
"Can we not break up?"
His sorrow was like the river water hidden beneath the ice, the surging torrents crashing against the ice, the sound of the ice cracking so clearly.
Xu Huaihuai was completely stunned by Lin Xuyi's two sentences, one after the other. The difference was quite large, and her brain froze for a moment before she came to her senses.
"You think I said I wanted to go back because I wanted to break up?! What were you thinking? When I said I wanted to go back, I really just wanted to go home. Besides, aren't you going home for dinner soon? If I go back early, I can prepare the food. How could you even think of breaking up?"
Lin Xu only realized something at this moment. His eyes were filled with hope and excitement, yet he couldn't believe it. "You're going back..."
"Your home, of course." Xu Huaihuai put her hands behind her back, forcefully twisted off the extra ring. Her knuckles might be swollen, or her skin might be scraped, and it hurt, but she didn't care. She threw the ring away.
No one cared where the ring ended up, even though it traced a parabola.
Xu Huaihuai hugged Lin Xu tightly, "I can't help with Aunt's matter. I'll go back home and wait for you. You go up quickly, don't keep Xuelu waiting."
When Lin Xu returned, Xu Huaihuai was cutting potatoes. He washed his hands, took the knife from Xu Huaihuai, and continued cutting potato slices. Under his hands, the potato slices became uniform in thickness, neat and beautiful.
Xu Huaihuai helped him tie the bow on his apron and rested her face against his back. "How is Auntie? Has Xuelu gone back?"
"Auntie is fine. We talked to her for a while, and then she went back to sleep. My sister went home too. We'll go see Auntie again tomorrow. Don't worry."
The cleaver made a rhythmic tapping sound as it hit the cutting board, and Xu Huaihuai felt the warmth of his back. "When I called you this afternoon, I really just wanted you to come pick me up."
"I know."
"What I said to Ling Zhou later was not my true intention. I don't know why I said those things at the time, and the same goes for going to the Civil Affairs Bureau... I didn't want to marry him."
"Hmm," Lin Xu poured the chopped potatoes into a pot of hot water, blanched them, and took them out. "Is dry-pot potatoes okay?"
"Okay, you...you made a lot of calls and sent a lot of messages this afternoon." She originally thought that she might not be able to get her phone back since it was left at Ling Zhou's house, but she didn't expect that Ling Zhou would put it in her bag. As soon as she got back, she charged it and turned it on. Many missed calls from Lin Xu and a lot of messages popped up.
He must have been very anxious at the time. She felt very guilty. "I'm sorry for making you worry. I've blocked Ling Zhou. I will never, ever eat with him again, and I will never have any contact with him again."
She reassured her boyfriend, who lacked a sense of security.
Lin Xu recalled Xu Huaihuai's phone call.
"I don't mind, we can be together."
"What the hell?! Are you crazy?! What are you saying?!"
“You can continue to be my wife, and I won’t mind if you sleep with other people.”
"Ling Zhou, I don't know what's wrong with you, I can't talk to you anymore..."
"Weren't you investigating me? What, you don't care at all? You're still investigating whether I cheated on you even after the divorce?"
“As I said, if you want to reconcile, come to me anytime. With me, you will always have room for regret. You don’t need to be ingenious or go to great lengths.”
"Then let's remarry."
"good."
“Huaihuai, you came to me step by step on your own.”
...
Her panic, her outspokenness, her acquiescence—for a moment, he felt his heart stop beating, and he was almost overwhelmed by the fear of loss.
He forced himself to calm down. After Xu Huaihuai's call ended, he immediately contacted his sister Zhong Xuelu. The two siblings split up, one going to Ling Zhou's house and the other to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
As he sped toward Ling Zhou's house, he repeatedly dialed Xu Huaihuai's number but received no answer.
When he took Xu Huaihuai to Ling Zhou's house, the property management staff recognized him and assumed they were friends. They told him that Ling Zhou and his friends had already driven away.
The vehicle's license plate dashcam captured Ling Zhou's car. Xu Huaihuai was safely sitting in the passenger seat. He breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he felt very sad, as if he couldn't breathe and that sand and mud were burying him.
He was very fortunate that Zhong Xuelu arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau in time, and he was also very fortunate that she did not leave him.
But he also felt guilty about his possessiveness and selfishness.
“Sister Huai, you did nothing wrong. You don’t need to apologize. Don’t go against your own heart because of me. Whatever it is, you have the right to choose,” Lin Xu took a breath and tried to calm herself down. “You don’t need to take what I said in the hospital to heart. You don’t have to force yourself to respond to feelings.”
"Can you ignore what you said in the hospital?" Xu Huaihuai repeated, her expression strange. "Do you think I stayed here because of those 'I love you' words?"
Lin Xu didn't answer, which clearly meant that's what he thought.
Xu Huaihuai untied the apron she had tied for Lin Xu, pulled the apron off, and turned off the stove. She briefly instructed Lin Xu, "Wash your hands."
Lin Xu: "The dry-pot potatoes aren't ready yet."
To hell with the dry-pot potatoes!
"Why are you making potatoes? I don't want to make potatoes right now!"
Lin Xu seemed unprepared for Xu Huaihuai's sudden emotional outburst. He washed his hands, obediently asking with a puzzled look, "Then what are you doing?"
"Love!" Xu Huaihuai kissed her silly boyfriend, whose mind was completely consumed by nothing but dry-pot potatoes. What a waste of his height! Where did all that teasing go? Even unimportant people are taking advantage of him, and he, as the official wife, is still enduring the humiliation, all he knows is potatoes, potatoes!
Their lips pressed tightly together, sharing their most genuine warmth.
From initially disbelief at the arrival of good fortune to accepting it and taking control, Lin Xu only took 0.1 seconds.
It might not be that slow.
Xu Huaihuai felt as soon as her lips touched his, she was pulled around the waist and restrained in front of him, unable to escape the kiss.
His lips initially remained polite, but his tongue was not so polite, allowing the lips to touch and collide for a while before it couldn't wait for a deeper encounter.
Her teeth were forced open by his nimble tongue. She hesitated for a moment, then was utterly violated. Saliva was secreted and exchanged in their mouths. His passion made Xu Huaihuai want to back away. She grabbed Lin Xu's collar, and their lips parted slightly, a thin thread of clear liquid almost breaking.
Lin Xu opened his eyes and looked at her, his dark pupils bright, his desire and longing intense and clear.
Xu Huaihuai had just opened her eyes when she was lost in his deep kiss.
His hand on her waist gradually tightened, and the kiss lasted a long time.
Xu Huaihuai retaliated by biting his lip, but not too hard, afraid of leaving too deep a mark. Their breaths mingled, and she heard Lin Xu's slightly hoarse voice, "It's okay, you can bite harder."
Xu Huaihuai focused her energy elsewhere.
The area where Lin Xu had a mole on his chest was bruised and red. It might be a mark left by circling fingertips, or it could be a kiss mark.
Their breaths mingled, and Lin Xu supported Xu Huaihuai's waist, afraid that she would lose her balance.
"You seem to really like it here."
"Shh... Don't talk, don't move." Xu Huaihuai propped his elbow against his chest and pressed his fingertips to his lips as a warning.
Her long hair was slightly damp, and the skin that touched hers seemed wet.
Where did the water come from on the bed?
Lin Xu obediently stayed still, the veins on his arms bulging from the effort.
Xu Huaihuai tried her best to maintain her own rhythm. She cheered herself up in her heart, telling herself to relax and not to show any fear. She no longer felt the same difficulty as at the beginning.
"Lin Xu, I didn't leave because of what you said, 'I love you'..."
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she placed her hand on Lin Xu's shoulder with a little force. "It's because I love you."
She said, "I love you."
Lin Xu's breathing became heavier, and his body disobeyed Xu Huaihuai's order not to move. Xu Huaihuai cried out in surprise and subconsciously tried to get up, but Lin Xu wrapped his arms around her waist and held her firmly in place. Xu Huaihuai's eyes immediately welled up with tears. "Moving around will hurt."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't control myself." Lin Xu's forehead was sweaty, his breath as hot as his body temperature. He loosened his arms around her waist, but she moved closer to him again, whispering in his ear, "It's okay, I forgive you, but remember to buy me some ointment tomorrow, otherwise my back will hurt..."
"good."
"I will remember those three words you said in the hospital, I will always remember them."
"Hmm." He moved closer and said it again.
"Why are you so good-tempered, like Kapibala..."
"You think too highly of me. I have possessiveness too."
Xu Huaihuai quickly realized that this was a precaution, and for the next few hours, she did not leave his room.
When Xu Huaihuai came out after taking a shower, Lin Xu had already made the bed again. She slowly walked to the bedside and sat down. The environment was very comfortable and made her feel sleepy.
"Dry your hair before you sleep." Lin Xu noticed that she was a little sleepy, so he plugged in the hairdryer and dried her hair.
The wind, temperature, and distance were just right; there was no burning pain on my scalp, and not a single hair was pulled out.
My wet hair was dried very evenly.
"Okay, you can go to sleep now."
Lin Xu's hands seem to be good at doing anything.
He put away the hairdryer, turned off the light, and lay down next to Xu Huaihuai. "Go to sleep, aren't you sleepy?"
Xu Huaihuai grasped his hand, tracing his knuckles. "I want to talk to you. Can you feel it?"
"Hmm? You're touching my hand, I can feel it."
"No, that's not it!" Xu Huaihuai let go of his hand, then grabbed it back after a while and continued playing with it. "What I meant was, when I'm anxious, I really want to cuddle. Beauty really is a good medicine for healing the soul."
"Is it the same tonight?"
"Tonight is and isn't. I'm anxious because someone feels insecure, but I don't know what to do to put his mind at ease. However, anxiety is only part of the reason. More importantly, being with you is a very pleasant thing in itself. I want to confirm your existence and I also want you to know that we are equals in a relationship. I don't want you to feel insecure."
"Hmm..." he said softly, "I'm so lucky."
He nestled in her arms, and she stroked his neat, thick hair, saying, "You'll always be lucky."
Potato chips lying in the kitchen gradually oxidizing are not so lucky.
[Author's Note]
Potato: I didn't do anything wrong [melted]
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