Chapter 129, Chapter 30: The Lost Manor
That night.
A shimmering light appeared in the darkness, the silver threads, gemstones and diamonds on the gradient deep blue fabric reflecting a dazzling brilliance.
The beautiful woman, heavily made up and dressed in her finest attire, left a faint scent of perfume wherever she went—or more precisely, a faint scent of perfume wherever her wheelchair passed.
Li Yufei sat in a daze in her wheelchair, surrounded by dozens of other wheelchairs on either side of her.
As far as the eye could see, a large number of people sat in wheelchairs, while people in suits and ties, dressed in formal attire, propelled their wheelchairs forward under the moonlight.
The electric wheelchair moved forward smoothly and quietly.
With her backrest adjusted, Li Yufei reclined in her wheelchair, the stars and moon overhead, with Cheng Yuzhou, also in a wheelchair, beside her.
The night was cool and still, with a gentle breeze blowing.
Walking together in wheelchairs, gazing into each other's eyes, the joys and sorrows of the past twenty-two years since we met flashed before my eyes.
"What the hell is this?" Li Yufei sat up. How did we end up living like old age? We haven't even had sex yet, not even once, and we've already jumped to this point?
"Are you feeling unwell?" Cheng Yuzhou took off his suit jacket, folded it into a small pillow, and said, "It will feel better if you put it behind your back."
“Ang is indeed better.” Li Yufei lay back down.
Two hours ago, amidst everyone's anticipation, Cheng Yuzhou shared his thoughts.
He wants to open a wheelchair shop.
The reason is that the holy war requires continuous movement throughout the day. Bicycles are tiring, and electric vehicles cannot go up and down the steps in the scenic area. Considering all factors, he believes that wheelchairs are the most convenient and can also be used as a means of transportation in daily life, making everyone's life easier.
The proposal was met with overwhelming support and was strongly endorsed by the people who had worked tirelessly during the holy war. It was ultimately passed with 39 votes.
After Cheng Yuzhou confirmed with the priest, a shop immediately lit up on the virtual map.
The group rushed over and found that the empty room that had been used for business recruitment had been transformed into a wheelchair shop.
The shop assistant wasn't one of those rigid, stereotypical human believers, but rather a wingless little ant, like a waiter in a banquet hall.
The electric wheelchairs in the store vary in price and function. The most basic electric wheelchair requires 2 faith points, which is affordable for most people; while the most advanced stair-climbing electric wheelchair requires 4 faith points.
This excludes items of the "gray faith" type. Cheng Yuzhou changed two vehicles, one for Li Yufei and one for an elderly woman among the tourists with a knee injury who couldn't walk for long periods. He himself changed to a 3-point road wheelchair.
This was the first time in Li Yufei's life that she had sat in a wheelchair. Before sitting in it, she resisted and disliked it, but after sitting in it, she was amazed. The stability and comfort of the seat were even better than the luxury cars she had sat in.
She gripped the steering lever on the handrail and spun around five or six times in place, the motion smooth and effortless, without feeling dizzy at all.
Under the moonlight, wheelchairs returned to their respective homes, and everyone's faces were filled with the joy of getting a new car.
Li Yufei's wheelchair can even go up and down stairs automatically, and she curiously found an empty staircase to test drive it.
"Hold on for me," she instructed Cheng Yuzhou to support her from behind, adding worriedly, "Don't let me fall."
“Okay, I got it.” Cheng Yuzhou gripped the handle behind his back.
"We must catch it!" Li Yufei turned her head to confirm, then, with her back to the stairs, pressed the button to go upstairs.
The tracks that were stored behind the wheelchair were lowered, and the two tracks were attached to the stairs, carrying the wheelchair up like a conveyor belt.
"Ah!" Li Yufei cried out as her feet left the ground, gripping the handrail tightly.
Cheng Yuzhou quickly said, "I'm holding on, I'm holding on tight, I won't let you fall."
Once Li Yufei was airborne, she remembered the most crucial question: "Can you hold on tight?!"
She weighs 200 pounds with her wheelchair on. Does Cheng Yuzhou have that kind of strength?
“I can catch it,” Cheng Yuzhou said, then added softly after a moment, “Feifei, I work out.”
He wasn't as weak as she had imagined.
Li Yufei was completely absorbed in her wheelchair and didn't understand her boyfriend's euphemistic expression at all.
She leaned back slightly, like a can, as she was smoothly and steadily transported from downstairs to upstairs by the conveyor belt.
Li Yufei tried going downstairs again, the speed was still steady, but the visual experience was more exciting than going upstairs. She held Cheng Yuzhou's hand tightly and kept calling out, "Hold on tight to me, hold on tight to me, don't let go, don't let go!"
Cheng Yuzhou quickly reassured her, "Feifei, I'm holding you, I'm holding you."
"Ah!! Don't let go! Don't let go! Don't let go of me!"
Their voices carried, and Dean, passing by on the other side of the flower wall, couldn't help but turn his head.
What are these two doing, saying "Hold on tight" and "I won't let go" in the middle of the night? It's so cheesy.
He was about to pull Song Xiaona over to make fun of them when he turned around and saw that Song Xiaona's face was ashen.
Roses climbed the black fence around the garden's perimeter. Through the gaps in the red and green, Song Xiaona gazed intently at the two people on the other side.
The roses concealed the true nature of the cage; beneath the blooming flowers lay nothing but dark steel bars.
Outside the cage of roses lie eerie and unpredictable tales, while inside lies a dreamlike romance, like that of an amusement park.
She was blocked by the fence and could not find an opportunity to be alone with Li Yufei, while Li Yufei was so engrossed in her own world that she forgot to look back at her.
Song Xiaona watched for a long time, but Li Yufei never noticed her.
There won't be another chance today, she sighed, "Let's go."
Dean hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded: "Okay."
"Phew..." Li Yufei landed safely, covered in sweat.
She sat in her wheelchair for a moment, savoring the moment, "That was fun, let's do it again!"
She skillfully maneuvered her wheelchair back to the first step and said to Cheng Yuzhou with great interest, "I'll play one more time, and then you can play."
Cheng Yuzhou chuckled, "I'm not in a hurry."
Feeling more confident the second time, Li Yufei relaxed considerably. She jumped down and offered Cheng Yuzhou a seat, saying, "Here, you try it. I'll support you from behind."
"It's alright, you can sit down."
"Oh, sit down!" she said, pressing him down. "This chair is really comfortable, more comfortable than any of your cars. Press here to go upstairs."
Without a word, she pressed the switch for him, and before Cheng Yuzhou could object, the tracks began to move.
He paused for a moment, and Li Yufei laughed from behind: "Do you feel like a can of food?"
With his body slightly tilted back, Cheng Yuzhou couldn't see where he was going, but he could see the night sky, the stars, the moon, and Li Yufei's face.
A few strands of her long hair brushed against Cheng Yuzhou's forehead as she chased after him, asking, "Was it fun? Was it fun? Was it fun?"
Fun?
It's just a matter of being in a wheelchair; it's out of necessity, so what does it have to do with enjoyment?
But her eyes were bright and piercing, and her burning emotions made those fox-like eyes shine even brighter than the jewels and diamonds on her body.
She used strong and domineering emotions to control him without explanation, ordering him to be as happy and laugh as she was.
A strand of hair brushed against the corner of her lips, leaving a lingering fragrance. Cheng Yuzhou's Adam's apple bobbed as he answered her, "Mmm, fun."
“Right—” Li Yufei’s smile deepened instantly, and she raised her hand to tug at her hair, “It’ll be even more exciting down there.”
She went around the wheelchair to help him, and Cheng Yuzhou told her without asking, "Get down, it's okay, I can hold you with one hand."
"Don't look at me," Cheng Yuzhou said worriedly. "You're still wearing high heels; it's not safe on the steps."
"No, you helped me up just now, so I want to help you up too."
As the wheelchair descended the stairs, Cheng Yuzhou nervously watched Li Yufei's footing, afraid she might accidentally trip and fall.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief after getting over the last step.
"Look how scared you are." Li Yufei mistook his relief for fear of going downstairs. "Why are you so timid?"
She ruffled Cheng Yuzhou's hair and pulled him into her arms. "Alright, alright, we've landed."
Cheng Yuzhou opened his eyes.
The pearls and diamonds on her chest were like a thin layer of armor, subtly repelling him. The embrace wasn't soft, but her fragrance and voice were like a handful of crushed roses.
He was stunned by this little-known tenderness. Before he could recover, the epiphyllum had already faded. Li Yufei comforted him and immediately changed the subject: "Hey, let me sit here."
She ran to Cheng Yuzhou's wheelchair, and as soon as it started moving, she exclaimed in surprise, "How come yours is so fast! Wow!"
Seeing that she almost lunged forward, Cheng Yuzhou quickly ran towards her, shouting, "Watch out!"
Li Yufei didn't stop; instead, she became even more excited and immediately pushed the speed to the maximum, exclaiming in delight as she watched the wind rush by: "My God, Cheng Yuzhou, what is this? A race car? How can it be so fast!"
The top speed of road-type electric wheelchairs can reach 16 kilometers per hour, which is not fast, but it is already far ahead of other wheelchairs.
Li Yufei rushed out, the wind blowing her hair wildly, and shouted, "Ahhh, what is this! A technological broom! I'm going to become a witch!"
"Feifei, stop!" Cheng Yuzhou's face turned pale. "It's too dark! Watch out for the steps!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Li Yufei caught sight of Cheng Yuzhou chasing after her. She then performed a drift and disappeared into the air.
She stopped just before the steps, and Cheng Yuzhou was relieved, but she immediately rushed off in another direction.
"Feifei!"
"Ugh, you're so annoying," Li Yufei said, barging ahead in her evening gown like a witch who had just gotten her driver's license. "I'm such a grown woman, can't I ride a wheelchair?"
That's a statement that makes one's heart pound, "This isn't something you ride..."
"Why don't you come and chase me?" She turned around suddenly, her smile wide. "Go and borrow one just like mine. Let's have a race. If you can beat me, I'll be your maid for a day."
With just a few rays of moonlight and seven parts of night, this glance was breathtakingly beautiful and vibrant.
Cheng Yuzhou unconsciously slowed his pace.
Li Yufei steered her wheelchair halfway around and stopped, looking at him expectantly. "So, are you in or not?"
“Okay,” he agreed. “If you win, I’ll be your slave for three days.”
"Ha, do you think I'm stupid?" She chuckled. "Cheng Yuzhou, you were no different from my slave anyway."
This unintentional display of arrogance made Cheng Yuzhou's heart pound.
Her radiant smile made him dizzy and infatuated.
"Hmm..." He laughed along, feeling dizzy.
She was right; he had long been captivated by her and was no different from her slave.
"Let me think, what should I order?" Li Yufei tapped her chin, her newly done dark blue manicure framing her red lips.
"I've got it!" She snapped her fingers, staring at him with a playful excitement. "If I win, you'll be my horse for the next three days."
Cheng Yuzhou was stunned: "...What?"
Li Yufei raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Can't you take a joke?"
The school bully at No. 3 Middle School is still the same bully, vicious and domineering.
Cheng Yuzhou shifted his gaze slightly.
He glanced at Li Yufei and knew what she was up to. He gave her a stern warning: "Don't go easy on me on purpose, or I'll never play with you again!"
"good."
The party has ended. There was no dancing at today's ball, but there was a wheelchair race.
Laughter and screams echoed in a corner of the manor. Li Yufei patted the armrest, urging the electric wheelchair on as if it were a horse.
"Slow down, slow down, Cheng Yuzhou!" She just couldn't understand how he could be faster than her when they were the same model. She hadn't slowed down much when they turned.
"No way." Cheng Yuzhou moved two body lengths ahead of her. "I promised you I'd compete seriously."
Li Yufei exclaimed anxiously, "Can't you just take it slow and be serious?"
Cheng Yuzhou turned the steering wheel, and according to their planned race route, one more lap would complete the race.
He thought he wouldn't be jealous, but when he realized that in the eyes of outsiders, he was using Zheng Jianbin's body, a race car driver, to compete with Li Yufei, Cheng Yuzhou felt a mix of emotions.
Zheng Jianbin's identity and profession can be used to make her smile, so Zheng Jianbin must be happy.
Having visually estimated the route for the next turn, Cheng Yuzhou prepared to pass without slowing down when suddenly a cry of surprise came from behind him: "Ah!"
Cheng Yuzhou turned his head sharply, "What's wrong, Fei..."
In that instant of pause, the blue figure swiftly passed him.
Li Yufei stretched out her arm and slapped the power button on his phone with lightning speed!
Cheng Yuzhou's wheelchair stopped abruptly, and she took the opportunity to leap forward a considerable distance.
"Hehehehehehe." Her arrogant villainous laughter echoed in the wind. Cheng Yuzhou was stunned, but after realizing what was happening, he immediately started giving chase. "You lied to me?"
"Deceive? Haha, all's fair in war!" Li Yufei lightly tapped her temple with her index finger. "Victory belongs to wise men like me. You only have yourself to blame for being too naive."
Starting over took a lot of time, and no matter how hard Cheng Yuzhou tried to catch up, he couldn't make up for it, and the two fell further apart.
Li Yufei sped along the fence covered with roses and was the first to reach the finish line.
She waited smugly for Cheng Yuzhou to come over.
Before he even arrived, her foxy eyes narrowed: "How is it?"
Cheng Yuzhou slowly stopped the wheelchair, shook his head and smiled, "You're amazing."
“Of course.” Li Yufei raised her chin. “Let’s go, let’s pay up our bet.”
They returned to their respective wheelchairs and slowly drove towards the castle.
Once the door to the seventh-floor apartment was closed, Li Yufei stood still.
Cheng Yuzhou glanced at her, and she crossed her arms, letting out a smug "Hmm?" through her nose.
She really cared about this.
A bet's a bet, Cheng Yuzhou loosened his tie and collar, then knelt down on all fours.
"Mmm~" Li Yufei was delighted, and with a twist of her waist, she sat sideways on his back.
The black suit-clad buttocks were right beside her, and she casually patted them. "Giddy up. To the bathroom."
Cheng Yuzhou trembled, froze for a moment, and then slowly crawled forward.
After taking only two steps, Li Yufei grabbed the tie that was hanging on the ground and tightened it, saying, "Hurry up! Are you a horse or a tortoise, slow as a mouse?"
"Hiss." Her strength was as great as ever, and Cheng Yuzhou was forced to tilt his head back, silently begging for mercy as he looked back.
Li Yufei paused, then slowly loosened her tie.
In my memory, Cheng Yuzhou was always so pitiful.
Li Yufei has never been one to bully the weak. If someone argues with her, she will argue back even more; if someone gives in to her, she will soften her heart and forgive them.
Riding to the bathroom, she waved her horse free, saying, "Go graze by yourself. When I open the door, you'd better kneel here."
Cheng Yuzhou chuckled and said, "Okay."
After all that playing around, it was late at night by the time the two of them had finished getting ready.
The lights outside were off, but two bedside lamps were left on in the bedroom. Li Yufei removed her makeup, put on a face mask, and leaned against Cheng Yuzhou, editing the photos she had taken that afternoon.
Cheng Yuzhou looked down at her as she adjusted the image using a few basic buttons on the original camera.
After a long silence, he said softly, "I'm sorry."
Li Yufei adjusted the saturation level and hummed, "Hmm?"
"Because of me, you're stuck here, unable to even use photo editing apps." He lowered his eyelids. "I'm sorry."
"Cheng Yuzhou," Li Yufei's voice was slow and muffled, her voice restricted by the face mask, "do you know who your girlfriend is?"
"Um?"
She was focused on editing the photos and didn't turn around. She spoke casually, "Li Yufei—your girlfriend, Li Yufei."
"Who's Li Yufei?" She tilted her head, compared the before and after photos, and shook her index finger. "Li Yufei's photos never need any fancy software. I'm applying filters here not because I need them, but because I'm being modest, understand?"
Cheng Yuzhou couldn't stop smiling instantly.
He hugged her tightly and nodded: "You're right."
“Let me tell you,” she shifted her position in his arms and glanced at him, “I stayed here voluntarily, so don’t overthink it.”
“But…” “No ‘but’.” She interrupted him, “If you think like this, and you can make me stay willingly, that’s your skill. If it were any other man, do you think I would stay?”
"On the other hand, if one day I don't want to stay anymore, it proves that your charm has run its course. Instead of feeling guilty about this and that, you should think about how to attract me back."
She shut Cheng Yuzhou down completely.
All he could do was promise her, "I will definitely treat you better, Fifi."
This castle has 153 rooms.
153 is the love code in the Greek myth of Crete, the sum of the Greek numerals of Jesus' name, signifying that 'profound love is faith, dedication, loyalty, and respect'.
Cheng Yuzhou kept this principle in mind, and he would do his best to love her and treat her well.
Beg her, don't abandon him...
“Of course you have to treat me well, that’s the bare minimum. Besides…” Li Yufei scrutinized his face, “Although you look exactly like Cheng Yuzhou to me now, the thought that others only see Zheng Jianbin makes me feel a little uncomfortable.”
Cheng Yuzhou asked in confusion, "Aren't you satisfied with Zheng Jianbin's appearance?"
“It’s not exactly shabby,” Li Yufei clicked her tongue, looking conflicted, “but it’s definitely not as good as yours.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Cheng Yuzhou beamed with joy, as happy as a flower in bloom.
He laughed and said, "I understand, Feifei, I'll find a way to change back."
Li Yufei looked back at him, puzzled, "How are you going to explain this to everyone if we change back now?"
“There will be a way,” he said. “I will gradually get everyone to accept me as I am.”
"Don't do anything unnecessary." Li Yufei turned her head back to look at her phone. "As long as I can see you, that's enough."
Cheng Yuzhou didn't continue the topic. He quietly twirled a strand of her hair and asked gently, "Auntie and Uncle, and Yuming, are they all alright?"
Li Yufei paused in her photo editing, then said, "Why don't you ask your dad?"
Cheng Yuzhou immediately understood and shut up.
Li Yufei isn't particularly diligent, but from a certain point onward, her update frequency rivaled that of full-time bloggers.
Although Cheng Yuzhou couldn't leave the manor, he could still watch her channel. From then on, he vaguely sensed her situation.
Li's father's company was already a cesspool; without his support, it would collapse in an instant.
Given the couple's consistent behavior, they must have found Li Yufei a second "Cheng Yuzhou".
"It's because of me..."
"Ugh, you're so annoying." Li Yufei turned her head helplessly.
She lifted the face mask off her chin and gave Cheng Yuzhou a big kiss on the lips.
Cheng Yuzhou was stunned on the spot.
One bite isn't enough, have another.
"Alright." She put the face mask down, reattached it, and turned back to continue taking photos. "Shut up, shh—" she warned gently, "If you say another word, I'll tie you to the horse farm."
Two kisses completely subdued Cheng Yuzhou.
He pursed his lips, but his eyes were more focused on Li Yufei.
The bedside lamp only shines from the side, so why does her whole body feel warm and bright?
This manor was built for their wedding. Cheng Yuzhou had countless dreams about their married life, but he rarely thought about what would happen decades later.
Having lost his mother at the age of six, he lacked a model for long-term marriage, and all he had was the impression of his father's hysteria.
He wasn't sure what married women would be like in thirty or fifty years; he wasn't sure what a marriage that lasted for decades would be like. All his long-term imaginations were shattered with Fang Yuzhou's leap.
Cheng Yuzhou's imagination could only reach its furthest point, remaining at the age of thirty, before Fang Yuzhou's death.
He could only imagine Li Yufei around thirty years old; he couldn't think of anything further into the future.
That night, she sat in her wheelchair and begged him to hold on to her; she pressed him into the wheelchair and told him that she would definitely pull him back.
They were racing in their wheelchairs, spinning around and around in a corner surrounded by roses. It was childish and ridiculous, but it gave Cheng Yuzhou a concrete hope for growing old in an instant.
He did not believe in any god who existed only in words, but on this night, Cheng Yuzhou prayed that the gods would bless his goddess so that she could be radiant and carefree until old age.
If God doesn't respond to him, then he can pray to the devil.
As the summer sun rose, the moment Cheng Yuzhou stepped into the chapel, all 62 tourists were already there.
Cheng Yuzhou glanced at the "Holy Covenant" they carried with them and smiled with satisfaction.
The rules have been deeply ingrained in people's minds, and there is no need for coercion. No one is absent anymore, and no one is late.
When people saw him, they greeted him with smiles: "Mr. Zheng has arrived." "Good morning, Mr. Zheng."
Cheng Yuzhou smiled and replied, "Good morning, everyone."
He walked through the crowd, took a seat in the first row, and looked up at Psyche, who was bathed in the stained glass.
That's it.
He needs them to contribute their strength to the supreme goddess.
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