Seventeen Stars
It was midnight, and everything around him was pitch black. He took a deep breath and half-opened his eyes. The man next to him had his back to him, huddled up in a ball, leaving some space between them.
He got up quietly and walked to the sofa, poured himself a glass of water, and his eyes unconsciously fell on the person on the bed again.
She slept soundly, her long hair spread behind her. One could vaguely feel her knees bent, confining herself to a very small space. She lost her usual arrogance and looked rather well-behaved.
He indifferently withdrew his gaze, put down the empty cup, lay back on the bed, and forced himself to fall asleep.
When he opened his eyes again, it was his fixed biological clock.
When I came out after washing up, Lin Tang was still not awake.
He glanced at the time; it was already 7:25. In the bathroom, he heard the alarm go off several times and thought it was because he'd woken up. But now it seemed like it was just a matter of attitude.
He walked around to the other side and came in front of her. He took a deep breath, pulled her arm, and tried to stay calm: "It's time to get up. There are still five minutes."
The person on the bed groaned impatiently but remained motionless.
He still patiently called her, but no matter how he called, it was no use. It seemed that as long as she didn't get enough sleep, she would never get up.
There was a knock on the door, and Aunt Zhao called out, "Third Young Master, Elder Feng asked me to call you down for dinner."
Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Lin Tang became alert and finally got up. She was half sitting on the bed, her eyes not fully open.
Feng Chibai glanced at her, then turned and shouted outside, "Let Grandpa and the others eat first. Lin Tang was too tired last night."
These words were almost uttered through gritted teeth.
There was a "OK" from outside, and then there was silence.
After hearing this, Lin Tang thought the problem was solved, so he lay down again and planned to take a nap.
But before her back touched the bed, an arm stopped her. Before she could react, she was suddenly lifted up into the air. She opened her eyes in panic, and when she landed, she was already in the bathroom.
Feng Chibai folded his arms and leaned against the wall: "Are you awake?"
Lin Tang forced a smile, then said expressionlessly, "I need to change my clothes, you go out."
When going downstairs, Feng Chibai had already prepared his words in advance and took the lead in explaining to the old man: "I'm sorry, she didn't sleep well last night, so she was delayed for a while this morning."
Lin Tang blinked, expecting a scolding. It was his fault after all, and he was about to agree when the old man said, "I understand. You're young after all."
She was startled, and it took her a while to realize what he meant. But she accepted the reason without blushing or getting nervous, and even nodded in agreement.
Feng Chibai saw that she was ordering enthusiastically, so he paused and quietly reminded her to hurry up and eat.
In the car that took her to the research institute, Lin Tang was still a little sleepy. He closed his eyes and squinted, thinking about something in his mind.
After a while, she turned sideways and naturally put her arm around Feng Chibai's shoulder. "Hey, that excuse you just made is quite useful. Can we use it every day? It will make us look very loving."
Feng Chibai: "..."
He calmed down and took her hand off her shoulder. When the car stopped, he smiled and said, "I'll pick you up after work tonight."
Then, without getting a single answer, she got off the bus in a daze.
When walking up the stairs, I happened to meet Ying Yu who had just walked over.
He had seen whose car Lin Tang got out of just now, so he bowed and said, "Boss, happy wedding."
hapiness?
She chuckled twice and cursed, "Fuck happiness."
Even now, I still felt like I wasn't fully awake, my eyelids were drooping. I pulled out a work card from my bag and tossed it to Ying Yu, saying, "Bring me a cup of coffee to the office."
In the evening, Feng Chibai came to pick her up as usual.
Before getting in the car, Lin Tang made a suggestion: "Can we eat dinner outside?"
Feng Chibai raised his eyebrows and gestured for her to tell the reason.
Lin Tang paused and said bluntly, "I don't like eating with a lot of people."
It's very strange and depressing.
Especially in his house.
Feng Chibai nodded in approval, so he agreed to her request.
On the way back, Lin Tang asked again: "Let's discuss something. Can we move out?"
Feng Chibai said firmly: "No."
Lin Tang uttered an "oh" and then said, "One more question, when are you getting divorced?"
When I signed the document that day, I didn't pay attention to the date on it, but I knew it was about a two-year term.
Feng Chibai didn't answer this question, but asked, "Is it so painful to marry me?"
"That's not it." Lin Tang waved his hand and said bluntly: "It's painful to be with your family. I feel they are inexplicable."
From the first time we met to the day we moved in, it was clear that there weren't that many people here, but everyone had ulterior motives and their words were full of thorns. Those with lower IQs expressed their dissatisfaction openly, while those with higher IQs cursed in a roundabout way.
Even the family rules are strange.
"Don't you think so?" Seeing that he didn't say anything, Lin Tang added, "Oh, you're also quite weird."
She chuckled and said, "I'm going to get married as soon as I get back after the New Year."
This time Feng Chibai also laughed with her: "The situation forced us to do so."
The car stopped and the two walked into the old house together.
The old man was watching TV in the living room. When he saw the two of them come back, he glanced at the clock in the corner and asked, "Why are you back so late?"
Lin Tang thought for a moment, then suddenly took Feng Chibai's hand and said affectionately, "Oh, Grandpa, we have a date."
Feng Chibai: "..."
Lin Tang wasn't good at acting, and even his fake tone was subpar, but the old man believed it. He smiled with satisfaction, pointed at the two of them, and said, "What's this called in TV dramas, the honeymoon period?"
He laughed heartily, and Lin Tang laughed with him: "Then let's go upstairs first."
As soon as she turned into the room, Lin Tang immediately let go of her hand. After the person behind her closed the door, she turned around and said, "That's a good reason."
She is now committed to finding a breakthrough in these unreasonable rules and gaining some freedom for herself.
The moment I sat down, a part of the sofa next to me collapsed.
Feng Chibai took off his coat and draped it neatly on the backrest. He slowly straightened his collar and said indifferently, "Weren't you saying I was weird in the car? Now you're holding my hand so smoothly?"
Lin Tang's eyebrows curved slightly: "The situation forced me to do so."
Suddenly realizing something, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "You can also move out, why do I have to live in the old house?"
She remembered that once she missed the time because of drinking, he told her in person that he had a house to live in Huaizhou.
Feng Chibai poured himself a glass of water and poured her a glass as well, and said righteously: "So that the old man can see you every day."
Then remind him who would be the most suitable successor.
Lin Tang retorted: "I don't accept this reason."
This time it was Feng Chibai's turn to negotiate: "Then stay for a year."
"I accept it reluctantly." He said it reluctantly, but answered very readily.
After all, there will be plenty of opportunities for bargaining in the future, and she is not the kind of person who will make unreasonable demands. She will stop when she is given some benefits.
*
On the weekend, Lin Tang returned to Jingluo, and Feng Chibai accompanied her.
In the hospital.
Feng Chibai was discussing something with the doctor outside. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Lin Tang sitting on a chair, his body bent over, next to Grandma Lin's pillow, showing her the contents of his mobile phone.
"Grandma, look, this is his living room. The chandelier looks small in the photo, but it's actually much bigger."
"And this, they have a TV in their room, it's so grand."
Lin Tang did not hide the fact of their marriage from Grandma Lin, and even informed her on the day they got the marriage certificate.
I took a lot of photos at Feng's house these two days just to show them to Grandma Lin so that she can feel at ease.
Grandma Lin flicked through the stack of photos, occasionally echoing the sentiments with a sigh, her eyes beaming with joy: "Our years of hardship have finally ended and happiness has finally arrived."
Lin Tang held his grandmother's hand and said with a smile, "Grandma, you can do it too. When you're better, I'll take you to Huaizhou. It's much more prosperous than our Jingluo, and the night view is especially beautiful."
There were a few creaking sounds of a door behind him. Lin Tang subconsciously looked over and then said to his grandmother, "Grandma, you should have a good rest first. I'm going out for a while."
When she came out, she closed the door behind her.
The doctor briefly explained Xia Lin's recent condition and the planned treatment plan. He paused, then added, "The current survival rate is improving, but the percentage is very low, so it can't be guaranteed."
Lin Tang understood what was going on, nodded, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
After the doctor left, she looked at Feng Chibai again and said softly, "Thank you."
“Husband and wife don’t say thank you.”
The two stayed in the hospital for a long time and didn't go back until evening.
It was already very dark when the plane landed in Huaizhou. Because they couldn't make it back to the old house, Feng Chibai took her to a villa under his own name.
Although I haven't lived here for long, the things inside are kept tidy and there is not a speck of dust to be seen.
Because there were no spare clothes for women, he asked his assistant to prepare a few sets.
When Lin Tang came out of the shower, he wiped his hair with a dry towel and walked to the cabinet to get the hair dryer.
Her eyes suddenly fell on one place. She half squatted down, her gaze fixed on the photo frame in front of the bedside table. The photo showed a little boy about six or seven years old and a very young-looking woman.
She knew there was someone stopped behind her.
She turned around, pointed at the photo and asked, "Is this your mother?"
The man behind him hummed.
She stared at the photo for a few more seconds. The woman smiled brightly, hugging her son tightly. Her eyes suddenly became dazed, and after a long moment, she slowly uttered, "Your mother is so beautiful."
And she had long forgotten what her mother looked like.
Even now, her memories of her parents have become vague.
In fact, she had thought about why her parents had not come back to find her even though she had become successful. They had not even met for the purpose of asking for money.
Later she figured it out.
Perhaps they had long forgotten her existence, didn't remember her name, didn't remember what she looked like. So even if they saw a news report about a brilliant astronomer named "Lin Tang", they would just treat her as someone who had nothing to do with them.
The towel was suddenly taken away, and a hair dryer fell into his arms.
She raised her eyes, staring blankly at the man who walked up to her, and heard him say, "Dry your hair first, be careful not to catch a cold."
He just said this, packed his clothes and went into the bathroom.
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