Episode 59 Overnight
Wang Duo's residence in Shanghai is a duplex on the top floor of a high-end residential complex. It is said that the ownership was transferred six years ago and it was renovated for a few months after it was acquired. It is in the currently popular new Chinese style of old money - but he never feels that he has caught up with the trend, but rather that he leads the trend.
For someone as successful and well-connected as him, it would be illogical to think otherwise.
The one who opened the door was Aunt Gu, the nanny. When she saw it was her, she immediately smiled.
"Miss Lin is here?"
Aunt Gu specially prepared new dishes and chopsticks for her and Ruxing. Jiaze also came out upon hearing the noise. Seeing Lin Ying and her daughter, he greeted them politely:
"Hello, Auntie."
Then he smiled shyly at Ruxing, but Ruxing was not shy at all. Not only did she make faces at him, she also took the initiative to sit opposite him.
Ru Xing sat across from him, occasionally asking him questions that only children would care about, like—
"Have you been watching Spider-Man lately?"
"Someone in our class has collected Marvel hero cards. I'll get Spider-Man for you."
"He poured water on me that time. He owed me that."
The scene was very harmonious and warm. Wang Duo picked up a piece of boiled chicken and put it into his son's bowl. Jiaze was a little surprised. He nodded and whispered a thank you to his father.
Wang Duo couldn't help but mention:
"Jia Ze has been much happier these days since returning from Disney. He keeps asking when you'll come back. It seems like he and Ru Xing got along very well last time."
Given the child's personality, he probably wouldn't take the initiative to share the incident in the amusement park with his father. So Lin Ying didn't bring it up either, but just agreed:
"They both really had a lot of fun last time."
At this point, Wang Duo suddenly asked, "How are you feeling lately? Do you need a follow-up visit?"
Lin Ying thought the other party was trying to show his affection again, so she casually said -
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it. It's almost healed now. Please remember it, Mr. Wang."
Unexpectedly, these words hit the mark for Wang Duo. He smiled and asked Aunt Gu to get his treasured Merlot.
Hearing that he was going to drink, Lin Ying subconsciously refused.
"I still have to drive..."
"I'll ask the driver to take you back."
Compared to Wang Duo, she was still too naive. Now that she was using her previous illness as an excuse, it would seem like she was ungrateful.
Red wine is not strong but it is easy to get drunk, especially since Wang Duo's family's wine has always been privately brewed, of high quality, and the taste has been mellowed over the years, so it is not surprising that people are greedy for wine.
That night, she and Wang Duo had a satisfying meal and a few tipsy drinks. Just as Aunt Gu was about to lead them to the small living room for some fruit and tea, the two children were having so much fun that Jiaze took Ruxing to her room to play games.
Seeing this, Lin Ying naturally lost her reason to leave, and Wang Duo took the opportunity to say:
"It just so happens that I brought you a gift from Hong Kong. Would you like to... come with me to the study to take a look?"
The study was on the second floor. Lin Ying followed him up the duplex staircase. The corridor on the second floor was pitch black at the moment. He did not turn on the lights, but just led her into the study.
Pushing the door open, the first thing that caught his eye was a row of floor-to-ceiling windows offering a wide view. Wang Duo turned on the chandelier, and the light, like candlelight, illuminated the glass and the wall. Seeing the two people's faces reflected in the floor-to-ceiling windows, flickering, Lin Yinggang avoided their gazes. Wang Duo walked straight to the desk, pulled out the bottom drawer on the right, and was searching for the souvenir he mentioned...
Taking advantage of this break, Lin Ying leisurely walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and extended his vision outside the window. The lush green park stretched to the depths, where there were low but neatly arranged residential areas, private villas, and various courtyards scattered around, which could be called an elegant and secluded residence.
There are embedded book walls on the east and west sides of the room, while the north side is covered with paintings and medieval clocks. Several clocks tick in the dull space, making people inexplicably nervous.
But Lin Ying knew that her nervousness at the moment was not inexplicable, but inevitable.
I felt a force falling on my shoulders. The force was very loose and light, like a dragonfly touching the water... In just a moment, the hair hanging on my shoulders was gently lifted by his fingers.
"Your outfit should look great today. Do you want to try it on?"
He retracted his finger and raised a square jewelry box in front of her. Lin Ying recognized the logo at a glance and subconsciously thought that there would be a valuable diamond ring in the box. However, the other party opened the box with a click in front of her. What caught her eyes was a pair of diamonds wrapped in pearls the size of nails. Under the backdrop of the chandelier, the diamonds sparkled like spring water and the pearls were as bright as the moonlight.
No wonder he just flicked her hair. He must have been checking to see if she was wearing any earrings today...
"This style isn't available in mainland China yet, but I fell in love with it at first sight and think it would suit you perfectly."
Lin Ying, slightly tipsy, teased, "Isn't it a waste of such valuable jewelry as a souvenir?"
"To me, whether this thing is a 'great talent' or a 'small talent' depends on the person who uses it. Lin Ying, you are a great talent to me, so no matter what the nature of this gift is, it will definitely be of great use."
The other person's voice was elegant and graceful, and he didn't allow any objection. He used lavish words to praise her so highly that she couldn't help but feel distracted. Only then did she realize that it was her scattered consciousness that was distracted...
"Mr. Wang always knows what to say to make people feel at ease."
"So, you are feeling comfortable now?"
Over the years, Lin Ying has always refused to give in to his pursuit - the word "surrender" may be too exaggerated, but the pressure she feels can only be described by this word.
Wang Duo is a man of means and good at speaking. He would never put her in an embarrassing or undignified situation. Even when pursuing her, he seems to use both kindness and force.
But he looked like a refined gentleman, with few faults to be found in him, which made it difficult for her to grasp the right moment and express her full response.
The lights in the room gradually dimmed, and for the first time, she felt that Wang Duo's eyes behind the lenses were so clear and bright that she couldn't help but hesitate to speak.
She had no choice but to pretend to let down her guard, taking a pearl earring from the box and trying it on in front of the glass. She lifted her hair and skillfully inserted the earring into her ear hole, but she had a slight difficulty when inserting the earplug. In a place where there was no light or sight, her fingers slipped for no reason, and a crisp drop sound was lost in the rhythm of the pendulum. Just as she was about to lean forward, Wang Duo pushed her finger away. She just watched him bend down at her feet and pick up the silver earplug on the ground...
At that moment, her eyes lingered on the slender and delicate fingers that picked up the earplug, but what emerged in her mind was another person's hand——
Those fingers that she had inexplicably begun to care about since she was sixteen, those fingers that had untangled her headphone wires in a crowded subway, untied her soaked shoelaces after being drenched by a rainstorm, and countless times, helped her untie the knot that had long lingered in the depths of her desires...
"Don't worry, I'll help you."
When the hands touched her earlobe, she shuddered reflexively and her breathing became disordered. She realized that the person next to her was not him, and the hands were naturally not his.
She turned her eyes away, tacitly agreeing to Wang Duo's touch, but her mind had already wandered out the window.
"what's on your mind?"
His voice was as low as a mosquito, lingering on her ear. The two of them were like being trapped in a vacuum glass cover. All the taboo words and things were given the privilege of being released for a moment at this moment.
"I'm wondering... why are you so persistent? Is it because you've invested so much time and energy in me over the years that you're obsessed with me?"
"I remember answering you a long time ago, Lin Ying. I admire the courage to start over rather than rushing headlong into a predetermined outcome. I've seen your courage before. It's like the first taste of red wine: bitter, but with an endless aftertaste. Even if it's only for a fleeting two or three seconds, I want to savor the aftertaste."
This is another statement that is impossible to refute.
silence.
Lin Ying only heard the ticking of the pendulum. She didn't remember how many seconds had passed before she turned her head and pointed to her other ear.
"Would you like to put the other one on for me?"
He nodded, lowered his head and pulled out the earplugs and earrings, but chose to let them hover a few inches away from her earlobe.
The tip of his nose suddenly scraped against her hair by her ears, and the breath he exhaled smelled of cologne.
"Lin Ying..."
The faint call left her scattered thoughts nowhere to rest.
"I love you. Be my wife?"
His English is very good, like a native speaker, but not unfamiliar.
It seemed to be his own language.
It's a confession and also a proposal.
After entering the study with him, Lin Ying expected to be formally confessed, but she did not expect that the confession would be followed by a naked "be my wife"
She was someone who had to think carefully before talking about relationships, so naturally she felt some resistance when faced with the word "marriage".
But the resistance at this moment is more like a desperate struggle out of helplessness.
If she really considers getting married, putting aside worldly prejudices and criticisms, how could Wang Duo not be a good match for her?
The two people, each having experienced a failed marriage and having a child to support, needed a wife who could provide financial and life support, while she needed to stay away from all dangerous relationships and those who would pull her and her daughter out of the abyss again...including Jiang Shu.
His face flashed by again, and before Lin Ying could clear her mind, she felt a sudden chill on her lips... The touch of their lips was more forceful than a dragonfly touching the water, but there was no sense of invasion. His hands still gracefully wrapped around her waist, giving her enough breathing space.
If you want to push it away or escape at any time, that’s fine.
Until her eyelids touched the frame of the gold-rimmed glasses, she subconsciously stepped back, but at this moment he only used one hand to hold her waist tightly, freeing the other hand to take off the glasses, and then kissed her seriously again.
This time, he was much more forceful, but Lin Ying still didn't refuse. Perhaps his previous actions were too gentle, causing her to lose her guard, so that she was now shackled by him from behind in front of the French window...
Perhaps it had been too long since he'd been intimate with anyone, and with the courage of drunkenness, the darkness of the night, and ulterior motives, Lin Ying was willing to break this ban with him. Boom...
Thunder suddenly roared outside the window.
Her fingertips trembled subconsciously, but he caught them easily. He released her lips and unceremoniously took her trembling fingertips in his mouth. His breath was like a tide, lighting a fire on her fingertips. It collided with the alcohol in her body and evaporated. Her body reacted uncontrollably...
Crash...
The rain is falling outside the window.
Thinking back to the night when she was abused at home, she tried to escape from that home for the first time. It was also a night of thunder and lightning.
The weight of the pearl on the earlobe suddenly disappeared, replaced by another heavy kiss.
She remembered everything.
She remembered the day Jiang Shu took her back to his villa, the underground garage where they kissed for the first time, the car windows still covered in mist that could never be cleared, and the time she appeared at the gate of his villa again, looking disheveled...
It was an endless rainstorm in her heart, soaking her to the bone and making her look disheveled, but also soaking her thoroughly.
He was always there in the rain, so much so that whenever she thought of "Under the Mount Fuji", she would always hear the accompaniment of rain, and what came to her mind was his wet profile.
The person you should least think about and the person you are most likely to think of overlap like a rubbing, bringing all the unbearable and addictive things to your mind.
And this unbearable and addictive feeling is now being practiced by her and another person who should not have been there...
Bang——
The sound of the clock striking the hour hits my eardrums.
Time was filled with the sound of metal. Lin Ying was like a frightened bird. He pushed the person in front of him away, took a deep breath, and lowered his head heavily...
"Sorry, I'm drunk."
There was frustration and unwillingness in her tone, all directed at herself.
Wang Duo calmly put his glasses back on and, as usual, bent over to search the two people's feet. When he stood up again, Lin Ying saw him pick up the earring that he had accidentally knocked off when they were cuddling.
"These earrings really suit you. I hope you can accept them...as a token of my appreciation."
He put the pearls back into the box, closed the lid, and handed it to her.
The rain outside the window has subsided, but there is still no sign of it stopping.
Lin Ying put the box back into her bag, lowered her eyes and said:
"Then I'll go first."
But she was so drunk that even her steps were unsteady. Before she even walked out of the study, she was already swaying and about to fall.
Wang Duo helped her up from the half-fallen position and gently touched her forehead with his palm.
"You're quite drunk and might have a mild fever. I'll ask Aunt Gu to get you some medicine and clear out a guest room for you and your daughter to stay here for the night."
"Need not……"
"Don't worry, forcing has never been my style. Since you responded tonight, I have the patience to wait for you to fully accept it."
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