Episode 68: Love
This time, it happened very suddenly.
It was as sudden as the first time for two people.
But the difference was that after this time, Lin Ying was not at a loss like before, and there was nothing she had to do immediately, which always made her feel embarrassed after everything was over.
The area of Jiang Shu's apartment is much smaller than that of her previous villa. The second bedroom of that villa was large but empty, and could not satisfy her desires and longings in any way.
But now, this little house is just enough to hold the friendship between her and him.
The longer the time goes, the less space there is to fill, because people don't want to keep staring at their own shortcomings. That would be extremely cruel for someone who has lived for a long time. She just wants to have people or things that belong to her, that she can see and touch.
Although they had experienced such a passionate moment before, the two of them seemed to have never had such a leisurely moment afterwards.
The first time, she had fled in a hurry to catch a family dinner she was almost late for. The second time, she was tied up behind the rockery, and there was no peace at all. The third time, she was in the hotel, drunk and scolded him, and then got drunk herself. The fourth time, she was almost caught in the act...
Not once was it peaceful and stable.
Even just leaning on each other's bodies, spending a simple night together, and giving each other a good morning kiss the next day is a rare thing.
They always come and go in a hurry, coming only for the process and leaving only to hide from others and not let anyone guess that they had that process.
Seeing the light leaking in through the gap in the curtains, Lin Ying knew that the morning light had arrived. Just as she was about to get up, an arm from behind her forcefully pulled her back... She heard Jiang Shu's hoarse voice, as if he hadn't fully woken up yet, but inertia stopped her -
"You're not allowed to leave."
Lin Ying was helpless, "I just want to put on some clothes."
"Don't get dressed, just stay with me and sleep for a while."
She teased, "Why don't you let me wear clothes?"
I thought he might have been holding it in for too long and wanted to come a few more times, but he actually said:
"You can leave anytime you're dressed. It's always like this, leaving me no time to react."
It seems that is indeed the case.
She fell in love with Yan Yiming and decided to date him, which caught him off guard. He was still on a business trip when he heard the news that she was getting married, so on the day of her wedding, Jiang Shu deliberately hid in Japan.
This became even more so later. She was clearly someone who would consider others, but when it came to him, she always seemed to be inconsiderate. She couldn't tell that he liked her, couldn't tell that he liked her so much. The first time she asked if he had someone he liked, he had just said a word before she slipped away from the car...
He had made her climax many times, but she always left in a hurry after the tide receded. It was like this the first time, and it was also like this that day in Suzhou. He wanted to treat her to Suzhou cuisine at noon and wanted to visit the gardens with her alone, but she booked a high-speed train back to Shanghai to deal with her mother-in-law. Later, the truth was revealed, and he confessed his love to her, but she did not accept it. Six years later, he came back to see her and took the initiative to admit his feelings, but he was still told that your love is meaningless.
He was indeed sad, and was sad for a long, long time.
He thought this was God's punishment for him.
She made him fall in love with his stepsister, and made her accept his indulgence with him, but she rejected his courtship and left alone, even though she was pregnant with his child... She would rather raise the child alone and endure everything than accept any contact with him again.
This was retribution, retribution for his past indulgences in sensual pleasures and his playful pursuits of erotica, retribution for his inherent tendency to let things slide and not stand out. It was retribution for his overestimation of his sensual pleasures with Lin Ying while disdaining all other pleasures. It was retribution for his blurring of the lines between sex and love, for his self-proclaimed cleverness.
"Aying, I love you."
He whispered these words into her ear, making Lin Ying's skin tingle. She blamed him—
"It's itchy, don't do this..."
But he still refused to let go of her body, and squeezed her tightly into his arms, "Let's have a relationship, okay? A serious relationship. I won't force you to get married, nor will I force you to live with me."
Lin Ying teased him, "Why? Do you still want to be my bed partner like before?"
"I want to like you openly, no matter what your status is."
He embraced her more completely, wishing she was a part of himself, and without this part, he would not be able to live.
"It's fine how you define me, it's fine how you define our relationship, you can work and live wherever you want, if you want me to be with you I'll go, if you don't want me to go I won't go, I'll do whatever you want me to do, okay?"
The aftertaste of pleading layered over the ripples in her heart...
"Ah Ying, I like you, I love you, Je t' aime, I like you very much... I love you, I love you..."
He began to lose his patience, started to speak without restraint, began to confess in various ways, and kept rubbing her neck. Lin Ying finally couldn't stand it anymore, so she turned around, deliberately supporting her upper body, and wrapped Jiang Shu in her arms, gently kissing his forehead...
"If you like me, then that's fine! Do you know how to show off? I like you too, I like you, I like you! I also agree that you and I should be in a relationship, is that enough?"
She had always been reluctant to admit it in the past, thinking that falling in love with her stepbrother was a shameful thing. The same was true after she got married when she indulged herself in an affair with him, and even got pregnant and gave birth to a child for him. Even at this moment, it was still shameful for her to admit that she liked him.
But that is a shame in the eyes of others, why should she care?
After going around in circles, I have to admit defeat.
In the end, she couldn't resist the signal of her body and stayed with him in bed for a long time. Fortunately, she only had two condoms in her bag, otherwise she would have been tormented until noon... People will feel inexplicably fresh about the thing of losing and regaining it, and they can't let it go.
After being delayed again and again, the regular breakfast was turned into brunch.
After Lin Ying came out of the shower, the rich aroma of fried eggs and bacon filled her nose. Jiang Shu pushed her sandwich in front of her, warmed a cup of freshly squeezed soy milk for her, and said:
"We don't have much food at home lately, so let's fill our stomachs first. I'll treat you to a nice meal tonight. Do you want to go out to eat or should I cook? Oh... is Ruxing coming back? Then we can go pick her up together."
He looked so happy that he was at a loss, like a child who was praised for receiving a certificate for the first time.
But after hearing this question, Lin Ying found it difficult to keep up with his exuberant rhythm and had to "spoil the fun" -
"I can't have dinner with you tonight."
She took a bite of the sandwich; the bread was toasted until crispy and soft, very appetizing. "Wang Duo and I agreed to pick up the kids together after he lands. His son is also going to summer camp this time."
Upon hearing this news, Jiang Shu's face darkened. He pulled out a chair and sat opposite Lin Ying, feeling quite uneasy... But Lin Ying could see that he was not angry, just a little disappointed.
"I went on this date just to tell him I wouldn't marry him. Actually, this was a one-sided decision from the start. So, while he was away, I took advantage of the time to get Ruxing's visa documents ready and prepare to submit it at any time."
Jiang Shu heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this promise, but his hands clasped together, still holding back words...
"Actually... if you trust me, you can leave Ruxing in China and let me take care of her. That way, your burden will be lighter when you go there, and you won't have to worry about the child all the time."
This decision coincided with Cheng Xinran's previous idea.
"Even though Ruxing likes you, you haven't taken her out many times. Aren't you afraid you won't be able to handle it?"
"Everything takes time. I've been absent from taking care of her for six years. If I leave you alone now, won't I even have the chance to make amends?"
He proposed it solemnly and seriously. Perhaps he had already deduced this decision in his mind many times, and he finally found the opportunity to say it in front of her naturally.
"I think... we should ask Ruxing about this matter."
Lin Ying drank the soy milk in one gulp, feeling a warm feeling in her heart.
"After all, this is the first major decision she has made in her life."
Wang Duo returned to Hong Kong without his assistant. Lin Ying suspected he was dealing with some family matters. He had long considered reclaiming custody of Jiaze from his ex-wife, fearing his involvement with his biological father was inextricable. Even though he was illegitimate, Song Qihui still recognized him as his son.
For a family like his, the more children a family has, the more benefits it naturally brings.
There have been frequent thunderstorms in Shanghai recently, and flight delays and cancellations are common. Lin Ying was very glad that the weather was clear today and Wang Duo's return flight arrived as scheduled.
When he came out of the hall, he looked exhausted. After seeing Lin Ying, his originally tired expression turned into a hint of joy, but he still deliberately held the suitcase to prevent her from passing by.
Seeing this, Lin Ying was not overly attentive and simply walked side by side with him as usual.
He asked, "I heard that your car broke down, so why did you come in person?"
"Didn't you say we were going to pick up the kids for dinner together? I borrowed your car from the driver, just for the sake of it."
It was the weekend, and as soon as I got off the elevated road, traffic poured in along with the sunset.
There was still one kilometer left to the drop-off location sent by the team leader. The red light ahead came on and the road was congested, so Lin Ying had to press the P gear and stop temporarily.
The air was stagnant, but Wang Duo went straight to the point and asked:
"Have you thought about your future recently?"
He asked in a general way, neither mentioning marriage nor resignation. I guess he was still hesitant about these two things in his heart.
"The last day was already set yesterday. As for Ruxing, I've made a two-pronged plan. If she doesn't want to go to Europe with me, then I'll probably leave her in the care of my brother."
Hearing this, the light from the lens, which had been fixed on the front, trembled slightly.
"It seems I was right. You really are nostalgic."
Since he brought it up, Lin Ying was frank:
"You said last time that I didn't love you very much, and I admit that, but you also said that I didn't love myself very much... Maybe I would have admitted that four years ago, but not now. Marriage shouldn't be a means of exploiting or binding one another, so thank you for giving me time to think."
Although it was an expected result, Wang Duo's fingertips, which were rubbing out of habit, still hesitated for a moment.
Lin Ying guessed that at that moment, he might have regretted it - regretted giving her the decision-making power on this matter.
He asked again: "Have you thought it through? Do you want to love yourself? Or do you want to love Jiang Shu?"
“Do these two conflict?”
She retorted easily and crisply. Just then, the stopped traffic ahead began to loosen up and the green light finally came on. She shifted gears in time and prepared to step on the accelerator...but her cell phone suddenly started vibrating like crazy, shaking Lin Ying's hands on the steering wheel - the caller was none other than Ruxing's summer camp teacher.
But at this moment, the car behind her had already honked its horn. To avoid a stalemate, Wang Duo took her phone and calmly reminded her:
"You drive first, I'll pick you up."
The moment the car rushed out of the white line, she felt her heart suddenly tighten, as if being pricked by a needle, brief but thorough.
She couldn't help but glance at Wang Duo's suddenly furrowed brows. The voice on the phone was very anxious, but she couldn't hear clearly what it was saying.
She was so anxious that she asked Wang Duo to turn on the hands-free mode before she even passed the intersection.
"...We didn't expect this to happen. We figured we could find them ourselves, so we didn't bother you. But now, it's been almost three hours, and we still haven't found the two children. Sorry, it's our fault..."
Squeak——
At the confluence of lanes, the white Bentley braked suddenly, leaving a striking black rut on the ground, like a burnt brand.
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