Chapter 59: On the brink of breaking up, speaking without thinking
The air in the house seemed to freeze like solid ice, heavy and suffocating. Su Wanqing's hard, cold shell of silence was like an invisible wall, firmly blocking out all of Huo Tingxiao's anger, questioning, and the quietly growing confusion. Like a caged beast, he paced restlessly in his territory, unable to find an exit. Every attempt to break the deadlock with coldness or command was repelled by the deeper silence, making him even more restless.
He began coming home later, sometimes even staying out all night, as if to combat the oppressive silence. But no matter how late he got home, there was always a light on in the living room, and a warm meal on the table. This silent, yet omnipresent "dutiful care" was like the tiniest needle, repeatedly pricking his frayed nerves.
He found himself shamefully nostalgic for the days before, when, though awkward, at least there was some response. Even her cautious probing, her clumsy concern, even the design book he had dismissed as "troublesome"... all were better than this dead silence, as if she were just a delicate puppet without a soul!
This realization made him even more angry. He was angry at her silence, and even more angry at himself for being affected by her silence!
The turning point came late one night. Huo Tingxiao once again came home late, reeking of alcohol and feeling down. He deliberately made a lot of noise, changing his shoes and throwing his coat, hoping to break the damn silence.
However, the living room was empty, with only a single lamp on. There was still food on the table in the dining room.
An inexplicable, uncontrollable rage suddenly surged up in his head! He had had enough! He had had enough of this feeling of punching cotton! He had had enough of this damned, silent confrontation!
He turned around abruptly and strode towards the master bedroom. This time, he didn't hesitate and pushed the door open directly!
A single, dim bedside lamp lit the room. Su Wanqing was already asleep, lying on her side with her back to the door. Her breathing was even, and she seemed to be in a deep sleep. Her sleeping face looked particularly peaceful and gentle in the dim light, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow under her eyes, a stark contrast to the cold and silent appearance she had during the day.
Huo Tingxiao paused at the door. His surging rage seemed to be subtly blocked by something. He stood there, staring at her back, his chest heaving violently. For a moment, he didn't know whether to advance or retreat.
At this moment, Su Wanqing seemed to be disturbed from her sleep and unconsciously turned over slightly, lying flat on her back. The thin blanket covering her slipped down a little, revealing her slender neck and a small piece of fair skin.
What caught Huo Tingxiao's attention even more was that beside her pillow was an open, thick sketchbook with a few drawing pencils scattered around it.
Sketchbook? !
A fiercer rage, a mixture of feeling deceived and ignored, instantly devoured the slight hesitation that had just risen in Huo Tingxiao's heart! She was still painting! He had clearly warned her not to touch these things again! But she actually disobeyed him! She turned a deaf ear to his orders!
So her silence and obedience were all fake?! She hadn't taken his warning to heart at all! She was still secretly carrying out her so-called "plans"!
This realization was like a sharp knife, completely piercing through his last remaining sanity!
He rushed into the room and grabbed the sketchbook!
The movement was so big that it instantly woke Su Wanqing up!
She suddenly opened her eyes and saw Huo Tingxiao standing by the bed, his face ashen, clutching her sketchbook. Her pupils suddenly contracted, and she instantly woke up! "What are you doing?! Give it back to me!" She subconsciously exclaimed, reaching out to grab it!
"Give it back to you?!" Huo Tingxiao swung her hand away with such force that she stumbled! He clutched the sketchbook tightly, his eyes bloodshot, surging with terrifying anger and disappointment. His voice became deep and terrifying due to extreme anger: "Su Wanqing! Are my words bullshit to you?! Huh?! I told you not to touch these things again! You ignored me, didn't you?!"
"This isn't..." Su Wanqing was anxious, her face pale as she tried to explain, "I just drew this for fun! I didn't..."
"Just drawing for fun?!" Huo Tingxiao interrupted her abruptly, sneering sarcastically as he flipped through his sketchbook roughly. "Do I need to hide it under my pillow just for fun?! Do I need to draw so many just for fun?! Su Wanqing, are you telling the truth?! Do you think I'm easy to fool?!"
The sketchbook is filled with the fruits of her labor during this time. There are clothing sketches, jewelry designs, and even scattered doodles capturing inspiration. Every stroke and every painting embodies her dreams and a silent expression of her emotions.
At this moment, all these hard work were turned over, questioned and trampled upon by him like garbage!
Su Wanqing looked at him, as if he had caught her committing a heinous crime, and saw the undisguised contempt and anger in his eyes. The grievances, disappointments and heartbreak she had felt over the past few days completely burst out at this moment!
She suddenly raised her head, her eyes red, but no longer shedding tears. Her eyes were filled with the cold stubbornness and anger of someone driven to despair. "Yes! I did draw! So what?! Is drawing a few pictures a heinous crime?! Does it discredit you, Chief Huo?! Huo Tingxiao, are you sick?! Besides doubting me, accusing me, and getting angry at me, what else can you do?!"
Her counterattack was so sudden and sharp that even Huo Tingxiao, who was furious, was stunned for a moment.
Then, even greater rage engulfed him! How dare she scold him?! How dare she act so confidently?!
"What can I do?!" He suddenly took a step closer, his tall figure looming over him with a huge sense of oppression. He practically squeezed his words out through gritted teeth, each word tinged with icy coldness and cruelty. "I'll show you who you really are! I'll show you exactly where you belong!"
He stared at her intently, his eyes like a poisoned knife, and he yelled the most hurtful words without thinking: "Su Wanqing, don't forget how you got here! You're just a substitute! A vase to be displayed for viewing! A decoration should have the consciousness of a decoration! Stay in your corner and don't dream of things that don't belong to you! And don't deliberately cause trouble for me!"
"Alternative"!
"vase"!
"Ornaments"!
These words, like the sharpest ice spikes, instantly pierced through all of Su Wanqing's defenses and pierced into her deepest pain! Crushing her last shred of dignity and hope to pieces!
Her face instantly turned completely pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably, as if it would shatter at any moment. She looked at the man in front of her, his hideous face and foul language, as if she were truly meeting him for the first time.
So... in his heart, she has always been such an unbearable "substitute" and "decoration" that can be humiliated at will?
All the struggles, all the efforts, all the faint heartbeats and expectations... at this moment, have become a huge joke.
There is nothing more desolate than this.
The anger and stubbornness in her eyes faded little by little, replaced by a bottomless, icy despair and numbness. She suddenly smiled softly, a pale and broken smile filled with endless mockery, and it was unclear whether she was mocking him or herself.
"Yes... I'm a substitute..." Her voice was as light as a feather, yet it carried a heart-pounding coldness and alienation, "A disobedient substitute who brought shame upon you..."
She raised her eyes, looked at him with empty eyes, and spoke each word clearly and slowly: "I'm sorry, Chief Huo, I didn't put myself in the right position, I was wishful thinking."
"These..." She pointed at the sketchbook in his hand, which was like a hot potato, and said in a terrifyingly flat tone, "Your hands are dirty. Throw them away. Or burn them. It's up to you."
"As for me..." She paused, then met his suddenly complex and incomprehensible gaze and said calmly, "If you find me, a 'decoration', an eyesore and a disgrace to your Huo family, I can disappear immediately."
"The divorce agreement can be signed at any time."
After she finished speaking, she no longer looked at him, slowly turned around, faced away from him, and lay down again. She pulled the quilt over her and covered herself tightly, leaving not even a strand of hair exposed.
It was as if everything outside had nothing to do with her anymore.
The whole room fell into a dead, terrifying silence.
Huo Tingxiao froze in place, still clutching the sketchbook tightly in his hand. Her words "divorce," which sounded so light yet weighed so much like a thousand pounds, echoed in his ears, along with her eyes and back, which were filled with utter despair and numbness.
What did he just say?
A replacement? A vase? An ornament?
Those most hurtful words, shouted out in anger, now hit his own heart like cold boomerangs, bringing with them a sharp and unfamiliar pain and... panic.
He looked at the bulge on the bed, the figure that seemed to have lost all life, and then at the sketchbook in his hand, which was filled with delicate lines and clearly had a lot of effort put into it...
A huge, belated regret and helplessness poured down on his head like ice water, instantly extinguishing all his anger, leaving only a cold emptiness and... a trace of unspeakable fear.
It seemed like he had... destroyed something very important with his own hands.
something that might never be able to be fixed.
On the verge of a breakup, speaking without thinking.
Some words, once spoken, are like spilled water and can never be taken back.
The damage caused may take a very long time to heal.
Or even, never.
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