Chapter 77 Can You...Forgive Me?
Su Hong picked up the fresh mandarin fish with her fingertips, lowered her head and scraped the fish scales intently. Amid the rustling sound of the blade sliding across the fish's body, she was suddenly stabbed hard by the sharp spines of the fish's fin. Thin beads of blood rushed out of the wound, which was particularly glaring on the pale fingertips.
"Hiss—" A hint of regret laced the gasp. After decades of tending to household chores, how could I have failed here? He didn't think I had done it on purpose, did he?
Chen Ran heard the sound and immediately came over. Seeing the blood on her finger, he instantly became nervous: "What happened? Are you scratched?"
He grabbed Su Hong's hand and carefully examined the wound. He looked anxious, as if he was the one who was injured.
She wanted to pull her hand back, but he held it tighter. Su Hong rolled her eyes at him. It was just a small wound. Was there any need to be so nervous?
But the warmth from his hand made her throat tighten again.
"Don't move. I'll get a band-aid."
Chen Ran turned around and went to the living room storage cabinet to take out the medicine box and quickly found the Band-Aid.
He ran back to the kitchen and carefully pulled up Su Hong's finger, first rinsed her with clean water, then wiped it dry with a clean paper towel, and then tore off the wound patch and gently applied it on the wound.
After the stickers were applied, Su Hong realized that their hands were still clasped together, and she suddenly broke free.
Both of them were stunned for a moment, and there seemed to be a subtle breath in the air.
"You go and rest, I'll take care of the rest." Chen Ran picked up the fish from the pond.
Su Hong stood aside, watching him continue to process the fish, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart: It turns out that the advantage of having a man is that he can help clean up the mess at times like this.
Unfortunately, after more than 20 years, she has become accustomed to relying on herself for everything.
What surprised Su Hong was that Chen Ran was very skillful in scraping the scales and removing the internal organs. There was no dragging of the blade at all, and the remaining fish scales were washed clean by the water.
"You do the housework well. You do a lot of it at home, right?" Su Hong leaned against the door frame, hinting at something, with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Chen Ran lowered his head to rinse the fish belly, splashing water on his wrists. "Let's do it once in a while. I have to eat too."
Chen Ran told the truth that even if he lived alone, he had to know how to cook. He couldn't just order takeout every day.
These simple words hide the bitterness of living alone that no one knows about.
Next, Chen Ran was responsible for all the cleaning work, while Su Hong was in charge of cooking. Amid the clash of pots and pans, a long-lost tacit understanding was created.
Soon, several home-cooked dishes were served on the table. The house was filled with the aroma of food, filled with hot steam.
Chen Ran took out a bottle of champagne from the wine cabinet. The cold light of the bottle reflected the smile in his eyes.
Just as I was about to open the bottle, the doorbell rang.
The moment the door opened, Lan Ting's delicate makeup gleamed under the light.
The Chen design director obviously didn't expect that there was someone else in the boss's room. "Are there guests?"
"Yeah. There's no rush for the documents, but you insisted on making a trip." Chen Ran returned to the dining table and continued to open the champagne.
Lan Ting's gaze paused on Su Hong for a moment, and a look of inquiry and understanding flashed across her eyes.
Su Hong looked at the visitor calmly, thinking that this old guy was really extravagant. He must have a family in the south, and there were women coming to him in Jiangcheng.
This young face, the decent clothes, and the strong smell of perfume made Su Hong feel inexplicably upset.
"Chen Ran, why not ask your friend to stay and eat with us?" Su Hong raised her voice to invite politely.
Lan Ting tightened her grip around the document, and upon seeing Chen Ran's slightly furrowed brow, she immediately shook her head: "No, leave the document here. I have something else to do."
The crisp sound of high heels hitting the ground gradually faded away, but the smell of perfume at the entrance lingered, entangled with the aroma of food, creating an indescribable ambiguity.
"Young girls are different. Their perfumes are so strong." She suddenly spoke, not even noticing the awkwardness in her tone.
Chen Ran raised his eyes and happened to meet her pretending to be calm gaze. The corners of his mouth could not help but curl up: "The company's design director is vigorous and decisive in his work, but sometimes he is too serious. This document is not urgent, but he insisted on giving it to me to review today." He explained seriously, as if he was afraid that she would misunderstand something.
Su Hong snorted and picked up a piece of mandarin fish. The fish melted on her tongue, the fragrance of scallions and ginger wrapped in just the right sweetness. The inexplicable irritation in her heart quietly dissipated. "You don't need to tell me about your business."
"To be honest, I'm a serious person. I don't have those pretty girls around me." Chen Ran looked at Su Hong seriously and said.
"Ahem, can't you drink?" Su Hong looked at the champagne on the table, where bubbles were rising along the wall of the bottle, and changed the subject.
Chen Ran had already poured the wine, the golden liquid swaying gently in the glass: "I'm happy today, it's okay to drink a little."
He pushed the cup in front of her, the coolness of the cup wall passing through his fingertips. "Or should I watch you drink?"
Su Hong raised her eyebrows and looked at him, a sly look flashing in her eyes: "Want to get me drunk? Chen Ran, this is the same trick you used twenty years ago."
Otherwise where would Su Nian come from!
Su Hong lightly spoke of the past events, and Chen Ran scratched his head.
He raised his glass, the sincerity in his eyes shining brightly under the light, "Celebrating our...reunion after more than twenty years!"
The bubbles of champagne kept bursting in the glass, making a tiny sound.
Su Hong looked at the wine swaying in the glass, then looked at the expectation in his eyes, and her heart seemed to be gently hit by something.
Twenty-two years is enough for a young boy to develop a steady figure, and for a stubborn girl to have fine lines around her eyes.
They have been walking on their respective life paths for so long, and it is a miracle in itself that they can sit opposite each other like this at this moment.
She slowly raised her glass, and the two goblets clinked lightly together. The crisp sound echoed in the restaurant, as if knocking on the floodgates of long-forgotten memories.
"Celebrate the reunion." Her voice was very soft, with a barely perceptible sob hidden in the ending tone.
The cold liquid slides into the throat, the fruity aroma and slight sweetness spread on the tip of the tongue, and the jumping bubbles bring a tingling sensation.
Su Hong put down the cup, picked up a piece of vegetable and chewed it slowly. The coolness of the champagne flowed down her throat, and those words that had been accumulated for more than 20 years seemed to be really about to break out.
Chen Ran's gaze remained fixed on her face. Under the light, the fine lines around her eyes resembled lines of poetry carved by time, each stroke holding a story. He knew that these past twenty years, raising their daughter alone, must have been difficult for her.
In the end, she had to bear all the consequences of their love.
"Thank you for your hard work over the years!" He finally spoke, his voice so soft as if he was afraid of disturbing anything. "I'm sorry."
Su Hong raised her head and met his eyes full of apology. A faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "I don't blame you."
She avoided the overly scorching gaze, picked up the cup and took another sip, "Seeing that you are successful in your career now, you should be living a good life."
"Looks... okay." Chen Ran's voice dropped a little. Those unknown bitterness and loneliness were beyond words.
He looked at her with cautious expectation in his eyes, "Can you... forgive me?"
Su Hong's heart skipped a beat, and her fingers gripping the cup tightened slightly.
Forgive? These two words were too light, too light to carry the weight of more than twenty years; yet too heavy, so heavy that it made her breathless.
She met his gaze, nodded slowly, and said in a voice so soft it sounded like a sigh: "I never... hated you."
Just a few simple words seemed to have exhausted all the strength in my body.
The aftereffects of the champagne gradually took effect, my cheeks began to feel hot, and the words in my heart were like the rising tide, slowly overflowing the embankment.
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