Chapter 78: Hitting his heart, it hurts
"How have you been getting through these years?" Chen Ran's voice was as light as a feather, with a cautious tentativeness.
"You see, this is the only thing I know about tailoring." Su Hong forced a faint smile, ran her fingertips across the cold wall of the glass, and tilted her head back to take another sip of champagne.
"Drink slowly." Chen Ran's worry was hidden in his frown, and his eyes always followed her movement of raising the glass.
Su Hong hadn't drunk alcohol in all these years. She had to stay sober at all times—because her little Nian Nian needed a tower of protection that would never collapse.
The bubbles of champagne kept rising and bursting in the glass. Both glasses of wine were quietly empty. Su Hong's cheeks had already turned red and her eyes gradually became blurred.
As the sweet wine flowed down her throat, she felt a relaxation she had never experienced before. It was an intoxicating feeling.
She pushed the goblet towards Chen Ran, her voice soft yet stubborn, a little drunken, "Pour some more... This wine is sweet and delicious."
Chen Ran looked at her red eyes and wanted to put the bottle away. "Drink less. Champagne has a strong aftertaste."
"Are you afraid that I'll get drunk and act crazy?" Su Hong snatched the bottle and filled her glass. She didn't care about the wine spilling over the rim of the glass. She picked up the glass and drank it all in one gulp. The cold liquid slid down her throat, causing her to shudder slightly, but she started talking completely.
"Don't you want to know how we've been through all these years? Well, I'll tell you..." She used her chopsticks to stir the food in the bowl, and her voice suddenly lowered.
"When Nian Nian was three years old, she had a high fever of 39.8 degrees Celsius. I carried her to the hospital in the middle of the night. It was snowing heavily outside. I couldn't stop a car, so I just walked with one foot deep and one foot shallow..."
At this point, her voice began to tremble, and her fingertips unconsciously stroked the slightly cool wall of the cup. "She was delirious with fever, but she still held my hand and said, 'Mommy, don't cry.' How can this child be so sensible..."
Chen Ran's heart felt like it was being tugged at by something, and the intense pain spread to his internal organs.
He knew that it was not easy for Su Hong to raise a child alone, but he never imagined it would be so specific and bitter.
He reached out to pat her shoulder, but Su Hong leaned back stubbornly, preventing him from touching her.
"Another time, the water pipe at home burst and flooded everywhere. I stepped on the puddles to find the main valve. My clothes were soaked and I felt like a drowned rat..."
Su Hong suddenly laughed, but something sparkled in the corner of her eyes. "At that time, I thought, it would be nice to have a man by my side, even if it was just to help me pass a wrench..."
She drank one glass after another. Chen Ran had no choice but to open another bottle for her. Although she seemed drunk, she refused to let Chen Ran drink another sip.
The grievances, hardships, and loneliness that had been accumulated in his heart for more than twenty years poured out bit by bit with the wine.
From the disappointment of not having anyone by my side for my daughter's first parent-teacher conference, to the embarrassment of breaking a stool while changing a lightbulb; from the exhaustion of forcing myself to remain calm when challenged by clients, to the dread of walking home from work late at night...
All these times that Chen Ran had never participated in now turned into drunken whispers, hitting his heart and making him hurt.
"Got it, this is how we got here..." Su Hong raised her hazy drunken eyes and looked at him, like a wronged child, finally taking off all disguises.
"Niannian is such a sensible child. She has never given me a worry in her studies. She excels in every subject. I even... I even feel that she is a burden to me..." At this point, Su Hong finally burst into tears.
"I'm sorry." Chen Ran's voice was very hoarse. He sat directly on the chair next to Su Hong and pulled her into his arms.
Looking at the woman crying in his arms, his heart was broken.
Su Hong cried for a long time, and finally stopped. She used the last bit of her rationality to break free from his embrace, wiped her eyes carelessly, and said word by word,
"In this life, I have no regrets about having Nian Nian. She has suffered with me, and I feel so sorry for her."
Su Hong paused, choking with sobs. "I can't interfere with you recognizing her, but, Chen Ran, please... please don't hurt her, okay?"
Chen Ran nodded solemnly.
I thought to myself, she is the only child I have in this life, how could I hurt her?
Su Hong poured herself another glass of wine and laughed self-deprecatingly, "I've wasted these two bottles. I just feel dizzy and can't taste anything... Pretty expensive, right?"
Chen Ran shook his head fondly, "It's not expensive. We can afford it no matter how expensive it is."
Su Hong drank it all in one gulp, put down the cup, and suddenly leaned close to him. With a strong smell of alcohol, she said seriously: "I know everything about your health. Don't be discouraged. Look at me, I have come through so many difficulties with Nian Nian. Medicine is advanced now. Take your medicine well..."
What does this mean? Is she drunk? Chen Ran suddenly thought, maybe he is drunk too.
"How have you been these years? What does your wife do? How many children do you have? How old are they?" Su Hong asked a series of questions incoherently.
Chen Ran looked at her flushed cheeks, sighed, and said softly, "I have always only had you in my heart! There is no such thing as a wife. I have always been alone..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw Su Hong's eyelids droop and her head lurch forward. He quickly stretched out his arm and let her lean steadily on his shoulder.
"Su Hong?" He called softly, but there was no response. Only the sound of her even breathing, with a faint scent of alcohol, was heard, gentle and soothing.
Chen Ran carefully supported her head so that she could lean more comfortably.
Looking at her slightly furrowed brows and the tears in her eyes while she was sleeping, he felt mixed emotions.
This woman, who has endured the ups and downs of life alone for more than 20 years, has long been accustomed to the toughness of life, but she revealed such a soft side after getting a little drunk.
He gently carried her to the bed in the bedroom and covered her with the quilt.
Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, Chen Ran silently swore in his heart: He would never let her suffer any grievances again. He would spend the rest of his life making up for the debt of more than 20 years and protecting her and their daughter well.
The food on the table had long since lost its heat, and the empty champagne bottle stood at an angle, as if silently bearing witness to something.
The past buried by time, the bitterness that no one knew about, finally found a gentle home at this moment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
