Chapter 43 The Truth: "These past five years, have you had a very difficult time...?"
Wen Hong opened a tavern in Luyao Town. After becoming a lawyer, he was a frequent guest at drinking parties and had a good capacity for alcohol. Qiao Yunzheng rarely saw him so drunk that he needed someone to help him stand up.
He draped most of his body over Song Nanchen's shoulder.
Wen Hong's eyes, blurred by alcohol, seemed to finally find focus on her face. He suddenly grinned at her, a smile as innocent and naive as a kindergarten child's, revealing two rows of white teeth.
"How did you get so drunk?"
Qiao Yunzheng almost subconsciously patted the man who had stumbled after tripping over the threshold, her brows furrowing slightly.
Song Nanchen dragged and pulled the man inside, saying, "He did it himself."
"What's wrong?" Qiao Yunzheng instinctively assumed that he had been drugged and drunk, so she was even more puzzled. With his arrogant and conceited personality, what kind of person could have gotten him drunk?
Song Nanchen's lips twitched, as if he was utterly speechless: "He signed a big deal today. The banquet was supposed to have ended long ago, but he was the one who went around telling everyone he was getting married soon, and they wouldn't let him not toast them... He even complained if they didn't drink enough, saying they weren't sincere..."
Thinking of Wen Hong's smug and shameless behavior tonight, Song Nanchen couldn't help but feel his brow twitching.
Tonight, almost everyone of note in our circle received a call from a drunkard. The content was remarkably consistent: he was telling everyone he was getting married, and then abruptly hanging up without waiting for the other person's reaction.
At first, people thought it was just a random prank.
Then a lawyer who had Wen Hong's contact information exclaimed in an industry chat group: "Holy crap! Wen Hong called me?! This darling is actually getting married?! Really?!"
This single stone stirred up a huge wave, and everyone jumped out to watch.
Only then did they belatedly realize that the unfamiliar number they had thought was a nuisance call actually belonged to Wen Hong, the arrogant and brilliant lawyer in the industry.
That brilliant lawyer they had tried so hard to cultivate a relationship with but failed.
Song Nanchen had just laid Wen Hong down on the sofa and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when his annoying cell phone rang again.
He was a little impatient, glanced at the caller ID, but had to compose himself and answer the call.
He seemed to have received too many calls like this, and even his speech sounded very artificial, devoid of any genuine emotion: "Yes...yes, yes, Wen Lu is getting married...thank you on his behalf."
After hanging up the phone, Song Nanchen helplessly waved his phone at Qiao Yunzheng: "The 28th one."
Qiao Yunzheng blinked in confusion: "What?"
Song Nanchen gritted his teeth: "This is the 28th call I've received tonight asking about your wedding date."
Qiao Yunzheng felt apologetic, but didn't know what to say. She glanced at the man on the sofa with flushed cheeks, then turned and walked towards the kitchen: "I'll go make him some hangover soup."
However, before they could finish speaking, Wen Hong had already rolled over off the sofa and onto the carpet next to it.
She looked up, paused for a moment, her gaze meeting Song Nanchen's disdainful expression as he looked down at her. Then, a very light and slow smile spread across her face.
In his confused state, he surprisingly recognized him and mumbled, "Old Song."
Even though he was impatient, Song Nanchen replied curtly, "What?"
Wen Hong beckoned to him: "Come here, I have something very important to tell you."
The drunkard's words were naturally not to be trusted. Song Nanchen suppressed his temper, but couldn't stand him calling him over repeatedly, so he had no choice but to squat down and sit down next to him on the sofa: "Spit it out."
Wen Hong, naturally oblivious to his sullen expression, moved closer to him and whispered, "I'm getting married. Do you understand what marriage means?"
Song Nanchen's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't hold back any longer, cursing under his breath, "Damn it!"
He got up to leave, but unexpectedly, his arm was grabbed hard.
Wen Hong wasn't going to let him off the hook, and continued to nag him: "I told you before, you guys aren't even on the same starting line as me, so don't be too envious..."
Song Nanchen was so angry that she gritted her teeth and shoved his head away forcefully: "Who the hell wants to envy you!"
After dropping Wen Hong off at home, Song Nanchen didn't plan to stay any longer and got up to leave.
Suddenly, a very low sob was heard from Wen Hong.
Song Nanchen thought he had misheard and abruptly turned his face to look.
Wen Hong slowly sat up straight, resting her head on the sofa: "Indeed, there's nothing to envy..."
Perhaps due to the alcohol, his emotions shifted abruptly, as if joy had been magnified too many times, bursting forth to reveal fragments of sadness hidden within.
“What is there to envy about someone as stupid as me…” His gaze was unfocused, falling into the ethereal void, unable to find a foothold.
Song Nanchen sat back down, knowing he was not in a daze, but still patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, saying with a hint of teasing, "Oh! It's rare to see a wicked capitalist like you have a moment of self-reflection."
Wen Hong seemed deaf, staring into the void, muttering to herself, "I don't know! I didn't know Wen Jinliang went to see her father! Wen Jinliang... even used his own son... ha..."
His breath reeked of damp alcohol, as if he had been painstakingly pulled from the depths of his memories: "I thought she was the one who rejected me first, I thought she was the one who wronged me... I had so many opportunities to see her, I could have found her so easily, but I..."
The emotions abruptly broke down, collapsing into a brief silence.
When Qiao Yunzheng carried the hangover soup back to the living room from the kitchen, that's what she heard.
She stood there, rooted to the spot, unsure how to take the next step.
Song Nanchen didn't say a word. He gently patted Wen Hong's shoulder and slowly stood up.
He glanced at Qiao Yunzheng, then walked straight towards the entrance.
With a soft click as the door closed, only the two of them remained inside.
Qiao Yunzheng paused, her hand holding the tea bowl still, and her gaze fell on the man sitting on the carpet in front of the sofa.
He had one knee bent, his arm resting limply on his knee, his face slightly lowered, and the stray hairs on his forehead casting fine, fragmented silhouettes on his face.
From her perspective, the first thing that catches her eye is his high, straight nose.
And a single, transparent drop of water hanging from the tip of the nose.
The air seemed to hang between the two of them.
It wasn't until a faint, grating sound of porcelain rubbing suddenly broke the silence that a crack appeared in the still scene, allowing the stagnant time to flow slowly.
Qiao Yunzheng's hands, which were holding the tray, almost froze. She took a few steps, squatted down beside him, and carefully placed the tray aside.
Seemingly finally noticing the person in front of him, Wen Hong raised his eyes.
In his line of sight, her face overlapped with the wall lamp not far away. The sudden light made him instinctively squint.
The arm resting on the knee slowly rose, very gently, and touched the direction of the light source.
His hand stopped a few centimeters from her face and didn't come any closer.
Qiao Yunzheng was unsure whether his purpose was her or that warm, yellowish, fuzzy light.
As if something had rumbled and crushed her heart, Qiao Yunzheng opened her mouth, only to find that her throat was blocked by something inexplicable, and she could only let out a short and silent breath.
She swallowed hard and called his name again, "Wen Hong..."
Those dark eyes slowly turned as the voice spoke, like a lost deer, filled with panic and helplessness.
A few seconds later, he fixed his gaze on her face.
The moment his gaze focused, a slight smile curved his lips: "Ah Zheng..."
It carries a strong sense of stagnation, like a soft sigh.
Qiao Yunzheng nodded vigorously and smiled along with him: "It's me."
Wen Hong's eyes lit up for a moment, but then fell silent again: "I was dreaming again. Otherwise, why would you smile at me?"
Qiao Yunzheng sniffed, turned her head slightly, and pressed her face against his palm: "It's me!"
The hand pressed against her cheek trembled slightly.
He felt as if he had encountered some precious and fragile treasure, afraid that he would break it if he used the slightest force.
Just as he instinctively tried to pull his hand back, Qiao Yunzheng quickly covered his hand with hers: "I'm A-Zheng!"
Wen Hong's breath hitched, his gaze lingering on her face inch by inch.
Under the influence of alcohol, the infatuation and longing in his eyes were undisguised, so intense that they seemed to devour her as well.
Suddenly, he leaned forward and pulled the treasure into his arms.
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have hated you..."
Alcohol seemed to trap him in the past, almost drowning him: "I shouldn't have left you for so many years... I'm sorry..."
Qiao Yunzheng's heart surged with emotion, and she tightened her grip on him.
I could hear the muffled humming in his chest.
He said, "Ah Zheng... these past five years, have you had a very hard time...?"
He asked her, but his tone was not one of doubt, but rather one of certainty.
Tears burst forth in that instant.
In her gradually blurring vision, Qiao Yunzheng seemed to see someone who had traveled through five years to squat beside her lost and helpless self, gently patting her back and saying tenderly, "Our A-Zheng, you've really had a hard time."
After an unknown amount of time, Qiao Yunzheng felt the breathing from the woman's shoulder gradually become longer and more even.
"Wen Hong?" she called softly, but all she got in response was a long silence.
Knowing that he was already fast asleep, Qiao Yunzheng gently pushed him away and let him lean against the sofa.
After the emotional surge subsided, only stiff, numb limbs remained.
Qiao Yunzheng used a lot of effort to move the unconscious Wen Hong little by little to the sofa.
She glanced in the direction of the bedroom, knowing that she had limited strength, so she went back to the bedroom to get a blanket, returned to the living room, and draped the blanket over him.
The hangover soup was still sitting to the side, completely cold.
She put the soup bowl back in the refrigerator in the kitchen, intending to reheat it for him when he woke up.
After finishing all that, Qiao Yunzheng returned to the sofa, sat down beside him, and gazed down at the sleeping man.
Even in his sleep, his brows were still furrowed, and his trembling eyelashes, like damp feathers, indicated that he was having a dream that was not so pleasant.
The cool drop from the tip of his nose seemed to drip into her heart, causing an uncontrollable ache there.
Qiao Yunzheng sat up straight, lowered her head, and placed a light, shallow kiss on the tip of his nose.
Author's Note: A huge thank you again to "Sunshine" for the nutrient solution! Mwah!
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