Chapter 9: Rainy Night Memories
After the auction, Su Lingwan carefully locked the yellow diamond, known as the "South Sea Pearl," in a safe in her studio. She had no plans to design it into jewelry, at least not yet. It was more like a symbol, a physical manifestation of Huo Linshen's words, "Light arises naturally." It constantly reminded her to maintain her own identity, and also reminded her that the man seemed to see through her heart better than she had imagined.
Their relationship entered a more delicate state. Huo Linshen no longer maintained his distance, and their contact resumed its previous frequency, even occasionally inquiring about her studio's progress. His advice was precise and insightful, leaving Su Lingwan in awe of his unique vision in both business and aesthetics. But he never again engaged in words or actions that bordered on crossing the line, as he had done that night on the carousel or in the auction lounge. He adhered strictly to the framework of the agreement, his behavior impeccable, as if those moments of hesitation and devotion were merely illusions of the specific situation.
Su Lingwan also tried to adjust her mindset and focus back on design and the family business. However, in the dead of night, when she looked towards the safe, a complex emotion that was difficult to describe would always pass through her heart.
That night, Su Lingwan stayed up late in the studio again, rushing to finish a batch of design samples to be sent to Nanyang for an exhibition. A torrential downpour had begun outside the window, and the dense, bean-sized raindrops pounded against the glass, making a crackling sound. The neon lights in the distance were reduced to a hazy halo in the rain.
When she finally finished proofreading the last design drawing and looked up, she realized the rain had reached an alarmingly heavy level. The strong wind, carrying the rain, threatened to drown the entire city. She checked the time; it was already one in the morning.
She picked up her phone and was about to call a taxi, but she received a text message from Huo Linshen first:
Still in the studio?
Su Lingwan was a little surprised and replied: [Just finished. It’s raining too hard, I was just about to call a taxi.]
The other side replied quickly, with his usual commanding tone: [Send me the location, wait here.]
An unquestionable tone.
Su Lingwan looked at the screen, hesitated for a moment, and then sent the location. In this kind of weather, it was indeed difficult to call a taxi, and... deep down, she didn't seem to reject his coming.
About twenty minutes later, Huo Linshen's car stopped downstairs. Su Lingwan ran over, holding an umbrella, opened the door, and got in, her body still inevitably stained with a little dampness.
"Thank you for bothering you so late." She wiped the water droplets off her shoulders, apologetically.
Huo Linshen wore a dark shirt, his sleeves casually rolled up, revealing his sturdy forearms. He seemed to have come directly from a workplace, a subtle trace of fatigue on his face. He glanced at her, his gaze lingering for a moment on the damp ends of her hair, and said lightly, "On my way."
The car drove smoothly into the rain. The wipers moved back and forth regularly, but the view ahead remained blurry. The cabin was silent, save for the sound of rain and the low hum of the engine.
Halfway through the journey, when passing a fork in the road, an out-of-control truck suddenly rushed out from the front. Its tires slipped on the wet road, making a screeching sound, and it spun straight towards them!
"Be careful!" Su Lingwan exclaimed.
Assistant Chen reacted extremely quickly, turning the steering wheel sharply and stepping on the brakes at the same time!
“Squeak—Gah!”
The tires rubbed against the ground violently, making a teeth-grinding sound. The Rolls-Royce narrowly avoided the truck's impact at an extremely dangerous angle, but the car body still inevitably shook violently, and finally slammed into the roadside guardrail!
"Bang!"
A muffled sound.
The airbag deployed instantly.
Su Lingwan was thrown forward by the huge inertia, and then was pulled back into the seat by the seat belt. Her heart almost stopped beating with fear, and her brain went blank.
After a brief moment of silence, she suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly looked at Huo Linshen beside her: "Huo Linshen! How are you?"
Huo Linshen did not respond.
He lowered his head, his hands tightly gripping the leather seat beneath him, his knuckles white from excessive force, even trembling slightly. The airbag was slowly deflating, but he seemed to be frozen there, motionless.
"Huo Linshen?" Su Lingwan's heart sank, thinking he was injured. She quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to check. "Are you feeling unwell? Did you get hit?"
She reached out to touch his arm, but he slammed it away!
The force wasn't great, but it carried a kind of resistance that was almost stressful and... fear?
Su Lingwan was stunned.
In the dim light from the window, she saw Huo Linshen's face was a frightening paleness, even worse than the night he'd had a stomachache. Fine beads of cold sweat dripped from his forehead, trickling down his angular jawline. His eyes were tightly closed, his thick eyelashes trembling violently. His breathing was rapid and disordered, his chest heaving violently, as if he were trapped in an inescapable nightmare.
This is not simply a shock.
"Huo Linshen? What's wrong with you?" Su Lingwan didn't dare to touch him again and could only anxiously call his name in a low voice, "Look at me, it's okay, it's just an accident, it's okay now..."
Assistant Chen had already gotten out of the car to deal with the accident and contact a new vehicle. Inside the car, there were only the two of them, and the sound of the endless rain outside the window.
Huo Linshen seemed to have heard her voice and struggled to open his eyelids. His eyes were vacant, unfocused, and deep within them swirled a thick, undiminished pain and fear unlike anything Su Lingwan had ever seen. Those eyes didn't resemble those of a omnipotent business tycoon, but more like those of... a helpless teenager trapped in horrific memories.
"...car..." He uttered a broken syllable in his throat, his voice very hoarse, "...fire..."
Su Lingwan's heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand. She suddenly remembered that she had vaguely heard some rumors about the Huo family, about a tragic car accident many years ago...
She wasn't sure, but Huo Linshen's reaction at that moment undoubtedly confirmed that the rumors were not groundless. The car accident must have left him with extremely deep psychological trauma, one that he still couldn't get rid of.
Seeing him so vulnerable, Su Lingwan felt a tightness in her chest. His usual coldness, distance, and dominance had, at that moment, become a hard shell protecting the wounds within him. And now, this sudden and unexpected incident shattered that shell, revealing the bloody, unhealed wounds within.
She no longer hesitated, and forgot the embarrassment of being waved away by him just now. She reached out her hand, and this time, her movements were extremely gentle. She didn't touch his tense body, but carefully covered the back of his tightly clenched fist, the veins bulging.
Her palm was warm and soft, in stark contrast to the coldness and stiffness of his hand.
Huo Linshen's body trembled violently, as if he wanted to break free, but Su Lingwan did not let go. Instead, she wrapped his cold fingers with a lighter and more determined force.
"It's okay, Huo Linshen." Her voice was unusually clear and gentle amid the patter of rain, like a warm current trying to dispel the chill around him. "Look at me, I'm Su Lingwan. We're safe. The car didn't catch fire. It was just a minor collision. It's over now."
She patiently repeated soothing words over and over again, calling his name and telling him that he was safe now.
Huo Linshen's rapid breathing gradually calmed down, and his scattered gaze began to focus, finally landing on her face, which was filled with worry and tenderness. The warmth of her palm seeped through his skin and gradually seeped into his cold blood, strangely soothing his frantic heartbeat and the terrifying memories that threatened to burst forth.
He turned around and grabbed her hand with such force that it almost broke her finger bones.
Su Lingwan frowned in pain, but did not pull back, allowing him to hold her tightly, as if she was the only piece of driftwood he could hold on to in the stormy waves.
"...Su...Lingwan?" He confirmed hoarsely, with a hint of confusion in his eyes as if he had survived a disaster.
"It's me." Su Lingwan nodded affirmatively and gave him a soothing smile that was as relaxed as possible. "We're fine."
Huo Lin looked at her deeply, the emotions surging in his eyes were complex and difficult to discern. There was lingering fear, the embarrassment of being seen as vulnerable by her, and another kind of... warmth and peace that even he himself could not define, which was dependent on her at the moment.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, although his face was still pale, his eyes had regained some clarity. However, something seemed to have quietly changed in those bottomless pupils.
He loosened his grip a little, but still didn't let go of her hand.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice still hoarse.
Su Lingwan shook her head: "No need to apologize."
At this time, Assistant Chen knocked on the car window and a new vehicle had arrived.
Huo Lin took a deep breath, completely released her hand, pushed open the car door and got out. The heavy rain instantly soaked his hair and shoulders, but he seemed unaware of it, his back still straight. However, his back, inexplicably stained with a shadow of loneliness in the vast rainy night.
Su Lingwan followed and got in. Both of them were damp, and the car was filled with a different kind of silence than usual.
This time, the silence was no longer alienated and awkward, but was mixed with too many thrilling experiences they had just shared, as well as... some secrets that were exposed after the disguise was accidentally torn off.
Su Lingwan looked at Huo Linshen's cold but pale face, her heart filled with complex emotions. She seemed to have accidentally touched the most painful and unknown corner of his heart.
That corner was dark, cold, and covered with scars.
And just now, she seemed to... accidentally bring in a little bit of faint light.
Huo Linshen's gaze was always fixed on the window. The rain was winding down on the glass, just like his confused mood at the moment.
He hated the feeling of being out of control, hated having his worst side seen. But strangely, when her warm hands covered him, when she soothed him with such a gentle and firm voice, the darkness and fear that threatened to swallow him actually... gradually receded.
He held her hand, and the delicate touch and warmth of her skin seemed to remain in his palm.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the chair.
Su Lingwan.
This name, along with her worried eyes and warm palms in the rain tonight, were like an indelible mark, deeply engraved in his mind, and entangled with his dark past.
The rain is still falling.
But some things have been changing quietly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
