72. He has already taken action
In the deserted fighting gym, Ling Ling and Sheng Nan were engaged in a fierce battle. Originally, Sheng Nan had intended to be several levels ahead of Ling Ling, but he couldn't handle the ferocious, chaotic, and brutal fight. Ling Ling, like a desperate gambler, pummeled her with blows. "Ling Ling, do you have any conscience? Not only did you not bring me any gifts after returning from America, but you're also trying to silence me?" Sheng Nan approached, grabbing her arm and yelling at her. But Ling Ling simply said, "I told you not to let me go today," and then intensified her attack, launching a swerving kick. Fortunately, Sheng Nan dodged in time, otherwise he would have lost two teeth. Hao Shengnan spotted Long Jia, who was watching from the sidelines below the ring. With a deft slither, she slid down below, thrust her gloves against Long Jia's chest, and said, "You play with her, I'm not going to fight. This girl must have taken the wrong medicine today!" "I don't think she took any." Long Jia didn't want to enter the ring either. But Ling Ling was already yelling at him, "Long Jia, get up here!" Long Jia figured she'd exhausted her energy after a few rounds with Hao Shengnan, and there wasn't much else to do, so she simply climbed the spring railing and stepped into the ring. Unexpectedly, Ling Ling attacked him even more ferociously, like a starving lioness tearing into a fat stag. Desperate to end this bizarre fight, Long Jia unleashed a powerful punch, knocking her to the ground. Ling Ling fell facedown, gasping for air as if suffocating. Before long, Hao Shengnan and Long Jia could hear her sobbing. "I didn't use any force!" Long Jia immediately distanced himself from the matter when he saw Sheng Nan rolling his eyes at him. Sheng Nan took off Ling Ling's hood and chest protector with great difficulty, because she was sweating all over, and her face was covered with the marks of the hood and tears. "I still can't beat a man, no matter what I do!" Ling Ling sat cross-legged in the middle of the boxing ring, crying and muttering these words over and over again. "Ling Ling, you are so weird today, are you grieving for the social status of women?" Long Jia crouched down and asked her, but she just shook her head and cried. Hao Shengnan sensed something was wrong and squatted down to ask her, "Ling'er, what's wrong? What happened? Did Yu Chuanbei bully you? He won't hit you, will he? If there's anything, just tell us. We can tear you into pieces and throw his head to Siam and his butt to Tibet." Lingling's crying became quieter. She choked back, "I met Lin Kun in New York." "Who?" Longjia couldn't remember the name. "Oh, that—the wooden stick, right?" Hao Shengnan had a better memory...
In the deserted fighting gym, Ling Ling and Sheng Nan were engaged in a fierce battle. Originally, Sheng Nan had intended to be several levels ahead of Ling Ling, but he couldn't handle the ferocious, almost unstoppable, thrashing scene. Ling Ling, like a desperate gambler, unleashed a barrage of blows.
"Lingling, do you have any conscience? Not only did you not bring me any gifts when you came back from the United States, but you also want to kill me?" Shengnan approached her, grabbed her arm and yelled at her.
But Ling Ling just said, "I told you not to let me today," and then she attacked more fiercely. She turned around and kicked sideways. Fortunately, Sheng Nan dodged in time, otherwise he would have lost two teeth.
Hao Shengnan glanced at Long Jia, who was sitting on the sidelines watching the fight. She slid down to the ring nimbly, pressed her boxing gloves against Long Jia's chest, and said, "Just play with her. I'm not going to fight. This girl must have taken the wrong medicine today!"
"I think she didn't take the medicine." Long Jia didn't want to go to the boxing ring either.
But Ling Ling had already yelled at him: "Long Jia, get up here!"
Long Jia thought that she and Hao Shengnan had almost exhausted all their energy in the past few rounds, so there was nothing new to see, so she simply climbed up the spring guardrail and stepped into the boxing ring.
Unexpectedly, Ling Ling treated him even more cruelly, like a starving lioness tearing at a fat stag.
Long Jia wanted to stop this strange fight as soon as possible, so he threw a few punches with all his might and knocked her to the ground.
Ling Ling fell to the ground face down, gasping for air as if she were suffocating. Not long after, Hao Shengnan and Long Jia heard her sobbing.
"I didn't use any force!" When Long Jia saw Sheng Nan rolling his eyes at him, he immediately distanced himself from the matter.
Shengnan took off Lingling's hood and chest protector with great difficulty, because she was covered in sweat, and her face was covered with marks from the hood and tears.
"I still can't beat the man, no matter what I do!" Ling Ling sat cross-legged in the middle of the boxing ring, crying and repeating these words over and over again.
"Lingling, you are so weird today. Are you grieving and angry about the social status of women?" Longjia crouched down and asked her, but she just shook her head and cried.
Hao Shengnan felt something was wrong and squatted down to ask her, "Ling'er, what's wrong? What happened? Did Yu Chuanbei bully you? He won't hit you, will he? If there's anything, just tell us. We can chop you into pieces and throw his head to Siam and his butt to Tubo."
Ling Ling's crying became quieter. She choked up and said, "I met Lin Kun when I was in New York."
"Who?" Long Jia could no longer remember the name.
"Oh, that—the wooden stick, right?" Hao Shengnan had a better memory. Seeing Ling Ling cry even more aggrievedly when she mentioned this man, she asked, "What did he do to you?"
Ling Ling felt that everything was too difficult to talk about, even though she was a mature and educated woman who had enjoyed a modern and open education, even though she knew that she had done nothing wrong, and even though the other person was her best friend, she still found it difficult to talk about it.
"Lingling, don't make us anxious, just tell us what happened!" Hao Shengnan couldn't bear his temper any longer.
Ling Ling tried to muster up the courage to say, "It was at that boxing gym in New York—he almost raped me. Luckily, Yu Chuanbei got there in time."
"Damn it!" After hearing this, Long Jia kicked the guardrail of the boxing ring hard. The anger that had nowhere to vent was accumulating and burning in his heart.
Hao Shengnan hugged Ling Ling, who was crying bitterly, in her arms to comfort her. She knew all the reasons, but was as confused as she was.
Ling Ling gradually regained her senses. She stood up as usual, went to the locker room to take a shower and change clothes, got into Longjia's car, and went home with them.
But this time, she sat in the back row without saying a word. Shengnan looked back at her several times, but she was looking out the window like a clay sculpture or wooden statue.
When they arrived downstairs of her house, Long Jia stopped the car and called her several times before she realized that she had to get out.
Shengnan offered to accompany her upstairs, but she just smiled nonchalantly and said, "Oh, no need. I go to work and come home normally every day. And Yu Chuanbei has been coming home early lately. I vented with you two today, and now I feel much better. I'm fine, don't worry!"
They said goodbye as usual, but after a brief smile, there was sadness that could overwhelm their heads at any time.
"What are you going to do?" Hao Shengnan asked Long Jia after the car restarted.
"I believe Yu Chuanbei should have already taken action." Long Jia responded.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
On New Year's Eve, Yu Chuanbei took Ling Ling to his parents' home to celebrate the festival.
Yu Chuanbei's father, Yu Langshan, is a geologist who, in his youth, traveled extensively with his wife and children. Now retired, he and his wife, Tong Xiaowei, live in a villa in Shunyi. They have a cat, two elderly parents, three dogs, and four children, and they lead a comfortable and relaxed life.
Ling Ling had never visited a home with such a sense of life. There were lush plants in the yard, the path was paved with an unknown deep blue mineral, and the warm magenta tones danced like a song in the bright room.
Yu Chuanbei introduced his family members to Ling Ling one by one, and she greeted them politely. Although his three sisters were triplets, their different living environments and habits in recent years had made them very different.
Eldest sister Yu Lingdong has lived in France for many years, married a foreigner, and has two beautiful mixed-race children. She also invests in art. She is voluptuous and cheerful. Because her parents died in a plane crash, she has always been afraid to fly, so this time she returned to China alone to visit her family, having spent a month on a luxury yacht.
The second sister, Yu Jinnan, studied art and worked as an independent artist in a studio. She was known for her uninhibited and unrestrained temperament. Therefore, even a seasoned man like Luo Hao, who knew how to act according to the circumstances, could never woo this unconventional woman.
My third sister, Yu Jingxi, is a gentle and quiet elementary school teacher in Chaoyang District. She had just given birth, and she and her husband were busy taking care of the baby.
Tong Xiaowei brought out the old photo album and handed it to Ling Ling. Yu Jinnan lazily sat on the sofa, eating the snacks that her eldest sister brought from France, and teased her mother, "Oh, Mom, you're the mother-in-law who always chooses to show her daughter-in-law the photo album. You finally have the chance to perform it!"
Tong Xiaowei admitted generously: "Of course, Beibei finally brought his girlfriend home, and I can finally show off these old photos I've saved for decades."
"Mom! Please stop calling me by my nickname!" Yu Chuanbei immediately resisted, causing Tong Xiaowei to burst into laughter.
Ling Ling curiously asked the worried-looking Yu Chuanbei, "Beibei?"
"Yeah, Lingling, you don't know his nickname yet?" Yu Jinnan jumped in again, "Beibei, Beibei, those are just puns. He's the fourth child in the family, and he's mom and dad's little darling. Haha!"
Yu Chuanbei collapsed on the sofa, no longer wanting to participate in this reality show that dug deep into his shameful childhood.
Under the guidance of Chuanbei's mother, Lingling looked at his childhood photos and found it quite interesting.
Looking at her family album, Tong Xiaowei couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity that none of these four children can inherit our legacy. Only Jingxi is teaching, so she can be considered a colleague of mine."
"Hey, Mom, you and I are so different!" Yu Jingxi said to her mother in a casual tone, gently rocking the cradle in the corner of the living room. "You're a kindergarten teacher, and I'm an elementary school teacher. The cultural level of our students is quite different."
Jingxi's words drew laughter from the whole family. Tong Xiaowei retorted, "What's the difference? You were pointing at the 'self-raising flour' in the kitchen and asking, 'Mom, what is white flour?'"
Seeing her mother picking on her, Jingxi couldn't help but bring up her old trick: "So your classic 'Glass Will Always Bloom' is a perfect fusion of philosophy and literature?"
The mother and daughter were happily bickering, while Yu Chuanbei whispered some background information into Lingling's ear: "When my parents were young, they watched a TV series called 'The Rose Will Always Bloom.' My mother got excited and pronounced it as 'The Glass Will Always Bloom.' My father has been laughing at her for half her life."
Seeing how noisy they were, Yu Lingdong elegantly sat down on the sofa next to Ling Ling and asked her, "Ling Ling, I heard from Chuan Bei that your father was a painter and studied in Germany, right?"
"Yes, Sister Lingdong, when I was a child, my mother told me that my father had held an art exhibition in Germany. But during the summer vacation after I took the high school entrance examination, my parents died in a car accident, so I don't know much about him." Ling Ling said frankly.
Author's Note
Liu Qiu
author
05-01
Yu Jinnan and Luo Hao's extra chapter just finished, 58,309 words. Alas, I look forward to seeing you!
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