“It’s not just this.” She lowered her head, hiding her expression from him. “There’s a lot more… Chen Ningsheng, we’re not right for each other. Let’s just leave it at that.”
The station's announcement system rang out, "The train bound for H City will depart in five minutes. Passengers who have not yet boarded, please hurry and get on the train."
People were all around, bidding them farewell, and a deep sorrow of parting enveloped them.
To others, they were just an ordinary couple about to part ways.
"Lu Minshi." Chen Ningsheng chuckled self-deprecatingly, but his tone was unwavering. "I won't take back what I said. I've decided you're mine, and I'll never let you go, not even if there are a hundred or a thousand reasons why we're not a good match."
Xu Xinchen was not surprised to hear these words. Chen Ningsheng was just that chauvinistic. He would do anything to get what he wanted, like a beloved toy, and would not tolerate anyone coveting it in the slightest.
But he didn't know how to respect and cherish.
The train conductor walked past the two of them. In the blink of an eye, the woman in front of Chen Ningsheng suddenly disappeared, and his usually calm face instantly betrayed his panic.
He looked around, wanting to board the train, but was stopped by the conductor in front of him. "Sir, the train is about to depart. Please show your ticket."
He tried with all his might to get on the train, but the train conductor couldn't stop him. He called over two more people, and together they grabbed his waist and pulled at his clothes. "Sir, the train is about to leave. It's dangerous for you to be like this."
"Lu Minshi, get off." Chen Ningsheng stared intently at the train that was about to depart. People around him pulled him back, and he desperately tried to get closer to the door. But beep beep beep, the train doors closed, the whistle sounded, and the train began to move with a clang.
"Lu Minshi!" he roared, his eyes red as if they were about to bleed, but he couldn't stop the train from moving further and further away from him.
One by one, figures flashed past him through the car window. Occasionally, he would glance out the window and see a beautiful and familiar profile, her head down, studying a book on the table, without looking out the window at all.
"Lu Minshi." His eyes were fixed on the departing train, and he remained motionless for a long time.
"I will search the whole world for you in my lifetime!"
Those familiar with Chen Ningsheng have been hesitant to approach him lately. He hasn't been to the company for many days. In the most bustling bar in G City, Chen Ningsheng was completely drunk. Shi Chu, standing beside him, sighed softly upon seeing him like this.
He had already finished two bottles of whiskey, so he called over the waiter and asked for another one.
Shi Chuying waved for the waiter to leave, snatched the wine glass from his hand, and frowned, "If you keep drinking like this, do you want to die?"
Chen Ningsheng didn't react at all to these words, only managing a sorrowful smile. "What's the point of me living now?"
He had grown a mustache and looked completely different from the Chen Ningsheng he had seen when he left. His eyes were unfocused and empty, as if nothing in the world could arouse his interest anymore.
He slumped over the table, looking utterly disheveled, like a dejected homeless man. "How could she be so heartless...she just abandoned me like that..."
Hearing this, Shi Chuying felt a surge of anger. He couldn't help but grab the man by the collar, lift him up, pick up a wine bottle from the table, and gulp it down. The red wine, like blood, dripped onto the ground along the man's sharply defined cheeks.
"Chen Ningsheng, you're not like this at all. It's just a woman who turned you into this. Are you still the Chen Ningsheng I know?"
Chen Ningsheng stared blankly at him without saying a word.
"Where is that ambitious person who, against her family's wishes, insisted on dragging me into starting a company, saying she wanted to realize her dreams? Now look at you like this, who the hell are you trying to impress? You're heartbroken for her, do you think she'll even give you a second glance?"
He released his grip, and Chen Ningsheng collapsed to the ground. Shi Chuying saw that he seemed to be in a daze, so she didn't say anything more, leaving him alone to think.
That evening, Chen Ningsheng returned to the hotel. He owned property in G City, but he never left this hotel. He stubbornly clung to her scent and her fragrance.
A person was squatting on the ground by the door.
Chen Ningsheng frowned as he watched Chen Bailing stand up and walk towards him.
Chen Bailing looked at him in surprise, took a few quick steps, her eyes filled with heartache, "Asheng, what happened to you?"
Chen Ningsheng shoved her away, avoiding her body.
Chen Bailing followed him into the room, where everything was in a mess.
Empty wine bottles and cigarette butts littered the room, and a few dirty clothes were scattered haphazardly beside the bed.
Chen Ningsheng stepped over him without watching him enter the bathroom.
The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom. Chen Bailing bit her lip and gathered up the clothes by his bedside, intending to wash them in the bathroom. But then she noticed that it was a women's dress.
The black lace trim makes it immediately clear whose it is.
Her gaze gradually dimmed.
I brought in the clothes, opened the window, and picked up all the trash on the floor.
The sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and a moment later the door opened. Chen Ningsheng walked out in slippers, shirtless. Perhaps not expecting anyone to be there, he stopped and looked at Chen Bailing sitting by the window with surprise.
The room had been completely renovated, and he glanced around.
Chen Bailing watched nervously as he slowly approached and sat down beside her. Water droplets still clung to his body, sliding down his bare chest and disappearing into his abdomen.
"Did you tidy all this up?" Chen Ningsheng looked down at her, his eyes unreadable to her.
She nodded gently. She fetched a towel from the bathroom, her face flushed, and said, "Ah Sheng, let me help you scrub your back."
Chen Ningsheng didn't speak. She boldly stepped forward, knelt behind him, and placed a towel on his bronze back, wiping it little by little.
The air was quiet; only her breathing could be heard.
"Ah Sheng, how can your body take this kind of work every day? Your uncle is very worried about you. Last time I went to your house, your uncle was still asking about you. You haven't been home for a long time. You should go back and see your uncle."
"Your uncle wasn't to blame for what happened back then. Although he used Miss Lu's father to blackmail you, it was also a test of your relationship. If you can't even withstand this test, how will you get along in the future?"
The air was silent. Chen Ningsheng lowered his head, shrouded in shadow, only his sharply defined profile could be seen in the dim light.
When that woman left, Chen Ningsheng went crazy, sending everyone around him to H City to search for her, but to no avail. In the end, he personally went to interrogate Chen Bohui, and the father and son had a very tense argument because of this.
Later, Chen Bailing overheard that it was indeed because Chen Bohui used his connections to drive the woman away. After that, Chen Ningsheng almost never returned home again.
Suddenly, a large hand enveloped Chen Ningsheng's hand. He tilted his head slightly, and the light cast a silhouette on his face. "Go back."
Chen Bailing remained motionless. Perhaps the darkness gave her courage. There were only two people in the room, and the demon in her heart was released. She boldly stepped forward, reached out and hugged his neck from behind, pressing her chest and abdomen tightly against his back.
She clearly felt Chen Ningsheng's body suddenly stiffen.
"Ah Sheng." Her eyes were fixed on the darkness, lost in thought. "Ah Sheng, she's given up on you. She doesn't want you anymore. Aren't you going to give up?"
From the moment she first saw him when she was ten years old, she could no longer see anyone else.
Back then, he was proud and mischievous. He liked to bully her, pull her pigtails, and make her cry while laughing. Because of bullying her, he was often beaten by Uncle Chen.
However, although he bullied her, he wouldn't allow others to bully her. Whenever a boy played a prank on her like he did, he would sternly chase them away.
Those beautiful days of her youth will always be the most precious part of her memory, because with him there, she lived like a carefree little princess.
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she hugged him tighter, but the man in front of her remained unmoved, his straight back unbent. She thought unwillingly, even if he had a heart of stone, she was determined to wear him down with persistent effort.
In the darkness, she slowly groped forward along his earlobe, hairline, and chin, just as she was about to touch his lips, she was stopped.
Chen Ningsheng held her fingers in his hand, his face expressionless, his voice as cold as ice, "Don't touch me, she doesn't like dirty things."
She froze, as if struck by a heavy blow.
Dirty? Does he think she's dirty?
Chen Ningsheng, how could you be so heartless?
Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes, streaming down her cheeks. She knew without looking how disheveled she looked, but she didn't care. Resolutely, she cupped his face in her hands, desperately trying to get closer.
She fell onto the bed, and Chen Ningsheng pressed down on her, holding her tightly to the bed with both hands, staring at her intently.
The two stared at each other in silence for a few minutes.
She went mad, completely mad; she finally saw cruelty in his face.
“You are not her, you are not even a substitute for her.” He delivered a ruthless and fatal blow to her.
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