Chapter 123 Deep Apologetic He lowered his head slightly, his cool lips brushing against hers...
She didn't foolishly sit in the living room waiting for him.
He Ming felt fortunate for this.
But the next second, his heart sank involuntarily, and a hurricane of desolation swept through his eyes.
His feet moved forward uncontrollably. He walked through the corridor, entered the living room, and his gaze wandered back and forth in the nearly 100-square-meter space before finally settling on the direction of the dining room.
There shouldn't be anyone there at this time, but a small figure is huddled up there.
Bright white light poured down, enveloping her in a hazy glow, making everything seem like a dream.
He Ming stopped in his tracks and rubbed his eyes in a daze.
The woman's figure became clearer. She sat hunched over in the dining chair, her knees drawn up and pressed tightly against her head. He Ming vaguely remembered that when the two of them were trapped in the warehouse, Zhu Liushuang had also sought some comfort in this embracing posture.
A pang of heartache welled up in his eyes. He gently took a step to approach her, but his head, which was buried in his knees, suddenly moved.
He Ming instinctively held his breath, afraid of waking her. The person in the dining chair, however, was completely unaware of his arrival, turning her head to face away with her eyes closed.
Amidst the rustling sounds, the half of her face that was exposed happened to be facing him.
He Ming lowered his gaze and stared at her silently. The woman's cheeks were flushed, and a few strands of messy hair clung to the corners of her mouth. Although she was asleep, she was not sleeping soundly. Her delicate eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and her long eyelashes trembled from time to time, as if she were haunted by something terrible, and a few sobs escaped from her throat.
A sudden, sharp pain shot through his heart. He rushed to her side, and before he was fully conscious, his right hand had already landed on her arched back. As before, he gently stroked her back, trying to ease her nightmare.
His gaze shifted, and the jarring sight on the dining table made him feel even more guilty.
A plate of long-cold fried rice lay abandoned on the table, chopsticks and spoons rolled to the corners. Directly in front of her, an empty wine bottle stood abruptly upside down, a few streaks of dark red liquid clinging to its sides…
A bitter feeling spread through his chest, and his left hand, hanging by his side, was clenched so tightly that his fingertips turned white. He Ming deeply regretted missing Zhu Liushuang's birthday tonight.
Even though he wasn't busy today, he still used working overtime as an excuse to refuse her invitation.
Even though he guessed she might be waiting for him, he still dawdled until this late before going home.
Why...didn't she go to the Dream Restaurant?
In He Ming's mind, although Zhu Liushuang wouldn't be with him tonight, she could at least have a grand birthday celebration with her family and friends at the Dream Fate Restaurant.
But reality was completely different from what he had expected. On such an important day, she only ate a meager plate of fried rice with eggs, and even... barely ate a few bites.
We finished all the wine!
Isn't her alcohol tolerance quite low? Drinking this much must make her stomach uncomfortable, right?
The hand that was stroking her back suddenly stopped and slowly reached towards Zhu Liushuang's cheek. He Ming's fingertips trembled slightly as he gently brushed away the strands of hair that clung to her lips, then tucked them behind her ear.
Without her hair obscuring her face, her flushed profile became even more striking in his eyes. As he drew closer, he noticed that her eyelids were swollen, bearing traces of tears.
He Ming felt a lump in his throat, his gaze lingering on her face with an almost greedy intensity.
Her furrowed brows, her reddened eyes, her lips pressed into a thin line, the tear tracks glistening on her cheeks…
A strong sour feeling welled up in his nose. If it weren't for reason controlling his brain, He Ming would have wanted to punch himself.
It's hard to imagine what she was feeling as she waited for him in this desolate home.
After waiting for a long time without receiving her food, she lost her appetite and finally resorted to drinking to drown her sorrows.
Just thinking about it made He Ming feel a dull ache in his heart.
The pain spread through his limbs and bones, making him realize with all his might that his previous actions were simply despicable.
He's a man; he should be decisive and responsible, not run away and betray other people's feelings.
Whether to advance or retreat, his heart senses it far more clearly than his brain.
Then let himself sink deeper; he didn't want to let go.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, He Ming leaned down and gently hugged Zhu Liushuang's trembling shoulders from behind. He held her tightly, his grip tightening until the person in his arms murmured uncomfortably, at which point he loosened his hold slightly.
The chair back pressed painfully against his chest, but he seemed oblivious, continuing to hold her in his arms.
The room was quiet, with only two breaths of different frequencies mingling in the air, one shallow and the other rapid.
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After an unknown amount of time, long enough that his palms were damp with sweat, He Ming finally released his hand.
The woman in the dining chair showed no signs of waking up, so he picked up the bowls, chopsticks, and wine bottle from the table and went to the kitchen.
After quickly clearing away the dishes, he rushed back to Zhu Liushuang's side and knelt down in front of her.
"Liu Shuang, Liu Shuang... wake up, go back to your room and sleep." Staying curled up in the dining chair wasn't a solution, so he called to her gently.
"Hmm...don't make noise..." The sleeping woman opened her eyelids a crack, and then turned her head to the other side, not fully awake.
He Ming tried several times, but could not wake Zhu Liushuang.
So he had no choice but to reach out and slowly slip his hands under her knees and back, steady himself, and lift her up in his arms.
He used to carry her on his back when she injured her foot.
I thought she was light-weight back then, but now that I'm holding her in my arms like a princess, I feel even more that she is petite.
The sudden change in position made her instinctively lean towards him.
He Ming lowered his head, carefully tracing her sleeping face. The woman in his arms smacked her lips, her smooth forehead pressing against the crook of his neck. The sudden skin-to-skin contact made him stiffen. He Ming stopped, took a deep breath, and then continued carrying her toward the second bedroom.
From the dining room to the second bedroom, a distance of only a dozen meters, he could have walked quickly, but instead he walked extremely slowly, as if taking a stroll.
The person in his arms seemed to sense his presence, and the expression on her face slowly relaxed. She murmured a few indistinctly in her sleep, and snuggled deeper into the crook of his neck.
The fluffy bangs tickled his neck, and He Ming subconsciously clenched his back teeth.
After their long journey, the two moved to the doorway of the second bedroom.
He lifted her up a little and freed one hand to open the door.
With a click, the key turned and the wooden door was gently pushed open.
He pressed the switch on the wall, and instantly, warm yellow light illuminated the entire room.
This was the first time he had entered her room since she moved in.
The interior furnishings remained largely unchanged, with only the addition of some small ornaments that girls would like. A snow-white rabbit doll sat beside the pillow, its bright red, glassy eyes particularly striking. The sweet fragrance unique to girls filled his nostrils, and He Ming awkwardly pursed his lips as he continued walking inside.
As he was observing her room, the person in his arms suddenly opened her eyes.
By the time he belatedly realized she was awake, Zhu Liushuang had been staring at him blankly for a long time.
“Liu Shuang…” He Ming paused and gently placed her on the bed.
Zhu Liushuang did not respond, but just stared at him blankly.
She seemed not to be fully awake yet, her almond-shaped eyes, flushed with red, looking bewildered.
He Ming suppressed his anxiety and asked her, "Are you feeling unwell?"
The person leaning against the bed seemed not to hear her; she slowly raised a hand and touched his face.
"He Ming? What are you doing here..."
The unexpected cry of "He Ming" froze him in place. He sat on the edge of the bed, letting her knead his cheeks.
"It doesn't hurt at all! Hehe... It really was a dream..." The woman's soft, boneless hand gradually slid down, and along with her fingers, tears also slid down from the corners of her eyes.
In the blink of an eye, tears streamed down her face.
“Scumbag…” she accused him, her eyes clouded with rage. “Why were you so good to me a while ago… and now you’re hiding away, I can’t even see you…”
His eardrums rang, and the words "scumbag" pierced him deeply. His chest tightened, making it hard to breathe; He Ming truly understood what it meant to "reap what you sow."
With a pained expression, he murmured, following her words, "Yeah, scumbag, I'm a scumbag..."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Liushuang chuckled, "You know what? I cancelled the dinner at Mengyuan Restaurant! The very day you made the reservation... I cancelled it! That restaurant is so greedy... they wanted to charge a 5% penalty, 100 yuan... I'll compensate you..."
Although she appeared to be smiling, tears never stopped welling up in her eyes.
He Ming tentatively reached out, wanting to wipe away the tears on her face, but before his hand could even reach halfway, Zhu Liushuang slapped it away.
"Don't touch me!" Her voice suddenly rose. "What right do you have to touch me? You're not allowed to hold my hand, hug me, or hold me... We're not really husband and wife!"
It felt as if a sharp blade had ripped flesh from his chest, the pain shooting straight to his heart. He Ming, his eyes red, listened quietly to her accusations.
"Waaaaah... Why? Why are you suddenly acting like a different person... Gu Xufeng said you came back this afternoon, so where did you go? Today... Waaaaah... I've told you so many times, it's my birthday... My birthday..." she said intermittently, her voice filled with unbearable sobs.
"sorry……"
"You didn't do anything wrong to me... I was just being delusional..."
"I'm sorry... Liu Shuang... I'm so sorry..."
"It's all fake, it's all fake..."
He couldn't utter any other words besides "I'm sorry." But the three words "I'm sorry" felt so pale and powerless; every time he said them, the girl sitting opposite him would sob.
The more He Ming apologized, the more Zhu Liushuang cried.
Tears streamed down his face, and his reason rose and fell amidst her torrent of tears, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
In a moment of desperation, he leaned forward and, ignoring her struggles, firmly cupped her face in his hands.
He was so forceful, yet so careful.
He gently stroked the woman's wet face with his thumb, wiping away her tears one by one, and coaxed her softly, "Liu Shuang, it's not a dream. I'm here, really here... Be good, don't cry, it's my fault."
"You're lying...you're not He Ming!"
The woman's small face writhed wildly in his palm. Tears streamed through her fingers, and a wave of impatience welled up in He Ming's eyes.
Almost instinctively, he lowered his head slightly, his cool lips, filled with bitterness, pressed against hers.
In an instant, everything around us was frozen in time.
The heavy breathing of each other echoed in our ears.
The woman who was crying and screaming just a second ago suddenly lost the ability to break free. She stared at him blankly with empty, broken eyes.
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Author's Note: [The lop-eared rabbit head] kissed!
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