Chapter 129 A Two-Way Trip: I'm willing to go all out and make a bet with you...
In He Ming's mind, expressing love through material things is the simplest and most straightforward method.
He thought that Zhu Liushuang would accept it happily, just like other girls.
But he was wrong; she was not an ordinary girl.
She lost her father at a young age, and her mother, who earned a low salary and suffered from illness, did not have an easy life.
During her school years, she was ostracized by her classmates because of financial difficulties; after starting work, she shouldered the burden of her family, taking care of her mother and squeezing in time to set up a stall to earn money in her spare time...
He didn't have a comprehensive understanding of Zhu Liushuang's past. Some of the information about her came from the accounts of Ye Xingzhi, Gu Xuting, and others, while the rest came from her own account.
But in reality, she rarely confided her negative feelings to him. Most of the time, she would talk about the past in a nonchalant tone, as if the hardships and grievances she had suffered were insignificant.
He Ming had hardly participated in Zhu Liushuang's life for the first twenty-odd years, but with these scattered fragments of information, it was enough for him to sketch out a unique image of her in his mind.
She possessed so many admirable qualities that captivated him: kindness, resilience, gentleness, thrift... These precious qualities enveloped her like layers of sturdy clothing.
But that's not all of her.
She still has a fragile part of her soul hiding beneath her hard shell.
Sensitive, insecure, stubborn, obstinate... She stands in the shadow of past traumas, longing to be loved yet afraid of indebted to others.
"Liushuang, I gave you this gift because I like you. It's my way of expressing my love for you... I never expected you to repay me anything."
An endless bitterness spread through He Ming's heart. He gradually realized that those actions he thought would please her were perhaps an extremely heavy psychological burden for Zhu Liushuang.
When he constantly provides her with material care, she becomes increasingly aware of the economic gap between them, which intensifies her feelings of inferiority.
Zhu Liushuang was engrossed in eating when she heard He Ming's hoarse voice and looked up at him.
Was it her imagination? She actually saw a hint of bewilderment in his eyes.
The atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly became heavy. He wouldn't let go of the topic, so she had no choice but to pull herself together and face the problem directly: "I'm just... a little apprehensive... I didn't earn this money myself..."
“Joint property of the couple.” He Ming emphasized, “Liu Shuang, I hope you can remember these words. Don’t forget, we are married. The Marriage Law stipulates that all property acquired during the marriage is joint property of the couple. We did not have a prenuptial agreement, so even if you want to register for divorce, the property will be divided equally according to the law.”
His eyes were as deep as the ocean, captivating her. Her tongue brushed against her lips, and Zhu Liushuang was once again rendered speechless by his words.
"Are you feeling uneasy because you think we're not on equal footing economically?" He Ming probed.
Zhu Liushuang bit her lip and nodded.
He Ming's eyes darkened further as he slowly said, "Liu Shuang, a person's worth cannot be judged solely by income and savings. In terms of circumstances, you are actually better off than me. At least you have a loving mother, your parents have a happy relationship, and you love each other deeply. As for me..."
He said self-deprecatingly, "You've seen what my dad is like. He has a new family now and doesn't have a single bit of love for me. Don't laugh at me, but long before my mother passed away, he was already having an affair with his secretary. Not long after my mother died, he brazenly brought his pregnant secretary home. To please his new lover, he didn't hesitate to send me to my maternal grandparents' house. Now, even my grandfather, the only one who cared about me, is gone..."
Zhu Liushuang never imagined that He Ming would lower himself so much. He didn't hesitate to reopen old wounds and tell her that in matters of the heart, no one is superior to another. He was just an ordinary person, a person whose family ties had crumbled, a person filled with loneliness and desolation.
Tears blurred her vision, and Zhu Liushuang suddenly realized that she had once again gotten stuck in a rut.
Because she had a crush on him first, she always subconsciously placed him on a higher pedestal, standing on tiptoe to look up at him. But she forgot that everyone has their own light, and that she herself possessed something he sought and admired.
If it weren't for the table full of dishes in between, Zhu Liushuang would have loved to throw herself into He Ming's arms and tell him that she loved him, loved him very, very much.
Her heels, which had been firmly planted on the ground, slowly loosened. She tried to get up, but the person across the table spoke again: "Liu Shuang, I'm far from being as virtuous and upright as you think. I spend money on you simply because I have nothing else to offer besides material things. Everyone else has a family to support them, but I don't... To be honest, I'm not confident in front of you. I feel uneasy, I doubt myself, and I'm afraid that after careful consideration, you'll leave me."
The deep-seated Chinese yearning for family reunion and harmony left He Ming with a profound sense of incompleteness. His desperate clinging to Zhu Liushuang was perhaps an attempt to find solace for his soul.
Only she made him feel the warmth of family again.
So, she wasn't the only one who was plagued by anxieties and uncertainties?
Zhu Liushuang could hardly believe her ears. She squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth, "Senior... please stop. I'm willing..."
Just then, the waiter's voice rang out untimely: "Sir, Madam, the birthday noodles are ready. Would you like them brought to you?"
Zhu Liushuang swallowed the words she hadn't finished saying and pulled out a tissue to cover her mouth.
Without asking her opinion, He Ming cleared his throat and said, "Bring it up, and bring the cake and candles over as well."
The waiter waiting outside the curtain whispered a few words into his earpiece, and in the blink of an eye, another waiter pushed a food cart over. They cleared away several cold dishes from the table, lit candles for the cake, and then left the private room.
The overhead lights dimmed appropriately, and the flickering candlelight cast a warm yellow glow on their faces.
The atmosphere was a little more relaxed than before. He Ming lifted his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over Zhu Liushuang's face. The woman's eyes were red-rimmed, and two flickering flames danced in her bright eyes.
“Liu Shuang, I’m not telling you this to pressure you. I’m two years older than you, I have more social experience, and I might be more rational in my thinking. Although I’ve never been in a relationship, I know that for two people to truly be together, their values must align. And once some misunderstandings arise, if they aren’t addressed and resolved in time, they can become ticking time bombs… Let’s not talk about this anymore.” He Ming chuckled and patted her hand reassuringly. “The candles have been burning for a while now, make a wish first.”
The last time I made a wish so solemnly was when Zhu Liu turned twenty.
At that time, her father was still alive and well, and her maternal grandparents were also healthy. Under the watchful eyes of her loved ones, she wished to get a perfect score on her final exams and for the whole family to be healthy.
The cakes back then weren't as fancy as the ones you have now. They were made with vegetable cream, which was hard but very sweet.
This sweetness was etched in her memory, turning into a bittersweet longing as time passed.
Zhu Liushuang closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and made three wishes in her heart.
After making her wish, she opened her eyes with a "whoosh" and looked intently at He Ming: "Senior, do you want to know what I wished for?"
"If you don't say it, it won't work. Blow out the candles." The man handed her a dinner knife.
“But I want to tell you…” Zhu Liushuang rested her chin on her hand and blinked through the flickering candlelight.
The woman's long, dark eyelashes brushed against her eyelids like a gentle night breeze, caressing He Ming's heart. A ripple of emotion stirred within him, and he moved his lips, saying, "Hmm, then I'll answer again. I want to hear it."
His voice was so gentle that Zhu Liushuang felt as if she were lying in soft clouds, all her sharp edges being smoothed out.
“My third wish is related to my senior.” She looked at him and said, “I—hope—to—enter into a real marriage with He Ming and build a warm family together.”
Amidst the surrounding noise, her voice, like a pebble, struck the depths of his heart with unerring accuracy.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment as He Ming's hand tightened subtly around the chopsticks. The candlelight illuminated his handsome face, his eyelashes drooping and casting a shadow in his eyes.
One second, two seconds, three seconds, or even longer, before he slowly raised his head and asked in a tight voice, "Liu Shuang, have you thought it through? I said I could give you time to think it over carefully."
“Yes, I’ve thought it through,” Zhu Liushuang said firmly. “How long should I think about it? One day, two days, three days, four days… No matter how many days it takes, I don’t think my answer will change.”
She smiled at him with tearful eyes, and as she smiled, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes: "I admit it, I've fallen in love with you too, He Ming. If you don't think my genes are a burden, and are willing to face the unknown difficulties with me, then... I'm willing to go all out and gamble with you on the possibility of spending my life together."
The candlelight illuminated He Ming's tense jaw and his knuckles, which were clenched until they were red. When he spoke, his voice was surprisingly calm: "Liu Shuang, there are so many diseases in this world. High blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease... or even cancer, all have a genetic predisposition. But these are just matters of probability. You are healthy now, aren't you?"
Zhu Liushuang nodded, her voice choked with emotion.
"If you are afraid of getting sick, we can start taking preventative measures now, such as having a physical examination every year, increasing exercise appropriately, keeping warm, avoiding prolonged desk work, avoiding exposure to cold and damp environments, and preventing colds and infections..."
What He Ming said was no different from what the doctor had warned her about.
He had actually done his homework in advance!
“Okay…” Zhu Liushuang replied, moved.
He Ming, seemingly worried she might not understand, added, "Liu Shuang, you've had genetic testing, which makes you concerned about the future. Just because I haven't had it done doesn't mean I'm completely healthy. Everyone has the potential to carry certain disease-causing genes, and even if the genetic test is normal, a person can still suddenly get sick. Even if it's not a disease, it could be some other accident..."
Just like your father and my mother.
He Ming kept those words in his heart.
Through her teary eyes, Zhu Liushuang listened to his patient words of comfort through the blurry mist.
The candles on the cake were almost burned out, and the wax dripped down next to the character "乐" (joy), winding into a thin river.
"Senior... thank you." She finally couldn't suppress the urge to rush towards him, moved her chair aside, and strode over to He Ming's side.
Seeing her stand up, the man sitting opposite her immediately stood up as well.
Before He Mingren could even stand still, Zhu Liushuang recklessly crashed into his arms.
The man pressed against her stiffened noticeably, and upon realizing what was happening, he reached out without hesitation and pinned her against his chest.
Zhu Liu listened intently to his heartbeat, one beat after another. At first, it was fairly steady. Gradually, its rhythm changed, becoming faster and louder. For the first time, that deafening pounding resonated with her own heartbeat.
She closed her eyes contentedly, savoring this moment of being close to each other.
Outside the curtains, shadowy figures moved about, and footsteps occasionally brushed past the private room. Inside, however, all was quiet.
Zhu Liushuang didn't know when the lights above her head turned on; all she knew was that her ten-year-long unrequited love had finally come to an end.
Her heart pounded wildly, and she unconsciously gripped his clothes tighter. Her mind was overwhelmed by indescribable joy, and in the midst of this throbbing, she heard He Ming's calm voice coming from above her.
"Liu Shuang, my maternal grandfather had high blood pressure, and my maternal grandmother passed away from heart failure caused by long-term coronary heart disease. So... does that mean I'm more likely to develop these two diseases than the average person? Well then... we're even."
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Author's Note: Shuangshuang and my senior are both such wonderful people [please][please] I love them so much [please]
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