Chapter 97 The Scars That Hardly Heal "It hurts—" she gasped. ...
Zhu Liushuang had long realized that she was terrified of He Ming when he frowned and spoke to her sternly. Therefore, she hung her head and dared not argue, letting him hold her wrist firmly.
But she didn't understand why he was so agitated.
Laryngeal edema, asphyxiation, and shock are far from being that serious based on her current symptoms.
The force at his wrist slowly tightened, and she stared blankly at the bulging veins on the inside of his forearm.
Was this still the He Ming she knew? His restraint and politeness, his composure, had all vanished. Through the throbbing veins in the man's arm, it seemed—for the first time, she truly knew him.
The pain from having his wrist squeezed so tightly made Zhu Liu's nose sting.
"Ouch—" she gasped, trying to pull her hand back.
The man seemed to awaken from a dream, the gloom quickly dissipating from his brow. His slender fingers, no longer tense, hovered stiffly in mid-air.
"I'm sorry!" His Adam's apple bobbed heavily, and he couldn't hide his remorse. "I crossed the line, Liu Shuang..."
Zhu Liushuang tilted her head back and forced a smile, still reeling from the shock. She had so much to say, but couldn't bring herself to speak.
Fortunately, someone broke the deadlock for her.
The master bedroom door was wide open, and the voices of several men talking drifted over from afar.
"Old He, I'm done using the restroom, shall we continue?"
"Teacher He, I just sent a document to the group..."
"Old He, Old He...where is he?"
Zhu Liushuang rubbed her reddened wrist and said in a low voice, "Senior, you go to your meeting first. I'll go buy medicine outside the neighborhood." To avoid being discovered by her colleagues, she spoke almost in a whisper.
"Wait for me, it'll be over soon," He Ming said, each word distinct, his sharp gaze carrying an unyielding strength.
"Okay." Zhu Liushuang didn't dare to say more, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll go back to my room to change my clothes."
The man raised his chin and nodded. The two passed each other and walked towards their respective bedrooms.
She had no way of knowing what he said to his colleagues, only that he was even faster than she was.
As she changed her clothes and stepped into the living room, she saw a dark figure standing in the entryway.
Zhu Liu's lips parted slightly, and he asked with a hint of surprise, "Senior, are you done so quickly?"
"Hmm," He Ming said casually, his phone vibrating inappropriately in his pocket. He knew without a doubt who was sending the message. He hadn't even explained before leaving the DingTalk meeting, so it was no wonder Gu Xufeng and the others were bombarding him with messages.
A perfectly good work meeting was abruptly interrupted because of her allergy, leaving Zhu Liushuang feeling quite upset. She didn't want to be a burden to him, constantly troubling him, but things didn't go as planned. He insisted on staying with her, and she simply couldn't refuse.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway, the motion-sensor lights flickering. The gleaming elevator doors reflected their blurry figures standing side by side. Perhaps the night breeze had awakened her groggy mind, for Zhu Liushuang was alarmed to discover that, amidst her guilt, a faint hint of joy lingered in her subconscious.
Humans are selfish animals.
She once wrote in her diary with a grand air, "Unrequited love is a one-person show, I never need any response from you." She also once confidently told her friend, "Even if He Ming ultimately fails to fall in love with me, I will not feel regret."
But she realized she was wrong.
Those self-righteous words were nothing more than a fig leaf to cover her selfishness and desires. The closer she got to him, the more greedy she became. She longed for He Ming to see her, care about her, and even fantasized that he would fall uncontrollably in love with her.
The out-of-control scene tonight is proof of how much he cares about her.
After recognizing her true self, Zhu Liushuang accepted herself and the selfish soul within her.
The car drove into the long night and stopped in front of a 24-hour pharmacy.
"Go buy some allergy medication first."
The dim light from the reading lamp overhead softened the cold, handsome features of his face. Zhu Liushuang hummed in agreement, quickly understanding the meaning behind his words. He probably wanted her to take her medication first as an emergency measure, and then take her to the hospital emergency room.
By the time you finish taking the medicine and rush to the hospital, the rash might have already subsided.
She silently grumbled to herself, but didn't voice her thoughts. Instead, she obediently opened the car door and headed towards the brightly lit pharmacy.
The citrus scent that filled his nostrils gradually faded as the woman left, and He Ming's grip on the steering wheel loosened little by little. He stared blankly ahead, his expression blank, his gaze momentarily unfocused.
He himself never imagined that one day he would lose his mind because of a woman.
If it weren't for Zhu Liushuang's barely audible "it hurts," he wouldn't have realized how much force he had used. Her voice brought him back to his senses and completely pulled him out of control.
The fear buried deep in his memory kept assaulting him, like a saw with sharp spikes repeatedly grinding against his forehead. With the past and reality overlapping, He Ming finally found the source of his pain.
That was a Mid-Autumn Festival many years ago.
At that time, he still harbored a sliver of hope for so-called "fatherly love." Therefore, when faced with his father He Guanshan's enthusiastic invitation, he did not refuse and entered the home that did not belong to him, carrying mooncakes and toys.
His stepmother was so warm and welcoming, she pointed to a table full of delicious food and said it was specially prepared for him. His stepsister, with her two pigtails and barely reaching his waist, tugged at his clothes and kept asking what fun gifts he had brought.
He Ming, unusually, didn't give them the cold shoulder and cooperated with his father in putting on a show of "family harmony." He originally thought that this meal would end politely amidst "fake smiles." Unexpectedly, reality slapped him hard in the face.
He couldn't remember why his father and stepmother had briefly left during the meal. He only remembered that his young stepsister suddenly stood on a chair, reached for the plate of blue crabs furthest from her, and clung to the corner of the table.
Adults' grudges don't compare to those of their children. He Ming didn't hate his stepsister, who was still in kindergarten. With his long arms, he easily moved the plate of swimming crabs closer to her.
"Thank you, brother!" The stepsister excitedly picked up a blue crab bigger than her face, smiling innocently. She clumsily tried to break off the crab's legs, unsure where to start, so she pouted and looked to He Ming for help.
The two adults hadn't returned yet, and the little girl was looking at him expectantly. He Ming had no choice but to take the swimming crab, break open the shell for her, remove the internal organs, scoop out the crab meat with chopsticks, and carefully put it into her bowl.
The little girl was overjoyed, pouting as she said, "Mmm—brother is the best! Mom won't let me eat crabs, I'm so craving them, but now I can finally eat them!"
The snow-white crab meat had barely touched the bowl when it was eagerly scooped up with a spoon. "Smack, smack—" The little girl was enjoying her meal when He Ming stopped digging for more crab meat.
Yao Ying wouldn't let He Yun eat crab? Could it be...?
"Ugh—it's so spicy—" The spoon suddenly fell, shattering and hitting his temple.
He Ming turned his head, and the little girl's flushed face grew larger and larger in front of him.
"It hurts—it hurts—" She grabbed her neck wildly, her fingernails scratching red marks on her skin. But this didn't seem to relieve the pain at all, so she reached for her mouth, trying to dig out the foreign object tormenting her throat.
A drowning-like sob filled my ears.
He Yun suddenly clutched her stomach, curled up like a shrimp, and fell to the ground.
He Ming dropped the bamboo chopsticks in his hand and slammed his knee heavily onto the ground. He scooped up the little girl, who was covered in cold sweat, and felt her convulsions and writhing. He panicked completely.
"Dad—Aunt Yao—come quick, something's happened!" With his chest heaving violently, he shouted upstairs with all his might.
"What's wrong? Why are you so startled?" Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and He Guanshan and Yao Ying came out at the same time.
The next second, the footsteps became chaotic and hurried. Yao Ying fell to the ground, trembling all over as she questioned him, "What did you do to Yunyun?" Her scarlet, fiery eyes seemed to want to tear him apart.
He Ming's arms remained wrapped around his stepsister, who was barely breathing in his arms. He choked out, "She just ate swimming crabs..."
The words had barely left his mouth when a crisp slap rang out. Father He Guanshan, clutching the bright red crab shell, squatted down on the ground, his hand still slapping He Ming's face before he could even retract it.
He glared at his son, furious, and roared, "Yunyun is allergic to crabs! You're killing her!"
"Waaaaah—Husband, if anything happens to Yunyun, I won't live anymore...Aming, your aunt has always been so good to you, why did you have to hurt my daughter!"
"Stop crying, quickly go to the first-aid kit, get the medicine, and take us to the hospital!"
The woman's heart-wrenching cries, mingled with the man's angry growls, were ground into a sharp iron nail, driven into He Ming's ear. He moved his lips, only to find himself utterly speechless.
His throat tightened, so he simply lowered his eyes and let Yao Ying hurl insults at him.
"Get out of my way." He Guanshan snatched He Yun from his arms like a stranger and hurriedly left with his wife. He was left alone, looking at the table full of cold dishes with unease.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon is full but people are not.
That night, he walked the dimly lit streets like a homeless ghost, and his hands were still trembling uncontrollably all the way back to his grandparents' house.
later--
He Yun escaped unharmed, of course. But his relationship with his father remained as solid as ice, impossible to mend.
For so many years, he has never stepped into that house.
————
When Zhu Liushuang returned from buying the medicine, she noticed that He Ming didn't look well. Carefully studying his expression, she unscrewed the medicine bottle, dripped 10 milliliters into her mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp. The strange sweet and spicy taste almost made her gag on the spot.
"Senior, do you have any water?"
Hearing the voice, He Ming's gaze refocused. He took a bottle of mineral water from his side and handed it to her: "Unopened."
Zhu Liushuang thanked him and accepted the gift, deliberately ignoring his dark face as she asked, "So, which hospital are we going to now?"
"People's Hospital." He Ming started the car and drove straight out.
The nearest hospital to Chunhua Lane is the First People's Hospital, and because of Gu Chunling, Zhu Liushuang has become a regular there. The People's Hospital has many emergency patients at night, and with the flu season in autumn and winter, it's hard to know how long the wait will be.
"Is something on your mind, senior?" Zhu Liushuang asked tentatively as her gaze fell on the dark stubble on his chin. "Just now in the living room, you said that severe allergies can cause laryngeal edema, shock, and suffocation... Have you ever had a similar experience, senior?"
Otherwise, why would he insist on taking her to the hospital?
The fear and vigilance that come with danger can only be truly understood by someone who has experienced it firsthand.
"No... I saw it on the People's Hospital's official WeChat account a few days ago." He Ming concealed the emotions surging in his eyes and pressed the accelerator harder.
"Oh... I see!" She touched the hives on her neck and pretended to believe him.
But the slight twitching of his lips betrayed his emotions. Although it was only for a moment, the observant Zhu Liushuang still keenly noticed it!
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Author's Note: They've probably all forgotten that back then, he was just a teenager. [Chin resting on hand]
The moment the slap landed, the senior shattered...
So, the reason why the senior student had such a strong reaction after both of them had allergies is because of this.
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