Chapter 49 I Don’t Love You Anymore
Withered ginkgo leaves rustled beneath their feet. Ling Shen and Su Nian stood before the bluestone tombstone, the white chrysanthemums they held in their hands drenched in morning dew, gleaming with a cool sheen under the gloomy sky.
Su Nian was wearing a beige windbreaker, and his figure looked a little thin in the wind. He squatted down and brushed the thin dust on the tombstone with his fingertips. His movements were so light as if he was afraid of disturbing the sleeping person.
"Chen Ran, I'm going back." He whispered softly to the photo embedded in the tombstone. The young man in the photo was smiling with his eyebrows curved, and the sunlight fell on the ends of his hair and danced into tiny golden rays.
Su Nian's voice trembled imperceptibly, and his fingertips stroked the edge of the photo again and again. "I have already lost you, and I can't lose him again. So, I don't love you anymore, Chen Ran." When he said the last few words, he bit his lower lip hard, as if to cheer himself up, "I believe you understand."
Ling Shen stood half a step behind Su Nian, his eyes falling on the smiling face on the tombstone, then turning to Su Nian's red eyes.
His black coat rustled in the wind, yet it still managed to block most of the chill. "I will stay with him for the rest of my life and love him with all I have," he promised solemnly to the tombstone, his voice low and firm.
"Don't worry, I will love him well." The wind blew through the pine and cypress forest, making a whimpering sound, as if responding to this heavy oath.
Su Nian took Ling Shen's hand, and they smiled at each other. Without saying anything, they could read the relief and expectation in each other's eyes. They turned side by side and walked towards the sun.
The breeze gently blew the petals in front of the tombstone, and they swirled up into the sky, as if saying a gentle farewell. Everything would start anew from here.
The light from the chandelier poured onto the long mahogany dining table. The butler directed the servants to place the last baked snail in the center. The silver cutlery shone with a warm luster under the light.
Lucas tightened his fingers holding the wine glass slightly, his eyes fell on the two people smiling at each other in the main seat, and suddenly a familiar dull pain came from his back teeth, as if silently accusing him of what he had experienced during this period.
God knows, Ling Shen makes so many desserts and coffees every day, but not every one of them is perfect. The glass jars labeled "Failed" on the sideboard are irrefutable proof of this: the sea salt caramel was overcooked, turning into a bitter, hard lump; the matcha mousse wasn't sweet enough, bitter enough to make you frown; even the milk foam in the cappuccino had three different textures.
The final destination of these "experimental debris" is either his stomach or the plates of the chefs, gardeners and maids in the manor.
"Hiss..." Lucas couldn't help but take a breath, covering his cheek and staring at the host.
Ling Shen was using a silver spoon to serve cream pumpkin soup to Su Nian. Noticing his gaze, he turned around with an innocent smile, a little melted butter still on his fingertips.
"What's wrong? Is your toothache coming back?" Ling Shen put down the spoon, picked up the goblet, and gently swirled the red wine inside. The wine drew a beautiful arc on the wall of the glass. "I told your family doctor to come and see you last week, but you said it was nothing."
Lucas almost choked on his words. He put down his glass angrily, "How can it be okay? The alcohol content of those chocolate bars you made was so high that it could be used as fuel. I ate three pieces and felt dizzy and slept all afternoon. When I woke up, my teeth were aching!"
Ling Shen looked at her, covering her face with her hands and looking at him with eyes full of resentment. He raised his glass a little embarrassedly, "Lucas, I'm really sorry."
Su Nian looked at the two people playing dumb, somewhat bewildered. Lucas was immediately filled with indignation, pointing at Ling Shen and accusing Su Nian, "Mr. Su, do you know? He got hold of everything edible in my manor. From desserts to coffee, he ate everything."
Lucas crossed his arms, looking dissatisfied. "The chef at the manor complained to me yesterday that they were running low on flour and butter. And the gardener, after eating the lemon tarts you made, now avoids lemon trees whenever he sees one!"
Su Nian looked at his lover beside him in surprise when he heard this. He had thought that Ling Shen would not always make the right amount, but he never expected that Ling Shen would make everyone in Lucas Manor eat so much that their faces changed when they heard him.
Ling Shen saw the smile in Su Nian's eyes, held his hand, and looked at Lucas, who was standing there with a dissatisfied look on his face. "Lucas, don't be so stingy. Your tooth should have been pulled out a long time ago. I just helped you out. I will return to China with An Nian tomorrow. Don't worry, you will be free soon."
Lucas snorted heavily and sat down on the chair angrily, "I shouldn't have brought you here just to help you relax."
The butler smiled and brought the last dish of hot soup. "If you are bored, Mr. Lucas, you can come to the manor and chat with me, an old man."
Su Nian also nodded. "What the housekeeper said is right. I'm really sorry. When I return home, I will send you some local specialties as an apology."
"No need to apologize." Lucas cut a piece of steak and stuffed it into his mouth, saying vaguely, "Just be good to each other." He watched Ling Shen wipe the sauce from the corner of Su Nian's mouth, and the complaints in his eyes gradually melted into a gentle smile.
The dusk outside the window gradually deepened, and the warm yellow light shone through the French windows onto the lawn. The laughter from the dining table drifted away on the evening breeze, and even the sweet fragrance in the air became particularly warm. Lucas took a bite of the baked snails and suddenly felt that the toothache didn't seem so severe.
In stark contrast to the relaxed atmosphere of the overseas estates, the tense pace of the Ling Group headquarters in China was intense. Ling's father's schedule was densely marked with red pen, and even the afternoon tea Ling's mother meticulously prepared kept getting hot and cold in the thermos.
At 11:17 PM, the crystal chandelier in the study cast a long shadow over Ling's father. He had just finished a multinational video conference and was rubbing his sore temples. The pile of financial statements before him was like an unconquered mountain, and on top of it lay the financing plan for next week.
As the pen drew the last signature on the contract, the study door was gently pushed open, bringing with it a scent of jasmine - it was Ling's mother holding a carved silver tray, and warm milk was rippling in the bone china cup.
Seeing her husband's unwilling face, Ling's mother smiled and patted his shoulder, "Those who are capable should do more work. Besides, didn't our son say he would take the flight tomorrow?"
Ling's father took Ling's mother's hand and placed the milk on the table. "That brat wouldn't come back to work obediently. He finally abandoned this mess. Why am I so unlucky to have such a son?"
Mother Ling looked at Father Ling, who was complaining but smiling, and shook her head. "You, are you still busy? Why don't you take a rest first?"
Father Ling looked at his wife's concerned face, then looked at the documents on the table, and suddenly threw his pen heavily.
The leather swivel chair creaked. He dropped several reports as he stood up, but he put his arm around his wife's waist without caring. "I'm not going to read it anymore! Whoever wants to read these documents can do so."
As he walked through the corridor, he deliberately made his steps heavier, startling the corridor wall lights to light up automatically. "Anyway, the company won't collapse if I don't work for a day. Let's go and take a break."
He didn't want to work for Ling Shen. At his age, he should have retired long ago. Anyway, his son would be back tomorrow, so whoever wanted to look at these documents could do so. He needed to rest. As Ling's father thought about this, the smile on his face grew wider.
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