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The rain was pouring down, as if it was going to drown the entire city.
Dense raindrops hit the ground, creating a small splash in Chen Nanxing's heart.
Suddenly, a strong light flashed, followed by thunder that resounded through the sky. With a sudden thunderclap, the dim street lamp finally died.
The tea in the cup had gone cold, and the pungent smell of ginger made it hard to swallow. Chen Nanxing poured herself another cup of boiling hot ginger tea and stood in front of the window. The mist of hot steam rose, and the interweaving of cold and heat blurred the glass window. She wiped away a small piece of clarity with her fingers and looked down at the figure downstairs who almost merged with the night and rain.
Lin Shanglu was still standing in the rain.
He was already soaked all over, and his thin shirt stuck to his skin, outlining the lines of his thin back.
The rain kept flowing down his black hair, across his cheeks, and gathered into streams that flowed down his chin into the depths of his collar, but he was completely unaware and just stood there stubbornly.
He didn't leave, and she didn't move either.
The two lovers who were once close to each other can only use this almost self-abuse way to stalemate and confront each other. They are using their bodies to punish each other and even punish themselves.
The rain showed no sign of abating, its sound filled the sky and earth, and time became sticky and slow in the sound of the rain.
The hands of the small clock on the bedside table struggled to move past the number three.
It's three o'clock in the morning.
The rain is still falling.
The lights on the third floor were still on.
The figure downstairs finally began to stagger after standing for a long time and being attacked by the cold.
His shoulders trembled slightly and he stood unsteadily, as if he would be completely defeated by the heavy rain in the next second and fall in this game of love.
Chen Nanxing held the warm teacup with such force that her fingertips turned white. If someone came forward to test the temperature of her fingertips, they would definitely feel it was cold.
Her heart felt like it was being gripped by an ice-cold hand, causing it to tighten in pain.
All the hatred, grievances, and unwillingness suddenly lost their weight when I saw him so embarrassed and vulnerable.
Memories flooded back. It was the hand he had extended when she was alone and helpless, the light that always shone on her in the dark night, and the vows they had made to each other when they whispered in each other's ears...
All the fragments of memory about him burst out in an instant, and along with the torrential rain, they were about to drown her.
Chen Nanxing suddenly didn't understand.
How could they have come to this point and made each other suffer like this?
Chen Nanxing sighed, but the depression that had been stuck in his chest could not be released.
She still softened her heart.
Chen Nanxing put down the teacup, turned around and walked quickly to the door, picked up the umbrella hanging in the entrance hall, and almost ran downstairs.
In a short while, the umbrella will block the rain.
Lin Shanglu slowly raised his eyelashes. The rain made it impossible for him to open his eyes, and his long eyelashes were covered with water droplets. His face was pale, and his dry lips moved, uttering two muffled words.
“…Nanxing…”
Chen Nanxing looked at his pale face and purple lips from the cold, and silently moved the umbrella away.
"Let's go." Her voice was drowned out by the heavy rain, carrying a hint of unreality. "Go upstairs."
Lin Shanglu's eyelashes trembled, and drops of water flowed through his eyes. He staggered. Chen Nanxing didn't want to help him, but his body reacted before his mind.
In the blink of an eye, the hot and sticky breath hit her neck and shoulders.
Chen Nanxing took a half step back imperceptibly. The center of gravity of Lin Shanglu's body was all on Chen Nanxing. She took a half step back, and Lin Shanglu also staggered half a step.
In this way, the contact area between Lin Shanglu and Chen Nanxing became larger. Chen Nanxing could clearly feel the area where their skin touched, and Lin Shanglu was terribly hot.
Chen Nanxing held the umbrella with one hand, leaned back to steady Lin Shanglu, and then touched Lin Shanglu's forehead.
He really did have a fever.
"You have a fever."
"Yeah." Lin Shanglu's voice was broken in the rain. He tugged at Chen Nanxing's sleeve, almost begging:
"Nanxing, we really...can't get a divorce?"
Chen Nanxing did not answer, but her actions gave the answer. She pushed Lin Shanglu away, gave him the umbrella to completely cover his trembling body, opened the other half of the umbrella, turned and walked towards the unit door.
Her shoes and socks were soaked in just a few minutes.
After entering the unit door, Chen Nanxing put away his umbrella and looked back at Lin Shanglu. He was standing dejectedly in the rain, like a drowned chicken that had been drenched by heavy rain all night after being defeated.
He was so burned and still standing in the rain, maybe his brain was burned out. Chen Nanxing went back and pulled him away.
"Go upstairs."
Lin Shanglu's consciousness was confused due to the burn. He followed her in confusion, his steps unsteady, and water marks left a long tail behind him, extending all the way to the house on the third floor where Chen Nanxing lived.
"Go take a shower and blow dry your hair. I'll get you some medicine. You have a very high fever."
Lin Shanglu is like a bjd doll that can understand instructions. He does whatever Chen Nanxing pushes him to do.
There was no antipyretic medicine at home, so Chen Nanxing used his mobile phone to order some, and also asked a runner to buy a set of clothes for Lin Shanglu.
Lin Shanglu took half an hour to wash, so long that Chen Nanxing almost thought Lin Shanglu had fainted from a high fever.
Chen Nanxing glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, hesitated for a moment, then stood up and walked towards the bathroom. However, she had only taken a few steps when the bathroom door opened with a click. Chen Nanxing retracted her leg, turned around and sat back on the sofa.
The hair dryer was roaring as Chen Nanxing answered the phone, opened the door, and went to get the fever-reducing medicine and the clothes he had bought.
She placed the medicine box on the coffee table and her clothes were neatly folded at the other end of the sofa, keeping a clear distance from him.
The sound of the hair dryer stopped abruptly, followed by the sound of slippers on the ground. Each sound was like a huge rock that was getting heavier and heavier, pressing on Chen Nanxing's chest.
This feeling reached its peak when she saw the fragile Lin Shanglu.
Lin Shanglu sat obediently at the other end of the sofa wearing a bathrobe that was several sizes too small. He looked completely different from his usual elite self after just taking a shower.
Lin Shanglu's hair was now half dry and drooped in front of his forehead. The high fever made his eyes watery, and when he looked at her, there was a glimmer of hope that he didn't dare to ask.
It would be a lie to say that he wasn't heartbroken, but his desire for a divorce was real. Chen Nanxing averted his gaze, stood up, walked around the coffee table, lowered his eyelashes, and poured Lin Shanglu a full cup of ginger tea that he had brewed to ward off the cold. He threw those words clearly and calmly into the suffocating silence:
"Let's go back to City B after daybreak to get the divorce certificate."
Her voice was not loud, but it was like an ice-cold dagger, piercing precisely into the most painful part of Lin Shanglu's heart.
Lin Shanglu seemed not to have heard clearly, or as if he was scalded, and shuddered violently.
The faint fire in his eyes shook violently, then shattered and extinguished bit by bit.
The blush from the high fever quickly faded from his face, leaving only a deathly paleness.
Lin Shanglu opened his mouth and a hoarse, discordant sound came out of his throat, like an old bellows.
"...What?" He finally managed to squeeze out a voice, which was frighteningly dry.
Chen Nanxing lowered his head to peel the medicine for him and repeated, "I said we should go back to City B to get a divorce certificate when the sun rises."
She handed him the prepared dose of medicine, along with the full cup of ginger tea.
Lin Shanglu was like someone who had been hit by acupuncture points, he didn't move or blink, Chen Nanxing's hands were sore, he took a step forward and wanted to put the medicine and ginger tea in front of him and leave them alone.
"Do you love me?"
Lin Shanglu suddenly grabbed Chen Nanxing's wrist, and the ginger tea poured out and sprinkled on each other's hands. The residual heat was so hot that it was frightening.
Chen Nanxing took a piece of paper and wiped the ginger tea that spilled on the back of his hand. He raised his head and looked into his eyes calmly:
"I love you very much, I always have."
"Then don't leave!"
Lin Shanglu's voice was hoarse. He stood up excitedly and grabbed Chen Nanxing's shoulders:
"Nanxing, I love you, I really love you! Since you love me too, can we stay together?"
Chen Nanxing sighed softly: "A Lu."
Lin Shanglu tensed her back. She hadn't called him like that for a long time. Such an ordinary name in the past had become so precious now.
It wasn't enough, her hand gently covered his, a long-lost warmth, but the words she was about to say were as cold as her body temperature:
"Love and separation are not contradictory."
Her voice was as hazy as the rain and fog outside the window, like a whisper:
"Besides, if I didn't love you, why would I have stayed in this hopeless marriage for so many years?"
He really seemed to be losing her completely...
As soon as this thought came to his mind, Lin Shanglu felt so uncomfortable that he almost died. He seemed to have been drained of all his strength. He slowly knelt on the ground, his forehead resting on Chen Nanxing's waist, and his shoulders trembling violently.
"Nanxing, I was wrong! I'm a bastard! I'm not a human! You can hit me, you can scold me, okay? We won't get divorced, we don't want a divorce!"
"But A-Lu." Chen Nanxing's voice was still vague: "If I continue to be with you, my soul will definitely die before my body."
Her hands couldn't help but stroke his wet hair gently, as if she had returned to the time when they depended on each other.
The sound of rain outside the window gradually subsided, the sky turned hazy gray, the teacup was completely cold, the moisture had long dissipated, and the dawn light outside the window shone into the house.
Lin Shanglu's head was still resting on Chen Nanxing's waist. He kept sobbing and shaking his head to express his refusal, but his throat seemed to be blocked by a ball of cotton and he couldn't utter a word.
Chen Nanxing looked at the person kneeling in front of her, and sighed silently at the person she loved until the end of her life. No matter how many years passed, the stubbornness in their bones had not been worn away at all.
She suddenly remembered that rainy day many years ago when he held an umbrella and provided shelter for her for a long time while she was trapped under a big banyan tree.
It rained so heavily that day, but his body was not wet at all. Even the school uniform draped over her head smelled of sunshine.
So much time has passed, but Chen Nanxing can still remember what Lin Shanglu said to her at that time, don't be afraid, I will protect you from now on.
The memory is frozen here, never faded by the erosion of time. At that moment, it was as if a god had descended to the earth, and it was the brightest color in her black and white girlhood.
Later, after they were together, Lin Shanglu said again, Nanxing, I love you, always.
Looking back now, forever is not far away, and it takes more than two seven-year periods to get through.
After all, things have changed and people have changed. The mirror is broken and the hairpins are separated. Helpless, Chen Nanxing raised his head and forced back the tears.
"It's dawn." Chen Nanxing's fingers gently ran through Lin Shanglu's hair, his voice clogged. "Change into clean clothes and go back."
"Do we really have to get divorced?" Lin Shanglu raised his head from Chen Nanxing's waist, his face flushed. "If we get divorced, can you come with me to the press conference?"
True feelings mixed with calculations of interests are as disgusting as dog shit wrapped in chocolate.
"Um."
Chen Nanxing responded calmly, her emotions unrecognizable. She touched his burning forehead and frowned slightly.
Then she squatted down, picked up the fever-reducing medicine and a cup of warm ginger tea that had been prepared long ago, and handed them to him.
Lin Shanglu didn't answer, but just stared at her, as if trying to find the slightest flaw in her calm face.
Unfortunately, he didn't see anything. Lin Shanglu knelt on the ground in despair and finally nodded.
"Okay." That one word seemed to have exhausted all his strength, "I'll go."
Chen Nanxing's heart seemed to be stabbed by this word. The subtle but sharp pain quickly spread, wandering to every part of his body, even his fingertips trembled slightly.
This is good, it is the ending she wanted. Having come to this point, there is no room for turning back between them. Although she thought so, Chen Nanxing's tears still fell uncontrollably.
She turned her head away to wipe away her tears, and when she spoke again, her voice had returned to her usual calmness, clear and logical, each word distinct, as if she was talking about a business division that had nothing to do with her.
"We'll split the property 50-50. I only want cash. If you don't have cash, real estate is fine. I don't want stocks or anything like that. Also, I want all the money you've spent on them over the years."
The air conditioner in the house was turned up high, but the tiled floor was still so cold that it made his bones ache. Lin Shanglu opened his mouth but still said nothing.
In the end, he just nodded very slowly, bit by bit, and every movement seemed to have exhausted a thousand pounds of strength.
Once again, without warning, hot tears fell from his red eyes, leaving a light pool of water on the white tiles.
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