0097 Desire (7)
As you walk through the long hall, the number of people accompanying you decreases.
The corridor is lined with green plants, which are kept in dark red porcelain pots, exuding a sense of luxury.
Everywhere were blackout curtains, extremely thick and dark purple velvet, with only a few rays of light able to seep into this "antique building" through the gaps.
After passing countless thresholds, Lingling finally arrived here with Sophie. They were searched at least three times since entering the building. Wave after wave of people in armed uniforms marched forward, making Lingling dizzy with their presence. But once inside, the crowds thinned out, and the place became so quiet you could hear a pin drop; even the sound of Sophie's boots on the floor seemed deafening.
It's too quiet, so it feels cold and gloomy. How could anyone possibly live in such a quiet and gloomy place?
As Sophie neared the end of the corridor, she was about to leave. Before leaving, she suddenly joked, pointing to a half-open door at the end of the corridor, "This is the end, where Xiaoyao is recuperating. My grandfather led troops in battle his whole life, but in his old age, he forgot his lifelong belief in materialism." She glanced at the door, which was originally facing away from her, and Lingling slowly turned her head with her, only then noticing another room on the other side of the corridor. "This old man had a serious illness a few years ago. My whole family thought he wouldn't make it, and we even prepared a funeral hall for him. My grandmother, on the other hand, was incredibly healthy and took care of him every step of the way. In the end, who knew that even the King of Hell wouldn't take him. My grandfather survived that ordeal, but my grandmother fell ill from exhaustion. My grandmother stayed in that room, but she didn't make it. My grandfather, being superstitious, insisted that Xiaoyao stay in another room. Hey! Isn't that ridiculous?"
Soon, only Lingling remained in the corridor. Sophie was gone, but her words seemed to linger, echoing in the corridor.
“Sometimes God just likes to play tricks. Who could have known that the one who would pass away in the end would be my grandmother, who was always in good health? But then I thought, maybe we didn’t pay enough attention to her. Maybe she wasn’t doing as well as we thought… Sigh! But my mom told me, ‘Don’t think so much, and don’t think so much either. Whether she can get through it or not, it’s all my fate.’”
Then Sophie laughed again. She always laughed heartily, but this time her laughter carried a hint of bitterness and heartache, so Lingling felt that she was crying inside. How could someone laugh when they were crying inside? She was truly curious, because she couldn't laugh at all, even though the person she loved and longed for was right there in that room.
She gently pushed open the door.
She had been wondering why the door wasn't locked in the dead of winter, which would only weaken the patient. But before she even stepped into the room, she was overwhelmed by the overwhelming, sickly smell, mixed with a scent resembling sandalwood incense. The smell rushed to her nose, causing her eyes to suddenly sting and fill with tears.
The room was pitch black, with no lights on and the curtains blocking out all light.
Wanqi Fuze had heard the noise long ago, but he simply ignored it and pretended to be asleep.
It was only because his older sister and Bai Tijiang had repeatedly come to "nag" him to get treatment as soon as possible, and his grandfather had also come a few days ago, but he hadn't seen him. But what was the point of seeing him? The fact that he was sent back to this "dangerous building" by the three layers of people surrounding him already proved that the old man was quite angry with him.
The person who arrived at this time must be a nurse delivering meals.
He thought to himself that the nurse must have arrived a little early today.
During this period, he could only eat liquid food. It was truly inedible; even he, who wasn't picky about food, found it utterly repulsive. As for Lingling, needless to say…
The endless darkness was unbearable for him. His grandfather had tried to wean him off his painkillers, hoping to force him to "comply" and accept treatment. But after only one warning from the doctor, his grandfather had all the necessary medications delivered again. His grandfather must have felt sorry for him seeing him in so much pain. This was truly unbearable, except for the time he spent thinking of her… The image of her small, delicate face appearing in his mind was the only medicine that could heal him.
It was pitch black here, and lying in bed, day and night were all dreams. He remembered the warm, soft mass pressed against him... The rustling sounds by the bedside seemed like a hallucination. Someone lifted one corner of the blanket, and there really was a warm, soft mass pressed against him! The body was so small and soft, a tiny bundle, with slender, lotus-root-like arms that passed around his waist and then wrapped around him. In this way, a vibrant and warm body drew infinitely close to him, until it was completely pressed against his back.
For a moment he was unable to move, as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his heart.
If he was sure he wasn't dreaming, he could be certain it was her. But if he wasn't dreaming, how could she be here, beside him?
He wanted to turn around and take a look, but he was too scared. Only when he felt the person behind him trembling did he quickly turn around.
Right in front of him was none other than the precious treasure he had longed for day and night, the one he held dear in his heart.
He saw her deathly pale face, her expression filled with unconcealed immense sorrow, and for a moment he was stunned.
“So that’s what it meant…” he heard Lingling murmur softly. “So that’s what you meant when you said that day on the mountain…”
He was startled and dared not speak.
On her birthday, Shen Chengsi was going to propose to Zhao Xiaojing halfway up the mountain, but she got lost and separated from her companions, unable to find her way back in the rain.
She was so scared and desperate that she thought she might die on the spot, especially as the rain got heavier. She suddenly realized that she hadn't had a proper relationship with him since graduating from high school, and her heart was filled with regret and panic.
If she could go back this time, she wanted to have a proper talk with him about the past and the future, instead of him just throwing her away with a simple "last year." Did that bastard really think she was his possession?
In the end, she did return, not because fate had abandoned her, but because he came to save her. It was always him who came to find her, always only him. When she was safe, he guided her towards a better future; when she was in despair, he rescued her from her prison.
He carried her down the mountain in the pouring rain, her warm tears sliding down his neck along with the cool raindrops. This big fool certainly didn't notice… He was so oblivious, yet her heart was overflowing with him… In that moment, she was so happy; she had finally made peace with herself, even though he later abandoned her so decisively, giving her no chance to speak. But in that moment, she felt it was eternity.
He murmured her name beneath her, filling her heart with tenderness. He even remembered his birthday! Humph, even in her feverish delirium, she didn't forget to resent him. This guy even knew to make a wish for her! But what kind of wish was that? "Peace and happiness," how cliché, how ordinary! She got angry again. Besides, what's the point of saying the wish aloud? Wishes don't come true if you say them out loud, doesn't he know that basic common sense…? But then he said, "It's okay if it's him…"
It's okay if it's him...
It doesn't matter why it was him; I'm the one who's truly stupid and foolish.
Why can't you ask? What do you want by clinging to that broken, pitiful, and useless pride? Why can't you take a couple of seconds to ask why it's okay if it's him...
Is it because people can take their wishes to heaven after they die?
Is it because he is a dying man?
He could no longer bear to think about it; it was a rainy night on the mountain, and he was already seriously ill at that time.
There are thousands of stone steps, too many to count.
How did he endure the pain of his illness to carry her down the mountain?
She had thought then that he was born into a prominent family in the capital, in a world unattainable to others. She believed he could have anything he desired. Now, nestled beside him, pressed against his cool, bony skin, she realized he was just a mortal. To gain something meant to bear a burden. Beneath that dazzling facade lay unspoken loneliness and unspeakable solitude.
She had almost forgotten that he was only one year older than her, and hadn't even celebrated his twenty-seventh birthday yet. While she was still a child who needed to be pampered by her parents, he had already provided for her years ago.
She had only glimpsed a corner of the extent of the burden he had to bear because of his surname.
And finally, at this moment, I vaguely understand that it was all for the sake of protecting her, even after ten years.
I can't even say "I love you".
However, the boy silently bit his lip, enduring the bloody welts on his back from his father's beatings; he secretly went to the Guan family alone, defying his family, and knelt down to slay his proud and arrogant self; he used his flesh and blood to shield her from a bullet that pierced her shoulder; and he carried her down the thousand stone steps in the pouring rain.
Everyone was saying they loved her.
That jingling silver key was the first home he had painstakingly built for them. Only after meeting Old Master Qi did she finally understand the meaning of "Songhan Residence," and finally understand why she couldn't bear to throw away the discarded wedding invitations she saw in his study. When writing wedding invitations for her cousin and Sister Bobo, she couldn't resist writing her name while her ink was thick.
He genuinely wanted to marry her, right?
On the verdant mountains, the years pass coldly among the pines.
The boy's thoughts, so subtle yet profound, struck her heart, shattering it and leaving it bleeding.
He held up the key and proposed to her; it turned out that this was his true intention.
But she missed them all.
So in his final year, he exchanged the silver key for another one for her. Like a sulking child, he gave her more than half of his wealth, leaving only Songhan Residence to be kept within its walls.
I dared not think any further... I could almost hear my bones trembling, blood gushing from my chest, and the intense pain I couldn't suppress.
He sensed her unusual behavior and, fearing something might have happened to her, pressed the call button by her bedside.
She saw his well-defined bones and his hands, so white that the blue veins were visible, trembling because of his serious illness.
Finally, it let out a whimper like a small animal, a mournful cry from someone trapped in an abyss.
He, too, shuddered violently.
Such pain is unbearable.
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