Chapter 100 Hunger Strike
Wen Chu hung up the phone, then lowered her head and ate a few bites of food as if nothing had happened. Wen Heng and Yang Lan watched her, waiting for her to speak.
Just a second before the call came in, Wen Heng was still asking her how things were going between her and Lu Ming, and Wen Chu said that things weren't going well and there wouldn't be any more news.
But the reality check came just as quickly.
Wen Chu sighed, rolled her eyes in resignation, and stood up: "I'm going to his house. He seems to be childishly going on a hunger strike."
The two seemed completely unsurprised, as if they thought this was exactly the kind of thing Lu Ming would do. Yang Lan waved her hand and said, "Drive carefully tonight."
"knew."
Watching his younger sister hurriedly leave, Wen Heng smirked and complained to Yang Lan, "That bastard Lu Ming, all he knows is these shameless tricks! I never realized he was so cunning!"
Wen Chu drove to Lu Ming's house, knocked on the door, and it opened in a second.
Aunt Sun saw the undisguised joy in her eyes, and Xiao Yuan ran over and hugged her tightly: "Sister Wen Chu!"
Wen Chu ruffled her fluffy hair: "Long time no see."
They chatted happily for a while, but when they talked about Lu Ming, they looked up at the building with evasive expressions and unspoken feelings.
Wen Chu could sense that her family members had suffered a lot of mental torment at the hands of the other party.
Wen Chu carried the porridge that Aunt Sun had cooked upstairs and knocked on Lu Ming's door.
"I won't eat." A very low voice came from inside.
"Will you die if you don't eat?" Wen Chu said irritably.
There was a moment of silence inside, then the door opened. Lu Ming's forehead was beaded with sweat, his lips were pale, but his eyes remained beautiful, dark and fixed on her without blinking.
Wen Chu haphazardly thrust the bowl in front of the person, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
"Um."
Wen Chu was furious that this person admitted it so easily. "Lu Ming, this is so pointless."
"I find it very interesting; it's very interesting to be able to meet you."
Lu Ming grabbed her hand, pulled her into the room without saying a word, closed the door, and then carried her out.
He said in a low, weak voice, "Wen Chu, you still care about me."
The man's body temperature was very high. Wen Chu was still holding the porridge in her hands and didn't have the strength to resist. She could only spread her arms and try to back away, but she leaned against the door: "Let go! The porridge is too hot!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of rows of plaster dolls on a cabinet in the distance. Each one was a little different in style. They were supposed to be cute cartoon rabbit figures, but they looked lifeless and sickly. If you looked at them in the dark at night, you would probably be startled.
The artist's mental state appears to be quite worrying.
Lu Ming let go of her hand and took the bowl from her. He seemed not to feel the heat. His eyes were still on her, as if she would disappear from his sight in the blink of an eye.
"Don't look at me like that." Wen Chu turned her head away, frowned, and pushed the person away a little. "I came because I don't want anyone to get into trouble because of me. Not because I care about you."
"You knew too?" Lu Ming's neck and shoulder veins throbbed, his face full of pain. "Did you consider my feelings when you chose to commit suicide?"
"That's because you didn't consider my feelings beforehand! We're even now, it's a tit-for-tat situation." Wen Chu continued, "The fact that God made me lose my memory is a good sign, it's to give me a fresh start. I don't want to repeat the same mistakes. Can't I live for myself from now on?"
"Besides, you should have known that we were over when you were hugging and kissing other people. I was crazy before, throwing myself at you, but now I just find what you did disgusting. I'm not a garbage can, someone you can just throw whatever filth you don't want at me!"
“I didn’t hug or kiss anyone.” Lu Ming’s brows were furrowed, the woman’s words piercing his heart. “Nothing happened between Wen Xue and me. I… am not dirty.”
"You..." Wen Chu was furious when she saw the man's aggrieved look, as if he had been wronged. She was about to say that she could see it clearly with both eyes, and that he was trying to fool her. If you see one cockroach in the open, it means that the place is already crawling with cockroaches!
But saying that would reveal that she hadn't lost her memory, so she could only swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue: "I don't believe it. You liked her so much back then, could you really have refrained from doing anything? Don't take advantage of my amnesia to lie to me!"
"I really didn't. How can I prove that?" Lu Ming looked anxious, at a loss for words: "I only had sex with you..."
"Hey! Don't talk nonsense!" Wen Chu immediately interrupted him. Things are different now, and it's not appropriate to recall the past. She closed her eyes, sighed, and said helplessly, "How many times do I have to say it? I don't care about what happened between us, between you, or between any of us! Let bygones be bygones, don't bring it up again! It will only make you look even worse. I really just want to get as far away from you as possible now."
The woman's words were like razor blades cutting into Lu Mingxin, leaving one wound after another. The pain was so intense that even his breathing trembled. His eyes were red, and his hands were scalded red by the porridge, yet he couldn't utter a sound.
He really wanted to say that he seemed to be sick, that he kept forgetting things about you and me, and that whenever he thought about you, the part of his brain responsible for generating fluctuations would become stagnant, and that he didn't mean to treat you that way.
But he knew that if he said that, the other person would think he was mentally ill.
In fact, he'll be here soon.
If the person in front of him wakes up any later, three or five years later... by the time he has consulted every doctor and all hope has been extinguished, he doesn't know what he will become.
Seeing that the person was just staring at her without saying a word, Wen Chu's patience completely ran out: "I brought you the food, and I've made myself perfectly clear. I've done everything I could, so please don't threaten people with such childish behavior again!" She tried to leave after she finished speaking, but the person behind her relentlessly came up and hugged her from behind.
Wen Chu was really annoyed, so she used her elbow to forcefully poke him back, forcing him to let go.
Lu Ming let out a painful groan behind her, and the porridge fell to the ground, spilling everywhere.
Wen Chu was startled and turned around to see the man clutching his abdomen. He was sweating even more and his face was even paler, as if he had been enduring pain before he saw her.
Remembering what Aunt Sun had said, Wen Chu guessed that the other person's stomach ailment had flared up. Three days without food should have made this person extremely weak.
But when she looked at him, Lu Ming only frowned slightly before relaxing his brow again, forcing a smile as he said, "It's nothing." He gave a bitter laugh, his voice trembling slightly, "You can go now. You're right, this is my own fault. I'm sorry for bothering you."
Lu Ming sat back down on the bed, clearly not intending to eat.
Wen Chu laughed in exasperation: "Are you determined to kill yourself?"
The person on the bed looked up at her and said lifelessly, "Would you care if I died?" He seemed to be saying that if she said she didn't care, he would die right then and there.
Wen Chu was so angry she wanted to curse.
She opened the door and went out.
Lu Ming silently clenched his fists as he braced himself against the bed. He glanced at the tablet next to the pillow, waiting for the woman's cursing and swearing that might come about a minute later.
Unexpectedly, the woman came back in five minutes later with a bowl of porridge, followed by Xiaoyuan. Xiaoyuan looked at the mess on the floor, quickly cleaned it up, and then hurriedly left without saying a word, closing the door behind her.
Lu Ming stared blankly at the person who had returned, his eyes reddening even more.
Wen Chu walked over, scooped up a spoonful, and without saying a word, shoved it directly into the person's mouth.
But after a few rounds, the tense atmosphere between them gradually eased, and Lu Ming lowered his head to eat the porridge she handed him, behaving very docilely.
The way the other person looked at that moment, along with their face, was heartbreaking.
Wen Chu felt something was wrong; they couldn't do this. So she gave up the spoon, put the bowl in the other person's hand, took his hand, and poured the liquid directly into his mouth, forcing him to finish it quickly.
Anyway, the porridge wasn't hot anymore.
Lu Ming choked and wanted to cough, but he didn't dare spill the food. He could only force himself to suppress the cough and swallow the porridge whole. Then he used his other hand to grab her wrist to stop her. With a little force, Wen Chu fell onto the bed without any support and was pulled into his arms and held tightly.
Wen Chu was startled and struggled, saying, "Let go! No good deed goes unpunished? Do you know how shameless you are?!"
Lu Ming took the bowl and spoon from her and put them aside. He took out a tissue to wipe his mouth, then wiped Wen Chu's hands before pulling her tightly into his arms again. He said innocently, "You used to treat me like this, so why can't I do it this way?"
"I didn't mean that—"
"Wen Chu," the man interrupted her.
"I really miss you." Lu Ming's voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot. He took it upon himself to bury his head in the woman's neck and shoulder, gently inhaling her unique scent, which relieved the physical and emotional pain.
He pleaded almost humbly, "Could you try to like me one more time? Just one last time... I promise I won't disappoint you again. I really know I was wrong..."
Their bodies were pressed together, the heat radiating from them, and Wen Chu could feel the touch of the other's breasts through the thin fabric.
Lu Ming was wearing a loose bathrobe with only a belt around his waist. The muscles on his chest were clearly defined, and his breathing was very taut. Wen Chu glanced at him unintentionally, and her heart warmed. She looked away a little embarrassed.
She quickly dismissed the thought from her mind; indeed, lust had clouded her judgment.
Lu Ming was still holding her, pleading with her. Before her temper could be worn down, she gritted her teeth and pushed him away abruptly: "I don't want to!"
Lu Ming's back slammed heavily against the headboard. He groaned and clutched his stomach for a long time before recovering.
Wen Chu chose to ignore it, resolutely saying, "I told you I don't want to repeat the same mistakes. Don't bother me anymore. If you really like me, you should stay away from me and let me live a better life. After all, I'm more at ease without you now. It's easy for me to find someone better than you, isn't it?"
Lu Ming's lips and cheeks turned pale again from the pain. He slowly raised his eyelids and stared at her intently. His gaze was a complex mix of grief and other emotions, as if he were trying to find a clue in her eyes.
From the day Wen Chu woke up, he had looked at her with that gaze more than once, as if searching for something in her. Wen Chu couldn't understand it, but she forced herself to look directly into his eyes and remain unmoved.
Just before Wen Chu broke down, she quickly turned around: "I've said everything I needed to say. I'm leaving. Take responsibility for your own body. Don't be so childish anymore. I really won't come back." With a cold face, she hurriedly opened the door and went downstairs.
Lu Ming stared at the person's back, his jaw clenching, his eyes revealing a strong struggle.
But in the end, he let out a heavy sigh and chose to compromise. He took out the tablet from under his pillow, which hadn't yet turned off its screen; the tablet was clearly showing live footage of the living room.
His stomach was still cramping, but he endured the discomfort and pressed the button on the tablet to remove the security restrictions.
Inside the villa, the locks that had been locked after the woman entered were silently unlocked again.
Wen Chu successfully opened the door and left his house.
Lu Ming lowered his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Now that Wen Chu has left him, she will definitely have a better life. She is no longer trapped in the past, and she will soon meet new people and soon be able to like others as much as she liked him before.
The way she looked at herself revealed pity and hesitation, but also a sense of unfamiliarity she had never felt before.
Lu Ming didn't know what he was looking for, he just felt uneasy and urgent, perhaps because of the change in the other person's feelings for him, or something else. He just felt a sense of powerlessness, as if his heart was not in its proper place. He felt that something was missing from Wen Chu, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
But Wen Chu's words awakened him; perhaps, the missing part was his memory.
If memories are lost, will the soul still be exactly the same?
Lu Ming closed his eyes, trying his best to tell himself to stay normal.
For the next two days, he refrained from bothering the other person.
He watched silently from the shadows, seeing her skipping and jumping around with her family, seeing her pruning flowers and plants in the yard, seeing her smiling face and chatting with the servants.
Seeing the girl as vibrant as ever, he felt that she was still her, and his heart still beat for her.
But Wen Chu no longer needs him.
Lu Ming's heart clenched tightly; whether to let go or not was a choice he had to make. But the former almost meant cutting off all possibilities of getting closer to happiness.
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