Chapter 77
After Li Xingen finished speaking, Jin Chuwan raised her head and looked at him with astonishment in her eyes.
The clock in the living room was swinging back and forth, and the faint chirping of cicadas could be heard from outside the window.
"you--"
Jin Chuwan uttered a single word before pausing, lowering her head as if suddenly rendered speechless.
But she quickly looked up again, gazing at Li Xing'en with a somewhat bewildered and helpless expression.
“That’s not what I meant. I didn’t want you to do anything. I just…” Jin Chuwan frowned, trying to find the right words, but after thinking for a long time, she could only sigh and say, “I just hope you can wake up a bit…”
Jin Chuwan's feelings were complicated, but what frustrated her even more was that Li Xing'en seemed not to be listening to what she was saying, but just chuckled and gently kissed her palm.
“I know what you’re thinking. You’ve been looking at me with crazy eyes since yesterday…”
As he spoke, Li Xing'en slowly closed his eyes, a gentle smile spreading across his lips.
"But, Auntie, I'm not crazy, I'm perfectly lucid..."
His voice echoed softly, somewhat drawn out and deep.
Jin Chuwan looked at his handsome profile and sighed again in a daze. She tried to force a smile, but quickly suppressed it.
He actually said he was perfectly sober...
Jin Chuwan gently moved her thumb as she softly stroked Li Xing'en's cheek. She saw his eyes suddenly open, and his glassy pupils revealed obvious joy, like a puppy that had received praise from its owner.
His eyes brightened, as if encouraged, and he slowly moved closer to Jin Chuwan.
But soon, his smile turned somewhat unpleasant.
Because his face was pinched.
Li Xing'en squinted in pain, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion.
Jin Chuwan used considerable force, and soon a deep red mark appeared on her fair cheek. Even so, Li Xingen did not give up and continued to stare intently at Jin Chuwan.
"...Even if I didn't push you away last night because I couldn't bear it, it doesn't mean you can take advantage of me."
As Jin Chuwan spoke, she stood up, supporting herself on her knees. She patted non-existent dust off her bottom and looked at Li Xing'en, who could not hide her disappointment.
As those images displayed in her memory were resealed, Jin Chuwan's gaze gradually cleared.
She lowered her eyes and gave a faint smile.
One cannot live in sorrowful memories forever.
We cannot always be like sages, constantly reflecting on ourselves.
Even if she's all bark and no bite, insecure and timid, and loves to run away... so what? This world is so big, it has to allow people like her to exist.
It's okay to be emotional occasionally, but you can't live like that for the rest of your life.
The bad habits that Kim Cho-wan never changed before, she may still not be able to change now, but there are always some things she can change.
For example, she has true friends, easy-going family, and a relatively bright future in her life.
Thinking this, Jin Chuwan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
Yes, this life is different from before.
She will never let herself get to that point again...
Such words of comfort seemed to have a real power, and in just a short moment, Kim Cho-wan felt much more relieved, as if she had been freed from her predicament.
On the other side, Li Xing'en was rubbing his cheek. Because of the pain, his cheek felt uncomfortable and burning, but he didn't care or get angry. Instead, he found a sense of intimacy in the lingering touch.
He walked slowly behind Jin Chuwan, who was packing her backpack, and reached out to embrace her waist.
Their bodies were pressed together, and Jin Chuwan stiffened for a moment. She heard a muffled voice behind her.
"You just said I was pretty..."
Jin Chuwan turned her neck to the side and looked back, but she couldn't see Li Xing'en. All she could see were the huge floor-to-ceiling windows and the gauze curtains being blown away by the wind.
"Didn't you say you'd wait for me? You said you'd wait no matter how long it took..."
Upon hearing this, Lee Sung-eun froze for a moment, but he quickly buried his head in Kim Cho-wan's shoulder, seemingly complaining.
"You said you'd comfort me..."
Jin Chuwan couldn't help but sigh as she thought about these things.
Isn't this crazy?
"...But I already comforted you last night."
Meanwhile, Chikamaru also picked up her backpack. She couldn't help but press her temples, beginning to contemplate her increasingly chaotic and crumbling life trajectory.
She had tried to like someone, but the smoother the relationship went and the more interested the other person was in her, the more bored she felt.
Just like now, Li Xingen is holding her tightly and clinging to her.
To be honest, after the initial pity cooled down, she has now begun to feel uneasy about being bound.
What's the fun in two people being so inseparable?
Kim Chu-wan didn't understand.
As for how to maintain an appropriate distance, the two ultimately failed to reach a conclusion. Faced with Lee Sung-eun's deliberate show of weakness and temptation, Kim Cho-wan found it difficult to resist. In the past, Lee Sung-eun would have restrained himself, but now he seemed to have changed.
He began to use a strategy of retreating to advance, patiently guiding and persuading, or feigning indifference and compliance.
In short, Kim Cho-man felt an unprecedented pressure.
So in the end, she ran away.
She refused Li Xing'en's escort when she left, but she couldn't help but look back as she walked away.
Li Xingen stood in front of the door with her head tilted to the side, her long eyebrows slightly furrowed, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied but having no choice but to endure it.
After looking away, Jin Chuwan thought helplessly: He really looks like a puppy that has been abandoned by its owner.
However, she quickly shook her head, banishing these chaotic thoughts from her mind. She hurried home, changed her clothes, and rushed off to school with her books in hand.
Even so, she was still two minutes late.
Luckily, Luo An saved her a spot.
Jin Chuwan didn't get a good night's rest last night, and she kept dozing off during class. Luo An had to nudge her a few times before she could focus and listen attentively.
As she yawned for the last time, Jin Chuwan suddenly felt a little frustrated. She realized that she was not as focused on her studies as before, and even though she was alone, she always had the illusion that she was overwhelmed by many things.
Jin Chuwan shook her head, trying to focus her attention on the book.
After class, determined to study hard, Jin Chuwan ate a quick lunch and went straight to the library.
During this time, her phone kept ringing. It was Ran Xian, Li Xing'en, Jiang Chen, and Cheng Ya asking her if she wanted to go on vacation together. Jin Chuwan replied that she was busy studying recently.
A while later, Cheng Ya's text message came again, this time with a crying emoji, as if she was feeling wronged. Jin Chuwan looked at the message, "If all else fails, you can bring Ran Xian along," and suddenly felt a helpless feeling of being both amused and exasperated.
She stretched her aching neck and finally decided to turn off her phone.
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