Tang Hua did not come to pick up his son to return to Taipei. After dinner, he let the driver Lao Wang take Xue Qian back to school, while he stayed behind. It had been more than ten days since they traveled together at Shanlin Stream. He deliberately kept himself busy, rushing around to personally manage various properties. Perhaps after exhausting himself, he could push away the thoughts that constantly haunted him. Only Xiao Susu could move him like this, just as Shi Zhongcheng said: as long as Xiao Susu was involved, he immediately became a mess. He originally thought seven years of marriage would make him rationally face reality, but no, in the past few months, his fluctuating heart had been surging because of her. Seeing her changes made him both happy and worried, both angry and unable to let go, causing unconscious actions even he couldn’t explain. Why did his seven-year effort pale in comparison to what Du Feifan achieved in just a few months, and seemingly without effort? Yes, he cared very much about this. But he still couldn’t let her go. Knowing she was willing to step out of her self-enclosed world, his dead heart began to quietly throb with expectation. A thousand flavors smoothed across his chest, more bitter than bad liquor and difficult to swallow, yet the only belief that couldn’t be shaken was that he still longed for her and her love. Even if he could only obtain her through her gratitude, he didn’t mind! At least… at least he was the center of her universe. Whether she loved him or not wasn’t the issue, as long as she had him in her heart and accepted him. Perhaps he would feel deeply lost because of this, but this was the bitter fruit he deserved to bear – who told him to always be stubborn. Yesterday, Shi Zhongcheng finally couldn’t help but say to him: “Instead of letting contradictions intertwine and tormenting yourself, why not do yourself a favor and find a way to make yourself happy? Don’t worry about those nonsensical issues of using or not using, whether she loves you or not. The important thing is to give yourself a break and satisfy what your heart wants. Whether it’s Xiao Susu, Jiang Zhilan, or Zhou Yunxi who comes to care for you every day. It’s not by standing on the sidelines that you can turn not loving into loving. Bring out your past passion and try again, boss. Treat it as pursuit, try to turn not loving into love. Spare me, these days I’ve been worked to the point of barely having enough breath to be hospitalized, and I don’t have the energy to be a workaholic with you. Go, go, come back in ten days or half a month.” The CEO being driven out of the company by his subordinate was truly a world-class marvel, but he came, thinking along the way whether he should or could, but he didn’t want to go against his heart. He wanted her. Until he discovered Susu had an admirer, any slight doubt in his heart instantly vanished. He could no longer deceive himself – he absolutely couldn’t tolerate any other man entering her life! He once thought he didn’t care, but after Susu had somewhat accepted him, he could no longer let her go. His cooled heart had not died, just fallen silent, and would suddenly rise with just a slight breeze, bursting with an aggressive spirit. It was already nine o’clock… Xiao Susu carefully glanced at the time on the wall clock, her heart uneasy, not knowing what to do, could only sit stiffly on the sofa waiting for his instructions. She was a bit sleepy, after all, nine o’clock was her bedtime, but her jumping heart was trembling with anticipation. Anticipating what? She dared not think deeply, could only helplessly watch the second hand jump from one mark to another, one circle after another. Should she say something? Never having led a conversation before, she racked her brain but couldn’t think of anything to say, finally just twisting her fingers, repeating meaningless movements. ”If you want to sleep, go ahead and sleep,” he walked over from the window, seeing her helplessness. ”Oh, oh, okay,” she immediately stood up, walking towards the stairs without much thought. She should have quickly gone upstairs and breathed a sigh of relief, but for some reason, she stopped after a few steps, hesitantly turning halfway to look at him. ”What’s wrong?” He had been watching her movements, hands in his pockets, his gaze deep, not expecting her to look back. ”How long… will you stay?” This was what she most wanted to know. After blurting it out, she suddenly realized. Was her tone expressing a hope for him to stay or leave? He speculated. Revealing no expression, he replied: ”Not sure, maybe two or three days, maybe a week. If you want peace, I’ll try not to disturb you.” ”Thank you…” she softly thanked him, feeling inexplicably empty inside. He was just here to work, right? So he wouldn’t come to bother her. That night at Shanlin Stream was just to comfort her fear of an unfamiliar environment. Now that she was back in a safe and familiar place, he wouldn’t touch her, and… didn’t want to touch her, right? Her eyes felt sore and about to tear up, she quickly turned around, hurriedly running back to her bedroom, desperately not wanting him to see her crying. ”Bang!” She tripped on the last step, falling heavily on the thick carpet. Although the floor was carpeted, falling still hurt, especially since her elbow had hit the handrail hard, causing her to cry out in sudden intense pain, tears streaming down… ”Susu!” Tang Hua’s face changed dramatically as he quickly rushed upstairs, holding her in his arms, urgently checking if her left elbow was dislocated. Fortunately, it wasn’t, just scraped with a large bruise – a blessing in misfortune. He carried her, brought her to the bedroom, settled her on the bed, and soon found a first aid kit, treating her wound and vigorously massaging the bruise. ”Painful… so painful…” She didn’t dare look at the injury, her continuously flowing tears already blurring her vision, making her see nothing clearly. ”Endure it, I’m dispersing the bruise,” After handling the elbow wound, he then checked her legs and right hand, fortunately with no major issues.
Don’t cry, darling.” He carefully wiped her tear-stained face with a tissue. He hadn’t seen her cry in many years, because he had been living in Taipei, unwilling to witness her endless weeping for her deceased parents, and feeling powerless to help. He had never successfully consoled her grief, no matter how hard he tried. One day, two days, a month, a year—all were meaningless time units, as time would not end her sorrow, for time to her was merely a continuation of pain. After her parents passed away, she no longer knew how to live.
He tried to help her find a new life but only received more panicked, resistant crying. In the second year after her parents’ death, he took his son and left her world. Not just because he was completely desperate, but to ensure his son could have a normal life. A mother who constantly hides from everyone, locked in her room crying, would only negatively impact her child. Better to entrust the son to his own mother’s doting care, though not an ideal parenting method, but preferable to raising a withdrawn, timid child.
It was hard to determine right from wrong, but at the time, he sadly believed this was the best approach for everyone: she would find peace, he could heal his wounds, and Xue Qian could grow up normally.
At this moment, he probably wasn’t qualified to be her comforter.
“It won’t hurt soon. Want a painkiller? It might help you sleep better.”
She shook her head, unconsciously gripping his sleeve.
“I don’t want medicine.”
“Then—go to sleep early, sleeping will make you forget the pain. Go change into your pajamas.” He noticed her dependent body language but forcefully suppressed any impulse to take advantage of her fear. “I’m going to my room.”
