Mi Chenshuo fixed his gaze on her for a long ti before saying, "That day, there was a scene of rape on TV. You got very emotional, turned off the TV, and asked : ’If sothing like that happened to , would you still want ?’ Then, I swore confidently: ’That kind of thing will never happen to you because I will protect you...’
Mi Chenshuo couldn’t continue. He slamd his fist on the coffee table. "I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect you. Who is that bastard? I’ll kill him!"
Tong Airui glanced at the now-split coffee table, raising his eyebrow slightly. As long as he didn’t burn down the house, let him vent his anger. Sothing like this—whoever encounters it—wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Su Qing looked at his now swollen hand, hesitated, but ultimately didn’t get up. "It’s not your fault. I was careless. After you went to Country Z, you asked Shao Gang to look after . He did take good care of , and I was grateful to him. But one day, after evening classes, on the way back, he suddenly grabbed my hand and told he liked . I was startled and imdiately ran off. After running awhile, I heard him say it was just a joke.
Even though he said that, I didn’t stop. At that ti, I didn’t know how to face him... In front of that apartnt where we lived, there’s a small grove. Back when you were ho, we used to take walks there at night—it was my favorite spot. But that day, it beca my nightmare instead..."
Su Qing buried her head deeply in her hands, choking on her sobs. Over these past few years, she had dread of that small grove every night—not about her and Mi Chenshuo, but of the silhouette of the man who ruined her life.
Mi Chenshuo walked over, wanting to comfort her, but Su Qing suddenly raised her head and dodged him.
"Sit down. Let finish what I want to say."
Mi Chenshuo stepped back.
Su Qing picked up a tissue and wiped the tears off her face. "That night, it was so dark. The man was wearing a hat that only showed his eyes. I scread for help as loud as I could, but no one ca. I could only watch as he humiliated . When I got ho, I scrubbed myself furiously, but I still felt dirty. I felt like I didn’t deserve you anymore. The next day, I packed my bags and went back to school."
Mi Chenshuo’s bloodshot eyes stared at her, his teeth grinding noisily. He was on the verge of exploding. At this mont, he hated no one else but himself. He despised himself for not even being able to protect the woman he loved. Did he even deserve to call himself a man?
Tong Airui placed a firm hand on his shoulder. He couldn’t let him lose control now; otherwise, he might hurt himself.
Su Qing raised her eyes to look at him and gently shook her head. "It’s all in the past now. Don’t get so worked up. No one’s to bla for this—it’s just fate. Back then, my mom conceived in the sa way. She wanted to get rid of , but the doctor said the fetus was in the wrong position and surgery couldn’t be done.
I’m just like my mom all over again. When I found out I was pregnant, the doctor said I was severely anemic and couldn’t take dication to abort. My only option was to wait for the pregnancy to progress and have a surgical abortion. But once it progressed, the doctor said the fetus was malpositioned, and the surgery would be too dangerous—it might even an I could never beco a mother in my lifeti.
By then, we had already broken up. I also felt the movents of Mianmian inside . In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to abort her. Over the years, I’ve been so glad to have her by my side; otherwise, I don’t know how I would’ve made it through."
Mi Chenshuo asked in anguish, "If you agreed to get back together with , why did you leave again? If you had told about this, I would have taken care of Mianmian with you. I would have treated her as my own daughter."
Su Qing laughed faintly. "Mi Chenshuo, you’re thinking too simply. From the very beginning, we were never blessed. After the incident, Madam Yan Zi ca to see . What she said ca from a mother’s heart. She didn’t ridicule because of my background, but I understood. Given my past, on top of what happened to ... either one alone makes unworthy of staying by your side.
And as for Shao Gang, I always thought he was a good person. But it wasn’t until yesterday that I realized we were both wrong. Because of one thing he said, I’ve hated you for so many years. And because you trusted him, the company was almost ruined."
Held down by Tong Airui, Mi Chenshuo couldn’t move. All he could do was use his fiery eyes to kill. He gritted his teeth and asked, "What did he say to make you hate for so long?"
"He said, you’ve always known what happened to but chose not to say anything. You just wanted to watch act, to see how long I could keep up the pretense. That when you got bored, you’d kick away. That you’d never want a woman who’d been defiled."
Ha... Ha... Mi Chenshuo suddenly started laughing. His laughter was filled with despair, tinged with resentnt.
Tong Airui clutched his shoulder tightly. "Third Brother, calm down! There’s a child in the house. Don’t scare her."
Mi Chenshuo used all his strength to push him away, shouting loudly, "I’ve failed as a man—how can I calm down! Go and bring that bastard to . I’ll kill him!"
Tong Airui saw that he had already lost control and quickly restrained him, pinning him down on the sofa, then swung his fist and punched him hard. "I’ll knock so sense into you! What’s the use of acting like this after everything’s happened?!"
Su Qing’s eye twitched slightly as she walked over to grab Tong Airui’s hand. "He’s already like this. Stop hitting him."
Tong Airui let go of Mi Chenshuo. Mi Chenshuo slumped over on the sofa, lifeless. He reached out to grab Su Qing’s hand. "Can we start over?"
"We can be friends," Su Qing said, her eyes brimming with tears. "Would you still want soone like as a friend?"
"I don’t want to! I want to give you a ho. I want to protect you forever. Su Qing, no matter what’s happened in the past, can’t we leave it all behind? Maybe Mianmian is my child. Even if you don’t love anymore, for the child’s sake, let’s be together."
Without hesitation, Su Qing pulled her hand away. "Mi Chenshuo, Mianmian is his child. Stop deluding yourself. If you can’t be friends with , I’ll find sowhere else to hide—for five years, for ten years, if I need to."
Mi Chenshuo buried his face in the sofa, sobbing uncontrollably. A man crying so openly made both Su Qing and Tong Airui’s eyes redden.
Su Qing sniffled. "Mi Chenshuo, thank you for loving , but there’s no going back for us. It’s not you—it’s . I just can’t get past my own barrier. I’ve been holding myself up for the past five years with hatred. Now, I know I’ve hated the wrong person, but that guilt, that indescribable remorse, and the gap between our statuses—they’re all chasms we can’t cross.
Even if you force to stay by your side, our lives wouldn’t be happy. Instead of making hate you again, let’s be the best of friends. With you as a big tree, Mianmian and I can enjoy so peaceful days for once, don’t you think?"
Squatting down slowly, Su Qing tilted her head to look at him.
Mi Chenshuo turned his face away and muttered, "At a ti like this, you can still joke. I’m just a crooked tree, good for hanging oneself."
"Well then, I’ll have to stay away from you, in case one day I lose my mind and end up hanging myself on your tree." Su Qing laughed, patting his shoulder. "Brother Shuo, let’s start over."
Mi Chenshuo said nothing.
Tong Airui kicked him. "How can you be worse than a girl? Su Qing asked to start anew—didn’t you hear her?!"
"Mind your own business!" Mi Chenshuo retorted stubbornly.
"Su Qing, don’t pay attention to him. I’ll take you and Mianmian sowhere else to live. Let him go mad here all by himself!"
Mi Chenshuo sprung up imdiately. "Tong Airui, if you take Su Qing and Mianmian away, we’re not done! She’s my sister—what does it have to do with you?!"
Tong Airui smirked faintly. "Oh, claiming she’s your sister now? Then as her brother, you’d better start acting like one."
Mi Chenshuo glared at him before turning to Su Qing. "How have you gotten through these years? It must’ve been tough."
Su Qing sat on the sofa opposite Mi Chenshuo and smiled. "I didn’t think it was that hard. After leaving Sumrwu, I went to Country Z. To support myself and Mianmian, I worked as a tea picker, washed dishes in restaurants, and later sang in bars. Slowly, life got better. Eventually, a talent scout discovered , and I acted in that debut movie of mine. You’ve seen it, right? How did I do as an untrained actress? Any feedback?"
Mi Chenshuo nodded firmly. "I’ve watched it over ten tis. You were amazing! Would you be interested in joining my company? I can make you more famous than I am."
Su Qing smiled and shook her head. "I don’t want to be as famous as you. That way, I’d have even less ti with Mianmian. I don’t need much money; as long as I can support the two of us, it’s enough."
Mi Chenshuo frowned slightly. "What about your mother?"
Su Qing’s gaze darkened a bit. "She passed away the day I gave birth to Mianmian."
"Su Qing, I’m sorry..."
"It’s okay. So many years have passed. I’ve cried about it, and now I’m determined to live the rest of my life smiling. If I can do it, I believe you can too." Su Qing leaned forward and handed him a tissue. "Brother Shuo, we’ve cleared things up today. Please don’t get any other ideas—no delaying tactics or anything like that. All I want is friendship, the best kind of friendship. Do you understand what I an?"
Mi Chenshuo’s hand froze slightly as he held the tissue. Just as he was about to speak, his phone rang.
The police station!
Mi Chenshuo frowned as he answered the call. "Hello, is there any progress on Shao Gang’s case?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)