Can we?
That tone, almost pleading, as he spoke to her.
An Ge lowered her head, her gaze quietly fixed on Huo Shaoyan.
She thought for a mont—a long mont—before speaking:
"I don’t think this is the right ti for us to talk about this."
Pressing her lips together,
"I heard from Jiang Fengmian that you haven’t slept for several days. You should rest later. This matter... we can talk about it when the ti is right."
To be honest.
An Ge didn’t know how to face the current Huo Shaoyan anymore.
Fu Rou cursed her as a demoness of the century, ruining her son’s life.
An Muxin claid she was nothing more than a stand-in for Qin Xiaoqi, asserting that Huo Shaoyan had never truly loved her.
Mo Yuan revealed that she had a brief marriage with Huo Shaoyan and even hinted that they had a six-year-old son.
Mo Yuan also ntioned that she would take a bullet for Huo Shaoyan, yet everything An Ge had brought to Huo Shaoyan over the years amounted only to endless troubles, with nothing of true sacrifice.
But the truth is, she had made sacrifices for Huo Shaoyan.
It’s just that... it had been so long ago.
So long that everyone had forgotten how, during her pregnancy, she risked her life again and again to donate blood to keep him alive.
Of course, Huo Shaoyan had made significant sacrifices for her too, especially recently, enduring quite a lot.
And because of this, his body had suffered harm, ti and again.
As such, An Ge now felt incredibly conflicted when facing him.
She couldn’t hate him, couldn’t resent him, and yet couldn’t truly love him either.
Because she felt that loving him was an overwhelmingly negative emotion.
Because, as long as she still loved him, it would eat away at her—the thought of him having been with other won.
So, no matter what, it was always pain—a suffocating tornt.
Huo Shaoyan didn’t expect that just a few words from him would win An Ge’s agreent.
Lowering his gaze, he looked at the woman’s serene, waterlike face in the light. His voice, low and slightly hoarse,
"It’s not what you think between and Mo Yuan..."
An Ge’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
She lifted her gaze to look at him, still speaking calmly:
"Mo Yuan told that the two of you registered for marriage abroad. Although the marriage only lasted three months, you did register, didn’t you?"
An Ge continued:
"Even though your marriage to Mo Yuan happened six years ago, why did you never ntion it to ? You didn’t tell five years ago because you thought I was unworthy. But five years later, you had many chances—why did you never bring it up? Just knowing that you were once married to Mo Yuan made realize that my understanding of you barely scratches the surface.
It’s like the day you unexpectedly announced you had a long-lost sister. If it weren’t for Gu Changfeng, perhaps I would never have known you had a sister in this lifeti. If Mo Yuan hadn’t co knocking, I likely would never have discovered that you were once married. So, Huo Shaoyan, the problems between us are still enormous."
An Ge said this with an air of helplessness, her tone sowhat lost as she added,
"Honestly, I’m truly unhappy—so unhappy that you’ve been involved with so many won. Yet, I seem to have no right to bla you. Being with you is just... too exhausting."
Pausing briefly, "I suppose you must be exhausted too."
Indeed.
Huo Shaoyan was exhausted too.
The feeling of wanting but never obtaining—far more devastating than the physical injuries he endured—left him utterly drained and weary.
"I am exhausted too."
Huo Shaoyan raised his hand, held her chin, his phoenix-like eyes tightly focused on her brow and eyes, his voice darkly hoarse,
"I don’t want to divorce you, but you were resolute about leaving —I had no choice but to give in. You wanted custody of the child—I didn’t want to let go, but I still had to. You were always thinking of cutting ties with completely—so I racked my brain to find ways to stay connected to you. I thought, fine, let’s divorce,
after Huanhuan’s surgery, after Huai Shang’s condition is effectively controlled, I’ll quickly resolve things with An Muxin, so that I can have the qualification to reconcile with you. But the truth is, things aren’t that simple. You, this woman, when your heart hardens, it leaves others feeling cold. You are always thinking of escaping , and this leaves overly anxious and deeply uneasy."
Yes, he was exhausted too.
The burdens he carried far outweighed hers.
The Fu Family was dissatisfied with him being with An Ge, so he had to handle the pressure from them.
Managing An Muxin and the An Family had also drained much of his energy.
What’s more, not only did both of his children have health issues, but even his newly found sister, Huo Shaoxin, had problems.
Dealing with all these pressures wasn’t the end of it either. He still had to carve out ti and energy to worry about whether she would once again leave him without a word, like five years ago.
How could he not feel exhausted?
An Ge was in his embrace, her head lifted, her lips almost touching the flawless curve of his jaw.
His jaw was covered in dense stubble, tinged with a deep bluish hue—much scruffier than usual, adding a hint of dishevelnt.
Her fingers resting against his chest stirred slightly.
She made a move to slip out of his arms.
"You should go rest first. We can talk about other things after you’ve had so sleep."
As she spoke, she tried to rise.
Huo Shaoyan held her waist, pulling her close.
He leaned over, burying his chin into the curve of her neck, his voice low, "Will you stay with for a while, alright?"
An Ge could feel the heavy fatigue pressing down on him.
He seemingly needed her presence to find peace and finally rest.
An Ge pressed her lips together and said,
"I’ll wait until you’ve fallen asleep." Pausing, "I didn’t go ho last night—I need to return to Castle Manor, or else the children will worry."
Huo Shaoyan was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Alright."
Though he agreed, he still didn’t release An Ge.
An Ge felt a bit helpless, "Let go now."
Huo Shaoyan humd in assent.
After a long pause, he finally let her rise.
He stopped An Ge as she moved to clean up the dishes, "Let Secretary Jin handle it later. Can you lie down with for a bit?"
An Ge refused, "President Huo, don’t push your luck. Staying to keep you company is already my greatest concession."
Huo Shaoyan grasped her hand, then pulled open the belt on his robe, pressing her hand against a chest covered with wounds.
The injuries on his chest weren’t deep, likely caused by debris from an explosion, but the small and dense red dots and scratches made An Ge’s eyes sting with tears.
Huo Shaoyan’s voice was heavy and raspy as he said:
"Though they’re not deep, I still have blood and flesh, and I feel pain. Stay with —if I’m asleep, it won’t hurt as much."
An Ge felt a pang in her heart.
She lifted her head and t his deep gaze, so thick with emotion it was impossible to escape. The rejection at the tip of her tongue softened into reluctant acquiescence:
"Alright."
She lay beside him, thinking he might seize the opportunity to do sothing—or say sothing.
But he did neither.
As soon as she lay down, he grasped her hand and placed it over where his heart beat steadily, falling soundly asleep as if drained beyond asure.
Only a truly exhausted person could fall asleep in an instant, right?
That’s what An Ge thought.
She looked up at the ceiling, listening to his even breaths and faint heartbeat.
She had believed that after their divorce, they would never share such intimacy again.
But now, here they were, lying on the sa bed.
So, were they really destined to be entangled for life?
Never-ending, never-resting?
An Ge closed her eyes.
At this mont, she felt she was experiencing an unprecedented pain.
This ntal agony was far worse than the physical pain she had endured five years ago.
An Ge lay there quietly for about ten minutes before rising.
She closed all the curtains, plunging the room into total darkness.
She found the switch for the wall lamp.
The faint blue and dim light revealed the man’s peaceful sleeping face on the bed.
She gazed at his calm, slumbering features, staring lost for a while.
Between them lay countless tangled threads of connection, yet mountains and rivers divided them from one another—and moving forward or backward both seed like mistakes...
As though, in the hands of fate, they were dood never to have a happy ending.
She leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, "Huo Shaoyan, tell , where should we go from here?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)