Free Web NovelChapter 198: Chapter 198: Vomit
Wu Sheng shook his head. "I’ll stick to my old saying: I don’t ask, and you don’t say. That’s perfectly normal."
Su Li bit her lip. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be. When Wu Sheng had first said that, she should have told him there was already someone in her heart.
But because it was about her feelings for Yu Zhengqing—something she never planned on making public and only hoped to forget—she hadn’t said anything.
It was a secret she had planned to take to her grave, so who could have guessed Wu Sheng would discover it so soon?
That’s why she felt so apologetic.
Wu Sheng poked Su Li’s shoulder. "Stop biting your lip. I know what you’re thinking. Even if you don’t say it, I get it."
Su Li looked back at Wu Sheng silently, her eyes still filled with apology. freewёbnoνel.com
Wu Sheng shook his head and sighed dramatically at the sky. "Oh, Su Li, how can you be so foolish? I used to think you were smart. I’m going to have to retract that impression!"
Su Li: "...You’re the foolish one!"
’So much for being touched,’ she thought. ’With him, it never lasts more than three seconds!’
"Still won’t admit it? Su Li, when it comes to matters of the heart, you’re a complete fool! A huge fool!"
Wu Sheng stood up and, using his left hand, picked up a flat stone to skip across the water.
"Su Li, you don’t need to apologize."
The stone bounced three times. Wu Sheng nodded in satisfaction. "Still got it."
After his moment of triumph, he gestured to Su Li with practiced ease. "Quick, come give me a hand."
Su Li glanced at the lake’s surface and didn’t move.
"If the mountain won’t come to me, then I must go to the mountain." Completely unfazed, Wu Sheng came over and leaned on Su Li for support.
Though his actions were roguish, his words were so full of affection they could move anyone.
He said, "Su Li, from now on, just be like you are now. You don’t have to go out of your way to help me up, and you don’t have to go out of your way to do anything special."
"You don’t have to do a thing. Just stand still and wait for me. I’ll come to you on my own. I’ll make my own moves to conquer your heart, bit by bit. All you have to do is stay put and accept me."
As long as you’re willing to start, nothing else is a problem.
How could Su Li remain unmoved by such words?
"Wu Sheng..."
"Okay, that’s enough being touched for one day. I’ll walk you home." Wu Sheng nudged Su Li toward her bicycle.
"You push the bike." frёewebnoѵēl.com
Su Li gave him a skeptical look. "So I don’t have to give you a ride?"
"I just wanted you to work up a sweat and blow off some steam. After all that frantic pedaling, didn’t you get to vent a lot of those complicated feelings?"
Wu Sheng’s answer earned a quiet "thank you" from Su Li.
"Don’t thank me," Wu Sheng immediately interjected. "In the future, whenever you’re in a bad mood or feeling frustrated, you can always use this method. I’m always happy to offer my services."
Su Li couldn’t help but laugh as she shook her head.
The two walked toward Su Li’s home.
On the way, Wu Sheng kept smiling. When Su Li asked what was so funny, Wu Sheng replied.
"Well, following your logic, I figure I should be thanking you."
Su Li was puzzled. "Thank me? Why would you thank me?"
Wu Sheng broke it down for her. "From what I understood, even though you liked ’Yu the Annoyance,’ you never considered pursuing anything with him. For that, I obviously have to thank you. It means I still have a chance!"
Su Li: "...Don’t just make up random nicknames."
’What the hell is ’Yu the Annoyance’?’
"Well, he is annoying." Wu Sheng puffed out his chest. "Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it."
Su Li: "..." ’I don’t want to get used to it,’ she thought.
"Don’t look at me like that, you’ll make me jealous," Wu Sheng immediately said.
Su Li: "...Fine, I won’t think about him."
"Pfft..." Wu Sheng burst out laughing.
"Fine, fine, think about him all you want." Wu Sheng surrendered, though his surrender was full of fighting spirit. "I will remember this day’s humiliation and channel it into strength!"
Su Li couldn’t follow his train of thought. "What?"
"It means I’m going to make you fall for me that much faster! Starting from a little bit, then more and more, until your heart and eyes have room only for me. When that happens, why would I be afraid of you thinking about ’Yu the Annoyance’? You won’t even have the energy for it, right?"
Wu Sheng scoffed inwardly. ’Hmph, I’ll do exactly as I say!’
Su Li looked at Wu Sheng’s profile, her expression softening.
When Wu Sheng and Su Li got back to the entrance of her residential complex, everything was back to normal. The chubby guy’s car was gone, too.
At the complex entrance, the Albizia tree Wu Sheng had left for her was still waiting quietly.
Wu Sheng was pleasantly surprised. "The Albizia is still here."
"Thank you." Su Li bent down and cradled it in her arms.
"No need for thanks. I’m just glad you’re accepting it. An Albizia tree... is perfect. It goes well with a ’touch-me-not.’ I’ll have to come visit it someday."
Su Li chuckled and nodded. "Will you be okay getting back by yourself?"
Wu Sheng nodded firmly. "Of course. You think I’m going to get robbed? Historically, I’m the one who robs people of their money and their hearts."
Su Li: "Their hearts?"
"It’s just an expression! Don’t get jealous. Go on up. I’ll watch you from here." Wu Sheng gave Su Li a gentle push.
"I’m not jealous," Su Li retorted. "Just be safe on your way home."
"Got it." Wu Sheng watched Su Li head upstairs, waiting for quite a while before he finally left.
He knew Tang Yuanxiao lived across the hall from Su Li. He desperately wanted to follow her up to stop Tang Yuanxiao from showing up at her door.
But he couldn’t do that. He had to resist the urge.
In fact, Wu Sheng was mistaken.
Tang Yuanxiao and Little Tang Mo had already left.
Little Tang Mo had school the next day, so they needed to head back that evening.
Tang Yuanxiao had no idea how long he’d been standing there. Eventually, seeing that it had grown dark and his father still hadn’t returned, a worried Little Tang Mo came out to find him.
As soon as he stepped out of the complex, Little Tang Mo saw Tang Yuanxiao standing there like a wooden statue and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dad, why are you just standing here?"
Little Tang Mo called out to him twice before finally rousing Tang Yuanxiao from his daze.
Tang Yuanxiao looked down. His eyes followed the corner of his shirt being tugged and landed on Little Tang Mo.
Little Tang Mo, his face a mixture of curiosity and worry.
"Dad? What’s wrong? I’m hungry. Let’s go home and make dumplings."
Little Tang Mo tugged on Tang Yuanxiao’s shirt again.
Life finally returned to Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes.
"Okay." He bent down and swept Little Tang Mo into a hug, burying his face in his son’s small frame, trying to pull himself together.
"Dad, what’s wrong?" Little Tang Mo patted his back.
"I’m fine." Tang Yuanxiao took a deep breath and lifted Little Tang Mo into his arms.
He glanced back in the direction where Su Li and Wu Sheng had disappeared, closed his eyes, then turned and carried Little Tang Mo home—back to the mundane reality of daily life.
No matter how painful or agonizing it was, he had no time for despair. He still had Little Tang Mo to raise.
If Little Tang Mo was hungry, he had to make him dumplings.
Each dumpling was lovingly and meticulously filled as full as possible. They looked like little golden ingots, as appetizing as ever.
But Su Li wasn’t coming.
Su Li wouldn’t be coming to eat dumplings.
Su Li...
Tang Yuanxiao forced himself to stop thinking and focus on boiling the dumplings.
He watched Little Tang Mo eat one dumpling after another in satisfaction. Under his son’s concerned gaze, Tang Yuanxiao forced a smile and ate one, and then another...
He unconsciously ate the portion meant for two—his and Su Li’s—and then continued, one by one, through the dumplings that should have been leftovers, stuffing them all into his stomach.
When he finally snapped out of it, he found Little Tang Mo across from him, watching him with a worried expression again.
"I’m okay..." Tang Yuanxiao said, trying to reassure him.
Less than five minutes after his reassurance, Tang Yuanxiao threw up all the dumplings he had forced into his stomach.
Tang Yuanxiao hadn’t thrown up in years. This bout came on fast and hard, and he kept retching until his stomach was completely empty.
Drenched in a cold sweat and utterly drained, Tang Yuanxiao collapsed onto the floor of the small bathroom, his face ghastly pale and his eyes filled with anguish.
He desperately told himself he wasn’t sad, that he had no time for self-pity. He had managed to deceive his heart, but he couldn’t fool his own body.
