Chairman Husband, Too Boorish - 181

Chapter 181 : You shouldn't have given up such a good opportunity.

Even though they were about 100 meters apart, and with the time that had passed and a thin layer of mist in the air, Liang Xi Cheng could clearly feel a deep sadness shrouding the woman crouching there.

Was she sad?

She must be sad too. He had just clearly seen her tears, and the image of her screaming in despair flashed through his mind, making his heart ache.

—How he longed to go forward and embrace her, but his feet felt like they were nailed to the ground, unable to move.

For the first time in his life, Liang Xi Cheng felt that taking a single step forward, just one step, was so incredibly difficult.

"I'm sorry ..." he murmured to himself, his deep gaze hidden behind the tree trunk, fixed on the figure not far away.

A moment later, he took out his phone, dialed a number, and instructed the other end in fluent English, "... Send a car, a taxi, the location is ..."

Perhaps it was too quiet around them; even the wind seemed still.

Yan Liang squatted there, her breathing unusually shallow. She was actually restraining herself, afraid that even a heavy breath would break her last shred of composure. Her eyes were moist, and it felt like she had blood stuck in her throat; she was terrified that she would vomit it out at the slightest mistake. She felt like a small insect caught in a spider's web, no matter how much she struggled, the web would only tighten, until finally, she was trapped in a state of neither living nor dying.

Tears, which she had held back for so long, finally spilled out, landing with a soft, damp plop on the back of her hand. A sore, aching sensation welled up in her throat, and she couldn't hold back any longer. First, she bit her lip silently, tears streaming down her face, then she began to sob uncontrollably, until finally, she burst into a wail. Behind her and across from her, the streetlights shone brightly, like eyes staring intently at her. She felt unbearable pain; the more she cried, the more painful it became. Her temples throbbed, and her head spun. Afraid of falling even if she squatted down, she gripped the curb tightly, breaking half of her fingernail in the process, yet feeling no pain whatsoever.

Liang Xi Cheng clenched his fists tightly, pressing them heavily against the tree trunk. His thin lips were pressed together. Just 100 meters away, watching his beloved woman squatting by the roadside, sobbing uncontrollably, he felt for the first time how utterly powerless he was.

Under the dark foreign sky, the two lovers, forced apart, shared only one thought—they had never known that loving someone could be so painful, how the closer they had been, the more cruel the separation would be.

It was as if someone had taken a knife, pointed it at each other's hearts, stabbed deeply, and then, not satisfied with the pain, circled the wounds …

About 20 minutes later, a car arrived. Yan Liang only saw a blinding headlight in the distance. She squinted with difficulty, unable to believe there was a taxi here. But she was too tired, and had no time to think about it. She hailed a cab and left.

Half an hour later, Liang Xi Cheng was still standing in the distance, one hand leaning against a tree trunk, a cigarette between his fingers. Countless cigarette butts lay at his feet. He had stood there for a full half hour, smoking a whole pack.

When his phone rang, he was still somewhat dazed. It took him a while to recognize it was his own phone ringing. He took it out, glanced at it, and answered, "... Yeah, have someone keep an eye on her secretly." After hanging up, he took two forceful drags on his half-smoked cigarette, crushed it, threw it on the road, and turned to leave.

Thirty minutes later, the two were walking in opposite directions.

***

Two days later.

“Yan Liang, I can allow you to take a few days off to handle your own affairs. Actually, your grades are very good, so there's no need to suspend your studies. This opportunity is too rare; if you miss it this time, you definitely won't have another chance, understand?” Yan Liang's tutor in England, after receiving her leave of absence application, personally rejected it and advised her, “I've always had high hopes for you. Once you graduate, finding a job back home won't be a problem. I hope you can inject a fresh perspective into the architectural design world in the future, hmm?”

Yan Liang clutched the leave of absence application in her hand, her heart filled with hesitation.

Just as this famous designer said, she had a bright future ahead of her, and missing this opportunity would be a great pity. But … should she continue to stay here? Staying here meant staying under Liang Xi Cheng's watchful eye. But then she thought, even if she really didn't stay at SGA, so what?

In fact, if he wanted to, even if she ran to the ends of the earth, she would still be under his watchful eye, wouldn't she?

"... Go back and think about it for two days. I'll give you a three-day leave. You can think it over carefully. If you still intend to suspend your studies after that, I won't stop you."

These were the professor's last words to her. Yan Liang ultimately didn't forcefully submit her leave of absence application; perhaps she, too, had some hesitation in her heart.

Well, she should go back to A first, see her mother, and then make a decision.

Perfect, she also had a three-day leave.

On her way out, she happened to run into Demon. It had been a while since they last met. Foreign guys are generally quite avant-garde and enthusiastic; even if rejected, they probably wouldn't become complete strangers.

Demon was quite happy to see Yan Liang, thinking she had returned to class.

Yan Liang shook her head. "... I'm planning to go back to City A. Maybe ... I'll be back in three days."

"... Maybe?" Demon frowned, somewhat puzzled. "In your Chinese, 'maybe' means 'possible,' right? Is there a 50% chance you won't come back? No! Liang, what are you thinking? How can you not come back? This is such a rare opportunity, why would you give it up? Am I putting too much pressure on you? I can be good friends with you, just good friends, good friends ..."

Yan Liang chuckled, amused by his nervous expression. "It's not because of you ... but, Demon, thank you."

"What?"

Yan Liang smiled, but said nothing, silently thinking: Because of your current state, I suddenly realize that there's more to the world than just love; there's also friendship and family. Avoiding things will never solve anything. Why does she have to avoid it?

***

When Yan Liang returned to City A, it was the afternoon of the third day. City A had entered late autumn, and this city was prone to rain at this time of year. As she exited the airport, a light drizzle was falling.

She hailed a taxi, told the driver the address of the hospital where her mother was currently staying, and drove there. The city, which she had left five months ago, hadn't changed much, but for some reason, she felt inexplicably sad.

From the airport to the hospital, she had to take the ring road. Along both sides of the road, many trees, of unknown species, had lost most of their leaves. Even those that hadn't fallen were yellowed, hanging precariously on the branches, as if they would fall to the ground at any moment, soaked by the rain, and then rot in the soil.

Yan Liang suddenly remembered a sentence—"Is the departure of the leaves due to the pursuit of the wind, or the lack of retention by the branches?"

In truth, everyone knows that a tree cannot hold onto its leaves. After the time a leaf lingers on the branch, it eventually falls, meaning it no longer belongs to the tree. Its encounter with the wind is merely a fleeting moment; the leaf's true home is the earth.

Fallen leaves return to their roots.

Is it the same for people?

Life offers countless choices; there isn't just one path to take. Where will we ultimately end up? Who can truly know?

Qin Mu Hua's injuries are healing well, but she had undergone brain surgery, so she had been in the hospital for several months. This was mainly because her residence was too far from the hospitals in City A. Liang Xi Cheng, wanting to avoid causing her trouble, had instructed the doctor to have her stay in the hospital longer until her condition was completely stable.

Yan Liang returned after five months, just in time for Qin Mu Hua's departure from the hospital.

Standing at the hospital room door, watching Qin Mu Hua's retreating figure, Yan Liang's eyes welled up with tears. Her mother was recovering well and in good spirits. She called out, "Mom, I'm back ..."

Qin Mu Hua paused in her dressing, turning around in disbelief. Sure enough, she saw her daughter standing at the door. Surprised, she asked, "Yan Liang? You ... what happened to you? Weren't you in England?"

Yan Liang sniffed, stepped forward, and took her mother's hand. "I missed you so much, so I came back to see you." Watching her pack her clothes, Yan Liang casually said, "... Yes, I knew you were being discharged today, so I asked my professor for leave for three days."

Qin Mu Hua sighed, "Silly child, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? I've been recovering quite well these past few days. Don't take leave to come over; aren't your courses there very important? Taking leave wouldn't be good."

"Mom, I missed you."

"…"

Qin Mu Hua's eyes softened. Originally, she was a rather aloof woman, but having experienced a brush with death, her perspective on many things had changed. Naturally, she cherished this only remaining family member even more than before.

She reached out and pulled Yan Liang into her arms, gently patting her back. "What happened? You look so haggard. You don't look like you came back specifically to pick me up from the hospital. Talk to Mom, what's wrong?"

During her time in the hospital, it wasn't impossible for her to have seen the news. Qin Mu Hua was well aware of this, but Liang Xi Cheng only occasionally came by and never mentioned those things to her, so she pretended not to know anything.

Regarding her child, she always maintained this attitude: if they didn't want to talk about it, they had their reasons, and she wouldn't force them.

But now that her daughter had suddenly returned, she knew the situation was probably not good.

Yan Liang shook her head in her arms, her voice choked with emotion, "... No, I didn't ..."

"... Yan Liang." Before she could finish speaking, Qin Mu Hua suddenly nudged Yan Liang, interrupting her. Her gaze passed through Yan Liang to the man standing at the door, and she smiled politely, "... Xi Cheng is here."

 

Chapter 180        |        TOC        |        Chapter 182