Chapter 96: Secret Love is Bitter and Fruitless
Upon hearing that name, An Yiyi was so startled she immediately hung up the phone. She stood frozen, staring blankly at Li Xi, not understanding what he wanted.
“What are you doing?”
That was her name from abroad. No one here knew it but her. How did Li Xi know?
“Why are you so nervous? I’m not going to eat you.”
“I was just thinking… if Chen Cheng knew you liked her, would she immediately start hating you?”
“You!”
An Yiyi’s eyes widened instantly. She subconsciously took a few steps back, increasing the distance between them.
“But don’t worry. I have no interest in being your opponent.”
“I just wanted to tell you that this road of yours is very difficult to walk. This isn’t a foreign country; their level of acceptance isn’t that high.”
“Moreover, Chen Cheng…” Li Xi didn’t finish his sentence, but that hint was enough.
Li Xi’s words left An Yiyi puzzled, but the only thing she could be certain of was that he was warning her.
“Are you so kind as to help me?”
An Yiyi didn’t understand why Li Xi would suddenly say this to her. In her memory, they had no prior interaction.
“I’m not helping you. I’m just returning a favor.”
Li Xi looked at her thoughtfully, then straightened his back and walked right past her.
A favor?
What favor?
An Yiyi’s brain was filled with question marks. Since when did Li Xi have any interaction with her?
Li Xi stepped out from the stairwell, holding the food container, and pushed open the ward door.
To put it simply, while abroad, An Yiyi had unintentionally helped him.
He had found out about it when he was investigating her. Years ago, while abroad, he had been maliciously made things difficult for him by someone who was racially discriminatory. It was An Yiyi who had stepped in so he could walk out of the school.
An Yiyi had a very solid background; her parents were in politics. Therefore, others would show her some respect. It was no wonder Chen Jiamu had been fine after hitting someone that night.
“Little Li?”
Chen Cheng hadn’t expected Li Xi to still be at the hospital so late. Seeing the food container in his hand, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes.
When she came in, she had thought Li Xi had gone back. She hadn’t expected he had gone to buy food.
“Sister Chen, I bought some food. Do you want to eat some too?”
Li Xi set the soup he bought for Chen Jiamu to the side and opened the other food he had purchased.
“No, you guys eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
Chen Cheng and Chen Jiamu had agreed not to tell the family. After all, only his arm was injured; he would be fine after resting for a while.
Chen Jiamu looked at Li Xi, his mouth wanting to smile but not daring to. Li Xi didn’t dare get close to him in front of Chen Cheng, so he could only sit on the distant sofa and stare at him with longing eyes.
“Sister, why don’t you go eat?”
“An Yiyi is still waiting for you at the door.”
At the mention of An Yiyi, Chen Cheng remembered that she hadn’t returned yet after going out.
Her brow furrowed slightly. Why had she been gone so long? She wouldn’t have gotten into another fight with her family, would she?
“Then you guys eat first, I’ll go out and check.”
Not feeling at ease about An Yiyi, Chen Cheng stood up and left the ward. Now there were only the two of them in the large ward. Chen Jiamu couldn’t help but snicker.
“So you can get nervous too.”
Hearing Chen Jiamu’s teasing, Li Xi gave him a frustrated look and moved closer with the soup container. “If you weren’t afraid of your sister, I wouldn’t care.”
“Well, let’s still take that into consideration.”
Chen Jiamu felt that Chen Cheng wasn’t open-minded enough yet to accept that her brother was gay…
And currently, the level of openness in the country wasn’t that high either. Chen Jiamu was even hesitating whether to go somewhere else with Li Xi.
“Drink it, it’s not hot anymore.”
While he was thinking, a spoonful of hot soup was delivered to his lips. Without even looking, Chen Jiamu opened his mouth and drank it.
Li Xi also patiently fed him spoonful by spoonful, blowing on it to cool it down for him.
Meanwhile, at the stairwell, An Yiyi clutched her chest with lingering fear. Her secret had actually been discovered by Li Xi.
Exactly where did she go wrong?
“Yiyi, what are you doing?”
Chen Cheng, who had come out to find her, found her staring blankly at the stairwell. Her brow furrowed slightly, not understanding what she was doing there.
“Ah!”
“I… I’m taking a call from my mom.”
An Yiyi was startled by the sudden voice. Guiltily, she pressed herself tightly against the wall with a forced smile.
“Are your parents still angry?”
“It’s fine, my mom was just asking where I was.” An Yiyi shook her phone, a silly smile on her face.
“Are you hungry? I’ll take you to dinner.”
“I’ll send you back in a while. It’s not a solution for you to stay away forever.”
Chen Cheng’s words made the color drain from An Yiyi’s face, leaving it deathly pale.
But under the lights, Chen Cheng didn’t notice anything unusual.
“Okay…”
A breath was blocked in An Yiyi’s chest, her entire heart feeling incredibly sour.
So, she wanted to send her back…
In the past, An Yiyi would have been happy to eat with Chen Cheng, but today’s meal was incomparably painful.
After dinner, Chen Cheng drove her back. Along the way, An Yiyi was unusually quiet.
“Are you unhappy?”
“No, I just ate too much.” An Yiyi didn’t dare let Chen Cheng see her abnormality, so she purposely rubbed her stomach with a look of discomfort.
However, Chen Cheng found it strange. She clearly hadn’t seen her eat much at the table.
How could she be overstuffed?
But since she said so, Chen Cheng didn’t ask any further.
“We’re here.”
“Go back and communicate well with your parents. Family is the only one who loves you unconditionally.”
Chen Cheng parked the car and gave An Yiyi some earnest advice. An Yiyi turned her head toward the car window, her eyes feeling incredibly sore as she listened to Chen Cheng’s words.
Fighting back her tears, An Yiyi gave a soft “mm” and then opened the car door to get out.
“Sister…”
Chen Cheng watched her walk inside and was about to leave, but she heard An Yiyi’s voice. Out of instinct, she subconsciously turned her head to check, but she didn’t see An Yiyi speaking.
Chen Cheng left. An Yiyi stood in place, watching the rear of her car go further and further away.
Tear after tear fell uncontrollably. In the end, An Yiyi covered her face and broke down crying.
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