Chapter 8: I’m Sorry, Sheng-sheng, It’s All My Fault
“That’s more like it!”
Xie Zhengran nodded in satisfaction, habitually brushing his hair back, and joked:
“In the future, if I kick the bucket, just bury me in the cemetery near the basketball court. Even in death, I can become a ghost and come out to play basketball, and maybe scare those students while I’m at it.”
Saying this, he even pretentiously made a goofy face. Liang Sheng was so amused that he helplessly furrowed his brows and broke into a smile through his tears.
Xie Zhengran really hadn’t changed at all. Just like in the past, he was carefree and heartless. A heavy topic like death was as ordinary as eating and sleeping to Xie Zhengran.
Liang Sheng’s heartbroken mood was also infected by his optimism, and he forced himself to smile along.
The next second, the smile froze on his lips. He lowered his eyes, and the light within them seemed to extinguish in an instant.
“Even now, I still haven’t gone to my mom’s grave to pay my respects…”
Xie Zhengran paused, his heart aching for his sorrow. He then picked up a bowl of medicine, handed it over, and coaxed him with rare gentleness: “Then drink this medicine, and I’ll go with you.”
Liang Sheng looked up in surprise and saw the sincerity in the man’s eyes. His eye sockets reddened slightly, unsure if it was from being moved or some other emotion.
He then carefully took the bowl of medicine, brought it to his lips, and took a sip. The bitter taste instantly spread through his mouth.
Liang Sheng’s delicate brows furrowed slightly and he coughed. Although it was extremely bitter, he remained as silent as ever. He held his breath, closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.
Every single one of his subtle reactions was observed by Xie Zhengran. He helplessly shook his head, secretly sighing that this person was still exactly the same as when he was a child—enduring in silence. Whether it hurt or was bitter, he was unwilling to say anything.
“Have a candy, you’ll feel better.”
Liang Sheng raised his eyes and saw a White Rabbit milk candy being offered right in front of him.
For a moment, he vaguely felt transported back to his childhood. It was also this very man in front of him—whenever he was bullied by his younger brother and secretly hid away to cry, Xie Zhengran would offer him a candy to coax him, just like now.
Liang Sheng stared blankly at that candy, inevitably sighing in his heart. The seven years of being locked up in the Shen family truly felt like a lifetime ago.
“What are you thinking about, little dummy.”
Xie Zhengran lightly knocked on his head. While speaking, he had already unwrapped the candy and gently popped it into Liang Sheng’s mouth.
“Mmph…”
Liang Sheng snapped back to reality, his face flushing slightly.
He tentatively chewed twice, and the rich, milky flavor melted in his mouth.
He hadn’t eaten anything sweet in a very long time. Instantly, he narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, two shallow dimples appearing on his soft, pale cheeks, not forgetting to stick out the tip of his tongue to lick the milky residue from his lips.
Looking at his gentle eyes and the way he unknowingly flirted, the rhythm of Xie Zhengran’s heartbeat instantly fell into chaos.
His face and ears flushed hot as he scratched the back of his head and said nervously:
“Um… ah, I’m going to go change my clothes! Wait for me!”
Without waiting for Liang Sheng to reply, he hurriedly ran out, leaving Liang Sheng alone in the bedroom, at a loss for what to do.
As he chewed, his movements gradually slowed down, and a faint loneliness seeped into his eyes.
He had been gone for so long, and it turned out his husband really didn’t care whether he was dead or alive…
Liang Sheng sighed and picked up the phone from the table. He tried to turn it on, but found that it was completely dead.
He didn’t know if it was because it had been soaked in the rain.
He anxiously wiped it back and forth a few times, but it still wouldn’t turn on. He could only take it to a phone repair shop when he had the time.
Cemetery.
“Mom, I came to see you.”
Liang Sheng stood before a brand-new tombstone, bending down to gently place his mother’s favorite lilies on the steps.
He looked at that gentle, smiling face on the black-and-white portrait, tears glistening in his eyes. Then, he slowly crouched down, trembling as he raised his hand to carefully stroke the portrait.
“I’m sorry… Sheng-sheng is unfilial. You’ve been gone for so many days, and only now have I come to see you…”
Liang Sheng spoke softly and began to sob quietly.
He didn’t dare cry out loud, seemingly afraid of being heard by his mother in the grave. He could only cover his mouth with his hands, his shoulders shaking as a crystal-clear teardrop fell through his fingers and landed on the lilies.
Seeing him suppress his pain so agonizingly, Xie Zhengran also felt terrible. He hesitated, but ultimately mustered the courage to raise his hand, gently pulling the grief-stricken Liang Sheng into his arms.
“If you want to cry, just cry. It’s okay, Brother Ran is here with you.”
Perhaps because someone could finally understand his feelings after all these years, Liang Sheng didn’t overthink it. He naturally leaned against his sturdy chest and bawled, venting all the emotions he had suppressed for so long.
Xie Zhengran gently patted his back, his eyes full of heartache.
In a corner completely unnoticed by anyone, Shen Xingyu hid in the shadows. Like a statue, he was dressed in black from head to toe, only exposing a pair of profound eyes. Reflecting the faintly visible morning light, they were terrifyingly cold.
He quietly watched his little wife, who was crying her heart out in the arms of another man. His complexion grew gloomier and gloomier, an urge surging in his heart to press Liang Sheng fiercely onto a bed and tear him to shreds.
His rage erupted like a volcano, only to be forcefully suppressed again.
He let out a light chuckle, the corners of his lips curling up, but his eyes held absolutely no trace of a smile.
Good, very good, Liang Sheng. I wondered where you ran off to, but to think you were actually hiding here, having a secret rendezvous with a wild man…
Even though Liang Sheng was crying his lungs out, in Shen Xingyu’s eyes, he was acting coquettishly and throwing himself into another man’s embrace.
Monstrous jealousy and possessiveness were driving him mad.
Liang Sheng had never acted like this!
Even though the man appeared completely indifferent on the surface, Qin Lou, who had followed him for many years, still saw through his forcefully suppressed rage and jealousy at a single glance.
“President Shen, I’ll go up and teach that guy a lesson.”
Saying that, he rolled up his sleeves and was about to go over, but was stopped by Shen Xingyu’s outstretched arm.
Qin Lou didn’t understand. Looking at the man’s awful expression, he asked worriedly, “President Shen… What’s wrong?”
His molars were grinding so hard that his temples throbbed, yet Shen Xingyu stubbornly claimed his headache was acting up.
Following that, he suddenly fell abnormally silent, attempting to use this method to conceal his inner anxiety and jealousy. However, those eyes fixed tightly on Liang Sheng betrayed his true thoughts.
His tie was loosened, then tightened again, the silk fabric twisted with dark sweat stains.
Qin Lou didn’t say anything more, but he still couldn’t understand the Young Madam’s abnormal behavior.
Wasn’t the other party always deeply and unconditionally in love with his boss? How could he turn around and throw himself into the arms of another man?
It wasn’t until he watched Liang Sheng finish paying his respects and leave that Shen Xingyu withdrew his gaze, but the raging fire in his heart hadn’t ceased for even a second.
He followed them.
Xie Zhengran had gone to work.
With nowhere else to go, Liang Sheng temporarily stayed at the rental apartment.
He closed the door and had just turned around to change his shoes when the door was suddenly knocked on lightly.
Eh? Did Xie Zhengran come back to grab something?
Liang Sheng hurriedly took off his socks, set them aside, and then twisted the doorknob to open the door. Before he could call out ‘Brother Ran’, the moment he raised his eyes and saw that incredibly familiar face, his heart fiercely trembled, and his calm mood turned into sheer panic.
The man stood tall and jade-like, holding a bouquet of flowers at the door, radiating an indescribable nobility from head to toe.
“It’s been two days, Sheng-sheng.”
Shen Xingyu spoke softly, a faint smile at the corners of his mouth. That smile was as warm as the spring sunlight, but in Liang Sheng’s eyes, it was as terrifying as a demon.
In his panic, he tried to shut the door, but the man blocked it with his arm; no matter how hard he pushed, it wouldn’t close.
“W-what do you want?”
Liang Sheng’s body trembled as he looked at the man in front of him, his heart feeling as if it were being churned by a knife.
He didn’t know why Shen Xingyu had suddenly appeared here, and he dreaded even more how furiously the other party was going to punish him for not coming home at night!
But none of those terrifying scenarios played out. Shen Xingyu merely pushed the door open, then presented a bouquet of vibrant, dripping-wet roses in front of him. His cold eyes held a rare, sincere apology:
“I’m sorry, Sheng-sheng. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have stopped you from holding a vigil for Mom. You can hit me or scold me, but please don’t refuse to come home, alright?”
Liang Sheng froze for a moment, unable to process this. Was he asking for peace?
Shen Xingyu’s words were truly touching. If it had been the version of himself from the first two years of their marriage, he would have definitely thrown himself at him right then and there. But now, he had already been thoroughly hurt; how could he trust this man again?
Seeing his little wife unmoved, Shen Xingyu wasn’t angered. He slightly raised his chin, speaking with a touch of arrogance: “Oh, was it Wan-wan who threw you out? I’ll make her apologize to you right now.”
Saying this, he waved his hand backward. Qin Lou walked over, dragging a struggling Shen Tingwan, who had been forcibly brought back from school.
“Let go of me! So annoying!”
Shen Tingwan twisted her arms, trying to break free from Qin Lou, but she was firmly held and dragged all the way to Shen Xingyu’s side.
Liang Sheng’s eyes grew slightly red. This time, Shen Xingyu really had gone through a lot of trouble. To gain his forgiveness, he even dragged this haughty eldest miss here.
He had never received such treatment before…
“Wan-wan, apologize to your sister-in-law. You shouldn’t have thrown your sister-in-law out.”
Shen Xingyu spoke calmly, seemingly confident that this level of sincerity was enough to soften Liang Sheng’s heart.
“I won’t! Why should I apologize to him!”
Shen Tingwan stubbornly turned her head away.
Liang Sheng’s eyes dimmed, “There’s no need.”
“Hurry up, or I’ll punish you according to family rules.”
Shen Xingyu glanced at her from the corner of his eye, issuing a flat threat, his hand still pressing against the doorframe to prevent Liang Sheng from closing it.
Shen Tingwan was clearly frightened by the danger in her brother’s eyes, but unable to let go of her pride, she continued to retort stubbornly: “E-even if you beat me to death, I will never apologize to someone of such lowly status! I am the daughter of the Shen family!”
“Qin Lou.”
Shen Xingyu called out softly, lacking the patience to continue wasting time with her.
Qin Lou took out a whip, tucked Shen Tingwan under his arm, and raised the long whip, lashing it viciously against her buttocks.
“Ahhh, it hurts! Stop hitting me, wuwuwu!”
Shen Tingwan shrieked in pain.
Smack, smack…
The entire corridor echoed with Shen Tingwan’s heart-wrenching cries, making one’s heart tremble to hear it.
Liang Sheng couldn’t watch any longer. Remembering their days spent living together all these years, he anxiously stepped forward, pulled Qin Lou away, held onto Shen Tingwan’s shoulders, and turned to blame Shen Xingyu:
“Enough! Stop hitting her! She’s your sister!”
Unexpectedly, Shen Tingwan didn’t appreciate the favor at all. Instead, she pushed him away and said in disgust: “Don’t touch me! It’s all because of you… you damn bitch!”
A hurt look flashed through Liang Sheng’s eyes. Ignoring Shen Tingwan’s words, he continued speaking to Shen Xingyu:
“Just leave, don’t come here again.”
Shen Xingyu, however, turned a deaf ear. He remained stubbornly fixed on his sister, the smile vanishing completely:
“Are you going to apologize obediently yet?”
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