073. Drunken Ling RanLast night was truly exhausting for her. When she slept she didn’t even hear the early morning reveille. By the time she had woken up it was already almost 9 o’clock, and Su Yi Cheng was already gone.
Her sorry self gets herself ready and changes. When she came out there was only auntie in the house, cleaning the yard.
That auntie catches sight of An Ran, and quickly says, “Shao nai nai*, you’re up. Madam just went out.”
T/N: Shao nai nai – wife of the young master
“Please leave.” Su Yi Cheng says coldly, not giving her any face. After saying that he turns around, doesn’t look at her, and helps An Ran up.
“Ah Cheng….” From behind, Ling Ran calls out to him, tears sliding down her cheek. Her heart tightens painfully, she mumbles in grief, “Don’t be like that to me, don’t be like that okay……” She begs, holding onto a strand of hope.
Su Yi Cheng was indifferent. He holds An Ran and goes over to the master room, not once turning around to look at her.
Su Yi Cheng supports An Ran to the bed. He looks at the tear stains on her face that had not yet dried. Reluctant to part, he reaches out and strokes her face, softly says, “Fool.” He doesn’t know what Ling Ran had said to her, but seeing her like this, he was afraid that she had thought too much. She was too soft, her temperament was too gentle. Even if she was bullied, she wouldn’t say anything mean. He likes her warm appearance and personality, but he also worries that she would be hurt when bullied. He never knew that he was such a contradictory person.
Sighing and shaking his head, he doesn’t know if her personality was good or bad. But seeing her like this, he felt this unspeakable pain. He lowers his head and gives her a soft kiss on her forehead, then turns to go into the bathroom. He wrings a warm towel, then carefully wipes the tear stains on her face, as he says, “Don’t think about her words.”
An Ran let him wipe her sorry face. She only stares at him, looks at his brows, looking at this, strictly speaking, man who she has only known for a month yet is already her husband.
A while later, when he was about to turn around to go back into the bathroom, she suddenly grabs his hand, and starts to ask, “Why did you agree to marry me that time?”
She knew the answer. She doesn’t care that they didn’t marry out of love, she doesn’t care that it was because of suitability or chance that she became his wife, but she cared that she was someone’s subst.i.tute because of unclear circ.u.mstances, became a shadow of someone else.
Su Yi Cheng looks at her. He frowns. This question again. He thought he had explained it clearly. What did Ling Ran say to her?
An Ran stares at him, determined to hear the reason from his own mouth.
“If I said my reasons were the same as your’s, would you believe me?” Su Yi Cheng asks. He doesn’t want to lie and say it was love, because that was not reality. Originally they were not acquainted, so where would love come from. Even though they have been together during this short time, he clearly knows that he is fond of her, and he is glad that he had agreed to get married with her, but as for the real reason for getting married, was not because of love.
An Ran was silent. For a long time, she still couldn’t help but ask, “Was, was it not because you wanted me to subst.i.tute Ling Ran?” Only if it came from him, would she believe it. Holding in her breath, she waits for his reply.
“Of course not!” Su Yi Cheng was certain, moreover he says it seriously. Not even a bit does she resemble Ling Ran, how could he look at her as Ling Ran’s subst.i.tute! Besides, his feelings for her were long gone, no love, not even hate. She was an irrelevant person, like a stranger.
“He he.” An Ran lets out her breathe, chuckling. Whispering to herself, she says, “Then that’s good, that’s good.”
Seeing her response, Su Yi Cheng can roughly guess what happened. He sighs and turns around, sitting beside her once again. He reaches out and pulls on her hand, sighing. He fixes his gaze on her, raising his hand to move the bangs on her forehead aside, then softly says, “Anything else you want to ask me?”
An Ran stares back at him. She actually only needed to know that she wasn’t a subst.i.tute for someone else. As for the rest, she won’t impose. After all, their marriage does not need to be out of love. She herself had even waited for Mo Fei for 6 years, so how can she ask him return her former emotions when it was all like blank paper. That would be too unrealistic.
She then wanted to shake her head and wasn’t going to say anything, but the words that came out of her mouth, came out completely different, “She also lived here.”
Su Yi Cheng looks at her, doesn’t deny it, nods, followed by a smile. He felt this indescribable joy. The fact that she is bothered at least confirms the truth that she cares, not indifferent. That discovery made him suddenly be secretly delighted.
Seeing that he nodded, An Ran lowers her gaze. “Oh.” She softly replies. She hangs her head down and doesn’t speak anymore. Perhaps affected by her heart, she suddenly felt sitting on the bed was uncomfortable. Recalling that they were always intimate on this bed, she felt extremely depressed.
Su Yi Cheng can see her thoughts. The corner of his mouth rises, and reaches over to her body, “An Ran, look at me.” He asks her to look at him face to face.
An Ran blankly looks at him, unsure of what he wanted to do.
“It’s changed, everything in this room, has been changed several years ago. Not a trace of anyone else.” Su Yi Cheng says determinedly. The fact is he didn’t move because he was used to living here. At first he hadn’t changed the layout or decorations in this room, but a lot of time has pa.s.sed, the decorations were starting to come off, so, he later let Ye Zi Wen renovate everything. Although the layout hadn’t changed much, but the furniture and what not, had already changed to new ones.
An Ran nods, and gives him a small smile, but the smile did not reach her eyes.
Su Yi Cheng doesn’t say any more. Actually he couldn’t come up with anything, what his mood was right now, because she had minded, he felt this mysterious sense of vanity.
However seeing that her brows was not relaxed, and that smile that was not a true one, he still felt sorry. He wasn’t happy with parting her when she was like that. He sighs, reaches out and holds her tiny chin, staring into her eyes. He says, “I’ll pick you up after work tomorrow, then we can go to this place together.”
An Ran stares at him confused, and asks, “Go where?”
Su Yi Cheng gives her a faint smile, and only says, “Secret. You’ll know when we get there.”
By the time Su Yi Cheng came out from the room Ling Ran was sitting in the living room, her pretty eyes kept in her tears. The tear-stained face of a beauty would make people take pity on her, feel sorry for her. However these, Su Yi Cheng couldn’t see them any more.
Seeing Su Yi Cheng appear, Ling Ran quickly got up from the sofa. Watching him, she softly calls out, “Ah Cheng…….”
His brows slightly knit. Su Yi Cheng hadn’t a bit of pity or love on his face. He just asks indifferently, “Why are you still here.”
“Ah Cheng…..” Ling Ran calls him, so much emotion, as if those seven years, that mood, her voice hadn’t changed at all.
Su Yi Cheng looks at her indifferently. Even though she hadn’t changed, still pretty and graceful, but after all seven years had pa.s.sed. Even if she was still the same person as before, he wasn’t the same Su Yi Cheng as before.
“I, I drank too much. I also don’t know how I came here, don’t know what I said to An Ran, I, I didn’t do it on purpose…..” Ling Ran says as she cries, her expression appeared as if she was wronged.
Su Yi Cheng looks at her, pa.s.ses her and draws out a tissue from the tissue box and hands it to her. Then he says indifferently, “Not important, you should go back.”
Ling Ran looks at him regretfully, her tears falling faster. She adds in, “Did An Ran misunderstand something, I’ll go explain to her, I don’t want to hurt the relationship between you because of me. “
“No need, I’ll make it clear to her. You go back, not going to see you out.” Su Yi Cheng relentlessly declines. After he spoke he turns around to leave, yet when he was about take a step he turns around again, recalling something, and says, “Oh right, from now on drink less, I don’t want this thing to happen again.” Saying that, he turns around, doesn’t look back and goes into the master room.
In the living room, Ling Ran stands there despondently, watching him leave. Her cheeks were still stained with tears. Her two hands clench into a fist.