Cheng Xi had always felt that she wasn"t a bad child; she had found a respectable job, made a decent amount of money, and was always filial towards her parents. However, her mother"s words always made her feel like she was trying to pa.s.s her off to someone else, like a burden.And so, Cheng Xi texted back: I"ve decided to depend on you for my entire life.
Cheng Xi"s mother instantly replied: I"m not strong enough to carry you. Please latch onto someone else!
Cheng Xi was out of replies. -_-
She was being forced to abandon her family and leave home! But even if she did so, she couldn"t do so alone; she had to bring Lu Chenzhou with her because leaving him alone in the house would be too dangerous. That fellow"s mind was filled with p.o.r.nographic intentions, and he"d act on them anytime and anywhere, without warning or shame.
As such, any indoors activity would be too dangerous. Luckily, it was a nice day outside with a clear sky and a splendid view of the spring atmosphere. So, Cheng Xi decided to go cycling with him. She initially tried to ignore her discomfort, but was only able to bike a few miles out before becoming too exhausted. To that end, she even discarded her bike and fell down in a heap by the roadside, like a dead dog.
Lu Chenzhou was already very far out when she collapsed. When he finally noticed that she had fallen behind, he turned back to look for her. A short while later, he saw her lying underneath a cherry blossom tree. The tree"s swaying leaves let a few soft rays of sunlight pierce through, leaving a mottled pattern on Cheng Xi"s skin. As the spring wind ruffled the branches, sakura blossoms slowly drifted down; some landed in her hair, some on her white cheek, and others on her plain clothes.
When Cheng Xi sensed that Lu Chenzhou had arrived, she immediately opened her eyes. Her clear pupils were filled with the drunken radiance of spring. As she basked in the warm sunlight, she smiled and stretched her hand out towards him. “h.e.l.lo there. The scenery here is really nice. Do you want to stop and take a break?”
Lu Chenzhou wordlessly dismouted from his bike, headed toward her, knelt down half way, and then, without any warning, hugged and kissed her.
Cheng Xi was so surprised she didn"t even react.
A few seconds later, she pushed him away even as her face had turned a deep red. “We"re still out in public! Show some restraint, you big oaf.”
Lu Chenzhou couldn"t help but laugh, but he did eventually let go of her. Cheng Xi s.h.i.+fted her posture slightly so that she was now half-resting on his knee. “The weather"s really great today. It feels really nice to just sit here and appreciate the view with you.”
She was just saying whatever came to her mind, but also partially reminding him to not to engage in anything overtly s.e.xual. Luckily, Lu Chenzhou honestly agreed that it was very nice to just sit here with her like that. Whenever he saw her smile, he felt as if even his heart calmed down and became more peaceful.
Of course, if they could kiss and then make love, it"d be even better. ^ _ ^
For today, the two of them left their busy and tiring lives behind, and under Cheng Xi"s insistence, finally behaved like a regular couple, enjoying a small and relaxing date. After that, Cheng Xi"s life started growing hectic again, and over the weekend, she was called to the university for a meeting. Halfway through the meeting, she received a preliminary report from Lu Chenzhou about Fu Mingyi and Lu Chenzhou"s HIV test results. The results had come out a while ago, and both of them tested positive for HIV.
Given Shen Wei"s vindictive mindset, Cheng Xi a.s.sumed that these results were likely to be correct.
During a break in the meeting, she called Shen Wei and told her everything. Cheng Xi"s tone was very calm, and she even advised, “I think that this result will be quite shocking to the both of them. You should take care of yourself.”
Shen Wei"s tone was relaxed. She languidly replied, “It"s no wonder Gong Hengjin came to my place and made a ruckus. She must have figured out what had happened to her. Don"t worry. I know what you"re worried about, and their affairs won"t implicate me at all.”
She was so confident and unhurried in her response that Cheng Xi was momentarily at a loss for what to say. Only after spending quite a while to recollect herself did she finally ask, “Do they really deserve this?”
Shen Wei"s tone was blunt and cold. “From my point of view, yes. I don"t believe in retribution from heaven, not unless I do a little something myself. You might not know this, but my motivation to live was to see them suffer their just retribution. And now that I"ve seen it, I"m very happy.”
As Shen Wei continued her harangue, she grew more and more excited, and an almost feral happiness consumed her. In the end, she couldn"t suppress it and impatiently hung up on Cheng Xi.
Actually, Shen Wei headed straight home, because Gong Hengjin had appeared at her house. This time, she was smarter, and immediately called the cops. After Shen Wei"s mental state had improved, she had temporarily moved into her sister-in-law"s place. Thus, Gong Hengjin couldn"t find her, so she had brought the police to blockade Shen Wei"s parents" home.
When Shen Wei arrived, Gong Hengjin was crying at the front door. Shen Wei"s parents were impatiently talking to the police: according to them, their own daughter had gotten hurt. To then be accused by the a.s.sailant was ludicrous.
As soon as Shen Wei showed herself, Gong Hengjin immediately stopped crying and her gaze focused on Shen Wei with inconsolable hatred. Gong Hengjin had rid herself of the fear that Cheng Xi and Shen Wei had seen when her mental condition had been breaking down, and now, all she felt towards Shen Wei was hatred, a boundless hatred.
Shen Wei had ruined her, so she would ruin Shen Wei back!
But Shen Wei didn"t care. In her eyes, today"s Gong Hengjin was no more than a lump of garbage. She directly asked the police, “What"s she suing me for?”
“Are you Shen Wei herself?”
“Yes.”
“Miss Gong is suing you for intentionally harming her person. According to Miss Gong, on the 24th of February, you invited her to drink at a bar to complain about your marriage, and then after she fell intoxicated, you commanded a man with AIDS to s.e.xually a.s.sault her. Afterwards, you even made that man hara.s.s her for the next month and a half. We also have video evidence that shows that you indeed went drinking with Miss Gong at a bar on XX street, and that after you left early, Miss Gong was brought away by a strange man. According to Miss Gong"s testimony, the man who led her away was also the one who has been hara.s.sing her recently.”
Upon hearing the accusations all laid out, Shen Wei laughed and then pointed at herself. “Me, harm her?” She spread her hands innocently, set her smile, and then apathetically continued, saying, “What is she to me that she would be worth attacking? Has she told you that, on the 12th of March, she was caught doing the deed with my husband at the Donglai Hotel? And before then, I never even knew that my friend, my dearest friend, was actually my husband"s mistress. On that day, when I went drinking with her, I didn"t drink very much because I had just found out that I was pregnant. It was she who said, of her volition, that she"d drink it all for me, to drink my misery away. It"s impossible that I intentionally got her drunk.”
“You"re lying! You"re the one who purposefully led me to do so! And I didn"t even drink very much. Based on my usual alcohol tolerance, I shouldn"t have gotten that drunk from that much alcohol. It"s you- you must have put something in the drinks!”
Shen Wei looked at the police unemotionally. “If she"s saying this without any evidence, then can I sue her for libel and slander?”
The police replied, “That"s your right. But before that, we still hope to clarify a few things. This is the male that Miss Gong is referring to. Are you certain that you don"t recognize him?”
“I don"t!”
“That"s impossible! You have to recognize him. However, he disappeared, and n.o.body can find him anywhere. It must be because you had him killed! You knew that when I found out that I had contracted AIDS, I would definitely seek you out. Thus, you must have killed him beforehand! Shen Wei, how could you!? You"re a murderer! Police, arrest her! She"s murdered someone! Arrest her!”
But neither the police nor Shen Wei made a move; Shen Wei"s gaze made Gong Hengjin feel like she was a little clown, which deeply provoked her. But before she could say anything else, one of the police officer"s phones rang. After a quick conversation, he definitively announced, “That strange man has been found. According to him, he"s been at an Internet cafe during these past couple of days, and the reason why he was hara.s.sing Miss Gong was because Miss Gong told him that she was about to become the young miss of a rich household. Thus, he wanted to extort some money from her. Furthermore, he has a health certificate that proves that his body is healthy, and that he doesn"t have AIDS.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Wei"s family all started smiling, whereas Gong Hengjin went even crazier. “That"s impossible! You must be the one behind this whole conspiracy. It must be you! I never said anything like that to him!”
Shen Wei"s mother venomously spat at her. “What do you mean, “impossible?” What do you mean, “you never said anything like that?” Instead of being a productive member of society, you"ve chosen to be a loose woman—who knows how many strangers you"ve slept with, how many diseases you"re carrying. How dare you slander our little Weiwei like that! Officer, we"d like to sue her for libel and slander!”
……
As a ma.s.sive conflict developed at Shen Wei"s place, Cheng Xi returned home.
Lu Chenzhou had already made dinner, and he was currently sitting on the sofa, comfortably watching TV. When Cheng Xi walked in, he turned the TV off and said, “Go wash up. Let"s eat.” He then reached out to comfortingly touch her face.
He could see that she was upset again.
Cheng Xi hugged him back. “I"m tired. I don"t want to eat at the moment.” She pushed him down onto the sofa, but Lu Chenzhou disdainfully pushed her away. After running around outside for half the day, she had become quite dirty.
Cheng Xi refused to let go of him. “I washed my hands before I came back, so be nice. Let me hug you.”
The hand on her shoulder relaxed, and he let her hug him tightly. His body actually wasn"t all that comfortable to hug—his muscles were too hard, but he had a very nice scent, and Cheng Xi was feeling guilty and terrified all at once. So, smelling him helped her calm down.
“What were you looking at just now?” After hugging him for a while, she asked him what he was up to. But as soon as she asked her question, she found that Lu Chenzhou was actually a little uncomfortable, so she teased, “You weren"t looking at something unhealthy, were you?”
Lu Chenzhou unconvincingly replied, “No.”
“Somehow, I don"t believe you at all.”
Lu Chenzhou glanced at her meekly, and then turned the TV on.
Cheng Xi looked over. The television in her place had also been brought over by Lu Chenzhou, and it was a high-definition TV and a very large one at that. But now, this super-high-definition screen was showing a naked couple in high definition!
He was actually watching a j.a.panese p.o.r.n movie.
Cheng Xi could only swear in her mind. ……My G.o.d!