He had simply called out to the wrong person, which gave Liang Shi goosebumps.
Liang Shi pushed her again. Zhao Xuning was too drunk to sit still and was about to fall when Liang Shi pushed her. Liang Shi had no choice but to reach out and push her back.
With a push and a lift, it's like turning a roly-poly toy.
Liang Shi said helplessly, "Let's go, I'll take you home."
Zhao Xuning was probably feeling cold, so he curled up his legs, hugged his knees, rested his head on his knees, and let his hair hang down.
If those gossipy nurses at the hospital saw this, they'd be absolutely stunned.
"I have no home anymore," Zhao Xuning said. "Where do I have a home?"
Zhao Xuning's voice was choked with emotion.
Liang Shi pulled her along, saying, "I'll take you to my house."
"I want my home," Zhao Xuning said.
When Zhao Xuning was drunk, he became extremely stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason.
Liang Shi was only wearing pajamas and a casually draped coat over them, which wasn't very warm.
They were shivering from the cold, but Zhao Xuning was still acting drunk and disorderly.
To say she was drunk and acting crazy wouldn't be entirely accurate; she was simply immersed in her own world, indulging in a madman's, a fool's, and a daydreamer.
She did not ask Liang Shi to do anything.
After a long while, she asked, seemingly in a state of clarity, "Liang Shi, can I get Shen Hui back?"
Liang Shi was taken aback.
Before she could answer, the sound of high heels clicking on the ground came from behind her.
The sound of traffic combined with the noise made it all the more eerie.
When Liang Shi turned around, he found it was Shen Hui.
Shen Hui's eyes were red, as if she had just finished crying.
As he passed by her, he nodded to her in greeting, and then walked straight toward Zhao Xuning.
Shen Hui didn't say anything, but slowly squatted down in front of Zhao Xuning, "Let's go."
Concise and to the point.
"Ahui?" Zhao Xuning called out softly, like a lover's murmur.
Shen Hui pinched her neck, making Zhao Xuning wince in pain. "You hit me again."
The words spoken sounded like a reproach, as if the two had a very good relationship.
Shen Hui remained cold and said, "Get up."
Zhao Xuning shook his head: "I can't get up."
Shen Hui stood up and looked down at her: "So what were you doing tonight? Saying those things and doing those things in the store, what were you planning to do?"
Zhao Xuning looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks, melting the snow that had fallen on her face. The water flowed down her cheeks as she murmured, "Ahui."
"Don't call me," Shen Hui said, her voice choked with emotion. "Zhao Xuning, I'm asking you, what do you want to do? Answer me."
The howling wind whipped up the snowflakes.
The streetlights on Yujiang Bridge were dim and yellow, and the snowflakes were enveloped in that dim light before drifting down to earth.
After a long while, Zhao Xuning opened his mouth, but it seemed to be very difficult for him to speak.
Shen Hui stared intently at her: "You said it?"
Seeing that Zhao Xuning still didn't react, Shen Hui turned and left.
But Zhao Xuning grabbed her sleeve and said, "I want to be with you."
Zhao Xuning's voice was very soft, and after she finished speaking, she repeated, "I want to be with you."
Shen Hui sneered: "Didn't you say you would bless me? Is this your blessing?"
Zhao Xuning shook his head, clutching her clothes, looking disheveled and pitiful. "I'm sorry, I can't do it."
Shen Hui glanced at her sideways, then turned back to look at the desolate distance, her voice mournful: "Too late."
Zhao Xuning asked, "Why?"
Shen Hui didn't explain, forcefully pulled her hand away, and said coldly, "Go home, and don't come again. You don't need to attend my wedding either."
Zhao Xuning's hand missed its target and hung there motionless in the air, still clutching the hem of her clothes.
Just as Shen Hui was about to get into the car, Zhao Xuning suddenly screamed in a shrill voice, "Weren't you going to torture me? Go ahead and torture me forever! Why did you marry someone else? That way I'll forget you quickly. You have to make me remember you forever...you..."
At this point, Shen Hui suddenly turned around.
Those light brown, indifferent eyes glanced over coldly, still brimming with tears, yet they appeared quite tender.
"I'm letting you go now..." Shen Hui said.
Shen Hui's car drove off the bridge.
Zhao Xuning stared at the car as it disappeared, tears streaming down her face, yet she remained expressionless.
Liang Shi was heartbroken watching this.
I never expected to witness such a heart-wrenching love story in the middle of the night.
She walked over and pulled Zhao Xuning: "Alright, let's go, you'll feel better after a good night's sleep."
Zhao Xuning remained expressionless and wooden.
Liang Shi couldn't persuade Zhao Xuning at all, so he could only stand there with her as if he were being punished.
Many people have been looking at Liang Shi with strange eyes, and those who don't know the situation might think that Liang Shi did something to her.
Liang Shi wished he could have the words "She has nothing to do with me" tattooed on his face.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, Zhao Xuning suddenly stood up, patted the snow and dirt off his clothes, wrapped his coat tightly around himself, and walked towards the residential area.
Liang Shi stood beside her, offering only futile words of comfort: "Go back and drink some hot water, and try to think things through."
Zhao Xuning sniffed: "I can't figure it out."
Liang Shi: "..."
It sounds like they're just arguing for the sake of arguing.
But Zhao Xuning added very seriously, "That person is too awful and doesn't deserve Shen Hui."
Liang Shi: "?"
"Huh? Dr. Shen's judgment can't be that bad, can it?" Liang Shi said, "Perhaps you don't know enough about him?"
Zhao Xuning shook his head: "No, that person was in our class. Back then... he touched my experimental data because of the scholarship issue."
Liang Shi: "..."
"Why is Dr. Shen so close to the people in your class?" Liang Shi asked.
Zhao Xuning: "...They were in the same hospital. That thing looked decent enough, but it could also lie."
Liang Shi didn't know how he managed to keep talking to a drunkard while still feeling sleepy. However, Zhao Xuning tried her best not to act like a drunkard. If she hadn't almost tripped and fell on the low threshold when she got on the elevator, Liang Shi would have really thought she wasn't drunk.
Liang Shi wanted to take her home, but Zhao Xuning insisted on going back to the top floor.
After she returned to the top floor, she took off her shoes and walked barefoot on the floor. Even without turning on the lights, she could accurately walk to the bed.
While lying on the bed, she suddenly said, "I was pretty of a jerk. I wasn't good to Shen Hui before."
Liang Shi stood at the doorway and went to draw the curtains inside the room.
Zhao Xuning was still seriously analyzing himself, saying, "I have a high opinion of myself, I don't talk much, and I have a bad temper, but I listen to her."
“I can use my future days to atone for my sins,” Zhao Xuning said. “That thing is different. Who knows what she’s after when she’s with Shen Hui? Is she after Shen Hui’s money or Shen Hui herself? Will she mind that Shen Hui dated me before? Will she mind that Shen Hui was temporarily marked by me? Will she mind that Shen Hui had a miscarriage? Will she betray Shen Hui?”
Liang Shi went to get her some hot water while listening to her rambling on and on.
She thought she wouldn't be able to hear anything if she went outside the room, but Zhao Xuning came out and spoke to her.
This was probably the most Liang Shi had ever spoken to Zhao Xuning since they met.
“I can’t guarantee anything, but I know that thing has a bad temper. She also abuses small animals. There used to be a stray cat downstairs in our teaching building. She lured it away with a ham and then dissected it with a scalpel.”
“Back then, I thought she must be really good at surgery. Her hands didn’t shake when she held the scalpel. We were only freshmen! That guy must be a pervert.”
"Oh, and she also likes to litter. I once saw her spit out her chewing gum at the library entrance."
"Her only slightly acceptable feature is her face; everything else is a mess. Shen Hui has such a bad temper; she's bound to argue with her."
“If they start arguing, Shen Hui loves to cry, she cries…”
Zhao Xuning choked up as she spoke, then continued, "It breaks my heart."
"Don't be fooled by Shen Hui's gentle and easy-going nature. She actually has quite a temper. If you don't buy her breakfast, she'll cry. If you don't listen to her, she'll pinch your ear. If you raise your voice even slightly, she'll accuse you of being mean to her. You have to coax her, or she'll start crying."
Liang Shi: "..."
Liang Shi felt like he was being fed dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).
It's just expired dog food.
She really wanted to record it for Zhao Xuning and then put it on repeat by her bedside the next day when she sobered up.
Zhao Xuning got tired at the end and sat on the sofa, hugging a cushion and saying softly, "I bought this after running all over the island and visiting seven different shopping malls."
Liang Shi placed the cup of hot water he had poured on the coffee table, stood in front of her, and said, "Drink this first."
Zhao Xuning continued, seemingly oblivious to his own words, "You all say I'll suffer because of my personality, but I've really tried my best. What... what should I do? I don't know."
Zhao Xuning pounded his fist on the cushion. "This is my first time in love. I like her, and I listen to everything she says. What did I do wrong in that incident? I'm going crazy. I feel pain in my dreams at midnight. It was Shen Hui. I almost saw her die."
Zhao Xuning's speech has become illogical; he says whatever comes to mind.
It's all just complaints and grumbling.
However, Liang Shi only just learned the reason for their separation. It was probably because Zhao Xuning was invited to a party by one of their classmates that day. That person was on slightly better terms with Shen Hui and had helped Shen Hui with her research before, so Zhao Xuning felt embarrassed to refuse and went. On that day, Shen Hui happened to have a deadline approaching and was busy writing her thesis at home.
The original plan was for a group of four, but there were only four people, one of whom was a couple.
Zhao Xuning did not drink alcohol at all.