I don't know how long I slept, but I suddenly woke up and felt a warm lump on my back. When I turned around, I saw Xizi pressed against my back, just blocking the draft from my back.
I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Not just a slight sadness, but a deep one.
It's so sour it makes me want to cry again.
He turned around and hugged Xizi in his arms, stroking its soft, warm fur. His mood gradually relaxed, and he drifted off to sleep again.
In my dream, I was only troubled by one question: Does Qu Ling truly like me?
If he offers an explanation, should I listen to it?
This continued until dawn. Just as I reached the stairwell, I ran into my disheveled father, who let out a strange cry before I could react.
"Ah—a monster!"
I rolled my eyes and pointed at his hair, saying, "The monster should be here, right?"
"Dark circles monster!" Dad pointed at my dark circles and laughed.
I touched my eyes; they were a little sore and I could barely open them. I rushed to the bathroom to look in the mirror, and OMG! I really looked like a giant panda—pale face, and dark circles under my eyes even worse than smoky eye makeup! I'd be more suited to a Halloween party looking like this.
I had no classes today, so I sneaked downstairs like a ghost to say good morning to my grandparents, ate a few bites of food quickly, and then went back upstairs to sleep.
I said I was sleeping, but actually I was just lying on the bed and letting my mind wander.
What am I thinking about? Of course, I'm thinking about Dean Qu, every word he's ever said to me, every expression he makes when he speaks, and when he's being genuine and when he's being fake.
After torturing myself like this until evening, when my grandmother called me to eat dinner, I was surprised to find that the person who had tormented me for a day and a night was sitting calmly in the dining room, drinking the appetizer soup that my mother had served him.
"Yuanyuan, did you sleep all day?" Qu Ling smiled at me while holding a bowl of soup. "Why are your eyes still so dark? You haven't had enough sleep!"
There was not a trace of the pale and sorrowful look on his face from the previous night.
If it weren't for the slight swelling in his lower lip, I would have almost thought yesterday's events were just a dream.
During the meal, he chatted and laughed as if nothing was wrong, while I remained quiet and reserved. He didn't reveal anything, but I made many mistakes.
Fortunately, my family's attention was focused on him, and no one noticed my unusual behavior.
"Qu Ling, what happened to your mouth? It's so swollen!" Grandma looked at Qu Ling's mouth for a long time before finally asking out of curiosity.
"Oh, I bumped into something yesterday by accident. It's nothing, it'll be fine soon."
"What did you bump into? How could it leave four teeth marks on your mouth?" Grandpa's two questions, uttered after carefully examining the object with his reading glasses, left everyone at the table speechless.
Everyone's eyes were drifting towards me, intentionally or unintentionally. My face immediately burned like fire, and I blurted out guiltily, "I must have bitten it myself!"
Qu Ling's lips twitched slightly, then she laughed and said, "Yes, I bit myself when I was bumping into it."
Grandpa, still somewhat skeptical, held up his reading glasses and continued to observe carefully, until even the composed Qu Ling became a little uncomfortable.
"Old Su! Eat properly!" Grandma forcefully turned Grandpa's head, smiled, and placed a piece of pork belly in Qu Ling's bowl, saying, "As the saying goes, you are what you eat. You hurt your mouth, so eating meat is a way to replenish it."
Qu Ling took the meat and thanked me with a smile. Suddenly, his eyes turned to me. I was staring blankly at his swollen lips when our eyes met. I trembled slightly and then looked down to look away.
After finishing my meal, I immediately turned to go upstairs, but my mother stopped me and asked me to cut some fruit.
He had no choice but to obediently cut up the fruit and take it to the living room. His father was having a long talk with Qu Ling about fishing, and Qu Ling was holding Xizi on her lap, listening with a smile.
"Thirty kilometers upstream from Baima Lake, there's another lake, a bit smaller, that most people don't know about. I stumbled upon it by chance. The fish in that lake are really good. I don't know if the lake's outlet is connected to the river, but you can often catch fish in that lake that you'd normally find in the river!" Dad gestured wildly, making exaggerated movements.
"Oh, there are lakes like this?" It was unclear whether Qu Ling actually liked fishing, but she seemed quite interested at the moment.
"When you and Uncle Yuanyuan have time, let's all drive there together! The scenery there is absolutely stunning, with mountains, rivers, and fields. Just sit down in the grass with your fishing rod, and the whole landscape is like a painting!" Dad said happily, completely absorbed in the experience.
"Fourth brother, the place you mentioned is so nice, why didn't you take us there last time!" Grandpa suddenly leaned out and questioned.
"Uh... last time we didn't have enough time..."
After I finished distributing the fruit, I was about to go upstairs when Qu Ling grabbed my wrist as I passed by.
"Yuanyuan, are you going to school tomorrow?"
"I'm not going!" I secretly tried to shake off his hand.
He smiled, but tightened his grip even more. He only let go when my mother came over. I ran upstairs as if fleeing, closed the door, and collapsed onto the bed, my heart pounding.
How can this person be so calm and composed? How can he smile at me as if nothing has happened?
I've already told him I want to call off the engagement, but he's ignoring me.
Author's Note: I am a flying bird
Yu Zi's honeymoon is still ongoing, so we cannot give a specific update time for the next chapter at this time.
But since I care about everyone so much, let's all look forward to the next chapter together!
ˇSu Yuanyuan's Journey (Part 1)ˇ
After two days of staying home, I still have to bite the bullet and go to work. Having Dingding cover my classes all the time isn't a long-term solution. What am I afraid of? So what if I might run into Qu Ling and face him? Even someone like him who's done something wrong isn't afraid, so why should I?
It sounds easy, but once I got to school, I was on edge all day, terrified of bumping into Qu Ling at any corner. I didn't even dare go to the cafeteria for lunch, and just sat there in my office, munching on an apple.
I was munching on the apple, taking bits and pieces here and there, a jumbled mess, and my mind was a complete mess too. What exactly is this situation between Qu Ling and me? What should I do next? Just as I was getting frustrated with these thoughts, my phone rang. I checked it and saw it was Su Zhenzhen.
"Hey, big sister, what brings you here today?"
"Yuanyuan..." Su Zhenzhen's voice sounded very wrong, hoarse and with a hint of crying.
"Sis, what's wrong? Did your husband bully you?" I sat down at my desk and started rolling up my sleeves. If He Yuncong dared to bully my sister, I would never let him get away with it!