Ni Pingsen remained silent.
"Go ahead and curse me!" Liu Hui finally cried out, "I'm a vicious woman who only thinks of myself and never of others. Go ahead and curse me like that."
But no matter what she said, Ni Pingsen remained silent.
She finally broke down in utter despair because she knew he had made his choice.
"Are you..." Liu Hui looked at him, as if overcoming a great deal of difficulty, and finally asked, "Are you not planning to want me anymore?"
This time, Ni Pingsen did not remain silent.
He said, "Liu Hui, my daughter has come to pick me up."
“You say you have desires, and maybe everyone does. But do you know how old my daughter was when I disappeared? She wasn’t even eighteen yet; she was just starting college. Her mother died a long time ago, and then I disappeared, and her grandmother was bedridden. Can you imagine how hard my daughter’s life was?”
She's only eighteen years old, so you say you have desires, but have you ever thought about how hard my daughter's life is?
My star, how hard she works.
Author's Note: Daddy will love Xingxing from now on, so Xingxing won't suffer anymore, waaaaaaah!
*
Chapter 65
Liu Hui opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. She didn't know what to say to conceal her selfishness.
She once naively believed that this stolen happiness could last a lifetime.
She covered her eyes and hid her heart, thinking only of her own happiness, without ever considering the feelings of Ni Pingsen's family.
In the end, fate is fair.
What she steals, she must always return; what doesn't belong to her, she must always leave.
Liu Hui looked at Ni Pingsen, her eyes still filled with tears, but she suddenly laughed again. She said, "I'm always like this; I'm not always vicious when I should be. Do you know why I haven't had a child with you all these years?"
Ni Pingsen was startled and looked up at her.
Liu Hui laughed through her tears: "It's because I'm afraid of that day coming. Not only will I become pathetic, but that child will also become a tragedy. Pingsen, my birth was a tragedy, and I don't want to hurt anyone else."
Ni Pingsen suddenly realized that he seemed to have never really known Liu Hui.
He always knew she was shrewd and intelligent, but he never imagined she would deceive him so deeply. Perhaps people are always like this, blinded by those closest to them.
Looking back now, if he had walked into even one Chinese embassy in a country back then, would things have turned out differently today?
He thought for a moment and asked, "That year, when the hospital suddenly caught fire, you told me that terrorists had attacked again, is that right?"
Liu Hui looked at him, but her expression turned calm. She said, "Is there any point in talking about this now?"
She was right; asking that question now is completely pointless.
Ni Pingsen nodded. He looked around the restaurant, a labor of love he and Liu Hui had poured their hearts and souls into building it from nothing to where it was now, enduring countless hardships along the way. They thought their hard work was finally paying off, but it turned out to be all just a dream.
He said, "I'll leave this restaurant to you, and I'll leave you all our savings. If you feel that's not enough, you can tell me, and I'll make it up to you as much as I can."
Liu Hui clenched her fists tightly. She looked at Ni Pingsen, her already red eyes now appearing even more like they were bleeding: "Even now, knowing the whole truth, you don't blame me, and you even want to compensate me, right?"
For some reason, Liu Hui just wanted him to scold her severely, or even slap her, rather than him calmly arranging everything like this.
If he gets angry, she feels there's still room for negotiation.
But he was so calm now, it was as if he had completely sentenced her to death, leaving her no room to struggle.
Ni Pingsen finally stood up and calmly looked at Liu Hui, saying, "What good will blaming you do? Can it make up for the seven years that my family and I lost? I will never forget how we got through those seven years, Liu Hui. But your choice has caused too much harm to Xingxing, and I can't bring myself to ask my daughter to forgive you."
It's better to make a clean break now.
In fact, Ni Jingxi's personality is largely like Ni Pingsen's; they both possess that decisiveness in their bones. Perhaps to others, this situation would seem like a tangled mess, leaving them in a dilemma.
But Ni Pingsen made his choice, and he knew that the two of them had truly relied on each other for survival over the years. They had once been so hungry that they shared a single bowl of rice and even considered selling their blood.
They survived those difficult days.
But now he has to make a choice.
Liu Hui covered her face. She should have known that although this man was gentle and peaceful, he was by no means weak. During their most difficult days, he was the one who helped her get through it.
Now he uses this same decisiveness and resolve to sever their relationship.
"Fine, you're not going to compensate me? Fine, I'll take five million. Give me five million, and I'll let you go." Liu Hui wiped the tears from her face.
She stared at him stubbornly; in the end, she simply didn't want to let him go.
He can't leave unless he comes up with the money, right?
Ni Pingsen wasn't angry at her exorbitant demands. Instead, he calmly looked at Liu Hui and said, "I don't actually have five million, but if you want money, I will do my best to compensate you."
He did not rebuke her for her greed, but instead calmly discussed compensation with her.
Finally, Liu Hui couldn't take it anymore. She knew that no matter how much she struggled, he wouldn't stay for her. He was leaving. He was really leaving.
The man who has been with her for seven years is really leaving.
"Pingsen, please, please don't leave me." Liu Hui rushed over and hugged him, crying and pleading.
Ni Pingsen didn't move at first, but after a few seconds, he slowly reached out and removed Liu Hui's hand from his neck. He looked down at Liu Hui and said softly, "Liu Hui, I hope you can find true happiness in the future."
After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment, and finally said, "Don't be so competitive."
The last sentence seemed to convey unease, which made Liu Hui cry even harder.
She shook her head frantically: "That's just how I am. If you're not here, I'll cause trouble and do wrong things."
Ni Pingsen seemed to smile slightly. "It's alright, I believe you can handle it. You're so smart."
This is the best blessing, and also the final blessing.
*
Ni Jingxi sat in the hotel restaurant, with Huo Shenyan sitting opposite her. Seeing that she didn't know how to use chopsticks, he reached out and placed a shrimp cake in her bowl. "Try this? It tastes good."
Ni Jingxi turned her head and glanced at it. "I have no appetite."
Upon hearing this, Huo Shenyan actually reached out with his chopsticks and picked up the shrimp cake back. Ni Jingxi blinked, thinking, "This guy is too real."
She watched helplessly as Huo Shenyan seemed about to put the shrimp cake into his mouth.
He glanced at Ni Jingxi, then turned his chopsticks and held them to her lips, saying softly, "Open your mouth."
Ni Jingxi obediently opened her mouth and took a bite.
Sure enough, as the aroma of the food filled her taste buds, Ni Jingxi's eyes slowly widened, and she exclaimed in surprise, "It really tastes so good!"
Especially since this shrimp cake was dipped in sweet and spicy sauce.
Huo Shenyan slightly lifted his eyelids to look at her, a smile playing on his lips: "Did you think I was just trying to coax you?"
“I have very high standards for food,” he said slowly.
This man always had a calm and composed demeanor, especially now that he was sitting opposite me, wearing a light blue shirt with two buttons undone at the collar.
His ascetic aura had been largely dissipated, replaced by a somewhat dashing and languid demeanor.
Ni Jingxi had been worried about Ni Pingsen's situation, but now her attention has shifted back to Huo Shenyan, and she realizes just how alluring this man is right now.
"How about I take you out for a walk later?" Huo Shenyan said.
Ni Jingxi frowned and said with some worry, "I'm worried about Dad. What if he suddenly comes looking for me?"
"I've left Lao Sun here, and besides, he has your phone number now, so don't worry." Huo Shenyan knew perfectly well that she was worried about this matter; he just wanted to go out for a walk to distract her.
Seeing her with such a furrowed brow, Huo Shenyan felt sorry for her.
After dinner, Ni Jingxi was still hesitating, but Huo Shenyan had already gently pulled her out of the hotel. Ni Jingxi was still trying to find an excuse, saying, "Should I go back and change my clothes?"
She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and denim shorts, a very simple outfit.
Even the shoes were just a pair of sneakers.
Huo Shenyan glanced at her from head to toe. "Slim waist, long legs, she couldn't be more perfect."
Ni Jingxi was stunned for a few seconds before realizing that Huo Shenyan was complimenting her on her figure. In fact, Huo Shenyan rarely said such things to her, and this single sentence completely baffled her.
"My wife is already the most beautiful girl on this street." After saying this, Huo Shenyan bent down and kissed her on the corner of her mouth.
Ni Jingxi felt as if ten thousand fireworks had suddenly exploded in her mind.
When this man suddenly starts saying sweet words, it's really hard to resist.
So Ni Jingxi was coaxed by him and led out the door.
Actually, they didn't go far. Instead, they went to the Sacred Heart Church near the hotel, a classic landmark in Ho Chi Minh City that almost every tourist visits.
Even if it's just taking pictures outside.
After all, such a pink church is simply irresistible to any girl.
Since it wasn't far, and Ni Jingxi didn't want to take a rickshaw, she simply walked there with Huo Shenyan. When they arrived at Sacred Heart Church, Ni Jingxi was surprised to hear many people around her speaking Chinese, which she was familiar with.
"Since we're here, let's take a picture?" Huo Shenyan glanced around and saw many young girls standing in front of the church, taking pictures with their boyfriends or best friends.
Seeing everyone else dressed in beautiful dresses and looking glamorous, Ni Jingxi glanced down at her own short-sleeved T-shirt and denim shorts, and said helplessly, "Never mind."
"How about I come with you?" Huo Shenyan asked, looking down at her.
As Ni Jingxi paused slightly, Huo Shenyan had already greeted a girl next to him: "Excuse me, could you take a picture for us?"
Neither of them are particularly fond of taking photos. The photo they took when they announced their marriage was actually their only known photo together.
The girl next to him, also a Chinese tourist, nodded immediately upon hearing him say that: "Okay, okay."
However, when she took Huo Shenyan's phone, she glanced at him a few more times. She just thought that this man was too handsome, the kind of handsome guy who couldn't be hidden in a crowd.
After taking a few glances, I realized he looked so familiar.
After he took photos of Huo Shenyan and Ni Jingxi, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. After she took several more photos, he returned the phone to Huo Shenyan.
The young girl asked hesitantly, "Are you Ni Jingxi?"
She didn't dare to speak directly to Huo Shenyan. Although he had spoken to her earlier, his aura was too strong, giving her a feeling that made her afraid to offend him.
Ni Jingxi was surprised to be recognized. She smiled and nodded, "Thank you."