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The night road stretched long and winding ahead, seemingly endless. Cheng Qiuyi carried Liu Shuhan on her back, moving slowly as the dim moonlight cast a shadow on the ground, creating a vague outline.
Liu Shuhan lounged comfortably on Cheng Qiuyi's back, swinging her legs. However, the wound on her knee couldn't bear any disturbance; even the slightest movement caused sharp pain. Liu Shuhan obediently kept her legs still, preventing them from moving freely.
"Qiu Yi, it seems like every time you carry me, I end up getting hurt," Liu Shuhan casually remarked, twirling a strand of Cheng Qiuyi's hair around her finger.
"How can you say that?" Cheng Qiuyi laughed. "Why don't you say that every time you get hurt, I carry you?"
Liu Shuhan looked up at the moon and realized that there was some truth to that.
"You’re young and strong now, so you can still carry me. But what if in the future when we’re both old and you can’t carry me anymore? What will happen if I get hurt then?" Liu Shuhan imagined them both in their seventies or eighties, two old ladies with no teeth left, each lounging on a deck chair on the balcony soaking up the sun. The thought made her chuckle. "Qiu Yi, do you think when we’re old we’ll be like those aunties in the park dancing every day?"
"Is there anyone who curses themselves with injuries as they age? Besides, even when I'm ninety, I can still carry you," Cheng Qiuyi said, using one hand to tuck back the hair that Liu Shuhan had just messed up. "But I won’t dance in public; if it’s embarrassing, you can go alone."
"That won’t do." Liu Shuhan grew bored of playing with Cheng Qiuyi's hair and shifted her focus to her earlobe. "It would be so boring to dance alone."
Liu Shuhan playfully bit Cheng Qiuyi's earlobe as a threat. "Will you accompany me? If not, I'll bite your ear off."
"Alright, alright, let’s go. Please spare my life, Miss." Cheng Qiuyi continued walking steadily while bantering with Liu Shuhan, discussing things that wouldn’t happen for decades as if they were real.
"If only it were just the two of us in this world," Liu Shuhan sighed, loosening her grip on Cheng Qiuyi's ear and resting fully on her back. "All those troublesome things could just disappear."
On either side of the road grew wild grass, and various insects and frogs chirped in chorus from the bushes. After walking for a while with Liu Shuhan nearly dozing off on her back, Cheng Qiuyi suddenly said, "Shu Han, do you want to hear about my history with Ye Jing?"
In such an expansive space, Cheng Qiuyi's words scattered into the air with the autumn breeze, feeling inexplicably thin. Liu Shuhan panicked; perhaps this wasn’t a good idea. "Don't say it; I'm tired and want to sleep. I don’t want to hear it."
"I’ve known Ye Jing since we were in our mothers' wombs; we were even betrothed before we were born. Ye Jing is a few months older than me. Later I heard someone say that when my mother found out I was a girl, her first reaction was 'Is this daughter-in-law just going to be lost like this?'" Perhaps this memory was very beautiful for Cheng Qiuyi; even Liu Shuhan could feel the brightness in her tone.
Liu Shuhan interjected jealously, "Well then it’s my fault for butting in and ruining your fate together."
"My mother couldn't get pregnant again after giving birth to me, so I was raised as the only heir of the Cheng Family. Ye Jing's parents died in an accident when she was less than a year old, and my mother took her in as her second daughter. Ye Jing and I grew up together, and we had a very good relationship when we were young; I regarded her as my own sister in my heart.
"Ye Jing has always had a strong personality. I still remember when I was five years old and was bullied by some boys from the neighborhood. When Ye Jing found out, she knocked out the front teeth of the leader of those boys. Later, she told me that if I didn't want to be bullied, I had to be the one who could bully others. Unfortunately, I only understood this lesson after my mother passed away.
"When I turned fourteen, the Cheng Family got into trouble with enemies. My mother sent Ye Jing back to the Ye Family and sent me to my grandfather Zhou's place in City Z. She was worried about me and had a master secretly protect me, which is how I met you. After that, Ye Jing and I never saw each other again. Who would have thought that I would stay in City Z for three years? When I returned to C City, all I found out was that my mother had died and that Cheng Tianhong had remarried."
Cheng Qiuyi spoke calmly, but Liu Shuhan felt a lump in her throat.
Based on Cheng Qiuyi's timeline, Liu Shuhan realized that when Mother Cheng passed away, her relationship with Cheng Qiuyi was already quite good. Liu Shuhan remembered that after Cheng Qiuyi's college entrance examination, she was indeed depressed for a while. Liu Shuhan thought it was just because of her poor exam results and comforted her for several days, not knowing that such a huge change had occurred in her family. She couldn't imagine how Cheng Qiuyi managed to get through it.
"I saw Ye Jing again at my mother's funeral. At that time, she had started taking over the Ye Family business. After not seeing each other for years, we had nothing to say to each other, and later on, I went abroad."
Mentioning Cheng Qiuyi going abroad made Liu Shuhan angry. "You just left like that? Didn't you think about saying goodbye to me?"
"I was wrong, wasn't I? At that time, I was afraid that if I left, Cheng Tianhong would cause trouble for you, so I didn't dare to look for you." Cheng Qiuyi lifted Liu Shuhan's spirits and continued, "After I went abroad, I had more opportunities to meet Ye Jing. The Ye Family has many cooperative projects in A Country, and Ye Jing would find excuses to meet up with me every now and then under the guise of business trips. Gradually, we became familiar again. Who would have thought... later on, Ye Jing said she... liked me."
"What?" Liu Shuhan became anxious. "I knew she had intentions toward you! The way she looked at you today was off! What about you? Did you agree?"
"No, I told her I liked someone else." Cheng Qiuyi smiled and said, "Shu Han, guess who that person is?"
"I'm not a mind reader; how would I know..." Liu Shuhan stammered with a flushed face.
Cheng Qiuyi didn't expose her but continued reminiscing. "Later... later..." Cheng Qiuyi repeated "later" several times; her expression gradually hardened, and a fierce look appeared in her eyes as she squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth: "Later she drugged me."
Both fell silent.
Liu Shuhan could clearly feel Cheng Qiuyi trembling slightly.
Cheng Qiuyi's skin felt icy cold; her steps were unsteady. In a panic, they both stumbled into the grass by the roadside. The night was deep and heavy with dew; the soil was damp with moisture. They fell lightly but ended up covered in dirt, looking disheveled.
Cheng Qiuyi collapsed on the ground, too overwhelmed to get up. Her first reaction was to wrap her arms and legs around Liu Shuhan. She had completely lost her mind, only knowing to bury her head in Liu Shuhan's embrace and murmur, "Shu Han... I'm sorry... please don't leave me..."
"Shu Han... please... don't leave me..."
Eventually, even this whisper faded away. Cheng Qiuyi clung tightly to Liu Shuhan, trembling in her arms like a child. Cheng Qiuyi was crying, silently, with tears streaming down her face. Liu Shuhan's clothes became soaked, sticking to her skin, as Cheng Qiuyi's tears seeped through the fabric and pooled at Liu Shuhan's chest, cold enough to take one's breath away.
This was the first time in over a decade of knowing Cheng Qiuyi that Liu Shuhan had seen her cry. Liu Shuhan felt as if her heart was being pricked repeatedly with a needle, a fine and dense pain that left her gasping for breath.
Cheng Qiuyi was crying, pitifully pleading for Liu Shuhan not to abandon her. How desperate must Cheng Qiuyi have been at that moment for mere memories to shatter her will? Cheng Qiuyi was so strong; she could kick down a man weighing over 180 pounds and carry herself for miles without breaking a sweat. Liu Shuhan could entrust all her troubles to her without worry.
Yet this powerful woman was now sobbing uncontrollably.
Liu Shuhan was just a small woman; she wasn't as strong as Cheng Qiuyi, so she could only hold onto Cheng Qiuyi's shoulders and cry with her.
"Qiu Yi, I'm here... I want you..." Liu Shuhan kissed Cheng Qiuyi's forehead through her tears, the droplets cascading down her cheeks into Cheng Qiuyi's hair. Liu Shuhan cried out loudly, wailing from the depths of her heart. In her brief life, she had faced very few unhappy moments; she couldn't learn Cheng Qiuyi's restraint and felt helplessly pained by Cheng Qiuyi's silent tears.
Time passed without notice until Cheng Qiuyi's tears ran dry, and she finally lifted her head from Liu Shuhan's embrace. Her eyes were red and swollen as she sat up from the grass, pulling Liu Shuhan up with her.
Liu Shuhan was still lost in grief, continuing to sob even after sitting up. Cheng Qiuyi gently touched her head and hoarsely said, "Alright, that's enough."
Liu Shuhan opened her eyes and saw Cheng Qiuyi smiling at her through tear-streaked cheeks, appearing as if nothing had happened. She foolishly asked, "You... are you okay now?"
Confirming that Cheng Qiuyi had truly returned to herself made Liu Shuhan cry even harder. "Cheng Qiuyi, you scared me to death... If anything happened to you, I wouldn't be able to live either..."
The knot in Cheng Qiuyi's heart that had been there for so many years loosened after releasing all those emotions. She raised her hand to wipe away Liu Shuhan's tears, feeling soft inside. What would happen if such a tearful woman were to leave her?
Ye Jing was insane; she had drugged Cheng Qiuyi and imprisoned her for two whole months. During those two months, Cheng Qiuyi was kept in a basement without any light, with the only glimpse of brightness coming from the fluorescent lights in the corridor when Ye Jing brought her meals. Ye Jing aimed to break Cheng Qiuyi through this method, forcing her to obey. Ye Jing succeeded in part; Cheng Qiuyi was indeed broken—she instinctively feared Ye Jing while feeling both fear and hatred.
For a long time afterward, Cheng Qiuyi was afraid of the dark. She had nightmares where Ye Jing appeared with a terrifying face one moment and then Liu Shuhan coldly saying she didn't want her anymore the next. Cheng Qiuyi thought that if it came down to it, she could perish along with Ye Jing, but she hesitated because of Liu Shuhan. If she did something so foolish, she might never have the chance to be with Liu Shuhan again.
Cheng Qiuyi felt fortunate for her hesitation; Ye Jing's retribution was only a matter of time, and there was no need for Cheng Qiuyi to sacrifice her future with Liu Shuhan for someone like that.
However, that retribution was indeed due.
"Shu Han, let's go home." Cheng Qiuyi reached out her hand to Liu Shuhan.
Just as Liu Shuhan was about to take Cheng Qiuyi's hand, two blinding beams of light shone toward them. A car approached from a distance on the road, stopping beside them, and a person got out from the driver's seat.
It was Qin Jiang's butler.
"Miss Qiu Yi, the master is worried about your safety and has sent me to take you home."
Cheng Qiuyi and Liu Shuhan exchanged glances.
"Should we get in?" Liu Shuhan asked, swallowing hard.
Cheng Qiuyi looked at Liu Shuhan, whose hair was disheveled and clothes were covered in dirt and grass, and nodded. "Let's get in." Liu Shuhan was still injured; now was not the time to show off in front of Qin Jiang.
After a long night of turmoil, they finally returned to the hotel where Cheng Qiuyi was staying.
Both of them were muddy. Liu Shuhan hadn't slept a wink all night and collapsed onto the sofa, falling asleep immediately. Her clothes were soaked through, and Cheng Qiuyi worried she might catch a cold. She walked over to the sofa and pulled her up gently. "Shu Han, go take a hot shower before sleeping. Be good."
Liu Shuhan could barely open her eyes and leaned against Cheng Qiuyi, continuing to sleep. Within seconds, she began to snore. With dark circles under her eyes, Cheng Qiuyi couldn't bear to wake her up. Instead, she bent down, one hand supporting Liu Shuhan's shoulder while the other slipped under her knees, lifting her up and carrying her into the bathroom.
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