Chapter 55: A New Life No Matter How Difficult
Liancheng’s palms were sweating profusely, her first thought being pregnancy.
But she was experienced in struggles with Liang Chaosu.
It was like playing cards; at the beginning of the game’s probe, neither side knew the other’s trump card, so naturally one would play the smallest, least impactful cards, and then in the back-and-forth reactions, infer the approximate scope of the opponent’s trump cards.
She lowered her head, first admitting that she had already been exposed, and that they both knew without saying.
“Your sister physically assaulted me in a public place at Bai Family Hospital. Knowing I was having trouble getting pregnant, she poured dirty water on me, and even my mother—I truly have considered leaving.”
“That’s because you’re still entangled with Shen Lichuan, making her unable to distinguish clearly,” Liang Chaosu watched her. “Even your mother can’t distinguish clearly.”
She seemed easy to understand, but never revealed her true feelings, and he couldn’t understand her, guess her thoughts, or be sure… if she still had Shen Lichuan in her heart.
“What does it mean to be entangled, and what do I need to do to make it clear?” Liancheng truly couldn’t hold back anymore; she had reached her limit.
She and Shen Lichuan grew up together, playing every day since they could walk, spitting saliva while babbling, and their toothless smiles were frozen in photographs when they lost their baby teeth.
Her adolescence, his voice changing, every unspoken youthful feeling, nascent, budding, sweet and sour.
Even that night, Shen Lichuan, with red ear tips and a flushed face, hesitantly hooked her with his little finger, not daring to look at her, but summoning his courage, “Can I… kiss the origami crane you gave me?”
The moon was bright and the wind clear; blue hyacinths swayed, obscuring the moment she kissed him, revealing only the lipstick stain on her lips that accompanied the origami crane.
It was damp, and he cherished it, protecting it in his palm.
But everything was snatched away, using the most despicable and shameless methods, forcefully monitoring her, forcing her, she couldn’t even say a formal goodbye.
Four years later, in a brief seven-hundred-character paper crane, she endured and implicitly agreed.
And the perpetrator of the vicious act, the abuser, would transfer their malicious mistake onto her, as if she were lowly and promiscuous, shamelessly ruining the relationship.
Entangled incessantly.
Liancheng trembled all over, “Am I a professionally trained agent? To be surveilled by you two paranoid lunatics, to be had by you while also developing a clandestine relationship with Shen Lichuan?”
Liang Chaosu raised his hand and flung the plate onto the coffee table with a bang, like a bucket of ice water that doused Liancheng’s burning indignation, chilling her.
For a moment, there was silence, and the room became quiet.
Outside the window, the skyline stretched into a sliver of fish belly white, merging with the night curtain nearby. The deep night color by the window surged to that point, from black to deep purple, then to light purple; all darkness was dispelled by the light.
All things will eventually see dawn.
No matter how difficult, there will be new life.
Liancheng stared blankly at that expanse of the sky curtain.
Liang Chaosu also looked at her.
He watched her sitting quietly, her resistance to him shed, her breathing shallow, so close he could embrace her with one arm.
Soft and serene, in the silent night, it spread like a gentle stream, ordinary yet stable.
Liang Chaosu’s heart involuntarily softened, he grasped her hand, separating her fingers one by one, clasping them, palm to palm.
Fingers intertwined, her hands were always excessively pale, with slender knuckles, contrasting with his large, rough hands, his skin tone also darker; his calluses and wounds had weathered her delicate skin.
Just like before, day after day, year after year.
He lowered his eyes and looked for a long time.
The line of the red sun appearing on the horizon, he proactively narrowed the scope of his confession, “Shen Lichuan wants you to go abroad.”
Liancheng turned her head and raised the hand he was tightly holding, “But I didn’t choose him. I didn’t use the plane ticket he arranged or the new identity. These past four years, I’ve seen you day and night; did I have time to think about anyone else?”
Just dealing with him and trying to stay away from him exhausted all her energy and mental fortitude.
The deep chill in Liang Chaosu’s eyes gradually dissolved, and he raised his other hand to gently stroke her hair, “Considering you actively avoided him, I’ll let this slide this time.”
The implication was that he wasn’t going to pursue her escape or punish her.
Liancheng found it hard to believe; when had Liang Chaosu become so easy to talk to, letting it go so easily and passing over it with a single stroke just because she hadn’t sought out Shen Lichuan?
It was like being in a dream, a sense of fortunate relief just surfacing.
The man unbuttoned his shirt and pressed her onto his lap, “But the death penalty can be avoided, though life imprisonment is unavoidable.”
Liancheng felt his exposed chest pressed against her, the muscles hard as iron, his arms like retracting iron gates tightening around her, as if to squeeze her body tighter.
The tremor of every heartbeat was unrestrainedly releasing a deep, scorching tide of passion.
“Liang Chaosu,” Liancheng shouted his name. The man’s fervent lips and tongue took the opportunity to invade, he didn’t smoke or drink, and before entering the room, he must have had strong tea; the bitter, astringent taste of tea lingered in his mouth.
Frankly, it couldn’t be considered a bad smell, not unpleasant.
Yet Liancheng felt her stomach churning, she pushed with all her might, but he pinned her arms behind her back, his overwhelming kiss forcing her to the point of exhaustion.
Liang Chaosu couldn’t stop himself, his fingers lifting her clothes, “Do you want me.”
Liancheng opened her mouth to speak, but he seemed not to need an answer and kissed her again.
Lips and tongues entwined, the force of their kiss penetrated almost to their hearts and lungs.
Liang Chaosu became entranced and began to suck on her neck, his voice a hoarse murmur, “This time I’ll satisfy you completely. Learn your lesson well; if there’s a next time, it won’t be as simple as just in bed.”
Liancheng’s heart contracted to the point of twitching as she endured the world spinning around her.
No intimacy for the first three months.
She was now eight weeks pregnant, her daughter’s fetal heartbeat was so strong, and next came the NT scan, the Down syndrome screening, and the major anomaly scan. In another 16 weeks, she would be able to see her daughter’s face…
There were so many beautiful things to look forward to; she couldn’t stop here and racked her brains to find a way to escape.
“I’m going to take a bath—” Liancheng had a water stain at the corner of her eye. Time was too short; she couldn’t think of a better method and could only stall, “I haven’t bathed in two days. Where I’m staying isn’t good, and the car I took was crowded, it was sour and smelly.”
Before her words were out, she felt a sense of weightlessness as the man lifted her up and strode towards the corridor.
“If you want to wash, I’ll help you,” he panted, and added, “When have I ever disliked you.”
Liancheng’s mind felt like an overloaded CPU, about to overheat and explode. She ignored his incoherent ramblings, only understanding that he was impatient to vent.
No matter how much she struggled or made excuses, she had nowhere to hide.
The double doors of the master bedroom were kicked open by him. Liancheng pulled out her hand and raised it.
If this slap landed, Liang Chaosu’s male chauvinism would surely be provoked. If she then hurled some harsh words, tore their relationship apart, regardless of the consequences, this situation could indeed be avoided.
Suddenly, a knocking sound came from outside the door, urgent and violent, startling Liancheng and causing her to retract her gesture, her fingernails scraping down the man’s jawline, drawing a few beads of blood.
Liang Chaosu glanced at her. The knocking became more frantic, mixed with Xiao Da’s anxious voice, sounding slightly flustered, “Mr. Liang, Chairman Liang has returned from the North. He needs to see you now; I really can’t stop him.”
Liancheng flinched reflexively, causing the man to glance at her.
Their eyes met; one’s pupils constricted, the other’s desire was wild.
Liancheng prayed to every deity in heaven and earth, and somehow, one of them answered her.
