Chapter 72

  The next day at noon, Yuan Zhi set off again with He Sheng, without telling anyone, just the two of them.

  The road is still quiet, with only light music echoing in the car. Sometimes, silence is more suitable than speaking out loud.

  When we arrived at our destination, it was already evening. The fields were filled with the faint sounds of insects and the scent of grass wafted through the air. Tonight's moon was exceptionally bright, hanging high in the center of the sky.

  Yuan Zhi held onto the steering wheel for a long time before unlocking and getting out of the car. He Sheng also walked down from the other side and circled around to his front.

  This evening, under the moonlight, they could see each other's faces clearly, one delicate, one handsome, just as familiar as yesterday.

  "I went in," she said.

  Yuan Zhi suddenly raised his hand to hold hers, and after this parting, no one knew when they would meet again. The helpless feeling of transcending life and death separation was like an explosion, suddenly becoming clear at this moment.

  It wasn't someone else, it was He Song, he had been protecting him for so long, but in the end, he couldn't protect himself.

  He felt as if his heart was going to burst, "You......" He hung his head and said in a extremely dry tone: "From now on, take good care of yourself, eat well, sleep well, don't exhaust yourself, if something's not right, speak up, don't keep it inside and pretend you're happy, got it?"

  "Hmm." He Song thought about smiling as he usually did, but found it too difficult.

  Either he didn't speak, or when he did, he found that there was still so much more to say, and so many things that couldn't be put down. The surging worries choked him, making his throat feel like it was going to split open. Handing He Sheng over to another man, even though he knew the other person was excellent enough to take good care of He Sheng, but not seeing it with his own eyes made him uneasy. How could he be at ease if it wasn't himself?

  Delicate features slowly softened and opened up into a deep sorrow.

  "You said we've been through so much, why can't we be together now that everything is fine?"

  He Sheng's eyes were scattered and he didn't know how to respond.

  Yuan Zhi tilted his head and gazed at the fields under the cold silver light in the distance, "What do you think is the possibility of us being together?"

  Then He Sheng heard the most irresistible yet unanswerable question of his life.

  "Don't go, okay?" he said, turning his head back around and staring steadily at He Song, his deep eyes misty as if veiled by a thin layer of gauze, his voice trembling. "Don't abandon me, okay? I can listen to anything you say, He Song!"

  He Sheng's whole body was numb, and tears had already fallen uncontrollably at the moment he spoke out. She looked dazed and somewhat surprised, as if she didn't understand where the water on her face came from.

  "She didn't want to go, but she had promised Liao Shi."

  The wind blowing in her face, the wild grass swaying at her feet, the clear and cold moonlight, every scene and object that had been with her for three years seemed to be supervising her every move.

  "She stammered in a fluster: 'I promised him I'd come back.'"

  Yuan Zhi held her hand tightly, "What can I do to make you stay?"

  He Sheng pouted and shook his head vigorously.

  Yuan Zhi looked at her for a long time, and the next second he suddenly knelt down, pressing his forehead against the back of her hand, extremely humbly begging: "Don't go! He Sheng! I beg you! Don't abandon me!"

  He Sheng was like being hit hard, his whole body trembling, and he burst into tears. He shook his head numbly and stuttered: "I... I won't let him down... He helped me too much, I won't..."

  The man remained silent, kneeling on the ground with an unprecedented low posture, no longer speaking out and showing no intention of letting her go. Yuan Zhi was using his last remaining dignity to beg for what he wanted most.

  He didn't know if he could succeed tonight, and even his courage had already disappeared.

  He Sheng's hand felt a slight pain from his exertion, and it was this pain that made her feel a coolness all over her head, after which she suddenly pulled out her hand, turned around and ran in, flustered and panicked as if something ferocious was chasing her from behind.

  Tonight, Yuan Zhi, who was already proud and confident, still lost his He Sheng, without even a chance to make amends.

  He Shuang ran into the courtyard, crying, and closed the gate behind her. After using up all her last strength, she slowly slid down to the ground with her back against the wooden door, her face a mess of tears and snot.

  Liao Shi, dressed in casual clothes, walked up to her and squatted down, asking softly, "Are you feeling unwell?"

  He Sheng nodded heavily, "Uh-huh!"

  "Do you like him?"

  "Hmm!"

  "Do you like me?"

  "Is it possible for you to like me?"

  "Want to go with him?"

  He Sheng nodded heavily again, choking with sobs, "Can I go?"

  "No way!" Liao Shi smiled and reached out to stroke her disheveled hair from running, "You said you'd try to like me, and also said you wouldn't leave this place, so I don't want to let you go. I also want to be with you."

  He knew He Song too well, her biggest weakness was that she would always remember the good things others did for her, no matter how small they were, and she would definitely repay them doubly. So he understood that as long as he didn't let go, this girl would never take the initiative to leave.

  But he didn't know that the reason for He Sheng's weakness was that there were too few people who treated her well, so few that they could be counted on one hand.

  He Shuang's tears kept falling, her mouth trembling constantly, as if trying to hold back, but instead making the greatest sorrow in her heart burst out. She cried out in a choked voice: "I bullied Yuan Zhi, wu... I bullied him like that, what should I do? I didn't want to bully him."

  Liao Shi used his thumb to gently wipe her wet face, then hugged her into his arms, patting her back lightly and cooing: "Good girl, don't cry, he will forgive you."

  He Sheng shook his head and sobbed in a low voice, "It will never happen again!"

  Yuan Zhi would never forgive her again.

  And besides... she won't need it anymore.

  The next day after getting back their ID cards, they went to the Civil Affairs Bureau for registration.

  In the morning, with the sunlight just right, He Shuang wore new clothes and paced back and forth at the entrance of a certain park. This was where Liao Shi had picked her up years ago. Liao Shi had told her to wait here while he went to prepare some things, then he would hurry over to pick her up.

  In a fast food restaurant serving breakfast, Liao Shi and Yuan Zhi sat facing each other.

  "Mr. Yuan doesn't look too good, didn't sleep well last night?" He took a sip of soy milk and smiled with a warm elegance.

  "It's fine!" Yuan Zhi poked at the fried dough stick with his chopsticks, "You've found me for something? Then you'd better speak quickly, I'm in a hurry to get home."

  "No matter what, today is He Sheng's engagement day." Liao Shi put down his cup, with a hint of a smile, "Don't you want to congratulate him?"

  Yuan Zhi said in a calm tone, "Who should I congratulate if she's not here? You?" He paused for a moment before continuing, "No matter what the future holds, even if you two get married and become a real couple, as long as there's a glimmer of hope, I'll still take He Sheng back. She's just confused right now, unable to think clearly. Watch me, I have absolute confidence that I can wait for her for the rest of my life!"

  Liao's beautiful fingers kept rubbing back and forth on the handle of the cup, without any reaction to what he said. Next to him were people coming and going for meals, filling the room with the aroma of breakfast.

  He soon pulled out a post-it note and an envelope from his pocket, put them on the table, pushed them in front of Yuan Zhi, and raised his chin. "Take a look."

  Yuan Zhi didn't move, his eyes glanced up and saw that the post-it note on top had an address written on it. He furrowed his brow, "What thing?"

  "He Shuang is waiting for now."

  Yuan Zhi was taken aback and looked up at him.

  Liao Shi glanced at his watch, "It's still five minutes before I meet her, and it takes half an hour to get there from here, you'd better hurry up!"

  "You..." Yuan Zhi's face was full of shock, and he couldn't speak for a moment.

  "It's better to let her go and set both of us free, rather than keeping a woman who will never love me by my side."

  He raised an eyebrow and smiled at Yuan Zhi: "Really can't wait, aren't you going to hurry up? Oh right, that envelope is for He Song."

  A burst of ear-piercing screeching sounds from the chair scraping against the floor, and all that was left on the table was a plate of oily fried dough sticks, a slightly swaying glass of milk tea, while the man who had been pretending to be calm just a second before suddenly rushed out in a most unseemly manner, his last words met with only a dismissive wave of the hand without even turning back, his anxious and flustered appearance contrasting sharply with his refined features, causing onlookers to feel a pang of sympathy for him.

  Liao Shi slowly continued to sip the ** in his cup, gazing through the glass window at Yuan Zhi's disheveled expression, until the other party got into the car and quickly disappeared from his line of sight. Only then did he stop, stand up, pull out the luggage hidden behind the chair, and walk out.

  He Sheng was already squatting on the ground, holding a small stick and scratching the ground from time to time. Liao Shi was an exceptionally punctual person, and when making appointments with others, she would always arrive early, never late. She was worried, but couldn't leave, so she furrowed her brow and looked around at the crowded street.

  Then she saw a somewhat familiar car coming over, stopped on the opposite side of the street where it shouldn't have stopped. Just as she was surprised, an even more surprising person got out of the car.

  Tall and straight posture, casual attire, with an innate elegance in every move. As the other person quickly approached, He Song clearly saw the urgent yet excited contradictory expression on his face.

  Until they were a meter apart, Yuan Zhi stopped in his tracks and panted heavily as he stared at him.

  He Sheng's face was a bit pale, her fingers clenched around the small wooden stick, she still hadn't forgotten about Yuan Zhi kneeling down last night and how she had thrown him away.

  Yuan Zhi took a few deep breaths and approached her, He Sheng stood up and retreated in fear.

  He raised an eyebrow, "What are you hiding? Can I eat you?"

  He Sheng stopped moving, and Ba Ba looked at him with a glance, saying in a low voice: "How did you come here?"

  Yuan Zhi raised an eyebrow, looking particularly arrogant, "Why can't I come?"

  He Sheng looked around, Liao Shi's shadow had not appeared yet, she bit her lip and didn't speak.

  "Hey!" After a while, Yuan Zhi shouted, the corners of his mouth suddenly curved upwards, and the smile that could no longer be restrained crawled all over his face. The wind blowing from afar blew the curve on his mouth even bigger, his eyes were curved, and in the sunlight, dazzling light flashed inside, then he heard him excitedly shouting: "Liao's doesn't want you anymore, He Song, today you don't want to leave but have to follow me."

  He Sheng blinked his eyes in surprise, staring blankly, "How... is that possible?"

  She knew Liao Shi's character, how could Liao Shi possibly not want her?

  "How can it be impossible?" Yuan Zhi took a few more steps closer, leaning in so that their eyes and noses were aligned, the smile in his gaze was breathtakingly beautiful. He handed over what he had in his hand, saying softly: "No one else wants you, only I want you, He Shuang, this lifetime you can follow me."

  He Sheng was still a bit stunned, took the thing and looked at it, and saw that the neat and sharp handwriting was indeed from Liao Shi's hand. She opened the envelope again, pulled out the clean paper inside and spread it open.

  Not much content: He Sheng, call me if you have something, remember to exercise every day as usual.

  "Is he gone?" she muttered.

  But since Liao Shi had this intention, why did he still speak to her like that last night?

  Yuan Zhi saw his own daughter's worried and unhappy face, feeling uncomfortable in his heart. He snatched the envelope, carelessly stuffed it into his pocket, then hugged her tightly, swaying back and forth, saying: "We'll go home soon, from now on you can't run around randomly anymore, wherever I go, you'll follow, got it?"

  He Xiang leaned his chin on his shoulder, staring at the few wild geese flying overhead in the sky, "But Liao..."

  "What's with Liao?" Yuan Zhi interrupted her, "From now on, you're not allowed to remember this person anymore. Didn't you see how much weight I lost because of him? From now on, I'll be the one remembering those who helped you in the past, and you're not allowed to care!"

  After finishing, he happily pulled He Song to run to the opposite side of the road and brought him back again. This time they really went home.

  On the other hand, Liao Shi was also sitting in a taxi, his destination was the airport, preparing to take a flight to the UK two hours later for at least half a year of medical exchange.

  The radio in the car was playing local news, Liao Shi turned his head to look at the scenery outside the window flying by, halfway through, his phone vibrated.

  He took it out to look, and it was a colorful message sent by his parents. At this moment, they were traveling on a small island in the south. In the photo, they wore summer clothes, with sunglasses on their noses, smiling with wrinkles all over their faces.

  Behind me were scattered tourists, a yellow sandy beach and an endless sea.

  The sea is vast and should be able to hold anything, but he thinks his heart is bigger than the sea, yet there's not much it can hold!

  Yuan Zhi took He Sheng back home and left again in a few days, going to a small coastal town where he rented a small wooden house and settled down.

  Several years ago, I already had plans to take He Sheng away. Although it's been a long time in between, at least this goal has been achieved, and from now on, we don't have to be afraid of being disturbed by outsiders anymore.

  Zhang Xin had advised Yuan Zhi several times, but after all, this person was still a shareholder of the Yuan family. He couldn't just walk away with a single sentence that couldn't be said to be unreasonable, but Yuan Zhi was unmoved. As long as Yuan Chongyang was there, that place would not collapse, and he was no longer the Yuan Zhi of the past, no one could threaten him casually again.

  Later, Yuan Zhi was afraid that He Sheng would be idle and bored, so he opened a homestay here and hired several local young people as waiters. The days passed quickly in busy and fulfilling times.

  Two years later, Yuan Chongyang suddenly suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. Given that he had no power to act at all, he could only transfer all the shares in his hands to Yuan Zhi. However, these things were never what Yuan Zhi pursued.

  Yan Bai and Zhang Xin came together at that time, Yuan Zhi did not have much emotional ups and downs, he could no longer continue to return to the Yuan family.

  Finally, under the gaze of countless people, he sold all his shares and indirectly indicated that the Yuan family had changed hands. The Jiangshan that Yuan Chongyang had guarded for a lifetime collapsed in an instant.

  Some people were surprised, some sighed, and this news was on the headlines of the local financial section for a week before it subsided. But for Yuan Zhi, it was truly liberating.

  In the year he took He Sheng away, He Shou Si unknowingly went abroad again, and when he came back, he was forced by his family to prepare for marriage. It's unclear whether it's because of his age or because he has become more worldly-wise, or perhaps his past passion has faded away, leaving only a sense of perfunctoriness that can be either present or absent.

  He did not refuse and accepted this arrangement with a surprising attitude from others.

  Yuan Zhi and He Sheng naturally attended, after the banquet ended that day, the two went to a sanatorium together.

  Yuan Chongyang lay in bed, his whole body had withered away. Zhu Meiyan took care of him quite well, but after the facial paralysis, he even had difficulty speaking.

  The once arrogant man has become like this, as his son, Yuan Zhi wants to say that it's impossible not to feel anything, but he's just too resentful, having hated him for so many years, and even if there were emotions, they would be almost negligible.

  After learning that He Sheng was still alive, he asked Zhang Xin to investigate the aftermath of the accident at that time. From the details, everything pointed to Yuan Chongyang. The accident was an accident, and everything that followed was arranged by him. He even didn't plan to give He Sheng a way out. If it wasn't for Liao Shi, He Sheng might have really died in the car accident.

  Yuan Chongyang was his father, but whenever he thought about these things, he found that he still couldn't forgive him.

  They never contacted Liao Shi again, and He Sheng couldn't put his mind at ease. From time to time, he would take out that tattered piece of paper to call Liao Shi, but the number was always unreachable, either because it was turned off or had been cancelled, eventually becoming an empty number.

  He Sheng specifically went back to the medical hall to look for him, only to find out that Liao Shi had closed the medical hall before he left. It turned out that he never intended to have any further contact with her from the very beginning, and what was called contact was just a deception.

  The last time I heard Liao Shi's name was from Gu Wei, who said that Liao Shi had gone to Africa to support the medical technology there.

  That day was a difficult one for He Sheng, who didn't speak all day. Afterwards, he often watched the news to stay informed about the situation abroad.

  Another year passed, Yuan Chongyang passed away, and Yuan Zhi took He Sheng to attend the funeral. Throughout the whole process, Yuan Zhi was expressionless and didn't say a word.

  On the way back, He Sheng was a bit worried about him and couldn't think of any comforting words to say, so he just held his hand and kept squeezing it.

  Yuan Zhi was pinched a bit itchy, finally pulled out, and turned to hold her shoulder.

  He Sheng blinked his eyes and looked at him, whispering: "Don't be too sad!"

  Yuan Zhi raised an eyebrow, "Who told you I'm upset?"

  "You haven't spoken all day."

  "Hmm." He responded with a murmur, "Just don't know what to say, such a person, hated him for his whole life, now that he's gone, it feels somewhat empty and desolate."

  Yuan Chongyang is a man who has failed miserably, he can dominate the business world but cannot handle his own son, however, he can also serve as a reference, it seems that Yuan Zhi will definitely become a qualified father and teach by example.

  Because this year, they have just become parents!

  Author has something to say: I threw a grenade. Throwing time: 2014-03-16 13:08:23

  Thank you to Yomi friend for throwing the second landmine, it was costly. I'm not good at writing H and writing such a plot makes me feel pressured, but I don't mind opening a small theater for the loyal readers of this article. However, I won't post the main text, as this article is not suitable for H content. Tomorrow there will be an extra chapter for Hei Shou Si, and I'll post tomorrow's author notes or find another place to share it. The word count will be around 2000 words, hoping you can enjoy it!

  Epilogue

  The best ending in my heart is actually at the * mark, 'The sea is very big and should be able to hold anything, he thinks his heart is bigger than the sea, but there's not much that can fit inside!' It's just after this sentence, but since there are still many things that haven't been explained, I added the rest of the content.

  Can you see the underlying meaning of the last sentence at *? It can't hold much, but inside there is a He Sheng, which means that by the end He Sheng has become his everything.

  Liao Shi is a slow-burning person, he's excellent enough, perfect enough, and more outstanding than He Shuang standing by his side. However, he doesn't easily give people opportunities. It's already an exception that He Shuang can stay by his side for three years. If saving He Shuang only meant keeping him around for a month, two months, or a year without any unexpected twists, then in the end, He Shuang would be nothing more than someone he knows better than other patients to Liao Shi.

  But heaven is always playing tricks on people, He Song stayed for three years and gradually warmed up the emotionally numb Liao Shi, so there was such a result. Don't feel sorry for Liao Shi, he should be grateful. At least in this life, he learned what it means to like someone. Everyone can also imagine that in distant Africa, Liao Shi might have picked up another girl, and that girl is more kind, more shy, and more caring about him, gradually replacing He Song's warmth in the long river of time, and finally living happily ever after! ^_^

  There is no way to have both in this world, don't be too sad for Liao Shi!

  Let's talk about He Sheng and Yuan Zhi again. They are undoubtedly lucky, even if they have gone through so much suffering, at least their future is still long, and they can be happy for a long time.

  Compared with Chen Jiayin, He Shousi, Gu Wei, Yuan Shuyun and Liao Shi, it's really much better.

  In the previous chapter, I saw many friends questioning and condemning He Sheng. At that time, I was really surprised and couldn't understand why they would think that after all they had been through, Yuan Zhi wouldn't be important to her? How could her endurance not move people's hearts and make them feel sorry for her? How strong must she have been to keep nodding in agreement with Liao Shi's requests and refusing Yuan Zhi's attempts to hold her back? Why would you have such doubts?

  He Shuang's emotions are not revealed, but that doesn't mean she isn't suffering. Just like in life, you can't judge a person by their appearance. Moreover, in the previous text, when she was with Yuan Zhi, she didn't show much affection for him either. She just took good care of this boy who made her heart ache. When did she ever loudly declare how much she liked Yuan Zhi? Careful friends should have noticed that throughout the whole story, not even once did they mention the word 'love' between them. Does that mean they don't love each other? The word 'love' is already insufficient to describe their feelings for each other. It's better to use simple and plain words like 'like', which are more pure and simple.

  I personally think that emotions are never expressed through words, but rather through subtle actions. Truly caring for someone is a deeply ingrained habit that penetrates to the bone and becomes one with life itself.

  But anyway, it's truly over now. In my opinion, this article is not a traditional romance novel, but rather a coming-of-age story with emotions as a secondary theme. I'm honored that everyone was able to stick with it until the end, and I'm grateful for that. Any regrets or congratulations you may have will disappear along with the ending. It was great getting to know all of you, and I hope to see you again in the future! ^_^

  PS: There will be a He Shou Si extra tomorrow, and there's only one. I don't plan to write more either. I don't like writing things to death, taking care of every aspect in detail, leaving no room for imagination - what's the point? When I read novels myself, I never read extras, for the same reason.

  By the way, the ending of this new article will be semi-open, although it's still early to say that now. If you have friends who plan to read it but don't accept this type of ending, it's better to mention it here!

  New article chapter 19:00 has been updated! ^_^

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