Seeing this, Wang Guirong’s wife, Li Jing poured a glass of hot water: “Mr. Xia, drink a glass of water.”
She took the bouquet of flowers and said with a smile on her face: “Actually, Guirong just had a small operation. You came to see us specially, how could we mind.”
Xia Zhiyan smiled gently, “You are welcome, Mrs. Li. I have been working with Mr. Wang for many years, so I should have come a long time ago. It’s just that I’ve been a bit busy with my work abroad recently, so I’ve been delayed.”
Li Jing turned around and put the flowers on the table. In the vase on the side was a bouquet of flowers she had just bought in the morning. It looked like she didn’t intend to change it.
Seeing that Xia Zhiyan had no intention of leaving, with her heavy back, she turned around and replaced a sullen face with a smile: “Actually, our operation this time is quite low-key. After all, if there are many people visiting the sick, it’s hard for Guirong to rest. But it’s a coincidence that Guirong had a friend come over to see him a few days ago. He was in the ward next door, saying that his partner was hospitalized. These fruits were sent by him. ”
For some reason, when Li Jing said the word ‘partner’, she increased her tone a little.
She said: “Mr. Xia should know, it is Mr. Lu, Lu Ming. He’s so good to his partner that I am envious of him.”
As expected, Xia Zhiyan moved his pretty eyebrows.
Seeing this, Wang Guirong, who was nearly fifty, couldn’t help but smile, interrupting his wife’s words.
He had just talked to Xia Zhiyan on the phone in the morning because of his work, and now, Xia Zhiyan actually came over. During that time, he only mentioned in passing that Lu Ming was also in this hospital.
He remembered that in the past, Xia Zhiyan had specially asked for Lu Ming’s business card.
Right now, Xia Zhiyan’s behavior was clear to Wang Guirong, but it wasn’t good to pierce it. The three were polite in the ward for a while. Xia Zhiyan said that he had something to go before stuffing Li Jing with a big red packet as courtesy.
Li Jing refused to accept it, thinking that the drinker’s heart was not in the cup.1an idiom. Basically means to have an ulterior motive, to have other things in mind. So she thinks that Xia Zhiyan has an ulterior motive. He put it on the table in a few words: “Mr. Wang, get well soon. Mrs. Li, I won’t bother you any more.”
As soon as he stepped out of the room, Li Jing’s face darkened angrily.
She threw the red packet to Wang Guirong and snapped: “You find a way to return this red packet, I don’t want it.”
“What are you doing?” Wang Guirong said, “He has good intentions.”
“What good intentions? Do you really think he came to see you? You talked to him on the phone this morning and told him that Lu Ming was in this hospital, so he rushed over as soon as he got off the plane. Don’t forget, when you built the bridge, Lu Ming wasn’t willing to see him. Because of this, he ended his cooperation with our company.”
This might be a big deal. Li Jing had suffered a loss once, so she didn’t want to wade through the muddy waters again.
She nagged at Wang Guirong while peeling an orange: “I saw Lu Ming’s partner yesterday. Although his face is a bit injured, his eyes are exactly the same as Xia Zhiyan’s…Who knows what has happened between them?”
Wang Guirong had heard a little about it: “I heard that Lu Ming’s partner seems to be the son of that Chi Lanyan. It’s also not simple.”
No matter how you compared them, he was one step higher than Xia Zhiyan.
Li Jing whispered: “Anyway, let me tell you, we can’t offend Lu Ming. I’ve heard that the old man of the Lu family has chosen him as his heir.” This relationship was to maintain a constant that only benefited their family company without harm.
A piece of orange was stuffed in Wang Guirong’s mouth, and he felt that what his wife said made sense. He pondered: “Before, when there was news that Xia Zhiyan plagiarized his works, I wanted to replace him. But he spent a lot of money to press the news, so our company signed a two-year contract with him… ”
Li Jing looked at him rather speechlessly.
He took the orange in Li Jing’s hand and coaxed: “Now that we are all about to end our cooperation, what are you angry about?”
Naturally, as Li Jing thought.
Xia Zhiyan’s purpose in coming to the hospital this time was to meet Lu Ming.
But before meeting Lu Ming, the first thing he saw was Chi Qiu, who was sitting alone in the ward, fumbling to adapt to his phone.
Fortunately, Chi Qiu had been pretending to be blind for many years and was extremely familiar with some of the settings in his phone to help the visually impaired. Soon, he was able to use his phone comfortably. When he heard footsteps, he raised his head. A pair of eyes ‘looked’ at the direction of the door: “Lu Ming?”
“…”
Xia Zhiyan was stunned; this was the first time he saw Chi Qiu who was not in the photo. As others have said, Chi Qiu’s eyes were very similar to his.
If you didn’t look closely, their eyes were almost ‘identical’, as if they were a replica of a scorching summer day, and turned into a light spring day on Chi Qiu’s face.
Somehow, Xia Zhiyan suddenly sighed with relief.
Chi Qiu’s eyes were dull because of his blindness, and his eyes were not comparable to his in any way. But even so, Chi Qiu inexplicably beat him by one step and took the lead in standing next to Lu Ming, which made Xia Zhiyan very uncomfortable.
He stood at the door, clenching his hands secretly. He thought, if he hadn’t done something wrong back then, how could it be possible for the position beside Lu Ming be taken by Chi Qiu.
The emotion of unwillingness overflowed his body and was about to explode.
Over the years, he had built up a horrible ego after floating in the world of fame and fortune.
…
At the moment he stepped into the ward, a hand stopped him.
Xia Zhiyan turned around and met with Lu Ming’s unhappy face. It was not the first time that Xia Zhiyan encountered such a Lu Ming, so he was silenced at first before he was unreasonably dragged aside by Lu Ming, walking a long way.
It was only when he was far enough away from Chi Qiu’s ward and the surrounding area was clear enough that Lu Ming stopped.
His voice was full of disgust: “Why are you here?”
Xia Zhiyan felt a pain in his heart. He never thought that after many years, when he saw Lu Ming again, he would still be knocked down by Lu Ming’s cold words just like when he was young.
“I came to visit Mr. Wang and accidentally knew that you are in the next ward, so ..” he paused, not even believing this statement himself.
Obviously, Lu Ming didn’t believe it either.
Xia Zhiyan looked at Lu Ming with sparkling eyes, clinging and frank: “I’m here to see you.”
As a result, Lu Ming didn’t have much patience with him, nor was he interested in his words: “I don’t care what you are here for, stay away from Chi Qiu.”
And the point that Lu Ming didn’t want to meet with him, he had long made it clear.
Xia Zhiyan was dumbfounded. He sadly lowered his eyes slightly and saw Lu Ming carrying a bag of oranges in his hand. He remembered that Lu Ming didn’t like oranges, so he did not have to think about it to know for whom this bag of oranges was bought.
Therefore, Xia Zhiyan simply couldn’t believe that Lu Ming would actually go to the small fruit store downstairs of the hospital and pick this kind of cheap oranges one by one just for someone. He stared at the humble plastic bag in Lu Ming’s hand and couldn’t help but think he might have mistaken him.
He still remembered that wherever Lu Ming went in the past, he would be the center of attention, even Xia Zhiyan, who was following him, could get a lot of attention. This unique brilliance in his youth was unmatched no matter how many parties Xia Zhiyan had attended today.
Amidst the silence, Lu Ming, however, was uninterested in Xia Zhiyan’s intentions of coming, and he only said, “Stay away from Chi Qiu. Or I won’t be polite.”
Then, Lu Ming walked past him.
Xia Zhiyan turned around and said suddenly, “I confessed to you before, you said you didn’t like men.”
Lu Ming didn’t stop and didn’t care what Xia Zhiyan said.
This time, Xia Zhiyan, who finally saw Lu Ming, instantly became anxious. He took a few steps to catch up and pulled Lu Ming’s hand. His face was pitifully weak: “You don’t dislike me!”
With a calm face, Lu Ming shook off his hand and said clearly: “I never liked you.”
Xia Zhiyan shook his head: “No, you did it because I did something wrong, so you can’t forgive me, right?” He made a startling remark: “You would rather find a substitute than forgive me?”
In the quiet aisle, a nurse, who was pushing a cart, inexplicably glanced at the two and hurriedly passed by.
Lu Ming’s hands were so strong that the plastic bag containing the oranges left a mark on his knuckles. He was ashamed that he had helped Xia Zhiyan. If it affected Chi Qiu and hurt Chi Qiu, Lu Ming would regret it.
“Xia Zhiyan, there is no one who is a substitute for anyone. I never had that kind of feeling for you.”
Xia Zhiyan listened and gritted his teeth. His pride blasted through his body as many as hundred times. If it were normal times, he would have turned around and walked away. But he knew well the nature of Lu Ming; he could be persuaded by reason but not be cowed by force, so his tone became gentle and moving, making Lu Ming as uncomfortable as he was back then.
“But you can’t deny that Chi Qiu’s eyes are very similar to mine.” Xia Zhiyan moved. “Why do you want someone who is so similar to me? I also heard that you married him for the property…”
Lu Ming coldly looked at Xia Zhiyan.
However, Xia Zhiyan said with a sense of self-confidence: “Okay, even if you are not, then why don’t you accept the doctor I introduced?”
These words were like a flash of lightning, making Lu Ming understand Xia Zhiyan’s naked intention.
Without waiting for Lu Ming to speak, Xia Zhiyan asked him a series of rhetorical questions: “The doctor is very accomplished in this field. If you love Chi Qiu, why don’t you accept it? Don’t you want his eyes to return to normal? Don’t you love him?”
But Lu Ming didn’t need to confess everything to Xia Zhiyan. In his eyes, Xia Zhiyan was just an insignificant outsider.
It was just that Xia Zhiyan seemed to have misunderstood something, and went from gentle to aggressive again: “Lu Ming, your apathy is destined to prevent you from loving someone normally.”
“…”
“So the reason you don’t accept it is because you are afraid that he will really have a chance to regain his sight, that he will find out that you don’t love him at all, and that the lie will be exposed.”
His words were like saying: You see, I tried a little and tried to find out the truth about you.
Xia Zhiyan was the same as back then, no improvement.
Xia Zhiyan didn’t understand at all that sometimes, being smart was the same as seeking one’s own death.
Lu Ming’s emotions were like a handful of dry grass that fell into the coals with fire. After burning, even the ashes were hot. His disgust for Xia Zhiyan was inexpressible at first, and slowly turned into the current repression.
He said coldly: “Introducing the doctor, you did it on purpose.”
This intention made Chi Qiu sad for a long time. If the two of them didn’t talk about it that day, this intention would have been deposited in Chi Qiu’s heart, and it would have become a wound that was difficult to heal, and it would also become a rope that he used to cheat Chi Qiu.
Xia Zhiyan bit his lip and saw Lu Ming standing still. He thought he had guessed it right, and said softly: “My original intention was to help you, to redeem myself…Since you don’t love him, why should you reject me again?”
He tightened his heart again.
Just like Lu Ming who couldn’t let go of his first love, Chi Qiu, Xia Zhiyan also couldn’t let go of Lu Ming, his first love.
The only difference was that Xia Zhiyan never knew how wrong he was. This was the kind of person who had no moral code; he didn’t feel wrong back then, and he still didn’t feel even more wrong now.
“Lu Ming, I actually didn’t dare to see you again. But when I saw…” His adam’s apple moved and his eyes were wet, “When I saw his appearance, I realized that you haven’t forgotten me at all…”
That was why Xia Zhiyan shamelessly returned to China again.
He admitted that he was confused and that he was always dreaming of Lu Ming who had helped him and pulled him out of the mud.
He had also told himself that if he had another chance, he would absolutely grasp it. He also didn’t understand Lu Ming’s prejudice against him. He obviously only used a few of Lu You’s discarded designs, obviously climbed out of the trash himself to better stand beside Lu Ming, obviously ran to Lu Ming at first with all his heart…
Why did Lu Ming just not understand it?
The person who had died was dead, the living was more important, wasn’t it?
He looked desperately at Lu Ming, eager to get the answer he wanted.
But Lu Ming denied him desperately: “You keep wanting to see me just to talk this nonsense? Xia Zhiyan, I don’t have time to settle accounts with you now.” Chi Qiu was still waiting for his orange in the ward, and he didn’t want to waste the time he spent with Chi Qiu on Xia Zhiyan.
In a moment, Xia Zhiyan clenched his teeth.
He listened to Lu Ming’s word by word and held down his breath. The emotion of incomprehension welled up in his heart: “Lu Ming, why do you want to choose a stone instead of a gem?”
He even grabbed Lu Ming’s hand as soon as he could, trying hard to prove his sincerity, saying to him: “You may have misunderstood me. I never thought of affecting your plans. I can wait for you, wait for you. After you get the property, after you get divorced——”
Before he finished speaking, Lu Ming suddenly yanked his hand away.
The oranges rolled to the ground, along with Xia Zhiyan’s panic. Lu Ming grabbed his collar, pushed him back, and pushed him against the wall with one hand.
Xia Zhiyan’s back was almost cracked, and he was breathing hard as he pushed Lu Ming’s hand. His eyes widened in fear.
Lu Ming in front of him was extremely angry that his face was no longer showing a bland expression. The anger he had suppressed and accumulated for years came out in full in front of the trigger.
Lu Ming questioned him in a stern voice: “Do you know why the gems in the window and the stones on the ground are always different from each other?”
“…” Xia Zhiyan turned red.
Lu Ming told him, “Because the nature of people is something that cannot be changed. You are the stone in the garbage pile. Pretend as much as you can, you can’t become the gem you want to be.” His voice was completely cold. “If you have to talk about a ‘substitute’, you’re Chi Qiu’s ‘substitute’.”
Unfortunately, that Xia Zhiyan was never even a substitute
“Xia Zhiyan, I’m warning you one last time, stay away from me and Chi Qiu. Otherwise, I will settle old accounts and new ones together.”
Fifteen minutes later.
The uneasy Chi Qiu was still waiting for Lu Ming. When he heard the footsteps, he jerked his head up.
Lu Ming said as before: “It’s me.”
Chi Qiu quickly got out of bed and got up to greet him. Before he took a few steps, Lu Ming quickly stepped forward and held his hand.
“…” Chi Qiu pursed his lips and grabbed the corner of Lu Ming’s shirt.
“Sorry, I was gone too long.”
Lu Ming helped him walk back to the hospital bed. Chi Qiu smelled the fragrance of oranges in Lu Ming’s hand and asked worriedly, “Did something happen?”
“It’s nothing serious. it’s just that the oranges spilled all over the floor so I went to buy them again.” Lu Ming knew that Chi Qiu liked the oranges from the fruit shop downstairs so he specially bought a lot to bring home after Chi Qiu was discharged from hospital today.
Chi Qiu didn’t understand: “Wouldn’t it be better to pick it up?”
“It’s too dirty.” Lu Ming picked up an orange and peeled it for Chi Qiu.
Chi Qiu opened his mouth and ate a slice of the orange sent by Lu Ming. It was sweet and he felt much better after eating it: “It’s okay, ah. Anyway, you peel it before eating. I don’t mind.”
“I mind. I don’t want to give you dirty food.” Lu Ming put a peeled orange into Chi Qiu’s hand.
So, Chi Qiu broke out half of it and generously said, “Share half of it with you.”
Lu Ming’s mood got better after seeing Chi Qiu. He took Chi Qiu’s orange and finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: “This orange is really sweet.”
“En, just don’t eat too much, or you will be uncomfortable.” Chi Qiu held his cheeks and swallowed the last bite of the orange.
On his mobile phone, there was a message from Ji Yanchen: [I’m going back to beat up this dog Lin Yuming to death!]
T/N: Actually I wrote something like ‘you’re about to witness someone who’s very delusional in the next chapter’ in the last chapter’s T/N, but felt like it’d be a spoiler so I deleted it
Anyway, update is back to regular update; every Monday and Wednesday
