Chapter Thirty-Eight: "I Hope My Lady Is Safe and Sound"
“My little fool, so what are your plans now?” Leng Zheng gently patted Tang Shiying’s head as she asked.
“I’m planning to stay and work here, join a law firm,” Tang Shiying replied, wiping her tears.
“Why don’t you come to our firm?”
“All right.” Tang Shiying nodded.
“Hurry up and get some sleep. It’s getting late,” Xiner said, glancing at the time. “We’ll talk more in the morning.”
“Okay.” Tang Shiying nodded and headed to the guest room.
Li Xiner and Leng Zheng went to bed; Cheng Yunting and Li Mingze also slipped away to find their wives.
Leng Zheng and Cheng Yunting returned to their bedroom together. Leng Zheng collapsed onto the bed.
Cheng Yunting smiled, lay down beside her, and pulled her into his arms.
Recently, Leng Zheng had become especially sleepy. As soon as she nestled against Cheng Yunting, she drifted off.
Cheng Yunting watched her, smiling softly as he brushed her hair.
“Mmm, my good girl.” Half-asleep, Leng Zheng scooted up a bit and kissed Cheng Yunting lightly. “I love you.”
Cheng Yunting kissed her forehead in return. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
Leng Zheng nodded, comforted, and soon fell into a peaceful sleep.
Cheng Yunting kept watching her, unable to sleep, afraid she might leave his side.
He didn’t know why, but lately he was plagued by a vague sense of panic, as if something terrible was about to happen…
…
But exhaustion finally overtook him, and he drifted into sleep. In his dreams, memories of those early days after he returned came surging back…
“May 16
Happy birthday, Yunbao. I don’t know if you’ll ever see this, but I hope you come back soon. I miss you.
May 20
Happy Valentine’s Day, Yunbao. Maybe you’ll never see this, but I still want to send you a message. I miss you. When will you come home? My memories are back, but you’re not here with me…
June 30
Darling, when are you coming home? I don’t think I can hold on much longer…
July 10
Since you left on the first of May, you haven’t come back. When are you coming home? I’m so tired, I can’t hold on…
July 20
Yunbao, I was admitted to the hospital. It hurts so much. When are you coming back? I miss you, I can’t take it anymore…
August 10
Please come back soon, darling…
August 31
Darling, Yuanyu said you might be coming back. I don’t know if I’ll get to see you, but I miss you so much, and I feel so awful… Every time I eat, I feel like throwing up, I’m sleepless night after night, I don’t think I can hold on… Please come back soon…”
“Cheng Yunting, let go of me.” Leng Zheng had wanted to savor this beautiful moment, but her emotions were unstable, and she couldn’t control herself.
Cheng Yunting’s eyes were red as he looked at her, trembling as he carefully pressed her against the wall, cupping her small face in his hands and studying her intently.
In just four months, she had grown so thin, almost unrecognizably so. Her makeup concealed the exhaustion on her face, but Cheng Yunting could still see it…
What had his girl been through?
“What are you doing, Cheng Yunting?” Leng Zheng struggled fiercely; she didn’t want him to see her at her worst.
“Xiao Zheng…” Cheng Yunting’s entire body trembled. He wanted to kiss her, but the girl in his arms was crying…
Each tear was like a knife, stabbing deep into Cheng Yunting’s heart…
He let her go, allowing her to leave.
“She’ll leave you in the end, don’t worry—your sins cannot go unpunished—”
A wicked woman’s voice echoed in his ears, “This… is retribution. The debt you owe can only be paid by you.”
Cheng Yunting jolted awake, soaked in cold sweat.
He stepped out onto the balcony, lit a cigarette, gazed at the night outside the window, then looked back at Leng Zheng sleeping inside, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
He only hoped that those people would leave his girl alone, let her be happy, safe, and untroubled.
PS: Here we are—the second-to-last sweet moment. After this, the heartbreak begins. Because I think it hasn’t been cruel enough before, this time we’ll really go all out, won’t we?