novelraw Chapter 658 - 657: Not Treating Her as a Stand-In (17)
Chapter 658 - 657: Not Treating Her as a Stand-In (17)
Chapter 658: Chapter 657: Not Treating Her as a Stand-In (17)
She clutched Shi Che’s arm with such force, it hurt, and he could feel her unwavering determination, a grip so tight that for a moment, Shi Che couldn’t break free.
He found himself being pushed to the door by Ling Chuxia, and then, as she released him, the door slammed shut before his eyes.
Utterly merciless, clean and quick!
Shi Che stood there in a daze, staring at the firmly closed door for a long time. His dark eyes blinked, and gradually, his eyes reddened.
Not for himself, but for Ling Chuxia.
How hurt must she have been to nearly collapse? How sorrowful must she have been to not even dare to hear what he was saying? It turned out that his "I love you" brought Chuxia nothing but agony and pain.
His body shuddered involuntarily, feeling his eyes both hot and swollen; a mist rose before them, blurring his vision. Images from those three years appeared before him.
The quiet Chuxia, the suppressed Chuxia, the silent Chuxia, the crying Chuxia—each one of them he had created. How could such a man tell Chuxia he loved her?
Forget Chuxia believing it, even he was starting to doubt it...
Shi Che’s hand lifted slightly, his palm covering his eyes, as his body slowly squatted down.
-
As soon as the door closed, Ling Chuxia leaned against it, her strength drained in an instant, causing her to slide down the door, powerless.
She had resolved not to shed another tear for Shi Che, but the tears, despite her best efforts, still fell in silence, tracing her cheeks before dropping onto the floor with a faint sound.
-
The night had deepened; Shi Che leaned against the railing, staring at the balcony opposite. It was dark and silent, so much so that it was unsettling. He gazed blankly, then raised his hand, the liquor in it he downed in one go. With a flick of the wrist, the bottle fell to the ground, shattering with a crisp sound, among the many other bottles scattered around.
His hand felt around beside him for a long while, unable to find another bottle. He turned his head, his dark eyes scanning around. There was no more liquor.
He chuckled lightly, slowly straightened up and staggered back into the room, toward the drinks cabinet, intending to carry on drinking, but as he got close, he realized there was no liquor left in the cabinet either—it was all gone.
Shi Che stared for a long while, suddenly laughing bitterly, and as he laughed, tears slowly spilled from the corners of his eyes. His steps faltering, he retreated a couple of steps and collapsed into the sofa.
He lay there, gazing vacantly at the ceiling. Although the light overhead was so bright and glaring, he saw nothing but patches of darkness.
Alcohol clouded his senses, and his head throbbed severely once again. Yet Shi Che felt no pain. Instead, he thought—let it be more painful, even more so. Maybe then, he could understand all the hurt that Chuxia had once gone through.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Shi Che’s dim eyes flashed with a spark of light. Who could it be? Was it Chuxia? Had Chuxia come? Even though he knew clearly that Chuxia didn’t want to see him and would never come looking for him, he couldn’t help but cling to a sliver of hope, forcing himself up from the sofa and stumbling towards the door.
Reaching the doorway, perhaps due to his haste, he struggled with the lock, perspiration forming on his brow, becoming almost violent in his attempt to force it open.