After Breaking Up With the Scheming Bad Woman 69

Chapter 69: Can You Stay with Me?

All sensations were magnified at this moment.

Chu Wantang seemed to be able to hear the ticking of the clock on Huai Xing’s watch, smell the increasingly thick air, and touch the raindrops falling outside the window…

She could also feel the pain from the seashell fragment she had deliberately stepped on at the seaside in Nancheng. But why? Why was the fragment clearly piercing her foot, but now it could also dig into her heart?

The delayed stinging pain was like a snow mountain collapsing, coming with a rush, and arriving with a roar.

Her throat was suddenly squeezed by an invisible hand, and all her emotions were stuck here, so salty and bitter that she was suffocating. Her eyes were extremely dry, as if they were wrapped in a layer of sandpaper. She blinked with great difficulty, and her eyes were scraped by the sandpaper, causing a fine pain.

She looked at Huai Xing’s calm expression, and the words Huai Xing had just said echoed in her mind.

It turned out that in Huai Xing’s eyes, her current behavior was a waste of time.

That’s right. Now, in Huai Xing’s eyes, she was just a business partner. It was already very kind of Huai Xing to come and handle a small accident like a car breakdown and take her back to the hotel. What was she doing now if not wasting Huai Xing’s time?

“I’m sorry,” Chu Wantang said with all her strength. “I’ll go and get it for you.”

With that, she turned around again. This time, she inserted the room card without a pause and walked into the room.

The lights came on, and outside the floor-to-ceiling window was the still-unstoppable rain.

Huai Xing stood at the door, her hands hanging at her sides.

She looked at Chu Wantang’s slender and disheveled figure, and her fingertips tapped the back of her phone again.

This time, Chu Wantang came out very quickly. She was holding an exquisite bag in her hand and stood in front of Huai Xing again.

She really wanted to give Huai Xing a smile, but the corners of her mouth were completely out of control and couldn’t be lifted at all. Even speaking was still difficult, but she still said, “It’s already been washed and dried.” She was silent for a moment and handed the bag forward. “Please rest assured, it’s not dirty.”

Hearing the last three words, Huai Xing’s brows furrowed slightly, and she reached out her hand.

The moment her fingertips touched the handle of the bag, Chu Wantang steadily let go, and the two of them had no contact at all.

The bag was very light, and Huai Xing held it at her side.

She pressed her lips together, pondered for a few seconds, and then spoke again. “The car breakdown was just a small accident. Don’t be afraid.”

Hearing this, Chu Wantang was filled with a sour and swollen feeling, and her chest was filled with sour bubbles.

She finally realized why Huai Xing had repeatedly emphasized that this was a small accident. She couldn’t help but ask back, “Why should I be afraid?” The next second, she added, “You remember, right?”

Huai Xing met her gaze and said very calmly, “I don’t have amnesia.”

“…Then is that the reason you rushed over?”

“No,” she answered firmly.

Hearing this, Chu Wantang just felt that even the fluttering of her eyelashes carried an undeniable weight.

She twitched her lips in self-mockery. She shouldn’t have asked just now, because all the answers were so obvious. Asking for confirmation again would only put her in deeper pain.

She took a deep breath, looked at Huai Xing directly, and said, “President Huai, please be careful on your way back. Please let me know when you get home. I’ll also be worried about your safety.”

“Okay. Get some rest.”

With that, Huai Xing turned around without hesitation and stepped on the carpet in the corridor.

She was not in a much better state either. Her pant legs were not dry, and her shoes were still wet, which made her a little annoyed.

After walking a short distance, just as she was about to reach the elevator, she heard hurried footsteps from behind.

Her wrist was held tightly.

She turned her head, and what met her eyes was Chu Wantang, whose tears were constantly falling.

Under the warm light, large teardrops rolled down from her long lashes, drawing a crystal-clear glimmer on her pale cheeks.

“I’m scared…” Chu Wantang’s throat was tight, and she couldn’t see anything clearly. She almost begged, “Can you stay with me?”

Afraid that Huai Xing would not agree, she quickly added, “It won’t be too long. Is half an hour okay?”

With a “ding,” the elevator door on their floor opened to the sides.

A hotel guest who had been caught in the rain came back and noticed the scene in front of them for a few seconds, but they were almost drenched, so they didn’t have time to look anymore and quickly left with their friend.

The elevator doors closed, and the strange footsteps faded away, leaving Huai Xing and Chu Wantang still standing in place.

Huai Xing tightened her grip on the bag, her lips pressed together tightly.

She silently lowered her eyes and looked at her wrist being held by Chu Wantang. Their body temperatures were a little different. Chu Wantang’s hand was much colder than hers, like a late autumn night.

“If you think it’s too long, is ten minutes okay?” At this moment, Chu Wantang said again.

Her usually pleasant voice was thick with a sob, a little hoarse.

When the elevator returned to the first floor, Huai Xing’s answer also followed. “…Okay.”

Hearing these two words, Chu Wantang was stunned for two seconds before she slowly released her fingers one by one.

She wasn’t sure if Huai Xing would agree. She had no confidence at all. Even if she was afraid of tonight’s accident, what did it have to do with Huai Xing?

But Huai Xing had said okay, for no other reason than that Huai Xing was a very good person.

Just like a while ago, when she and Huai Xing were on the same flight back to Jingcheng, she had troubled Huai Xing, and Huai Xing had also gone to communicate with the staff for her and bought her underarm crutches.

In a daze, they returned to the room one after the other.

The “thud” of the door closing sounded. Huai Xing placed the bag to the side, unlocked her phone, and sent a message to Ding Rong. She then lifted her eyelids and saw Chu Wantang, who had already changed her shoes and was sitting on the soft blanket.

The thick night outside the floor-to-ceiling window became the background.

Chu Wantang had already stopped her tears, but she did look very scared. She curled up her legs, hugged her knees, and pressed her face against them, staring at the rain outside the window in a daze.

Huai Xing changed out of her uncomfortable shoes and walked in with the hotel’s soft slippers.

She thought for a moment and suggested, “You should go take a shower and change your clothes first.”

Chu Wantang was soaked in many places, not just her pant legs. Other places were still wet and sticky.

“A shower takes more than ten minutes,” her voice was muffled.

“…” Huai Xing sat down on the sofa. “I didn’t say I chose ten minutes.”

She then said, “If you take a shower within twenty minutes, then there will still be ten minutes left, which is about the same as your estimated time.”

As soon as she said this, Chu Wantang propped herself up and stood up. She came to the closet and stood there, pulling open the closet door.

The sensual nightgown was on the far side, and it entered their sight.

Huai Xing pressed her forehead and turned her face away.

And pretended not to see.

Chu Wantang didn’t have time to think so much. She took out the silk pajamas she usually wore and went into the bathroom.

She could wash her hair later. She tied up her hair and put on a shower cap.

The sound of water in the bathroom soon merged with the sound of the rain.

Huai Xing was still sitting on the sofa. By the time she realized it, she had realized where she was sitting—

The night before last, she had been in the same position, watching Chu Wantang masturbate on the bed.

Thinking of this, she felt a little awkward and quickly moved to the side. But her gaze couldn’t help but move to the head of the bed. Those images appeared in front of her. She slowly closed her eyes, but it was useless. She unlocked her phone again and scrolled through her Moments.

She saw a post that Lu Xianyue had made more than ten minutes ago: [The rain is so heavy.]

Wen Shiwei had commented below: [It won’t rain tomorrow.]

Lu Xianyue replied: [I didn’t say I would see you tomorrow if it doesn’t rain.]

Huai Xing: “…”

She rubbed her brow, exited her Moments, and opened Weibo.

Lu Zhenyue’s post was on the homepage, holding the envelope bouquet that Lu Xianyue had given her.

Huai Xing liked it and continued to scroll through other posts. Time passed bit by bit, and the water on her pant legs also evaporated bit by bit.

In less than twenty minutes, Chu Wantang came out of the bathroom with a hairdryer.

She was wearing pajamas, her hair was tied up, and her whole body was covered in a layer of moisture. Her eyes were still a little red, but at least her face had recovered a lot, and she didn’t look so cold.

“Dry your pants,” Chu Wantang said, walking closer, her tone very gentle. After she finished speaking, she plugged the hairdryer into the power outlet by the sofa and looked at Huai Xing.

There was still a distance of several meters between the two of them.

Huai Xing held her phone and politely refused. “Thanks, I don’t really need it.”

She looked at the time on her watch and said seriously, “I’ll be leaving in twelve minutes. I’ll just change when I get home.”

Chu Wantang’s heart was so heavy that she said weakly, “Dry them. It’ll feel better.”

“…Then I’ll do it myself.”

“Mm.” Even if she had offered to dry them for Huai Xing, she knew that Huai Xing would not agree.

The whistling sound of the hairdryer, wrapped in air, gradually spread, and it became the only melody in this room, churning wildly in the space.

Huai Xing crossed her legs and silently dried her half-pant legs.

The warm wind dissipated a lot of the coldness. She was not very serious about drying them. Every once in a while, she would look at Chu Wantang, who was sitting on the other side of the sofa.

At this moment, Chu Wantang had returned to her usual noble appearance. A few strands of her hair had not been tied up tightly and were hanging down freely, adding a few more points of gentleness.

She was no longer hugging her knees, but was sitting on the sofa in a scattered manner, leaning against the back of the sofa, her head tilted back, her eyes lightly closed. Her beautiful profile was like a fine-brush painting dyed in the moonlight.

It was as if she were not the same person who had been crying at the elevator entrance.

The “buzzing” sound of the hairdryer stopped before long. Huai Xing placed the hairdryer on the coffee table and then looked at her watch again.

Time passed quite quickly.

This action was easily caught by Chu Wantang. She curled her lips, but her face was bitter. When she was with her, Huai Xing would feel that she was wasting time, and also feel more tormented, right? Otherwise, she wouldn’t be looking at her watch again.

It wasn’t like this before. In the past, Huai Xing would look at the time to count the twenty seconds of the elevator.

…But in the end, it was in the past.

“President Huai,” Chu Wantang said, breaking the silence. Otherwise, she couldn’t breathe.

Huai Xing: “Hmm?”

“After seeing your company’s factory today, I’ve benefited a lot, and I’m even more determined to cooperate,” Chu Wantang said, starting with work. She really had no choice.

Huai Xing: “As long as you’re satisfied.”

She looked at the light and recalled, “When I first came to Haicheng, I stayed at the factory with Little President Lu for three months. We participated in the entire process from breeding, reeling silk, to weaving…”

“June 2020?”

“Early July,” Huai Xing said, feeling that she had spoken too quickly, and was too lazy to remedy it. “I went after I had adapted to Haicheng for a while.”

Chu Wantang looked at her and said softly, “Was it tiring?”

“What?”

“Lu Xuerong’s surname is Lu, and Lu Xianyue’s surname is also Lu.” Without the relationship of family, was it very tiring to compete with Lu Xianyue under such conditions?

Huai Xing knew what Chu Wantang was asking. She was stunned for a few seconds and then spat out two words in a low voice, “It was okay.”

Of course, it was not just okay. Lu Xianyue had been working very hard to prove herself, and she was also Lu Xuerong’s own niece. It was not easy for Huai Xing to win in this competition.

She didn’t want to lose, but she also didn’t want to be dependent on others. In this world, the only one she could rely on was herself.

Therefore, she could only bear and digest a lot of pressure and emotions on her own. Because she felt that she was not doing well enough, she had wiped away her tears several times at night. The next day, she would catch up with the teacher’s progress, have meetings, analyze, and study, without a moment of slack.

Afraid of being eliminated, her nerves were always tense. She didn’t want to and couldn’t make a single mistake in her work.

But what Huai Xing didn’t know was that Chu Wantang knew her personality.

The two words she had said would not be as simple as “it was okay” in Chu Wantang’s ears. Otherwise, Chu Wantang would not have asked.

But so what if she knew that Huai Xing had had a hard time in the past? Her answer clearly showed that she didn’t want to talk much about this topic. She should be more tactful.

Chu Wantang’s long lashes trembled slightly, and her chest felt heavy. She couldn’t help but feel regret.

If she had admitted her feelings for Huai Xing earlier, and had been with Huai Xing properly before everything was too late to be saved, would Huai Xing not have had such a five years?

Unlike her, Huai Xing was a child who had grown up in love and should have been happy all along.

In their past interactions, she had already been healed a lot by Huai Xing without realizing it. It was she who had been too stubborn, stubbornly wanting to carry out her ridiculous plan, but had ignored everything that could be considered beautiful.

The atmosphere fell silent, and only the sound of the rain, which had become smaller, echoed in the room.

Chu Wantang touched her phone screen and first looked at the time.

There were only three minutes left.

She frantically started another topic. “Does President Huai have any plans for tomorrow?”

“Work, social engagements,” Huai Xing said, pausing, the end of her words lifting. “And a video call with a friend to wish her a happy birthday.”

Tomorrow was another May 15th, Zhuo Xin’s birthday.

Separated from her friends, she could only video call them from the distant Haicheng. But the gift had already been prepared and could be delivered to Zhuo Xin on time tomorrow.

Hearing the last sentence, Chu Wantang was rooted to the spot.

She remembered this date. She remembered that on this day five years ago, when she had come back, Huai Xing had been in so much pain in bed, with a fever and cramps. Huai Xing’s tears had fallen one by one, and her shoulders had been trembling from crying.

She had thought it was very sudden at that time, but she hadn’t had time to think so much. She could only hold Huai Xing and comfort her, waiting for the medicine to take effect.

“On the night of Zhuo Xin’s birthday five years ago…” Chu Wantang’s lips trembled slightly as she asked, “why were you in so much pain?”

Huai Xing glanced at her watch again. It was almost time.

She had no intention of answering this question. She stood up and said, “President Chu, the half hour is up. I’ll be leaving.”

“Please answer me,” Chu Wantang said, staring at her, her heart clenched.

Huai Xing looked back at her, her tone calm. “You don’t need to know.”

She then said, “It’s meaningless to know.”

Chu Wantang’s eyelids drooped dejectedly. “I want to know…”

Huai Xing did not speak and walked to the entryway to put on her still-wet shoes.

Chu Wantang stood up and followed her, her hair swaying.

She was silent at the side, just watching Huai Xing’s action of putting on her shoes, wanting to say something but not knowing how.

Soon, Huai Xing had put on her terrible shoes. She stood at the door and said to Chu Wantang again, “President Chu, you should go to bed early. Tonight was really just a small accident.”

“…Thank you for your company,” Chu Wantang’s tears were on the verge of falling, teetering on the edge of her eyes.

“You’re welcome.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

“No need.”

“I won’t go down with you. Just to the elevator.”

Huai Xing did not refuse this time.

The two of them walked side by side to the elevator. It was much later at night, and the air was both stuffy and cool.

It didn’t take long to cover such a short distance.

Chu Wantang pressed the down button for Huai Xing and stared at the constantly changing floor numbers, only feeling that it was so short.

Half an hour was so short, and the time it took for the elevator to come up was also so short. Since their reunion, every moment with Huai Xing was so short.

The elevator doors opened to the sides, and it was empty inside. There was no need for polite words. Huai Xing lifted her leg and stepped in.

Chu Wantang stood directly opposite her, their eyes meeting.

The tears she had been holding back could not be resisted and fell, but she did not cry out and beg her to stay with her again.

Before the elevator doors closed, Huai Xing still answered Chu Wantang’s question. Her voice was very light, but it landed heavily on Chu Wantang’s heart—

“It was several bottles of ice water and a cold shower.”

The last word fell, and the elevator doors also closed.

Chu Wantang looked at the descending numbers and once again recalled the scene of that time. The girl was crying so fragilely, and she was curled up in pain.

Huai Xing had really wanted to cry that day, right? But she didn’t want to be noticed by her. Only through physical pain could she cry out loud.

Huai Xing was so careful, giving their relationship enough face.

Her emotions once again condensed into sharp ice shards, scraping the surface of her heart. The feeling of pain once again spread from the depths of her chest, wrapped in a wave of fragmented memories. The scenes and words in those memories all turned into thorns, densely piercing her flesh and blood.

If it had been her, she would not have been willing to admit this past.

Chu Wantang dragged her body back to the room and sat quietly on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

After an unknown amount of time, she heard a knock on the door and came back to her senses.

She opened the door, and at the door was a hotel staff member.

The staff member was holding a tray and said politely, “Hello, ma’am. This is your ginger soup and candy.”