The two of them sat down at a nearby Japanese coffee bar.
Che Linwan raised her hand to invite people to order food. She still remembered Su Zhenling's habit of instant noodles.
So I ordered a bowl of tonkotsu ramen as a joke and pushed it to him.
"At that time, why did you suddenly disappear from the world?"
Su Zhenling was opening the matcha tea bag in her hand, brewing the first cup and placing it in front of her.
Che Linwan was a little stunned. She had forgotten that Su Zhenling was actually very good at taking care of people, and he was best at taking care of people inadvertently. It makes people feel that he is a bit mean-tongued and has a bad temper. Even the slightest mistake made in front of him can be magnified infinitely.
All colleagues at WSTI cursed behind their backs, but in fact he was always the one who helped people deal with the aftermath, because it was inevitable that there would be some negative emotions when there were too many people dealing with the aftermath.
But it's completely different from Lisa who is involved in human affairs. Sister Lisa keeps comforting you before the meeting, telling you that it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if you make a mistake, and she also talks about helping you with this and that. She is usually the one who leaves an indelible mark on your record when you look back.
"Thank you." She took the matcha cup and instantly shared her grilled squid with him.
"After all, it's a divorce, it's not a trivial matter."
"Is it a big deal?" Che Linwan chewed on the chewy grilled squid. It shouldn't be. We were all adults and we agreed at the beginning to just help get the certificate.
It won't really bother him. Che Linwan silently glanced at him with a guilty conscience.
"Because my family thinks I won't get married again..."
"What?"
"Everyone in my family thinks that I will never get married. In fact, I think so myself."
Che Linwan's expression became awkward, and she wanted to remind him that their marriage was not considered a marriage. It's just a matter of working together once. But Su Zhenling's expression was a little distant, for some reason.
"I came back this time to ask you something."
"Yeah. Tell me." I handed him another piece of squid, and he politely gave him a piece of pork bone.
"Shall we remarry?"
Che Linwan's hands shook, and the second piece of squid fell out from the gap between the chopsticks.
It fell on the milky white tabletop.
Some hindsight raised his gaze and stared at him, and asked tentatively, "Are you running into any trouble? Um, for example... there is an elderly person at home who is sick and wants to see you get married or something? If so, it doesn't matter, just say so. Okay. If you remarry, I think... I can go home with you to reassure my family and so on."
"Is it because you don't want to? Or," he said as if he had no intention of saying it, with a strange expression, "is it because of that intern?"
"Xiao Xia?"
"It must be him. I can see that the way he looks at you is full of aggression. Boys at that age are really more aggressive. They can't compare to an old man like me."
Che Linwan choked for a moment. Did she think too much about what he said? Why does it feel like it means something.
"Dr. Su, I don't quite understand what you mean..."
"I feel like it's acceptable to live with you."
"well?"
This kind of words may sound a bit like the confession between an old couple.
However, when Su Zhenling said that he always had to make another twist, it became a kind of compromise.
It is similar to being forced into marriage by family members. There is no way to find someone who can live a good life and explain it to the family. So I looked for that kind of thing around me.
It's really not easy with Su Zhenling's temper, but... it's not just me.
Che Linwan's face turned from pale to dark.
"Isn't it too straightforward to say this? When I first received the certificate, I made a good deal with you and made it clear that it was to adopt the child. Your help included negotiating with the child's biological mother later. I am very grateful, really grateful! Even a real couple can only reach that point, you have been a great help. "
"So it's really because of Xia Mingzhi, right? After leaving WSTI, I also communicated with Brother De about matters in the institute. Including what happened at the intern's home and the accident that happened to your scientific research supervisor. At that time, I thought about coming back to help you. , but because I had already gone a long way with the organization at that time, I have been worried about you... "
"Worried about me? Why on earth..."
"Because if it's you, it seems really okay."
Che Linwan shook his head. She vaguely seemed to understand, but Su Zhenling was really difficult to figure out. She was afraid that she would misunderstand him. This person was too easy to be misunderstood.
"That feeling shouldn't just be called like," he took a deep breath, as if he was about to say the words that had been buried in his heart for many years, like an old man recounting the past, "I don't know much about your love life, although I cooperated. A while, but I never interfere in your personal affairs.”
This is one of the few advantages he has.
"I have always believed that living alone is possible, and I have always believed in it. Of course, it may be that I have been emotionally betrayed in the past, and my character seems to be unable to recover after the betrayal. But after you and Lemi came in, After living in a way that I can’t hate for a while, I actually find it interesting and wonderful. This has nothing to do with feelings. Maybe you and that girl are both interesting and compatible people.”
Che Linwan felt a trace of fear completely.
"After you left, I suddenly felt a little bit reluctant to leave. However, as you said, we had agreed upon everything before, and we didn't want you to feel troubled, so I decided to leave the environment that trapped me alone. Because it seems that people who are in trouble It’s just me. But as Médecins Sans Frontières traveled around, looking at the faces of the stubborn survivors, I suddenly understood that human beings are looking for such a life of mutual trust and fun. so… "
He paused, then saw the horrified look on Che Linwan's face, and smiled, "What should I do if I scare you?"
Che Linwan lowered his gaze, but his voice came out clearly.
"Accept my apology first."
"There is no need to apologize if you refuse..."
"No. It was an affair of marital infidelity..."
At that moment, they could feel each other's embarrassment without even looking at each other.
"Follow Xia Mingzhi?"
"Going to see him at that time, he looked a little miserable."
"Ah, is that true?"
"Then… "
"And then?"
"I mean, actually, I know Dr. Su that you are very chauvinistic and know how to protect the weak, especially children and women, so I took advantage of your mentality and forced you to help me at that time. I'm really sorry!"
"I promised it myself."
"Yeah. And you asked me about the injuries on my body, which were actually caused by... Xia Mingzhi. We encountered a little trouble."
Su Zhenling's eyes gradually turned cold.
Although Che Linwan herself felt it was unfair, the person in front of her was indeed someone she could easily trust. So if you need help, you must tell him first.
(End of chapter)