We’ve kissed and slept together before anyway…
It had rained the night before. A faint earthy smell still lingered in the air. The sky was still gray at this hour, but the wind felt pleasant.
Liang Huaixu stopped walking and turned back to look at her. “I just think that at our age, we should learn to take things more lightly. Emotional swings that are too intense can easily accumulate stagnant qi. It harms the liver and isn’t good for physical health.”
Zhuang Fuyao thought he was beating around the bush to say that her emotions were unstable. She was usually lively and carefree, but she really could not become as old-fashioned and world-weary as Liang Huaixu. “What do you mean, at our age? Thirty-eight is exactly when someone is in their prime. Don’t make it sound like we’re already eighty-one. Besides, not everything can be taken lightly.”
“If you can’t take it lightly, then solve it,” Liang Huaixu said. “Life is only a few decades long. There’s no obstacle you can’t get past.”
Listening to his words of guidance, Zhuang Fuyao suddenly felt her nose sting. She lowered her eyes and kicked a small stone at her feet. “But she’s a person. She’s not a problem that can be solved.”
Liang Huaixu fell silent.
She took a deep breath, steadied her emotions, then looked up and smiled. “So you were trying to comfort me. You were speaking so indirectly, I thought it was something serious.”
“Let’s go. Keep hiking.” She strode forward. Liang Huaixu watched her back, his gaze dark and unreadable.
By the time they reached the halfway point up the mountain, Zhuang Fuyao’s stamina was failing. Liang Huaixu, however, showed no change in expression at all. Even his breathing did not sound heavier.
She narrowed her eyes and stared at him suspiciously for a long while.
She wondered if he was pretending.
When Liang Huaixu was younger, his stamina had indeed been good, but even then, he could not have been this steady.
“Liang Huaixu, are you tired?”
Liang Huaixu slowed his pace, suppressing the rise and fall of his chest, and quietly let out a long breath. “I’m not tired.”
She stepped closer, curious, and pinched his arm. “It does feel sturdier than before.”
Liang Huaixu instinctively tensed his arm muscles.
She asked again, “Is your hand healed?”
Seeing that she was finally in the mood to chat, the worry hanging in Liang Huaixu’s heart eased by half. “It’s already healed.”
They chatted a bit more about what had happened over the past few years. Naturally, it was mostly Zhuang Fuyao asking questions.
They truly had not been in close contact these past few years, so when she asked, Liang Huaixu did not sense anything unusual.
Instead, seeing her so curious about his daily life, a subtle feeling arose in his heart.
And that subtle feeling leaned toward the positive.
Liang Huaixu’s life these past few years had been very monotonous. Apart from going to the company and the university, he spent his free time at home drinking tea and practicing calligraphy.
Occasionally, he attended banquets or played golf with business partners.
His temperament was steady, so he did not find this simple, repetitive life boring. On the contrary, the last time he had accompanied her to an escape room, his heart rate had been somewhat uncontrollable. He was no longer very able to handle intense stimulation.
Zhuang Fuyao commented, “You live a very plain life.”
Liang Huaixu’s nature was calm and reserved. Back when they were dating, if she had not dragged him out, he probably would have “lived” in the library.
Already somewhat short on stamina and having talked the whole way, Zhuang Fuyao bent forward slightly, hands braced on her waist, looking enviously at hikers using trekking poles.
If she had known, they should have bought two as well.
“I can’t walk anymore.” She stretched out her hand toward her personal moving trekking pole. “Pull me for a bit.”
Liang Huaixu walked back. His gaze landed on her slender, fair wrist. It looked fragile, as if she really would not be able to make it up without him.
His heart softened. He followed her request and held her wrist, leading her forward.
Zhuang Fuyao was half a step behind him. She pursed her lips, somewhat dissatisfied with his “gentleman’s grip.”
After walking for a while, she used wrist pain as an excuse to pull free, then reached back and grabbed his wrist instead.
This time, the initiative was in her hands. As they climbed, she naturally ended up holding his hand.
His palm was large and warm, while her hand was soft and cool. That soft, cool sensation made Liang Huaixu pause, and he tried to pull away.
Zhuang Fuyao noticed his movement and shouted, “What are you doing? Do you really have to be that stingy?”
She justified it logically. “You brought me hiking, so you’re responsible for getting me to the top. I can’t walk now and need you to give me a hand. What’s wrong with that? It’s not like we’ve never kissed or slept together. Now we can’t even touch hands?”
“…”
It had been many years since he had heard such blunt, coarse words. The refined and gentle Old Liang quickly swept a glance around.
Fortunately, there was no one nearby.
He steadied himself and said, “This isn’t appropriate.”
There had not been much gossip at the university lately, so Qin Zhenglin’s situation had been discussed repeatedly by He Zongqin.
“Old Qin has really changed recently. He finally stopped wearing that plaid shirt that had been washed until the color faded. He bought a lot of new clothes and started paying attention to his appearance. It feels like good news is coming. The last time I saw him, he even used hair gel. Honestly, once he tidied himself up, he actually looked quite presentable.”
Liang Huaixu had heard it so many times that he was used to it.
These past few years, he has studied Buddhist principles and focused on cultivating his mind. He knew that many things could not be forced.
Just like him and Zhuang Fuyao. Even though they had been each other’s first love, walking all the way from school uniforms to a wedding dress, and had never had any major conflicts, when things happened, they were like a sudden snowstorm with no warning, leaving no chance for regret.
Including the possibility that she might marry someone else.
At the beginning, it was, of course, painful. But he knew even more clearly that this was driven by selfish desire. If he could not give her happiness, then he should not stop her from running toward another kind of happiness.
What was more, the happiness she was about to pursue belonged to his colleague.
No matter how one looked at it, he should keep his distance.
Just as Zhuang Fuyao was on the verge of losing her temper, he spoke gently and mildly, “What you mentioned are all things of the past. But now we’re already divorced. If we cross boundaries, it won’t be good for us, and it won’t be good for others either.”
She caught something in his words. “Not good for others?”
Liang Huaixu replied calmly, “For example, Old Qin.”
Zhuang Fuyao realized who he was talking about. She was so speechless that her breathing grew heavier. A rebellious impulse surged up instead. She nodded. “You’re right.”
After saying that, she continued climbing on her own. Along the way, her sharp eyes spotted a wooden stick. It worked just fine as a makeshift trekking pole. With the support of the pole, things became much easier. For the latter half of the climb, she charged upward almost vindictively, stubbornly refusing to ask Liang Huaixu for help, even if it meant exhausting herself.
They finally reached the summit. The clouds dispersed, and the previously gloomy sky brightened again.
The sun shone directly down, and before long, a fine sheen of sweat formed.
The feeling of sweating after exercise was especially refreshing. Her previously pent-up emotions eased slightly, and she could not help asking, “Qin Zhenglin is your colleague. Then do you think he and I could actually work out together?”
She truly wanted to smash Liang Huaixu’s wooden head with a punch.
Liang Huaixu took a sip of water and looked into the distance with an inscrutable expression. After a long pause, he said, “You don’t need to let my relationship with him affect you and him. You don’t need to worry about that. No one would dare say anything irresponsible.”
“…”
Zhuang Fuyao laughed in anger. “Yeah, what’s there to worry about? Of course, I won’t be affected. When I go to register my marriage with him and then have a child, when I bring the child to Jiang University to visit him, I can even confidently let the child call you Uncle.”
The more she spoke, the more animated she became. For a moment, it was impossible to tell whether she was speaking sarcastically or seriously.
Her words were like grenades thrown straight into Liang Huaixu’s heart, setting off towering waves. His heart was tugged painfully.
His gaze darkened. He pinched himself hard in self-restraint.
They took the cable car down the mountain. On weekends, there were many young people hiking, and a long line had formed at the cable car station.
Zhuang Fuyao scrolled through her phone. The entire time, she did not exchange a word with Liang Huaixu. With her looks and figure, even casually dressed in sportswear, she stood out. Perhaps because she was mistaken for being alone, several young men nearby were visibly tempted to approach her.
Liang Huaixu keenly sensed those looks. All of a sudden, he could deeply understand her words about being in the prime of one’s life.
An inexplicable displeasure rose in his heart. He spoke to Zhuang Fuyao, “The scenery on this mountain is quite nice.”
Those young men realized that the beauty had a companion after all, and could only regretfully give up the thought of striking up a conversation.
Zhuang Fuyao cast him a faint glance. She was hot and still seething with anger. She was in no mood to discuss how beautiful the scenery was, and replied with a single word, “Mm.”
Liang Huaixu assumed she was simply too tired to talk.
The cable car took them straight down to the foot of the mountain.
They walked toward the parking lot. An older woman carrying a child passed by them.
The child was crying loudly. The older woman coaxed him gently. “Let’s go, don’t cry. Grandma will take you to find Mommy.”
Zhuang Fuyao had not paid much attention at first, but the child’s crying was too loud. She turned back for another look and immediately noticed something odd.
The older woman was walking quickly, looking left and right as she went. Looking more closely, the child was dressed very expensively, wearing a children’s model from a certain luxury brand.
By contrast, the older woman’s clothes were extremely plain and looked quite worn, not much like the child’s “grandmother.”
It was hard not to think of cases of child trafficking.
Zhuang Fuyao asked suspiciously, “Is this your child?”
The older woman’s expression changed slightly, then she quickly covered it up with a smile. “Miss, what do you mean by that? This is my little grandson.”
The child looked to be only three or four years old, but was already able to recognize people. His eyes were wide as he cried and said, “You’re not my grandma!”
“The child is just throwing a tantrum,” the older woman said, still smiling. But when she saw that the situation could not be smoothed over, she tried to run off with the child.
Zhuang Fuyao realized something was wrong and moved to block her. At that moment, the older woman suddenly produced a knife from somewhere.
Just as she was about to hurt someone, Liang Huaixu reacted swiftly and stepped in front to shield her.
“Liang Huaixu!” Zhuang Fuyao cried out in terror.