His Love Was Like a Single Thread
Liang Huaixu was touched all over by her. Her cool fingertips slowly slid across his abdomen, bringing a tingling itch. His muscles contracted instinctively.
He jolted awake and restrained her hand.
Zhuang Fuyao did not struggle. With her eyes half-closed, she looked as if she had fallen asleep.
Before long, her long, even breathing brushed against his ear. Liang Huaixu finally let out a breath.
Who knew how much she had drunk?
He knew well that Zhuang Fuyao had the habit of removing her makeup before sleeping. He got up to fetch makeup remover oil.
When they had just gotten married and gone on their honeymoon, she had played too hard and collapsed into sleep the moment they returned to the hotel. Seeing that she was asleep, he did not wake her.
The next morning, she scolded him, saying how could he let her sleep without removing her makeup.
From then on, whenever she was too lazy to move, he would help remove her makeup.
Thinking of this, Liang Huaixu’s brows and eyes softened considerably.
These past few days, seeing her again, her condition was far better than five years ago. She was no longer as depressed, withdrawn, and silent as before. She laughed, got angry, and even scolded him. It was as if a dried-up life had regained its vitality.
This was all something he was happy to see.
He loved her, so he was even more willing to fulfill her.
As long as she could live happily, whether she started a new relationship or indulged herself for pleasure like today, it was all fine.
He only needed to safeguard her happiness from behind.
After removing her makeup, Liang Huaixu quietly closed her bedroom door, then went to shower and rest.
Warm water poured down. At one moment, he thought of that long-unheard “husband.” At another moment, he thought, quite inappropriately, of her slightly disdainful line, “Where did your abs go?”
He wiped his face helplessly and let out a soft sigh.
After turning thirty, he had noticed that his physical functions were far inferior to before. He gained weight easily and needed to put in double the effort to maintain control over his weight.
People his age around him all showed signs of weight gain to varying degrees. Fortunately, he had the habit of exercising regularly and understood self-restraint.
As for abs…
This kind of aesthetic sculpting was something he no longer maintained after their divorce.
The next day, after being awakened by his biological clock, he carried out his usual morning exercise routine.
His current lifestyle habits were extremely healthy. He quit coffee, drank less alcohol, and practiced a set of tai chi every day. After finishing a set, he would add other exercises, such as calisthenics and running.
These activities could all be done outdoors, but today Liang Huaixu unusually went to the gym and did several sets of cable crunches.
Before long, he started sweating, and his breathing grew heavy.
This was seriously out of line with the stamina he had when he was younger.
Perhaps driven partly by stubbornness, he sped up and pulled a few more times.
But he neglected the fact that his arm muscles, which had not trained this way for a long time, could not withstand this intensity.
A sharp, violent pain shot through him. He sucked in a breath and half-crouched to the ground.
He had strained a muscle.
An hour later, the family doctor came over, wrapped his arm with an elastic support band, and instructed him to take good care of himself for at least the next ten days to half a month.
Zhuang Fuyao came downstairs after waking up from her hangover and, seeing him like this, asked curiously, “What happened to you?”
Liang Huaixu did not look very good. “I got injured while exercising this morning.”
Zhuang Fuyao let out a breath of relief. “Then rest well. If you need help with anything, you can call me.”
She had thought that she had gotten drunk, became angry that he had found someone new, and beaten him into this state.
She had really drunk too much yesterday. Someone who never blacked out had even become fuzzy in memory.
She remembered that Song Qing and Beiguo had been dead drunk. She could not carry them on her own, so she contacted Liang Huaixu.
After that, she could not remember much…
Zhuang Fuyao looked him over carefully again.
She thought to herself that he really was a bit more fragile than when he was younger.
*
On Friday, Liang Huaixu went to Jiang University to teach.
Shen Lian wandered around near the School of Architecture. Seeing him come out, she warmly called out, “Senior Brother,” then followed him and asked, “What happened to your arm?”
“I got injured while exercising,” Liang Huaixu replied.
“Why were you so careless?” Shen Lian frowned with concern. Then she seemed to think of something, and her brows relaxed again. “This should be a ligament strain. I know an old doctor who’s particularly good at this. A few months ago, my mother strained her ligament, and he treated it. Senior Brother, I still have a bottle of ointment that hasn’t been opened yet. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”
She struck while the iron was hot and asked, “Are you free tomorrow? I still haven’t properly thanked you for the matter of me staying on at the university last time. I can treat you to a meal and bring the ointment over at the same time.”
“There’s no need for the ointment, and no need to treat me to a meal either. It’s just a minor injury. The doctor said resting for a while would be enough,” he said in a calm tone. “As for staying on at the university, that was mainly because of your own outstanding ability. It doesn’t have much to do with me.”
“But…” Shen Lian was about to say more when He Zongqin suddenly appeared. “Old Liang, come on. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”
Seeing that Shen Lian was there too, He Zongqin greeted her warmly. “Xiao Shen, do you have class this morning too?”
“No.” Shen Lian froze for a moment, with a trace of hesitant embarrassment. “I’m here to look for Teacher Deng about something. I just happened to run into Senior Brother Liang.”
“Oh, oh.” He Zongqin laughed heartily. “Then I’ll borrow your Senior Brother Liang for a bit. I need him for something.”
After they reached the office, Liang Huaixu corrected him with a slightly cold expression. “What do you mean by ‘your Senior Brother Liang’? This is the university. Be mindful of the influence.”
He Zongqin grinned as he poured him a cup of tea. “Did you see Teacher Shen’s video?”
“What video?”
“It went on the trending searches some time ago. A student posted a video of Teacher Shen’s class online, and netizens rated her as the most beautiful university teacher.”
Liang Huaixu tapped the table and took a sip of tea. “I didn’t see it. I don’t have that much free time to browse the internet.”
“Still, Teacher Shen really isn’t bad,” He Zongqin said. “Coming from a small county town, she tested into the provincial top scorer in the liberal arts and then was admitted to our university. In terms of academic background, looks, and diligence, she’s right at the very top of the pyramid.” He cast a meaningful glance at his friend. “And I’ve heard she’s never been in a relationship.”
Liang Huaixu glanced at him. “You’re hinting at something with that talk. What exactly are you trying to say?” He emphasized, “Old He, you’re a married man.”
He Zongqin almost choked. “What do you mean I’m a married man? Old Liang, where did your thoughts go?”
He snorted lightly. “I’m clearly talking about you.”
Liang Huaixu gave him a sideways look. “What does that have to do with me?”
He Zongqin leaned in mysteriously and lowered his voice. “Everyone’s saying that Teacher Shen doesn’t look for a boyfriend because of you.”
Liang Huaixu frowned and said sternly, “Nonsense!”
He Zongqin was startled. He squinted suspiciously, unable to quite figure it out. “You two are senior brother and junior sister. Haven’t you noticed that she…”
Liang Huaixu cut him off coldly. “That’s impossible.” Then he added, decisively and without mercy, “If you ask me, you should gossip less. That way, half the rumors at the university would disappear.”
There was nothing improper between him and Shen Lian, and he had never expected their relationship to be speculated about like this.
“Why?” He Zongqin was genuinely curious. He and Liang Huaixu had been friends for many years and had seen how lost Old Liang had been after his previous marriage.
But that had been five years ago. For someone else, they would have already found a new spring and borne fruit.
“There’s no why,” Liang Huaixu said. “I never considered it in the first place.”
Before the Liang family found him and brought him back, his life had been exceptionally hard. He had depended on his grandmother for survival. In that kind of environment, youthful infatuation was a luxury. He had also believed that he could never be someone who would be immersed in love.
Until he met Zhuang Fuyao. Everything that seemed impossible became possible. He would always remember the fearless look on Zhuang Fuyao’s face when she rescued him from being surrounded by school bullies, her high ponytail tied up, youth itself shining through.
His love was like a single thread. He had never thought of anyone other than Zhuang Fuyao.
“You didn’t consider it before, but it’s not too late to think about it now,” He Zongqin said, speaking from experience as someone a few years older. “When people get older, they still want to have a companion.”
“I’ll pass,” Liang Huaixu said. He was no hot-headed youth in his early twenties. He would not pour out his inner journey to He Zongqin. He only smiled and declined. “I’m twelve years older than Shen Lian. It’s not suitable. If I were to look for someone that much younger than me, what would that look like? Since we’re senior brother and junior sister, we should all the more avoid suspicion.”
He Zongqin was immediately rendered speechless. There really was no way to refute that.
In the minds of teachers and students at Jiang University, Liang Huaixu was the most upright and morally respected. In their private discussions, everyone felt that he would probably find a dignified woman around his own age, one whose appearance was not particularly outstanding.
He Zongqin had thought that he cared too much about his reputation. He sighed. “You really do carry too heavy a moral burden.”
Liang Huaixu did not continue the topic. Calm and composed, he drank his tea and asked casually, “Old He, last time I heard you talking about Qin Zhenglin. Are you very familiar with him?”