AD Chapter 47
When the police broke down the door, Su Ning did not feel the joy of being rescued. He could tell that, in the end, Chu Zichen looked completely lost and hopeless, with no intention of harming him anymore. The reason he hadn’t untied Su Ning’s ropes was probably that he had forgotten he was still kidnapping him.
When he was taken away by the police, Chu Zichen remained very quiet. Upon realizing that among the people who had arrived, there was no Gu Lingfeng, only one of his secretaries, he closed his eyes as if everything had already been settled. His eyes were hollow.
The secretary approached Su Ning, who had just been untied, and politely asked, “Mr. Su, President Gu asked me to pick you up. Are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Su Ning touched the bump on his forehead, which had swollen from hitting it earlier. It still hurt quite a bit, but there was no need to go to the hospital.
“No, thank you.”
The secretary glanced at Su Ning’s forehead but didn’t say anything further. He simply replied, “Then let me take you home.”
During the drive back, Su Ning kept glancing out the window, watching the scenery pass by. The car was very quiet. After driving for a while, Su Ning suddenly asked:
“Where’s President Gu?”
The secretary, looking through the rearview mirror at Su Ning, noticed that although Su Ning didn’t appear to have been physically hurt, his mental state seemed quite bad. His forehead was swollen and bruised, making him look a bit worse for wear.
After a moment of observation, the secretary replied in a neutral tone, “President Gu is busy with something and couldn’t make it, so he asked me to come and pick you up instead. However, as soon as you were safely rescued, I immediately reported the good news to President Gu.”
Good news?
Su Ning bitterly thought to himself, did Gu Lingfeng really care about his safety? Would he be happy about his rescue? Perhaps, in that man’s heart, Su Ning’s safety mattered less than having dinner with Shen Yao.
No, not perhaps, but it was the truth.
Su Ning told himself that he had known and gotten used to this fact long ago. So, what was there to feel resentful about?
Even though he thought this way, he still couldn’t help feeling a chill in his heart, and a touch of sadness.
When he realized he had been kidnapped, the first person who came to his mind was Gu Lingfeng, thinking that he would come to rescue him. Now, thinking back, Su Ning found his former thoughts laughable.
When he got home, Su Ning turned down the secretary’s suggestion to contact a family doctor. Instead, he took out the first-aid kit and casually sprayed some anti-swelling medicine on his injury. But since his wrist was weak, the spray bottle slipped from his hand. In a panic, he reached out to grab it but accidentally bumped his forehead, causing a sharp pain that made him hiss and his eyes immediately filled with tears.
After a while, he composed himself, picked up the spray bottle, and sprayed more medicine on his wound, though he couldn’t see it. In the end, he just sprayed extra in a hasty manner.
Once he had briefly taken care of his injuries, Su Ning didn’t feel like moving anymore.
When Chu Zichen called him, Su Ning was preparing to cook dinner, but by now he was starving and had no appetite. After all that had happened, he was mentally and physically exhausted. Even though he hadn’t been badly injured, his body felt as though it had fallen apart, and all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep for three days and nights.
After insisting on taking a shower, Su Ning climbed into bed. He glanced at the time—it was almost 10 PM—and Gu Lingfeng still hadn’t come back. His phone hadn’t rung either.
Most likely, he wouldn’t come back tonight.
Su Ning gave a faint, humorless smile, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
At that moment, along the riverbank, Gu Lingfeng was strolling with Shen Yao. After dinner, Shen Yao had suggested they take a walk, so Gu Lingfeng drove them there.
“Lingfeng, do you remember this place? When we first got together, we loved coming here. I used to bring my sketchpad and paint, and you’d quietly sit by my side. It never felt boring,” Shen Yao said with some nostalgia. “Thinking about it, all these years have passed. I went abroad and then came back, and now I’m here with you again.”
After saying this, Shen Yao turned towards the river, spread his arms, and closed his eyes, enjoying the cool evening breeze brushing against his face, a faint smile on his lips.
Gu Lingfeng stared at Shen Yao’s back, silent for a moment. After a while, seeing that Shen Yao was still facing the river, he stepped forward, took off his coat, and draped it over his shoulders. He furrowed his brow slightly. “The wind’s strong tonight. Don’t catch a cold.”
Shen Yao adjusted the coat, turned around, and looked at Gu Lingfeng, suddenly laughing. “Lingfeng, you’re still the same. Even when you care, you sound like a boss giving orders to an employee. You make people feel like they should be scared of you. Back when we were together, you never said sweet things, and you never tried to comfort me. After every argument, it was always me who had to comfort you.”
Shen Yao laughed as he recalled some old memories. A warm smile spread across his handsome face, his expression filled with fondness and nostalgia.
He and Gu Lingfeng had been university classmates, and Gu Lingfeng’s first love. They had started their relationship in university. Shen Yao studied art, with a romantic and somewhat wild imagination, which at times seemed incomprehensible to outsiders. Gu Lingfeng, on the other hand, was strict with himself, and even though he liked Shen Yao, he wouldn’t abandon his principles for him. Their relationship had often been full of arguments.
After each argument, it was always Shen Yao who softened and took the initiative to apologize to Gu Lingfeng. It wasn’t so much arguing as it was Shen Yao venting his dissatisfaction. Gu Lingfeng never argued back; he would just coldly stand by, as if observing from the outside, with no personal involvement.
This was the root cause of their eventual breakup—or more accurately, the most unbearable thing for Shen Yao, which led to their parting.
The last time they met before Shen Yao left for overseas, he had unexpectedly brought up the topic of breaking up. Gu Lingfeng had been quite surprised, unable to understand why Shen Yao was suddenly suggesting it. If it was just because of the overseas trip, he couldn’t comprehend it—distance wasn’t a problem for them.
At that time, Shen Yao, exhausted and weary, had said to the confused Gu Lingfeng, “Being with you feels like unrequited love. I can’t feel your love for me.”
Now, years later, both of them were much more mature. That youthful, inexperienced love from their university days was now a bittersweet memory, mostly filled with nostalgia.
After reminiscing, Shen Yao sighed with a smile. He turned to look at Gu Lingfeng, who had been silent, and casually asked, “So, with all your great qualities, I bet there must be someone important in your life by now. I’d love to meet the person who managed to win your heart.”
Gu Lingfeng furrowed his brows slightly, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment of silence, he answered, “There’s no one like that.”
Shen Yao’s smile widened, though he spoke with a surprised tone. “Really? No way.”
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