Did My Wife Break Up With Me Today? - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: “Should I pursue him?”

Chen Kongqing gripped his phone, unsure if he should go back. On the phone just now, Ling Xiao had been uncharacteristically gentle. He even said he was coming to pick him up.

But… was it still because of the leg injury? Furthermore, for the first time, Chen Kongqing didn’t particularly want to see him.

The sedan sped along the boulevard, its speed pushing the limit. Chen Kongqing felt the atmosphere was strange, though he couldn’t pinpoint why. He just felt the car was much faster than before, and his heartbeat was accelerating to match.

The man, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke: “Do you want to go back?”

He hadn’t expected Dr. Xu to ask that. It was the same question he wanted to ask himself.

“I…” He didn’t know how to answer.

“If you want to go back, I’ll take you,” Xu Jingmo said. As the words left his mouth, he felt his jaw turn sour and bitter.

Chen Kongqing felt a bit dizzy—likely the alcohol fermenting in his brain—but Dr. Xu’s words were etched into his ears with perfect clarity.

Go back?

In the moment of waiting for an answer, Xu Jingmo felt it was the longest five seconds he had ever endured.

“Would it be too much trouble?” Chen Kongqing pursed his lips.

Xu Jingmo understood. He clenched his back teeth. “No.”

He immediately turned the car around, changing direction. Just then, the youth’s phone lit up again.

Ling Xiao [Pink Heart]: [Where are you? I’ll come get you.] Ling Xiao [Pink Heart]: [Is that okay?]

Azurite: [No need. I’m not coming back today.] Ling Xiao [Pink Heart]: [Where are you going?] Azurite: [Going to the lab.] Azurite: [I want to be alone for a while.]

Ling Xiao sent several more messages afterward, but Chen Kongqing didn’t read them. He closed his eyes and locked the screen. He didn’t know why he refused to look; he was afraid that if he did, the little moth in his heart would once again fly headlong into the flame.

As for Xu Jingmo in the driver’s seat, he remained silent, driving in a heavy quiet. Chen Kongqing could feel the low pressure in the car.

Finally, the car pulled up at the apartment complex.

“Dr. Xu, I will seriously consider the proposal you mentioned. I want to get better soon,” the youth whispered, feeling he should state his stance. “Also… thank you again for helping me so much.”

He thanked him once more and unbuckled his seatbelt.

“You’re welcome.” Xu Jingmo finally turned his gaze. His phoenix eyes were hidden in the shadows of the car. “Go on up. Don’t catch a cold.”

Chen Kongqing nodded and got out of the car. The Mercedes behind him didn’t start for a long time, sitting parked on the empty roadside.

Xu Jingmo watched the youth’s back, his gaze unconsciously focusing on that thin left leg. Which bone was injured? How was the recovery? Which doctor performed the surgery, and was it successful?

Countless questions flooded his mind until the youth’s silhouette grew blurred in his vision and eventually vanished.

Once he goes upstairs, what will they say? What will they do? Will this soft-hearted rabbit forgive that man again?

And what about me? What am I to him? Oh. I’m just a kind-hearted doctor.

But this rabbit clearly isn’t happy. He clearly isn’t blessed. He even suffered such a severe injury because of it.

His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly it seemed to groan in pain.

…

The evening wind howled. Chen Kongqing didn’t go upstairs. Instead, he took a shortcut through the side gate of the complex toward the subway station. He didn’t want to go back to the apartment, and he felt too embarrassed to stay at Dr. Xu’s house. He still wanted to go to the lab. When he was working on data, his mind had room for nothing else.

Meanwhile, Ling Xiao’s mind was filled with the words Chen Kongqing had said to him, word for word.

So, Chen Kongqing never thought that way? He never thought about using the accident to tie me down? He just… just felt that I couldn’t get hurt?

The image of the car crushing Chen Kongqing flashed before his eyes again. Is there really someone that stupid? Fine. Since he’s that stupid, I’ll just coax him a bit.

Ling Xiao [Pink Heart]: [Are you still mad?] Ling Xiao [Pink Heart]: [Are you still not coming home?]

…

“Kongqing, you’re too smart! You actually figured out that block of data, and in such a short time.” Xiao Feng adjusted his glasses and walked out of the teaching building side-by-side with Chen Kongqing.

“I was lucky that night. I just tried a few times and the data worked out,” Chen Kongqing said, clutching several books. He hadn’t been back to the apartment for a day and a night and hadn’t taken his medicine, so his body was starting to feel uncomfortable again.

Xiao Feng was still talking, but Chen Kongqing was barely listening. His phone rang. He balanced his books with one hand and pulled it out. Seeing the message, his eyes dimmed. Before he could reply, a call followed.

It was Ling Xiao.

Xiao Feng took the hint and stepped away. “Take your call. I’m going to the cafeteria for food.”

After waving goodbye to Xiao Feng, Chen Kongqing answered. “Hello…”

“Still angry?” Ling Xiao’s voice was pleasant, with a touch of youthful energy. “You won’t even come home.”

Chen Kongqing looked down at the path. “I’m not angry, Ling Xiao. I just think… we both need to think things through.”

Ling Xiao: “Think about what?”

Think about what?

Chen Kongqing felt a dryness in his throat. “Do you want to be with me? Don’t think about the accident—just purely, do you want to be with me?”

He had always been afraid to ask. But now that he’d said it, he felt relieved. The line went silent.

“Ling Xiao, I only want to hear your real thoughts.” Chen Kongqing bit his lip, his footsteps coming to a halt. “If you don’t want to, tell me, and I’ll come back right now to pack my things.”

Three seconds later.

“Let’s try again,” the male voice said.

Chen Kongqing suddenly released his lip. He felt that the winter-withered lawn before him had suddenly turned lush and green.

…

“Why is your house so cold? Is the heater not on?” As soon as Zhou Mujun entered, he felt a chill, followed by the overwhelming smell of smoke.

“Forgot.” In front of a large floor-to-ceiling window, Xu Jingmo leaned casually against a lounge chair, a cigarette between his fingers.

Zhou Mujun coughed as he hit the heater switch on the wall. “What’s wrong with you? You called me over just to turn on your heat?”

He flopped onto the chair next to Xu Jingmo and turned his head, noticing a blue-green stone on the coffee table. “Where did you find this treasure? Is it Lantian jade?”

Xu Jingmo: “It’s Kongqing.”

Zhou Mujun: “What?”

“A rare mineral (Azurite). It’s used to treat blindness,” Xu Jingmo exhaled a smoke ring.

“Huh? What’s wrong with you? Have you gone blind lately?” Zhou Mujun asked with concern. “No wonder you look half-dead… wait, your eyes don’t even have myopia.”

Xu Jingmo: “…I want to give it to someone.”

“What, are their eyes broken?” Zhou Mujun joked.

Xu Jingmo actually managed a slight smile. Then, he added calmly, “I like him very much.”

Zhou Mujun was instantly intrigued; it was rare to hear Xu Jingmo say he liked someone. “Who is it?”

Xu Jingmo didn’t answer. “Do you think I should pursue him?”

“Pursue him! Where is he now?” Zhou Mujun sat up, ready to give advice.

Xu Jingmo: “Probably at home.”

Zhou Mujun pointed excitedly at the stone on the table. “Then you better hurry—”

Before he could finish, Xu Jingmo added coldly:

“He’s with his boyfriend.”