Chapter 46
Chapter 46
By ten in the morning, sunlight had flooded the entire bedroom. Zhang Qiong was still asleep, her hair spread across the pillow like tangled silk.
The floor was a mess, littered with their coats, dresses, belts, and underwear. There were even two cigarette butts, a pile of crumpled tissues, and a bottle of mineral water.
Li Shihao woke first. He rubbed his eyes and got up to use the bathroom.
Hearing the bathroom door close, Zhang Qiong slowly drifted awake. Her head throbbed at the slightest movement, her eyes were difficult to open, and her throat felt tight and dry.
She sat up and looked around. Seeing the wreckage on the floor, she sighed and collapsed back onto the bed.
She picked up a small mirror from the nightstand and looked at her reflection while lying down: her eyelids were puffy, her nose was swollen, and her lips were slightly chapped.
Moving her gaze downward, she was shocked to find four or five red marks on her neck and chest, along with several finger-shaped bruises on her wrists.
She lay paralyzed on the bed in despair, regretting how she could have done something so reckless.
Impulse at night, a nightmare in the morning.
She remembered how she had wailed uncontrollably while getting into a stranger’s car yesterday, how she had clung to him and begged him to drink with her, and how she had forced him to get drunk when she couldn’t get enough… When she was wasted, she had acted out, rambling on about a bunch of things that had nothing to do with him. Finally, she had forcibly kissed him, and they had spent the whole night struggling together… Zhang Qiong’s toes curled, clutching a handful of the bedsheet.
Li Shihao came out of the bathroom. He washed his hands, shaking off the excess water as he glanced at Zhang Qiong. “You’re awake?”
Zhang Qiong gave a muffled “mm.”
Li Shihao asked, “Still drunk?”
Zhang Qiong replied, “No.”
Li Shihao didn’t say anything else, and the two fell into an awkward silence.
Zhang Qiong cleared her throat. “About yesterday… just forget everything once you walk out that door. I won’t be here after next week anyway. You won’t see me again, so neither of us has to be embarrassed.”
Li Shihao said, “Oh. You sleep with me and then turn your back pretty quickly.”
Zhang Qiong’s face flushed bright red. “I…”
Li Shihao sat down on the edge of the bed. “Why won’t you be here after next week?”
Zhang Qiong said, “She told me to leave within a week.”
Li Shihao said, “I don’t understand.”
Zhang Qiong replied, “What’s there to not understand? She told me yesterday that I have to leave within a week.”
Li Shihao asked, “She tells you to leave, and you just leave?”
Zhang Qiong said, “She threatened me. If I don’t leave, she’ll keep scaring me, and she’s going after my children.”
Li Shihao said, “And so you’re going to leave?”
Zhang Qiong got a bit agitated. “Am I not making myself clear enough? She used my children to threaten me! What choice do I have but to leave?”
Li Shihao asked, “If the person she threatened wasn’t you, but me, do you think I would leave?”
Zhang Qiong looked at him strangely. “Of course not.”
Li Shihao asked, “Why?”
Zhang Qiong said, “Because you’re not afraid of her!”
Li Shihao said, “Exactly. Because I’m not afraid. So why is her threat effective against you? Because you are afraid.”
Zhang Qiong fell silent.
Li Shihao said, “The reason she could push you to the point of a breakdown before wasn’t because she was so powerful, but because you had fear in your heart.”
He continued, “She’s just a girl in her twenties. She’s doing things that can’t see the light of day, so she doesn’t dare to form a gang; she has to act alone. Look at her tricks-planting rats, knocking on doors at midnight, hiding under the bed or in the closet-don’t you think that’s childish?”
Zhang Qiong sat up and hugged her legs, resting her chin on her knees as she looked up at Li Shihao obediently.
Li Shihao said, “She deceived you, toyed with you, fooled you, insulted you, and finally wants to drive you away… Have you never once thought about fighting back?”
Zhang Qiong asked, “How do I fight back? Should I go knock on her door at midnight too?”
Li Shihao said, “Staying true to yourself, living where you’re supposed to live, and doing what you’re supposed to do-that is fighting back.”
Zhang Qiong said, “But I don’t have the ability to protect my children.”
Li Shihao said, “I do.”
Zhang Qiong was stunned.
Li Shihao said, “If you’re with me, I can’t guarantee anything outside of City A. But as long as you’re in City A, basically no one can touch you.”
Zhang Qiong said, “How can I be with you… I can’t marry you! Besides, last night was just a heat-of-the-moment thing. It was an accident!”
Li Shihao laughed. “You really are still a young girl at heart. I never said I wanted you to marry me. I’ve been divorced for twelve years, and I don’t plan on signing a marriage certificate with anyone ever again.”
Zhang Qiong asked, “Then what do you mean?”
Li Shihao said, “Just because a man doesn’t get married doesn’t mean he doesn’t have women. I have two women, and we’ve all reached an understanding on this point-I won’t marry any of them, but I will provide all the necessary financial support while we’re together. If they want to have my children, I’ll also provide for that child’s future financial security. In short, I will take responsibility for what I should. But if they change their minds and want to break up to start a family of their own, I’m fine with that. I won’t cling to them.”
Zhang Qiong tried hard to process this. “In other words, you won’t make me change anything, but you’re willing to help me? Why?”
Li Shihao said, “Because you look like my goddess-Maggie Q.”
Zhang Qiong asked, “Who is that?”
Li Shihao said, “Li Meiqi.”
Zhang Qiong asked, “Just because of that?”
Li Shihao said, “I was joking. Are you stupid? The real reason is-who told me to be so unlucky as to get involved in this mess with you? Seeing a beautiful woman in trouble and just standing by… no man would do that. Unless he’s a eunuch or gay.”
Zhang Qiong lowered her head and thought for a moment. “Then what should I do now?”
Li Shihao said, “You don’t need to do anything. Keep doing your job and living in your house.”
Zhang Qiong said, “What if she comes to pressure me…”
Li Shihao said, “Then you give her an answer first-you’re not leaving.”
Zhang Qiong said, “But my son and daughter at school…”
Li Shihao said, “I told you. As long as I’m here, no one can touch them.”