Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 77
Chapter 77
Since the day Shao Qun left, Li Chengxiu was constantly bombarded by phone calls and text messages, which he received in high frequency every single hour.
Li Chengxiu was mostly sitting at home alone with nothing to do. Sometimes he would chat with Shao Qun and send him concise replies. Every time he returned his message, Shao Qun would immediately call and ask Li Chengxiu in an obviously excited voice, whether he was missing him.
Li Chengxiu felt that Shao Qun was recently acting more and more like a child.
On the evening of the thirtieth, Shao Qun was most likely really busy, so he didn’t bother Li Chengxiu for several hours in a row.
Li Chengxiu ate the New Year’s Eve dinner early, kneaded the dough for the dumplings and put it in the kitchen.
It undoubtedly felt very lonely.
Last year, he celebrated this day with Li Shuo and Adrian. They were chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was very lively at the time. Although everything was ruined by Shao Qun later on, it still was one of Li Chengxiu’s happiest New Year celebrations in the past ten years. Because it was the only New Year when there was somebody around to celebrate with him.
He had no idea what Li Shuo and Adrian were doing now[4]. Was there anyone with them? What was Xiao Ji doing now? Was he still locked up at home and couldn’t come out?
All the people Li Chengxiu had met and contacted in the past two years vividly entered into his mind.
They were all good people. At this time, he really missed everybody and had an impulse to call them.
But he couldn’t. He didn’t know how he would explain why he was together with Shao Qun again when these people inevitably asked him about it. They would probably be really disappointed, and Li Chengxiu would feel very embarrassed.
Li Chengxiu picked up his phone, opened the address book and saw only a handful of people there.
He realized that Shao Qun was actually the only one whom he had left. Whether these were received calls or missed calls, Shao Qun’s name was always at the top of the list. His inbox was also filled mostly with Shao Qun’s messages.
Li Chengxiu looked at some of his texts, and the corners of his mouth reluctantly went up.
This was the moment when Li Chengxiu realized that he actually wanted to have Shao Qun by his side.
In the past six months, he had let go of his resistance and defenses against Shao Qun. Shao Qun easily became a part of his life again. And an extremely important part at that. It was just like at the beginning of their journey.
Only that back then, Li Chengxiu sincerely worshiped Shao Qun and put him up on a pedestal. Now, he could finally stand next to Shao Qun on an equal footing.
Li Chengxiu sincerely hoped that his life could go on like this.
The high tide of the Spring Festival Gala sounded the bell to signify the approaching end of the year, and the sounds of fireworks outside the window were getting louder and louder – the sky was blooming with gorgeous flowers. The view fascinated Li Chengxiu.
The countdown on the TV screen had begun.
Li Chengxiu moved Teacup’s little paws up and down in the air and also counted down the seconds with a smile on his face.
The New Year’s bells were finally ringing , and Li Chengxiu clapped Teacup’s paws together.
At the same time, his phone rang.
Li Chengxiu quickly accepted the call.
Shao Qun’s voice came from the other end with the noisy background: “Chengxiu, Chengxiu, can you hear me?”
Li Chengxiu responded loudly, “Yes! Happy New Year!”
Shao Qun also shouted: “Happy New Year! I love you!”
Li Chengxiu was stunned but couldn’t help smiling.
Shao Qun continued to shout: “Chengxiu, did you hear me? I said I love you! Did you hear me?”
Li Chengxiu realized that Shao Qun was probably a little drunk, so he replied, “I heard that.”
Shao Qun didn’t speak for a while, but Li Chengxiu could hear that Shao Qun had entered a seemingly quieter room.
“Chengxiu, it’s a New Year. You should say something.”
Li Chengxiu paused: “Happy New…Year…”
Shao Qun sighed lightly: “Can you tell me what I want to hear? Even if it’s only a lie, just humor me and consider it New Year’s charity.”
Li Chengxiu kept quiet.
Shao Qun waited for a while, which seemed to last as long as a whole century. His heart ached before he finally sighed in disappointment: “Forget it, I drank too much…You, you are alone. Don’t go to bed too late. I’m hanging up.”
Li Chengxiu suddenly called out, “Shao Qun…”
Shao Qun’s eyes lit up: “What?”
Softly, Li Chengxiu said, “Come back soon.”
Shao Qun’s hand holding the phone trembled.
“Okay…Okay, definitely…I’ll return home as soon as possible. Just wait for me! I’m thinking of you all the time… I must come back very very soon, you…you should go to bed early…and then…what…I…” Shao Qun was so excited that he became incoherent.
Li Chengxiu asked him to come back soon! So he was going to return at the earliest date possible! What did Li Chengxiu’s words actually mean? Did he begin to accept him again? Shao Qun even imagined Li Chengxiu’s gentle smile as he beckoned him.
Shao Qun had worked so hard for so long, hoping to break through Li Chengxiu’s defenses, and now he finally saw the dawn of victory at the beginning of the New Year.
Shao Qun was so happy that he almost jumped up, wishing he could immediately walk through his phone – hug Li Chengxiu and kiss him vigorously.
He took advantage of his “slightly drunk” status to shyly bully Li Chengxiu and say a lot of lovey-dovey words. Hearing all these sweet nothings Li Chengxiu’s ears burned. He had repeated “I’m hanging up” several times, but in the end he couldn’t bring himself to do it. So he just continued to patiently listen.
After putting down the phone, Li Chengxiu quickly made some dumplings for himself, and put Teacup’s bowl in front of the pup. One person and one dog were eating hot dumplings together to celebrate the New Year.
Li Chengxiu couldn’t help thinking that he should be able to spend the next New Year with Shao Qun.
The New Year’s holidays soon came to an end. Li Chengxiu went back to work but Shao Qun – his boss – still hadn’t come back.
Shao Qun complained to him, saying that his father asked him to stay until the fifteenth and not a day less. In order to make his father less resistant to the fact of Li Chengxiu’s existence, Shao Qun had to resist his urge to fly back to Shenzhen immediately.
On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, after Li Chengxiu got off work, he made sure to thoroughly clean the house.
Shao Qun was going to come back tomorrow, and Li Chengxiu was thinking about what he could cook for the occasion.
He fell asleep early that evening and slept until midnight, until he was suddenly awakened by the sound of his mobile phone.
Li Chengxiu squinted his eyes and dazedly picked up the phone from the bedside table.
“Hey, Chengxiu.” He clearly heard Shao Qun’s voice.
Li Chengxiu glanced at the bright screen. It was the middle of the night. Why would Shao Qun call him at this time?
“Shao Qun… what’s wrong?”
“Chengxiu, open the door for me.”
Li Chengxiu paused for two seconds: “What?”
Shao Qun laughed: “Chengxiu, open the door!”
Only then did Li Chengxiu react. He hurriedly got up from the bed, ran out of the bedroom, and unlocked the entrance door.
Shao Qun stood in front of him in his ink-blue cashmere coat – cold emanated from his body but there was a warm smile on his face.
Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly: “You are back… You are really back.”
Shao Qun stepped into the room with one foot, and before Li Chengxiu could react, he leaned in and hugged him.
Li Chengxiu was startled: “Shao Qun…?”
Shao Qun gave him a kiss on the cheek: “Why the hell are you not even wearing slippers? You might catch a cold.”
Only then did Li Chengxiu realize that he was barefoot. Embarrassed, he said: “Let me go then.”
Of course, Shao Qun did not abide – he lifted Li Chengxiu up and walked into the bedroom, placing him directly on the bed.
He then took off his coat, sat down and touched Li Chengxiu’s face with his cold hands, staring at him with bright eyes in the dark.
Li Chengxiu felt that his heartbeat suddenly quickened.
Shao Qun leaned over, pressed his lips against Li Chengxiu’s, kissing him warmly and tenderly.
Li Chengxiu froze, but did not move. He dazedly accepted Shao Qun’s kiss.
Shao Qun’s breathing became more and more unstable. When he was done with the kiss, he pushed Li Chengxiu onto the bed, heavily pressing his body beneath him, and let out a tired breath.
Li Chengxiu panicked and wanted to move away.
Shao Qun hugged his waist and said softly: “Don’t move. It’s alright, just let me hug you for a bit. I’m very sleepy, since I had to catch the plane in the middle of the night. Baby, let me hold you for a while. I won’t do anything. Really .”
Li Chengxiu’s body slowly relaxed.
Shao Qun kicked off his shoes and turned over, hugging Li Chengxiu in his arms, as his warm breath lightly tickled Li Chengxiu’s neck.
Li Chengxiu opened his eyes and looked at the dark ceiling.
Shao Qun said sleepily: “I missed you every single day. Did you miss me? When you asked me to come back soon that day, I wanted to come back right away. Unfortunately, my father said that if I wanted to take you back next year for the Chinese New Year, I would have to stay until the 15th without any discussion. But hey, I ran away as soon as he fell asleep.”
Li Chengxiu kept quiet, listening to Shao Qun’s strong heartbeat in his warm chest.
With someone by his side, even on such a cold winter night, he felt a lot warmer and more comfortable.
When he first separated from Shao Qun, Li Chengxiu had really understood what it meant to sleep alone.
If one is accustomed to having someone who always sleeps by your side, with whom you can chat about something inconsequential before going to bed, whom you can touch when you stretch out your hand, and whom you can hug for warmth no matter how cold it is, then losing this person will make everything around you and your heart feel empty. Those who haven’t experienced it will never understand the feeling of waking up in the middle of the night and wondering where this person has gone.
When Li Chengxiu first encountered these feelings, he suffered a lot from this kind of hopeless loneliness. Now, as he was lying together with Shao Qun again, he couldn’t quite tell if he felt joy or sorrow.
Li Chengxiu only thought that it was no doubt a good thing to have someone to accompany him.
Shao Qun’s voice still lingered in his ears: “Our son will be born in two months. Shall we move back to the old villa then?”
Li Chengxiu thought of the place which gave birth to the happiest memories in his life, but which he finally vowed to never enter again. He didn’t know how to react for a while.
“The day after tomorrow, let’s go there and see how the arrangements for the baby’s room and our rooms are coming along. It’s up to you, though. By the way, the housekeeping company I found last time recommended several nannies. We have to pick wisely, since it’s hard to find a good nanny nowadays.”
Li Chengxiu nodded: “Okay.”
Shao Qun said softly, “Chengxiu, I’m very happy now. For the first time in my long life I’m so satisfied with everything. I don’t need anything else! What about you? How has my performance been during this time? Are you still satisfied?”
Li Chengxiu whispered: “It‘s fine. All is good.”
Shao Qun smiled and hugged him tightly: “I can treat you even better! You just wait and see. I want to hold you up to the sky!”
Li Chengxiu laughed softly.
Shao Qun closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead against Li Chengxiu’s face: “Let’s sleep. You have work tomorrow.”
Li Chengxiu quietly responded, “Okay, let’s sleep.”
Shao Qun hugged the man in his arms so tightly as if he was holding the rarest and most precious treasure in the entire world. Only this person could give him the satisfaction of his lifetime. Only this person could give him peace of mind. Only to this person could he give everything without reservation and not be afraid of losing his footing. Even if the sky fell, Shao Qun would never let him go.
Shao Qun was really tired, so after a short while he fell asleep and started snoring[5].
Li Chengxiu hadn’t slept next to anybody in a long time. In the past, Shao Qun rarely snored. Li Chengxiu had always been a light sleeper and now with this noise, it was almost impossible for him to fall asleep.
Even so, he didn’t feel uncomfortable. Just like in the old times, he was in Shao Qun’s arms again, which made Li Chengxiu feel a long-lost peace of mind.
He didn’t know how long exactly they stayed like that but suddenly a loud “bang bang bang” sound ruined the quiet dawn. Li Chengxiu was half asleep and half awake, his heart skipped a beat, and he opened his eyes.
He realized that somebody was knocking on the door and looked out the window through the gap in the curtain.
Who would come to his place at this time?
The knocking was particularly aggressive, as if the person would not stop until he woke them up.
Li Chengxiu got a little scared. He called out: “Shao Qun! Shao Qun!”, as he pushed him awake.
Shao Qun was in deep sleep, so it took some pushing to finally wake him up.
“What’s wrong?”
There was panic on Li Chengxiu’s face: “Someone is knocking on the door.”
Only then did Shao Qun finally react. He turned over and got out of bed: “Don’t be afraid. I’ll go take a look.”
After Shao Qun left, Li Chengxiu also ran towards the bedroom door, hiding behind it, as he cautiously peeked out.
Shao Qun looked through the door’s eye and recognized Xiao Zhou at a glance.
He felt annoyed, thinking that his assistant was like a high level spy or something. Xiao Zhou always knew where Shao Qun went. He feared that even if he decided to go to Africa, Xiao Zhou would chase after him there to pester him with more work matters.
Shao Qun opened the door and scolded, “How the hell did you know I was back already? Do you know what time it is? Are you sick in the head?”
He finally noticed that Xiao Zhou’s face was pale, and there was another person standing beside him, who seemed to be covered in nervous sweat.
Xiao Zhou said anxiously: “Mr. Shao, go to the hospital quickly! The surrogate Ms. Liu fell, and I am afraid she will give birth prematurely.”
Shao Qun was stunned for a while.
Li Chengxiu felt like he was struck by lightning, and he immediately rushed out: “What did you say? What? Who? What did you say!?”
Xiao Zhou explained: “The intermediary came to me when he couldn’t find you. I called your phone but it was turned off. I then called your elder sister, and she said that you were already gone. So I thought that you must be here… Mr. Shao, hurry up. Let’s go.”
The scene in front of Li Chengxiu was suddenly distorted. He felt dizzy, as he grabbed Shao Qun’s arm. His heart seemed to be blocked by something. He opened his mouth but couldn’t speak.
Shao Qun tried to calm him down. He squatted, tying Li Chengxiu’s shoe laces. Then he walked out with his arms around Li Chengxiu: “Don’t be afraid, we’ll go to the hospital right away.”
