Chapter 196: My Past with Xu Shu
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and thought: Not really? Even the intimate scenes have to be described? This... isn't this asking too much?
I leaned over and gently said to Xu Shu, "Xu Shu, how are you feeling? Can you hold on ? Why don't you take a rest?"
Xu Shu hummed under the pillow and whispered, "It's okay. I'm not in so much pain now. If Jingjing wants to know, just tell me!" Then she warned me in a very soft voice, "Don't tell me about those embarrassing things!"
I nodded, straightened my body, looked at Jingjing who looked jealous, sighed, and then said, "Actually, I knew Xu Shu earlier than I knew you, Jingjing. We knew each other before you took me to her birthday party."
"What...what?" Hua Jingjing was obviously shocked. She looked at us in disbelief, her eyes bigger than copper bells.
I expected her to have this expression, so I could only smile bitterly and recount to her what happened on that snowy night when I carried Xu Shu to the hospital.
As Xu Shu listened, she poked her head out from under the pillow and looked at me blankly. She seemed to have returned to that romantic night...
Hua Jingjing interrupted curiously after hearing this: "Since you knew each other, why did you pretend that you had never met at the birthday party?"
I glanced at Xu Shu and saw that she was smiling, as if what happened that night was right in front of her. I stretched out my hand and brushed away a strand of hair that blocked her view, and continued, "Xu Shu saw that I was originally a poor boy, but suddenly appeared at her birthday party in fancy clothes, and you introduced me as your fiancé. So... she misunderstood and thought that I was a bad guy who cheated women and lived off them. In order to prevent you from being deceived, she secretly found me without telling you, and threatened and lured me to leave you..."
I talked about how Xu Shu and I cleared up our misunderstandings, and how I went to her parents' house with Xu Shu. Jingjing was both angry and amused, and said, "I didn't expect so many things to happen in the middle. You two... are really good at acting!"
Xu Shu had no choice but to say aggrievedly: "Jingjing, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it at that time."
Jingjing leaned over and stared at Xu Shu, saying teasingly, "Xiao Shu, actually... you are jealous and angry, right? According to your personality, you are not the kind of person who would wrongly accuse others without knowing right or wrong, right?"
Xu Shu felt shy and turned away without answering.
Jingjing teased Xu Shu and laughed happily. She tried hard to look at Xu Shu's face, which made Xu Shu crawl under the pillow again and dared not see anyone.
I quickly pulled Jingjing over and said anxiously, "Jingjing! You know Xu Shu is shy, so stop teasing her and just listen to me!"
Hua Jingjing snorted and said with a straight face, "Heartbroken? I've been kept in the dark by you two for so many years, and I've been deceived. Why doesn't anyone feel sorry for me?"
When I saw Miss Hua Jingjing's temper flare up, I immediately broke out in a cold sweat and had a terrible headache. I was speechless and could only open my mouth.
Jingjing's face was stern for a while, then she burst into laughter and said, "Now that you've said that, I understand a lot of things. I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to resign for no reason, and it turns out... it was because of Xiaoshu. Humph! How nice you said it was at the time? You said you wanted to go out and try your luck, and you didn't want to see me because of Qiu Jieqin. They were all... lying excuses!"
I felt so ashamed that my face turned red. I lowered my head and dared not say a word.
Jingjing was angry for a while, then suddenly leaned over and bit my neck hard, saying, "Big liar! I'd rather bite you to death!"
I didn't dare to dodge, so I had to let her bite me. I suddenly remembered that Jingjing had bitten the back of my hand hard that night, and it seemed that I had angered her, so I couldn't escape from her teeth!
Xu Shu quickly poked his head out from under the pillow again and said anxiously, "Jingjing, don't bite him! This is all my fault, Tang Qian is innocent!"
Hua Jingjing bit me to vent her anger, and she felt much better. She turned around with a smile and hugged Xu Shu again, whispering softly, "Tell me the truth, did you fall in love with your brother Tang Qian at that time?"
When Hua Jingjing said the words "Brother Tang Qian", Xu Shu and I blushed and felt ashamed. She didn't know that the words "Brother Tang Qian" had a special meaning between us.
Xu Shu finally couldn't resist Jingjing's questioning, so he had to beg for mercy: "Okay, okay, I did like Tang Qian a little bit at that time, are you satisfied? You have to... make me embarrassed to death before you are happy, right?"
Jingjing made a fuss for a while, and only felt satisfied when she made Xu Shu and I look so embarrassed. She sat back on the chair and said in a serious tone, "Okay, let's continue. How did you two get along?"
I saw that Jingjing was already angry, so I thought I couldn't talk about it in detail. It was better not to mention some unimportant things. So I told her about how Xu Shu and I fell into the valley and narrowly escaped death. Jingjing was so scared that her face turned pale and she patted her chest. Then I said that because Xu Shu refused to listen to my confession, I thought she didn't love me at all, so I was cruel and gave up on myself and cut off all contact with women during that period. It was at that time that Jingjing finally walked into my life.
Jingjing interjected, "Oh, it seems that it was all thanks to Xiaoshu ignoring you at that time, otherwise how would I have had the chance to get involved? It seems that the third party is not someone else, but me, hum!"
I didn't dare to express my opinion, so I had to bite the bullet and continue. I started by telling how I was beaten by Hua's father and was hospitalized, how I drove Xu Shu away, and how I went to the United States to find her for the spokesperson issue. That night, on the top of Beverly Hills, Xu Shu and I finally broke the ambiguity and confessed our feelings. I focused on describing the conflicting psychology between Xu Shu and me, how we clearly loved each other, but how we restrained our feelings just to avoid hurting Jingjing...
Jingjing kept a serious expression while listening, and she didn't say a word. I didn't know what she was thinking. As I was talking, I suddenly stopped talking when I mentioned that we were isolated in the same room because of SARS. I didn't know how to tell Jingjing what happened in those ten days.
Jingjing saw that I was silent all of a sudden, and asked in surprise, "Go on? Why is there nothing left?"
Xu Shu stretched out a hand, pitifully tugged at Jingjing's sleeve, and said softly, "Jingjing, don't ask. Anyway... we feel sorry for you!"
Hua Jingjing suddenly retracted her hand, broke free from Xu Shu's pull, and said in a cold voice: "You two...had a relationship...during the quarantine...right? What good can happen...for a single man and a single woman to be together?" As she spoke, two lines of tears could not be helped but burst out of her eyes. Unable to hide them, she quickly turned her head away.
Xu Shu also burst into tears and tried to get up from the bed, "Jingjing, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry..."
I saw Xu Shu trying to get up despite her serious injury, so I hurried over to touch her shoulder and said, "What are you doing? Don't move, lie down!" Xu Shu didn't listen and struggled to get up. Suddenly, the force she exerted immediately pulled the wound. She screamed in pain and immediately fell down.
I helped her lie down, and seeing her forehead sweating from the pain, I felt extremely distressed. Suddenly Jingjing came over and pushed me away, and hugged Xu Shu, also bursting into tears.
It didn't matter that the two women started crying. Xu Jian suddenly pushed the door open and looked at us in confusion. I hurried over and said, "It's okay, don't be nervous!"
Xu Jian frowned and asked, "What's going on? Didn't I tell you not to let Xiao Shu get too excited? What if the wound gets disturbed?"
I nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, I will pay attention and I will go and persuade them right away."
At this time, Hua Jingjing also realized that such excitement was not good for Xu Shu's wound, so she let her go and sat down on the bed. I walked over and was about to comfort the two of them, but I heard Jingjing say, "Tang Qian, you all go out, let Xiao Shu and I be alone for a while."
I hesitated for a moment and said, "Xiao Shu is seriously injured, you must not... let her get too excited!"
"Alright, alright, don't I know? Get out now, I don't want to...see you now!"
I had no choice but to turn around and look at Xu Shu, who nodded with tears in her eyes. I turned around helplessly, exchanged glances with Xu Jian, and left the ward with him.
In the corridor, Xu Jian asked me, "How is it? Have you thought about it?"
My heart ached, and I shook my head and said, "Give me some more time!"
Xu Jian looked at me for a long time before he sighed and said, "You...take care of yourself!" Then he didn't look at me again and went outside to smoke.
I stood in the corridor of the inpatient department, my heart was beating fast and I was hesitant. For a long time, I didn't move at all.
Suddenly, the phone in my pocket rang. I took it out and saw that it was my parents calling. I picked up the phone and heard my mother say, "Xiao Qian, what's wrong with you? Didn't you say you would pick up your sister today? What are you doing now?"
I finally remembered, yes! My sister is back today, and she will attend my wedding! I smiled bitterly, whether this wedding can be held or not is now a problem!
I checked the time. It was already 9:30 in the morning. My sister arrived at 11:00, so there was only an hour and a half left. I hadn't slept all night, hadn't had a single drop of water, and was tired, sleepy, hungry, and thirsty.
I sighed. Xu Shu was fine for now, but I didn't know what Jingjing wanted to say to her. I couldn't go in, and I couldn't make a choice. It was a real dilemma!
I turned around to look at Xu Shu's ward and said to my mother, "Oh, I'll come pick you up right away. We'll go to the airport together."
