Love For You - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Simply and Cleanly Giving Him a Slap

The words dragged from the depths of his throat, deep and rumbling like a bass cannon—bewildering, sexy, and plucking at the heartstrings.

Before the trailing notes had even faded, Miao Jing’s face turned slightly cold. She raised her hand and gave him a slap, swift and clean.

The slap was crisp and heavy, delivered with rapid speed and loaded with intense force and resentment. Her palm and even her arm went numb from the impact. Caught completely off guard, Chen Yi’s face was whipped harshly to the side. A bright red handprint emerged on his cheek, matching the bloodstains from the fruit knife... there was nothing sexy or ambiguous about it; it was just wretched and embarrassing.

......

This unexpected slap really did hurt. Chen Yi bared his teeth, instinctively wanting to touch his abused face, but he was too sluggish to lift his arm. He remained still, clearly stunned and dazed.

Had he been... slapped silly by her?

The lingering romantic thoughts in his heart vanished into thin air in an instant. His handsome face twisted slightly, his complexion turning a sickly, bruised color. A fire of annoyance ignited in his chest, and his eyes grew dark and murky, subconsciously tinged with a streak of ruthlessness.

Damn it!!!

Could she play by the rules for once?

Looking at the stubborn, icy face before him and the cold, sharp, bright eyes—not to mention the sudden flush of red that surfaced in Miao Jing’s gaze—the fire in Chen Yi’s eyes hissed and went out. He half-closed his eyes and ground his molars heavily.

The sound of grinding teeth filled the room.

In this lifetime, she was the only one who dared to treat him this way.

Miao Jing’s expression was cold to the extreme. She raised the sharp blade, pointed it at the center of his brow, and provoked him coldly: "Since you missed me so much, why didn't you contact me for six years? You missed me for so many years, yet it didn't stop you from being lovey-dovey with others. And since I’ve been back, I’ve seen you exchanging glances with plenty of women."

Chen Yi gritted his teeth, then gritted them again. His handsome face was taut, bulging with veins and blood vessels. He had a sudden, violent urge to kill her.

He let out a heavy, cold huff, ignoring the sharp tip at his brow, and opened his eyes to look at her coldly and directly: "What was I supposed to think? Miss sleeping with you? Did you think my brain was only filled with that kind of business? Yeah, I thought about it, but what then? Stop living? Stop breathing? What was I supposed to rely on? Was it wrong to think of the person waiting for me to eat every holiday? Was it wrong to see high school students on the street and think of the little white-eyed wolf who used to wear a school uniform? Even if we weren't blood-related, we lived together for so many years. Damn it, if I raised a dog, I’d burn paper for it on Qingming Festival after it died. Since I raised a human being with my own two hands, why couldn't I think about her?"

His tone was flippant and indifferent, yet it carried a faint, lingering bitterness.

On nights filled with the warmth of ten thousand homes, he would light a cigarette and think of that stubborn girl. He’d remember the days they spent together—scavenging for scrap, taking her out for joyrides, living a domestic life, experiencing their final moments of madness—only to throw the cigarette butt down, crush it heavily beneath his heel, and walk toward the distant shadows.

Chen Yi stubbornly turned his face away from her. His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily, and the wound on his neck hadn't stopped bleeding, leaving a winding, wretched scab of blood.

Miao Jing closed her eyes, remaining silent for a long moment. She lowered the knife tip back to his waist and gently picked at the drawstring of his long trousers.

Chen Yi wasn't in the mood. He was done with this. He moved his legs and shooed her off.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with a soft, lingering light, and asked him quietly: "In your eyes, am I a little sister? A family member? Or just a woman you’ve slept with?"

He didn't speak for a long time, finally saying in a low voice: "Who knows? We lived in such a mess at home. If we were really siblings, we wouldn't have done that kind of thing. What do you take me for? I’m certainly not your real brother."

It was a relationship that had grown in a twisted and indulgent way. Their emotions were too complex, and as teenagers, they had found it hard to define each other’s position in their respective hearts.

Miao Jing’s mood gradually calmed. Her dense lashes hung low as she stared at the knife in her hand, whispering softly: "Do you know how I lived these past few years?"

"How did you live?"

"My sophomore year, my mother contacted me. She came to see me, cried in front of me for a long time. Those years when there was no news, she actually lived well. That insurance money was swindled by a man. She didn't have any money and went through a long period of hardship. She said she didn't mean to abandon me; she just had no choice. Actually, she had secretly checked up on me once. I was already in high school, studying, getting good grades, and living at home—it was much better than being with her. Later, her life got a bit better, and she met her current husband. Before returning to her hometown, she came to see me, talked to me a lot, apologized, and said she was very glad I had turned out the way I did. Since then, I’ve kept in contact with her sporadically, calling her occasionally."

"Life at school was good, too. I majored in engineering; there were many boys and few girls in the department. We got along well in the dorm, and the teachers and classmates were very caring. The school was beautiful and lively, filled with various activities and clubs. Learning wasn't particularly hard. Outside of class, I went out for internships and part-time jobs, learned to put on makeup and dress up, and participated in various activities. I met many interesting people and things. I climbed mountains in the middle of the night with friends to watch the sunrise, served as a volunteer at the international convention center, and drank coffee with my teachers to discuss problems. That life was... truly worlds apart from the past, completely different... I was like a small fish from a ditch that had suddenly swum into the ocean, a vast and brilliant world... No one knew where I came from, no one knew my past life. It was so relaxed, so free... I really loved it..."

She recalled the past, watching him with a smile on her lips and a joyful light floating in her eyes. This brilliant light infected him, too. He watched in a daze, his heart feeling a mix of sour and sweet, and couldn't help but grin.

"I saw that you won scholarships every year, and won some science and technology competition awards, too."

"How did you know?" she asked with a smile.

"Isn't everything posted on the school website? ...The lists, the tables, the news updates, even the photos of university events. You were standing in the crowd, showing your profile—skinny and fair. Someone below said you were the 'department flower,' beautiful and aloof, very hard to pursue." He sighed lazily, his tone a bit sour, "I can see you really lived well."

Miao Jing’s smile was sweet: "My first boyfriend pursued me for two years. He was a wonderful person—very sunny, cheerful, and knew how to take care of people. It was the first time I realized that boys could be like that: clean and polite, not using foul language, very well-bred, and knowing how to compromise and accommodate. He never argued with anyone. Everything he did made people feel at ease."

The faint smile on Chen Yi’s face couldn't quite hold up; he desperately needed a cigarette to soothe his emotions: "That sounds... quite good..."

His Adam’s apple bobbed, but he didn't finish his sentence.

Miao Jing shifted her body back, the knife tip continuing downward to pick at his trousers. She blinked her charming eyes, the thin blade resting obliquely against his body, and gave a mysterious, subtle smile.

Chen Yi’s eyes widened, his heart went cold, and his complexion turned a mix of pale and blue. Was she planning to castrate him there? To take revenge on him?

"Miao Jing... I haven't done anything to wrong you..."

"How much money do you have now?" Miao Jing tilted her head and asked him very seriously, "Excluding the fixed assets and the money you need to spend because of the incident at the pool hall, how much liquid capital do you have?"

He frowned, not knowing what she was planning, and calculated with trepidation: "Seventeen or eighteen thousand."

"Don't you plan to save some money for marriage?"

"Marriage? To become Chen Libin and raise another Chen Yi? It’d be faster to just kill me." He sneered, "I’m still young. We’ll talk about that ten years from now."

Miao Jing examined the dagger in her hand: "I’ve already returned that bank card to you. It has the two hundred thousand I saved in it. Consider it me paying you back with interest. The password hasn't changed. Just take it and spend it yourself."

"You’ve only just graduated; where would you get that much money?" He looked stunned, his tone unhappy, "Who told you to put the money in there?"

"You said I won scholarships in university. I worked part-time and had jobs. After I started working, I saved up, and I’m giving all my savings to you." Miao Jing’s tone paused. She thought for a moment and continued calmly, "Chen Yi, do you remember? I said before that one day, I would pay back all the money I owed you. Thank you for taking me in, raising me, and giving me money for university. From now on, I don't owe you anything. We’re even. We’re square."

His chest heaved, his breathing restless: "So, you came back specifically to pay off a debt?"

"Yes. It wasn't easy to save up this much, and because of what happened with Cen Ye, I had the opportunity to come back." Miao Jing’s tone was slightly sarcastic, and she smiled coldly, "You really don't need to keep irritably telling me to leave. Just keep the money. I have my own arrangements. When it’s time to leave, I’ll leave naturally. After I go this time, I promise I will never return to Tengcheng for the rest of my life. I will never appear in front of you again, and I will never have any relationship with you ever again."

"Fine!! You’re really something! Really great!!"

Chen Yi closed his eyes tightly and said nothing more. He sprawled out on the hospital bed, feeling utterly despondent. A lingering, sour ache rose in his heart, sharp as needles.

Every single time, she managed to hit his sore spot with precision.

The single hospital room remained quiet for a while.

"Chen Yi." The voice calling him was suddenly gentle and light.

His complexion was ashen; he played dead and didn't speak.

She might as well have just stabbed him to death.

There was a rustling sound as soft, boneless hands stroked him. His body stiffened heavily. He couldn't muster any interest in this sudden pleasure, but his body responded automatically.

"The last time?" She leaned over, her soft, fragrant body pressing against him, "Chen Yi? I often think about the old days, too..."

It was very gentle and slow. Spirit and desire, love and resentment—they all seemed to melt away in this instant. She took the lead. He opened his dark eyes. The space in the hospital bed was limited; their clothes weren't removed, but being restrained was the perfect state.

Their clothes were a messy tangle. She lay prone on his chest, and he kissed her sweat-dampened forehead: "Is that all the strength you have?"

Miao Jing’s eyes were blank and exhausted. She rested in his arms, breathing shallowly. Finally, she rose languidly, tidied her dress, and went to the bathroom to clean herself.

When she came out of the bathroom, she was the calm Miao Jing once again. She walked to the hospital bed and, under his silent gaze, pulled open a drawer, took out a cigarette case, lit a cigarette, and stuck it into Chen Yi’s mouth.

It was his first cigarette since the incident. Chen Yi pinched it clumsily and took a slow drag.

He hadn't smoked in a long time; now that he was smoking again, the taste was bitter, astringent, and choked with harshness.

He knitted his brows, smoking the cigarette in silence.

Miao Jing combed through her long hair with her fingers. Suddenly remembering something, she turned to look at him: "Right, there’s something on my phone I want you to listen to."

"What is it?"

She placed her phone on the chair and played the recording.

A slightly fuzzy, crackling voice echoed through the hospital room—it was the previous conversation between Zhou Kang’an and him. The two were discussing the fire at the pool hall, Zhai Fengmao’s escape, and Chen Yi’s plan to go to Yunnan again.

Chen Yi held the cigarette in his mouth, his body frozen for a long time. A piece of ash fell onto his body, but he didn't even notice.

Damn it...

Miao Jing.

Good work!

The slender, graceful figure leaned against the window, arms folded. Her gaze was calm and profound, and she watched him with a detached expression.

"Is this the reason you disappeared? Chen Yi?" she asked softly from the window, offering a gentle smile, "Not long after I left, in a conflict in Tengcheng, Bo Zai crippled his leg, and you lost contact with me. That nightclub was sealed, and you disappeared completely for two years and four months. In Yunnan? Did it have something to do with that hidden boss named Zhai? You suspect the pool hall fire was retaliation? Yunnan, Burma, the Golden Triangle—those places definitely have to do with drugs and guns. I reported you for drug use that year. I heard you on the phone. Zhou Kang’an contacted me, and he helped me out later. After you disappeared, he even comforted me. He’s a criminal investigator, yet you have a relationship with him, and he didn't arrest you... Chen Yi, have you been doing things for the police?"

Chen Yi’s brows knitted tightly; his expression was sheepish, and he didn't speak.

"I don't want to know any more details, nor do I want to be entirely clear about the cause and effect. None of it has any meaning. But if I release this recording, would you be dead for sure?"

She looked at him with gentle, deep meaning.

"Miao Jing, you f***ing..." He froze, "You’re... too... crazy."

She shrugged her shoulders, came over to pack her things, her tone very calm: "I’ll make a phone call and have Bo Zai come over to keep you company.”