Chapter 98
Su Bin angrily punched Huang Zhengming about ten times. Huang Zhengming didn’t fight back; he silently endured Su Bin’s anger. Su Bin yelled at him, “What do you take me for? Want me? Take it, don’t want me? Give me back?”
Huang Zhengming’s mouth was bleeding and he looked quite disheveled, but he didn’t dodge. He just gazed directly at Su Bin and even managed to smile.
Su Bin’s scalp tingled, and he had forgotten to continue hitting. That smile wasn’t mocking, bitter, or guilty; it was a kind of helplessness, a gentle smile.
Su Bin shook his head, thinking he must have mistaken it. He threw another punch, this one landing heavily on Huang Zhengming’s stomach. Huang Zhengming let out a muffled groan of pain and grimaced. Not far away, Chen Xiaotian, who was held back by Elena, had covered her mouth and started crying softly, murmuring, “Stop fighting…”
“Why don’t you fight back? Say something!” Su Bin grabbed Huang Zhengming’s collar, his eyes red with tears, and shouted.
Huang Zhengming looked up at Su Bin, blinked suddenly, and a tear slid down from the corner of his eye.
Su Bin was taken aback; this was the first time he had seen Huang Zhengming cry…
Back when they were fourteen, watching “Little Li Flying Dagger” together, every time Su Bin cried like a dog, Huang Zhengming didn’t react at all. At sixteen, when Su Bin teared up yet again due to his parents forgetting his birthday, Huang Zhengming didn’t react. At eighteen, when Chen Xiaotian broke up with Su Bin, and he cried like a fool, Huang Zhengming still didn’t react. At twenty, when Su Bin went abroad and cried uncontrollably, Huang Zhengming remained unmoved.
Every time Su Bin cried, Huang Zhengming’s expression was one of incomprehension, his demeanor calm. He wouldn’t offer any comforting words; he’d just watch silently from the side.
Su Bin had always thought of Huang Zhengming as a rock, a person without tear ducts, someone who didn’t understand human emotions. But now he saw Huang Zhengming… crying because of him?
Huang Zhengming seemed surprised by his own tears. He blinked a couple of times, tilted his head back in an attempt to keep them at bay, but more tears trickled down.
“Have you… vented enough?” he asked Su Bin in a hoarse voice.
Su Bin suddenly felt drained. He let go of Huang Zhengming, staring at him, but the words got stuck in his throat, and his voice choked, “Don’t think this will make me forgive you.”
Huang Zhengming suddenly mustered strength and grabbed Su Bin’s hand, asking, “Then what should I do to make you forgive me?” He finished speaking and suddenly his face crumbled, and he started crying. He sobbed, “How can I make you forgive me? How can we go back to the way we were?”
“We can’t go back! We can’t go back!! Bastard!!” As he shouted this, Su Bin also started crying. He never intended to cry, but people with low emotional resilience were like that—when they saw someone else suffering, they would be triggered like a bomb.
Huang Zhengming held onto Su Bin and sobbed, “I’m not feeling well at all. I’ve been miserable during this time… sob, sob…”
Su Bin, tears streaming down his face, shouted, “Cry, my ass… sob, sob…”
(Su Bin’s inner thoughts: Damn, why do I feel so satisfied? HAHAHA)
Huang Zhengming said, “I dare not contact you, dare not meet you, dare not call you. I’m a coward.”
While being emotionally charged, suddenly an external force dragged Su Bin out of Huang Zhengming’s embrace. Huang Zhengming raised his head and saw the foreigner, who had been full of hostility earlier, standing in front of him. The foreigner said to him, “Su Bin, he’s mine.”
Everyone else: “…”
Meanwhile, in order to prevent Guo Li from causing trouble, Jin Fei pulled him away and asked in private, “What’s really going on with you?”
Seeing Jin Fei’s imposing demeanor, Guo Li dared not do anything. He grumbled, “What’s going on? And who are you anyway?”
Jin Fei chuckled and said, “I’m Su Bin’s older brother. I’ve never heard Su Bin mention you. Introduce yourself.”
He even handed Guo Li a cigarette.
Guo Li exclaimed, “Ah,” and then said with a black line on his face, “You know about us?”
Jin Fei said, “It’s about them, not you.”
Guo Li: “…”
Jin Fei boasted of his achievements, saying, “He was almost suicidal after being dumped. If it weren’t for my guidance, he would have hit a wall long ago.”
Guo Li said, “Come on, it can’t be that bad…”
Jin Fei gave him a sidelong glance and said, “You’re not him. How do you know it’s not that bad? He’s just a fool.”
Guo Li sighed, “Actually, I also feel quite guilty…”
Jin Fei snorted, “I can tell. You’re also an accomplice. Explain yourself quickly, or I’ll throw you into the lake later.”
Guo Li, shorter than Su Bin, looked even smaller. He glanced at Jin Fei’s figure and immediately wilted, “It’s all my fault.”
Jin Fei asked, “How is it all your fault?”
Guo Li recounted the high school prank incident, saying, “If I hadn’t suggested that prank, they wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
Jin Fei said, “So you’ve been trying to fix this mess and restore order all along?”
Guo Li, embarrassed, said, “Sort of… After all, Dahuang and Xiaotian are a real couple. After Dahuang and Xiaotian got together, I could see they weren’t happy. So…”
Jin Fei sneered, “So, instead of two people being unhappy, you sacrificed one to make the other two happy?”
Guo Li protested, “No, it’s not like that. Su Bin has a thick skin. I thought he would get over it eventually. After all, Dahuang and Xiaotian were good to him. That’s just my personal opinion.”
Jin Fei snorted and smacked him on the back of the head, “Believing he’ll get over it! He’s a person who lacks love, don’t you know that? His indifference is just a cover for his vulnerability. He’s more sensitive than anyone else… You, unclearly still calling yourself his friend, do you have any shame?”
Guo Li: “…”
Jin Fei continued his lecture, “You can’t bully someone just because they seem naive! He’s so pitiful!”
Guo Li said, “Big brother, we didn’t bully him…” Just as he finished speaking, he was smacked on the back of the head again. He quickly pressed his lips together in a pout.
Jin Fei scolded, “You call this not bullying? Thinking he’s less sensitive because he acts thick-skinned and poking knives at him, believing he can heal himself easily – is that not bullying?”
Guo Li, neither daring to retaliate nor run away, thought, “Damn it, this feels like schoolyard violence… TAT.”
“But if it weren’t for Su Bin’s cluelessness, things wouldn’t have turned out like this!” Guo Li said with a sense of injustice, “What kind of man dates a beautiful woman like Suhan for three years and remains so indifferent? It’s a waste of her youth… I can’t stand it!”
Jin Fei hit him again and, while agreeing with Guo Li in his mind, scolded him, “You scoundrel! What business is it of yours whether he’s indifferent or not?”
Guo Li said, “Alright, it’s my fault, I’m a scoundrel…” Help!
Jin Fei said, “Since you’re so apologetic, I’ll spare you this time. Let’s go, we’ll continue watching the show.”
Guo Li: “…”
When they returned, they saw that the situation had changed.
They saw Allen holding Su Bin in his arms and saying to Huang Zhengming in clear Mandarin, “Su Bin is mine.”
Guo Li asked Jin Fei out of the blue, “Does this foreigner know how to speak Chinese? He said Su Bin is his… What does that mean?”
Jin Fei coughed, “He’s just started learning Chinese, his expression wasn’t great. What he meant is that Su Bin is his roommate.” – Oh my god! Allen can actually speak Chinese?
Su Bin didn’t have the energy to dwell on when Allen learned another sentence in Chinese. He struggled to say, “Allen, let go of me first. I need to talk to him!” But no matter how hard he struggled, Allen held him easily, as if it took no effort at all.
“You guys can’t explain this clearly,” Allen said affectionately in Su Bin’s ear in front of Huang Zhengming, “I’m running out of patience to watch this.” – I don’t want to see anyone else crying for me.
Su Bin could only maintain this awkward posture of being held around the waist and said to Huang Zhengming, “Huang Zhengming! If you’ve done it, then stand by it! Don’t make me not only hate you but also despise you! As for forgiveness, I said it’s impossible… at least not now!”
Huang Zhengming seemed to have not heard what Su Bin just said. He looked at the foreigner and asked, “Who is he?”
Su Bin cursed, “Fuck,” feeling utterly confused. Huang Zhengming’s reaction made him feel like his powerful words just hit a cotton ball, so powerless!
Su Bin glared at Huang Zhengming in frustration and was about to pull Allen away.
Unexpectedly, Allen suddenly gestured at Huang Zhengming, and in a voice only the three of them could hear, he said, “I am Su Bin’s owner.”
Huang Zhengming’s English was decent, so he could understand a few simple sentences. When he saw the provocative look in Allen’s eyes, he suddenly trembled all over. Owner?… What does that mean?
“If you want to touch him, you need my permission,” Allen’s eyes and actions demonstrated his possessiveness of Su Bin and a warning – don’t have any inappropriate thoughts.
Huang Zhengming: “…”
Su Bin, embarrassed and blushing, said, “What are you talking about…”
Allen lowered his eyes and looked coldly at Su Bin. In an instant, Su Bin understood. It was a unique threat from Allen – if you dare to say a word to him again, I’ll do even more outrageous things to you.
Su Bin shivered and quickly said, “Let’s… let’s go back!”
Huang Zhengming was anxious and wanted to reach out and grab Su Bin’s hand. “Are you going with him?” But before he could touch Su Bin, the perspective suddenly spun around. When Huang Zhengming reacted, he had already fallen to the ground…
Chen Xiaotian shouted Huang Zhengming’s name and broke free from Lena’s hold. She rushed to his side, helped him up, and cried, “Are you okay?”
Huang Zhengming shook his head to indicate he was fine. He looked dazedly at the man who had just thrown him out. He didn’t understand how Allen had done it. Su Bin had just hit him so many times, and he was still standing. But that one hit had left his scalp tingling…
At this moment, his whole body was in pain – from Su Bin’s punches, from the grip earlier, and from the impact of hitting the ground.
He didn’t see clearly, but Chen Xiaotian did. She looked at Allen with a terrified expression and said, “Don’t… don’t hurt him.”
Allen sneered, took Su Bin’s arm, and walked in the direction of the hotel – don’t hurt Huang Zhengming? If he hadn’t touched Su Bin, Allen wouldn’t have been interested in getting physical!
“Hey, hey!” Su Bin grabbed Allen, stopped, and said to Chen Xiaotian as he held Allen, “When we broke up, you told me on the phone that you believed I would find someone better than you. I want to thank you for that… I’ve found that person now, so you can rest assured. Don’t come looking for me again.”
As Su Bin said this, he was still being held by Allen. Beside him stood Jin Fei and the beautiful girl Lena. Standing with them, he didn’t look out of place at all. He had really changed a lot, grown, and matured.
Chen Xiaotian moved her lips but only whispered softly, “Su Bin, I don’t expect your forgiveness… I still wish you happiness. More and more.” Su Bin glanced at her, pretending not to see the disappointment in her eyes, and turned away without hesitation.
Jin Fei glanced at the three of them, as if he hadn’t had enough of the drama. He sighed, took a few hundred yuan from his wallet, and handed it to the pitiful-looking Guo Li, “Take your friend to the hospital…” He also gave Guo Li’s head a couple of pats, “Don’t come back. That foreigner isn’t as kind as me… We’ll be leaving soon too. Su Bin has a soft heart. Today, he vented his frustration. He might feel better after a while.”
Guo Li held the money, speechless and choked up. This guy, kind-hearted? Is he joking?
Just then, Huang Zhengming suddenly pushed Chen Xiaotian away, sprang up from the ground, and rushed in the direction of the four leaving figures. He panicked and shouted Su Bin’s name, “Su Bin! Su Bin!”
