Chapter 6.2

Back home, after coaxing Yangyang to bed and making sure he was asleep, Cheng Yu opened the refrigerator and took out two cans of chilled beer.

“Want to drink?” She offered.

Du Lingyun had originally planned to go to the study to check a few emails. Seeing her take the initiative to invite him, he paused. “You want to drink beer? Not red wine?”

The way he looked at her carried a hint of strangeness.

She did not understand. “If you want red wine, that is fine too.”

“No, I meant…” He paused, then suddenly smiled with a touch of self-mockery. “You never drank beer before. You said it was something only crude men drank, that people with taste would not touch it.”

Now it was her turn to be stunned. “But I saw a whole case of beer in the fridge, and lately you have been drinking it occasionally…”

“So that is why you used to look down on me for lacking taste!” He said half-jokingly.

Even though his tone was playful, she still felt uncomfortable hearing it. “That is not true at all! Who says people who drink beer have no taste? Beer is delicious, especially the fruit-flavored ones!”

Hearing that, he raised an eyebrow and laughed. “No wonder I thought the fridge suddenly had pineapple and mango-flavored beers lately. Turns out you secretly bought them.”

“Why would I buy them secretly? I bought them openly.” She pursed her lips.

That cute little gesture again. Du Lingyun’s heart stirred. He could not help reaching over to ruffle her hair. Before she could protest, he snatched one of the cans.

She was startled. “Where are you going?”

“Did you not invite me to drink? Let us go outside.”

With those words, he led her out through the floor-to-ceiling window to the spacious balcony, where two lounge chairs were placed.

The night was hazy with moonlight, shadows of flowers swaying gently. The two each took a chair, opened their beers, and sipped slowly. He drank the authentic Taiwanese beer, while she chose a can of pineapple-flavored.

The night was exceptionally beautiful tonight, with a few stars twinkling brightly in the clear sky.

Bathed in starlight, the two quietly enjoyed this peaceful moment.

Cheng Yu reached out and gently played with a potted lily-of-the-valley at her feet. The pure white flowers hung in clusters like wind chimes, swaying silently in the night, just like her mood at this moment.

She gathered her courage bit by bit, thinking about where to begin.

Du Lingyun had long noticed her hesitation. He waited patiently. After a long while, Cheng Yu finally spoke softly.

“Let me ask you something. How did we meet before?”

He was taken aback, not expecting that question. “You want to know?”

“Yes.” She nodded, her bright eyes fixed on him intently.

Seeing the seriousness in her eyes, he became serious too. “One time, I went to a pub with friends to watch a European soccer match broadcast. You happened to be there with your friends too. Later, your friend had to leave early for something, so you were left alone. A drunk guy started bothering you…”

“You were the one who helped me?” That sounded exactly like something he would do.

“Yes.”

“So you fell in love with me at first sight?”

He laughed, his dark eyes sparkling with an unusual light. “No, you fell in love with me at first sight.”

“Ah?”

“You immediately said you wanted to thank me and insisted on treating me to dinner. You even demanded my phone number.”

His amused gaze made her feel a little overwhelmed. She muttered softly. “What is that supposed to mean? It sounds like you were unwilling to give it.”

“Not unwilling. I just had never met a girl that way before.” He explained.

“And then?”

“And then the next day, after work, I found you waiting downstairs at my company.”

He remembered she had been wearing a very pretty short skirt, sexy and vibrant. It drew many envious glances and teasing winks from his male colleagues, who all said he was so lucky!

Thinking of that, Du Lingyun smiled faintly.

Cheng Yu listened, feeling an inexplicable sourness in her heart for some reason. “Then when did you start liking me?”

He thought about it seriously. “I cannot really say when. I think feelings gradually accumulate over time!” To be honest, if he had to recall a dramatic, earth-shattering moment of falling in love, there really was none.

He looked at her somewhat dazed expression. “You are disappointed, right? I have never been a romantic person.”

He had never believed in the kind of dreamy love seen in movies. He believed more that any affection is cultivated bit by bit through daily interactions.

“…So you used to say I was not romantic enough.” He added, unable to hide the self-mockery.

Hearing that, her chest tightened. She could not help retorting. “What is romance? Can you eat it?”

He had not expected her to ask that and looked at her in surprise.

She noticed his astonishment but did not explain. After all, where was there so much romance in real life? She had had enough of those unrealistic notions.

She lowered her eyes slightly, avoiding his strange gaze. “Then how did we end up getting married later?”

He was silent for two seconds. “It just happened naturally.”

How could it “just happen naturally”? What kind of answer was that? “You at least proposed, right!”

“Yes, I did.” Du Lingyun nodded seriously.

He was not foolish enough to tell her that it was actually because the two had gotten drunk, spent the night together, and later when she said she was pregnant, he hurriedly bought a ring and proposed in a rush.

He thought no woman would be happy hearing such a process.

Yet she continued to press. “Then tell me how you proposed?”

How could he say that?

Du Lingyun felt awkward. “Do you really want to hear?”

Cheng Yu bit her lip.

Actually, she did not want to hear. Why would she want to know how he proposed to another woman? It would only make her feel depressed.

“Forget it. You do not have to say.”

She did not see the man quietly breathe a sigh of relief. Without any hesitation, he quickly took the out she offered and raised his can to her.

“Were we not going to drink? Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

The two clinked their beer cans. The crisp sound echoed pleasantly in the night.

Cheng Yu drank most of her can and finally felt a slight buzz. She also gathered her courage. Her watery bright eyes gazed at the man beside her.

“Do you not want to know at all?”

“Know what?”

“About me and Deng… about what happened with that Attorney Deng.”

“Do you want to tell me?” He countered with a question, his expression calm.

“If I do not want to say, you will not ask?” She probed.

He nodded as if it was obvious. “If you do not say, I will not ask.”

“You…” She suddenly felt a little angry, so stifled she could hardly speak. “Are you an idiot!”

“Fool! Dummy!” She scolded irritably, venting the indescribable heartache and pity in her heart. “This is exactly how you were before. That is why you were… bullied by me…”

He gazed at her deeply. “You seem very upset about it.”

“Hmph!” She glared at him, turned her head away, and pursed her pale pink cherry lips again.

He chuckled softly and reached out to ruffle her hair.

He ignored her resistance and rubbed again, truly finding her little tantrum adorable.

Though she still felt a tiny bit dissatisfied, she could sense a certain pampering indulgence in his action. Her heart softened, and she sighed.

“About Attorney Deng…”

“Tell me.” He looked at her encouragingly, his eyes warm like spring sunlight.

She lowered her gaze. Her hands unconsciously gripped the beer can tightly to suppress her nervousness. “It seems… actually I am not sure if it is true, but based on what Attorney Deng said to me, it looks like I liked him before.”

Silence fell.

After waiting a long time without his response, she finally could not hold back and raised her eyes anxiously. “Do not be angry.”

Du Lingyun startled, noticing the panic in her expression mixed with a hint of pleading. He quickly comforted her. “I am not angry. I just…” He paused, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. “I am jealous.”

Jealous? She looked at him blankly.

He reached out as if to ruffle her hair again, but suddenly stopped and withdrew his hand, sighing softly. “I cannot blame you. Our relationship has not been good these past few years. No wonder you fell for another man.”

What! How could he completely not blame her and act so magnanimous!

“You idiot!” She inexplicably felt furious, almost frustrated that he was beyond saving. “How can you think that way? It was… I who wronged you before. You are so good to me, yet I was ungrateful and thought about other things. I was simply inexplicable! Blind! Ignoring the treasure in my hand to fancy some trash!”

She was so angry that the more she thought about it, the more upset she became. She rattled off a string of sharp words, even calling him trash.

Only after speaking did she suddenly jolt. She had actually said such things? No matter how angry or annoyed she was before, she had never spoken so harshly.

What was wrong with her?

Cheng Yu was utterly puzzled, but the man whose eyes had never left her for a moment seemed to understand. This was… her feeling sorry for him!

His chest suddenly swelled with a scorching hot emotion. His heart pounded like a drum, almost bursting out.

He could no longer hold back. He stood up and pulled this woman who moved his heart into his arms. “Lanxi, promise me. Stay like this forever, okay?”

“Ah?” She was stunned by his sudden passionate action, looking at him in confusion.

He was also looking down at her, his eyes full of deep affection. “I like the you right now.”

Cheng Yu’s mind spun as if struck by lightning, a roaring sound in her ears. “You, what did you say?”

“I said, I like the you right now.”

“More than before?”

“Yes.”

So that was why he hoped she would not change, to stay like this now. The current her was actually not Jian Lanxi. Did he know that?

No, it did not matter if he did not know. As long as he liked her, it was enough.

Cheng Yu lowered her head, her blushing face nestling against his chest like a little cat clinging to her owner.

“I… like you too.” She whispered softly. “Before… the way I treated you, I am really sorry.”

His heart surged with emotion. He tightened his arms, holding her closely. “Let the past be the past!”

She lifted her head in his embrace, her eyes misty.

He smiled at her. “Since you lost your memory, perhaps it is heaven’s will, allowing us to make a clean break from the past. All of yesterday is like yesterday’s death.”

“All of today is like today’s birth.” She murmured in continuation.

“Yes.” He nodded, his dark eyes bright as stars, deep as the sea. “As long as we have today, we can decide for today and choose for the future.”

Cheng Yu gazed at the man before her in a daze.

She understood his meaning.

But she also understood that today was not endless and could not be squandered, because you never know which day you might suddenly lose the chance to choose.

Jian Lanxi had lost it, but she still could. She still had the opportunity to choose.

And she chose to be with this man, to start loving him from today.

She stood on tiptoe and actively offered her soft cherry lips.