Please confess to me [rebirth] 31

Chapter 31

　　

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Because people still needed to work on Monday, so after lunch the next day everyone set off back to S City. For most of them, it felt like they barely arrived before needing to leave again. But Shen Xi felt like so much time had passed. After all, her relationship with Su Hang had taken such a huge leap forward. 

After a three and a half hour flight, the plane landed at S City Airport.

The four people dragged their luggage out of the passageway, and when they arrived at the elevators, Su Hang said to Shen Xi: "I'll go get the car in the parking lot. Just wait for me at the exit."

"I'll go with you." Shen Xi insisted.

"I can go alone; It'll be boring." Su Hang shook his head.

"Then give me the luggage." Shen Xi replied, reaching for the bags Su Hang was holding.

"I can take it." Su Hang avoided Shen Xi's hands and said: "Just wait for me."

Shen Xi's cheeks turned a little red. Su Hang's doting tone made her feel very spoiled. Especially when Yun Shu was pointedly blinking at her. In the end, Shen Xi could only nod her head while feeling embarrassed.

Su Hang nodded back, then turned towards the parking lot.

Shen Xi watched Su Hang's retreating figure and thought to herself: This man really doesn't do things half-baked. Even just getting the car was done with such a determined stride.

"Then wait at the entrance with Xiao Xi. I'll get my car and drive you back." Shang HeXu said to Yun Shu.

"Un." Yun Shu nodded.

Shang HeXu smiled, then dragged his luggage towards the parking lot.

"I realized something." Yun Shu said as she watched Shang HeXu leave.

"What?" Shen Xi asked.

"Your Mr. Su, the man who had been hostile to HeXu this entire trip, deliberately walked away first so he wouldn't have to walk with HeXu to the parking lot. I guess he's still immensely jealous." Yun Shu joked.

"It's not like that. They just aren't that familiar with each other." Shen Xi replied.

"Fine, fine, keep lying to yourself. But I know you can see it just as well as I do." Yun Shu said with a smirk.

"What do you want me to do?" Shen Xi helplessly said. "If I told him not to get jealous of Shang HeXu, do you think it'll actually change anything?"

"It depends on how you say it." Yun Shu's expression suddenly turned indecent. "For example, you can wear some sexy lingerie and whisper it into his ear."
　　　
"Shut up!" A red Shen Xi angrily pushed Yun Shu away.

"Hahahaha...." Yun Shu laughed hard.

"I'm ignoring you." Shen Xi walked off in a huff.

After Yun Shu's laughter petered off, she grabbed her luggage and ran to catch up with Shen Xi. The two chatted while they walked towards the airport entrance.

"I used to think that Su Hang was nothing but a boring man. But after this morning, I realized that he's a pretty interesting person." Yun Shu commented.

"What happened this morning?" Shen Xi doubtfully asked.

"He quarreled with YingYing." Yun Shu replied with a smile.

"YingYing? Really??" Su Hang was a man of few words. Even with her, he only says a few more words. With strangers, he basically doesn't pay any attention to them.

"YingYing ran over to Su Hang while he was out in the yard and said that she hated Su Hang. She said that the reason you didn't become her sister-in-law was because of Su Hang." Yun Shu explained.

Shen Xu was stunned, and her expression turned strange. She knew there had been rumors about her and Shang HeXu, but because no one had ever mentioned it to her, and Shang HeXu had never expressed such things, she had always regarded it as nothing more than boring gossip. It wasn't until Yun Shu had said something in the charity banquet that she began to pay more attention to her relationship with Shang HeXu. It was also why she had been so awkward when she ran into Shang HeXu in the town yesterday.

Not to mention, Yun Shu liked...

"Guess what your Mr. Su said?" Yun Shu smirked.

"What did he say?" Shen Xi put aside her thoughts and asked.

"He said to YingYing: 'If you're thinking of becoming my younger sister, you can forget about it.'"  When Yun Shu thought back to YingYing's outraged expression, she couldn't help but chuckle. "He knew that YingYing didn't mean it like that, but he deliberately angered the little girl anyway. You should've seen her, ah. She was jumping around, having a huge tantrum."

"Pfft-" Shen Xi didn't realize Su Hang had such an evil side to him. As she thought of Su Hang, the events from last night inevitably came rushing back. She turned towards Yun Shu and asked: "Do you know where you can laminate photos?"

"Laminate photos? Aren't electronic photos more popular these days? Why do you have to laminate them?" Yun Shu asked.

"I wanted to laminate these." Shen Xi took out a white folded paper from her bag.

A curious Yun Shu opened the folded paper. She recognized the drawing to be a map of BaGua town. It looked a lot like the map on the sign just outside of the town, but it was drawn more roughly. "Isn't this a map of BaGua town? Why did you draw this?"

"I didn't draw it." Shen Xi replied.
　　　
"You didn't?" Yun Shu looked at the map more carefully. Then, as if she realized something, she looked at Shen Xi incredulously. "Su Hang drew this while he was looking for you yesterday?"
　
"He did." Shen Xi said. "When I saw that map, I realized just how long he'd been looking for me."

"My God." Yun Shu was in total disbelief. "I suddenly feel a little moved."

Nothing more was needed to be said. This hand-drawn map showed just how hard it was for Su Hang in that maze of a town. In order to find Shen Xi, Su Hang had gone through every street, every alley, stepped on every single bluestone lane.

Shen Xi smiled but didn't say anything else. She found the map in Su Hang's pockets when they arrived back at YingYing's home. While Su Hang was busy taking a bath, Shen Xi looked at the roughly drawn map, tears involuntarily falling down her face. She wanted to keep it. Every line in this map showed Su Hang's love for her- It charted Su Hang's journey and eventual confession to her.

"There's a photo studio near my apartment; I can take the map and get it laminated for you?" Yun Shu suggested.

"No." Shen Xi shook her head and took the map back. With a smile, she said: "I'll just visit you tomorrow."

"Oh, I get it." Yun Shu's expression became exaggerated.

Suddenly, a black Mercedes Benz stopped in front of the two women. Su Hang opened the door and got off the car. He nodded to Shen Xi first, then opened the passenger car door of Shen Xi.

"Do you want me to wait with you?" Shen Xi asked Yun Shu.

"No need." Yun Shu replied. "Hurry and go, this is the entrance. You can't park here for too long. You go on ahead."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." Shen Xi waved goodbye and entered the car.

Su Hang closed the passenger car door, gave Yun Shu a final nod, then got into the driver's seat. He started the car then carefully drove out of the airport.

After some time, Shang HeXu arrived. He got off the car and helped Yun Shu store her luggage in the trunk, then sent her home.

It had been almost 5:00 p.m. when the plane landed, and it was winter, so the sky darkened early. By the time Shang HeXu reached Yun Shu's apartment, it was already dark.

Shang HeXu helped Yun Shu get her luggage out of the car. As Yun Shu took her suitcase, she suddenly put out an invitation: "Senior, do you want to eat dinner together?"

"Ah? No, it's alright. We've been in such a hurry all day; go have an early rest." Shang HeXu shook his head in refusal, then walked back towards the driver's side. He opened the car door and was about to get in when Yun Shu called out to him again.

"Senior!" Yun Shu watched a puzzled Shang HeXu turn towards her. She asked: "Do you remember what I told you last time?"

Shang HeXu frowned; he didn't know what she was referring to.

"At the charity banquet." Yun Shu reminded him.

"...." Shang HeXu suddenly remembered. But he didn't know how to answer her. He had always thought that Yun Shu had just been joking, so Shang HeXu didn't know why Yun Shu decided to unexpectedly mention it again. All of a sudden, he was nervous.

"I said that I liked you back then. I meant it." Yun Shu firmly stated.

"Yun Shu..." Shang HeXu didn't expect Yun Shu to suddenly confess to him tonight. He was at a loss.

"No need to panic; just hear me out." With the car between them, Yun Shu looked at the man she had been secretly in love with for years. "Last night, when we went back into town to look for Xiao Xi and Su Hang....under the bridge, when I saw the look you gave Xiao Xi, I felt jealous and hurt."

"I...."

"Hear me out." Yun Shu stopped him. "The three of us grew up together. I liked you very early on. Around the same time you began developing feelings for Xiao Xi, actually."

"Xiao Xi is my good friend. Since the Shen family and your family basically approved in you two's future relationship, I decided to hide my feelings for you. Even Xiao Xi didn't know." Yun Shu explained. "But then something happened. Xiao Xi married Su Hang. I asked her, you know. I asked her if she had feelings for you."

Shang HeXu already knew the answer. Yesterday, Shen Xi had refused to leave the town with him, and then he saw her kissing Su Hang on the bridge. All this made Shang HeXu understand something. This so-called fate wasn't about who finds the other party first. Instead, it was about finding someone who was waiting for you. The man Shen Xi was waiting for had never been him. After realizing this, Shang HeXu was finally able to let go completely.

"I was going to pursue you, but I've changed my mind. I don't want to pursue you." Yun Shu's smile was honest and prideful. "I deserve better. I won't let myself be wronged by pursuing someone who already has another in their heart."

More importantly, if you aren't able to forget about Shen Xi, I feel like I'll end up hating her. Even if she's my best friend.

Shang HeXu suddenly felt relieved.

"So Senior Shang HeXu, our relationship will stay the same as before." Yun Shu finished.

"Good." Shang HeXu replied with a warm smile and a nod.

"Of course, if one day you decide to pursue me, I'll graciously give you a chance." Yun Shu smiled. "But, you'll have to defeat my other suitors first."

"I know. Even abroad, I've heard about all the men pursuing you. Miss Yun Shu, I'm pretty sure the line is already ten miles long." Shang HeXu knew that Yun Shu was trying to diffuse the awkward atmosphere, so he cooperated.

"That's right." With one last smile, Yun Shu picked up her luggage and said: "Thank you for driving me back. Bye."

"Bye."

After watching Yun Shu enter her apartment, Shang HeXu suddenly felt a great sense of desolation. The person he liked and the person who liked him both left on the same day. With a weak smile, Shang HeXu hoped that next time, the person he likes and the person who likes him will end up being the same.





When Shen Xi and Su Hang arrived home, Mrs. Zhang had already prepared dinner.

Chu Wu hadn't seen his parents for a few days already. The moment Shen Xi got out of the car, Chu Wu jumped into her arms. Su Hang watched this heartwarming scene for a full five seconds before walking over and taking the heavy Chu Wu away. He then held Chu Wu's head and loudly ordered: "You're not allowed to rub against mom's arms. Do you hear me?"

"Bark!" Chu Wu wagged his tail excitedly.

Su Hang took this as a 'yes.' He let go of Chu Wu's head with a nod. Who knew that the moment Su Hang let go, Chu Wu would throw himself back into Shen Xi's arms.

"Chu Wu!" Su Hang held Chu Wu back by holding the dog's waist and said: "Did you hear what I just said?"

"What are you doing? How can a dog understand what you're saying?" Shen Xi laughed.

"If he doesn't understand, then I'll just keep repeating it until he does." Su Hang planned to continue teaching Chu Wu on how to be a good dog.

"You might as well tell me instead. At least I understand what you're trying to say." Shen Xi said with a chuckle. "What's your request?"

Shen Xi looked at Su Hang with great interest. Of course, she doesn't believe that Su Hang would actually ask her not to play with Chu Wu.

"That....that...." While his expression remained hesitant, a scheming light flashed in Su Hang's eyes. He wavered for a long time before finally asking with a timid voice: "When I'm around, can you not always go straight to Chu Wu?"

"Chu Wu's the one who rubs against me, ah. I wasn't the one who took the initiative." Shen Xi had no words.

"Then...I'll be the one who hugs you first." Su Hang suddenly looked up, with Chu Wu doing the exact same thing. They even had the same pitiful gaze.

"You..." Shen Xi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.




The author has something to say:

Shang YingYing: I hate you. Sister Shen Xi was my sister-in-law.

Su Hang: You want to be my sister? Hah, no way!

Shang YingYing: Who wants to be your sister!

Su Hang: If Shen Xi is your sister-in-law, then you'd have to be my sister.

Shang YingYing feels so angry she might faint...




***

This was a significant chapter, ah. Shen Xi felt Su Hang's love, Shang HeXu can finally let go, and Yun Shu decided to put herself first and move on. I honestly hope that Yun Shu ends up with her original husband and not Shang HeXu.



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