GLIHBN Chapter 45
by VolareChapter 45: Stress Response
Xu Chongming ignored Qiao Yu and stormed back to his hotel room. He grabbed Du Li, who was on the floor, by the collar, and choked his neck, saying furiously, “Did you think that if you made Su Shi break up with me, I would be with you?”
Du Li had completely given up on this hopeless, abnormal, one-sided “relationship.” He didn’t resist, allowing Xu Chongming to choke his most vulnerable throat. He met Xu Chongming’s gaze head-on with a desperate resolve, squeezing out a sentence, “If I can’t have the person I love, you can forget about having the person you love either.”
“You…” This was revenge. Xu Chongming gritted his teeth, his grip tightening, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. He watched as Du Li’s face turned increasingly red from suffocation.
If murder wasn’t illegal, Xu Chongming thought he would just strangle Du Li to death right then and there.
In Xu Chongming’s heart, there was a clearly marked scale. Su Shi was the heaviest weight, while Du Li was just a bit of fun to pass the time in a foreign country, not comparable to Su Shi at all.
Du Li had taken the initiative to seduce him. Xu Chongming had stated more than once that their relationship was only temporary, something that couldn’t be seen in the light of day, and would have to end completely after returning to China.
Du Li’s family was of average means. His parents had used all their resources to send him to the same school as Xu Chongming. In exchange, Xu Chongming had provided Du Li with a lot of financial support.
Xu Chongming had originally thought that Du Li understood and was willing to make this deal.
He hadn’t expected Du Li to be serious.
At the last moment, Xu Chongming released his grip.
Regaining oxygen, Du Li gasped for air. In a relationship that was unequal from the start, the person who fell in love first was always the loser. Du Li never had a chance of winning with Xu Chongming.
Xu Chongming pinched Du Li’s chin. “If it wasn’t illegal, I really would want you to disappear from this world.”
Du Li gave a bleak smile. “Does Su Shi know you have so many faces? In front of him, you’re a deeply affectionate gentleman. In front of me, you’re a ruthless and vicious bastard. In front of outsiders, you’re a well-read and reasonable young man. In front of your mother, you’re a useless coward.”
Exposed like this, Xu Chongming sneered, “Knowing I’m a bastard and still liking me, aren’t you just asking for trouble, reaping what you sow? Do I care about your affection?”
“I know you don’t care, I’ve always known.” Tears welled up in Du Li’s eyes again, a laugh mixed with crying. “But maybe I was too deeply infatuated with you back in college. The more you rejected me, the more I felt you were worth liking. To follow you, I tried every possible way to go to the school you were going to. Later, I realized you weren’t worth my affection at all, but what could I do? Once I liked you, I just liked you.”
Xu Chongming said harshly, “Your affection is worthless to me.”
Du Li barely stopped his tears. “Your affection for Su Shi is now equally despised by him.”
Mentioning Su Shi, a crack finally appeared in Xu Chongming’s ferocious facade. “I’ll win him back. I like him.”
“Didn’t you see how disgusted he looked at you just now? You can’t win him back. No one will want to return to a liar.”
“Shut up.” Suddenly thinking of something, Xu Chongming pressed Du Li again, “Who told you I was going on a blind date to get married?”
“There are good people who can’t stand what you’re doing and want to act on behalf of Heaven.”
Xu Chongming glared at Du Li, pressing again, “Speak.”
Du Li’s face changed, his voice sinking. “Someone sent me an anonymous email. I verified that it was true.”
Xu Chongming thought, who could it be? Someone who knew about him and Du Li, and also knew all his movements.
Xu Chongming hadn’t expected that such a terrible person was hiding by his side.
“You booked the room, so you can go to the hotel and demand an explanation. Letting people swipe their card to enter at will, the security of this hotel is really questionable.”
After saying this, Xu Chongming strode away.
Du Li looked at the resolute back, his heart throbbing with pain.
On Su Shi’s side, Su Shi followed Song Qingyan, letting Song Qingyan take him wherever she wanted. He didn’t know how he got into the car, nor did he hear what Song Qingyan was saying in his ear. When he came to his senses, he was already lying in bed.
Looking around, he realized that this was Song Qingyan’s home.
Song Qingyan tucked the blanket around Su Shi. “Stay here with me for now. Take a break.”
Only Song Qingyan knew that Su Shi had used all his strength when confronting Xu Chongming just now.
The seemingly carefree turn was actually causing a hidden pain.
After undergoing too much stimulation, the brain would experience a brief blank period and need to recover. Su Shi felt his strength slowly returning, and he took Song Qingyan’s hand, saying, “Don’t worry, I think I’m okay.”
Su Shi was never a person to drag things out. He would break up cleanly, without a trace of lingering affection. But to say he wasn’t sad was of course a lie, after all, it was a relationship of so many years.
Suddenly, Su Shi’s stomach churned again. He clutched his mouth and rushed out of the room.
Song Qingyan was so frightened that she quickly followed, “Su Shi, what’s wrong?
Su Shi stammered, “Toilet.”
“It’s over there.”
Su Shi had only been to Song Qingyan’s house once or twice, and he had forgotten where the toilet was. As soon as he entered the toilet, he “whooshed” and vomited into the toilet. Fortunately, it was timely enough, otherwise vomiting outside would have been too embarrassing.
The expensive and delicious steak was vomited out completely, becoming foul-smelling and disgusting waste.
Su Shi felt even more nauseous smelling it, and he gagged several more times.
Song Qingyan knocked on the toilet door from outside. “Su Shi, how are you? Do you want to go to the hospital?”
Cough cough cough.
Finally finished vomiting, Su Shi flushed the toilet clean, wiped the dirt off the edge with a paper towel, and threw the paper towel into the trash can next to him. Su Shi walked to the sink, turned on the faucet, and cupped his hands to rinse his mouth, rinsing several times until he was sure there was no more unpleasant smell.
“I’m okay,” Su Shi said to Song Qingyan outside the door.
Song Qingyan finally felt relieved and quietly waited outside.
Su Shi cupped several handfuls of water to wash his face, the water wetting the bangs on his forehead, water droplets dripping from his hair.
Su Shi looked up at himself in the mirror, his eyes vacant and his complexion not very good, and muttered to himself, “Still not decent enough.”
However, this was already the most decent he could be.
Su Shi opened the door, and Song Qingyan put down her arms, which were crossed in front of her chest, to support him. “Vomited?”
Su Shi thought that this was probably a stress response. “Yeah, threw up everything.”
“That’s good.”
It was good to vomit, to get it all over with. “Don’t think too much, get a good night’s sleep.”
“Qingyan, I want to take a shower and change my clothes.”
Song Qingyan didn’t expect that Su Shi would still want to take a shower and change his clothes at this time. It seemed that her buddy was really okay. “Okay, I’ll prepare it for you.”
Su Shi was indeed tired, mentally and physically, but he would not easily change his attitude of maintaining a clean and tidy life at all times.
After taking a shower, Su Shi lay down. He thought he would be restless and unable to sleep, but he didn’t expect to fall into a deep sleep in less than ten minutes after touching the pillow.