Wife, please behave yourself.

Chapter 31 I’ll take you home
"What are you here for?"

The man's words finally brought Ning Mengyao back from her daze.

Looking up, the two people in the stairwell were facing each other.

"I didn't even send a text message before I came, and now is the time when I'm really busy."

"..."

Ning Mengyao heard the man's question clearly at that moment.

However, she did not want to explain why, but looked at Li Mingche in front of her with a complicated expression.

After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth and asked.

"Why did you just say I was your cousin?"

"..."

"Who is that girl? Why..."

"You're so annoying!"

At first, there was silence, but when Ning Mengyao asked about Xu Wenwen's identity, Li Mingche suddenly raised his voice.

Seeing Ning Mengyao suddenly tremble, he looked away with disdain.

Do you think it would have been okay if I hadn't said that?

"You think this is your run-down flower shop?"

"Please, use your brain, okay? Everyone who works here is either rich or powerful."

"..."

His gaze shifted again, landing on Ning Mengyao, who was dressed casually in front of him.

At this moment, the disdain in Li Mingche's eyes was undisguised.

"Look at how you're dressed now, as if you're afraid people won't know you're a poor wretch?"

"Why do you think I bought a nicer suit? Isn't it just to fit in better with them?"

"You don't even wear makeup? Do you think you're still young?"

"You're almost 30, you're not a little girl anymore!"

"..."

One complaint after another.

With each word that came out of Li Mingche's mouth, Ning Mengyao's head drooped a little lower.

Looking down at the ground, the toes of her shoes came into view.

She shrank back, as if that would hide her old sneakers.

"This is such a hassle. Could you please not come to the company anymore?"

"..."

Ning Mengyao stood there without saying a word.

Li Mingche noticed her silent demeanor, which amplified his already strong dislike for her.

He just hates the way the other person is.

No makeup, no dressing up.

She always wore old clothes that looked cheap.

If I raise my voice even slightly, I can't utter a single word for ages.

When you're young, this kind of girlish behavior can make you feel sorry for her.

Now that she's an adult, continuing to look like this will only make Li Mingche dislike her.

"I really hate myself for helping you in the first place. I should have let those people bully you to death."

"..."

The motion-sensor lights in the stairwell, which had been off, turned on again when the emergency door was slammed shut.

Only now did he dare to raise his gaze, which had been lowered all along.

Ning Mengyao stared at the safety door in front of her.

It's as if 16-year-old Li Mingche is right there.

Covered in wounds, he blocked the door that was being repeatedly pounded.

He watched over her as she hid inside the house...

----------

early morning.

Liu Changcun was awakened from his deep sleep by a series of cell phone ringtones.

Still half-asleep, he kept his eyes closed, fumbling for his phone by the bedside.

After finally getting his hands on it, he flipped open the phone.

The sudden light stung his eyes.

I opened one eye and closed the other, glancing groggily at the nickname on the screen.

Lemon tea

"..."

My mind went blank for a short time, and I don't know how long it took before I came to my senses.

Listening to my phone still vibrating and ringing in my hand, I wondered why it would call me so late.

Realizing what was happening, Liu Changcun answered the call.

Place the phone next to your ear.

"Hey."

Mr. Liu...

"Ok?"

The indistinct address came through the receiver into my ear.

Based solely on this form of address, Liu Changcun deduced that the other person seemed to have been drinking.

Only when someone has drunk too much alcohol will they speak with a slurred speech.

"you've been drinking?"

I drank just a little bit...

Judging from the looks of it, he must have drunk quite a bit, since only drunk people would mumble that they didn't drink much.

"You have to go to work tomorrow, you should get some rest, it's already this late."

You asked me... why do people live?

The topic suddenly became profound.

Liu Changcun, who was originally going to continue persuading the other party to rest early, was stunned on the bed.

Mr. Liu, life seems so tiring... I feel like life is so hard...

Why do you keep calling me Mr. Liu?

You don't like it? Then I'll just call you Boss Liu!

Ning Mengyao on the phone was completely different from her usual self.

At that moment, the woman on the other end of the phone seemed to have let herself go.

He continued muttering incoherently.

Mr. Liu is a good person... He was still willing to answer my call so late...

"Hehe, I forgot to mute my phone before going to sleep."

[You always say these weird things. If I didn't want to answer, I would have hung up already...] [Such a hypocritical Mr. Liu.]

【Hehe~】

"..."

What's so funny about this?

Liu Changcun, who had been silent, had fully regained his senses.

He propped himself up on the bed frame with his arms, maintaining the position of continuing the call, and sat up against the headboard.

[How refreshing... What a long river...]

Just as he was about to speak, Liu Changcun heard the voice coming from the receiver.

After a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly became alert.

"You're by the river?"

Yes~

"where?"

【By the river~】

"I know it's by the river, but which river?"

That's the river!

"..."

Liu Changcun hates chatting with drunks.

Even talking to a babbling baby is easier than communicating with a drunk person.

The incoherent rambling coming through the receiver grew louder and louder until all Liu Changcun could hear was the other person complaining.

Human nerves are like a taut string.

If you keep stretching yourself too tightly, it will eventually break.

Ning Mengyao must be in this situation right now.

Beside the bridge.

Ning Mengyao, holding up her phone, was still shouting with all her might.

Summer nights are not as hot as the days.

Especially above the river, at the bridge railings.

A gentle breeze brought a cool sensation that soothed her flushed and hot cheeks.

Far from the bustling city center, you can see the night view simply by looking up from this bridge.

The sky was very dark.

It was pitch black with only a few scattered spots.

The alcohol made Ning Mengyao's body gradually weaken, and her blurred vision made it impossible for her to see the river in front of her.

Scattered aluminum cans lay on the ground, tipping and rolling in the wind.

The spilled wheat juice flowed and extended along the cracks in the ground.

"Mr. Liu, hello... Mr. Liu?"

She kept shouting into the phone until she heard no response, then Ning Mengyao brought the phone, which was sticking out of the railing, to her eyes.

Looking at the call that had ended long ago, he was first stunned, then lowered his head and laughed.

I guess I'm just too annoying.

Even the usually good-natured bookstore owner couldn't stand himself like this.

His limp body slid down, and his hands, which had been gripping the railing, finally fell limply due to exhaustion.

The dizziness made it impossible for Ning Mengyao to even stand up.

He could only lean against the iron railing and slowly reach out to pick up the aluminum can next to him.

"empty……"

I shook it; the can in my hand was so light it was almost weightless.

With a soft chuckle, the limp hand slowly loosened its grip, and the fallen can rolled down the slope of the bridge.

It rolled further and further away.

"what do I do……"

A soft murmur escaped her lips.

On this quiet, deserted bridge, only she could hear it.

"so tired……"

"Life is so hard..."

A mist rose in her vision, making it impossible for Ning Mengyao to see anything clearly.

She felt like she cried a lot.

I would cry when I was bullied at school.

She cries when she receives Li Mingche's concern.

I cry when I'm burdened with debt.

Even the bookstore owner's concern for her would make her cry.

She seems to have an endless supply of tears; she cries uncontrollably whenever she receives even the slightest bit of concern from others.

Ning Mengyao hates this version of herself.

She disliked being constantly crying.

It was as if... all the happy days disappeared along with the tears she shed.

It seems that she made life this way.

Life has turned out like this...

"Da da……"

The hurried footsteps in the distance gradually slowed down.

The dizziness made it impossible for Ning Mengyao to see her surroundings clearly.

Following the direction from which the sound came, they could vaguely make out a panting figure.

They gradually approached her.

The car's headlights blinded her.

She just watched as the man in the shadows drew closer and closer.

Until I came to stand before her.

Just like when Li Mingche was 16, he reached out his palm to her.

"Can you still stand up?"

"..."

34-year-old Liu Changcun took a taxi and searched three bridges before finally finding the other person.

Looking at Ning Mengyao, who was constantly shedding tears, he didn't complain, but simply reached out his hand.

"Get up, the ground is so dirty."

He grasped the woman's hand, feeling her icy-cold body temperature.

"I'll take you home."

(End of this chapter)