Chapter 249
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Chapter 249 Why Leave
“How about you sleep on the bed, and I’ll just sit on the sofa for the night,” Zhou Anke said. “It’s such a long way from Ninghai to Xijiang, you’ve been driving all day, you must be exhausted.”
“I’m not tired.” Su Rui glanced at the double bed, thinking that it was wide enough for two people without any problem, but while he thought this, he certainly couldn’t say it out loud.
There was only one single sofa in the room, and Su Rui couldn’t bear the thought of Zhou Anke sitting on it all night.
“I’ll sleep on the sofa, it’s fine. I can put a small stool in front of it and stretch my legs out straight.” These accommodations were already quite good for Su Rui.
“That won’t do. You’re a guest in my home, how could I let you sleep on the sofa?” Zhou Anke insisted.
Su Rui looked directly into her eyes and said, “Will you listen to me or not?”
“Huh?” Zhou Anke seemed surprised by Su Rui’s sudden question. It was indeed quite an intimate question. She instinctively replied, “I’ll listen…”
“Then that settles it, doesn’t it?”
…
After resolving the issue of who would sleep on the bed and who would sleep on the sofa, Zhou Anke and Su Rui took turns showering. For these two, sharing a bedroom and bathroom was something they wouldn’t have dared to imagine before, but this high-difficulty situation had been turned into reality by her formidable mother.
After washing up and lying on the bed and sofa respectively, neither of them felt sleepy, so they continued chatting.
Zhou Anke told Su Rui about interesting events from her childhood, and Su Rui listened attentively. Stories about being forced to practice calligraphy, falling into a lotus pond while boating, and getting her palms smacked by her father for not wanting to memorize ancient poems—all these simple childhood memories made Zhou Anke very happy to share, and Su Rui equally happy to hear.
He could clearly sense how much Zhou Anke loved this land filled with the fragrance of lotus flowers.
All these years, Zhou Anke had been studying away from home, and had almost never met someone of the opposite sex with whom she could open her heart like this. This place full of lotus ponds was her dream home, and she was happy to share these feelings with others, but others wouldn’t understand her feelings. Only Su Rui listened with genuine interest.
As they talked, Zhou Anke suddenly felt a warm current rising from the depths of her heart, slowly flowing through her entire body.
They chatted for a long time, not falling asleep until three or four in the morning.
Perhaps due to the effects of alcohol, the next day, Su Rui, who usually woke up punctually, slept in unusually late. Zhou Anke also slept in, curled up in her white nightgown under the thin red quilt until ten o’clock.
Zhou Anke rubbed her sleepy eyes, looking at the sunlight filtering through the curtains, then turned to see Su Rui, and two rosy clouds immediately appeared on her face.
Su Rui looked at the freshly awakened Zhou Anke, her long hair slightly disheveled, her nightgown slightly askew, with half of her snow-white shoulder exposed. Looking at her fair skin, Su Rui suddenly had the urge to go over and touch it carefully, to feel its delicate texture.
“You’re awake?”
They both said almost simultaneously.
After speaking, they both laughed, having discovered since yesterday’s journey that they shared many small moments of tacit understanding, often expressing the same views on certain matters at the same time.
“Are you tired from sleeping on the sofa all night? Do you want to rest on the bed?” Zhou Anke, still under the covers, had already extended this “invitation” without realizing how much intimacy her words implied.
Actually, what she felt most was guilt. Su Rui was a guest in her home, and not only had her mother played those pranks by treating him like a son-in-law, but she had also made him sleep on the sofa. Anyone would feel uncomfortable about that, so Zhou Anke felt quite apologetic.
Su Rui mercilessly exposed her: “You want me to sleep in the same bed as you?”
She immediately fell silent. Su Rui could tease her to death with just one simple sentence.
“Let’s go have breakfast together.”
After washing up, they walked out of the room side by side.
It seemed that Ming Jie had been waiting outside the door for some time. As soon as she saw Su Rui and her daughter, her eyes scanned them up and down several times, and she said with a smile: “Were you exhausted last night? Is that why you got up so late today?”
Zhou Anke gave her mother an annoyed look: “Stop being improper. What nonsense are you talking about now? I should be asking you, why did you lock the door last night?”
“Did I? That never happened! It must have been your brother!” Ming Jie, cunning as an old fox, naturally wouldn’t admit it!
After a breakfast of sweet lotus seed and white fungus soup and soft, fragrant lotus cakes—a meal with distinct Jiangnan characteristics—Su Rui made an excuse about catching up with an old friend and pulled Zhou Xianwei out.
The two men who hadn’t seen each other for a long time walked on the bluestone path, feeling somewhat strange.
Zhou Xianwei was tall and slender, with fair skin and handsome features. Judging by his appearance alone, he didn’t really match his nickname “Wild One.”
“Big brother, I never thought that after so many years, you’d end up dating my own sister. Your skills with women have truly improved,” Zhou Xianwei said with an awkward smile. Su Rui’s silence was making him feel very uncomfortable.
Regarding his relationship with Zhou Anke, Su Rui didn’t bother to explain, but coldly smiled and said: “Yesterday when you first saw me, you ran away. Why did you come back later?”
“At first I was afraid you’d beat me up,” Zhou Xianwei scratched the back of his head and made up an excuse: “Later I just wanted to see what was happening. My sister is getting married, I couldn’t miss that, could I?”
“You enjoy watching the excitement, don’t you?” Su Rui had heard very clearly that it was Zhou Xianwei who had loudly called for him to carry Zhou Anke on his back.
“Hehe, that’s just my personality, big brother, you know me best,” Zhou Xianwei continued to smile awkwardly. This was almost his only expression since seeing Su Rui.
“Know my ass!” Su Rui kicked him unceremoniously, right on the buttocks!
“Big brother, why are you kicking me?” Zhou Xianwei covered his buttocks and jumped away. “What if someone sees? I’m your brother-in-law here after all…”
“You dare to set conditions with me? Brother-in-law my ass, there’s nothing between me and your sister!”
Su Rui didn’t hold back and kicked Zhou Xianwei more than a dozen times, sending him flying several meters away!
So the people of Liangtang Town witnessed an extraordinary sight—the Zhou family’s young tyrant, whom no one dared to mess with, was now being kicked in the street by his sister’s husband, and he didn’t even dare to fight back!
“I’ll teach you to play dead, I’ll teach you to play dead. Do you know I came here specifically to find you?” After kicking him, Su Rui still wasn’t satisfied and gave him a few more kicks.
“Big brother, stop kicking, stop kicking, it’s really embarrassing!” Zhou Xianwei covered his buttocks and shouted!
“What use is your face? Dead people don’t need face!” Su Rui said, “If you don’t give me a reasonable explanation today, I’ll tear down your landlord mansion!”
Zhou Xianwei was on the verge of tears: “What landlord mansion? Our home is a royal palace!”
…
Sitting by the lotus pond, Su Rui and Zhou Xianwei each held a bottle of beer, their feet soaking in the water, looking quite comfortable.
“Four years ago, I had a girlfriend,” Zhou Xianwei’s eyes showed a reminiscent look. “I met her in America. She was an international student.”
“Leaving for love, I can understand that, but you should have at least said goodbye.”
Su Rui looked at him and couldn’t help but sigh. This young man with the title “Pen Immortal,” if he hadn’t disappeared four years ago, would probably have become a super warrior of the Sun Temple by now. His status would definitely not be inferior to the Twelve Divine Guards, and might even be on par with the Twin Stars.
This man was skilled in painting, and even more formidable in fighting. With two large brushes made of unknown material, he used the brush tips to strike people’s vital points, killing without bloodshed, with extremely fierce combat power.
However, he was also quite arrogant, often presenting himself as the second best in the world—of course, the first was Su Rui. When facing his big brother, if they fought, he would only face more violent attacks.
If he had stayed, if he had never left…
Su Rui shook his head. There were no “ifs” after all.
Four years ago, in a major battle, Su Rui, who had just risen to prominence, was surrounded and attacked by several dark forces. That battle was extremely brutal, with Su Rui’s subordinates suffering heavy casualties. Zhou Xianwei also disappeared after that battle, without even a body being found.
This nearly drove Su Rui crazy. All along, he had relied on his brothers’ willingness to risk their lives to help him. Whenever anyone left, his heart would ache terribly.
Almost everyone believed Zhou Xianwei was dead, including Su Rui. However, whenever he thought about that incredibly arrogant guy just going to report to heaven like that, Su Rui found it hard to believe. Would heaven accept such a shameless person?
Over these years, the conflicts in the Western dark world had become increasingly intense, and he hadn’t had much time to search for news of Zhou Xianwei. In the vast sea of people, where would he even begin?
Until he met Zhou Anke, who was also from Liangtang Town, and saw that handwriting style with a faint fresh aura of lotus ponds, many memories surged like a tide in his mind.
Therefore, when Zhou Anke invited Su Rui to visit Liangtang Town, he agreed almost without thinking. He had to visit Zhou Xianwei’s hometown, even if he couldn’t find any traces, just to fulfill his own wish.
The pleasant surprise was that Zhou Anke turned out to be Zhou Xianwei’s sister! This was completely beyond Su Rui’s expectations!
Looking at Zhou Xianwei, Su Rui became angry again. To avenge him, Su Rui had later almost completely wiped out the several dark forces that had surrounded him, and the Sun Temple had risen to prominence in the world because of this!
“Answer my question,” Su Rui said. “If you were tired of the life of swords and daggers and wanted to quit, I think I definitely wouldn’t have stopped you. Why did you leave without saying goodbye? If others knew, they would consider your disappearance from the battlefield as desertion!”
Zhou Xianwei said awkwardly: “Well, big brother, after I tell you, you have to promise not to hit me.”
A black line appeared on Su Rui’s forehead: “I won’t hit you. Just tell me.”
“Really won’t hit me?”
“Say one more word and I will hit you.”
After so many years, Zhou Xianwei’s personality hadn’t changed a bit.
“At that time, my girlfriend didn’t like me living that kind of life on the edge. She was an international student, and she couldn’t accept my lifestyle. So, for her, I decided to make a change.”
Zhou Xianwei recalled: “I was truly in love with her then, and all I wanted was to go home and live a good life with her. I didn’t dare say goodbye to you because I was afraid you’d be upset. After all, you had trained me for so long, and if I left, you would definitely feel terrible.”
Su Rui couldn’t help but raise his hand and cursed: “You played dead, and you think that didn’t make me feel terrible?”
Seeing Su Rui’s palm about to come down, Zhou Xianwei shouted: “You promised not to hit me!”
