Chapter 90: Filing the Report Tomorrow
Xie Huaizheng stared at Su Zhaozhao.
Su Zhaozhao had large, dark eyes that held a hazy sort of beauty in the moonlight.
Her features were soft, too. Though she had a bright and lovely face, right now it seemed to be veiled in a thin gauze, making her look both sacred and gentle.
Then, the corner of his lip curled into a smile. "Don’t look at me with such a worried expression. I have my own scars, but I’m not as fragile as you think."
Hearing this, Su Zhaozhao immediately smiled. "Yeah, I believe you."
"So back then... your trauma wasn’t just from seeing your comrade die in front of you, was it?"
Xie Huaizheng nodded. "Yes. Beyond that... in order to survive, I hid in a dark place for a very, very long time. I had nothing to eat. But luckily, there were some wild fruits there. Apples. They were rotten, lying on the ground. I picked a few up and survived on those apples."
It all clicked for Su Zhaozhao. ’So *that’s* why Zhou Xiaoyun said Xie Huaizheng hated apples.’
’He was on the verge of death with nothing but rotten apples nearby. To survive, he had no choice but to eat them.’
’They might have even been rank, or had worms in them.’
’But he still had to force those fruits down.’
’The mere thought was suffocating.’
’If that were me, I don’t think I’d ever be able to eat an apple again after I got back.’
As Su Zhaozhao looked at Xie Huaizheng, her heart couldn’t help but ache for him.
"It must have been so hard for you all these years," she said to him.
All these things from his past had clearly left him with severe psychological trauma.
And yet, he never spoke of it, pretending that nothing was wrong and silently enduring it all.
Right up until now.
Su Zhaozhao couldn’t imagine how Xie Huaizheng had managed to persevere all these years.
What’s more, even with her professional expertise, she would have found it difficult to discover what he was suppressing if he hadn’t told her himself.
After he finished speaking, Xie Huaizheng suddenly felt the pressure that had been bottled up inside him all this time dissipate in an instant.
The depressing secret he never knew how to voice, the vulnerability he’d tried so hard to conceal—now, it was all laid bare before this girl.
No one else knew. They knew what he had experienced in the past, but they all thought he had recovered long ago.
Only Su Zhaozhao knew he hadn’t.
The cigarette was finished, and so was the story.
The girl beside him, however, was unusually silent.
It was rare to see her at a loss for words, so Xie Huaizheng couldn’t help but turn to look at her.
In the moonlight, her eyes seemed to glisten, like the surface of the sea—damp and sorrowful.
A hint of amusement colored Xie Huaizheng’s somber eyes. "What? Don’t know how to comfort me?"
For some reason, seeing her sad expression made Xie Huaizheng feel sad as well.
’Maybe I shouldn’t have told her all this.’
Su Zhaozhao snapped back to her senses and quickly shook her head. "No, it’s not that. I just feel that you’ve been through so much."
’My God, the novel never said the male lead went through any of this!’
’In the book, the male lead’s darkest time was when his family fell into disgrace and was ruined.’
’And I, as the villainess, broke off our engagement and kicked him while he was down.’
’That sent the male lead into a long depression.’
But now that Su Zhaozhao was by Xie Huaizheng’s side, she was seeing a completely different male lead.
He hadn’t been crushed when she broke off the engagement, nor had he lost his will over his family’s troubles.
He was even able to hit her with shocking sarcasm when he saw her.
This showed that Xie Huaizheng was an incredibly formidable person.
’Yet he was hiding this past, a past that was never even mentioned in the novel, and he had just told me all about it.’
’For a moment, I didn’t know if I should feel honored.’
’I knew something that even the heroine of the book didn’t know.’
Her hand instinctively wrapped around Xie Huaizheng’s arm. "You don’t have to have it so hard anymore. If anything is wrong, you can tell me."
The girl’s soft voice put Xie Huaizheng in a good mood.
To lay these painful memories bare was to display his vulnerability to another person.
But Xie Huaizheng didn’t regret it.
After all, he felt much lighter than he’d expected now that he had said it all.
Not to mention, Su Zhaozhao’s reaction was a pleasant surprise to him.
’The fact that she was moved to tears by my past... that must mean she cares about me, right?’
’It was different from the beginning.’
’When she first came looking for me, it wasn’t because she liked me. She just felt that she needed a powerful backer.’
’I’d met countless people and had seen right through Su Zhaozhao’s intentions at a glance.’
’That was why, at the time, I had been certain that she wouldn’t be able to handle the hardships of the Northwest and would beat a hasty retreat home.’
’But who would have thought she’d stay here this long? Long enough for me to like her, and for her to like me back.’
’Wasn’t this an unexpected reward?’
"There’s nothing more to tell. I’ve said everything," he said. By now, they had reached the entrance of the guest house.
Xie Huaizheng said to her, "Go on back. Get some rest."
Su Zhaozhao hummed in agreement, but then a thought struck her. "Are your parents okay?" she asked.
’I remembered reading in the novel that the male lead had it really rough. After the engagement was broken off, his mother became so furious that she fell gravely ill.’
’The male lead, far away in West State and unable to return, was in absolute agony.’
’If that’s what happened, for Xie Huaizheng to still be able to forgive me...’
’It just goes to show what a good person he is.’
Hearing her ask this, Xie Huaizheng froze. "They’re fine. Why?"
"Your mother... she didn’t get sick?" Su Zhaozhao asked cautiously.
Xie Huaizheng’s eyes narrowed. "Sick?"
’Could it be that I actually changed the plot by coming here?’
’But the engagement had already been broken off by the time I arrived!’
’So his mother didn’t get sick from the anger?’
’Xie Huaizheng’s reaction doesn’t look like his mother got sick from rage at all.’
’Looks like I read that novel for nothing. So far, so much of the plot just doesn’t line up.’
"It’s nothing, nothing at all," Su Zhaozhao said, quickly waving her hands. "So, when are we getting our marriage license?"
At the thought, she felt a stir of excitement. ’This is my first time getting married!’
"You’ve made up your mind?"
"Of course. You’ve already made up your mind, so how could I not?" Su Zhaozhao replied.
"I have to file a report with my superiors. I’ll go tomorrow," Xie Huaizheng said, unable to stop himself from smiling.
Su Zhaozhao watched the smile blossom on the handsome man’s face. It was completely different from before.
It was no longer a cold sneer or a fake smile. His features relaxed, and his eyes seemed to shine a little brighter.
Su Zhaozhao smiled too. She suddenly stood on her tiptoes and pecked Xie Huaizheng on the lips.
Then she dashed toward the guest house, calling back, "Okay! I’ll be waiting for your good news!"